Tuesday

Mar. 9, 1999

The Dumka

by B. H. Fairchild

Broadcast Date: TUESDAY: March 9, 1999

Poem: "The Dumka," by B.H. Fairchild, from The Art of the Lathe (Alice James Books).

It's the birthday of the composer SAMUEL BARBER, born 1910 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He became internationally famous when the conductor Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony first performed his Adagio for Strings in 1938—the first time Toscanini had conducted an American composition.

It's the birthday of the English writer VICTORIA (VITA) SACKVILLE-WEST, born 1892 in Sevenoaks in the county of Kent. She wrote a number of novels and travel books, including her semi-autobiographical novel The Edwardians, and many books about gardening based on the garden she designed at Sissinghurst Castle.

The founder of Stanford University, AMASA LELAND STANFORD, was born on this day in 1824 in Watervliet, New York. He served as president of the Central Pacific Railroad, part of the trans-continental railroad, for over 30 years. He and his wife established the Leland Stanford Junior University on his former farm at Palo Alto in 1891 as a memorial to his only child, Leland Jr., who had died at the age of 15. It opened in 1891 with 559 students.

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

 

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