Humanities Digest

http://www.HumanitiesDigest.com

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Today In History

On September 18, 1793, George Washington laid the cornerstone of the Capitol building.

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Today in Lab History: September 19, 1915- Elizabeth Stern Shankman Elizabeth Stern Shankman was a Canadian-born American, born Sept. 19, 1915, who was one of the first pathologists to work on the progression of a cell from normality to cancerous. Her breakthrough studies of cervical cancers changed the disease from fatal to one of the most easily diagnosed and treatable. Her studies showed that a normal cell advanced through 250 distinct stages before becoming cancerous and thus is the most easily diagnosed of all cancers. Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/09/today-lab-history-elizabeth-stern-shankman

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On this day in history September 19, 1881: The 20th president of the United States, James A. Garfield, dies of wounds inflicted by an assassin.

Only four months into his Presidency, Garfield was shot on was shot in the back at at 9:20 a.m. on July 2, 1881 by Charles Julius Guiteau at Washington’s Baltimore and Potomac railroad station. Guiteau was an attorney who was mentally ill. It is believed that he was a disgruntled political aide that wanted to be given a consular post and was rebuffed. The article The Trial of Charles Guiteau: An Account by Douglas O. Linder (2007) from the University of Missouri Kansas City Law School page describes the moment when President Garfield was shot:

Guiteau arrived at the station about 8:30.  He felt ready for the job, having practiced his marksmanship on a river bank on the way to his destination.  Garfield entered the nearly empty station at 8:25 with Secretary Blaine and a bag-carrying servant.  They had walked several steps into the carpeted “ladies’ waiting room” when Guiteau fired his first shot.  It grazed Garfield’s arm.  Guiteau moved two steps and fired a second shot.  The bullet entered Garfield’s back just above the waist.  The president fell as the back of his gray summer suit filled with blood. As confusion erupted in the station, Guiteau tried to reassure onlookers: “It is all right, it is all right.”  The police officer on duty grabbed Guiteau. 

Garfield would be at rest in the White House trying to recuperate from his injuries. He would taken to the New Jersey seaside for further recuperation on September 6th. He seemed to be improving when on September 19, 1881, he died from an infection and internal hemorrhage. 

Garfield became the second President to die while in office due to an assassination. Abraham Lincoln was the first. Garfield was the the President with the second shortest term as President. William Henry Harrison died 32 days into his presidency.

Vice President Chester A. Arthur would be sworn in as President the becoming the 21st President of the United States. On an aside, can anyone hear the voice of the actor Joe Zaloom playing Jerry from Die Hard: With a Vengeance aka Die Hard 3 giving Bruce Willis’ character John McClane the history of Chester A. Arthur? But I digress. =)

Guiteau would be found to be sane by a jury, convicted of the murder of President Garfield and hanged on June 30, 1882

For Further Reading:

The President Dead from the September 20, 1880 edition of the New York Times

American President: James A. Garfield (1831–1881) from the Miller Center of the University of Virginia

The James A. Garfield page from the White House website

The Trial of Charles Guiteau: An Account by Douglas O. Linder (2007) from the University of Missouri Kansas City Law School page

CHARLES GUITEAU COLLECTION from Georgetown University

American President: Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886) from the Miller Center of the University of Virginia

The Chester A. Arthur page from the White House website

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The illustrations of Arthur Rackham, born on this day in 1867.

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Margery Kempe

Born c. 1373 – Died after 1438

Claim to fame: Margery’s life of madness, travel and worship is recorded what is considered to be the first autobiography in the English language.

Margery Kempe was a Norfolk business woman who mothered fourteen children before taking a vow of chastity (though still married) and travelling to holy sites across Europe and Israel, shocking people with her extreme form of worship.

Margery had been prone to bouts of ‘madness’ (considered now to be psychosis and post-natal depression) and was known for her eccentric behaviour such as:

~ Public displays of loud sobbing, writhing and begging for devine mercy ~ Seeing and conversing with angelic and demonic visions ~ Hearing melodies and smelling strange odours ~ Praying and confessing many times per day ~ Wearing white clothes and a hair shirt ~ Erotic ecstasies ~ Vegetarianism ~ Self mutilation

Margery faced interrogations and imprisonment due to accusations of witchcraft, demonic possession and heresy, but she always managed to clear herself of charges.

During the 1420s Margery dictated her ‘Book of Margery Kempe’, a seminal work which describes her life and religious experiences.

Margery is honoured by the Church of England on 9 November and the Episcopal Church (US) on 28 September.

Sources: Chance, J., (2007). “The Literary Subversions of Medieval Women”, Palgrave Macmillan, New York. pp. 99 -126. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margery_Kempe

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Carol II (15 October 1893 – 4 April 1953), King of Romania

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Dressed in the finest 17th century fashions, a woman personifying September shops the local market.

This sketch of September, the rich landscape, and bountiful harvest were made for paintings of the months for Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria for a dining hall in his Munich palace.

Fashion Fridays explores art, history, and costume in the Getty collection.

Personification of September, about 1644, Joachim von Sandrart. J. Paul Getty Museum.

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Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin (May 10, 1900 – December 7, 1979)

[theparisreview]

The illustrations of Arthur Rackham, born on this day in 1867.

[todayinhistory]

September 16th 1620: Mayflower sets sail

On this day in 1620, the Mayflower started her voyage from Great Britain to North America. She carried 102 passengers, many of whom were pilgrims who later settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts. By November they sighted land and landed at Cape Cod and proceeded the settle there, though around half died during the first harsh winter in the New World. The site where the Mayflower pilgrims landed at Plymouth is marked today by ‘Plymouth Rock’. The Mayflower left for England the next April. The journey of the Mayflower is considered a major and symbolic event in American history as the ship carried the some of the first European settlers to America’s shores.

[theparisreview]

Seventy years of Partisan Review, now online. (via)

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Diplomat and scholar Sadako Ogata was born on September 16, 1927 in Tokyo, Japan. From 1991 to 200, Ogata served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Prior to that, she served as Japan’s representative on the United Nation’s Commission on Human Rights. Sadako has served as…

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Today in History

In 1901, Twenty-fifth president of the U.S., William McKinley, died #onthisdate after an assassination attempt on September 6, by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Initially, McKinley seemed to improve, but doctors had only cleaned and closed the abdominal wound, being unable to find the bullet. Ironically, an early version of the X-ray machine was being exhibited at the Pan-American Exposition (the scene of the shooting), and may have saved his life had it been used. Over the next several days, gangrene crept through his stomach, pancreas, and a kidney. Only six months into his second term, McKinley died, and was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.

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Today in Art

#onthisdate in 1743, Nicolas Lancret, French genre painter, died in Paris. A fellow student of Watteau in Gillot's studio, he specialized in light comedic theatrical scenes (fêtes galantes), which reflected the tastes and manners of the French society of his day. His works decorated the Palace of Versailles at the request of Louis XV, and was also commissioned by Frederick the Great.

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Today in Literature

American novelist James Fenimore Cooper died #onthisdate in 1851. Cooper is best loved for his Leatherstocking Tales - a series of five novels, including The Last of the Mohicans, one of the most widely read novels of the 19th century. All five of the Leatherstocking Tales are available to read free at Gutenberg.org.

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Today in Daily Life

Margaret Sanger, early feminist and women's rights activist, was born #onthisdate in 1879.  A founding member of the reproductive rights movement, she opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and her efforts contributed to several judicial cases that helped to bring about the legalization of contraception in the United States.  Accused of  racism and of promoting eugenics, her lifework is not without controversy. Read her book Woman and the New Race free online at Gutenberg, and decide for yourself.

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Today in Great Thinkers

Josiah Royce, American objective idealist philosopher, died #onthisdate in 1916. Royce made major contributions to psychology, was the founder of the Harvard school of logic, and an innovative historian (in his attention to women and minority groups). His greatest contributions lie in the philosophy of religion, authoring several books on the subject. You can read The Sources of Religious Insight free online here.