Person, Place, and Thing: December 6-13

  ( I apologize for incomplete entries. All of a sudden the Instagram and Facebook posts, from which I copy and paste to generate this blog, have topped being as easy to search.)

Person.

On December 6, 2010, a first edition of John James Audubon's The Birds of America was sold at auction by Sotheby's of London for £7.3 million ($8.9 million), a record price for a printed book. The record stood until 2013 when a copy of the first book published in America, The Bay Psalm Book, sold for $14 million.

Audubon (1785-1851) was a self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist, born on his father's sugar cane plantation in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). His mother, a Louisiana lady, died shortly after his birth, and he was raised by his mixed-race enslaved housekeeper, by whom his father had already fathered several children. Due to the growing slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue, Audubon's father moved John James (then Jean) and a sister near Nantes, France to live with his French wife ( married before he ever went to Saint-Domingue and never divorced).

Audubon had a natural affinity to birds from childhood. His father wanted him to be a Navy man like himself, but he was prone to seasickness and disliked math and navigation. As a teen, he moved to America, studied and drew birds, became a taxidermist, and opened a museum to display his work. Soon, he was traveling throughout America, documenting the varied and rich bird life of the new country, accumulating over 300 illustrations and finally publishing his book in 1826.

One fact that most people don't realize: he didn't draw much in nature. For every bird illustration he used multiple, sometimes dozens, of stuffed dead birds that he either shot himself or paid hunters for, arranged and posed until he was satisfied.

Place.

On December 6, 2010, a first edition of John James Audubon's The Birds of America was sold at auction by Sotheby's of London for £7.3 million ($8.9 million), a record price for a printed book. The record stood until 2013 when a copy of the first book published in America, The Bay Psalm Book, sold for $14 million.

Audubon (1785-1851) was a self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist, born on his father's sugar cane plantation in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). His mother, a Louisiana lady, died shortly after his birth, and he was raised by his mixed-race enslaved housekeeper, by whom his father had already fathered several children. Due to the growing slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue, Audubon's father moved John James (then Jean) and a sister near Nantes, France to live with his French wife ( married before he ever went to Saint-Domingue and never divorced).

In France, they lived in a mansion called La Gerbertiere, near Coueron in French Brittany on the Loire River. Restored in 2008, it now belongs to the municipality and is used as a venue for cultural events, concerts, and exhibits.

Thing.

On December 6, 2010, a first edition of John James Audubon's The Birds of America was sold at auction by Sotheby's of London for £7.3 million ($8.9 million), a record price for a printed book. The record stood until 2013 when a copy of the first book published in America, The Bay Psalm Book, sold for $14 million.

Audubon (1785-1851) was a self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist, born on his father's sugar cane plantation in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). His mother, a Louisiana lady, died shortly after his birth, and he was raised by his mixed-race enslaved housekeeper, by whom his father had had several children already. Due to the growing slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue, Audubon's father moved John James (then Jean) and a sister near Nantes, France to live with his French wife ( married before he ever went to Saint-Domingue and never divorced).

One of the birds included in the book was the Bird of Washington, Washington Eagle, or Giant Sea Eagle. At the time, naturalists labeled it a hoax, created by Audubon, and not a real bird. It is possible, some ornithologists today believe, that it was misidentified juvenile bald eagle or that it could have been a real bird that became extinct immediately after Audubon's sightings. However, today, the prevailing opinion among experts is that was an Audubon invention, or plagiarized picture of a golden eagle illustrated by another naturalist.

Persons.

At 7:35 AM, on December 7, 1941, America and the world were rocked by a surprise Japanese attack on America's Pacific naval base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii. Nineteen ships and hundreds of planes were damaged or destroyed, and 2,400 soldiers, sailors, and civilians died. The Japanese had hoped to deliver a preemptive death blow that would keep the US out of the way as they conquered Asia. Instead, the attack led ultimately to the destruction of two Japanese cities and hundreds of thousands of deaths.

At Dawn We Slept, published in 1982, is still considered the master work about the attack, reflecting 37 years of research and interviews with American and Japanese participants. It is the first of a trilogy of books by Gordon Prange about the attack.

The mastermind behind the audacious plan was Isoroku Yamamoto, the admiral who at first warned his government against attacking the US and "waking the sleeping giant." Duty compelled him, however, and he did the impossible. He became the only man specifically targeted by the US, shot down on a Pacific flight in 1943.

Husband Kimmel was the commander-in-chief of the Pacific fleet. Following the attack, the US government looked for scapegoats, as governments do. He became a target, relieved of command and reduced in rank, he left the Navy in early 1942, disgraced.

Doris Miller was a cook on the West Virginia. When the attack came, he helped several wounded sailors to safety and then manned an anti-aircraft gun, downing 4-6 Japanese planes. He became the first black American awarded the Navy Cross and had a destroyer frigate named for him from 1973 to 1991. In 2020, it was announced that a future aircraft carrier will be named the USS Doris Miller.

Place.

At 7:35 AM, on December 7, 1941, America and the world were rocked by a surprise Japanese attack on America's Pacific naval base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii. Nineteen ships and hundreds of planes were damaged or destroyed, and 2,400 soldiers, sailors, and civilians died. The Japanese had hoped to deliver a preemptive death blow that would keep the US out of the way as they conquered Asia. Instead, the attack led ultimately to the destruction of two Japanese cities and hundreds of thousands of deaths.

At Dawn We Slept, published in 1982, is still considered the master work about the attack, reflecting 37 years of research and interviews with American and Japanese participants. It is the first of a trilogy of books by Gordon Prange about the attack.

Japan intended the attack as a preventive action. Its aim was to prevent the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with its planned military actions in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and those of the United States. Over the course of seven hours there were coordinated Japanese attacks on the US-held Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

This photo was taken from a Japanese plane at the beginning of the attack. The explosion near center was the result of a torpedo hitting the USS west Virginia.

Thing.

At 7:35 AM, on December 7, 1941, America and the world were rocked by a surprise Japanese attack on America's Pacific naval base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii. Nineteen ships and hundreds of planes were damaged or destroyed, and 2,400 soldiers, sailors, and civilians died. The Japanese had hoped to deliver a preemptive death blow that would keep the US out of the way as they conquered Asia. Instead, the attack led ultimately to the destruction of two Japanese cities and hundreds of thousands of deaths.

At Dawn We Slept, published in 1982, is still considered the master work about the attack, reflecting 37 years of research and interviews with American and Japanese participants. It is the first of a trilogy of books by Gordon Prange about the attack.

Perhaps the most famous of the ships sunk in the attack is the USS Arizona. The USS Arizona memorial marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on the USS Arizona during the attack. Two of the ships bells were salvaged in the 1940s. Weighing more than 1200 pounds each, one bell is on display at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, and the other is on the University of Arizona campus.

Person.

Bill Bryson, a favorite author of mine, was born on December 8, 1951 in Des Moines Iowa.

Two years into his college career, he decided to drop out and backpack around Europe. (He finished a degree a few years later.) This ignited his career as a writer. He's since written numerous books on a variety of topics including travel, history, the English language and science. He's lived in the UK most of his adult life and holds dual citizenship. In 2003, British readers chose his book Notes From a Small Island as the book that best summed up British identity.

His books are always funny, insightful, and educational.

Place.

Bill Bryson, a favorite author of mine, was born on December 8, 1951 in Des Moines Iowa.

Two years into his college career, he decided to drop out and backpack around Europe. (He finished a degree a few years later.) This ignited his career as a writer. He's since written numerous books on a variety of topics including travel, history, the English language and science. He's lived in the UK most of his adult life and holds dual citizenship. In 2003, British readers chose his book Notes From a Small Island as the book that best summed up British identity.

His travel books are known for their humor and keen insights. If you have a taste for travel books or documentaries, his books are must reads.

Thing.

Bill Bryson, a favorite author of mine, was born on December 8, 1951 in Des Moines Iowa.

Two years into his college career, he decided to drop out and backpack around Europe. (He finished a degree a few years later.) This ignited his career as a writer. He's since written numerous books on a variety of topics including travel, history, the English language and science. He's lived in the UK most of his adult life and holds dual citizenship. In 2003, British readers chose his book Notes From a Small Island as the book that best summed up British identity.

He was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contribution to literature on 13 December 2006; the "honorary" part was removed once he became a British citizen. In recognition of his writing about science, Bryson was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2013, becoming the first non-Briton to receive this honor.

Person.

American journalist, author, and folklorist Joel Chandler Harris ( 1848-1908) was born on December 9 in Eatonton Georgia, but spent most of his adult life in Atlanta as editor of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper.

He led two professional lives. As editor of the Constitution, he was a huge supporter of Henry Grady's vision of the "New South," arising from the ashes of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The other was as a fiction writer and folklore collector.

He was born to an unmarried Irish immigrant and never knew his father. His childhood, as a poor, illegitimate, redheaded Irish boy in the mid 1800s was not the easiest. He left school at 14 and went to work on a plantation 9 miles out of town as a printer's apprentice, a printer's devil as they were called. The plantation owner happened to put out a newspaper. Harris worked for clothes, room, and board, learned printing, was allowed to write for the newspaper, and consumed the contents of the plantation's large library.

He also spent lots of time off in the slave quarters, where he felt less self-conscious about his background, and he developed a unique relationship with the enslaved people. Of course, there was the huge gulf of race and enslavement between them, but they forged a connection on another level, storytelling. The enslaved adults told him animal stories and myths that had their origins in Africa and had been passed down over the years. Some had been infused with bits and pieces of Native American and African American lore picked up in the Caribbean and In the American South. He absorbed the stories, language, and inflections of the storytellers.

At the Constitution, he started printing the stories in order to preserve them, and he created a character named Uncle Remus, based on the older enslaved men and women from whom he learned the tales. They were published in a book in 1880.

Despite criticism, his preservation and popularization of these stories is hugely important.

Place.

American journalist, author, and folklorist Joel Chandler Harris ( 1848-1908) was born on December 9 in Eatonton Georgia, but spent most of his adult life in Atlanta as editor of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper.

He led two professional lives. As editor of the Constitution, he was a huge supporter of Henry Grady's vision of the "New South," arising from the ashes of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The other was as a fiction writer and folklore collector, most famous for collecting and publishing African folk tales he heard as a teen on a Georgia plantation.

The Wren's Nest was the Harris family home from 1881 until 1908. In 1913, it was opened as Atlanta's first house museum, and it was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Today, it is operated and maintained by the Joel Chandler Harris Association. Through tours, field trips, and live storytelling performances, the Association's mission is to cultivate future generations of readers, writers, and storytellers.

Thing.

American journalist, author, and folklorist Joel Chandler Harris ( 1848-1908) was born on December 9 in Eatonton Georgia, but spent most of his adult life in Atlanta as editor of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper.

He led two professional lives. As editor of the Constitution, he was a huge supporter of Henry Grady's vision of the "New South," arising from the ashes of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The other was as a fiction writer and folklore collector, most famous for collecting and publishing African folk tales he heard as a teen on a Georgia plantation.

The Uncle Remus Museum in Eatonton has (at least as far I know, still has) a statue of Br'er Rabbit, one of the chief characters in the Uncle Remus stories, the trickster, out front, and another sits at the county courthouse. Each statue stands three feet tall atop its base, and weighs about 250 pounds.

Persons.

On December 10 1936, Edward VIII (1894-1972) signed the official Instrument of Abdication, giving up the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. His brother, George VI, became king, paving the way for Elizabeth II to inherit the throne. Since it was practically impossible for Edward and Wallis to have direct heirs, succession might have been different if Edward had continued as king. George VI died before Edward, so he might never have been king, but the crown would have gone to a much older Elizabeth.. And, it seems quite possible that if Edward had not abdicated, he may have been the last monarch.

Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor served as king for almost the entire year of 1936. However, he had scandalously fallen in love with an American divorcee (twice divorced) with a scandalous past named Wallis Simpson. When it became apparent that he would not be allowed to keep the throne with Simpson as queen consort, he resigned. After abdication, he was created Duke of Windsor. He and Simpson married in 1937 (after her second divorce was granted), and they lived on a royal allowance in the South of France. When WWII commenced, he was made Governor of the Bahamas. After the war, they spent most of the rest of their lives in France, rarely returning to the UK.

Wallis Simpson's background wasn't the only source of scandal. There are claims that both Edward and Wallis were at least bisexual, and stories of their partying and social activities constantly surrounded them. And, then there are the accusations that they were friendly with Hitler and Nazi Germany. The royal family and British government kept a close watch on their activities and communications during their lives, and much of that gathered information seems to have been destroyed or is still held as top secret classified intelligence. Some historians have gone so far as to speculate that Hitler intended to place Edward on the throne again once the UK was defeated.

Place.

On December 10 1936, Edward VIII (1894-1972) signed the official Instrument of Abdication, giving up the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. His brother, George VI, became king, paving the way for Elizabeth II to inherit the throne. Since it was practically impossible for Edward and Wallis to have direct heirs, succession might have been different if Edward had continued as king. George VI died before Edward, so he might never have been king, but the crown would have gone to a much older Elizabeth. And, it seems quite possible that if Edward had not abdicated, he may have been the last monarch.

After serving as Governor of the Bahamas during WWII, the Windsors returned to Paris, where they lived most of the rest of their lives. They rented, at a very nominal rate from the French government, a 14 room mansion built in 1859 in the Bois du Boulogne, the Central Park of Paris. Charles de Gaulle had lived there for a several years after the war, and it was most recently occupied by department store magnate Mohamed Al-Fayed, the father of Dodi Al-Fayed, Princess Diana's lover who died with her in the car crash. Diana was just one of many notables who have visited the house over the years. Both the Duke and Duchess died in the house, in 1972 and 1986.

They also owned a 26 acre estate outside of Paris where they spent weekends and holidays.

17 Carnations is a look at the Windsors, the abdication, and their controversial lives.

Thing.

On December 10 1936, Edward VIII (1894-1972) signed the official Instrument of Abdication, giving up the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. After serving as Governor of the Bahamas during WWII, the Windsors returned to Paris, where they lived most of the rest of their lives.

Historians and royalty watchers have tried for years to separate speculation and fact about the Windsors. There are questions about their sexuality, about Simpson's alleged extramarital affairs, including with Nazi Ambassador Von Ribbentrop, and whether or not they were sympathetic to the Nazis or even conspired with Nazi leadership.

In May 1945, American troops found archived Nazi documents in various locations. They also captured a German soldier who was an assistant translator for Hitler. He had been instructed to destroy many documents, but he buried some instead near Marburg, offering to trade them for immunity. They became known as the Marburg Files and contained correspondence to, from, and about the Windsors. PM Churchill and Supreme Commander Eisenhower immediately labeled them top secret. While some documents have been released over the years, it is believed by some that more incriminating documents are still held as classified.

17 Carnations is a look at the Windsors, the abdication, their controversial lives, and the Marburg Files.

Person.

On December 11, 1913, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was recovered by police, two years after it had been stolen from the Louvre in 1911. Before it's theft, it was little known or appreciated outside of the art world. It was the publicity of the theft and recovery of the painting that made its fame explode.

The thief was an Italian artist, museum worker, and self-styled patriot named Vincenzo Peruggia. He said that he was angered that the work was the property of France and resolved to return it to its homeland. It was one of Leonardo's last works. Thought to be a portrait of the wife, Lisa del Giocondo, of an Italian merchant, it took a few years to complete; Leonardo was never rushed. For whatever reason, he never delivered it to the merchant, instead, he took it to Amboise France when he moved there under the patronage of King Francis I. He died there, and Francis acquired his possessions, including the Mona Lisa.

On the morning of August 21, 1911, three men stepped out of the closet they had hidden in overnight, removed the painting from its frame, rolled it up, and walked out with it before the museum opened. It took 28 hours before anyone noticed that it was missing.

Peruggia had constructed the frame of the painting when he worked at the Louvre, and he recruited two associates. His first aim was to sell it, despite his patriotism, but he had to wait. It spent two years in a trunk in his Paris boardinghouse room. In 1913, he tried to sell it to a dealer in Florence. The dealer told him to leave it for inspection and come back later. Peruggia was shocked when policemen arrived at his door an hour later. He pleaded guilty and served 8 months.

The Last Mona Lisa is a fictionalized account of the theft and subsequent forgeries published last year and now on my reading list.

Place.

On December 11, 1913, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was recovered by police, two years after it had been stolen from the Louvre in 1911. Before it's theft, it was little known or appreciated outside of the art world. It was the publicity of the theft and recovery of the painting that made its fame explode.

The painting of Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of an Italian merchant, took a while for Leonardo to paint. He never did much quickly. In fact, he took it with him to Amboise France in 1516 when he moved to work for his patron, French King Francis I. He took up residence in a chateau there and did various engineering and architecture designs for the King, often directing massive opulent entertainments for the royal court.

When Leonardo died in 1519, his possessions, including the Mona Lisa, went to Francis I. The king admired the work and hung it it in his large bathroom at the palace of Fountainebleau. The King's private quarters had so many paintings that it became a semi-public (at least for members and visitors to the court) art gallery. It remained at Fountainebleau until Louis XIV moved it to Versailles. Louis XV supposedly hated it and had it banished from the palace. It found its way into the hands of a palace bureaucrat. During the French Revolution, it was hidden in a warehouse.

In 1797, it went on display at the Louvre, where it remained until Napoleon ordered it hung in his bedroom while he was Emperor. After Napoleon, it returned to the Louvre.

The Last Mona Lisa is a fictionalized account of the theft and subsequent forgeries published last year and now on my reading list.

Thing.

On December 11, 1913, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was recovered by police, two years after it had been stolen from the Louvre in 1911. Before it's theft, it was little known or appreciated outside of the art world. It was the publicity of the theft and recovery of the painting that made its fame explode.

There are many questions and mysteries surrounding the Mona Lisa that have generated many speculations and theories over the years. First, who is she? Some sources say Lisa del Giocondo, but why did her Italian merchant husband never get the portrait he commissioned? Others speculate it was Isabella d'Este. Another art historian used computer analysis to combine the Mona Lisa's face with Leonardo's drawn self-portrait, and claimed that the Mona Lisa is a feminized version of Leonardo himself.

Then there's the smile. So enigmatic that a French artist jumped to his death in 1852. His suicide note said he couldn't live another day without figuring out her smile. It's an unusual smile that seems to change based on the viewer's perspective. Some suggest that the model had a painful teeth/mouth condition, quite common in those days, which caused the smile - or weird grimace? There's also the idea that the smile was a reaction to the artist. Apparently, Leonardo, always energetic and in need of constant mental stimulation, often required food and entertainment - musicians, etc. -while he drew and painted his subject. Perhaps she was amused by this flamboyant, temperamental, hyperactive, man flitting around before her.

The Last Mona Lisa is a fictionalized account of the theft and subsequent forgeries published last year and now on my reading list.

Person.

Novelist and historian Dee Brown died on December 12, 2002 at age 94. His most famous work was 1970's groundbreaking Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, one of the first histories of the conquest of the American West told from the Native American perspective.

Brown was born in Alberta, Louisiana but grew up in Arkansas. As a boy, he spent a lot of time reading the history of the American West in the public library. He attended the Arkansas State Teachers College and George Washington University, becoming a librarian for the US Department of Agriculture in 1934. He wrote a couple of novels, but, in 1941, they were deemed not patriotic enough by publishers. Drafted, he did his military service as librarian for the US Department of War.

From 1948 to 1972, he was an agriculture librarian and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and wrote part-time. During the 1950s and 1960s, he published 17 books. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, published in 1970, was a major influence on history writing, publishing, and movie and television production, as a movement grew toward more accurate and balanced portrayals of Native American and American Western history.

While Brown was a leader of this movement and most people believed that he was of Native American ancestry, he was not.

Place.

Novelist and historian Dee Brown died on December 12, 2002 at age 94. His most famous work was 1970's groundbreaking Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, one of the first histories of the conquest of the American West told from the Native American perspective.

The titular location Wounded Knee was the site of two important events in Native American history. On December 29, the US 7th Cavalry killed nearly 300 unarmed Lakota men, women, and children who had left their reservation to go to another reservation to participate in a Ghost Dance. The incident was known in history books as the "Battle of Wounded Knee" until the 1970s when it was recognized as the Massacre that it was. Twenty soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their role in the massacre. There is a movement to rescind these medals including a provision of a military bill in Congress currently.

From February to May 1973, 200 Lakotas led by the American Indian Movement (AIM), occupied the town of Wounded Knee in order to call attention to the plight of the American Indian. Two occupiers and two FBI agents died during the occupation.

Thing.

Novelist and historian Dee Brown died on December 12, 2002 at age 94. His most famous work was 1970's groundbreaking Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, one of the first histories of the conquest of the American West told from the Native American perspective.

The 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre was the result of a religious movement that had swept through Indian reservations called the Ghost Dance by whites. A Paiute healer named Wovoka or Jack Wilson had gotten very ill. During his illness, he claimed to have received visions from the Creator demonstrating a Spirit Dance. The Creator told him that if enough Indians did the dance, gave up white ways, and returned to more traditional lifestyles, all the whites would disappear, and dead Indians, horses, and bison would repopulate the land.

Plains Indians were so desperate and miserable on their reservations that the dance spread like wildfire. This frightened whites who believed it was a war dance. Indian agents in charge of reservations outlawed the dance and forbade traveling to other reservations to participate in dances. One band of a few hundred Lakotas led by Spotted Elk left their reservation without permission to join a dance on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The 7th Cavalry was sent to return them and caught up with them near Wounded Knee. The cavalry surrounded the band, mostly women, children, and elderly and ordered them to disarm. Several accounts claim that a deaf Lakota resisted turning over his rifle, a shot was fired, and the Cavalry opened fire. Within minutes, nearly 300 were dead.

Persons

On December 13, 1937 the Japanese Army launched six weeks of crimes against humanity that came to be called "the Rape of Nanking (Nanjing)" or the "Nanjing Massacre. " At least 200,000 men, women, and children in the Chinese capital were raped, abused, and murdered by Japanese troops. Officers lined up prisoners for competitive beheadings with samurai swords. Japanese biological and chemical weapons units conducted experiments on civilians. The Japanese intentionally destroyed much evidence after the war, and,even today, there are groups of Japanese who deny the event ever took place.

The commanding officer who led the massacre was Prince Asaka, son-in-law of the Emperor. General MacArthur granted amnesty to imperial family members so he was never prosecuted. He died of old age at 93.

The Reverend John McAfee, an American Episcopal minister documented many if the atrocities on film.

John Rabe, a Nazi official headed an international committee that attempted to intervene and stop the violence and to alert the outside world. He is credited with saving up to 250,000 civilians.

American reporter Frank Tillman Durdin and others risked their lives to document the massacre.

Minnie Vautrin, an American missionary who ran a girls school, saved 10,000 women and children.

Journalist and author Iris Chang wrote the definitive history of the massacre in The Rape of Nanking. Sadly, after, a long battle with depression, took her own life in 2004, about a year after her book The Chinese in America was published.

Place.

On December 13, 1937 the Japanese Army launched six weeks of crimes against humanity that came to be called "the Rape of Nanking (Nanjing)" or the "Nanjing Massacre. " At least 200,000 men, women, and children in the Chinese capital were raped, abused, and murdered by Japanese troops. Officers lined up prisoners for competitive beheadings with samurai swords. Japanese biological and chemical weapons units conducted experiments on civilians. The Japanese intentionally destroyed much evidence after the war, and, even today, there are groups of Japanese who deny the event ever took place.

Nanjing or Nanking has had a prominent place in Chinese history since the third century. It is the home of the world's largest inland ports and a provincial capital. It was the national capital under several regimes, including the Republic of China through 1949. It's population is about 9.5 million.

Journalist and author Iris Chang wrote the definitive history of the massacre in The Rape of Nanking. Sadly, after, a long battle with depression, took her own life in 2004, about a year after her book The Chinese in America was published.

Thing.

On December 13, 1937 the Japanese Army launched six weeks of crimes against humanity that came to be called "the Rape of Nanking (Nanjing)" or the "Nanjing Massacre. " At least 200,000 men, women, and children in the Chinese capital were raped, abused, and murdered by Japanese troops. Officers lined up prisoners for competitive beheadings with samurai swords. Japanese biological and chemical weapons units conducted experiments on civilians. The Japanese intentionally destroyed much evidence after the war, and, even today, there are groups of Japanese who deny the event ever took place.

This photo, taken on December 12, 1937, the day before the actual siege of Nanjing, and others appeared in the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun newspaper. Captions read "Contest to kill 100 people using a sword" and "Incredible record ... Both 2nd Lieutenants Go into Extra Innings." Pictured are Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyoshi Noda who did have such a contest and then another to go for another 150. Some apologists argue that the article meant in hand to hand combat. Noda himself said that wasn't true, that he never killed more than 4 or 5 in hand to hand combat. Both men were executed by the International Military Tribunal for war crimes against civilians after the war. One of the swords used in the contest is in display at the Republic of China Armed Forces Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.

As I wrote earlier today, there are still Japanese individuals and groups who declare that none of the atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre occurred.

Journalist and author Iris Chang wrote the definitive history of the massacre in The Rape of Nanking. Sadly, after, a long battle with depression, took her own life in 2004, about a year after her book The Chinese in America was published.