Born on May 28th:
Thomas Augustine Daly, Philadelphia poet, known for his humorous poems in Irish American and Italian American dialect. He worked as a grocery store clerk and as a cub reporter and developed an ear for immigrant speech. My mom used to quote one of Daly’s poems to us every February 22nd, “Leetla Georgio Washeenton.” In 1924, Daly published the autobiographical story about his large family, Herself and the Houseful; Being the Middling-Mirthful Story of a Middle-Class American Family of More Than Middle Size. It sounds like a good one to track down and read.
Louis Agassiz, b. 1807. Nineteenth century biologist and geologist who believed that the earth was created by God, who also created each species of animal and each “race” of humankind separately. Agassiz has been accused of being racist, but some say he was merely mistaken about his theories in regard to the creation of man. Agassiz is particularly known for advancement of the study of fish and their classification and for his work in the study of glaciers. I have this book in my library, The Ghost Lake: The True Story of Louis Agassiz by John Hudson Tiner, and I’m reading it now.
Louis Agassiz: “Those who have succeeded best have followed for years some slim thread which once in a while broadened out and disclosed some treasure worth a lifelong search.”
“I cannot waste my time in making money!”
Thomas Moore, b. 1779. Irish poet, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the lyrics of the well-known ballad, The Minstrel Boy. The tune is called The Moreen, an old Irish folk tune. (This tune would have been a great one to listen to yesterday on Memorial Day, but who’s to say we can’t continue to remember bravery and freedom and the price that has been paid to keep them?)
The minstrel boy to the war is gone;
In the ranks of death you’ll find him;
His father’s sword he has girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
“Land of Song!” said the warrior bard,
“Though all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!
The Minstrel fell! But the foeman’s chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he loved ne’er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said “No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and bravery!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free
They shall never sound in slavery!
Ian Fleming, b. 1908. You may know him for his spy novels that became rather famous, but I know his rollicking-good-fun book for children, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. Fleming was an author, a journalist, and a naval intelligence officer. The latter job provided him with background material for his James Bond novels. Fleming was an avid birdwatcher, and he named his fictional spy for a famous American ornithologist, James Bond. Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, Fleming’s only children’s novel, was taken from the bedtime stories that he made up for his son, Caspar.