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There is a fundamental teaching in Judaism called Tikkun Olam. It means repairing the world. For Julius Rosenwald, this idea was a way of life.
Julius had become quite wealthy in his adult years, likely one of the richest men in America at the time. But becoming so had been quite the journey. His father had lived an American immigrant story, arriving from Germany with $20 but with smarts and a dedicated work ethic. From poverty, life slowly evolved into stability. And when Julius was born in 1862, the family lived a block away from Abraham Lincoln's Illinois home.
Julius built from this foundation that his parents had created. He got into the clothing business, though one could say that he was born into it. His father had become a tailor in the U.S. and then ran a clothing store. Julius worked in the shop from a young age. By the middle of high school, he dropped out to work full-time.
Diligent, hard-working, and a believer in the importance of quality products, Julius' career in business flourished. But it was a $37,500 investment in 1895 for 25% of Sears, Roebuck & Co., a Chicago-based mail-order company still looking to find its footing, that would bring him tremendous wealth.
America at the time was amidst a rural revolution, as railroads had opened up vast territories. For these families, however, goods were often hard to come by. Mail-order was an ideal solution. And Julius, who eventually took over as President, focused on the quality of products to transform Sears into a retail giant. By the early 20th century, the company catalog was as ubiquitous in American homes as a family Bible.
Yet, interestingly, Julius would attribute much of his success to luck, writing,
"The big successes are largely due to opportunity. Many men with quite exceptional ability never get a chance. I never had exceptional ability and there are in Sears today many men who are much cleverer than I. To say that I had vision and foresight in going into Sears is nonsense. I went in simply because I saw a good chance. In other words, for precisely the same reason that other young men change their jobs. I had no idea that Sears would develop into five percent of its present size. It was simply a lucky chance that the business developed along such a scale. We ran it efficiently and worked hard and it made money. There is the whole story. The subsequent economic developments of the country have made it into what it is."
That said, Julius was considered one of the great business leaders of his time. But, arguably, it would be his work as a philanthropist that made him particularly special. Julius established the Rosenwald Fund, focusing on education and public health. Amongst these initiatives, it was in the former that he made a uniquely meaningful and lasting impact. Having been moved by the work of Booker T. Washington and William Henry Baldwin Jr. in helping black Americans thrive, and understanding racism from seeing anti-semitism, Julius funded over 5,300 schools for black students in the South. Though he did take an interesting approach, insisting that communities contribute to the projects, fostering a sense of ownership and partnership. For a time ripe with segregation and lack of funding for education for black students, Julius' initiative and communal method made a significant impact. Over 600,000 students would attend a school.
After his illustrious business career and meaningful work in philanthropy, Julius passed away in 1932.
Sources:
* Ascoli, Peter Max. Julius Rosenwald: The Man who Built Sears, Roebuck and Advanced the Cause of Black Education in the American South. United States, Indiana University Press, 2006.
* BACHMANN, LAWRENCE P. “Julius Rosenwald.” American Jewish Historical Quarterly, vol. 66, no. 1, 1976, pp. 89–105. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23880425. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.
* Bain News Service, Publisher. Julius Rosenwald. [Between and Ca. 1920] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .
* Oleshansky, Deborah. “Education is the Key to Unlocking a Better Future for All.” The Jewish Observer, https://www.jewishobservernashville.org/article/2023/12/education-is-the-key-to-unlocking-a-better-future-for-all
* Solender, Michael J.. “Inside the Rosenwald Schools.” Smithsonian Magazine, March 30, 2021. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-rosenwald-schools-shaped-legacy-generation-black-leaders-180977340/
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"During the thousands of years that man has walked upright on this earth, he has looked up with admiration at the beauties of the heavens around him. For less than four centuries of this vast time he has had the advantage of a telescope to help him interpret the lights in the sky. Although the telescope has added enormously to our understanding of the heavens, we should not make the mistake of thinking that we must always have one at hand to enjoy the sky. On the contrary, I hope that this book will show that anyone can follow the beautiful and interesting events in the sky without a telescope. For the stars belong to everyone," Helen Sawyer Hogg wrote at the beginning of her book, The Stars Belong to Everyone.
The saying represented Helen's philosophy that astronomy should be shared, celebrated, and accessible to all.
Helen's path to the stars, however, began unexpectedly. On January 24, 1925, she was an undergraduate chemistry student at Mount Holyoke College when her astronomy professor arranged a trip to see a total solar eclipse. "The glory of the spectacle seems to have tied me to astronomy for life, despite my horribly cold feet as we stood almost knee-deep in the snow," she later wrote. It was a single moment, but history so often pivots on these fleeting encounters that reshape a life forever.
The following year, Helen met Annie Jump Cannon, a well-known astronomer at Harvard and a member of an all-female group of computers who were changing society's understanding of the stars. Annie offered to help Helen, setting her up with a faculty member for a Ph.D. program in astronomy at the university.
At Harvard, Helen met Frank Scott Hogg, a fellow astronomy graduate student. The two married in 1930. Shortly after, Frank became Harvard's first Ph.D. graduate in astronomy. Helen followed shortly after. Then, the couple moved to Canada, where Frank had secured a position at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, British Columbia. It was there that they began a family.
For Helen, these early work and married life years were spent doing her research, often unpaid, as she watched their children. The couple's first child frequently came to the laboratory with Helen. Yet despite all the responsibilities, she began conducting groundbreaking research.
Helen specialized in studying variable stars, which are stars whose brightness changes over time, in globular clusters. Globular clusters are dense, spherical collections of ancient stars, which orbit galaxies like the Milky Way. The research was important because variable stars serve as “cosmic yardsticks” as their brightness changes in predictable ways. By measuring their light variations, astronomers can determine the distances to these stars and their clusters. And as a result, provide insight into the age of the universe.
As Helen's stature grew, additional opportunities came about. In a time when women rarely published, Helen began writing a column for a newspaper and then her book. Helen would be instrumental in bringing astronomy to everyday people. But she would also be instrumental in helping Canada become one of the world's leaders in astronomy research.
Still, Helen did have to deal with the pervasive social expectations for women at the time. In one magazine profile, the writer wrote about Helen: "Even if her mind is in the sky, Dr. Hogg keeps her feet on the ground. She runs the house for her husband and three kids, collects stamps, makes bedspreads."
Such statements only fueled Helen's belief in opening more doors for women in science. But her passion for people taking part in astronomy was for everyone. As Helen said in her later years, "Not to know what's beyond is like spending your life in the cellar, being completely oblivious of all the wonderful things around us.”
Sources:
* Broughton, Peter and Clement, Christine. "Helen Sawyer Hogg 1905 - 1993." The Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1993JRASC..87..351C
* LaFollette, Marcel C. “Eyes on the Stars: Images of Women Scientists in Popular Magazines.” Science, Technology, & Human Values, vol. 13, no. 3/4, 1988, pp. 262–75. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/689935. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
* Pipher, Judith L. “Helen Sawyer Hogg (1905-1993).” Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vol. 105, no. 694, 1993, pp. 1369–72. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40680202. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
* Sawyer Hogg, Helen. The Stars Belong to Everyone: How to Enjoy Astronomy. United States, Doubleday, 1976.
* Stille, Darlene R.. Extraordinary Women Scientists. United States, Childrens Press, 1995.
* "The Stars are in Her Eyes":
* Toronto Star Archive, https://digitalarchive.tpl.ca/objects/276864/ever-heard-of-a-star-atlas
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Summary: A snapshot biography of Matthew Henson, Arctic explorer and unsung hero, who overcame adversity to reach the North Pole in 1909.
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Matthew Henson was one of the world's great explorers, achieving one of the most sought-after firsts amongst adventurers when he and a small group of men set foot on the North Pole on April 6, 1909. For Matthew, who was 42 years old at the time, it was the pinnacle of a life exploring that began at just 11 years old.
Matthew's early life mirrored the struggles of many black Southerners in the post-Civil War era. Born in 1866 to sharecropping parents, he grew up in an environment of financial hardship. His world was further upended when both his parents died by the time he was 11 years old. Orphaned, Matthew sought work to survive, eventually becoming a cabin boy on a merchant ship.
This job provided him with an income and opened a door to a world of adventure. But more importantly, under the mentorship of the ship's captain, he gained skills in navigation, seamanship, and geography. These skills would prove invaluable in his life as an explorer.
After several years at sea, Matthew settled in Washington, D.C.. He worked as a store clerk, where in 1887, he met Lieutenant Robert E. Peary, an ambitious U.S. Navy engineer preparing for a surveying expedition to Nicaragua. Immediately impressed by Matthew's maritime experience, mechanical skills, and sharp intellect, he hired him as a personal aide, beginning a partnership for decades.
The Nicaragua expedition proved Matthew's importance. Peary then invited him to join the next adventure, an Arctic expedition in 1891–1892. The Arctic was grueling and full of challenges and dangers, including sub-zero temperatures, ice floes, and scarce resources. Matthew would see two friends die on early expeditions. Yet, his desire to continue exploring remained unchanged.
While his expertise grew in these expeditions, Matthew developed a new skill centered around team camaraderie. Most of the group was made of Inuit men. Matthew took the time to learn the language and appreciate the men and their cultures. He would say about them,
"Naturally the impressions formed on my first visit to the Land of Ice and Snow were the most lasting, but in the coming years I was to learn more and more that such a life was no picnic, and to realize what primitive life meant. I was to live with a people who, the scientists stated, represented the earliest form of human life, living in what is known as the Stone Age, and I was to revert to that stage of life by leaps and bounds, and to emerge from it by the same sudden means. Many and many a time, for periods covering more than twelve months, I have been to all intents an Esquimo, with Esquimos for companions, speaking their language, dressing in the same kind of clothes, living in the same kind of dens, eating the same food, enjoying their pleasures, and frequently sharing their griefs. I have come to love these people. I know every man, woman, and child in their tribe. They are my friends and they regard me as theirs."
Matthew's connection with the Inuit team members and his skills made him an essential part of the successful trek to the North Pole. As one member of the expedition wrote,
"Matt was of more real value than the combined services of all of us. With years of experience, an expert dog driver, a master mechanic, physically strong, most popular with the Eskimos, talking the language like a native, clean, full of grit, he went to the Pole because Peary couldn't get along without him."
It was a moment of triumph when Matthew and the team reached the North Pole. Matthew later wrote in his autobiography,
"The Commander gave the word, 'We will plant the stars and stripes — at the North Pole' and it was done; on the peak of a huge paleocrystic floeberg the glorious banner was unfurled to the breeze, and as it snapped and crackled with the wind, I felt a savage joy and exultation."
Yet, upon returning to the United States, Matthew faced the harsh realities of racism. While Peary was celebrated as a hero, Matthew's contributions were largely overlooked outside of the black community. He took a job as a clerk at the U.S. Customs House in New York City, where he spent more than 30 years largely in obscurity. But he continued advocating for his rightful place in history.
Matthew's efforts eventually came to fruition. In 1937, the Explorers Club, a prestigious organization, inducted him as its first black American member. His contributions were further recognized seven years later when Congress awarded him the Peary Polar Expedition Medal. Then, decades after he died in 1955, Matthew's legacy received its most profound tribute: in 1988, his remains were reinterred with full honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
Sources:
* Discovering Matthew Henson:
* Henson, Matthew Alexander. A Negro Explorer at the North Pole. United States, Frederick A. Stokes, 1912.
* "Matthew Alexander Henson." Arlington National Cemetery, https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/explore/notable-graves/explorers/matthew-henson
* Robinson, Bradley. “Matthew A. Henson (1866-1955).” Arctic, vol. 36, no. 1, 1983, pp. 106–07. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40509478. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
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Summary: Snapshot biography of Dr. Adélaïde Hautval, who risked her life to help and save Jewish people during the Holocaust in World War II.
Courage has faces. One of those is undoubtedly Adélaïde Hautval.
Born on January 1, 1906, in Hohwald, a small Alsatian village nestled in the Vosges mountains of France, Adélaïde was shaped by the values of her father, a Protestant pastor who instilled in her an unwavering commitment to human dignity and living with conviction.
She first took these lessons into her career. Adélaïde became a psychiatrist at a time when only about 10% of French doctors were female. When World War II engulfed Europe and France in particular shortly after, she continued her work in the French-controlled zone of the country, balancing her medical practice with the growing turmoil.
In 1942, Adélaïde's life took a sharp turn when her mother passed away. Determined to attend the funeral, she boarded a train to German-occupied Paris without the required travel documents. Stopped at the border, she was arrested and imprisoned.
In prison, she observed the treatment of Jewish people by the guards. Refusing to stand idly by, she declared herself "a friend of the Jews" and protested their persecution, telling the guards, "They are people like any others. Leave them alone."
"Deny what you said about the Jews and you will be released," the guards responded to Adélaïde. She refused. To which they replied, "As you wish to defend them, you will follow their fate." Adélaïde was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp.
At Buchenwald, Adélaïde became known as "The Saint" among her fellow prisoners for risking her own life as she treated inmates suffering from typhus, hiding them from Nazi authorities and refusing to report those who were ill—a virtual death sentence for anyone exposed.
In January 1943, she was transferred to Auschwitz, entering one of the most brutal places in human history. Upon arrival, she remarked, "We are under sentence of death. Let us behave like human beings as long as we are alive."
Assigned to the medical block because of her expertise, she faced a harrowing demand: to assist in Nazi experiments on Jewish prisoners. Adélaïde refused without hesitation, directly defying the orders of Josef Mengele, the infamous "Angel of Death." Somehow, in a place where death could come on a whim, she survived this act of defiance and was eventually transferred out of the camp.
Adélaïde survived the camps and the war, though she would suffer from health issues all her life as result of the time. In 1965, Yad Vashem recognized her with the honor of becoming a part of the" Righteous among the nations."
Sources:
* “Adelaide Hautval.” Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/adelaide-hautval
* “Adelaide Hautval.” University of Northern Iowa, https://chge.uni.edu/adelaide-hautval
* Berger, Becky. “Dr. Adelaide Hautval.” The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, https://www.raoulwallenberg.net/general/dr-adelaide-hautval/
* “Friend of the Jews.” International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, https://www.ifcj.org/news/fellowship-blog/friend-of-the-jews-2
* Levin, Menucha Chana. “Friend of the Jews: How Dr. Adelaide Hautval Defied the Nazis and Saved Jewish Lives.” https://aish.com/friend-of-the-jews-how-dr-adelaide-hautval-defied-the-nazis-and-saved-jewish-lives/
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Summary: John Adams defends British soldiers after the Boston Massacre, balancing justice and public outrage in a pivotal moment in history.
Please note: we’ve kept all quotes in this snapshot in their original form.
March 5, 1770, was a bitterly cold evening in Boston, Massachusetts. A heavy snowstorm had left the narrow streets cloaked in a foot of snow. It was not a night for lingering outdoors. But just after nine o'clock, a bell shattered the stillness, clanging the alarm for a fire in the city, which was no small matter. Within moments, townspeople hurried from their homes, spilling into the icy streets.
Now, this would not have made the night memorable in history. But some residents went to the Customs House, a government building where British officials managed taxes, duties, and trade regulations. What motivated them isn't clear. Maybe they went because a British soldier had a dispute with some local workers near the Customs House earlier in the day. Or maybe the group was looking for conflict, as tensions between the colonists and the British government had been simmering for years. Unfair taxes were one major gripe. Another came after the British government sent two thousand troops to Boston in 1768, a significant number given that the town was home to only about sixteen thousand people then. Whatever the reason, the colonists went to the Customs House that night, where one guard and eight soldiers stood in defense.
The colonists began yelling and cursing at the soldiers, throwing snowballs, ice, and oyster shells. "Kill them! Kill them!" people yelled. Someone hit a soldier with a club. Then, shots rang out, and colonists fell to the ground. When the smoke cleared, five lay dead or dying in the snow. The night would be remembered as the Boston Massacre.
The next day, Boston was in an uproar. Calls for justice filled the air as people wanted the soldiers put on trial. But when it came time to find them legal representation, no one wanted the job. To defend the soldiers risked being seen as a traitor to the colonial cause. And people believed that the soldiers would be found guilty in an American court.
Then, John Adams was asked. The future founding father and U.S. President was a respected lawyer and a vocal critic of British policies at the time. Taking the position would be a significant risk with all the fury against the British. Yet, Adams believed in the importance of law, writing,
"I had no hesitation in answering that Council ought to be the very last thing that an accused Person should want in a free Country … And that Persons whose Lives were at Stake ought to have the Council they preferred … and that every Lawyer must hold himself responsible not only to his Country, but to the highest and most infallible of all Trybunals for the Part he should Act."
Though the quote can be confusing given some differences in language from then to now, his argument was that legal representation is an essential right in a free country. So amidst everything, Adams took the case.
The first trial was against the captain of the eight men. It started on October 24, 1770, and would be the first trial in the history of the American colonies to go longer than one day. The second trial would be against the eight soldiers and follow shortly after.
Adams began with an appeal to the jury,
"It has become my duty, it shall therefore be my endeavor, to acquit myself in the course of this trial with decency and candour; reflecting that however interesting the question may be, the object of our enquiry is simply that of truth, and that this enquiry is to be conducted by the wisdom of the laws and constitution."
In his closing argument, Adams urged the jury to set aside their passions and focus on the facts,
"I will enlarge no more on the evidence, but submit it to you.—Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence: nor is the law less stable than the fact; if an assault was made to endanger their lives, the law is clear, they had a right to kill in their own defence; if it was not so severe as to endanger their lives, yet if they were assaulted at all, struck and abused by blows of any sort, by snowballs, oyster-shells, cinders, clubs, or sticks of any kind; this was a provocation, for which the law reduces the offence of killing, down to manslaughter, in consideration of those passions in our nature, which cannot be eradicated. To your candour and justice I submit the prisoners and their cause."
After days of testimony and deliberation, the jury acquitted the captain and six of the soldiers. Two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter, but their punishment was light: they were branded on the thumb with a large "M." It was a surprising outcome but one that, ironically, would earn Adams much respect.
Reflecting on the trial years later, Adams wrote,
"The Part I took in Defence of Captn. Preston and the Soldiers, procured me Anxiety, and Obloquy [strong public criticism] enough. It was, however, one of the most gallant, generous, manly and disinterested Actions of my whole Life, and one of the best Pieces of Service I ever rendered my Country. Judgment of Death against those Soldiers would have been as foul a Stain upon this Country as the Executions of the Quakers or Witches, anciently. As the Evidence was, the Verdict of the Jury was exactly right."
Sources:
* "1773. March 5th. Fryday. [from the Diary of John Adams]." National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/01-02-02-0003-0002-0002
* "Boston Massacre Site." The Freedom Trail, https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/trail-sites/boston-massacre-site
* “Boston Massacre Trial.” National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/boston-massacre-trial.htm
* McCullough, David. John Adams. United Kingdom, Simon & Schuster, 2001.
* “John Adams.” National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, https://www.si.edu/es/object/john-adams%3Anpg_NPG.71.4
* Reid, John Phillip. “A Lawyer Acquitted: John Adams and the Boston Massacre Trials.” The American Journal of Legal History, vol. 18, no. 3, 1974, pp. 189–207. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/845085. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
* "Thomas Gage." American Battlefield Trust, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/thomas-gage
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Summary: Snapshot biography of French tennis legend Suzanne Lenglen, who captivated the world with her victories and style.
The numbers are astounding. 250 championships won. Three Olympic medals, six Wimbledon and six French Championship titles. Over her remarkable career, Suzanne Lenglen recorded 341 victories and only seven defeats - a staggering win percentage of 98%.
But Suzanne didn't just win; she did so with flair. One could even say that she was a diva. Charismatic and charming, she was known to arrive for her matches dressed in a full-length fur coat and wearing bright red lipstick. Her attire for the matches also caused much controversy. Dressed in diamond-accented headscarves, silk stockings, and, most controversial for the times, a dress that showed her forearms and calves.
But she was a winner. And maybe more important than the victories, she brought pride and joy to her native France at a time when the country was reeling from the death and destruction of World War I. About 1.5 million French men had been killed in the war, and 4 million had been wounded. Suzanne helped soothe the spirit of the nation.
For Suzanne, the pressure to excel started at a young age. Suffering from chronic asthma, she began playing tennis because her father thought it might help build stamina. It became quickly apparent that she was a gifted player. And her father aggressively pushed her as a result. Play to win, even if it goes against convention he taught, which had a particular significance then, as women played the game differently from men.
Years later, when asked about her play, Suzanne would say, "My method? I don't think I have any. I just throw dignity to the winds and think of nothing but the game. I try to hit the ball with all my force and send it where my opponent is not."
Sadly, Suzanne's career and life were cut short when she passed away at the age of 39 in 1938.
Sources:
* Bain News Service, Publisher. Suzanne Lenglen. [Between and Ca. 1925] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .
* Feldman, Jacob and Wertheim, Jon. “The Incomparable Life and Mysterious Death of Suzanne Lenglen.” Sports Illustrated, Jun 27, 2019. https://www.si.com/tennis/2019/06/27/suzanne-lenglen-tennis-wimbledon-life-death
* Garros, Roland. “Outrageous, unconventional and brilliant: The iconic Suzanne Lenglen.” September 28, 2020. WTA Unlocked, https://www.wtatennis.com/news/1840596/outrageous-unconventional-and-brilliant-the-iconic-suzanne-lenglen
* Gay, Victor and Grosjean, Pauline. “New scores on old sores: The Morts Pour la France database on WWI fatalities in France.” VoxEU, https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/new-scores-old-sores-morts-pour-la-france-database-wwi-fatalities-france
* “The 100-year legacy of Suzanne Lenglen.” Olympics, https://olympics.com/en/news/the-100-year-legacy-of-suzanne-lenglen
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SummaryA short biography of journalist Nellie Bly, who's daring exposé in a New York insane asylum revealed shocking truths and drove reform.
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In 1887, 23-year-old Elizabeth Cochrane, who would become known to the world as Nellie Bly, was an inspiring journalist looking for her next assignment. She had just moved to New York and began pitching ideas to publications there.
One publication, The New York World, responded to Nellie, asking her to proceed with one of her ideas. The plan was for Nellie to fake insanity and get admitted to Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum to conduct first-hand research. "Write up things as you find them, good or bad," her editor requested. "Give praise or blame as you think best, and the truth all the time."
Nellie wasted no time. After checking into a women's boarding house, she began her performance. Speaking incoherently and wide-eyed, she convinced those around her she was mentally unwell. Arrest followed, and soon, she found herself at Blackwell's Island. For ten harrowing days, Nellie endured the asylum's horrors until the editors got her released.
Speaking of her experience, Nellie said, "What, excepting torture, would produce insanity quicker than this treatment?…I would like the expert physicians who are condemning me for my action, which has proven their ability, to take a perfectly sane and healthy woman, shut her up and make her sit from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. on straight-back benches, do not allow her to talk or move during these hours, give her no reading and let her know nothing of the world or its doings, give her bad food and harsh treatment, and see how long it will take to make her insane. Two months would make her a mental and physical wreck."
Nellie published Ten Days in a Mad-House about her experience, which would help drive more funding and change in New York City's insane asylums.
About a year later, based on the book Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, Nellie became famous for attempting to travel the world in less than eighty days. Going by steamship, train, and any means available, she raced against time and expectations. Seventy-two days later, she completed the journey. Covered extensively in The New York World, her trip captivated the public's imagination and made her a national celebrity.
Nellie continued to write and report on social issues until her death from pneumonia on January 27, 1922, at the age of 57.
Sources:
* Bly, Nellie. “Ten Days in a Mad-House.” Published by Ian L. Munro, 1887.
* Ehrlich, Elizabeth. Nellie Bly. United States, Chelsea House Publishers, 1989.
* “Nellie Bly.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Bly
* Nellie Bly. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .
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Summary: snapshot biography of Sarah Josepha Hale, writer of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and an advocate for Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
Sarah Josepha Hale is known as the "Mother of Thanksgiving." It's a well-deserved nickname. In 1846, Sarah, who became famous in part for creating the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb," began lobbying U.S. politicians to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Advocating consistently and passionately for nearly two decades, Sarah saw her efforts come to fruition when President Abraham Lincoln made the official declaration in 1863 amidst the Civil War years, hoping to do as Sarah believed would happen - help bring a divided nation closer together.
Born in 1788 in Newport, New Hampshire, Sarah grew up in a family that valued education and moral conviction. Her father, a Revolutionary War veteran, and particularly her mother encouraged Sarah's intellectual curiosity. As Sarah would later say about her mother's impact,
"I owe my early predilection for literary pursuits to the teachings and example of my mother. She had enjoyed uncommon advantages of education for a female of her times, possessed a mind clear as rock water, and had a most happy talent of communicating knowledge. She had read many of the old black letter chronicles ... and innumerable were the ballads, songs and stories with which she amused and instructed her children."
Sarah's upbringing instilled a lifelong commitment to education, self-improvement, and the belief that women could and should contribute meaningfully to society. These convictions became even more pronounced after tragedy struck when in 1822, Sarah's husband passed away suddenly, leaving her a widow with five young children. Sarah turned to her pen to support her family.
Sarah's first major literary success came in 1827 with the publication of Northwood: A Tale of New England. A thoughtful exploration of life in rural New England, the novel also contained a bold critique of slavery, making Sarah one of the first American writers to address the issue in fiction. The book's success earned her an offer to become editor of Ladies' Magazine in Boston.
Sarah embraced the opportunity, and under her guidance, Ladies' Magazine became a platform for advocating women's education and societal influence. When the magazine merged with Godey's Lady's Book in 1837, Sarah continued as editor, shaping it into the most widely read women's publication of the 19th century, championing issues from women's rights to preserving historical landmarks, and of course, establishment of a national day of Thanksgiving.
While Sarah is remembered for her literary contributions, arguably her most enduring achievement remains her campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. At the time, Thanksgiving was celebrated sporadically and at different times across the states. Sarah believed a unified day of gratitude could help foster a sense of shared purpose and national identity. She wrote governors, legislators, and five U.S. presidents, arguing for its adoption. And she argued for it in her editorials, writing in one from 1861, "What could do more to arouse and preserve the fraternal feelings which should exist." It was a vision that resonated deeply during the Civil War time.
When President Lincoln issued his Thanksgiving proclamation in 1863, Sarah's nearly two decades of persistence bore fruit. The following year, she wrote in an editorial,
"Who can estimate the benefits and blessings which may flow from the faithful observance of this happy Festival? For one day the strife of parties will be hushed, the cares of business will be put aside, and all hearts will join in common emotions of gratitude and goodwill. We may even hope that for one day war itself will cease by common consent, as was the custom in the Middle Ages during the solemn church Festival known as the "Truce of God;" and it is not impossible that sentiments may then be awakened which will aid in bringing on that return of true union and peace which is so earnestly desired."
Sarah would continue writing and advocating for social progress. She passed away in 1879.
Sources:
* Finley, Mrs. Ruth. The lady of Godey's Sarah Josepha Hale. United Kingdom, J.B. Lippincott Company, 1938.
* Norwood, Arlisha. "Sarah Hale." National Women's History Museum. 2017. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sarah-hale.
* Straus, Doris. “Fashion, The High Life, and ‘The Duties of Married Females’: 19th Century Fashion-Plate Magazines.” New York Public Library, https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/09/25/19th-century-fashion-plate-magazines
* “The Thanksgiving editorials of Sarah Josepha Hale from the pages of Godey's Lady's book.” Pilgrim Hall Museum, https://www.pilgrimhall.org/pdf/SJH_Editorials.pdf
* Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Foundation, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sarah_Hale_portrait.jpg
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Summary: Snapshot biography of Gertrude Ederle, who was a champion swimmer and the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
On a breezy morning in August 1926, nineteen-year-old Gertrude Ederle jumped into the cold waters of the English Channel. With her muscles relaxed from some rest after months of grueling training and her body coated head to toe in a mixture of lanolin, petroleum jelly, and grease for insulation against the chill and protection against the swarms of jellyfish, she felt determined and excited to attempt what no woman and only five men had ever done: swim across the Channel.
What followed would make Gertrude an international sensation.
Gertrude Caroline Ederle was born to German immigrant parents in New York City on October 23, 1905. The third of six children, she grew up in a lively household in Manhattan's Upper West Side, where during summer months, Gertrude's family would take outings to the New Jersey shore. It was on these sunny childhood days that a passion for swimming blossomed.
Soon, she turned the joy into a pursuit of competitive swimming, where success came quickly. Gertrude set her first world record at the age of 12. Between the ages of 15 and 19, she set 29 national and world records. In 1924, she represented the United States at the Paris Olympics, earning one gold medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay and two bronze medals in individual freestyle events.
Yet, she wanted to challenge herself more, to push her physical limits. And she also wanted to challenge the societal expectations placed on women. Which were many at the time.
Gertrude set her sights on swimming across the English Channel. Often referred to as the "Mount Everest of swimming" for its cold, rough waters teeming with jellyfish, the twenty-one-mile span was considered the ultimate test of endurance. Many believed that women were not physically capable of such a feat. Gertrude became determined to prove them wrong.
Her first attempt in 1925 ended in disappointment. Thinking she was in distress, her trainer touched Gertrude as he attempted to pull her from the water, disqualifying the swim. Though upset, Gertrude thought of her motto, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. "I am going to attempt to swim the English Channel again next July," she said to herself.
For her second attempt, she hired a new coach and developed a rigorous training regimen, swimming four hours a day. She also designed a pair of goggles to better protect her eyes and a more aerodynamic swimsuit that minimized drag in the water.
On August 6, 1926, she started the swim at Nez, France with a tugboat carrying her coach and supporters trailing, offering encouragement and supplies of broth and sugar cubes for energy. She gave her team of supporters strict instructions about taking her out of the water: "until I get there or I can't move."
The swim was a battle from the start. Just a few minutes in, rough swells made her consider quitting. "But I thought I had to make a showing so I just kept on and on and on. When I got a few miles out I was confident I could make it and kept on," Gertrude later said.
Pushing through while singing her favorite song, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, she swam and swam. Even when her coach encouraged her to stop, Gertrude continued. "It's today or never, Pop," she shouted to her father and supporters on the tugboat. He replied, "Kiddie finish it."
After 14 hours and 39 minutes, Gertrude emerged from the water onto the shores of Kingsdown, England. Her time was over two hours faster than the fastest man to have swum the Channel. Exhausted but triumphant, Gertrude became an international sensation. Newspapers worldwide hailed her achievement, and she was welcomed home to a ticker-tape parade in New York City attended by an estimated two million people. President Calvin Coolidge called her "America's Best Girl," a title she cherished throughout her life.
Gertrude soon retired and largely retreated from the public eye. She spent her later years teaching swimming to deaf children, a cause close to her heart as she herself became partially deaf after a childhood accident. On November 30, 2003, she passed away at the age of 98.
Sources:
* Hasday, Judy L.. Extraordinary Women Athletes. United States, Children's Press, 2000.
* “Life Story: Gertrude Ederle (1906–2003).” Women & The American Story, https://wams.nyhistory.org/confidence-and-crises/jazz-age/gertrude-ederle/
* Lillian Cannon, of Baltimore, Md., offering her best wishes to Gertrude Ederle, as she starts out from Cape Griz Nez, France, on her successful attempt to swim the English Channel. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .
* National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, https://www.si.edu/object/gertrude-ederle%3Anpg_NPG.80.230
* Parade for Gertrude Ederle coming up Broadway, New York City, with large crowd watching / photo by staff photographer. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .
* “She was the First Woman to Swim Across the English Channel.” American Masters, PBS, https://www.pbs.org/video/she-was-first-woman-swim-across-english-channel-r8r7td/
* St. Croix avis. (Christiansted, VI) 20 Aug. 1926, p. 3. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84037526/1926-08-20/ed-1/.
* The Milwaukee leader. (Milwaukee, WI) 8 Aug. 1926, p. 12. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn83045293/1926-08-08/ed-1/.
* The Washington times. (Washington, DC) 7 Aug. 1926, p. 1. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84026749/1926-08-07/ed-1/.
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Summary: Snapshot history of the world's first car.
Transcript:
The world was changing rapidly in the late 19th century. Railways crisscrossed continents, and factories hummed with the sounds of industrialization. Yet, transportation in cities and towns remained stubbornly tethered to horse-drawn carriages. In 1884, over 15.4 million draft horses were used to transport goods and people across America. That was until an inventive German engineer named Karl Benz introduced the world to a revolutionary idea: a self-propelled vehicle.
In 1886, Karl unveiled what is widely regarded as the first actual automobile: the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. The three-wheeled machine, powered by an internal combustion engine, looked nothing like the sleek cars we see today. Its spindly frame, wooden wheels, and single-cylinder gasoline engine producing less than one horsepower resembled a high-tech tricycle more than a modern vehicle. But it was groundbreaking—an invention that would change transportation.
At the time, Karl's creation was, to many, a mechanical curiosity. But it was a masterpiece of engineering. The heart of the Motorwagen was its internal combustion engine, an innovation refined by other inventors for use in industrial equipment, agricultural tools, and other areas. Karl took the concept and paired it with a lightweight chassis, pioneering the integration of engine and vehicle into a cohesive system. And with that, the car was born.
But inventing the first car was one thing; convincing the world to adopt it was another. Skepticism abounded. Critics dismissed the car as impractical, noisy, and even dangerous. Many doubted it could replace the reliability of horse-drawn carriages. Then came a pivotal moment, a breakthrough. But it didn't come from Karl. Rather, it resulted from a decision made by his wife, Bertha.
In 1888, Bertha took matters into her own hands. Literally. Without informing her husband, she took their two teenage sons and drove the car from home to her mother's house, a distance of about 66 miles. This was no small feat. Roads at the time were not designed for automobiles, and she encountered numerous challenges, from refueling at pharmacies (gasoline was sold as a cleaning solvent) to fixing mechanical issues with her hairpin and garter.
But it was worth it. Bertha's journey captured the public's imagination, proving that the automobile was more than an eccentric invention—it was a viable means of travel.
The Benz Patent-Motorwagen marked the dawn of an industry that would transform the world. Over the next few decades, inventors and entrepreneurs worldwide built upon Karl's foundation, making cars more affordable and accessible to the masses. Roads expanded, cities sprawled, and societies reorganized themselves around the freedom of mobility. By the mid-1890s, public perception began to shift, and demand for cars quickly outpaced supply.
One magazine captured this change: "Those who have taken the pains to search below the surface for the great tendencies of the age, know what a giant industry is struggling into being there. All signs point to the motor vehicle as the necessary sequence of methods of locomotion already established and approved. The growing needs of our civilization demand it; the public believe in it, and await with lively interest its practical application to the daily business of the world."
Today, it is estimated that 1.475 billion cars exist in the world.
Sources:
* Flink, James J. “Three Stages of American Automobile Consciousness.” American Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 4, 1972, pp. 451–73. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2711684. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.
* “The Automobile Age.” The Wilson Quarterly (1976-), vol. 10, no. 5, 1986, pp. 64–79. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40257092. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.
* Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Foundation, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1885Benz.jpg
Note: read our latest eBook, The Biography of Raoul Wallenberg.
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A snapshot biography of Dr. James Barry, who unbeknownst to most was a woman practicing medicine for decades as a man during the 19th century.
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Snapshot of the Boston Tea Party, which was an act of defiance that helped ignite the path to the American Revolution.
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A snapshot biography of Isaac Burns Murphy, who is widely regarded as the greatest jockey of all time.
Sources and text: https://historicalsnaps.com/2024/11/11/the-greatest-jockey-isaac-burns-murphy/
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On the morning of December 7th, 1941, Doris Miller, or Dorie as his friends called him, was working as a mess attendant, serving breakfast and collecting laundry, on the battleship West Virginia in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He had been a U.S. Navy veteran for two years now, joining at the age of twenty after years working on his father's farm in Texas. But this morning would be unlike any he had ever experienced.
Shortly before eight am, the tranquility of the harbor was shattered as the Japanese Air Force launched a surprise attack on the U.S. ships stationed in Pearl Harbor. The West Virginia was one of the ships hit.
Amidst the chaos, Doris, who wasn't injured, sprang into action, helping move wounded soldiers to safety, including the ship's captain. Then, despite being untrained in combat, he took command of an anti-aircraft machine gun and began firing, officially shooting down two planes, though he and others believe it was more. Then came the call to evacuate.
Doris continued to serve in the Navy with distinction as the U.S. entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Tragically, however, his life was cut short two years later when the aircraft carrier Liscome Bay, on which he was serving, was torpedoed and sunk near Butaritari during the Battle of Makin. Initially listed as missing, he was later declared deceased by the Navy.
In recognition of his valor, Doris was awarded the Navy Cross, becoming the first black American to receive this honor. He also received the Purple Heart and other decorations for serving his country with remarkable courage and dedication.
Sources:
* “80-G-408456 Doris Miller, Mess Attendant Second Class, USN (1919-1943).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/us-people/m/miller–doris/80-G-408456.html
* “Doris Miller.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Miller
* Portrait of Doris Miller taken on May 27th, 1942, after he was presented with the Navy Cross – “Dorie Miller – Restoration, full.” Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dorie_Miller_-_Restoration,_full.jpg
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In profession, Leonie von Zesch was a dentist. In personality, she was the greatest of adventurers. Nothing seemed to scare her, and she found creative solutions to seemingly any problem.
Leonie grew up in a time when women rarely went to college and even less earned advanced degrees. Yet, she graduated as a Doctor in Dental Surgery at the age of nineteen in 1902. But still, she faced much criticism. As one person said to her, "A woman dentist? You are the first one I've seen or even heard of. You don't really expect to make a living practicing dentistry?" with the accent on the word 'living.'"
Well, she would certainly make a living. She would also do much more. Leonie moved to San Francisco, where she quickly became an important part of the community, especially after the devastating 1906 earthquake. During this time, she was crucial in providing dental care to people, helping to treat their injuries, infections, and pain.
After establishing herself in San Francisco, Leonie expanded her work to Arizona. Here, her innovative spirit began to show. Understanding the transportation challenges of the time, as few Americans had cars then, Leonie set out to make access to care easy. She purchased a Model T Ford and converted it into a mobile dental clinic. Doing so allowed her to travel across the state, providing much-needed services to underserved communities.
Leonie's adventurous spirit then led her to Alaska in the early 1920s, where she served the population, including the local Inuit communities, for fifteen years. Here, Leonie adapted to the harsh weather and terrain conditions with her trademark ingenuity and resilience. Often traveling great distances to reach her patients, she at times utilized a custom sixteen-foot dog sled to navigate the snowy terrains. In addition to the dog sleds, Leonie sometimes relied on airplanes for transportation, a rare and risky method given the time. Leonie herself would survive a plane crash here.
Towards the end of her life, Leonie wrote,
"My mind always urged me to live a tranquil, ordered existence because that is the professional ideal. But my spirit hungered for the unusual. I rebelled against the prosaic mold into which the majority of the human race was being poured. I wanted adventure: beautiful, joyous, and romantic. Most of the dreams I have dreamed have been realized, though every silver lining has had its cloud."
After many years of serving many patients, Leonie passed away on September 12, 1944.
Sources:
* Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame
* “Leonie von Meusebach–Zesch.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation.
* Photograph of Leonie taken in 1902 - Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Foundation.
* Zesch, Leonie von. Leonie: A Woman Ahead of Her Time. United States, Lime Orchard Publications, 2011.
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December 22, 1849, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Fyodor Dostoevsky, just twenty-eight years old, stands with five other men facing a firing squad, awaiting execution. But then, just as the firing squad prepares to begin, a messenger arrives. He delivers a reprieve from the Tsar - there will be no execution.
Later that day, an elated Fyodor writes his brother,
"There the sentence of death was read to all of us...Then three were tied to the pillar for execution. I was the sixth. Three at a time were called out; consequently, I was in the second batch and no more than a minute was left me to live.
I remembered you, brother, and all yours; during the last minute you, you alone, were in my mind, only then I realized how I love you, dear brother mine! I also managed to embrace Pleshcheyev and Durov, who stood close to me, and to say goodbye to them. Finally the retreat was sounded and those tied to the pillar were led back, and it was announced to us that His Imperial Majesty granted us our lives...
There has never yet been working in me such a healthy abundance of spiritual life as now. But will my body endure? I do not know. I am going away sick, I suffer from scrofula. But never mind! Brother, I have already gone through so much in life that now hardly anything can frighten me. Let come what may!"
It would later come out that the death sentence was a hoax by the Tsar to instill a deep sense of fear and humility in Fyodor and the other prisoners for their roles in a group that advocated for political and social reforms in Russia and for their distribution of banned literature. The trauma was certainly a goal accomplished, as the harrowing experience would stay with Fyodor for life.
The Tsar commuted Fyodor's sentence to four years of hard labor in a prison camp in Siberia, where conditions were absolutely brutal. The prisoners were housed in overcrowded, filthy barracks and subjected to relentless physical labor. Food was scarce and of poor quality, and the guards often mistreated the prisoners. Disease was rampant, and many inmates succumbed to illness and malnutrition. Fyodor himself suffered from severe health issues, including epileptic seizures, which plagued him throughout his life. Fyodor described the camp as,
"In summer, intolerable closeness; in winter, unendurable cold. All the floors were rotten. Filth on the floors an inch thick; one could slip and fall...We were packed like herrings in a barrel...There was no room to turn around...Fleas, lice, and black beetles by the bushel."
After his release in 1854, Fyodor served five years of compulsory military service in the Siberian town of Semipalatinsk.
After the end of his military service in 1859, Fyodor settled in St. Petersburg with a woman he met in Siberia who was now his wife. Here, he resumed a life of writing with renewed vigor, building on the success that had come early in his life with his debut novel, "Poor Folks," published in 1845 when he was in his mid-20s.
These latter years of his career brought Fyodor into the realm of one of the world's writing greats. His works, unsurprisingly, delve into psychological depth and philosophical exploration of complex themes such as faith, doubt, free will, and the nature of evil. His characters often grapple with intense moral dilemmas and existential crises.
Though one can say this was the result of his near execution and harsh years after, Fyodor had already begun exploring these topics in his early life years. "To study the meaning of man and of life — I am making significant progress here. I have faith in myself. Man is a mystery: if you spend your entire life trying to puzzle it out, then do not say that you have wasted your time. I occupy myself with this mystery, because I want to be a man," he wrote in a letter in 1839.
Of all his works, "The Brothers Karamazov," published in 1880, is considered Fyodor's magnum opus. Amongst the many wisdoms that come out of this story is the following: "A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest form of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal in satisfying his vices. And it all comes from lying — to others and to yourself."
Fyodor wrote many other great novels including, "Crime and Punishment" (1866) and "The Idiot" (1869). He passed away on February 9, 1881, at the age of 59.
Sources:
* Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Brothers Karamazov. United States, Random House Publishing Group, 2003.
* "Fyodor Dostoevsky." Wikiquote, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoyevsky
* "Notes from the Dead House." University of Iowa Libraries, https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/gallery/exhibit-media/notes-from-the-dead-house
* Portrait of Fyodor is by Vasily Perov from 1872 – Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vasily_Perov_-_Портрет_Ф.М.Достоевского_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
* "Under the Gun." Lapham's Quarterly, https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/time/under-gun
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Anna Stein took her first breath on a makeshift bed in a crowded Warsaw Ghetto apartment in 1940. At the time, not even a year had passed since the Nazis took over Poland and mandated all Warsaw Jewish people to live within a small neighborhood confined by ten-foot walls. The Warsaw Ghetto, as it would come to be known. A space slightly more than a square mile that nearly half a million Jewish people called home.
Anna's mother came into the ghetto pregnant. It had been an accident, though a welcome one in her eyes. Another child is always a blessing was her perspective. Some people, however, encouraged her to have an abortion. "Absolutely not," she would curtly reply, glaring at anyone with the gall to offer such advice. But she worried when alone; ghetto pregnancy realities atop her mind as she watched people dying from disease and hunger and wondered if this was the world to bring a child into.
Her mother did go through with the pregnancy, and Anna became the eighth person in the small two-bedroom apartment. The others took her in with some trepidation and hesitant joy. Worries were not in shortage in ghetto life.
But Anna's mother had a plan. Unbeknownst to all except her husband, Anna's mother worked in the resistance. With life becoming increasingly challenging and rumors beginning of deportations to concentration camps, she looked at her baby and decided that since young children were easiest to smuggle out of the ghetto, she would do just that. She worked with fellow resistance collaborators to put a plan in place.
Shortly after Anna turned four weeks old, a gentle-looking nurse with snow-white hair and many wrinkles took Anna from her mother's arms. That would be the last time mother and daughter saw each other.
The gentle-looking nurse carried Anna out of the ghetto in a large purse and brought her to the home of a young couple. Anna Stein became Maria Sendler.
It was 1959 when Anna learned about her roots. "We have something to talk to you about, Maria," said Anna's father after the family of three finished dinner on a quiet Sunday evening. To Anna, she heard the words as blurry, bubbled thoughts. "We're not your birth parents…you were born to a Jewish family in the Warsaw Ghetto…your birth name was Anna, family name Stein…most of your family died in the Holocaust…but you have an older sister who people say survived…we think her name is Inna, but we don't know where she is…people say that she's likely in Israel."
"We know how difficult hearing this must be for you," her mother continued. We'll secure all the necessary visas and arrange travel for us all to Israel. We want to try finding your sister together."
Anna knew nothing of Israel and didn't care of it in the moment. Her entire identity had just been washed away.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she practically shouted.
"We didn't know how to. Or even if it was best to."
"How did I even get here?"
"We were part of the resistance, helping Jewish people and fighting the Nazis. Your mother wanted to save you since at the time you were the child with the best chance of being smuggled out of the ghetto to safety during the Holocaust."
Anna had wondered why she had brown eyes and curly brown hair while her parents were both blue-eyed and blond. She hadn't thought much of it, something to laugh about, as they sometimes did. Now, it made sense.
"I want to be alone," Anna said and went to her room, where she sat on her bed looking out the window at what had once been the Warsaw ghetto. How ironic, she thought. She also thought about her birth mom and father, their bravery, and all the horrors. She thought about her adoptive parents, the sacrifices they had made, and their enduring love for her.
She didn't sleep that night and refused to go to school the next day. Her parents obliged. As the conversation ended, she looked at her parents and said, "I love you. Thank you for what you did."
A few months later, the family took a bus, then a train, and two plane rides later, they arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel. Anna felt an unexpected sensation as they deplaned into fresh Israeli sunshine and warm air: this is home.
A gregarious, jovial man with a bald head and a thick grey beard served as their taxi driver from the airport. He had come to Israel after the Holocaust. "The Nazis killed my whole family. Nothing was left for me in Europe," he told them. "Now, this is home. So many Jewish people came here after the war, starved and broken. Now we have a home that's ours and a purpose," he continued. "I fought in the Independence War, fought again in the war in '56. Life is difficult here, but I also get to start my day with a swim in the Mediterranean."
The family listened to his stories some but couldn't help their distraction, thinking of how to find Anna's sister or if they would even be able to. Anna felt certain: "She must be here," she kept saying.
For weeks, they searched for Anna's sister without success. There was no record of an Inna Stein, and all the people the family spoke with didn't know of her. As they approached the end of their time in Israel, they went to dinner at a new friend's home, someone a friend from Poland introduced them to. They brought a bottle of wine for the dinner.
As they sat down to eat, the new friend said, "I'm sorry, I don't drink wine. I don't have a wine bottle opener. But go knock on a neighbor's door. Someone should have one."
"That won't be odd?" replied Anna.
"Not at all, dear. We borrow from each other all the time. Come with me, we'll do it together."
No one answered at the first door. At the second door, a woman in her late twenties opened. "Shalom." Anna nearly fainted as she looked at the woman standing before her. They had the same curly black hair, soft face, and even similar mannerisms; Anna saw it in how the woman smiled. It was like looking in a mirror. She knew immediately that this was her sister. The woman in the doorway now had a curious look in her eyes as well.
"Are you Inna Stein?" Anna blurted out.
"It cannot be," the woman replied, her eyes swelling. "I'm not anymore. But I used to be."
Note: “Anna & Her Sister” is a historical fiction snapshot. While based on real events, the story, characters, and incidents are fictitious.
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She was an enormous talent who could sing with the best. One could argue that she was the best.
Sissieretta Jones, or Madame Jones as she liked to be called, captivated audiences with her beautiful and pleasing voice. And in a time when black performers tended to entertain black audiences, she sang to everyone, including U.S. President Benjamin Harrison and his family and friends. That performance took place when Sissieretta was in her mid-20s. She would perform for President Harrison again and sing for the next three U.S. presidents as well. Sissieretta even graced stages of concert halls worldwide, including a memorable performance for the British Royal family.
Born as Mathilda Sissieretta Joyner in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1868, Sissieretta's parents were part of a growing middle-class black community. Not much is known about her upbringing, but after the deaths of her younger siblings, her family moved to Providence, Rhode Island.
It was here in Providence that Sissieretta began to sing, likely inspired by her mother, a singer and pianist. At fifteen, Sissieretta enrolled at the Academy of Music, though her music life was put on hold when she married and had a child, Mabel, around the same time. Sadly, less than two years later, Mabel passed away in 1886. At this point, Sissieretta dedicated herself to music, likely as part of coping with the loss of her child.
After Mabel's death, Sissieretta moved to Boston and enrolled in vocal training at a Conservatorium, though it isn't clear which one it was. Her career performing began soon after.
Before turning twenty, Sissieretta performed at Boston's Music Hall to a crowd of five thousand, where her singing quickly garnered praise. One review noted, "She kept the audience spell-bound…and was received with rapture…She is unmistakably entitled to the lavish praise she so justly deserves." Another reviewer wrote, "It is difficult to do her justice without incurring a suspicion of being betrayed into exaggeration…Madame JONES' voice is of great compass, and combined strength and sweetness, and she articulated every word distinctly; she is one of those rare singers whom one can listen to without the idea of ever getting satiated."
Sissieretta's career soared as she became the highest-paid black singer of her time while earning universal acclaim. She showed that despite the numerous challenges created by racial barriers of her time, talent and hard work could transcend obstacles.
In 1915, she retired to care for her sick mother but continued to sing and perform in church until passing away in 1933.
Sources:
* Graziano, John. “The Early Life and Career of the ‘Black Patti’: The Odyssey of an African American Singer in the Late Nineteenth Century.” Journal of the American Musicological Society, vol. 53, no. 3, 2000, pp. 543–96. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/831938. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
* Sissieretta Jones photograph taken by Napoleon Sarony, circa 1895 - National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, NPG.2009.37
* “Sissieretta Jones (1868-1933).” The Black Perspective in Music, vol. 4, no. 2, 1976, pp. 191–201. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1214508. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
* “Sissieretta Jones: The Black Patti—From the Carnegie Hall Archives.” Carnegie Hall,
* “The Black opera singer who lit the 19th century on fire.” Rhode Island PBS,
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It is desirable to paint a pure picture of a man as special in history as Robert Gould Shaw. He deserves that for the sacrifices he made during the U.S. Civil War. Yet, part of life is growing and recognizing misshaped or uninformed perspectives. Robert did just that, and that, too, is a part of his story.
Robert was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 10, 1837, into a wealthy and prominent abolitionist family. Despite the views of his parents, a passion for abolition did not mark Robert's early years. He even wrote at one point, "I don't want to become reformer, Apostle, or anything of that kind." And despite his family's great wealth, he did not seem to have much motivation to become a business success like his grandfathers, who first achieved the family fortune in trade. Robert was more interested in enjoying life. "I have no taste for anything excepting amusing myself!" Robert wrote to his mother when he was sixteen while living in Germany for school in a home paid for by his parents.
One can certainly interpret Robert as a spoiled teenager enjoying life using his parents' wealth. He did do that. At the same time, he worked hard at his studies, loved literature and music, had a wanderlust that led him to see many parts of Europe and was popular among his peers. He was also close to his family, writing them often and missing them dearly when apart. And as a teenage boy, he had typical struggles, particularly with his height - he stood 5 feet 5 inches tall but felt distressed at not growing more.
After graduating from high school in Europe, Robert returned to the U.S. to begin studies at Harvard. The school, however, turned out to be a bad fit, as in one of the great ironies of his life given his future Army fame, Robert abhorred discipline and authority. Harvard stressed both, unlike the more lax environment of Robert's European schooling. As a result, Robert did poorly in his coursework and eventually dropped out, joining his uncles in their firm in New York City in 1859. While he enjoyed the work at first and looked forward to opportunities in the future, Robert soon became dissatisfied, writing to a friend, "I am a slave now."
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Robert enlisted in the 7th New York Militia and later transferred to the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry. After years of looking for purpose and fulfillment, Robert found both in the army. He developed a reputation for bravery and competence in battle and grew as a soldier through scares, such as a battle in 1862 in which Robert's pocket watch deflected a bullet that could have seriously wounded him. He even changed his perspective on discipline, writing, "Discipline is wonderful."
In 1863, the Governor of Massachusetts selected Robert to command the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first all-black Union Army regiment. Robert was hesitant to take the role, as he felt unsure about leading black soldiers, the significant scrutiny of such a position, and the likelihood of success. His initial response was to reject the position. What made him change his mind isn't clear. But he wrote to his fiancee upon the rejection, "Mother will think I am shirking my duty." Shortly after he accepted the command and wrote his fiancee,
"It is needless for me to overwhelm you with a quantity of arguments in favour of the negro troops; because you are with Mother, the warmest advocate the cause can have. I am inclined to think that the undertaking will not meet with so much opposition as was at first supposed. All sensible men in the army, of all parties, after a little thought, say that it is the best thing that can be done; and surely those at home, who are not brave or patriotic enough to enlist, should not ridicule, or throw obstacles in the way of men who are going to fight for them. There is a great prejudice against it; but now that it has become a government matter, that will probably wear away. At any rate, I shan't be frightened out of it by its unpopularity; and I hope you won't care if it is made fun of."
Robert faced immense challenges as leader of the 54th Massachusetts. The men under his command were eager to prove their worth, but they were often treated with skepticism and outright racism by other Union soldiers and officers. Robert himself had some doubts at the outset. However, his attitude quickly changed as he got to know his soldiers and witnessed their dedication and courage.
One significant turning point occurred when Robert staunchly advocated for equal pay for his men. Initially, the Union Army promised black soldiers the same pay as white soldiers. However, the black soldiers received less. Robert passionately fought against this, refusing his own pay in solidarity with his men until the issue was resolved. Which it was. This solidarity earned him respect from his regiment.
Under his leadership, the 54th Massachusetts would be essential in the Union Army's assault on Fort Wagner in South Carolina. In this battle, Robert's leadership and bravery inspired many. As the regiment came under heavy fire, Robert moved to the front, yelling, "Forward 54th!" He led his men until he was shot and killed during the battle.
The Confederate Army buried Robert in a mass grave with his men, a gesture intended to demean him. Instead, it became a powerful symbol of his solidarity with his troops. There is little doubt that he would have wanted to be buried any other way.
In his last letter, written to his father on the day he was killed, Robert said, "We hear nothing but praise of the Fifty-fourth on all hands."
Sources (footnotes for quotes below):
* "COL Robert Gould Shaw." On Point, vol. 10, no. 1, 2004, pp. 15–15. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44610474. Accessed 7 Jun. 2024.
* “Robert Gould Shaw.” Fordham University, Office of the President, https://www.fordham.edu/about/leadership-and-administration/administrative-offices/office-of-the-president/about/hall-of-honor/robert-gould-shaw/
* “Robert Gould Shaw.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gould_Shaw
* Robt. G. Shaw / Whipple, 96 Washington Street, Boston. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .
* Shaw, Robert Gould. Blue-eyed child of fortune: the Civil War letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Athens, University of Georgia Press, 1992. (Internet Archive)
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John Mercer Langston was born to a mixed-race couple in 1829, a time when interracial relationships were highly taboo and often illegal. His father, Ralph Quarles, was a white plantation owner who held enslaved people, including John's mother, Lucy Langston. Despite the prevailing social norms, Ralph held a progressive view for the time, believing in the education and eventual emancipation of those he enslaved. This philosophy led him to free Lucy in the early 1800s, making it possible for John to be born free, providing John a unique start in life amidst the harsh realities of life for southern black Americans.
While John only had a few years with his parents, as they both passed away when he was four years old, he spoke kindly of them and their relationship. They never married, as the laws forbade doing so. But they had four children together.
After their passing, John spent his youth living in different homes. He experienced much kindness and warmth, with many life lessons coming from the experience. In one home, before even his teen years, he learned the habits of hard work and discipline, which John described as an essential experience that prepared him for life challenges. In that home, the" idea of the highest style of boyhood was realized, when it could be said of one that he was a good worker," John would say.
After attending Oberlin for college and growing into adulthood, John began thinking of a career. He decided to become a lawyer. However, his aspiration was met with resistance as racial prejudice in higher education was rampant, and many law schools refused to admit him solely based on his race.
"Students would not feel at home with him, and he would not feel at home with them," one told him.
Feedback from another was, "I will let you edge your way into my school." To which John replied, "What, Mr. Fowler, do you mean by your words 'Edge your way into the school?'" The response: "Come into the recitation-room; take your seat off and apart from the class; ask no questions; behave yourself quietly; and if after a time no one says anything against, but all seem well inclined toward you, you may move up nearer the class; and so continue to do till you are taken and considered in due time as in full and regular membership." John declined.
Instead, John began coursework in theology at Oberlin after getting advice from previous professors who told him that the studies would be good for his soul and help with legal training. Three years later, John graduated as the first black theological graduate in the U.S.
Described in these years as "a rather slim, handsome and elegant young man," John settled in Oberlin, where he became an important part of the community. He became an accomplished attorney, never afraid of taking on a challenge. In one case, he chose to defend Edmonia Lewis. Edmonia, a Black and Native American woman who would become a famous sculptor, was accused of poisoning two friends during her college years at Oberlin. She was found not guilty with John's defense.
Along with his attorney work, John actively participated in politics, beginning with his election as a town clerk in Oberlin. This marked a significant achievement as one of the first black Americans to hold public office in the U.S. After this role, John became a member of the board of education. These were the beginnings of political work that continued throughout his life. In later years, John was appointed Minister to Haiti. After that, he was elected as a congressman representing Virginia.
When he was not working in politics, John also had a career in education. He was President of Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. And later, he became a law professor at Howard University, Dean of the Law School, and Vice President of the university.
John advocated for equal rights in all his work. He challenged norms, creating new opportunities. After a long career, John passed away in 1897.
Sources:
* Blodgett, Geoffrey. “John Mercer Langston and the Case of Edmonia Lewis: Oberlin, 1862.” The Journal of Negro History, vol. 53, no. 3, 1968, pp. 201–18. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2716216. Accessed 3 Mar. 2023.
* Bloomfield, Maxwell. “John Mercer Langston and the Rise of Howard Law School.” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C., vol. 71/72, 1971, pp. 421–38. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40067784. Accessed 25 Jan. 2023.
* "John Mercer Langston." Negro History Bulletin, vol. 5, no. 4, 1942, pp. 93–93. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44246678. Accessed 26 Feb. 2023.
* Langston, John Mercer. From the Virginia Plantation to the National Capitol; Or, The First and Only Negro Representative in Congress from the Old Dominion. United States, American Publishing Company, 1894.
* Prof. John Langston, Howard University. [Between 1860 and 1875] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .
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