Person, Place, and Thing: December 14 - 21

 

Person.

American horror and mystery author Shirley Jackson was born in December 14, 1916 near San Francisco and died in 1965. She wrote six novels, two memoirs, and over 200 short stories including her most famous work "The Lottery." (If you didn't read "The Lottery" in your American Lit class, your English teacher is a failure.) A few years ago, her grandson created a terrific graphic novel version.

While she died in her sleep of cardiac arrest at age 48, she was in poor health her entire life exacerbated by her heavy smoking. She suffered from asthma, joint pain, exhaustion, dizziness, fainting, severe anxiety, colitis, agoraphobia, arteriosclerosis, alcoholism, and addiction to prescribed tranquilizers and amphetamines.

Place.

American horror and mystery author Shirley Jackson was born in December 14, 1916 near San Francisco and died in 1965. She wrote six novels, two memoirs, and over 200 short stories including her most famous work "The Lottery." (If you didn't read "The Lottery" in your American Lit class, your English teacher is a failure.) A few years ago, her grandson created a terrific graphic novel version.

The family lived in Bennington Vermont. Her husband Stanley Hyman was a literary critic and instructor at Bennington College. Jackson and Hyman were known for being colorful, generous hosts who surrounded themselves with literary talents, including Ralph Ellison. They were both enthusiastic readers whose personal library was estimated at 25,000 books.They had four children, Laurence (Laurie), Joanne (Jannie), Sarah (Sally), and Barry, who later achieved their own brand of literary fame as fictionalized versions of themselves in their mother's short stories. In an era when women were not encouraged to work outside the home, Jackson became the chief breadwinner while also raising the couple's children.

According to Jackson's biographers, her marriage was plagued by Hyman's infidelities, notably with his students, and she reluctantly agreed to his proposition of maintaining an open relationship. Hyman also controlled their finances (meting out portions of her earnings to her as he saw fit), despite the fact that after the success of "The Lottery" and later work she earned far more than he did. (Wikipedia)

Thing.

American horror and mystery author Shirley Jackson was born in December 14, 1916 near San Francisco and died in 1965. She wrote six novels, two memoirs, and over 200 short stories including her most famous work "The Lottery." (If you didn't read "The Lottery" in your American Lit class, your English teacher is a failure.) A few years ago, her grandson created a terrific graphic novel version.

While "The Lottery" received almost universal praise from critics, public reaction to its first publishing in The New Yorker in June 1948 was mixed. "The story prompted over 300 letters from readers, many of them outraged at its conjuring of a dark aspect of human nature, characterized by, as Jackson put it, "bewilderment, speculation, and old-fashioned abuse". In the July 22, 1948, issue of the San Francisco Chronicle, Jackson offered the following in response to persistent queries from her readers about her intentions: "Explaining just what I had hoped the story to say is very difficult. I suppose I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village, to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives." " (Wikipedia)

Persons.

On December 15, 1916, French forces launched a major offensive against German lines in the Battle of Verdun, following a six-day artillery bombardment. The Battle of Verdun was fought from February 21 to December 18, 1916, making it the longest battle of the First World War. It came to represent the futility of the war of attrition. When all was finished, there were a total of more than 700,000 casualties (although some estimates are closer to more than 1 million), and very little territory switched hands.

The German offensive at Verdun was led by Chief of Staff Erich Von Falkenhayn and called "Operation Judgement." He wanted to "bleed French white" by attacking the fortified line of 29 first in the area. He believed that the French defenses were shielding the British troops, the real threat, and he resolved to remove that shield. The area around Verdun was culturally and historically important to the French, and he believed they would fight to the last man rather than see it fall, changing the course of the war. He thoroughly underestimated the strength and resolve of the French troops.

The original French commander in charge of the defense of Verdun was General Philippe Petain. Petain's immediate problem was there was only one road into Verdun, barely 20 feet wide. Yet, the French moved 25,000 tons of supplies and 90,000 soldiers into position using "the Sacred Way" as it came to be known.

The Commander in Chief of the French Army was General Joseph Joffre, the hero of the Marne battles. However, his decisions regarding Verdun, including replacing Petain, led to his loss of clout and influence. Following the Battle of the Somme, he was demoted to advisory status only - but also given the highest French military honorary title, Marshal, the first man to be named Marshal by the Third French Republic.

Alistair Horne's The Price of Glory is the second book of his trilogy on the French effort in the war. First published in 1962, it is still a classic source on the Battle.

Place.

On December 15, 1916, French forces launched a major offensive against German lines in the Battle of Verdun, following a six-day artillery bombardment. The Battle of Verdun was fought from February 21 to December 18, 1916, making it the longest battle of the First World War. It came to represent the futility of the war of attrition. When all was finished, there were a total of more than 700,000 casualties (although some estimates are closer to more than 1 million), and very little territory switched hands.

Verdun had been significant in the defense of France since the Huns invaded western Europe in the 800s. Prior to WWI, the area had been fortified with bunkers, forts, and guns beginning in the 1880s. When the Battle started, the fortifications were garrisoned by 66,000 men with 6 months of supplies.

Today, over a hundred years later, the scars of war, including possibly dangerous unexploded mines and ordinance, are still very visible in the landscape.

Alistair Horne's The Price of Glory is the second book of his trilogy on the French effort in the war. First published in 1962, it is still a classic source on the Battle.

Thing.

On December 15, 1916, French forces launched a major offensive against German lines in the Battle of Verdun, following a six-day artillery bombardment. The Battle of Verdun was fought from February 21 to December 18, 1916, making it the longest battle of the First World War. It came to represent the futility of the war of attrition. When all was finished, there were a total of more than 700,000 casualties (although some estimates are closer to more than 1 million), and very little territory switched hands.

The Battle of Verdun lasted almost a year. In other trenches along the Western Front, soldiers of both sides spent months and months in miserable trenches, always waiting and waiting, experiencing long periods of monotony, boredom, and tension, punctuated with flashes of terror and adrenaline. Some soldiers passed the time by making trench art, taking expended artillery shells and transforming them into works of art, similar to what sailors did on long voyages when they carved scrimshaw. After the war, some locals continued the art form using the readily available scrap.

These pictures are of pieces of trench art carved by soldiers at Verdun.

Alistair Horne's The Price of Glory is the second book of his trilogy on the French effort in the war. First published in 1962, it is still a classic source on the Battle.

Person.

On December 16, 1985, Stephen Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple premiered in New York, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover.

Author Alice Walker was born in Eatonton Georgia in 1944. She has published 17 novels, 12 non-fiction works, and numerous articles, essays, stories, and poetry collections. She became the first black woman to win the Pulitzer for fiction, for The Color Purple, in 1982. During the 1970s, she taught and wrote about black women writers, and her essays helped to revive interest in the life and work of writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston.

For most of her adult life, she has been an activist, in civil rights, feminism, and pacifism. An unfortunate, and troubling, development since 2012 has been her support and promotion of horrible anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, particularly those of British conspiracy theorist and Anti-Semite David Ickes. Ickes promotes the idea the earth is ruled by an alliance of shape-shifting reptilian humanoids and Jews, promotes the hateful hoax of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and questions the Holocaust. Walker has cited his books positively in many public forums and made her own anti-Semitic statements.

Place.

On December 16, 1985, Stephen Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple premiered in New York, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover.

Author Alice Walker was born in Eatonton Georgia in 1944. She has published 17 novels, 12 non-fiction works, and numerous articles, essays, stories, and poetry collections. She became the first black woman to win the Pulitzer for fiction, for The Color Purple, in 1982. During the 1970s, she taught and wrote about black women writers, and her essays helped to revive interest in the life and work of writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston.

Eatonton is the county seat of Putnam County, with a population of about 6,500. Just north of town is the Rock Eagle mound, an archaeological site constructed by Woodland Indians between 1,000 and 3,000 years ago. The county was formed in 1807 and named for William Eaton, an officer in the First Barbary War.

Besides Walker, Eatonton was the home of writer Joel Chandler Harris, journalist and folklorist. The Georgia Writer's Museum in Eatonton celebrates over 60 Georgia authors, including Walker and Harris.

Thing.

On December 16, 1985, Stephen Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple premiered in New York, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover.

Author Alice Walker was born in Eatonton Georgia in 1944. She has published 17 novels, 12 non-fiction works, and numerous articles, essays, stories, and poetry collections. She became the first black woman to win the Pulitzer for fiction, for The Color Purple, in 1982. During the 1970s, she taught and wrote about black women writers, and her essays helped to revive interest in the life and work of writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston.

The color purple: who knew reading about a color's historic and cultural significance could be so much fun. Most people know about the purple association with royalty, but there's a lot more interesting stuff. Here are some basics:

"Purple has long been associated with royalty, originally because Tyrian purple dye, made from the mucus secretion of a species of snail, was extremely expensive in antiquity. (The dye was one of the most valuable products traded by the Phoenicians, ancient seafarers and traders of modern Lebanon. Extraction of the dye was extremely labor intensive and required thousands of snails.) Purple was the color worn by Roman magistrates; it became the imperial color worn by the rulers of the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, and later by Roman Catholic bishops. Similarly in Japan, the color is traditionally associated with the emperor and aristocracy.

According to contemporary surveys in Europe and the United States, purple is the color most often associated with rarity, royalty, magic, mystery and piety. When combined with pink, it is associated with eroticism, femininity, and seduction." (Wikipedia)

Person.

On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers make the first recognized sustained motorized flight at Kitty Hawk North Carolina, piloted by Orville Wright at 10:35 AM. Back home in Dayton Ohio, their sister Katharine got the news via telegram a few hours later. Katharine was an essential part of their success. There are two recent books about her role, Patty Dann's novelized version Richard Maurer's nonfiction.

Katharine was the younger sister (1874-1929) of Orville and Wilbur. While they were shy, quiet, and awkward among strangers, she was outgoing, social, and shrewd. While the brothers experimented, Katharine taught full time, ran the Wright household, and managed their Dayton Ohio bicycle shop. They relied in the shop's income for the household and for research.

After the flight, she became their PR person, promoting the new family business and negotiating contracts with governments and businesses while the brothers continued tinkering. She charmed international press and politicians with her manner, intelligence, and facility for learning languages (She taught Latin ). Some reporters called her the "brains of the operation."

She nursed Orville to health when he was injured in a crash (The passenger died.), and she led their legal defense against multiple lawsuits filed by other inventors claiming they were first. When Wilbur died in 1912, she took a seat on the board.

On top of all that, she was a trustee for her alma mater, Oberlin College, and an activist for women's suffrage.

Place.

On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers make the first recognized sustained motorized flight at Kitty Hawk North Carolina, piloted by Orville Wright at 10:35 AM. Back home in Dayton Ohio, their sister Katharine got the news via telegram a few hours later. Katharine was an essential part of their success. There are two recent books about her role, Patty Dann's novelized version Richard Maurer's nonfiction.

"In 1895 the Wright Brothers moved their bicycle business to 22 South Williams Street, the only location of the six that is still standing today. It has been turned into the Wright Cycle Company Complex and the National Aviation Heritage Area. A second branch opened at 20 West Second Street in 1895, but closed down the next year. In 1896 the Wright Brothers began selling their own bikes. They sold the more expensive Van Cleve, and the cheaper St. Clair. Orville made his own additions to the bicycles, including the Oil-Retaining Wheel Hub and the Coaster-Brakes. This was the greatest era of success for the Wright Brothers. They operated at 22 South Williams Street from 1895 to 1897." (Wikipedia)

Thing.

On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers make the first recognized sustained motorized flight at Kitty Hawk North Carolina, piloted by Orville Wright at 10:35 AM. Back home in Dayton Ohio, their sister Katharine got the news via telegram a few hours later. Katharine was an essential part of their success. There are two recent books about her role, Patty Dann's novelized version Richard Maurer's nonfiction.

The Wright Flyer, as it was called, is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Wingspan: 40 ft 4 in (12.29 m)
Height: 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m)
Wing area: 510 sq ft (47 m2)
Empty weight: 605 lb (274 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 745 lb (338 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Wright straight-4 water-cooled 201.1 cu in (3,295 cc) piston engine.[5], 12 hp (8.9 kW) - specifically built by one of their employees
Propellers: 2-bladed Wright "Elliptical" props, 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter, powered by a sprocket chain drive, inspired by bicycle chains

Person.

On December 18, 1917, the US Congress approved the prohibition of the sale, manufacture, and transport of alcohol, sending what would become the 18th amendment to the states for ratification.

George Remus (1878-1952) was a German-born American lawyer who was dubbed "The King of the Bootleggers" by the press, the most successful bootlegger in the country, and a multimillionaire.

Arriving in the US in 1882, he found his way to Chicago and worked in his uncle's pharmacy, sleeping in the store. He completed pharmacy school at 19 and had his own pharmacy at 21. He then decided to study law and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1994, becoming a criminal defense attorney. In court, he was known for his theatrical performances, but he was also one of the first lawyers in America to introduce the insanity defense.

When Prohibition took effect in January 1920, Remus decided to use a loophole to get rich. Medicinal use of alcohol was allowed, and pharmacists were allowed government licenses to dispense it. Doctors wrote thousands of prescriptions for alcohol for their patients who used it for all sorts of "illnesses." Pharmacy business exploded. (Walgreens would probably not be a chain today if not for Prohibition.)

Remus bought up the now-legal bonded alcohol, hired men to hijack his own alcohol on the roads, and then bootlegged it. His headquarters was in Cincinnati; 80% of America's bonded whiskey was located within a 300-mile radius of Cincinnati. Soon, he'd made $40 million and employed 3,000 people. He didn't go unnoticed. Federal agents doggedly pursued him, and he did serve two years in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for bootlegging. There, he got tangled up with a fellow inmate, Frank Dodge, who was actually an undercover federal agent. From there, things really start to get weird.

Karen Abbott's book The Ghosts of Eden Park is a great read about Remus, his business, and the unbelievable twists and turns in his life

Place.

On December 18, 1917, the US Congress approved the prohibition of the sale, manufacture, and transport of alcohol, sending what would become the 18th amendment to the states for ratification.

George Remus (1878-1952) was a German-born American lawyer who was dubbed "The King of the Bootleggers" by the press, the most successful bootlegger in the country, and a multimillionaire.

In 1921, Remus moved to Cincinnati and purchased the Marble House, a huge mansion with an indoor pool. He became famous for the large lavish parties, especially New Year's Eve parties. In 1922, Remus and his wife held a New Year's Eve party and invited one hundred couples from the most prestigious families in the area. As parting gifts, Remus presented all the men with diamond stickpins, and gave each guest's wife a brand new car. He held a similar party in June 1923, while he was having problems with the government, at which he gave each female guest (of the fifty present) a brand new car. He was known for making large donations to various charities and for giving out $100 bills to children.

Karen Abbott's book The Ghosts of Eden Park is a great read about Remus, his business, and the unbelievable twists and turns in his life

Thing.

On December 18, 1917, the US Congress approved the prohibition of the sale, manufacture, and transport of alcohol, sending what would become the 18th amendment to the states for ratification.

George Remus (1878-1952) was a German-born American lawyer who was dubbed "The King of the Bootleggers" by the press, the most successful bootlegger in the country, and a multimillionaire.

Of course, we all know that Prohibition was a failed social experiment - miserably failed - that had many negative effects. The amendment and the Volstead Act, the hastily patched together legislation that enabled enforcement, were full of loopholes and exceptions. One of those was religious exemptions. There was an explosion of churches and synagogues during Prohibition.

The other was medicinal. Doctors wrote prescriptions, usually for whiskey or brandy, for all sorts of ailments. This loophole inspire Remus, a former pharmacist to become a bootlegger.

Karen Abbott's book The Ghosts of Eden Park is a great read about Remus, his business, and the unbelievable twists and turns in his life

Person.

Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was first published as a novella in London on December 19, 1843. All 6,000 first-run copies sold out by Christmas Eve. By the end of 1844, twelve more editions had sold out. It was, and is, Dickens' most popular book in the US, and it sold over 2 million copies in the first hundred years following initial publication

Dickens (1812- 1870) had already published six major works by that time, along with several stories and novellas. On December 31, 1842, he started publishing Martin Chuzzlewit as a monthly serial. He thought Martin was his best work and was hugely disappointed when sales fizzled. He was desperate to have a hit, and he started work on "A Christmas Carol."

Born to a comfortably middle class family, Dickens had experienced tragedy when his father's spendthrift ways caused them to lose everything and got John Dickens committed to a debtors' prison. Charles was forced to leave school at 12, pawn his books, and work at a shoe-blacking factory. His childhood experiences played a major role in shaping his writing and his interest in portraying the conditions of the UK's working class.

Place.

Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was first published as a novella in London on December 19, 1843. All 6,000 first-run copies sold out by Christmas Eve. By the end of 1844, twelve more editions had sold out. It was, and is, Dickens' most popular book in the US, and it sold over 2 million copies in the first hundred years following initial publication

In Victorian England, celebrating the Christmas season was still developing into something we would recognize today. Prince Albert brought German traditions with him when he married Victoria. While he didn't introduce the German tradition of Christmas trees to Britain ( King George III's Queen Charlotte did that a little earlier. ), newspaper illustrations and lithographs of the royal family surrounding the palace tree forever associated the tree with Victoria and Albert. Santa Claus, Christmas cards, Christmas carols, Christmas puddings, Christmas crackers (For Americans: the pretty paper tubes opened on Christmas to reveal a small token of some sort) were largely unknown before Victoria and Albert's reign.

"A Christmas Carol" helped popularize a number of traditions now associated with Christmas.

Thing.

Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was first published as a novella in London on December 19, 1843. All 6,000 first-run copies sold out by Christmas Eve. By the end of 1844, twelve more editions had sold out. It was, and is, Dickens' most popular book in the US, and it sold over 2 million copies in the first hundred years following initial publication

One of the reasons I like doing person, place, and thing posts is that I learn too. So what's a Christmas carol? It turns out that there is a difference between Christmas carols and Christmas songs, and many of us have not been using the word correctly. (And Dickens used the word wrong on more than one level.) Technically, a Christmas carol is religious, and a Christmas song is secular.

The first known Christmas hymns, or carols, may be traced to 4th-century Rome. Latin hymns such as Veni redemptor gentium, written by Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, were austere statements of the theological doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to Arianism. Corde natus ex Parentis (Of the Father's heart begotten) by the Spanish poet Prudentius (d. 413) is still sung in some churches today.

Beginning in the 13th century, carols were sung in European vernacular (everyday) languages instead of in Latin. The first carols in English appeared in 1426. Although carols became more popular as Protestant churches proliferated, It still took a couple of centuries before carols were sung outside of church.

The first picture is of a 1582 carol in Latin.

Persons.

Grimm's Fairy Tales or Children's and Household Tales was first published on December 20, 1812.

Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859) Grimm were German academics, lexicographers, authors, and folklorists who collected and published European folktales such as Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rumplestiltskin to name a few. The rise of Romanticism and the very beginnings of German national identity made folktales popular. The Grimm Brothers saw them as a major part of German national culture, and they started collecting the stories, using a methodology which they developed and which became the methodology of folklore studies.

They added to, revised, and republished many times during their lives. In 1838, they began creating a definitive German dictionary. Their fairy tales have made their way into over a hundred translations and continue to inspire animators, and filmmakers today. They were also incorporated into Nazi propaganda.

As we all know, the original stories collected by the Brothers Grimm truly were grim, and even brutal, and most of them have been sanitized and cleaned up over the years. The brothers themselves actually began that practice in later editions.

Place.

Grimm's Fairy Tales or Children's and Household Tales was first published on December 20, 1812. Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859) Grimm were German academics, lexicographers, authors, and folklorists who collected and published European folktales such as Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rumplestiltskin to name a few.

From 1791 to 1796, the Grimm family lived in this home in Steinau Germany. It was actually a courthouse built during the Renaissance. The boys' father was a district judge and was transferred to Steinau, his birthplace. The courthouse served as both workplace and home. Unfortunately, Judge Grimm died in 1796 of pneumonia, and the widow and children were forced to give up their servants and home. Today, the house is a museum dedicated to the Grimm's and their work.

Thing.

Grimm's Fairy Tales or Children's and Household Tales was first published on December 20, 1812. Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859) Grimm were German academics, lexicographers, authors, and folklorists who collected and published European folktales such as Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rumplestiltskin to name a few.

Unfortunately, in collecting German folk tales, the brothers also collected stories that reflected German anti-Semitism. "In Nazi Germany the Grimms' stories were used to foster nationalism as well as to promote antisemitic sentiments in an increasingly hostile time for Jewish people. Some examples of notable antisemitic works in the Grimms' bibliography are "The Girl Who Was Killed by Jews", "The Jews' Stone", "The Jew Among Thorns" and "The Good Bargain". “The Girl Who Was Killed by Jews” and “The Jews’ Stone” tell stories of blood libel by Jews against innocent children. In both stories the children are violently killed and mutilated. The myth of blood libel was widely propagated during the Middle Ages and is still used to vilify Jews today. The children in these two stories are also acquired in exchange for large sums of money. Jewish wealth and greed are also common antisemitic tropes. These tropes appear in “The Jew Among Thorns” and “The Good Bargain”. In both stories a Jewish man is depicted as deceitful for the sake of money. In the former the man admits to stealing money and is executed instead of the protagonist. In the latter, the Jewish man is found to be deceitful in order to be rewarded a sum of money. The specific deceit is irrelevant and here too the protagonist triumphs over the Jew. All of these stories paint Jews as antagonists whether through murderous rites, deceit, or greed." (Wikipedia)

The Nazi Party even decreed that every German household should own a copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Persons.

On December 21, 1898, Pierre (1859-1906) and Marie (1867-1934) Curie discovered radium.

Born in Warsaw to Polish patriots and academics, Maria Salomea Sklodowska was tutored at home in physics and mathematics and excelled in her formal education, breaking barriers that kept most girls out. She made a deal with her sister Bronislawa. She would help Bronislawa pay for medical studies in Paris, and Bronislawa would return the favor in a couple of years. Maria worked as a tutor and governess to save money. When Bronislawa married, she invited Maria to join them in Paris. She lived with her sister and brother-in-law briefly, became known as Marie, and completed her degrees at the University of Paris.

In 1894, she met Pierre Curie, and they fell in love. He proposed, but she said no because she planned to return to Warsaw. He offered to go with her even if it meant that he just became a French teacher. When she realized she would never get a position in Poland because of sexism, she said yes, and they married in 1895. She wore the same dark blue suit for their civil wedding that she wore for years as lab clothes.

Together, they began research in radioactivity - a term she coined - and they discovered radium, becoming the first married couple to win the Nobel. She made more discoveries, winning a Nobel in Chemistry, the only person to win in two science fields. She went on to do much more than this post allows. The Curie family ultimately won five Nobels in total, and their story is incredibly fascinating.

I've never seen this illustrated book Radioactive, but it has great reviews and looks very interesting.

Place.

On December 21, 1898, Pierre (1859-1906) and Marie (1867-1934) Curie discovered radium.

In 1906, Marie Curie became the first female faculty member ever at the University of Paris, aka the Sorbonne, the second oldest university in Europe. The University of Paris was founded in 1150 as the cathedral school of Notre Dame de Paris. Except for a few years during the French Revolution, it operated continuously until 1970. Following the student demonstrations and riots beginning in 1968, the University was broken up into 13 autonomous universities in 1970.

Thing.

On December 21, 1898, Pierre (1859-1906) and Marie (1867-1934) Curie discovered radium.

In 1911, Marie Curie found herself in a position that distracted from her laboratory work. On the one hand, she was awarded her second Nobel Prize that year. On the other hand, she was denied a seat in the French Academy of Sciences, losing the election by two votes. Curie's bid to become the first woman accepted into the prestigious French Academy of Sciences had been hotly debated in the press, with critics primarily arguing she should either a) concede the seat to an elder and wait her turn, b) leave scientific pursuits to men or c) go back to Poland. She was also attacked for being Jewish and not French born.

At the same time, it was revealed in the press that she had been involved in a relationship with Paul Langevin, a younger married associate. (Pierre had died in an accident in 1906.) Langevin and his wife had been separated. His wife hired a detective to collect evidence which she made public. Outrage followed. That outrage was often anti-woman, anti-foreigner, and anti-Semitic, and it got to be very vicious.

Albert Einstein wrote her this letter of support during this time, basically telling her "haters gonna hate" and "don't let the bastards wear you down." Of course, Einstein's life was full of unconventional, some would say scandalous, incidents and attitudes, but he was a man.