“If heaven went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.”
~Mark Twain.
He wrote this just weeks before his death on Apr. 21, 1910 (116 years ago today).
Image: Public domain.
Oof. Thanks for sharing.
“The mountains are calling and I must go and I will work on while I can, studying incessantly.”
~John Muir, 1873.
Naturalist/philosopher/author/conservationist John Muir was born in Scotland on this day 188 years ago: Apr. 21, 1838.
Image: Library of Congress.
“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.”
~Adlai Stevenson, 1952.
Image: Public domain.
On this day 80 years ago-Apr. 20, 1946-the League of Nations dissolved. The organization, created by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles that officially ended World War I, was rendered obsolete by the creation of the United Nations in the wake of World War II.
Image: Public domain.
Yes, the writer is listed as “Jane Mast,” but that was just a pen name for Mae West.
I hope she is.
Not only is it true, but she actually CHOSE the jail sentence to get more publicity. She was something of a bad ass.
“Sure, I believe in censorship. I’ve made a fortune from it.”
~Mae West.
99 years ago today-4/19/1927-actress Mae West was sentenced to 10 days in jail for “corrupting the morals of youth” charges stemming from her Broadway play “Sex,” which she wrote and starred in.
Image: Public domain.
First Lady Lucretia Rudolph Garfield was born in Ohio on this day in 1832.
I loved learning about her over the 15 years I spent working at James A. Garfield NHS. My essay on her will appear in “Ohio’s First Ladies,” coming this fall from @ohiounivpress.bsky.social.
Images: Ohio Univ. Press; LOC.
"I try not to take any foolish chances, but there's just no way to play it completely safe and still do your job."
Ernie Pyle
One must have priorities in life.
For example: I haven’t gotten my Virginia driver’s license yet, but I did get my new library card this morning.
On this day 120 years ago-Apr. 18, 1906-the deadliest earthquake in American history struck in the vicinity of San Francisco, destroying much of the city & causing large fires to break out. About 3,000 people died in the quake and aftermath.
Image: 1906 earthquake damage in SF. National Archives.
My new adopted home state of Virginia seceded from the Union on this day in 1861.
“No state, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union. Plainly, the central idea of secession, is the essence of anarchy.”
~President Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address, 3/4/1861.
Image: LOC.
On 4/16/1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. The law ended enslavement in Washington, DC, while allowing enslavers who remained loyal to the U.S. in the Civil War the right to petition the government for compensation.
Image: Library of Congress.
The journal just published last week, so I don't think the article is online yet. As an alternative, feel free to read my book on the 1880 election!
@univpressofkansas.bsky.social
kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700636037/
Excited to see my co-authored article, “Was James Garfield Really a ‘Dark Horse’ in 1880?” in the latest issue of the journal Middle West Review. Thanks to the journal for publishing it and to my coauthor and friend Chris Blubaugh for being a great collaborator. We’re actually working on a part two!
On this day in 1947, Jackie Robinson started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, making him the first Black athlete to play in a Major League Baseball game. His #42 is now retired by all @mlb.com teams to commemorate his place in baseball and American history.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
This black and white lithograph shows President Abraham Lincoln lying in bed with several men around him; two women and one child are around him as well.
“Now he belongs to the ages.”
~Attributed to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton upon the death of President Abraham Lincoln at 7:22 a.m., Apr. 15, 1865 (161 years ago today).
Lincoln died about nine hours after being shot by John Wilkes Booth the previous evening.
Image: Public domain.
I didn’t create this, but I like it. I’m guessing some of you will, too.
This black and white photo shows a bearded man sitting and wearing a Civil War Union brigadier general’s uniform.
“I am glad we are defeated at Sumter. It will rouse the people…Better to lose a million men in battle than allow the government to be overthrown. The war will soon assume the shape of Slavery and Freedom… .”
~James A. Garfield, Apr. 14, 1861 (two days after CSA attack on Fort Sumter).
Image: LOC.
John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln on this day 161 years ago: Apr. 14, 1865.
But what happened to the other two people in the presidential box with the Lincolns at Ford's Theater that night? Here's a piece I wrote years ago about the tragic lives of Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris.
