Category: Today’s Birthday

In 1889, with Ellen Gates Starr, Addams founded Hull House in Chicago, one of the first social settlements in the US. Based on the settlements begun in England by Samuel Barnett, Hull House served as a community center for the poor and as a center for social reform, and influenced the settlement movement throughout the country. A joint recipient of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize, Addams was a leader in the women’s suffrage and pacifist movements and a lecturer and writer. What are some of her books? Discuss

Cage was an American avant-garde composer and writer. In the 1930s, he began writing all-percussion pieces and proclaimed the use of noise as the next musical horizon. In 1938, he introduced the “prepared piano,” an instrument whose sound is radically modified by various objects placed on the strings. He developed the idea of indeterminacy, music that is not strictly controlled. The notorious 4’33”, probably his most famous piece, consists of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of what? Discuss

Wright was an American author whose works helped redefine discussions of race in the mid-20th century. The grandson of slaves, he grew up in poverty in the American south. The fictionalized autobiography Black Boy vividly describes his often harsh youth. He first came to wide attention in 1938 with a collection of short stories titled Uncle Tom’s Children and published his bestselling novel Native Son two years later. Why were some of his works reissued in 1991? Discuss

Sullivan is considered the father of modern American architecture. After working for several Chicago firms, he joined the office of Dankmar Adler in 1879, becoming Adler’s partner at age 24. Their 14-year association produced more than 100 buildings, many of them landmarks. During this period, Frank Lloyd Wright spent six years as an apprentice to Sullivan, who would be a major influence on the younger architect. What famous phrase did Sullivan coin to express his architectural philosophy? Discuss

Louis was the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, the first Emperor of France. He accompanied Napoleon on the Italian campaign and was his aide-de-camp in Egypt. At Napoleon’s insistence, he married Hortense de Beauharnais, but the union did not last. Proclaimed king of Holland in 1806, he was criticized by Napoleon for being too easy on his subjects. His unwillingness to join the Continental System led him into conflict with Napoleon and to eventually flee his kingdom. Who was Louis’s son? Discuss

Helmholtz was one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century. He made fundamental contributions to physiology, optics, electrodynamics, mathematics, acoustics, and meteorology, but he is best known for formulating the mathematical law of conservation of energy. His approach was strongly empirical at a time when many scientists embraced deductions from mental concepts. He described body heat and energy, nerve conduction, and the physiology of the eye. What medical instruments did he invent? Discuss

Wake, who lived to the age of 98, was one of World War II’s most decorated servicewomen. A New Zealand native, she left home at 16 and eventually settled in Paris. When the Germans occupied France, Wake joined the resistance. Pursued by the Gestapo, she fled to Britain, where she joined the Special Operations Executive. In 1944, she parachuted back into France to help establish communications between the British military and French Resistance. What nickname did the Gestapo have for her? Discuss

Bergman was a Swedish actress who specialized in portrayals of strong, sophisticated women. Her radiance and unaffected charm made her a star in films such as Casablanca, Gaslight, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious. A scandal caused by her affair with director Roberto Rossellini kept her off the US screen for seven years and forced her to return to Europe until 1956, when she made her successful Hollywood comeback in Anastasia. How many Academy Awards did she win? Discuss

Goethe was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, and scientist whose dramatic poem Faust is considered one of the world’s greatest poetic and philosophic creations. In it, he represents Faust, the legendary scholar who sold his soul to the devil, tragically, as a singularly modern figure who is condemned to remain unsatisfied by life. In his later years, Goethe was celebrated as a sage and visited by world luminaries. Goethe wrote which of his novels while suicidal over an unrequited love? Discuss

Dreiser was a novelist and pioneer of naturalism in American literature. After working as a journalist, magazine editor, and publisher, he published his first novel, Sister Carrie, which was denounced as scandalous. In 1915, the withdrawal of his autobiographical novel, The Genius, from distribution on moral grounds ignited a national anticensorship campaign supported by most of the leading literary figures of the day. Whose murder inspired his An American Tragedy? Discuss