Posts filed under 'biographies'
Today we celebrate President’s Day, a holiday dedicated to our country’s great governmental leaders. But today also marks the 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s first orbit around the earth. That accomplishment reawakened a nation’s hope and patriotism.
The Cold War and the Space Race
In 1962, America remained locked in the Cold War with Communist countries, most importantly Russia. With Russia’s successful launch of Sputnik in October, 1957, a new kind of competition began. President John F Kennedy officially made the space race a national priority in 1961, when he vowed that the US would send a man to the Moon by the end of the decade. Yet the US lagged behind Russia, managing only a few short suborbital flights—while Russia sent a dog, and then a man, into space.
John Glenn Makes History
Enter the man whom Tom Wolfe once called “the last true national hero America has ever had.” That man was John Glenn, a Marine corps fighter pilot from New Concord, Ohio. Glenn had dropped out of college after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and enlisted in the Army. When he wasn’t called to duty, Glenn entered the Navy. During advanced training he was transferred to the Marines, where he would later serve alongside Ted Williams, legendary Hall of Fame baseball player for the Boston Red Sox.
In 1959 Glenn was selected as one of the original seven astronauts for Project Mercury. Three years later, Glenn assured his place in history as the first person to orbit Earth.
- Glenn orbited the earth three times, and the flight lasted only 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds. He would later go on to be part of the first mission to the Moon.
- The entire city of Perth, Australia turned on houselights and streetlights as Glenn passed overhead, earning it the nickname “City of Lights.”
- Upon his return, Glenn received a ticker-tape parade in his honor. His accomplishment also won the admiration of the Kennedy family, and he became a friend of the Kennedy clan.
- Though Glenn testified to Congress in 1962 to support excluding women from going into space, he eventually reversed his view. He supported Judith Resnik in her career.
- Glenn resigned from NASA six weeks after President Kennedy was assassinated. He returned to Ohio to run for political office.
- When Glenn retired from the Marines in 1965, he sought a new role as an executive at Royal Crown Cola.
Now 90 years old, Glenn is still married to his high school sweetheart, Anne. Today he’ll be honored again at the Cape Canaveral reunion of the Mercury team. Meanwhile, the promise and mystery of space travel continue to enthrall us.
February 20th, 2012
On February 20, 2012, people across America will celebrate Presidents Day, a holiday commemorating the leaders who have built the country. Though the day honors all presidents, it was originally intended to recognize George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Presidents as Authors
Presidents are famously men of letters: educated, erudite, and charismatic. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and other founding fathers established their reputation by contributing to beautifully written documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Modern presidents have followed that literary tradition, writing books that capture not only their own experiences, but also the evolution of a nation.
Numerous other luminaries, including first ladies and world leaders, have contributed to our understanding of US presidents and our country. These books make exceptional additions to the personal library.
February 8th, 2012
Today would be the 306th birthday of Benjamin Franklin, whose contributions stretched far beyond his role as Founding Father. The polymath inventor was a significant figure in the American Enlightenment, paving the way for the evolution of politics, science, and even the country’s infrastructure.
Humble Beginnings
Franklin’s father, Josiah Franklin, was a soap and candle maker who emigrated to Boston with his first wife, Anne Child, in 1683. The two had seven children together before Anne passed away. Josiah remarried Abiah Folger in 1689; Benjamin was their eighth child—and Josiah’s fifteenth.
Franklin’s parents had little money, so Franklin received only a few years of formal education. He continued on his own, reading everything he could get his hands on. When Franklin was 12, he began an apprenticeship with his older brother James, learning the printing industry.
Launching a New Career
Five years later he ran away to Philadelphia, effectively making him a fugitive! Franklin soon established himself as a leader in Philadelphia’s intellectual community. He was made Grand Master of the local Masonic lodge by 1734, a title that illustrates his esteem in the community. Here’s a look at other, lesser known milestones in Franklin’s life and career:
- In 1730 Franklin entered a common-law marriage with Deborah Read after her husband ran off with her dowry. Franklin had proposed to Deborah years before, when she was fifteen, but her mother objected to their match.
- Deborah allowed Franklin’s illegitimate son, William, to become a part of their family. William grew up to be the last Loyalist governor in the colonies, for which his father could never forgive him. The two were estranged, and William eventually settled in England.
- Franklin was a prolific inventor. He is credited with creating the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, and the Franklin stove, among many others. He never sought patents for his inventions, noting that they should be used for bettering society.
- Always interested in expediting news delivery, Franklin began to explore ocean currents and their effect on the duration of ocean voyages. With the help of his cousin, he identified and named the Gulf Stream, which had a significant impact on nautical exploration and seafaring.
- Franklin and his contemporary Leonhard Euler were the only major scientists of the time to support the wave theory of light. A major underpinning of modern physics, this theory is the basic basis for the work of countless modern scientists, including Stephen Hawking.
- Though the field of economics would not be recognized until Adam Smith published Wealth of Nations in 1775, Franklin lent an economist’s eye to issues affecting farmers, such as price controls and subsidies for the poor. He also strongly advocated the use of paper money over metal-based currency.
- Franklin was the first chess player recognized by name in the American colonies. An avid player, he was also one of the earliest authors to address the game. Franklin was even inducted into the US Chess Players’ Hall of Fame in 1999.
All the while, Franklin built an extraordinary reputation as a statesman and diplomat. Though Franklin would never serve as President, his revolutionary spirit and academic achievements have earned him a place as a truly beloved figure in American history. Franklin’s legacy of excellence remains an inspiration every day.
January 17th, 2012
Police made a “small number” of arrests in Dublin where former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was due to sign copies of his autobiography Saturday, a spokesman for Ireland’s national police service said.
Despite reports that shoes and eggs were thrown at Blair, police could not confirm whether anything was thrown at him, and video from inside the store showed him unscathed, without any stains on his jacket.
A crowd of people, some of them anti-war protesters, gathered outside the shop to protest Blair’s role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A line of police wearing fluorescent yellow jackets kept them back from the street in front of the Eason bookshop in central Dublin.
Blair: Bush world view had ‘immense simplicity’
Dozens of police were on duty in the street outside the bookshop since early Saturday and sections of the main thoroughfare were cordoned off to traffic.
Blair’s book, “A Journey,” describes his time in office, including his decision to go to war in Iraq. All proceeds from the book are going to the Royal British Legion, Blair has said.
Source: cnn.com
A limited number of signed copies will be available at www.BooksTellYouWhy.com beginning October 2010.
September 4th, 2010
By the end of his life, Samuel Langhorne Clemens had achieved fame as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi, a globe-trotting lecturer and, of course, the literary genius who wrote “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and other works under the name Mark Twain.
Continue Reading May 8th, 2010
Larry McMurtry has enjoyed a literary career most writers can only dream about. He found success quickly. Hollywood loves him — and McMurtry has flourished as a screenwriter with 30 screenplays including “Brokeback Mountain,” which won an Oscar.
Continue Reading January 22nd, 2010
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a United States holiday marking the birthdate of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King’s birthday, January 15. It is one of four United States federal holidays to commemorate an individual person.
Continue Reading January 18th, 2010
