Witchflower Days

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Friday, November 4, 2005

World War I, the Holocaust, and the First King of Media

On this day in 1918 British war poet Wilfred Owen was killed in World War I at the age of 25. Owen was trying to get his men across a canal in the early morning hours when they were attacked by enemy fire, and he was fatally hit. It was one week before the war ended. On this day in 1922 Englishman... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Plain Talk from Famous People

Birthday of playwright Terrence McNally, born in St. Petersburg, FL (1939), best known for his play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1987), a romance between a middle-aged waitress and a short-order cook who work at a caf é. McNally started writing plays, but stopped to take a job as tutor... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005

Courage of Two Different Sorts

Birthday of singer, songwriter, and novelist Kinky Friedman, born Richard Friedman, in Chicago (1944). He grew up a Jew in Texas and went on to become one of the few successful Jewish country singers with his band, The Texas Jewboys. He developed a cult following, writing humorous country ballads... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Lady Liberty, Prohibition, and Authors

On this day in 1886 the USA’s Statue of Liberty was officially unveiled and opened to the public. The idea for the statue came from a group of French intellectuals while they were gathered one night at the home of Edouard Rene de Laboulaye near Versailles, France, discussing how much they admired... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Names, Colors, and Torment

On this day in 1904 the first rapid transit subway opened in New York City. Still the largest subway system in North America, with 699 miles of main line track, its average weekday ridership is 4.5 million. A total of 1.4 billion people ride the subway every year. The busiest station isTimes Square,... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Berryman, Picasso, and Tyler

Birthday of poet John Berryman, born John Smith in Oklahoma (1914). He had published a few collections of poetry that went largely unnoticed when he began an affair with a graduate student one summer and fell helplessly in love with her. He wrote a sonnet about her after their first kiss, and... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, October 24, 2005

On This Day in Wisconsin

1866 - On this date Charles Herman Weisse was born near Sheboygan Falls in Sheboygan County. In 1880 he started to work in a tannery and became a partner in 1888. Weisse served as president of the city council of Sheboygan Falls from 1893 to 1896 and treasurer of the school board from 1897 to 1900.... Sign in to see full entry.

Microscopes, Batman, and Broadway Plays

Birthday of Antony van Leeuwenhoek, born in Delft, the Netherlands (1632). He was a draper and haberdasher, and eventually took an administrative job in the government. As a draper, he used a magnifying lens to count the number of threads in a piece of cloth, and the experience sparked an interest... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, Oct. 23, 2005 - Writers Plus the Supreme Court

Birthday of two doctors who became writers, poet Robert Bridges, born in Kent, England (1844), and Michael Crichton, born in Chicago (1942). On this day in 1920, the novel Main Street was published, written by 35-year-old Sinclair Lewis of Sauk Centre, MN. His sixth novel, it made him famous. On... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

On this Day in Wisconsin

1835 - Missionary and Settler Alfred Brunson Arrives in Prairie du Chien. Brunson, a Methodist preacher from Connecticut, rode alone on horseback from Pennsylvania. He built a parish that spanned from Rock Island, IL, through Prairie du Chien, to St.Paul, MN and spent his life traveling from town to... Sign in to see full entry.

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