Eggplant.place

156d

#OnThisDay, 14 Jun 1939, Ethel Waters stars in The Ethel Waters Show on NBC, becoming the first black person to have their own show on US TV.

Photo is from her radio show.

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #BlackHistory #Histodons

Ethel Waters standing next to an NBR radio mic. She is a black woman with her hair tied back.

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

167d

#OTD the poem "Casey at the Bat" was published in The San Francisco Examiner (then called The Daily Examiner) in 1888.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_at_the_Bat

Books about baseball at PG

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=baseball

#poetry #sports

"Selection of studio posed photographs from the New York Public Library's Spalding Collection, a series of over 500 photographs, prints, drawings, caricatures, and printed illustrations donated in 1921 by early baseball player and sporting-goods tycoon A. G. Spalding (whose name to this day is printed across every ball used in the National League). The photographs below feature players of different teams from New York and Philadelphia and seem to be mostly taken in the 1870s and 1880s." - from the Public Doman Image Archive

Man in baseball uniform is in a batting stance about to strike the ball that is coming towards him.

ALT

2 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

132d

“Annie S. Swan both requires revaluation through her own biography & calls into question easy valorisations of ‘danger’ as expressed in terms of explicit challenge & radicalism. The extent of her appeal & influence demands a more nuanced analysis of the politics of emotion & the gendering of reader response”

—Prof Glenda Norquay on Annie S. Swan (1859–1943) – born #OTD, 8 July

@litstudies

1/3

https://dangerouswomenproject.org/2016/09/08/annie-shepherd-swan/

#Scottish #literature #19thcentury #20thcentury #romance #womenwriters

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

154d

"The air is the only place free of prejudices."

#OnThisDay, 15 Jun 1921, Bessie Coleman gained her pilot's license, becoming the first civilian African-American pilot in the world. And the first of Native American descent.

Read more about her in our NEW blogpost! https://carvehername.org.uk/bessie-coleman-and-other-early-american-aviators/

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #BlackHistory #AviationHistory #Histodons

A young black woman standing on the wheel of an early propeller plane. She's wearing a flying uniform of trousers, boots, a long leather coat and a leather helmet.

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

132d

Something to die for

To die: to give up life for
to die for means to live for
would we want to die for what
we would not live for?

—“Saving the Planet” by Tessa Ransford (1938–2015) – poet, activist, & founding director of the Scottish Poetry Library – born #OTD, 8 July

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/saving-planet/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #environment #ecology

Saving the Planet
Tessa Ransford

Something to die for

To die: to give up life for
to die for means to live for
would we want to die for what
we would not live for?

We cannot die for ourselves since death is the end of us
we cannot live for ourselves since that is absurdity
we die for what we can give and abandon generously

Here is what we die for:
our family name and honour
our children and children’s children
the principle of beauty in truth
a working mind and heart
humans who live with the planet
who thrive on thrift
who love to share and build
more life, life to die for.

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

154d

The Far Side of Lorna Moon

“I’m always either convinced that nobody can write as I can – or that I’m the world’s louseyest writer.”

Lorna Moon (1886–1930) was born #OTD, 16 June, as Nora Helen Wilson Low, in Strichen. Dr Glenda Norquay writes about her journey from Aberdeenshire to Hollywood

1/4

https://asls.org.uk/the-far-side-of-lorna-moon/

#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #owmenwriters #screenwriting #Hollywood #HollywoodHistory #film #cinema #Aberdeenshire

MGM publicity portrait of Lorna Moon (1926)
Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences / Academy Film Archive

A black-and-white photograph of a dark-haired, dark-eyed young woman, wearing a sleeveless dress which leaves here arms and shoulders bare. Her hair is cut in a 1920s bob. She has her left side turned towards us, and she is looking over her shoulder at the camera.

ALT

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

154d

#OnThisDay, 16 June 1963, Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space, orbiting Earth 48 times in Vostok 6.

She is currently a member of the Russian State Duma (lower house), and supporter of Putin.

#WomenInSpace #SpaceHistory #WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #Histodons

Valentina Tereshkova in her orange spacesuit. She is a white woman wearing a white helmet with CCCP on it.

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

154d

“not only is there no invocation of the free market […Smith] plainly sees that government, not private industry, is the only force capable of effectively ‘erecting and maintaining’ the technically unprofitable but nevertheless indispensable ‘publick works’ and ‘publick institutions’ […] essential to every modern state.”

—Adam Smith (1723–1790) was baptised #OTD, 16 June. Evan Gottlieb examines Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand”

https://www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2013/05/invisible-hand-over-fist-on-the-development-and-legacy-of-adam-smiths-famous-phrase/

#Scottish #literature #economics #18thcentury

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

153d

"You have trampled under foot every vital principle of our government. My natural rights, my civil rights, my political rights, my judicial rights, are all alike ignored."

#OnThisDay, 17 Jun 1873, Susan B Anthony is tried for illegally voting in the 1872 US Presidential election.

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #VotesForWomen #AmericanHistory #Histodons
1/2

Photo of Susan B Anthony. She is a white woman with white hair, dressed in high Victorian clothing.

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

152d

The Battle of Waterloo was fought #OTD, 18 June, 1815. Walter Scott visited the battlefield shortly after; his 1816 book PAUL’S LETTERS TO HIS KINSFOLK contains one of the earliest accounts of the aftermath, & is an important early example of war journalism

https://theconversation.com/walter-scott-war-journalism-from-the-waterloo-battlefield-43304

#Scottish #literature #Waterloo #SirWalterScott #19thcentury

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

151d

#OtD 19 Jun 1843 a crowd of around 4500 "Rebecca" rioters with blackened faces and dressed as women gathered and attacked the Carmarthen workhouse in Wales, and set about destroying it. It took the arrival of a unit of the British army to disperse them https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9110/rebecca-rioters-attack-carmarthen-workhouse

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

152d

#OnThisDay, 18 Jun 1983, Sally Ride is the first woman to be a US astronaut, on board the Challenger shuttle.

A new documentary, 'Sally' (2025, Cristina Costantini) explores her achievements and why she felt she had to hide her sexuality.

#WomenInSpace #WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #Histodons

Photo of Sally Ride in the cockpit of Challenger whilst it's in space. She's a white woman with dark hair.

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

150d

#OtD 20 Jun 1905 the King of Sweden publicly ended plans to invade the recently independent Norway. The announcement was prompted by the threat of a nationwide general strike by Swedish unions if mobilisation for war went ahead https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9284/swedish-invasion-of-norway-blocked

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

125d

I can see da rüfs aa taekit, an da hens aroond da door;
Fok kerryin twartree paets hame, an rigs delled every voar.
Aa da lums ir reekin, an I hear da happy soonds
O peerie bairns skirlin, as dey play dem ower da toons…

—“Da Clearance”, by Rhoda Bulter (1929–94), born #OTD, 15 July

A 🎂🧵 – 1/3

Listen to Rhoda Bulter reading “Da Clearance” here

https://www.shetlanddialect.org.uk/da-clearance

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage #Shetland #Shetlandic

Da Clearance
Rhoda Bulter

I can see da rüfs aa taekit, an da hens aroond da door;
Fok kerryin twartree paets hame, an rigs delled every voar.
Aa da lums ir reekin, an I hear da happy soonds
O peerie bairns skirlin, as dey play dem ower da toons.

I see eens sittin roond da fire, an twartree mair oot by;
Sookin infants at da breest, an weemen gjaan ta cry.
Da tochtfil, tried faces o dem at’s lived ower lang;
Fractious bairns feytin sleep, an sensin somethin wrang.

I hear a lood, lood knockin, an da crump o monny feet;
Men's voices raised in anger, an da bairns start to greet.
I see da fok aa girded oot afore da laandloard’s men;
An aa da bits a things dey hed, fired ower da briggy-stane.

I see da bare waas staandin, an aa da laand lie green;
Lang syne da fire wis slokkit, an monny a year is geen.
Noo dey aa hae equal portions o aert ta tak dir sleep.
Tell me, wis it wirt it aa for twartree extry sheep?

ALT

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

317d

French educator Louis Braille was born #OTD in 1809. He was the inventor of a reading and writing system named after him, braille, intended for use by visually impaired people.

At just 15 years old, Braille began refining Barbier's system, developing a code based on a six-dot cell structure that allowed for efficient representation of letters, numbers, and even musical notation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille

#braille #education #communication

Portrait of Louis Braille, author unknown.

Braille is shown in a formal seated position or from the chest up, with a calm and composed demeanor.

He wears 19th-century attire, often a dark, high-collared jacket or coat.

His expression is serene and introspective, with youthful features that reflect his intelligence and determination.

ALT

The original braille code for the French language, as devised by Louis Braille c.1824.

ALT

Edited 149d ago

2 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

128d

Circular snapshots from the very first @kodak camera (the first truly portable camera) — invented by George Eastman who was born #onthisday in New York in 1854. more examples here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kodak-no-1-circular-snapshots #OTD

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

148d

It is a land of wee
hard men and all I
am wanted for is to
stand and cheer…

Prof Alan Riach considers the life & work of the poet & playwright Joan Ure (1918–1978) – born #OTD, 22 June

1/6

https://www.thenational.scot/news/17455955.joan-ure-the-scots-poet-and-playwright-who-set-a-precedent/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #poet #drama #playwright #20thcentury #womenwriters

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

148d

#OnThisDay, 22 June 1812, Canadian Laura Secord is said to have walked 19 miles to warn British forces of an impending American attack in the War of 1812.

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #CanadianHistory

A Canadian stamp with an illustration of Laura Secord wearing a bonnet and shawl. It's somewhat romaticised.

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

147d

“ A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human.”

By Alan Turing (born #OTD in 1912). In: Computing Machinery and Intelligence (1950)

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/may/14/alan-turing-gary-kasparov-computer

#computer_science

3 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

147d

Schyr Hanry myssit the noble king…

Robert I, King of Scots, killed Sir Henry de Bohun in single combat on the first day of the Battle of Bannockburn #OTD, 23 June 1314. The epic vernacular poem “The Brus” by John Barbour (c.1320–1395) describes the event

1/3

https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/aboutus/resources/stella/projects/starn/poetry/the-brus/book-12/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #medieval #14thcentury #history #MiddleAges #Bannockburn #epic #vernacular #poem #Scots #Scotslanguage

Text is too long for ALT-text – however full text can be found via the link, lines 25 to 85.

Image description: “Bruce and de Bohun”, by John Duncan (1866–1945), Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum. King Robert I, wearing chain mail, with a gold circlet around his helmet, and a flowing red-gold cloak and a surcoat bearing the Scottish lion rampant (red, on a yellow background) , stands up in the stirrups of the grey horse he is riding. He holds the reins tightly in his left hand and wields a battle-axe in his right. Sir Henry de Bohun, with golden plate armour and a flowing red cloth tied to his helm, rides past, his long lance missing the king. He is crouched low, almost seeming to bow, his head lined up for the blow from the king's axe.

ALT

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

147d

#OnThisDay, 23 June 1972, US President Nixon signs into law Title IX, prohibiting sexual discrimination in federally funded education programs/activities.

The image is from 1979, as obviously women still had to fight to get the law followed.

#AmericanHistory #WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #Histodons

A woman in football (soccer) kit, holding a placard reading 'women athletes play with balls, too'.

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

146d

#OTD, 24 June, in 1314, the Scottish army under King Robert I destroyed a much larger English invasion force at Bannockburn, in one of the most decisive battles in medieval history. In 1793 Robert Burns composed “Scots Wha Hae”, originally entitled “Robert Bruce’s March To Bannockburn”

⚔️🧵

1/5

#Scottish #literature #Bannockburn #BattleofBannockburn #14thcentury #medieval #history #18thcentury #RobertBurns

Poem: "Scots Wha Hae", by Robert Burns

(tune: Hey, Tutti Tatie)

Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led,
Welcome to your gory bed‍‍
‍‍Or to victorie!

Now’s the day, and now’s the hour:
See the front o’ battle lour,
See approach proud Edward’s power— ‍‍
‍‍Chains and slaverie!

Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward’s grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?—‍‍
‍‍Let him turn, and flee!

Wha for Scotland’s king and law
Freedom’s sword will strongly draw,
Freeman stand or freeman fa’, ‍‍
‍‍Let him follow me!

By Oppression’s woes and pains,
By your sons in servile chains,
We will drain our dearest veins ‍‍
‍‍But they shall be free!

Lay the proud usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty’s in every blow!—
‍‍Let us do or die!

ALT

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

145d

Here lies our land: every airt
Beneath swift clouds, glad glints of sun,
Belonging to none but itself…

—Kathleen Jamie, “Here lies our land”

This poem was commissioned in 2014 to mark the 700th anniversary of the battle of Bannockburn – fought #OTD, 24 June, 1314. The poem is inscribed on the Bannockburn monument.

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/here-lies-our-land/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Bannockburn #BattleofBannockburn

Here lies our land
Kathleen Jamie

Here lies our land: every airt
Beneath swift clouds, glad glints of sun,
Belonging to none but itself.

We are mere transients, who sing
Its westlin’ winds and fernie braes,
Northern lights and siller tides,

Small folk playing our part.
‘Come all ye’, the country says,
You win me, who take me most to heart.

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

146d

#OnThisDay, 24 June 1916, Mary Pickford becomes the first Hollywood star to sign a million-dollar contract.

This is Pickford, who was a queen of PR as well as the screen.

At the time, standard studio contracts were for a year. She signed a *two-year* contract as both an actor *and* a producer. That bumped its value across the $1m barrier and got her the headlines.

#ReclaimTheFrame #HollywoodHistory #WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #Histodons

Mary Pickford in the 1910s. She is a white woman with blonde hair in ringlets. A small, probably grey, kitten is sitting on her shoulder.

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

119d

Is there a whim-inspired fool,
Owre fast for thought, owre hot for rule,
Owre blate to seek, owre proud to snool,
Let him draw near…

Robert Burns (1759–96) died #OTD, 21 July, aged 37. “A Bard’s Epitaph” is the final poem in the 1786 Kilmarnock Edition of Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect

1/4

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #RobertBurns #18thcentury #romanticism #epitaph

A Bard’s Epitaph
Robert Burns

Is there a whim-inspired fool,
Owre fast for thought, owre hot for rule,
Owre blate to seek, owre proud to snool,
Let him draw near;
And owre this grassy heap sing dool,
And drap a tear.

Is there a bard of rustic song,
Who, noteless, steals the crowds among,
That weekly this area throng,
O, pass not by!
But, with a frater-feeling strong,
Here, heave a sigh.

Is there a man, whose judgment clear
Can others teach the course to steer,
Yet runs, himself, life’s mad career,
Wild as the wave,
Here pause—and, thro’ the starting tear,
Survey this grave.

The poor inhabitant below
Was quick to learn the wise to know,
And keenly felt the friendly glow,
And softer flame;
But thoughtless follies laid him low,
And stain’d his name!

Reader, attend! whether thy soul
Soars fancy’s flights beyond the pole,
Or darkling grubs this earthly hole,
In low pursuit:
Know, prudent, cautious, self-control
Is wisdom’s root.

ALT

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

otd