Happy Birthday, Dickens!

Charles Dickens was born February 7, 1812. He published 15 major novels, several novellas, many short stories, and some plays and non-fiction works. He died when he was 58--leaving his last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished and with no clues as to the story's resolution. Some folks get concerned if they think "Merry Christmas" is socially discouraged, but it was actually Dickens who popularized the phrase in his beloved (secular) story of Scrooge and his transformation. Dickens was sharply critical of aspects of America during his 1842 visit but had more positive experiences during his 1867-1868 return trip, including a sleigh ride in Central Park.

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A Remarkable Story

 Happy birthday to model-actor Jeremy Meeks, born February 7, 1984! He already had a criminal record and had served time when he was arrested in Stockton, CA in 2014 on a felony weapons charge. His mugshot was posted among with those of several other persons on the Stockton Police Dept.'s Facebook page. The police hadn't expected his mugshot to go viral, with thousands of persons responding to his model-ready looks. The picture became a meme. A Twitter page was set up with the hashtag # feloncrushfriday. Meeks was convicted of one count of being a felon in possession of a weapon and was sent to federal prison. He served 13 of a 27-month sentence. Upon his release, he gained a lot of modeling and runway opportunities through an agency that had earlier approached him. He appeared in a music video of a Russian artist. In the 2020s, with many modeling gigs to his credit, Meeks branched out into acting. He has written on his Instagram about his gratitude to God and about his talks to juvenile offenders. His autobiography will be published this coming August.

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Landscape: George Inness

George Inness, "Delaware Water Gap" (1857). From:  https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10241588340504868&set=gm.26303589242559478&idorvanity=630255120319576

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Thirteenth Amendment Anniversary

The Thirteenth Amendment of the US Constitution was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864. It was passed by the House on January 31, 1865. The required 27 of the 36 states ratified the amendment on December 18, 1865: 

"Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

"Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

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The Tet Offensive Anniversary

The Tet Offensive began on January 30 and 31, 1968. It was the largest military campaign of the Vietnam War up to that time. Named for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, the battle was a surprise attack of North Vietnamese forces against those of South Vietnam and the United States and their allies. The offensive's three phases lasted into the autumn. The North Vietnamese leadership perceived the offensive as a failure because it did not cause a great uprising among the South Vietnamese. However, the American public opinion began to turn against the conflict. Over 16,000 American soldiers were killed in 1968; meanwhile, the Selective Service called for a larger number of draftees. On February 1, 1968, in a public execution in Saigon, South Vietnamese General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan shot a Viet Cong officer in the head. We've all seen that distressing photograph, which won the Pulitzer Prize. The picture contributed to growing American alarm about the war. 

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Happy Birthday, Albert Gallatin!

When my hometown was laid out in 1819, several of the streets were named after statesmen of the time: John Randolph, Arthur St. Clair, Richard M. Johnson, Ninian Edwards, and Albert Gallatin. (Jefferson Street was originally North Street.) Although Vandalia has a Main Street, Gallatin St has always been the town's primary thoroughfare of the business district. Albert Gallatin himself was a Swiss-born politician and diplomat who was secretary of the treasury in 1801-1814 (Jefferson's and Madison's administration). He also represented Pennsylvania in the US House and Senate, and was US minister to the UK and to France. In 1794, he calmed the protesters in the Whiskey Rebellion because the army could intervene. Gallatin also studied Native American languages and has been called "the father of American ethnology." He founded New York University. ALSO, he had the idea for a National Road. In his old age, he wrote a statement criticizing the Mexican War. When he died in 1849, he was the last surviving member of Jefferson's cabinet and the last surviving senator from the 18th century. Since photography was new in the 1840s, he lived long enough to sit for a picture. He was born January 29, 1761. There will be no quiz on all this, LOL. Back in the 1960s, when mailing a letter cost 5 cents, Gallatin appeared on the 1.25-cent stamp. Here is his grave in New York: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/375/albert-gallatin

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Anniversary of Pride and Prejudice

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Jane Austin's second novel, "Pride and Prejudice", was published on January 28, 1813. She completed the first version in 1797 when she was 21. She had challenges during the years in between, including the difficulty of a woman finding a publisher in a male-dominated profession. Even published, she had to accept the convention that a woman author shouldn’t have her own name on the title page. (The Brontë sisters used male-sounding pen names, while Mary Shelley published "Frankenstein" without her name.) These are all immortal authors! Austen’s novels are among the most beloved of all novels. The first American edition of this one, slightly retitled "Elizabeth Bennet; or, Pride and Prejudice", appeared in 1832. Photo from Wikipedia. 

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