Category: Today’s Birthday

Tokugawa was the 15th and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The Tokugawa family held the shogunate and controlled Japan from 1603 to 1867. Beginning at the time of Yoshinobu’s birth, there were numerous peasant uprisings and samurai unrest. Undermined by increasing foreign incursions, the Tokugawa were overthrown by an attack of provincial forces from Choshu, Satsuma, and Tosa, who restored the Meiji emperor to power. Yoshinobu resigned in 1867. How did he spend his retirement? Discuss

American poet Sylvia Plath excelled as a writer from an early age and published her first poem at eight. She attempted suicide while in college but underwent electroshock treatment and seemingly recovered from her breakdown. In 1956, she wed poet Ted Hughes, whom she met while attending Cambridge on a Fulbright grant. Shortly after they separated in 1962, Plath committed suicide. Her literary reputation grew rapidly after her death, and she became the first poet to win what prize posthumously? Discuss

Initially a supporter of the Vichy government during World War II, Mitterrand joined the Resistance in 1943. After the war, he held cabinet posts in 11 Fourth Republic governments. He ran unsuccessfully against Charles de Gaulle’s government in 1965 but was elected president in 1981 and 1988, after which he strongly promoted European integration. Mitterrand retired in 1995, having served longer than any other French president. Who succeeded him as president of France? Discuss

Pearl was an American country comedienne, born Sarah Colley in Centerville, Tennessee. One of the Grand Ole Opry’s most iconic performers, she appeared on the show for more than 50 years, performing routines that gently poked fun at rural Southern culture. Outfitted in styleless “down home” dresses and a hat with a price tag that dangled over its brim, she also appeared regularly on the television show Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991. On whom was the Minnie Pearl character based? Discuss

Hale was an American writer and editor who turned to writing in 1822 as a widow trying to support her family. She edited Ladies’ Magazine, the first successful US women’s magazine, and then Godey’s Lady’s Book, with which it merged. As the first female magazine editor, she shaped many of the attitudes and ideas of women of the period. Hale is also credited with helping to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in the US. What popular nursery rhyme did she write? Discuss

Two years after a 12-year-old Carson sent away for a magic kit, “The Great Carsoni” gave his first performance. He continued his show business career by working as a radio announcer and television comedy writer and went on to host several television quiz shows from 1955 to 1962. He first appeared on The Tonight Show in 1958. He was permanent host from 1962 to 1992, and his personable demeanor and wry humor made it America’s most popular late-night program. How many times was he married? Discuss

Lessing was a British writer and winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Literature. Born in Iran, she moved with her family to a farm in what was Southern Rhodesia in 1924 and lived there until 1949, when she settled in England and began her writing career. Her work often addresses social and political themes, particularly the place of women in society. The Golden Notebook, her most widely read novel, is considered a feminist classic, although Lessing herself said what about feminists? Discuss

Solti was a Hungarian-born British conductor. Not long after making his piano debut at age 12, he decided he wanted to conduct. He returned to piano during WWII and won the 1942 Geneva International Competition. After the war, he began conducting again and led orchestras all over Europe and the US. As director of the Royal Opera House, he made the first full recording of Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle, one of history’s most celebrated recordings. How did he earn the nickname “the screaming skull”? Discuss

Buchwald was an American humorist who started as a columnist covering the lighter side of Parisian life. After moving to Washington, DC, in 1961, he began poking fun at issues in the news and soon became one of the sharpest satirists of American politics and modern life. His syndicated column of wry humor eventually appeared in more than 500 papers worldwide, and he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 1982. What was unusual about his video obituary featured by The New York Times? Discuss

Siddiqui was a leading Pakistani scientist credited with the isolation of unique chemical compounds from various South Asian plants, particularly the neem tree. The extracts of this tree, a broad-leaved evergreen native to India and Myanmar, have been used for centuries in Asia as pesticides, medicines, and health tonics. In the 21st century, knowledge of the neem tree spread to the West, where it has been hailed as a “wonder plant,” largely due to the work of Siddiqui, who discovered what else? Discuss