Person, Place, and Thing: August 1 - 7

 

Persons.

If you're a fan of Food Network, Top Chef, celebrity chefs, and just plain good food in general like we are, you are familiar with The Michelin Guide which was first published in August of 1900, and published regularly since. Being awarded a Michelin star is the pinnacle of success for a chef or restauranteur.

Since it's all about marketing, it makes sense that it started as a brilliant marketing scheme. It was the idea of Edouard and Andre Michelin, French brothers and tire manufacturers. In 1909, there were fewer than 3,000 cars on the road in France. (In the US, there were 4,192.) The Michelin brothers realized that they needed more cars that would require more tires in order to make their company profitable.

They published a guide for French drivers and gave away 35,000 copies. The guide provided information like maps, tire repair and replacement instructions, car mechanics listings, hotels, and gas stations. Now drivers had destinations, they would drive longer distances, and that would require replacing more tires.

Over the next few years, they published editions for other European countries and regions. Publication was suspended during WWI, but, in 1920, they started charging for the guides, stopped accepting ads, and started listing restaurants.

The brothers hired secret diners and started awarding restaurant stars in 1926. The first US edition wasn't published until 2005, and it only covered New York City.

Edouard and Andre Michelin left their careers, artist and engineer respectively, around 1888 to take over their grandfather's failing business that manufactured agricultural tools and rubber belts and hoses. In 1889, they improved the pneumatic (inflatable) tire for bicycles, making them easier to change and to repair. They easily adapted to making automobile tires and soon became leading manufacturers and innovators in the field.

Place.

If you're a fan of Food Network, Top Chef, celebrity chefs, and just plain good food in general like we are, you are familiar with The Michelin Guide which was first published in August of 1900, and published regularly since. Being awarded a Michelin star is the pinnacle of success for a chef or restauranteur.

The first criterion for becoming a Michelin star restaurant is to be lucky enough to be a restaurant in a city that Michelin visits and to be visited by the Michelin diners. So, probably we'll over 90% of restaurants in the world can never possibly be in the running. Realizing that, how much value is a Michelin star, really? (Just goes to show the Michelin brothers' marketing genius)

But anyway, here are the 16 top restaurants in the "world", at least the small part of the world they rank, in 2022.

Azurmendi Restaurant – Spain
Per Se Restaurant – New York
Robuchon Au Dome Restaurant – Macau
Le Bernardin Restaurant – New York
The Fat Duck Restaurant – UK
Alinea Restaurant – Chicago
Eleven Madison Park – New York
Osteria Francescana Restaurant – Italy
The Restaurant At Meadowood – California
The Song Of India – Singapore
Cheval Blanc – Switzerland
Le Cinq – France
Canon – Sacramento
Trailblazer Tavern – San Francisco
La Calenda – Washington
Stockhome – Petaluma

Thing.

If you're a fan of Food Network, Top Chef, celebrity chefs, and just plain good food in general like we are, you are familiar with The Michelin Guide which was first published in August of 1900, and published regularly since. Being awarded a Michelin star is the pinnacle of success for a chef or restauranteur.

So, did you know the Michelin Man has a name? It's Bibendum, or Bib for short. He is one of the world's oldest trademarks still in active use. It was introduced at the Lyon Exhibition of 1894 and us a humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tires.

In this 1898 poster, Bib offers a toast "Nunc est Bibendum" ("Now is the time to drink"), taken from Horace's Odes (book I, ode xxxvii, line 1).

Person.

On August 2, 216 BC, during the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage, Carthaginian General Hannibal surrounded and annihilated a larger Roman army in southeast Italy at the battle of Cannae. However, the war continued for 14 more years until the Romans won the Battle of Zama, ending the war.

Hannibal is regarded as one of the greatest military geniuses in history. The son of a great general of the First Punic War, Hamilcar Barca, he was raised to hate Rome.

During the Second Punic War, he famously crossed the Mediterranean and landed in Spain with about 40 African war elephants, 20-40,000 infantry, and 6-12,000 cavalry. He won numerous battles leading up to his victory at Cannae. However, all but one of the elephants had died in the Alps.

He and his forces occupied southern Italy for 15 years. Then, Roman General Scipio Africanus led a counter-invasion of North Africa, threatening Carthage, and the Carthaginian Senate ordered him home, leading to the Battle of Zama.

After the war, he became a politician, but his reforms made him an enemy of the Carthaginian aristocracy, and he went into voluntary exile. He then lived at the Seleucid court (Macedonia and surrounding area), advising the Seleucid ruler in his war against Rome. When Rome defeated the Seleucids, he fled to Armenia. There he was offered up to the Romans, but he committed suicide by poison.

John Prevas is an acknowledged expert on Hannibal, and has written a couple of major biographies.

Place.

On August 2, 216 BC, during the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage, Carthaginian General Hannibal surrounded and annihilated a larger Roman army in southeast Italy at the battle of Cannae. However, the war continued for 14 more years until the Romans won the Battle of Zama, ending the war.

At Cannae, Hannibal's force of about 50,000 was sharply outnumbered by 86,000 Romans. Hannibal still surrounded his enemy and used the double envelopment tactic, a pincer movement in which the attacking army attacks front and both flanks. It turned out to be one of the most lethal single days in war history. Only about 15,000 Roman troops survived. Panic ran through the city of Rome, with city leaders consulting all available oracles and burying four people alive as a sacrifice. Two new legions were raised, enlisting criminals debtors and even slaves.

John Prevas is an acknowledged expert on Hannibal, and has written a couple of major biographies.

Thing.

Part of Hannibal's fame and success during the Second Punic War comes from his use of about 40 African war elephants in his invasion of Italy. Unfortunately, after landing in Spain and marching through the Alps, it's said that only one elephant acty survived to reach Italy.

It is not known for sure when men first equipped and trained elephants for war, but it is thought to been in India, in practice by the 6th century BC. Ancient Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata both make reference to war elephants. Asian elephants were used in battle in India, China, Persia, and throughout southeast Asia.

Europeans saw war elephants for the first time during Alexander the Great's battle of Gaugamela (331 BC) when Persians used 15 elephants. Alexander's conquest of India was halted by the Nanda Empire which could minimize 3-6,000 elephants.

The elephants used by Hannibal were actually North African elephants, sized in between Asian elephants and African elephants of today; this species became extinct. It is also probable that a few Asian elephants were mixed in.

Person.

Jozef Teodor Konrad Kozeniowski died on August 3, 1924 at age 66. You know him by his pen name Joseph Conrad, regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language, even though he didn't speak English fluently until his 20s.

Conrad was born in the Polish Ukraine in 1857, then part of Russia. Most of the residents of the area were Ukrainian Jews, but the land was owned by Polish nobility to which Conrad's family belonged. His ancestors had long been involved in efforts to re-assert Polish independence, and his father was imprisoned for revolutionary activities. Growing up in such a family, well versed in Poland's repeated history of invasions and foreign rule, gave him a particular insight as he often wrote about places and peoples living under the heels of imperialism.

Orphaned at 11, he was handed off from one relative to another. He never liked or excelled in school, and decided at 13 that he wanted to be a sailor. That idea has to wait until he was 16 when an uncle sent him to Marseilles, France where he joined the merchant marine. He quickly became fluent in French, and had working facility for Latin, Greek, and German. Although he hated school, he was an autodidact and had a great love and knowledge of history and geography. He was quick to absorb the culture and literature of countries he visited.

Forced to give up the sea at 36, partly due to health, he turned to writing, publishing his first novel in 1895.His work soon was published regularly in magazines and newspapers, but he relied on the British government dole and loans from friends in addition to the small payments he received for writing.

His writing earned him critical acclaim and eventually some public success, but he was often frustrated that he became known as a romantic teller of exotic tales set in exotic locales when he wanted to be known as a writer with important things to say about the dark side of imperialism and colonislism.

Place.

Jozef Teodor Konrad Kozeniowski died on August 3, 1924 at age 66. You know him by his pen name Joseph Conrad, regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language, even though he didn't speak English fluently until his 20s.

Conrad is probably best known for his novella The Heart of Darkness, first published in three parts in Blackwood's Magazine in 1899. Blackwood's published many accounts written by British explorers and adventurers detailing their African and Asian expeditions.

The story follows Charles Marlow who captains a ferry boat in the African interior. The river is never actually named in the book, but it's understood to be the Congo River flowing through the Congo Free State, the private colony of Belgian King Leopold II. At the time, Leopold was being harshly criticized internationally for the barbaric cruelty that was inflicted on the Congolese people in his name and to enrich his person.

In 1890, Conrad had served as an officer on board a Belgian trading company steamer in the Congo Free State, and had similar experiences to his character Marlow which provides inspiration as he was writing.

Thing.

Jozef Teodor Konrad Kozeniowski died on August 3, 1924 at age 66. You know him by his pen name Joseph Conrad, regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language, even though he didn't speak English fluently until his 20s.

Conrad's Heart of Darkness is a short novella, but it has made and continues to make a huge impact. It appears on many lists among the 100 greatest novels ever written. It deals with big issues like the question of the real meanings of "civilized" and "savage" - are the two conditions really that far removed from each other? And, of course, it is also interpreted as an attack on imperialism and racism. However, Nigerian author and Novel laureate stirred a bit of controversy some years ago when he argued that Conrad's personal racism is evident in the book.

The Heart of Darkness is in the public domain in the US and most other countries, meaning it can be published by any company. That leads to some really interesting book covers, like the ones pictured here.

Person.

On August 4, 1956 Elvis Presley released "Hound Dog," written by one of the most prolific songwriting teams of the 1950s and 1960s, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song was originally released by blues artist Big Mama Thornton, but, in the 1950s, music recorded by black artists, often called "race music," was not played on radio or sold in most record stores, and music venues were segregated. White artists like Elvis, Pat Boone, and others, often took blues songs, sanitized them a bit and made huge hits of them, while the original artists remained obscure. (Sad note: the actress who played Thornton in the new movie Elvis, Shonka Dukure, was found dead in her apartment shortly after the film was released last month.)

Willie Mae (Big Mama) Thornton (1926-1984) sold over 500,000 copies of her rendition of "Hound Dog" in 1952, and it was #1 on the Billboard R&B chart for 7 weeks. From Alabama, Thornton started singing in her father's church. When her mother died she left school and took a job cleaning spittoons at a local bar. In 1940 (at 14), she left home to travel with Sammy Green's Hit Harlem Revue, billed as the "New Bessie Smith." In 1951, she signed a contract with Peacock Records. The next year, she recorded "Hound Dog," the first recording of a Lieber/Stoller song. Like most black artists of the era though, Thornton saw almost no profits from her work, not even from "Ball and Chain" which she wrote. The record company did not release her recording, but kept the copyright, meaning she earned nothing when Janis Joplin made it a hit a few years later.

Thornton died in a boarding house in 1984, at age 57, due to heart and liver problems from alcoholism and obesity. She lost 355 pounds over a very short time, weighing 95 pounds at her death.

Haven't read this book, but I urge you to go to YouTube and your favorite music streamer and find her music today.

Place.

On August 4, 1956 Elvis Presley released "Hound Dog," written by one of the most prolific songwriting teams of the 1950s and 1960s, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song was originally released by blues artist Big Mama Thornton, but, in the 1950s, music recorded by black artists, often called "race music," was not played on radio or sold in most record stores, and music venues were segregated. White artists like Elvis, Pat Boone, and others, often took blues songs, sanitized them a bit and made huge hits of them, while the original artists remained obscure. (Sad note: the actress who played Thornton in the new movie Elvis, Shonka Dukure, was found dead in her apartment shortly after the film was released last month.)

Thornton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984. Started in 1980, the Blues Hall of Fame did not have a physical location until 2015 when the museum opened at 421 S. Main Street, Memphis, Tennessee.

Thing.

On August 4, 1956 Elvis Presley released "Hound Dog," written by one of the most prolific songwriting teams of the 1950s and 1960s, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song was originally released by blues artist Big Mama Thornton, but, in the 1950s, music recorded by black artists, often called "race music," was not played on radio or sold in most record stores, and music venues were segregated. White artists like Elvis, Pat Boone, and others, often took blues songs, sanitized them a bit and made huge hits of them, while the original artists remained obscure. (Sad note: the actress who played Thornton in the new movie Elvis, Shonka Dukure, was found dead in her apartment shortly after the film was released last month.)

Thornton was part of the American Folk Blues Festival your of Europe in 1965. The tour was an annual event for several years, starting in 1962. It's purpose was to introduce American blues performers, most of whom had never been outside the US, to European audiences. Performers iver the years included Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Little Walter, among others.

The tours were hugely popular and highly influential. Among audience members at London Festival concerts were Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Moon, Jimmy Page, Eric Burden, Eric Clapton, and Steve Winwood, all of whom were in the vanguard of the so-called British invasion that has a huge impact on American music.

Person.

Joseph Merrick was born on August 5, 1862 in Leicester England. There were no outward appearances of of any disorder until he was about five by some accounts, two by others. He started developing thick grayish skin and bony protruding lumps. Sometime as a boy, he injured his left hip which made him permanently disabled. The Merrick family attributed his condition to the fact that his mother had been frightened and knocked down by a fairground elephant while pregnant with him. Maternal impression was a common belief in 19th century Britain, that pregnant experiences can have physical effects on the child.

When his mother died, he was abandoned by his father and new stepmother, and he was forced to enter a workhouse at 17. He decided he could do better as a human exhibit. Curiosities and freaks were big draws in sideshows and circuses. He contacted a potential manager who saw the possibilities and left the workhouse for the show life. Merrick was able to accumulate a nice savings from admissions and autobiographical pamphlet sales.

A doctor, Frederick Treves, saw him and convinced him to allow medical examinations. Afterward, he returned to being exhibited, but he found a change in attitude about human exhibits. People in Britain and the rest of Europe turned against the practice. Sick with bronchitis, he was admitted to Treves' London Hospital. He and Treves developed a real friendship. The hospital staff grew accustomed to him and got to know him. He became a bit of celebrity. The Princess of Wales asked to meet him and spent time with him on a visit to his rooms. He made a few outings, including to the theater, and even took holidays out of London a few times.

In 1890, he was found dead in his room. Treves theorized that he had tried to lie down, rather than sleep sitting up as usual, but his head was too heavy and he died of asphyxia, and his dislocated neck which severed vertebral arteries.

Doctors then and now have put forward different diagnoses of his condition. It is still not settled.

Place.

Joseph Merrick was born on August 5, 1862 in Leicester England. There were no outward appearances of of any disorder until he was about five by some accounts, two by others. He started developing thick grayish skin and bony protruding lumps. Sometime as a boy, he injured his left hip which made him permanently disabled. The Merrick family attributed his condition to the fact that his mother had been frightened and knocked down by a fairground elephant while pregnant with him. Maternal impression was a common belief in 19th century Britain, that pregnant experiences can have physical effects on the child.

Merrick spent his last years in a private apartment at the London Hospital. The London Hospital opened in 1740 and has changed considerably over the years, as you see in the photos. Today's Royal London Hospital is a teaching hospital and trauma center with 845 beds. There was a small exhibit about Merrick at the site, but according to Google it's closed now, reason unknown.

Thing.

Joseph Merrick was born on August 5, 1862 in Leicester England. There were no outward appearances of of any disorder until he was about five by some accounts, two by others. He started developing thick grayish skin and bony protruding lumps. Sometime as a boy, he injured his left hip which made him permanently disabled. The Merrick family attributed his condition to the fact that his mother had been frightened and knocked down by a fairground elephant while pregnant with him. Maternal impression was a common belief in 19th century Britain, that pregnant experiences can have physical effects on the child.

From Wikipedia:
"Maternal impression, according to a long-discredited medical theory, was a phenomenon that explained the existence of birth defects and congenital disorders. The theory stated that an emotional stimulus experienced by a pregnant woman could influence the development of the fetus. ... Mental problems, such as schizophrenia and depression, were believed to be a manifestation of similar disordered feelings in the mother. For instance, a pregnant woman who experienced great sadness might imprint depressive tendencies onto the fetus in her womb.

The theory of maternal impression was largely abandoned by the 20th century, with the development of modern genetic theory."

Person.

On August 6, 1774, Mother Ann Lee and a small group of followers arrived in New York City from Britain in order to escape religious persecution. Born in Manchester England, she was raised in a particular sect of the Society of Friends, or Quakers. She developed her own theology, teaching that celibacy and confession of sin would enable one to reach spiritual perfection. Marriage was also to be abandoned. Men and women were to live within a community, celibate and segregated, but working together to achieve perfection. During services, her followers would sometimes exhibit ecstatic dancing or convulsions, which she taught were signs of sins leaving the body, and speak in tongues. Outsiders called them Shakers. The official name of the church is the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing.

While jailed in England, she had religious visions, spoke in 72 tongues, started calling herself Ann the Word and Mother Ann. After her release, witnesses claimed she performed several miracles. Eventually, she and her followers came to believe that she was the second manifestation of Christ, in female form - proof of the equality of the sexes. She died in 1784.

Over the next fifty years, Shakers built several communities in the US, mostly in the northeast. Men and women lived in separate dormitories but worked together not only to sustain their communities, but also to grow and manufacture things that could be sold to the outside world. Their constant striving for perfection meant their goods were highly valued, and they were very innovative and capitalistic. At its height, the church probably had 6,000 members. In 1920, there were 12 active communities in the US. As of March 2022, there are two Shakers, Sister June and Brother Arnold, living in Sabbathday Lake Maine.

Place.

On August 6, 1774, Mother Ann Lee and a small group of followers arrived in New York City from Britain in order to escape religious persecution. Born in Manchester England, she was raised in a particular sect of the Society of Friends, or Quakers. She developed her own theology, teaching that celibacy and confession of sin would enable one to reach spiritual perfection. Marriage was also to be abandoned. Men and women were to live within a community, celibate and segregated, but working together to achieve perfection. During services, her followers would sometimes exhibit ecstatic dancing or convulsions, which she taught were signs of sins leaving the body, and speak in tongues. Outsiders called them Shakers. The official name of the church is the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing.

At its height, the church probably had 6,000 members. In 1920, there were 12 active communities in the US. As of March 2022, there are two Shakers, Sister June and Brother Arnold, living in Sabbathday Lake Maine.

Several former Shaker villages are now historic sites. We've had the pleasure of visiting Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts and Canterbury Village in New Hampshire. Both do a wonderful job of preserving and telling the Shaker story and they're well worth a visit.

Things.

On August 6, 1774, Mother Ann Lee and a small group of followers arrived in New York City from Britain in order to escape religious persecution. Born in Manchester England, she was raised in a particular sect of the Society of Friends, or Quakers. She developed her own theology, teaching that celibacy and confession of sin would enable one to reach spiritual perfection. Marriage was also to be abandoned. Men and women were to live within a community, celibate and segregated, but working together to achieve perfection. During services, her followers would sometimes exhibit ecstatic dancing or convulsions, which she taught were signs of sins leaving the body, and speak in tongues. Outsiders called them Shakers. The official name of the church is the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing.

Today, Shaker furniture is a genre of furniture that is extremely valuable and collectible. While Shakers manufactured furniture for their own use, they also sold some pieces to neighbors to support the community. Shaker furniture reflects basic Shaker principles: simplicity, utility, honesty, and minimalism. They truly believed form followed function, no room for ornamentation or anything that didn't serve a purpose. Inlays, carvings, metal pulls, and veneers were viewed as prideful, even deceitful. Shaker furniture can be found in many art and design museums.

Person.

On August 7, 1946, educator Booker T. Washington became the first black American to be commemorated on a coin by the US Mint, a half dollar. It was produced through 1951. From 1951 to 1954, the Mint produced a commemorative half dollar honoring both Washington and the famous Tuskegee faculty member, George Washington Carver. It was the last commemorative coin made by the Mint until 1982.

Booker T Washington was born into slavery in Virginia in 1856. As a young man, he worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute and Wayland Seminary. In 1881, he was appointed to be the first leader of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He not only faced the difficulties of building a black college in Jim Crow Alabama and dealing with the tasks of building and leading a school, but he also has to spend a great deal of time and effort fundraising. He traveled the country, made speeches, and published articles about the school and his educational philosophy, which was to combine academics with learning a useful and marketable trade, enabling black Americans to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps."

He also created the "Tuskegee Machine," a bureau of promoters and speakers who spread his message. He soon forged relationships with wealthy and powerful men like Julius Rosenwald, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, and Theodore Roosevelt who contributed financial and political support to Tuskegee and other historically black colleges.

Critics like W.E.B. DuBois attacked Washington for his gradualist approach to attaining equality. Washington believed that educated black Americans would prove themselves invaluable to the country, and political and civil rights would be recognized. DuBois and other critics believed in activism and more direct actions in order to attain rightful equality immediately. They believed that Washington's philosophy perpetuated segregation, labeling him "The Great Accommodator."

Place.

Tuskegee Institute was founded on July 4, 1881 as the Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers. It was part of an election promise. Former Confederate Colonel W.F. Foster was running for re-election to the Alabama state Senate. He promised Mr. Lewis Adams that he would push for a black school if Mr. Adams got him the black vote. (The county was majority black.)

Booker T Washington began classes in 1881 in a rundown church and shanty. In 1882, he purchased a 100 acre former plantation. The students themselves did much of the construction work. By the start of the 20th century, the school occupied 2,300 acres. Today, Tuskegee University has about 3,000 students and encompasses 5,200 acres.

On August 7, 1946, educator Booker T. Washington became the first black American to be commemorated on a coin by the US Mint, a half dollar. It was produced through 1951. From 1951 to 1954, the Mint produced a commemorative half dollar honoring both Washington and the famous Tuskegee faculty member, George Washington Carver. It was the last commemorative coin made by the Mint until 1982.

Thing.

On August 7, 1946, educator Booker T. Washington became the first black American to be commemorated on a coin by the US Mint, a half dollar. It was produced through 1951. From 1951 to 1954, the Mint produced a commemorative half dollar honoring both Washington and the famous Tuskegee faculty member, George Washington Carver. It was the last commemorative coin made by the Mint until 1982.

On September 18, 1895, Atlanta was the proud host of the Cotton States and International Exposition in Piedmont Park. White visitors were somewhat surprised that day when they saw a well dressed black man on the speakers' stage. Their mouths probably fell open in shock when he was introduced and began to speak.

It was Booker T Washington, and he made perhaps his most famous speech; it came to be known as the "Atlanta Compromise." For many whites who heard and read the speech, it made Washington the leading black figure in America, a reasonable man who wasn't aggressive and demanding of civil rights, a man that could be dealt with. For black critics like W.E.B. DuBois, the speech showed Washington to be weak and accommodating, not a man who could lead black Americans to the equality that was theirs, but was being denied to them.

Washington said that blacks need not worry about civil rights at the moment. First, they should work to get an education and a marketable vocational skill. Then, they would be contributors to economic prosperity, and whites would eventually recognize them and their rights as equal. In the meantime, though, the races could be as the fingers on a hand, separate in most things, but able to come together as one to get a job done. Critics saw this as acceptance of social and educational segregation.

Person, Place, and Thing: July 24 - 31

 

Persons.

On July 24, 1929, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the General Treaty for Renunciation of war as an Instrument of National Policy, went into effect. While it has been ridiculed for its moralism, lack of enforcement teeth, and vagueness, it actually marked a major change in foreign policy. (More about that in Thing post later today)

US Secretary of State Frank Kellogg (1856-1937, very distantly related to the cereal Kellogg brothers) was an an attorney when Pres. Theodore Roosevelt asked him to lead a federal antitrust case in 1905. He later led the government's case against Standard Oil. He was US Senator from Minnesota from 1917-23, and then he served as ambassador to the UK before becoming Coolidge's Secretary of State. From 1930 to 1935, he was a justice on the Permanent Court of International Justice. Not bad for a man who always self-conscious that his formal education ended at age 14 in a Minnesota one-room schoolhouse.

Aristide Briand (1862-1932) was born and raised in Nantes, where he became a close friend of novelist Jules Verne. After studying law, he went into politics and became a leader in the French Socialist and trade unionist movement. He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1902. Over the next 30 years, he served as Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and 11 terms as Prime Minister. He was one of the earliest European leaders to envision a future European federation.

The Internationalists by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro makes the case that the Kellogg-Briand Pact was, in fact, one of the most transformative events in modern history.

Places.

On July 24, 1929, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the General Treaty for Renunciation of war as an Instrument of National Policy, went into effect. While it has been ridiculed for its moralism, lack of enforcement teeth, and vagueness, it actually marked a major change in foreign policy. (More about that in Thing post later today)

On August 27, 1928, fifteen nations signed the pact at Paris. Signatories included France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy and Japan. Later, an additional forty-seven nations followed suit, so the pact was eventually signed by most of the established nations in the world.

The Internationalists by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro makes the case that the Kellogg-Briand Pact was, in fact, one of the most transformative events in modern history.

Thing.

On July 24, 1929, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the General Treaty for Renunciation of war as an Instrument of National Policy, went into effect. While it has been ridiculed for its moralism, lack of enforcement teeth, and vagueness, it actually marked a major change in foreign policy.

The Internationalists by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro makes the case that the Kellogg-Briand Pact was, in fact, one of the most transformative events in modern history.

I mean, the idea of outlawing war seems very simple-minded and ridiculously idealistic, right? Actually, it was a major shift in foreign relations and diplomacy. Before the pact, nations were quick to use military options first and declare war. Now, the signatories have agreed to use war only as a last resort, after all other options have been exhausted. That was a new way of looking at the world.

Also, the Kellogg-Briand Pact became the cornerstone precedent for crimes against world peace and crimes against humanity. It provided the basis for prosecution of war criminals, such as in the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials following WWII.

Person.

On July 25, 11 days after news of gold went out, John Griffith Chaney (1876-1916) booked an eight day steamship passage from San Francisco to Juneau in order to join a hundred thousand others streaming into the Klondike in search of gold. From Juneau, it was a hundred miles by canoe to Dyea, 33 miles overland along the Chilkoot Trail, and finally floating 550 miles to Dawson City, a tent city nearest the gold fields. He never struck it rich, but the Klondike Gold Rush was the source of his most successful writing, as Jack London.

London had an unstable childhood in Oakland California, largely educating himself in a library. At 13, he began working 12-18 hours a day in a fish cannery, then bought a small boat and became an "oyster pirate," poaching on others' oyster beds. When his boat sank, he signed on to sail to Japan in 1893. Between 1893 and 1897, he was alternately sailor and hobo, so he had little to lose when the gold rush alarm was sounded.

After the rush, London wrote and became a social activist for animal rights, workers' rights, and socialism. He died of a morphine overdose in 1916.

His two most famous novels, The Call of the Wild and White Fang are companion books, mirrors, based on his mining experience. Call takes a domestic dog into the wild, and Fang is a wolf that is somewhat domesticated. Sadly, in my generation, they were almost universally read in American schools. Today's students have rarely read either.

Place.

On July 25, 11 days after news of gold went out, John Griffith Chaney (1876-1916) booked an eight day steamship passage from San Francisco to Juneau in order to join a hundred thousand others streaming into the Klondike in search of gold. From Juneau, it was a hundred miles by canoe to Dyea, 33 miles overland along the Chilkoot Trail, and finally floating 550 miles to Dawson City, a tent city nearest the gold fields. He never struck it rich, but the Klondike Gold Rush was the source of his most successful writing, as Jack London.

Dawson City was the jumping off point for the Klondike Gold Rush. It was a Native American gathering site before a white settlement was planted in 1897. By 1898, the population was 17,000, but in 1899, the population decreased by half. Still, it served as the capital of the Yukon territory until 1952. In the 1960s and 1970s, the population hovered at about 700. As of 2016, it was 1,375.

Dawson City and its surroundings figure prominently in London's two most famous novels, The Call of the Wild and White Fang, companion books, mirrors, based on his mining experience. Call takes a domestic dog into the wild, and Fang is a wolf that is somewhat domesticated. Sadly, in my generation, they were almost universally read in American schools. Today's students seem to have rarely read either.

Thing.

On July 25, 11 days after news of gold went out, John Griffith Chaney (1876-1916) booked an eight day steamship passage from San Francisco to Juneau in order to join a hundred thousand others streaming into the Klondike in search of gold. From Juneau, it was a hundred miles by canoe to Dyea, 33 miles overland along the Chilkoot Trail, and finally floating 550 miles to Dawson City, a tent city nearest the gold fields. He never struck it rich, but the Klondike Gold Rush was the source of his most successful writing, as Jack London.

In 1904, London joined the notorious Bohemian Grove, a secret men's club and campground outside San Francisco. In mid-July each year, the club hosts a two-week plus encampment for some of the most prominent men in the world. Artists, celebrities, politicians, presidents, and business magnates have been among the members and guests. One rule is that outside concerns and business deals are left outside the camp and not discussed inside. However, a meeting in 1942 was one of the first planning meetings of the Manhattan Project.

Formed in 1872, the club officially provides these men a place to unwind, relax, and commune with nature, socialize, and put on plays, shows, and musicals. Conspiracy theorists have long claimed that darker, more mysterious things happen there......

London's two most famous novels are The Call of the Wild and White Fang, companion books, mirrors, based on his mining experience. Call takes a domestic dog into the wild, and Fang is a wolf that is somewhat domesticated. Sadly, in my generation, they were almost universally read in American schools. Today's students seem to have rarely read either.

Persons.

On July 26, 1519, Francisco Pizarro received a Royal charter granting him rights to the west coast of South America. On July 26, 1529, he was appointed Governor of Peru. On July 26, 1533, Pizarro ordered the execution of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, even though the Incas had paid the huge ransom demanded in gold and silver.

Pizarro (1478-1541) was born out of wedlock to a poor woman in Trujillo, Castile, and he grew up illiterate. A second cousin to Hernan Cortes through his father, he saw a chance for fame and fortune in the conquest of the Americas. He accompanied Balboa's expedition, which marked the first sighting of the Pacific by Europeans from the Isthmus of Panama. He was appointed alcalde (mayor) of Panama City after he arrested Balboa and turned him over for execution. In Panama he heard stories of golden cities in South America, located on a river called Piru --perhaps El Dorado? He also followed the exploits of his cousin Cortes in Mexico. So he decided to conquer Peru.

With just under 200 men, he conquered a vast empire of an estimated 12 million. How? Like Cortes, he had the advantages of gunpowder, horses, war dogs, armor, steel weapons, and, most importantly, disease. He also has the advantage of arrival just after an intense civil war between Huascar and Atahualpa, brothers vying to be emperor. Atahualpa won the civil war, but his army of 50,000 was defeated by Pizarro, and he was captured. Pizarro promised to release him if his people filled a room with gold as ransom.They did. Pizarro convicted Atahualpa of treason against the Spanish king and executed him anyway.

The Last Days of the Incas tells the story.

Place.

On July 26, 1519, Francisco Pizarro received a Royal charter granting him rights to the west coast of South America. On July 26, 1529, he was appointed Governor of Peru. On July 26, 1533, Pizarro ordered the execution of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, even though the Incas had paid the huge ransom demanded in gold and silver.

The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. Ruling from the capital of Cusco, the Emperor, or Inca, oversaw an area of 7770,000 square miles, mainly following the Andes mountains in western South America.

The Incas constructed one of the most remarkable empires in history without developing currency, the wheel, draft animals, the use of iron or steel, or even a writing system. However, they did develop monumental architecture, an extensive road network that connected the entire empire and is partially in use today, finely woven textiles, a system of communicating using knotted strings called quipu, and advanced surgical techniques including cutting through the skull.

Person too.

On July 26, 1519, Francisco Pizarro received a Royal charter granting him rights to the west coast of South America. On July 26, 1529, he was appointed Governor of Peru. On July 26, 1533, Pizarro ordered the execution of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, even though the Incas had paid the huge ransom demanded in gold and silver.

The Incas embalmed their dead and wrapped their bodies into a bundle. The cold, arid climate of the Andes took care of the rest. Over a thousand mummy bundles have been discovered. Some of the mummies, however, were those of children, sacrificed to Inca gods.

The best preserved examples of these were discovered in 1999 in a small chamber about 5 feet underground high up on a mountain called Llullaillaco. The oldest mummy, a girl found to be around the age of fifteen, was dubbed la doncella. She has become widely known as the "Maiden of Llullaillaco". A bacterial infection was discovered in her lungs during an examination. She wore a dress with her hair elaborately braided, along with a feather-adorned headdress. She died in her sleep, a fate shared with the other children. The children were usually drugged and died in their sleep.

It is believed that La Doncella was an aclla, or Sun Virgin – she was a virgin, chosen and sanctified at around the age of ten years, to live with other girls and women who would become royal wives, priestesses and sacrifices. The practice of ritual sacrifice in Inca society was intended to ensure health, rich harvests and favourable weather.

Persons.

I just finished reading Taking Paris by Martin Dugard and found it to be a great book about the surrender if France in 1940 and the major events leading up to the Allies' retaking the city in 1944. Ignore the history snobs who, in their reviews, complain about it being "popular history," "not serious history," and not deep enough. I learned from it and found it very interesting.

There's a huge cast of characters, including three I knew little about, leaders of the French Resistance who made the D-Day landings and the retaking of France possible.

Germaine Tillion (1907-2008) was an ethnologist at the Museum of Man in Paris when the Germans occupied the city. Like many of her coworkers, she immediately went into action hiding Jews, helping prisoners to escape, and gathering intelligence. After being betrayed by a priest, she was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp. She survived and returned to ethnography along with working to find and prosecute war criminals.

Virginia Hall (1906-1982), an American, was the first woman trained to be part of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). She and her wooden leg, which she named Cuthbert, became Germany's most wanted agent in France. The intelligent she gathered had a direct impact on the success of D-Day.

Jean Moulin (1889-1943) was and us one France's greatest heroes, organizing and leading French Resistance movements until his capture and 17 days of the most brutal torture administered by the "Butcher of Lyon" Klaus Barbie. He was eventually murdered, without revealing anything.

Place.

I just finished reading Taking Paris by Martin Dugard and found it to be a great book about the surrender if France in 1940 and the major events leading up to the Allies' retaking the city in 1944. Ignore the history snobs who, in their reviews, complain about it being "popular history," "not serious history," and not deep enough. I learned from it and found it very interesting.

One of the things I learned was that one of the first, and most active, cells of the French Resistance to form in Paris was composed of many of the staff members of the Musee de l'Homme, aka the Museum of Mankind or the Museum of Humanity. Founded in 1937 by Paul Rivet, the Museum's collection came from earlier natural history museums, going back to private cabinets of curiosity that existed in Europe from the 16th century. The museum's original purpose was to gather in one place all that can define humanity: its evolution, its unity and its variety, and its cultural and social expression.

When Nazi tanks rolled into Paris in June 1940, many of the scholars, anthropologists, ethnologists, and other staffers of the museum immediately became Resistants, gathering intelligence, forging paperwork, helping people escape, and even conducting sabotage. Many, like Germaine Tillion were arrested, tortured, and sent to concentration camps. Several were executed.

I kind of like the idea of curators, archivists, librarians, and academics swinging into action and danger.

Thing.

Relationships.

I just finished reading Taking Paris by Martin Dugard and found it to be a great book about the surrender if France in 1940 and the major events leading up to the Allies' retaking the city in 1944. Ignore the history snobs who, in their reviews, complain about it being "popular history," "not serious history," and not deep enough. I learned from it and found it very interesting.

One of the most fascinating things about WWII is how the Allied leadership viewed each other and related to each other. (I guess the same is true for Hitler and Mussolini.) FDR, Churchill, and Charles De Gaulle we're too much alike in many ways: stubborn, arrogant, self-assured, egotistical, petulant etc. Their relationship was a very tenuous one. Even though Churchill and FDR greatly admired and respected each other, they had their clashes. And when you throw De Gaulle into the mix, it's a wonder the alliance held together at all.

Churchill immediately backed De Gaulle as the leader of the Free French and an ally, but they had major disagreements. De Gaulle said "When I'm right, I get angry. Churchill gets angry when he is wrong. We are angry at each other much of the time."

FDR never liked De Gaulle, calling him all sorts of names, including would-be dictator. He actively supported another French general, Henri Giraud, as the rightful leader of the Free French, and he refused to recognize De Gaulle's government until late 1944, after recognizing the new government in former Axis country Italy. Still, FDR blocked De Gaulle from attending the Yalta conference.

Person.

On July 28, 1957, "The Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, first appeared on TV, on The Steve Allen Show, performing his huge first national hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." (Watch it on YouTube.) He had made his first records in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, about the same time as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf made their breakthrough records there.

Lewis (born 1935) grew up in an impoverished farming family in Louisiana. Along with his close cousins Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Swaggert, he developed an affinity for the piano. His parents mortgaged the farm to purchase one. Lewis was a natural, and he regularly snuck out of the house to go listen to the music played at a black juke joint, soon developing his own wild and super high energy style and antics. His music and lifestyle were too wild for the Southwest Bible Institute, so he started touring and performing, becoming a pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly.

Always controversial, his career stalled when he arrived in the UK at age 22, with his third wife Myra, who was his first cousin once removed and 13 years old, although he told the press she was 15. The uproar cancelled the tour, and Lewis floundered professionally and personally for a decade before turning to country music and regaining some success.

His last public performance in concert was in 2013, and he suffered a stroke in 2019. In 2020, it was announced that he had recorded a gospel album with super producer T-Bone Burnett, but there's no word on its release.

In 2014, one of my favorite authors, Rick Bragg, worked with Lewis to write an authorized biography, Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story. It doesn't disappoint.

Place.

On July 28, 1957, "The Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, first appeared on TV, on The Steve Allen Show, performing his huge first national hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." (Watch it on YouTube.) He had made his first records in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, about the same time as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf made their breakthrough records there.

Sam Phillips founded Sun Records in Memphis in 1952. In addition to the above-named artists, Sun also released some of the first recordings of Charlie Rich, Ike Turner, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and Conway Twitty. Lewis began recording at Sun in 1956 and often appeared as a session musician for other artists. This led to the famous "Million Dollar Quartet" recording session featuring Lewis, Presley, Perkins, and Cash.

In 2017, CMT ran a dramatic series about Phillips and Sun Records that deserved more than one season. Check it out if you can find it.

In 2014, one of my favorite authors, Rick Bragg, worked with Lewis to write an authorized biography, Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story. It doesn't disappoint.

Thing.
Graceland Gates.

On July 28, 1957, "The Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, first appeared on TV, on The Steve Allen Show, performing his huge first national hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." (Watch it on YouTube.) He had made his first records in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, about the same time as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf made their breakthrough records there.

In November, 1976, Lewis was arrested for allegedly intending to shoot Elvis. According to Lewis, his old buddy Elvis had been trying to get him to visit for a while, but he was too busy. That night, he was in a Memphis club, where somebody just happened to give him a loaded gun for some reason, and he remembered Elvis wanting to see him. So naturally, he took off in his Lincoln Continental, loaded gun on the dashboard and bottle of champagne on the seat next to him and headed to Graceland. At around 3 AM, he announced his arrival by crashing his car through the Graceland Gates and attempting to throw the full champagne bottle through the closed car window. Elvis, watching the entire event in closed circuit security TV, called the police. Lewis was charged with carrying a pistol and public drunkenness.

Person.

Today's my brother's birthday, so I'm featuring a historical fiction novel about brothers, The River of Kings by Georgia-born Taylor Brown. It mixes the contemporary stories of two brothers, their relationship with their father, and the myth and history surrounding Georgia's Altamaha River, "the Little Amazon," which may have been home to a 1564 failed French colonial expedition. It's weird; I love Brown's writing style and the ideas of the stories he tells, but I haven't finished any others, and this one took a while. It's still a memorable book for me.

The brothers' story alternates with the story of Jacques le Moyne (1533-1588), a Frenchman and the first European artist in North America. Little is known about le Moyne before he joined the French expedition of Rene Laudonniere, whose mission was to establish a French colony in what is now southern Georgia and northern Florida. That settlement was named Fort Caroline, but the location is unknown. For decades, it was thought to be near the St. Johns River near Jacksonville, but recent scholarship and investigation suggest that it may have been as far north as the mouth of the Altamaha River near Darien Georgia. (This is where Brown places it in his novel )

Le Moyne served as cartographer and illustrator. Obviously, he stunk as a cartographer because we don't know where they were for sure, but he produced the first European illustrations of the flora and fauna of North America. He also produced a lot of drawings of the native Timucua. The Timucua were a powerful confederacy that dominated south Georgia and north Florida at the time of European arrival.

Fort Caroline seemed to be doomed from the start. The colonists and the Timucua enjoyed peaceful relations in the beginning, but that soon soured. Supplies and food ran low, and some colonists mutinied. The final blow came in 1565 when Spanish forces from St. Augustine attacked, not only because the French were French, but also because they were Huguenots (Protestants). 25 escaped the slaughter.

Place.

Today's my brother's birthday, so I'm featuring a historical fiction novel about brothers, The River of Kings by Georgia-born Taylor Brown. It mixes the contemporary stories of two brothers, their relationship with their father, and the myth and history surrounding Georgia's Altamaha River, "the Little Amazon," which may have been home to a 1564 failed French colonial expedition. It's weird; I love Brown's writing style and the ideas of the stories he tells, but I haven't finished any others, and this one took a while. It's still a memorable book for me.

River of Kings mixes a contemporary story with the history of Fort Caroline, an attempt by French Huguenots (Protestants) to settle somewhere safe from persecution. For years, experts have maintained that Fort Caroline was built on the St. Johns River near Jacksonville Florida. In 2014, however, a new theory was proposed. This theory puts the fort at the mouth of the Altamaha River in southeast Georgia (where Brown puts it in the book), based on a study of French maps and the references to the Guale language, spoken in Georgia but not in Florida. As of now, this theory is still challenged. Opponents maintain it would be impossible for Spanish forces to make the march from St. Augustine to the Altamaha. The debate continues.

Things.

Today's my brother's birthday, so I'm featuring a historical fiction novel about brothers, The River of Kings by Georgia-born Taylor Brown. It mixes the contemporary stories of two brothers, their relationship with their father, and the myth and history surrounding Georgia's Altamaha River, "the Little Amazon," which may have been home to a 1564 failed French colonial expedition. It's weird; I love Brown's writing style and the ideas of the stories he tells, but I haven't finished any others, and this one took a while. It's still a memorable book for me.

River of Kings mixes a contemporary story with the history of Fort Caroline, an attempt by French Huguenots (Protestants) to settle somewhere safe from persecution, and the story of Jacques le Moyne, the artist who accompanied the expedition and the first European to illustrate North American Indians. When the Spanish destroyed Fort Caroline, all but one of le Moyne's drawings were destroyed as well. The story is that he re-drew everything from memory when he returned to France.

After his death, an engraver, Theodore de Bry bought the drawings from his widow and published them. He also published the drawings of Roanoke's governor John White. Because of this, historians urge caution when interpreting these pictures. They are kind of removed from an actual eyewitness account, and de Bry never crossed the Atlantic. The Native Americans look like Mediterranean Europeans, and some illustrations mix different cultural customs and artifacts. However, they were all hugely influential in shaping Europeans' view of Native Americans.

Persons.

The B-52s, an American New Wave/Alternative band formed in 1976, recently embarked on their farewell concert tour. That news prompted me to pick up Rodger Lyle Brown's book, Party Out of Bounds. It's the story of how people who viewed themselves or were viewed as misfits and weirdos found each other in a conservative little college town and made Athens Georgia a creative hub for American rock music in the 1980s and early 1990s, with The B-52s and REM (my favorite band) leading the way.

The original B-52s lineup started with musicians Keith Strickland and Ricky Wilson finding each other and just playing around with music for fun. They brought in Ricky's sister Cindy and Kate Pierson as singers and Fred Schneider for, well, whatever he adds to the mix. Their unconventional, i.e. weird, musical and personal aesthetic styles got them noticed around town, and their first single, "Rock Lobster," earned an underground following and got them gigs at New York's famous CBGB and Max's Kansas City clubs. Their rise was begun. Along the way, the band was devastated by Ricky Wilson's death from AIDS. After coming back together, Cosmic Thing was their huge album breakthrough with the single "Love Shack." Strickland hasn't toured with the band for several years and isn't joining the farewell tour.

REM formed in Athens in 1989 when Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry got together. Recognized as one of the first alternative bands, they became one of the most successful bands in the world; in 1996, they signed the biggest recording contract in history to that point, with Warner Bros for $80 million. Berry left the band in 1997 due to health issues, but the others continued until parting amicably in 2011.

Place.

The B-52s, an American New Wave/Alternative band formed in 1976, recently embarked on their farewell concert tour. That news prompted me to pick up Rodger Lyle Brown's book, Party Out of Bounds. It's the story of how people who viewed themselves or were viewed as misfits and weirdos found each other in a conservative little college town and made Athens Georgia a creative hub for American rock music in the 1980s and early 1990s, with The B-52s and REM (my favorite band) leading the way.

Opened in 1979, the 40 Watt Club in downtown Athens Georgia rivaled New York's CBGB and L.A.'s Whiskey a Go Go in terms of breaking new New Wave and Alternative bands in the 1980s and 1990s. It became a favorite venue for hometown acts like REM, Pylon, Love Tractor, Drive-by Truckers, The Whigs, and Guadalcanal Diary.
In 1991, the club moved to its fifth and current location on West Washington Street.

Thing.

The B-52s, an American New Wave/Alternative band formed in 1976, recently embarked on their farewell concert tour. That news prompted me to pick up Rodger Lyle Brown's book, Party Out of Bounds. It's the story of how people who viewed themselves or were viewed as misfits and weirdos found each other in a conservative little college town and made Athens Georgia a creative hub for American rock music in the 1980s and early 1990s, with The B-52s and REM (my favorite band) leading the way.

The B-52s took their name from southern slang for the beehive hairdo. The hairdo got its nickname from the resemblance to the noses of B-52 bombers. Hair historians actually trace the 20th century beehive to
Margaret Vinci Heldt of Elmhurst, Illinois, regarded as the hairstyle's creator. The look first appeared in Modern Beauty Shop magazine's February 1960 issue. It's been worn, especially by southern women ever since. Wilson and Pierson made beehive wigs a part of kooky eclectic style, and voila!

Person.

At the end of 1702, Daniel Defoe was married with eight children and owner of a brickworks in Tilbury a borough in Essex, England. He was also a paid government propagandist, an early spin doctor. He wrote tracts in praise government policies, that is the policies of King William III, but he was also a "Dissenter" or "Nonconformist," meaning that he was a Protestant, but he had misgivings about the state church, the Church of England.

When Anne succeeded William, she immediately began an offensive against Nonconformists, bad timing for Defoe. He published an anonymous satirical pamphlet called "The Shortest Way With Dissenters," in the voice of a fictional High Church zealot. Few got the satire. Defoe was arrested and tried for seditious libel. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to the pillory. For the last three days of July 1703, he was put into the pillory for an hour each day. (Stay tuned for today's Thing post in the use of the pillory.)

Once released, he had lost his brickworks and became very depressed. Soon, however, the same government that pilloried him re-employed him as a propagandist and as a spy in Scotland.

In 1719, he published Robinson Crusoe, and has since been recognized as one of the earliest English novelists.

Place.

In 1704, Alexander Selkirk was a Scottish privateer ( that's pirate if you're French or Spanish) on board the Cinque Ports captained by Thomas Stradling. About 420 miles off the Chilean Coast, the ship anchored off a deserted island of the Juan Fernandez island chain to take on supplies and make repairs following a battle. Crewman Selkirk recognized that the ship was not seaworthy and refused to continue. Stradling took him up on the offer and landed Selkirk on the island with a musket, a hatchet, a knife, a cooking pot, a Bible, bedding and some clothes. Selkirk immediately regretted his rashness, but Stradling refused to let him back on board. Selkirk's original instincts were correct; the Cinque Ports foundered off the coast of Colombia.

Selkirk adapted and survived alone for 4 years and 4 months. A couple of Spanish ships stopped by the island, but the Spanish would have hanged him if they had found him. Finally, another English privateer arrived, and Selkirk was rescued. He became a major celebrity when his story was published. In 1721, he died of yellow fever while serving as an officer in the Royal Navy.

Daniel Defoe was obviously inspired by Selkirk's story when writing Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719. He made some geographical changes, setting the story in the tropical Caribbean instead of the Pacific.

Thing.

When found guilty of seditious libel for his satirical pamphlet The Shortest Way, Daniel Defoe was sentenced to three hours in the pillory, over three days.

"The public pillory was used to punish minor offenders including cheats, liars, and homosexuals, by shaming them in public. They were liable to be pelted by the crowd with rotten eggs and fruit, dead cats and dogs, mud and every variety of filth, and in extreme cases with stones, saucepans and other missiles that caused serious injury. Some were killed or maimed for life. Defoe was put in the pillory on the last three days of July, for an hour each time in three of the busiest places in London – outside the Royal Exchange in Cornhill (near his own home), near the conduit in Cheapside and finally in Fleet Street by Temple Bar. It seems to have been raining steadily most of the time, which though uncomfortable would have kept the crowds down, and the experience proved more of a triumph than an ordeal. All that was thrown at him were flowers while his friends sold the spectators copies of The Shortest Way and A Hymn to the Pillory which he had composed for the occasion." (From Richard Cavendish | Published in History Today Volume 53 Issue 7 July 2003)