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Monday, February 29, 2016
Life
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Harlem Street 1930s
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Hansel Mieth—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
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See Striking Photos of Harlem Street Life in the 1930s
LIFE's Hansel Mieth captured the spirit of a neighborhood
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Oscars 1938
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Shirley Temple presenting Walt Disney an Oscar for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938).
Friday, February 26, 2016
Katherine Hepburn
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Jackie Gleason
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Trump family’s troubled past
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An historian offers details on the Trump family tree...
Monday, February 22, 2016
After 45 years ...
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"With a liberal majority, the Supreme Court could finally redeem itself as a hero in a story of inclusion."
It Happened One Night
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Frank Capra's influential romantic comedy "It Happened One Night," which won Oscars for best film, director, actor (Clark Gable), actress (Claudette Colbert) and screenplay (Robert Riskin), opened on this date in 1934.
Two years ago,
Susan King wrote a piece on the classic film's digital restoration:
Titanic Chills
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Hitler's pecker ~ The Short End Of History
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Furor erupts over Nazi leader's private parts...
The Hitler Pecker
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It had been long acknowledged that Hitler had an undescended testicle, but the new revelation could shed light on his maniacal personality.
Friday, February 19, 2016
To Kill A Mockingbird
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3454823/To-Kill-Mockingbird-author-Harper-Lee-passes-away-aged-89.html#ixzz40dQaTowy
Actor Gregory Peck and novelist Harper Lee on the movie set of the film To Kill A Mockingbird in 1962. Lee was so taken with Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus that she gifted him with her father's watch
To Kill A Mockingbird is the story of a girl nicknamed Scout growing up in a Depression-era Southern town. It is a semi-autobiographical novel
In the story, a black man (played by Brock Peters in the film, pictured) is wrongly accused of raping a white woman, and Scout's father, the resolute lawyer Atticus Finch (played by Gregory Peck)
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3454823/To-Kill-Mockingbird-author-Harper-Lee-passes-away-aged-89.html#ixzz40dQaTowy
Harper Lee passes away
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Source
Pulitzer Prize-winning celebrated author of the 1960 American classic To Kill A Mockingbird who had been confined to a nursing home for years in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, after her sight and hearing were deeply affected by a stroke in 2007, has died.
The reclusive novelist made only a handful of appearances and has rarely spoken publicly since 1964, when she retreated from the spotlight in the wake of Mockingbird's overwhelming success.
Source
Thursday, February 18, 2016
MM
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Richard III and his time
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18, FEBRUARY, 1478 - George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, was convicted of treason against his brother King Edward IV and murdered in the Tower of London.
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 1st Earl of Warwick, KG (21 October 1449 – 18 February 1478) was the third son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the dynastic struggle between rival factions of the Plantagenets known as the Wars of the Roses.
As a character in William Shakespeare's play Richard III, he was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine.
Life
George was born on 21 October 1449 in Dublin at a time when his father was beginning to challenge Henry VI for the crown. His godfather was James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond. He was the third of the four sons of Richard and Cecily who survived to adulthood. Following his father's death and the accession of his elder brother, Edward, to the throne, George was created Duke of Clarence in 1461 and invested as a Knight of the Garter.
On 11 July 1469, George married Isabel Neville, elder daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick.
George had actively supported his elder brother's claim to the throne, but when his father-in-law the Earl of Warwick deserted Edward to ally with Margaret of Anjou, consort of the deposed King Henry, George joined him in France, taking his pregnant wife. She gave birth to their first child, a girl, on 16 April 1470, in a ship off Calais. The child died shortly afterward. Henry VI rewarded George by making him next in line to the throne after Edward of Westminster, justifying the exclusion of Edward IV either by attainder for his treason against Henry or on the grounds of his alleged illegitimacy.
After a short time, George realized that his loyalty to his father-in-law was misplaced: Warwick had his younger daughter, Anne, marry Edward of Westminster, King Henry VI's heir. Since it now seemed unlikely that Warwick would replace Edward IV with George, George changed sides.
Warwick's efforts to return Henry VI to the throne ultimately failed and Warwick was killed in battle. George was restored to royal favour by his brother King Edward. As his father-in-law was dead, George became jure uxoris Earl of Warwick, but did not inherit the entire Warwick estate as his younger brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, married the widowed younger sister of his wife, Anne Neville. George was created 1st Earl of Warwick [England] on 25 March 1472.[1]
In 1475, his wife Isabel, Anne's sister, gave birth to a son, Edward, later Earl of Warwick.
Like the first lords of Richmond, Peter II of Savoy and Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, before him, George was endowed with the Honour of Richmond, a lifetime grant, but without the peerage title of Earl of Richmond.
Death
Clarence's wife Isabel died on 22 December 1476, two months after giving birth to a short-lived son named Richard (6 October 1476 – 1 January 1477), and they are buried together at Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire. Their surviving children, Margaret and Edward, were cared for by their aunt, Anne Neville, until she died in 1485, when Edward was 10 years old. Though most historians now believe Isabel's death was a result of either consumption or childbed fever, Clarence was convinced she had been poisoned by one of her ladies-in-waiting, Ankarette Twynyho, whom, as a consequence, he had judicially murdered in April of 1477, by summarily arresting her and bullying a jury at Warwick into convicting her of murder by poisoning. She was hanged immediately after trial with John Thursby, a fellow defendant. Clarence's mental state, never stable, deteriorated from that point and led to his involvement in yet another rebellion against his brother Edward.
The arrest and committal to the Tower of one of Clarence's retainers, an Oxford astronomer named Dr John Stacey, led to his confession under torture that he had 'imagined and compassed' the death of the King, and used the black arts to accomplish this. He implicated one Thomas Burdett, and one Thomas Blake, a chaplain at Stacey's college. All three were tried for treason, convicted, and condemned to be drawn to Tyburn and hanged. Blake was saved at the eleventh hour by a plea for his life from James Goldwell, Bishop of Norwich, but the other two were put to death as ordered. This was a clear warning to Clarence, which he chose to ignore. He appointed Dr John Goddard to burst into Parliament and regale the House with Burdett and Stacey's declarations of innocence that they had made before their deaths. Goddard was a very unwise choice, as he was an ex-Lancastrian who had expounded Henry VI's claim to the throne.
Edward summoned Clarence to Windsor, severely upbraided him, accused him of treason, and ordered his immediate arrest and confinement.
Clarence was imprisoned in the Tower of London and put on trial for treason against his brother Edward IV. Clarence was not present - Edward IV himself prosecuted his brother, and demanded that Parliament pass a Bill of Attainder against his brother, declaring that he was guilty of 'unnatural, loathly treasons' which were aggravated by the fact that Clarence was his brother, who, if anyone did, owed him loyalty and love. Following his conviction, he was "privately executed" at the Tower on 18 February 1478, and the tradition grew up that he was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine.[2] The tradition may have originated in a joke, based on his reputation as a heavy drinker. However, a butt is equal to two hogsheads — 477.3 litres (105 imperial gallons) easy enough to drown in. A body, believed to be that of Clarence, which was later exhumed, showed no indications of beheading, the normal method of execution for those of noble birth at that time.[3] Another possibility is that George's remains were sent to the abbey in a barrel of Malmsey, as Horatio Nelson's were sent home in a barrel of brandy. In Shakespeare's Richard III he is stabbed by one of the Murderers after he convinces the other not to stab him, and then drowned in a vat of Malmsey, though off-stage. In the 1955 film of "Richard III", after he is clubbed over the head into unconsciousness by the murderers, the drowning is shown, but in the 1995 version his throat is slit while in the bath. In 2013 The White Queen he was drowned in a vat of Malmsey.
In Shakespeare
George is a principal character in two of William Shakespeare's history plays: Henry VI, Part 3 and The Tragedy of Richard III. Shakespeare portrays George as weak-willed and changeable, his initial defection from Edward to Warwick is prompted by outrage at Edward's unwise marriage to Elizabeth Grey. Despite several flowery speeches proclaiming loyalty to Warwick and to King Henry, George defects back to Edward's side almost as soon as he sees his brothers again; it takes only a few lines for his brothers to shame him into rejoining the Yorkist party. He later participates in the murder of Edward, Prince of Wales. Several lines reference his penchant for wine.
In Richard III, the play opens with Richard having framed George for treason, using a soothsayer to sow doubt in the King's mind about his brother, and in the first scene George is arrested and taken to the Tower. Richard nimbly stage-manages George's death, fast-tracking the order of execution and then intercepting Edward's pardon when he changes his mind. In Act One Scene Four, George recounts a terrifying nightmare, in which he has been pushed (accidentally) into the ocean by Richard and drowns, then finds himself in hell, accused of perjury by the ghosts of Warwick and Prince Edward. When he is attacked by assassins sent by Richard, he pleads eloquently and nobly but is stabbed and drowned in a butt of wine. It is George's death that sends Edward into a fatal attack of guilt. He is the first character to die in the play and his ghost later appears to Richard and Henry before the Battle of Bosworth Fields, cursing his brother and encouraging Henry.
Actors who have played George on screen include Sir John Gielgud in Laurence Olivier's 1955 film, Nigel Hawthorne in Richard Loncraine's 1995 version, and on Television, Patrick Garland, Charles Kay and Paul Jesson in BBC filming of the War of the Roses cycles in 1960, 1965, and 1983 respectively. Alec Baldwin played Clarence in excerpts from the play in the documentary Looking for Richard.
Children
George married his wife Isabella Neville in Calais, at that time controlled by England, on 11 July 1469. Together they had four children:
1. Anne of York (16 April 1470 – c. 17 April 1470), born and died in a ship off Calais.
2. Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury (14 August 1473 – 27 May 1541); married Sir Richard Pole; executed by Henry VIII.
3. Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (25 February 1475 – 28 November 1499); executed by Henry VII for attempting to escape from the Tower of London.
4. Richard of York (6 October 1476 – 1 January 1477); born at Tewkesbury Abbey, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire; died at Warwick Castle, Warwick, Warwickshire, where he was buried.
Richard III and his time
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George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, was executed by drowning in a barrel of wine on February 18, 1478.
Victorian picture by an unknown artist
George, Duke of Clarence , younger son of Richard, Duke of York, by his wife Cicely, daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, was born in Dublin on the 21st of October 1449. Soon after his elder brother became king as Edward IV in March 1461, he was created duke of Clarence, and his youth was no bar to his appointment as lord-lieutenant of Ireland in the following year.
Having been mentioned as a possible husband for Mary, daughter of Charles the Bold, afterwards Duke of Burgundy, Clarence came under the influence of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and in July 1469 was married at Calais to the earl's elder daughter Isabella. With his father-in-law he then acted in a disloyal manner towards the king. Both supported the rebels in the north of England, and when their treachery was discovered Clarence was deprived of his office as lord-lieutenant and fled to France.
Returning to England with Warwick in September 1470, he witnessed the restoration of Henry VI, when the crown was settled upon himself in case the male line of Henry's family became extinct. The good understanding, however, between Warwick and his son-in-law was not lasting, and Clarence was soon secretly reconciled with Edward. The public reconciliation between the brothers took place when the king was besieging Warwick in Coventry, and Clarence then fought for the Yorkists at Barnet and Tewkesbury. After Warwick's death in April 1471 Clarence appears to have seized the whole of the vast estates of the earl, and in March 1472 was created by right of his wife Earl of Warwick and Salisbury.
He was consequently greatly disturbed when he heard that his younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was seeking to marry Warwick's younger daughter Anne, and was claiming some part of Warwick's lands. A violent quarrel between the brothers ensued, but Clarence was unable to prevent Gloucester from marrying, and in 1474 the king interfered to settle the dispute, dividing the estates between his brothers. In 1477 Clarence was again a suitor for the hand of Mary, who had just become duchess of Burgundy. Edward objected to the match, and Clarence, jealous of Gloucester's influence, left the court.
At length Edward was convinced that Clarence was aiming at his throne. The duke was thrown into prison, and in January 1478 the king unfolded the charges against his brother to the parliament. He had slandered the king; had received oaths of allegiance to himself and his heirs; had prepared for a new rebellion; and was in short incorrigible. Both Houses of Parliament passed the bill of attainder, and the sentence of death which followed was carried out on the 17th or 18th of February 1478. It is uncertain what share Gloucester had in his brother's death; but soon after the event the rumour gained ground that Clarence had been drowned in a butt of malmsey wine.
Two of the duke's children survived their father: Margaret, countess of Salisbury (beheaded in 1541), and Edward, earl of Warwick (1475-1499), who passed the greater part of his life in prison and was beheaded in November 1499.
George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence on the Rous Roll
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Isaac Mendes Belisario
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Isaac Mendes Belisario and Chris Blackwell share a common ancestor in Lorenço Lindo who was imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition in 1656.
Isaac Mendes Belisario and Chris Blackwell share a common ancestor in Lorenço Lindo who was imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition in 1656.
Belisario and Blackwell inherited their Lindo Jewish ancestry through their mothers: Belisario, through Esther Lindo, the daughter of Jewish émigré, Alexandre Lindo, who arrived in Jamaica in 1765 from the French seaport town of Bordeaux. And Blackwell through Blanche Lindo, who broke centuries of tradition when she married a non-Jew, Captain Joseph Blackwell — a direct descendent, incidentally, of the notorious sixteenth century Irish female pirate, Grace O'Malley, "a most feminine sea captain," who sailed the high seas with her three galleys and 200 fighting men. read on ...
Monday, February 15, 2016
Children in the White House
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A look back on President's Day at the youngest residents in the White House link
A look back on President's Day at the youngest residents in the White House link
Fascinating Presidential Facts
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From shoe sizes to White House séances, fun facts on American presidents.
Nat 'King' Cole
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Died on this date: Nat King Cole, world-renowned singer and jazz pianist.
Cinderella
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66 years ago today, 'Cinderella' was released in theaters for the first time.
Sean Combs' Ancestors Free in 1850s Maryland
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Sean 'Diddy' Combs was left feeling 'conflicted' after being told his third great grandfather was born a free man in 1850 - despite living in slave state Maryland.
In an emotional episode of Finding Your Roots: Family Reunions that airs on Tuesday, Combs was told that while it's extremely rare for African-Americans to have had free ancestors during the mid-1800s, his relation Robert Allsop was one such individual.
Show host Henry Louis Gates told Combs: 'Make no mistake about it man, this is not typical of the black experience. Read on...
Friday, February 12, 2016
Women in the Great War
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Women served during World War I in military and civil organizations and as keepers of the US national memory.
political history
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The political history collection of the National Museum of American History dates as far back as buttons from George Washington's inauguration and curators will be collecting history as it happens during the current US election season.
African American Innovation
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Ancient Butterflies
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