Month: November 2023

Louis B. Mayer Opens His First Movie Theater (1907)

Born in Russia, Mayer immigrated to Canada and then the US with his family and began working in his father’s scrap-iron business at 14. At 23, he bought a small nickelodeon in Massachusetts, and by the time he reached his mid-30s, he owned New England’s largest movie theater chain. In 1925, he merged his film production company with others to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which, under his leadership, became Hollywood’s most prestigious studio. Mayer aspired to have “more stars than” what? Discuss

Friedrich Engels (1820)

With Karl Marx, Engels was one of the founders of modern Communism. After forming a partnership to promote the socialist movement, the two organized revolutionary movements and collaborated on several works, most notably the Communist Manifesto. Though Marx’s personality has overshadowed that of Engels, Engels served as the foremost authority on Marx and Marxism after Marx’s death in 1883. Despite his criticism of capitalism, Engels supported Marx’s publications by doing what? Discuss

Shays' Rebellion

Debt-ridden farmers, struck by the economic depression that followed the American Revolution, petitioned the Massachusetts state senate to halt foreclosure of mortgages on their property and imprisonment for debt. When the senate failed to undertake these reforms, armed rebels, led by Daniel Shays and other local leaders, forcibly closed a number of debtors’ courts. The rebellion, suppressed in 1787, less than a year after it began, prompted the fledgling US government to make what changes? Discuss

Bank Robber "Baby Face" Nelson Killed in FBI Shootout (1934)

Born Lester Gillis, George “Baby Face” Nelson began his life of crime in his early teens. After a series of auto thefts and bank robberies, Nelson joined the notorious Dillinger gang, which was being pursued by the FBI. Despite his innocent-sounding nickname—given for his youthful appearance and small stature—Nelson hated police and FBI agents and hunted them at every opportunity, a pastime that ultimately led to his undoing. How many times was Nelson shot in his final shootout with FBI agents? Discuss

Bookbinding

The craft of bookbinding began simply, with the use of boards to protect parchment manuscripts. By the 2nd century, sheets of parchment were being folded and sewn together. During the Middle Ages, the practice of making fine bindings for these sewn volumes rose to great heights; books were rare and precious articles, and many were treated with exquisite gilded and jeweled bindings. What is the uncommon practice of binding books in human skin, a technique dating back to the 17th century, called? Discuss