Person, Place, and Thing: February 28 through March 7

 (Person, Place, and Thing took a hiatus for most of the month of February.)

Person

Richard Wright's novel Native Son was published on February 28, 1940. It tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a black youth living on Chicago's south side in the 1930s. It was an immediate bestseller and sits at number 20 on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.

Wright ( 1908-1960)was born in Mississippi. Both sets of grandparents had been enslaved, and both grandfathers had served in the Civil War, one in the Union Army and one in the Union Navy. His father abandoned the family, and his mother had a stroke, so Richard and his younger brother were separated and sent to live with abusive relatives. Although he had little formal education before age 12, he published a story in a black newspaper at 15. He had to leave high school to work, moving to Memphis by himself at 17, continuing to read and educate himself before moving to Chicago. He wrote fiction and nonfiction, including his memoir, Black Boy.

Place

Richard Wright's novel Native Son was published on February 28, 1940. It tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a black youth living on Chicago's south side in the 1930s. It was an immediate bestseller and sits at number 20 on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.

Wright had very little formal education before age 12, but he excelled academically at the segregated junior high he attended, becoming valedictorian of his graduating class. In September 1925, Wright registered for mathematics, English, and history courses at the new Lanier High School, but he had to stop attending classes after a few weeks of irregular attendance because he needed to earn money to support his family. Lanier was integrated in 1969.

Thing

Richard Wright's novel Native Son was published on February 28, 1940. It tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a black youth living on Chicago's south side in the 1930s. It was an immediate bestseller and sits at number 20 on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.

Native Son was the first ever book written by a black author selected by the Book of the Month Club, which inflated sales. The Book of the Month Club is a US subscription-based service founded in 1926. Each month, subscribers are offered 5 to 7 titles to choose from. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and selection is deemed a great honor and boon to sales. In 2015, the BOMC announced a relaunch to revitalize the system. Then, there were over 100,000 members and 1.2 million Instagram followers.

Person.

Author Ralph Ellison was born on March 1 1913 and died in 1994. He published several highly esteemed books and essays, and he was a respected literary critic. His first novel was his most acclaimed, Invisible Man, which addressed social and intell issues surrounding black identity and place in America in the early 20th century.

Ellison was born in Oklahoma City. Following his father's death, his mother moved her children to Gary Indiana, but she was unable to find work, and the family returned to Oklahoma. Ellison attended Tuskegee Institute but left before obtaining a degree. He played trumpet professionally and studied sculpture after moving to New York City where he met many of the major literary and artistic leaders of the Harlem Renaissance and was introduced to the Communist Party which attracted many black intellectuals frustrated with America's racism and racial violence.

His wife Fanny McConnell supported the couple while he worked on Invisible Man from 1947 to 1951. He earned a little money writing book reviews and a couple of songs. Invisible Man was published in 1952 and won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1953.

Place.

Author Ralph Ellison was born on March 1 1913 and died in 1994. He published several highly esteemed books and essays, and he was a respected literary critic. His first novel was his most acclaimed, Invisible Man, which addressed social and intell issues surrounding black identity and place in America in the early 20th century.

As a child, Ellison's mother took her family to Gary Indiana where her brother lived, but, unable to find work, she returned them to Oklahoma after a short time. Gary, founded only in 1906, had a brief industrial boom period, for a minute, but its fortunes have drastically fallen. "The city's population has decreased drastically, having lost 61% of its population since 1960. Because of its large losses in population and deteriorating economy, Gary is often cited as an example of industrial decline and urban decay in America.

A rapid racial change occurred in Gary during the late 20th century. These population changes resulted in political change which reflected the racial demographics of Gary: the non-white share of the city's population increased from 21% in 1930, 39% in 1960, to 53% in 1970. Non-whites were primarily restricted to living in the Midtown section just south of downtown (per the 1950 Census, 97% of the black population of Gary was living in this neighborhood). Gary had one of the nation's first African-American mayors, Richard G. Hatcher, and hosted the groundbreaking 1972 National Black Political Convention.[15]

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gary had the highest percentage of African-Americans of U.S. cities with a population of 100,000 or more, 84% (as of the 2000 U.S. census). This no longer applies to Gary since the population of the city has now fallen well below 100,000 residents. As of 2013, the Gary Department of Redevelopment has estimated that one-third of all homes in the city are unoccupied and/or abandoned." (Wikipedia)

Thing.

Author Ralph Ellison was born on March 1 1913 and died in 1994. He published several highly esteemed books and essays, and he was a respected literary critic. His first novel was his most acclaimed, Invisible Man, which addressed social and intellectual issues surrounding black identity and place in America in the early 20th century.

This monument along Riverside Drive at 150th Street, Manhattan, NYC, honors writer Ralph Waldo Ellison (1914–1994), who is best known for writing the epic novel Invisible Man, the inspiration for the memorial. The 15-foot-high, 10-foot-wide bronze monolith – the center of which featuring a hollow silhouette of a man – was created by Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012) and unveiled in 2003. The monument features two granite panels that are inscribed with Ellison quotes and a biographical panel. The Riverside Park Fund and Ralph Ellison Memorial Committee, a neighborhood group – some of whose members knew Ellison personally – helped build momentum for the project, raising private funds to commission and endow the sculpture in collaboration with a City-funded re-landscaping project.

Person.

David Herbert Lawrence died of tuberculosis on March 2 1930 at age 44. He was an English writer, novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation, and industrialization, while championing sexuality, vitality, and instinct. His best-known novels—Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, and Lady Chatterley's Lover—were the subject of censorship trials for their radical portrayals of sexuality and use of explicit language.

The son of a coal miner and a former teacher forced into factory work by family finances, he grew up in a Nottinghamshire mining town. He began writing at a young age and became a teacher. His first published novel, The White Peacock, appeared in 1910. He and his German lover were accused of spying for the Germans during WWI, because of her German background. After the war, they spent little time in the UK, mostly traveling around the world. They lived in the US for several years, beginning in 1922. He died in France.

Place.

David Herbert Lawrence died of tuberculosis on March 2 1930 at age 44. He was an English writer, novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation, and industrialization, while championing sexuality, vitality, and instinct. His best-known novels—Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, and Lady Chatterley's Lover—were the subject of censorship trials for their radical portrayals of sexuality and use of explicit language.

The son of a coal miner and a former teacher forced into factory work by family finances, he grew up in a Nottinghamshire mining town. The family home is now part of the D.H. Lawrence Home Museum.

"The house has been laid out in the style of a late 19th-century working-class miner's house, with the furniture being mostly from the family of the women who founded it, Enid Goodband, first curator of the museum . There are a few original items from Lawrence's family; the artefacts are as close to the 1880s as possible and from Nottinghamshire to make the contents as authentic for the period. The house is set out as it was thought to have been when the Lawrences lived there. The significance of each room (parlour, kitchen, communal yard, washhouse, parents’ bedroom, children's bedroom and attic) is highlighted, either by the interpretation boards on display, or via a staff member on a guided tour.

There is a small exhibition of Lawrence's early original watercolour paintings and a DVD room that starts the tour providing an introduction to his life in Eastwood and thereafter. Photocopies of his later paintings are also displayed. A recent addition to the collection was Lawrence's original gravestone, which has been on display since 11 September 2009—the anniversary of his birthday." (Wikipedia)

Thing.

David Herbert Lawrence died of tuberculosis on March 2 1930 at age 44. He was an English writer, novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation, and industrialization, while championing sexuality, vitality, and instinct. His best-known novels—Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, and Lady Chatterley's Lover—were the subject of censorship trials for their radical portrayals of sexuality and use of explicit language.

When Lady Chatterley's Lover was published originally in 1928, it was heavily censored by its publisher. An unexpurgated version was published by Penguin in 1960, and there was an immediate furor in the UK, over the explicit language and sex scenes depicted in the book. Penguin was prosecuted for violating British obscenity laws. The trial put a spotlight not only on obscenity, but also on feminism and classic. Opponents of the book's publication asked "Would you let your WIFE or SERVANTS read this book?"

The jury ruled that the book was not obscene, and the case became a landmark for British publishing and speech.

Persons.

On March 3 1857, the United Kingdom and France declared war on China, initiating the Second Opium War. Both Opium Wars were caused by the British, chiefly the British East India Company, desire to continue reaping huge profits by smuggling Opium into China. They resulted in the weakening of China and major economic and territorial concessions to Europeans.

Opium had been used in China medicinally for centuries, but the Chinese populace had begun smoking opium in the 18th century, and its use sapped the nation's productivity and brought other problems. Over 50 years, emperors outlawed opium use and importation. However, the British East India Company made much money cultivating, processing, and importing opium into China and elsewhere.

In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor, also known by the name Emperor Xuanzong of Qing attempted to end the trade by sending a letter to Queen Victoria. The Queen never saw the letter, however, the British East India Company, which exerted a large influence on British government, did and took action. The first war was from 1839 to 1842, and the second was from 1856 to 1860.

It wasn't only The Company that profited. American merchants got in on the act as well, making millions off the "Old China Trade," of which opium smuggled from Turkey into China comprised a large portion. One of the biggest profiteers who made his fortune by addicting Chinese peasants was Warren Delano, Jr, the maternal grandfather of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Place.

On March 3 1857, the United Kingdom and France declared war on China, initiating the Second Opium War. Both Opium Wars were caused by the British, chiefly the British East India Company, desire to continue reaping huge profits by smuggling Opium into China. They resulted in the weakening of China and major economic and territorial concessions to Europeans.

Where is opium grown? Opium is grown mainly by impoverished farmers on small plots in remote regions of the world. It flourishes in dry, warm climates and the vast majority of opium poppies are grown in a narrow, 4,500-mile stretch of mountains extending across central Asia from Turkey through Pakistan and Burma. Recently, opium has been grown in Latin America, notably Colombia and Mexico. The farmer takes his crop of opium to the nearest village where he will sell it to the dealer who offers him the best price.

The Golden Triangle is the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers.The name "Golden Triangle"—coined by the CIA—is commonly used more broadly to refer to an area of approximately 950,000 square kilometres (367,000 sq mi) that overlaps the mountains of the three adjacent countries.

Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent, it has been one of the largest opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s. Most of the world's heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when Afghanistan became the world's largest producer. The majority of the region's opium is now produced in Myanmar and, to a lesser extent, Laos." (Wikipedia)

Thing.

On March 3 1857, the United Kingdom and France declared war on China, initiating the Second Opium War. Both Opium Wars were caused by the British, chiefly the British East India Company, desire to continue reaping huge profits by smuggling Opium into China. They resulted in the weakening of China and major economic and territorial concessions to Europeans.

"Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: Lachryma papaveris) is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade.

The Mediterranean region contains the earliest archeological evidence of human use; the oldest known seeds date back to more than 5000 BC in the Neolithic age with purposes such as food, anaesthetics, and ritual. Evidence from ancient Greece indicates that opium was consumed in several ways, including inhalation of vapors, suppositories, medical poultices, and as a combination with hemlock for suicide. Opium is mentioned in the most important medical texts of the ancient and medieval world, including the Ebers Papyrus and the writings of Dioscorides, Galen, and Avicenna. Widespread medical use of unprocessed opium continued through the American Civil War before giving way to morphine and its successors, which could be injected at a precisely controlled dosage." (Wikipedia)

Person.

March 4 was originally set in the Constitution as the date of presidential inauguration, the official first day of government business. The date was changed by the 20th amendment to January 20 when it was realized that advances in travel technology allowed for earlier transitions.

Abraham Lincoln very nearly did make it to his first inauguration in 1861. His election infuriated southerners, whose states had not even put his name on the 1860 ballot, and a small group made plans to assassinate him as he made his way across the country to take office.

The infamous Pinkerton Detective Agency was hired to protect him; there was no Secret Service created until after Lincoln's assassination in 1865, and it was only authorized to protect the Predident in 1906, after two more assassinations. Pinkerton dispatched the first female detective in America to uncover the plot.

Little is known about Kate Warne before she joined the Pinkerton Agency in 1856 when she answered a newspaper ad. She had just been widowed at age 23. Despite Pinkerton's misgivings, she was hired and proved herself quickly. When rumors of a Lincoln plot appeared, she went undercover in Baltimore and learned the details, allowing Pinkerton to develop a deception that got Lincoln to Washington safely. During the Civil War, Warne acted as a Union spy. After the war, Pinkerton put her in charge of female agents and called her one of the five best detectives that he had ever met. She died in 1868 at age 34 or 35.

Brad Meltzer's The Lincoln Conspiracy tells of the plot.

Place.

March 4 was originally set in the Constitution as the date of presidential inauguration, the official first day of government business. The date was changed by the 20th amendment to January 20 when it was realized that advances in travel technology allowed for earlier transitions.

Lincoln's 1861 and 1865 inaugurations took place outside of the Senate chamber of the US Capitol, which underwent major changes during the Civil War.

From senate.gov :
"The Capitol underwent a major transformation during the course of the Civil War. When war broke out in the spring of 1861, the building was in the midst of a major expansion project that had begun 10 years earlier and included the construction of two large wings and a new, taller dome. As soldiers streamed into Washington that April, they set up camp in and around the unfinished Capitol, where they marched, trained, and protected the city from a feared Confederate attack. Building materials intended for the construction of the new dome were converted for use in fortifying the building. Troops were quartered in House and Senate Chambers, and large brick ovens were constructed in the basement to supply bread. Following the Second Battle of Bull Run in 1862, the Capitol was even used as a hospital for wounded troops. Despite such wartime activities, construction continued. In December 1863, the Statue of Freedom was placed atop the finished dome–a symbolic event that signified the enduring nation in a time of civil war."

Brad Meltzer's The Lincoln Conspiracy tells of the plot to assassinate Lincoln before he was even inaugurated.

Thing.

March 4 was originally set in the Constitution as the date of presidential inauguration, the official first day of government business. The date was changed by the 20th amendment to January 20 when it was realized that advances in travel technology allowed for earlier transitions.

In 1861, rumors of a supposed plot to kill Abraham Lincoln on his way to his inauguration led to the hiring of the Pinkerton Detective Agency to protect him. The Secret Service wasn't created until 1865 and didn't start protecting the President until 1906.

The Pinkerton Detective Agency was established around 1850 in the United States by Scottish-born American Allan Pinkerton and Chicago attorney Edward Rucker as the North-Western Police Agency, which later became Pinkerton & Co, and finally the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. After thwarting the Lincoln plot, the agency conducted espionage against the Confederacy and protected Lincoln during the war. During the Gilded Age, the agency was often employed by factory owners to undermine union organizations and to conduct violent operations against striking workers.

Today, the company is owned by a Swedish-owned security firm.

Person.

On March 5, 1616, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Catholic Church because it suggested the heretical idea that the sun was the center of the solar system, with the planets revolving around it, instead of placing the earth in the center.

Copernicus was born in Poland in 1473 and died in 1543. He was a polymath, obtaining a doctorate in canon (Church) law and working as a mathematician, astronomer, physician, classics scholar, translator, governor, diplomat, and economist.

After years of astronomical observations and mathematical work, he wrote the manuscript for On the Revolutions which laid out what became known as the heliocentric theory but delayed publishing it because of possible repercussions from a challenge to Church orthodoxy. It was finally published a few days before his death. Legend has it that he saw a newly printed copy in his last hours. Adverse reaction was mild at first, with some Catholic universities even teaching the book over the next 50 years. While some scholars attacked the conclusions and methodology, it wasn't really condemned as heretical until after 1600.

The book's publication is a major event in the history of science, and Copernicus is considered a pioneer of the Scientific Revolution.

Place.

On March 5, 1616, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Catholic Church because it suggested the heretical idea that the sun was the center of the solar system, with the planets revolving around it, instead of placing the earth in the center.

Copernicus spent almost his entire life in Royal Prussia, a unique dependency of Poland. Royal Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Poland, which was established after the Second Peace of Thorn(1466) from territory in Pomerellia and western Prussia which had previously been part of the State of the Teutonic Order. Royal Prussia retained its autonomy, governing itself and maintaining its own laws, customs, rights and German language for a century.

Thing.

On March 5, 1616, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Catholic Church because it suggested the heretical idea that the sun was the center of the solar system, with the planets revolving around it, instead of placing the earth in the center.

As I was reading about Copernicus today, I came across a reference to the Lizard League or the Lizard Union. Naturally, I just had to go down that rabbit hole.

The Lizard League was a group of Polish nobles and knights formed in 1397 in Chelmno Land or Culmerland.
Its declared goal was to combat lawlessness, although it discreetly sought the transfer of Culmerland from the Teutonic Order to Poland. It was named after its symbol, a lizard. It largely proved ineffective, and it dissolved after being declared illegal by the Pope and the Emperor.

During WWII, some Polish resistance units adopted a lizard insignia as a nod to the League and its role in Polish history.

Person.

Valentina Tereshkova was born on March 6, 1937 in a village on the Volga River, USSR. Today at 86, she is a member of the Russian Duma.

As a young woman, she became an avid skydiver with no real thoughts of space until she was recruited, due to her skydiving experience, to become the first woman cosmonaut. The Soviets were engaged in the space race with the US and were determined to put the first woman into orbit. Tereshkova was one of the first five to be selected for training. She was selected for the first launch in 1963, a perfect propaganda candidate because she was the child of collective farm workers, and her father was killed in the Winter War with Finland in 1939.

On June 16, 1963, after becoming the first woman to follow the tradition established by first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin of peeing on the bus tire, she became the first woman in space. She is still the only woman to ever fly a solo space mission and the youngest woman in space, at 26. She orbited the earth 48 times, spending more time in space than all American astronauts combined up to that point, 71 hours. She also had the first bowel movement in orbit.

There are a few books about the Soviet space program. James Oberg is considered America's expert on Soviet space history, and his Red Star In Orbit is the Soviet version of The Right Stuff.

Place.

Valentina Tereshkova was born on March 6, 1937 in a village on the Volga River, USSR. Today at 86, she is a member of the Russian Duma. In 1963, she became the first woman in space.

Americans are familiar with NASA operations based out of Cape Canaveral/Cape Kennedy Florida and Houston Texas, primarily, but the first ever spaceport built on earth was a top secret military installation built in Soviet Kazakhstan in 1955, the Baikonnur Cosmodrone. It served as the launch site, and continued to do so until 2019, for the Soviet, and now Russian, space program.

Because of Soviet secrecy and cover-ups, we may never know the true number of accidents and human deaths, injuries, and illnesses that occurred at the site over the decades, but there were many. The location's impact on the land and its animal and plant life is also staggering, at least what we know of it.

There are a few books about the Soviet space program. James Oberg is considered America's expert on Soviet space history, including accidents and explosions, and his Red Star In Orbit is the Soviet version of The Right Stuff.

Thing.

Valentina Tereshkova was born on March 6, 1937 in a village on the Volga River, USSR. Today at 86, she is a member of the Russian Duma.In 1963, she became the first woman in space.

Tereshkova was launched into space aboard the Vostok 6, the final Vostok mission. The capsule is now on display at the RKK Energia Museum in Korolyov (near Moscow). From September 2015 it formed part of the content of the "Cosmonauts" exhibition at the Science Museum, London. The Exhibition featured many iconic objects from the Soviet space program.

There are a few books about the Soviet space program. James Oberg is considered America's expert on Soviet space history, including accidents and explosions, and his Red Star In Orbit is the Soviet version of The Right Stuff.

Person.

On March 7, 1989, Iran broke diplomatic relations with the UK over Salman Rushdie's fourth novel The Satanic Verses.

British-American Indian-born novelist Rushdie published The Satanic Verses in 1988, inspired by the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad. The book elicited worldwide critical acclaim and commercial success, but it was also condemned as blasphemous by many Muslims. It was banned in India because of fears of religious unrest. The fundamentalist Supreme Leader of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, essentially a death warrant, against Rushdie, resulting in many threats and assassination attempts against the author. Rushdie was forced to go into hiding briefly, and his life was greatly affected. On August 12, 2022, a man rushed the stage at a New York speaking event and stabbed him several times. Rushdie suffered four wounds to his abdomen, three wounds to his neck, one wound to his right eye, one chest wound, and one wound to his right thigh, losing sight in that eye and suffering liver damage and nerve damage in one arm. He gave his first print interview following the attack in February 2023.

Place.

On March 7, 1989, Iran broke diplomatic relations with the UK over Salman Rushdie's fourth novel The Satanic Verses.

The publication of The Satanic Verses by Viking Penguin in September 1988 caused immediate controversy in the Islamic world because of what was seen by some to be an irreverent depiction of Muhammad. The title refers to a disputed Muslim tradition that is related in the book. According to this tradition, Muhammad (Mahound in the book) added verses (Ayah) to the Qur'an accepting three Arabian pagan goddesses who used to be worshipped in Mecca as divine beings. According to the legend, Muhammad later revoked the verses, saying the devil tempted him to utter these lines to appease the Meccans (hence the "Satanic" verses). However, the narrator reveals to the reader that these disputed verses were actually from the mouth of the Archangel Gabriel. The book was banned in many countries with large Muslim communities (13 in total: Iran, India, Bangladesh, Sudan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, Singapore, Venezuela, and Pakistan).

In response to the protests, on 22 January 1989, Rushdie published a column in The Observer that called Muhammad "one of the great geniuses of world history," but noted that Islamic doctrine holds Muhammad to be human, and in no way perfect. He held that the novel is not "an anti-religious novel. It is, however, an attempt to write about migration, its stresses and transformations." (Wikipedia)

Thing.

On March 7, 1989, Iran broke diplomatic relations with the UK over Salman Rushdie's fourth novel The Satanic Verses.

British-American Indian-born novelist Rushdie published The Satanic Verses in 1988, inspired by the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad. The book elicited worldwide critical acclaim and commercial success, but it was also condemned as blasphemous by many Muslims. It was banned in India because of fears of religious unrest. The fundamentalist Supreme Leader of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, essentially a death warrant, against Rushdie, resulting in many threats and assassination attempts against the author.

Technically, a fatwa is a legal pronouncement in Islam, a formal ruling or interpretation on a point of Islamic law given by a qualified legal scholar (known as a mufti). Fatwas are usually issued in response to questions from individuals or Islamic courts. In this case, however, Khomeini declared that the novel was blasphemous and that it was the duty of all good Muslims to kill Rushdie along with any publishers, promoters, or booksellers connected to the book.