Obscure but noteworthy historical personages.

[Crumb]

It seems the interesting historical chatter has waned of late, so it is my intent on reviving it a bit.

I just started an interesting book entitled Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan. In the introduction the author writes briefly about John James Audubon. A man whose name we have heard in relation to his bird book and other nature books. I found the tidbits of Audubon's life that Sullivan deemed to hand out delicious, but not enough to satisfy my curiosity of the man. I am now torn between continuing the book or reading more about Audubon. I think I will finish the book first.

Anyway that was the inspiration for this thread. I am certain there is an uncountable multitude of interesting individuals that have come and gone on this Earth, but not left a big enough footprint to reach my attention. Here is where you can enlighten me (and others :wink: ) and interest me in more characters than I will have to time to learn enough about.

Who are some historical figures that you know of that most people don't? Or do you know something that most don't about more well-known historical figures?

My target was more recent figures; Less than 300 years or so, but this thread will not be limited. I am aware that some folks might have a few Roman fellows to suggest and that is fine. Just be sure you give me something to wet my appetite to learn more about them. :yup:

Now dance for me monkeys! :cowboy2: :dancing:

[Dingfod]

"wet" your appetite? Are you thirsty for some tidbits of history or what? I've got a couple of obscure historical figures in my family tree. Let me shake it and see what sort of nuts fall out.

John Beeson, born in England in 1803, immigrated to Oregon with his family and was an early champion of Native American Indian rights, wrote these two letters (http://id.mind.net/~newkirk/johnbeeson.html) in response to a letter of defense of the treatment of Indians in the Rogue River War from Indian Agent and former Governor R.B. Metcalf, dated 1856. Beeson's pamphlet Lone Cry in the Wilderness for Indian Rights (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0936738804/qid=1123375145/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-3004645-4820868?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) is available at amazon.com.

[Crumb]

:pleased: :study:

[Crumb]

It is sad to hear about the horrible things that happened to the American Indians. I am impressed by Beeson's courage to write those letters and his pamphlet.

That's what I need is a good book on Oregon or PNW history. Any recommendations?

[Dingfod]

John Beeson's son wrote The Oregon & Applegate Trail Diary of Welborn Beeson in 1853, available also at amazon.com with intro and commentary by Bert Webber, author of Indians Along the Oregon Trail. I've heard that in his book he mentions rescuing his father, John, from a tar and feathering for his advocation of Indian rights. I have not read either one of these books I just mentioned, but now that I mention them, I think I will.

[livius drusus]

Great thread idea, Crumb. :thumbup:

One of my favorite obscure historical personages is Thomas B. Reed (R), Maine, who was Speaker of the House when Republicans had the majority at the turn of the century, and Minority Leader when they didn't.

He was a magnificent debater, known to excel particularly at the one-liner (referring to someone he had just silenced with a perfect retort, he said: "Having embedded that fly in the liquid amber of my remarks, I will proceed." Referring to two guys he thought were idiots, he said: "They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge.") and short speeches rather than the big Bryant-style oration. We owe the Library of Congress to his relentless eloquence, in fact; he pushed the House to finally fund it after years of talk.

He was vocally opposed to the annexation of Hawaii, various bullshitty Monroe Doctrine control freak idiocies the US pulled in Central and South America (Venezuela, British Guyana, more places I can't remember), and my personal bugaboo: the Spanish-American War. He considered improving living conditions and increasing the political intelligence of Americans at home to be the key to American greatness, and thought expansionism of any kind was in direct opposition to this.

He also took on a little procedural nasty known as the silent filibuster, where congressmen would refuse to speak up during roll call in order to fuck the quorum. (Back in the day, all roll call had to be taken viva voce, so even if the whole House was in the, well, house, as long as people stayed silent they would show as not present.) He basically responded for them, and forced their names onto the record. A near-riot ensued, but Reed was unflappable, and thanks to this magnificent deployment of brass balls, the Republicans were able to pass the Force Bill which kneecapped all the various bullshit local laws Democrats passed to keep black people from voting.

He also ran against that rat bastard McKinley for the Republican presidential nomination and lost bad, because unlike the rat bastard, Reed didn't bribe every delegate whore in town to vote for him. I can't help but wonder what this country would be like today if we had known a President Reed instead of a President McKinley.

I read about him in Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345405013/qid=1123380326/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/002-9257656-4636844?v=glance&s=books&n=507846), and have tried since then to learn more, but he's so damn obscure there's pretty much nothing in print, dammit.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Anybody here heard of Norbert Weiner?

He invented the concept of cybernetics. And the word "cybernetics".

His forgotten classic: The Human Use of Human Beings.

Anyone else here read it? :cool:

[Crumb]

Well I don't want this thread to die so quickly so I will contribute a tidbit.

Dick Fagan was a witty columnist for the now defunct Oregon Journal. He is only known to me because he created the smallest park in the world. Mill Ends Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill_Ends_Park) in Portland, Oregon. Fagan died of cancer in 1969. His park became an official Portland city park in '76. It is about 2' in diameter.

[livius drusus]

The park's area is 452 in² (0.29 m²). The small circle has featured many unusual items through the decades, including a swimming pool for butterflies (complete with diving board) and a miniature ferris wheel (which was delivered by a regular-sized crane).

That's so adorably cute. :wriggle:

[Crumb]

:pleased:

[Dingfod]

Shaking the old family tree some more:

Sir Henry Vane, America's First Revolutionary:

Born into the landed gentry of in 1613 England, moved to America in 1635 after being a bit controversial in England, for one thing, taking the sacrament standing instead of kneeling, and being unable to study at Oxford because of his refusal to swear oaths. Within weeks of arrival in Boston, he was appointed to the board of abitrators, then within a few months became governor of Massachusetts, age 22 no less.

Henry had a rather odd view of freedom and government for his time. He wrote when he was governor, "All just executive power [arises] from the free will and gift of the people, [who might] either keep the power in themselves or give up their subjection into the hands and will of another, if they judge that thereby they shall better answer the end of government, to wit, the welfare and safety of the whole." Government of and by the people and not dictated by tradition or the crown? Revolutionary.

After failing to get re-elected as governor in 1637, Henry returned to England, shortly entering Parliament as a government appointee. He was instrumental in negotiations with Scotland during the English Civil War 1640-1649, but fell out of favor as Parliament regained power and authority, fanatic dissenters in control. Henry became disillusioned in the revolution as the king was imprisoned and put on trial and executed and Cromwell rose to power eventually becoming dictator.

Henry was arrested and imprisoned without trial for several months for his criticism of Cromwell's governance. When Cromwell died, Henry re-entered Parliament and began to argue for a constitution. Henry thought it was time for a republic in England. He wanted an elected president, a single house legislature, and the rights of life, liberty, and property to be guaranteed by a formal bill of rights. Revolutionary.

In 1860, Parliament declared that Charles II was king as of the moment of his father's execution. After this, Henry was deemed to be too dangerous and charged with treason even though he had not participated in Charles I's trial. Denied counsel and faced with a packed jury, Henry was convicted of the charges. The usual punishment for high treason was long drawn out torture, then death, but out of respect and mercy was given the sentence of death by the executioner's axe instead on 14 June, 1662.

[godfry n. glad]

There's always Eugene V. Debs for me. He's obscure now, but in his day, he garnered millions of votes for president running against Woodrow Wilson, while sitting in a federal prison in Atlanta. Founder of the American Socialist party, union organizer of the Pullman strike, tireless writer and pamphleteer, railroad brakeman, civil libertarian.

I'll give you a truly obscure triuvirate, though. Emma Smith DeVoe, May Arkwright Hutton, and Abigail Scott Duniway. They are the two leaders of the Washington State woman sufferage campaign of 1910, and the third is the singular woman who ran multiple woman sufferage campaigns in Oregon, starting in 1869, and finally succeeded in 1912.

The first two are case studies in opposites. The prim and proper DeVoe was perfect for marshalling the forces in western Washington, where many activists were middle and upper class women and the men expected women to "know their place", whereas the rough-hewn silver queen May Arkwright Hutton was brash, loud and profane, but she carried a successful campaign to the loggers, farmers and miners of eastern Washington....much of it while touring the rutted roads in her shiny touring car. Emma and May didn't like each other; so much so that Hutton felt it necessary to create a completely new organization, outside the control of DeVoe. But Emma was a master tactician in the lobby of the statehouse and marshalled the votes to make sure the issue got on the ballot. They needed each other.

Duniway carried on her campaign for woman sufferage most of her life, starting from when she and her hapless husband were breaking sod and backs together and raising a family on a pioneer farm. She was outspoken. Her biggest nemesis was the publisher of the daily newspaper in the state's biggest city...and her brother, Harvey Scott. Him, and the brewing industry.

They showed that women could master the political arena in US politics.

[Crumb]

Roger Williams

Williams was a man who lived in the 17th century and moved to Boston from England in 1630. He was a very religious man and he strongly supported ideals of religious freedom that were not yet popular in the colonies.

In 1636 he was banished from Massachusetts due to his ideas regarding religion and treatment of American Natives. He believed that people of any religion should be allowed to participate in government and that the colonists had no right to take land from Native Americans unless it was purchased fairly.

He became a co-founder of the Rhode Island colony and the founder of Providence. He wrote in 1644 The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, for Cause of Conscience. A book ahead of its time, which supported the idea that religion and government should be separate institutions and that no government should have the authority to coerce its citizens into any particular religious beliefs.

More here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_%28theologian%29)

[Dingfod]

But Roger Williams isn't obscure. Wasn't he a famous singer?

OK, just kidding.

Wasn't Roger Williams basically founder of the Baptist church in America? Wait. I'll read the article. Isn't that a novel concept.

OK, I read it and found out what I had been taught was true. He wasn't Baptist before his banishment but became Baptist and started the first Baptist church in America.

[godfry n. glad]

Xuan Zang, Chinese Buddhist monk who, in our year 629, walked from Chang'an (Now Xian, China) to Ceylon, and back, wherein he taught himself several languages, including Pali and Sanskrit, so he could learn the true teachings of the Buddha and return with scriptures to clarify that for his confused countrymen. He sought enlightenment for all of China.

The Ultimate Journey, by Richard Bernstein, is an excellent retracing of his route, recounting his story and relating the author's experience in the process. I recommend it. It's a travel book, of course...you can probably find stuff online about him. I'm on chancy dial-up, so I'm reluctant to search for a link.

[Crumb]

Wiki is always a good place to start.

Xuan Zang (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuan_Zang)

[Sarpedon]

Ribaddi of Byblos. Perhaps not an important figure, but the rare personage who jumps out of ancient history as a real person, not some mythologized archetype. He was king of the City of Byblos during the Egyptian New Dynasty, and was a vassal of Egypt. He enjoyed writing letters, which is how we know about him. He wrote so many letters to the Pharoah, that eventually the Pharaoh's secretaries wrote back to tell him to confine his correspondence to official business only. At first, his letters were full of happy things, festivals, marriages, harvests and so forth, but things started getting worse. He started writing these letters pleading for help "I sent my messenger to the palace, but he returned empty handed...and when the people of my house saw this, they ridiculed me." It gets worse and worse..."I met a man outside my house today, I asked his name, but he attacked me with a dagger. I barely escaped. Now I am afraid to leave my house." You rarely get this kind of personal writing from 1400 BC. One day the letters stop, and no-one knows what happened to Ribaddi of Byblos. (If someone does know, please tell me)

[livius drusus]

That's astounding, Sarpedon. I'd never heard of Ribaddi before, but I'm a sucker for historical correspondence (http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1424), especially where personal and political interweave.

[Sarpedon]

Livius, if you do a search under "the Amarna Lettters" you might come up with them. These are the clay tablets containing correspondence from the palestine and syria areas to Egypt that were found in Amarna, which was briefly the capital of Egypt during the reigns of Akhenaten and Smenkhare, til King Tut moved back to Thebes.

[Crumb]

Very cool Sarpedon. :thankee:

[Stormlight]

I would like to submit ...

John the Blind (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_I,_Count_of_Luxemburg)

One of the few great persons connected to Luxembourg! :omg:

[Godless Dave]

Roger Williams

Williams was a man who lived in the 17th century and moved to Boston from England in 1630. He was a very religious man and he strongly supported ideals of religious freedom that were not yet popular in the colonies.

In 1636 he was banished from Massachusetts due to his ideas regarding religion and treatment of American Natives. He believed that people of any religion should be allowed to participate in government and that the colonists had no right to take land from Native Americans unless it was purchased fairly.

He became a co-founder of the Rhode Island colony and the founder of Providence. He wrote in 1644 The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, for Cause of Conscience. A book ahead of its time, which supported the idea that religion and government should be separate institutions and that no government should have the authority to coerce its citizens into any particular religious beliefs.

More here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_%28theologian%29)

I don't think of Roger Williams as obscure because I learned about him in middle school history class. We learned how all 13 of the original colonies were founded and the prominent persons involved. The fact that the state I grew up in was one of those original 13 may have had something to do with that.

[livius drusus]

Roger Williams is definitely well known in the New England area, but I think that still probably qualifies him as obscure on a global level.

[maddog]

Matthew Henson, Arctic Explorer. He was to Robert Peary's North Pole expeditions what the Sherpas were to Hillary. The expeditions went from Greenland; Henson was the one who learned the language of the native people there. He saved Peary's life a time or two. He was the one who physically reached the Pole first. He's forgotten because he is Black.
#542

[livius drusus]

Wow, maddog, that's a great obscure but noteworthy personage. I remember when my parents were looking for a place to rent in Maine the real estate agent told them not to worry about black people messing up the neigborhood because "those types" can't stand Maine winters. If I had known about Henson then (and actually been there instead of in college at the time) I so could have nailed that fool.

[Crumb]

Roger Williams is definitely well known in the New England area, but I think that still probably qualifies him as obscure on a global level.
I certainly never heard of him until I read godless constitution.

[Dingfod]

Roger Williams is definitely well known in the New England area, but I think that still probably qualifies him as obscure on a global level.
I certainly never heard of him until I read godless constitution.I'm almost certain I learned of Roger Williams in Junior High history class, but perhaps the bell rang a bit more clear for me, being Baptist at the time.

[maddog]

Hmm. I wouldn't have thought of Roger Williams as obscure either. He and Anne Hutchinson were featured prominently in American colonial history, as heroes of conscience. They are the poster children for the foundations of the First Amendment's free exercise and anti-establishment clauses, because they were the ones who illustrated what happens when a persecuted religious minority, seeking freedom of expression ( the Puritans ) themselves come to power. They are just as intolerant as the intolerance they fled.

Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson got good mention along with William Penn, Cotton Mather, Miles Standish, Walter Raliegh, William Bradford, John Winthrop, John Smith, and so on. Of course, I was educated in the United States, and so would naturally have had more focus on American history in primary and secondary school. Conversely, they don't teach us much about European history, very little about South America, and virtually nothing about Africa or Asia.
#543

[godfry n. glad]

Smedley Darlington Butler, Major General USMC [Ret.]
His "War is a Racket" (http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm) is here.

A Quaker military man.

This man is possibly one of the unsung heroes of the American republic. Raised a Quaker in Pennsylvania, he joined the Marine Corps and served with distinction, earning two Congressional Medals of Honor in Caribbean escapades. After he retired in 1932, he was evidently approached by US corporate interests that were willing to underwrite a military coup against FDR, using the American Legion as their base and him as a charismatic leader. He not only turned them down, but told them if they tried it, he'd go to the VFW and raise a counter-army to combat the attempted coup.

He ran for US Senator from Pennsylvania. A Republican.

[beyelzu]

well, im not sure how obscure tesla is, but he certainly doesnt get the mainstream acceptance that edison did though tesla was a much better inventor. nikola tesla was uberbadass. He invented radio, remote control vehicles and the alternating current motor.

the man was a super, super genius.

during his life he was insanely famous and popular.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

man out of time was the name of the biography i read about him.

[Crumb]

Tesla is a very interesting figure. I haven't read a biography of him yet. Though I would like to.

Here was a recently featured wiki page that I was reading yesterday about a guy named Ruldolf Vrba.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Vrba

[beyelzu]

wow, vrba seems incredibly cool.

[Kyuss Apollo]

Here's some of my favorites that come to mind quickly here.

First up is John Randolph (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Randolph_of_Roanoke) of Virginia. An early 19th century congressman from Virginia, he carried a whip around in Congress and with his high squeaky voice and razor-sharp wit denigrated Federalists at every opportunity. Randolph was a dyed-in-the-wool true-blue states-rights Jeffersonian Republican, but he gradually became disillusioned with Jefferson's pragmatism or as Randolph saw it, selling out the Republican Party (the "Old Republican Party," not the started up in the 1850's that Lincoln headed up, but the opposition party to the Federalists, who were like the Republican Party of today) with power-grabbing deals like the Louisiana Purchase and attempts to secretly buy Florida. Randolph started out as Jefferson's greatest partisan, but before the end of TJ's second term he had became one of Jeffersons most outspoken critics. He started the first national 'third party' called the "Tertium Quids" (or "Third Something") out of the core of "Old Republicans" not gone all Federalist under Jefferson and Madison. Perhaps his best known quip netted him a duel with House Speaker Henry Clay when he remarked on the House floor "Your record, sir, resembles a rotting mackerel by moonlight: It shines and it stinks." Can't say I agree with all of his politics even after two centuries, but reading about the things he said and did is some entertaining.

Another favorite of mine is Scipio Africanus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scipio_Africanus), conqueror of Hispania and victor at the Battle of Zama. Scipio was not just an outstanding general, besting even Hannibal, but a gifted orator, gentleman and a scholar. Hard to say how things might have turned out for old Rome had Scipio gone into, oh say selling life insurance, instead of the military lol.

Then there is Roger Bacon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bacon). Tremendous scholar of the 13th century, author of numerous tracts that brought many important Arab ideas to the attention of European scholars, highly outspoken and somewhat combative, Bacon made a good case for what we know today as the scientific method.

I think these three guys made a worthy contribution to our past, yet often get short shrift in the grand scheme of things. So here's my plug for Randolph, Scipio, and Bacon! :stump:

[godfry n. glad]

Soliciter-General John Cooke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cook_(regicide))

[godfry n. glad]

Soliciter-General John Cooke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cook_(regicide)), a martyr in the cause of liberty and a proponent of religious tolerance long before it was ever considered to be acceptable in European culture. He was significant in bringing an end to the "Divine Right of Kings" through his legal expertise as applied in the trial of Charles I, the Stuart King of England, in 1649-50.

[Doctor X]

Wilbur McLean

One day . . . a battle occurred. Shells rained down in his rose bushes. In his back yard, part of the First Battle of Manassas or Bull Run occurred.

Vowing to escape from this war, he moved his family far, far away . . .

. . .

. . . to Appomattox Court House, where about four years later two men paid a visit.

A old saw--remade popular in Burns' Civil War--was that the Civil War began in his back yard and ended in his parlor.

I love weird coincidental shit like this.

Looking for someone else:

Robert Morris:

Elected to the Continental Congress in 1775, he participated on many of the committees involved in raising capital and provisions for the Continental Army. Early in 1776, he was given a special commission by congress, with authority to negotiate bills of exchange for, and to solicit money by other means for the operation of the war. One of the most successful such devices were the lotteries. In late 1776, with the Continental Army in a state of severe deprivation because of a shortage of capital and the failure of several of the colonies in paying for the war, Morris loaned $10,000 of his own money to the government. This money provisioned the desperate troops, who went on to win the Battle of Trenton (Washington Crossing). Throughout the war he personally underwrote the operations of privateers, ships that ran the British Blockades at great risk and thus brought needed supplies and capital into the colonies.

US History (http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/morris_r.htm)

--J.D.

[Freddy]

Here's some of my favorites that come to mind quickly here.

First up is John Randolph (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Randolph_of_Roanoke) of Virginia. An early 19th century congressman from Virginia, he carried a whip around in Congress and with his high squeaky voice and razor-sharp wit denigrated Federalists at every opportunity. Randolph was a dyed-in-the-wool true-blue states-rights Jeffersonian Republican, but he gradually became disillusioned with Jefferson's pragmatism or as Randolph saw it, selling out the Republican Party (the "Old Republican Party," not the started up in the 1850's that Lincoln headed up, but the opposition party to the Federalists, who were like the Republican Party of today) with power-grabbing deals like the Louisiana Purchase and attempts to secretly buy Florida. Randolph started out as Jefferson's greatest partisan, but before the end of TJ's second term he had became one of Jeffersons most outspoken critics. He started the first national 'third party' called the "Tertium Quids" (or "Third Something") out of the core of "Old Republicans" not gone all Federalist under Jefferson and Madison. Perhaps his best known quip netted him a duel with House Speaker Henry Clay when he remarked on the House floor "Your record, sir, resembles a rotting mackerel by moonlight: It shines and it stinks." Can't say I agree with all of his politics even after two centuries, but reading about the things he said and did is some entertaining.

Jefferson was a Democratic-Republican, who secured the Louisiana Purchase. Madison was also an organizer of the new Democratic-Republican party in opposition to the Federalists. Both were criticized because they left sound Federalist ideas, i.e., the First Bank of the United States, in place during their presidencies. Many of Jefferson's and Madison's harshest critics were New England Federalists, who raged against The Embargo Act and the War of 1812, respectively, because they both hurt New England's economic interests.

[Crumb]

Not exactly a personage, but a fascinating story: The Turk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turk)

[TomJoe]

Percy Julian (http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/percyjulian.html).

NOVA presents Forgotten Genius (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/julian/), the story of Percy Lavon Julian.

WIKI on Percy Julian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Lavon_Julian)

[TomJoe]

To flesh out the Percy Julian story a little bit. He was the second African-American to ever receive a doctorate in chemistry. His research was key to the commercial production of steroids such as cortisone. His work at Glidden on the soybean led to foam fire extinguishing agents which saved countless lives on ships during WWII. He was the second African American elected to the National Academy of Sciences. The USPS printed a stamp in his honor in 1993.

[TomJoe]

Robert Koch - German Microbiologist. Often referred to as the "Father of Bacteriology". Novel Prize winner (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1905/koch-bio.html) in Medicine in 1905 for his work on tuberculosis.

Formulated what is now known as "Koch's Postulates (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch's_postulates)".

They are:
1. The organism must be found in all hosts suffering from the disease.
2. The organism must be isolated from a diseased host and grown in pure culture.
3. The cultured organism should cause disease when introduced into a healthy host.
4. The organism must be reisolated from the experimentally infected host.

Identified the etiological agents of anthrax, tuberculosis and cholera.

[Stephen Maturin]

Not exactly a personage, but a fascinating story: The Turk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turk)

Thanks, Crumb. Your mentioning The Turk reminded me of Ajeeb, which in turn reminded me of Harry Pillsbury, an all-time favorite of mine.

As for obscure but noteworthy historical personages: Jackie Fisher, who pretty much singlehandedly took arms-racing to a whole 'nother level.

[Crumb]

To flesh out the Percy Julian story a little bit. He was the second African-American to ever receive a doctorate in chemistry. His research was key to the commercial production of steroids such as cortisone. His work at Glidden on the soybean led to foam fire extinguishing agents which saved countless lives on ships during WWII. He was the second African American elected to the National Academy of Sciences. The USPS printed a stamp in his honor in 1993.
Man I wonder why this guy ever returned to the US after he went to Europe. Sound like things were much better for him over there.

[Crumb]

Robert Koch - German Microbiologist. Often referred to as the "Father of Bacteriology". Novel Prize winner (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1905/koch-bio.html) in Medicine in 1905 for his work on tuberculosis.

Formulated what is now known as "Koch's Postulates (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch%27s_postulates)".

They are:
1. The organism must be found in all hosts suffering from the disease.
2. The organism must be isolated from a diseased host and grown in pure culture.
3. The cultured organism should cause disease when introduced into a healthy host.
4. The organism must be reisolated from the experimentally infected host.

Identified the etiological agents of anthrax, tuberculosis and cholera.
Ah I knew I recognize that name. reading The Colony I just read a bit about the process of linking a microorganism to a disease. Great stuff!

[TomJoe]

Man I wonder why this guy ever returned to the US after he went to Europe.I don't recall the exact reason. However, he may have been forced to return eventually anyways, given the rise of Nazi-ism a few years after he received his doctorate in Vienna.

I'll see if I can find the exact reason he returned to America though.

The additionally amazing thing is that Percy Julian did these things well over a decade before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. Yet, he receives little recognition for the struggles he endured.

[TomJoe]

Here is about as extensive a biography as I can find on Percy Julian on the internet. Biography (http://books.nap.edu/html/biomems/pjulian.html).

It doesn't mention the reason for his return, other than he went back to Howard, where he had already been a faculty member. He went to Vienna on a fellowship.

[Crumb]

Ah, I see. Thanks, I will give that a look over later. I find it amazing how hard some people are willing to work to overcome such circumstances.

[California Tanker]

Here's an interesting one.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6569687.stm

You're a schoolkid, doing a research paper on the Battle of the Jutland in WWI? Ask a chap who was there...

This old geezer's been around since 1896, and he's doing Q&As on the school circuit. Talk about a resource.

NTM

[Dingfod]

Wow! I thought it I was lucky that Winter and Spring of 1972 when I got to hang out with a man born in 1896. That 76 year old man told me lots of stories from "back in the day", like of touring around the USA on a Harley-Davidson motorbike (http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/TheClub/museum/stillphotos/12HD.jpg)(almost literally a motorized bicycle) when he was only 16 (circa 1912), back when there weren't any highways to speak of, of harvesting wheat with combine-harvesters pulled by mule teams (http://www.oac.cdlib.org/affiliates/images/cfsjv/kt5m3nc5gq/thumbs/tca0012t.gif), of "sparking" his wife-to-be in a horse and buggy (http://www.henrystrobel.com/saintboniface/spennerbuggy.jpg), and of the bloody muck that was trench warfare in WWI (http://www.diggerhistory.info/images/asstd/trench-warfare.jpg) France. That was my stogie-smoking boss, Mr. Haney. He retired from Phillips 66 (http://www.oldgas.com/info/images/massena66.jpg) after a 40 year career, bought the gas station so he would have something to do. Anachronistically for his age, he drove a 1972 Mercury Montego GT (http://www.fedrelandsvennen.no/amcar/brochures/mercury/bilder/71mont.jpg)with a 429 Cobrajet engine in a most rapid fashion. He was sharp as a tack then. I sometimes wonder if that old codger is still alive. I bet not.

[Crumb]

Very cool CT!

[Freddy]

Bernardo de Galvez has anyone heard of him?

"Oh Galveston, Oh Galveston"

The Spanish Governor and later Viceroy of Cuba/Louisiana/Florida/Mexico, who allied with American colonists, and sent money, arms, men, ships, and British defeats to help Americans gain their independence from Britain.

They even have erected a statue of him in DC and this is written on it.

BERNARDO DE GALVEZ THE GREAT
SPANISH SOLDIER CARRIED OUT
A COURAGEOUS CAMPAIGN IN
LANDS BORDERING THE LOWER
MISSISSIPPI. THIS MASTERPIECE
OF MILITARY STRATEGY LIGHTENED
THE PRESSURE OF THE ENGLISH
IN THE WAR AGAINST THE AMERICAN
SETTLERS WHO WERE FIGHTING FOR
THEIR INDEPENDENCE.

MAY THE STATUE OF BERNARDO
DE GALVEZ SERVE AS A REMINDER
THAT SPAIN OFFERED THE BLOOD
OF HER SOLDIERS FOR THE CAUSE
OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

EXCERPTS OF A SPEECH GIVEN ON THIS LOCATION ON JUNE 3, 1976 BY HIS MAJESTY
DON JUAN CARLOS I
KING OF SPAIN