Category: Today’s Birthday

Burke was a British parliamentarian, orator, and political philosopher. Essays he published in the late 1750s gained the attention of Denis Diderot and Immanuel Kant, and he was hired to edit a yearly survey of world affairs. In his many and diverse writings, he left a monumental construction of British political thought that had a profound and long-term influence in England, America, and France. Burke held contrasting opinions on the American and French revolutions. Which did he support? Discuss

A high school dropout, Foreman learned to box in the Job Corps. He won the Olympic heavyweight gold medal in 1968 and beat Joe Frazier for the world heavyweight crown in 1973. He won all 40 of his professional bouts—many by knockout—before losing to Muhammad Ali in the “Rumble in the Jungle.” He retired to be a minister in 1977 but launched a comeback in 1987 and became the world’s oldest heavyweight champ in 1994. After naming his first four sons “George,” what did Foreman name his fifth son? Discuss

After serving as vice president of the US under Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nixon ran for president but lost to John F. Kennedy in 1960. He was elected president in 1968 and 1972, but his second term was cut short by the Watergate scandal, which involved the burglary and wiretapping of Democratic party headquarters. Likely facing impeachment, he became the first president to resign. Although never convicted, he was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford. What pet did Nixon receive as a political gift? Discuss

Ferrer was an American actor, director, and producer. He made his Broadway debut in 1935 and gained acclaim playing the starring role in Charley’s Aunt (1940) and Iago in a 1943 Broadway production of Othello. A versatile actor with a rich and powerful voice, he appeared in many films, including The Caine Mutiny and Ship of Fools. In 1950, he won an Academy Award for his performance as the title character in what film version of a play that he had also starred in? Discuss

An anthropologist, folklorist, and author, Hurston spent much of her life collecting African-American folktales in the rural South and in other places, such as Haiti, Bermuda, and Honduras. She was a significant figure in the Harlem Renaissance and collaborated with her friend Langston Hughes on the play Mule Bone in 1931. Along with her folklore collections, she also wrote four novels, including the influential Their Eyes Were Watching God. Why did the book inspire controversy? Discuss

Richard II was perhaps the most enigmatic of the English kings, reigning from 1377 to 1399. He inherited the throne as a boy, but his uncle John of Gaunt and other nobles dominated the government, limiting his power. Taking revenge, he banished John’s son, Henry, and confiscated his vast Lancastrian estates. Not long after, while Richard was away on an expedition, Henry returned and seized power. Forced to abdicate, Richard was imprisoned and died in captivity. What likely caused his death? Discuss

Shah Jahan succeeded to the throne of India’s Mughal Empire in 1628 and ruled for 30 years. His reign was notable for its successes against the Deccan states. Though attempts to reconquer lost territory almost bankrupted the empire, his reign marked the zenith of Mughal court splendor and ushered in the golden age of Mughal art and architecture. Considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, the Taj Mahal was built in memory of his beloved wife. Who deposed and imprisoned him in 1658? Discuss

More than just a compiler of fairy tales, Jacob Grimm was a German philologist who formulated the linguistic principle known as Grimm’s law and who, along with his brother Wilhelm, began work on a vast historical dictionary of the German language that took over a century to complete. The Brothers Grimm are best known, however, for their compilation of some 200 German folk tales, known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, that helped establish the science of folklore. How did they collect the stories? Discuss

Mott was an American social reformer and women’s rights advocate. She attended a Quaker boarding school near Poughkeepsie, New York, where she later taught, and became an official Quaker minister in 1821. She was active in the antislavery campaign and lectured widely on social reform. In 1848, she and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention, which launched the US women’s suffrage movement. On what issue was Mott’s stance at odds with that of the mainstream women’s movement? Discuss

Barlach was an outstanding German expressionist sculptor, graphic artist, and writer. Through the power of his simple, angular, and compact forms, he communicated intense emotion and compassion. From clay modeling he turned to wood carving and woodcutting, which imbued his work with a rough-hewn quality. He achieved fame in the 1920s and 30s with the execution of several war memorials for the Weimar Republic. Why were many of Barlach’s works destroyed or confiscated as “degenerate art”? Discuss