Ezra Stiles of Yale

Born November 29, 1727, Ezra Stiles was a New England educator, minister, theologian, and author. He is considered one of the first great American college presidents. He served as Yale president from 1778 until his death in 1795. Stiles was also a cofounder of Brown University. He taught Hebrew and Aramaic at Yale; researched Native American culture; and corresponded with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson about science. I have a 1794 book that he wrote, about the three judges who signed King Charles' death warrant and who fled to America when the monarchy was restored. Ezra Stiles College at Yale was designed by architect Eero Saarinen of St. Louis Arch fame. Stiles is buried in New Haven.

Vilnius, Lithuania

 We visited Vilnius, Lithuania last week. Beth had a seminar, at which she gave a short talk on Title IX and gender-related issues. Here are some pictures!  

The Holocaust in Lithuania

We just got back from a trip to Lithuania! I'll post more photos, but here is information about the Holocaust in that country. 

Over 95% of Lithuanian Jews were murdered: perhaps 195,000 Jews in a population of about 200,000-210,000. Vilnius was once called the Jerusalem of the North. Much of this genocide happened in 1941, with gentile collaboration inflamed by both Nazi propaganda and by resentment and scapegoating about the recent Soviet occupation. I wanted to visit the single remaining synagogue in Vilnius (before the war, there were around 100 synagogues) but I missed their limited hours of being open for visitors. However, we visited the streets of the former ghetto. We happened to find the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania. I purchased two books there. They asked where I was from and I said from Ohio in the states. They gave me a third book as a gift.