Tuesday

Dec. 29, 1998

Year's End

by Richard Wilbur

TUESDAY 12/29

Poem: "Year's End," by Richard Wilbur, from CEREMONY AND OTHER POEMS (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978).

It's the anniversary of the BATTLE OF WOUNDED KNEE, fought between the U.S. government and the Sioux in 1890. The conflict at Wounded Knee started when some Sioux left their reservation at Pine Ridge in early December. They surrendered peacefully on December 28th, but the next day there was a scuffle over a shotgun and a soldier was shot. The troops responded with machine gun fire and over 200 Sioux men, women and children were massacred.

It's the birthday of cellist and conductor PABLO CASALS, born in 1876 in Vendrell, Spain. He made his career as a cellist in Spain in the early 20th century but was forced to move to France in 1936 because he was opposed to fascism. He returned to Spain after the Civil War of 1936-39, but retired in 1946 as a protest against Franco's regime in Spain. He returned to recording and conducting in 1950 but remained an active campaigner for peace all his life.

It's the birthday of the British Prime Minister WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE, born in 1809 in the northern city of Liverpool. He became Prime Minister in 1868 and held that office on four different occasions over the next forty years. One of the main political issues which plagued him in office was "Irish Home Rule"—the policy of giving Ireland its own parliament in Dublin. Gladstone supported it, and the issue forced him out of office several times.

It's the birthday of ANDREW JOHNSON, 17th President of the United States, born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1808. He is took over as President following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. As president he got into trouble by dismissing his Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, in 1867, and was the first U.S. President to have articles of impeachment voted against him by the House of Representatives. The Senate rejected the charges and he finished his term of office.

It's the birthday of the Danish archeologist CHRISTIAN JÜRGENSEN THOMSEN, born in 1788 in Copenhagen. He is known for developing and naming the three ages of pre-history: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. He was the curator of the National Museum of Denmark for most of his life and devised the classification scheme while organizing the museum's collection of Scandinavian antiquities.

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

 

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