#OtD 31 May 1921 the Tulsa racist massacre took place leaving 300 dead and 10k homeless after a false allegation of a Black boy attacking a white woman was used to stir up white supremacist vigilantism. Racists destroyed a whole area dubbed Black Wall St. https://t.co/DAQoZfi09I https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10389/tulsa-racist-massacre?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon
Dutch physician, mathematician, cartographer Gemma Frisius was born #OTD in 1555.
He created important globes, improved the mathematical instruments of his day and applied mathematics in new ways to surveying and navigation. Gemma's rings, an astronomical instrument, are named after him. He observed the total lunar eclipse of 3 Mar 1569 and he also discovered the 1572 supernova in Cassiopeia on 9 Nov, which he observed two days before Tycho Brahe.
#OnThisDay, 11 Oct 1922, Alaska P Davidson becomes the first woman to be an FBI Special Agent. She was employed to focus on the trafficking of women across state lines.
J Edgar Hoover requests her resignation, along with her colleagues Jessie Duckstein and Lenore Houston, in 1924. The FBI does not appoint another woman as a Special Agent until 1972.
#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #AmericanHistory #Histodons
English poet Alfred Austin was born #OTD in 1835.
Austin served as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1896 until his death in 1913. Despite holding this prestigious position, his poetry received mixed reviews, and he is often remembered more for the controversies surrounding his appointment than for his literary accomplishments.
Books by Alfred Austin at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/37643
Spanish dramatis, writer and poet Pedro Calderón de la Barca died #OTD in 1681.
His plays have been divided thematically: religious comedies (La devoción de la cruz), historical-legendary (El sitio de Breda), comedies of intrigue (Casa con dos puertas, mala es de guardar), comedies of honor (El médico de su honra), philosophical (El gran teatro del mundo), mythological (Eco y Narciso) and sacramental acts (A Dios por razón de estado).
Dutch physicist Pieter Zeeman was born #OTD in 1865.
In 1896, while studying the effect of magnetic fields on the light emitted by a sodium flame, Zeeman observed that the spectral lines of the light split into multiple components in the presence of a magnetic field- the Zeeman effect.
In 1902, Pieter Zeeman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with Hendrik Lorentz, for the discovery of the Zeeman effect and its theoretical explanation.
Chì mi rè geàrd na h-oidhche
dreòs air chrith ’na fhroidhneas thall air fàire,
a’ clapail le a sgiathaibh,
a’ sgapadh ’s a’ ciaradh rionnagan na h-àird’ ud…
—“Bisearta”, by Deòrsa Mac Iain Deòrsa (George Campbell Hay, 1915–1984). Born #OTD, 8 Dec, Hay fought in North Africa & winessed the Allied bombing of Bizerte in 1943
1/7
#Scottish #literature #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #poem #poetry #Warpoetry #WW2
#OTD in 1140. The French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy at the Council of Soissons.
This council was convened by the Church to examine his book "Theologia Summi Boni", which was seen as challenging orthodox Christian doctrine. Abelard's rational approach to theology and his emphasis on applying logic to faith led to suspicions among church authorities.
Books by Peter Abelard at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/5441
#OTD in 1788, Sarah Josepha Hale was born.
"Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (October 24, 1788 – April 30, 1879) was an American writer, activist, and editor of the most widely circulated magazine in the period before the Civil War, Godey's Lady's Book.[1] She was the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Hale famously campaigned for the creation of the American Thanksgiving holiday...."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Josepha_Hale
Hale's works at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Sarah+Josepha+Hale
American writer, historian and poet Elizabeth Fries Ellet died #OTD in 1877.
She is best known for her works on women’s contributions to American history, particularly during the American Revolutionary War. Her extensive research and writings helped to highlight the often overlooked roles that women played in significant historical events.
Books by Elizabeth F. Ellet at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/45321
#Onthisday in 1852, in the Corinthian Hall of Rochester, NY, Frederick Douglass gave his famous speech now known as "What to the Slave Is the 4th of July?". The fact that it was given on the fifth and not the fourth was significant: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/frederick-douglass-fourth-july-speech #otd
"And they talked about the mediocrity of provincial life, so suffocating, so fatal to all noble dreams."
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert was published #OTD in 1857. It tells the story of Emma, a doctor’s wife bored with provincial life. She seeks escape through affairs and overspending, leading to ruin. The novel caused scandal but became a major work of French literature.
Madame Bovary at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2413
"It's much more entertaining to live books than to write them."
Daddy-Long-Legs
American writer Jean Webster (pen name of Alice Jane Chandler Webster) died #OTD in 1916.
Webster's first novel, "When Patty Went to College" (1903), was based on her experiences at Vassar and reflected her humor and insight into college life. Her most known novels are "Daddy-Long-Legs" (1912) and its sequel "Dear Enemy" (1915).
Books by Jean Webster at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/99
"All invitations must proceed from heaven perhaps; perhaps it is futile for men to initiate their own unity, they do but widen the gulfs between them by the attempt."
#OTD in 1924.
E. M. Forster's novel A Passage to India is published in the U.K. He will write no further fiction in the remaining 46 years of his life.
A Passage To India at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/61221
#OTD in 1917.
The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first for biography (for Julia Ward Howe), Jean Jules Jusserand the first for history with With Americans of Past and Present Days, and Herbert B. Swope the first for journalism for his work for the New York World.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38648
#OnThisDay, 11 Jun 1987, Diane Abbott is elected to the British Parliament. She is the first Black woman to become an MP.
Abbott has held shadow cabinet posts in the Labour party, and is the longest serving Black MP. She is standing for re-election in the 2024 UK general election.
#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #BritishHistory
Scottish botanist and paleobotanist Robert Brown died #OTD in 1858.
In 1827, while observing pollen grains suspended in water under a microscope, Brown discovered the random movement of particles, later known as Brownian motion. He was the first to describe the cell nucleus, which he observed in orchid cells in 1831. He also made significant contributions to the classification of plants, introducing new families and genera.
Portuguese poet Luís de Camões died #OTD in 1580.
"Os Lusíadas" (1572) is considered Camões' magnum opus. The epic poem consists of ten cantos and is written in ottava rima. The poem celebrates the voyage of Vasco da Gama and the Portuguese discoveries, blending historical events with mythological elements. It extols the virtues of bravery, patriotism, and the divine mission of the Portuguese people.
Books by Luís de Camões at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1183
American journalist, teacher, playwright, and poet Angelina Weld Grimké died #OTD in 1958.
Grimké was a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural and artistic movement centered in Harlem, New York, during the 1920s and 1930s. Some of her well-known poems include "The Eyes of My Regret," "Tenebris," and "The Black Finger." These works often reflect her personal struggles and the broader societal challenges faced by African Americans.
In front of me a girl with bare feet,
in a beribboned dress, picks white
flowers in a field somewhere near Pompeii…
—Stewart Conn, “Springtime”
published in IN THE KIBBLE PALACE (Bloodaxe, 1987)
Pompeii was destroyed possibly #OTD, 24 Oct, 79CE
https://www.museoarcheologiconapoli.it/portfolio-item/affreschi/
#Scottish #literature #classical #Roman #archaeology #poem #poetry #Pompeii
British poet and literary critic Lascelles Abercrombie died #OTD in 1938.
He was a prominent member of the Georgian poets. He was particularly known for his verse dramas & dramatic monologues such as The Sale of Saint Thomas and Deborah.
#OtD 5 Jun 1993 EMT Breonna Taylor, recently killed by police, was born in Grand Rapids, MI. Taylor, an unarmed Black woman, was shot 8 times and killed in her home by officers with a drugs warrant. No drugs were found https://t.co/wc1K52LTw2
American writer William Sydney Porter died #OTD in 1910.
O. Henry's stories are known for their memorable characters, vivid descriptions, and especially their surprise endings. Some of his most famous stories include "The Gift of the Magi," "The Ransom of Red Chief," "The Last Leaf," and "The Cop and the Anthem."
Books by O. Henry at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/634
French science writer Amédée Guillemin was born #OTD in 1826.
Guillemin presently started writing books of physics and astronomy which became very popular. He wrote "The Sky" and "The Physical World" (5 vols.). He also wrote a series of booklets about astronomy and physics under the title "Small popular encyclopaedia", a scientifically sound but accessible collection about sciences and their applications.
Books by Amédée Guillemin at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/9614
