Wednesday

Apr. 15, 1998

Ask Me

by William Stafford

WEDNESDAY 4/15

Today's Reading: "Ask Me" by William Stafford from THE WAY IT IS, published by Graywolf Press (1998).

It was 50 years ago today, in 1947, that Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major leagues, making his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

It's the birthday of English novelist and politician Jeffrey Archer (KANE AND ABEL; A MATTER OF HONOR; HONOR AMONG THIEVES), born in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, in 1940.

British novelist Eva Figes (DAYS; GHOSTS) was born in Berlin on this day in 1932.

It's the birthday of conductor Neville Marriner, whose father, a carpenter, first instructed him on the violin. He was born in Lincoln, England, in 1924.

The first sound films to be shown to a paying audience were shown at the Rialto Theater in New York City on this day in 1923.

It's the birthday of painter Arshile Gorky, a leader of the New York School of artists and one of the most influential abstract artists. He was born in Turkish Armenia on this day in 1904.

It's the birthday of "Bessie Smith," also known as "The Empress of the Blues," born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1898.

German psychologist Max Wertheimer, the founder of Gestalt psychology, was born in Prague on this day in 1880.

It's the birthday of Johannes Stark, the first to discover the Doppler effect as an Earthly phenomenon. He was born in Schickenhof, Bavaria, in 1874.

Plant geneticist George Harrison Shull, whose research on the development of hybrid corn laid the foundation for its widespread cultivation, was born on this day in Clark County, Ohio, 1874.

It's the birthday of writer Henry James (THE WINGS OF THE DOVE; THE AMBASSADORS; THE GOLDEN BOWL), born in New York City in 1843.

English lexicographer Dr. Samuel Johnson published his DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE on this day in 1755.

It's the birthday of the American painter who did the first portrait of George Washington, Charles Willson Peale, born in Queen Annes County, Maryland, in 1741.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®

 

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