Ego

                                                              Alfred Lord Tennyson

 

Born on August 6, 1809, in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England, Alfred Lord Tennyson is one of the most well-loved Victorian poets. Tennyson, the fourth of twelve children, showed an early talent for writing. At the age of twelve he wrote a 6,000-line epic poem. His father, the Reverend George Tennyson, tutored his sons in classical and modern languages. In the 1820s, however, Tennyson’s father began to suffer frequent mental breakdowns that were exacerbated by alcoholism. One of Tennyson’s brothers had violent quarrels with his father, a second was later confined to an insane asylum, and another became an opium addict.
Tennyson escaped home in 1827 to attend Trinity College, Cambridge. In that same year, he and his brother Charles published Poems by Two Brothers. Although the poems in the book were mostly juvenilia, they attracted the attention of the “Apostles,” an undergraduate literary club led by Arthur Hallam. The “Apostles” provided Tennyson, who was tremendously shy, with much needed friendship and confidence as a poet. Hallam and Tennyson became the best of friends; they toured Europe together in 1830 and again in 1832. Hallam’s sudden death in 1833 greatly affected the young poet. The long elegy In Memoriam and many of Tennyson’s other poems are tributes to Hallam.
In 1830, Tennyson published Poems, Chiefly Lyrical and in 1832 he published a second volume entitled simply Poems. Some reviewers condemned these books as “affected” and “obscure.” Tennyson, stung by the reviews, would not publish another book for nine years. In 1836, he became engaged to Emily Sellwood. When he lost his inheritance on a bad investment in 1840, Sellwood’s family called off the engagement. In 1842, however, Tennyson’s Poems in two volumes was a tremendous critical and popular success. In 1850, with the publication of In Memoriam, Tennyson became one of Britain’s most popular poets. He was selected Poet Laureate in succession to Wordsworth. In that same year, he married Emily Sellwood. They had two sons, Hallam and Lionel.
At the age of 41, Tennyson had established himself as the most popular poet of the Victorian era. The money from his poetry (at times exceeding 10,000 pounds per year) allowed him to purchase a house in the country and to write in relative seclusion. His appearance—a large and bearded man, he regularly wore a cloak and a broad brimmed hat—enhanced his notoriety. He read his poetry with a booming voice, often compared to that of Dylan Thomas. In 1859, Tennyson published the first poems of Idylls of the Kings, which sold more than 10,000 copies in one month. In 1884, he accepted a peerage, becoming Alfred Lord Tennyson. Tennyson died on October 6, 1892, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

                                                              THOMAS  EDISON

 

Occupation: Businessman and Inventor

Born: February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio

Died: October 18, 1931 in West Orange, New Jersey

Best known for: Inventing many useful items including the phonograph and a practical light bulb

Biography :-

Thomas Edison may be the greatest inventor in history. He has over 1000 patents in his name. Many of his inventions still have a major affect on our lives today. He was also a business entrepreneur. Many of his inventions were group efforts in his large invention laboratory where he had many people working for him to help develop, build, and test his inventions. He also started many companies including General Electric, which is one of the biggest corporations in the world today.

Where did Edison grow up?

Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. His family soon moved to Port Huron, Michigan where he spent most of his childhood. Surprisingly, he did not do well in school and ended up being home schooled by his mother. Thomas was an enterprising young man, selling vegetables, candy and newspapers on trains. One day he saved a child from a runaway train. The child’s father repaid Edison by training him as a telegraph operator. As a telegraph operator, Thomas became interested in communications, which would be the focus of many of his inventions.

What was Menlo Park?

Menlo Park, New Jersey is where Thomas Edison built his research labs. This was the first business or institution with the sole purpose of inventing. They would do research and science and then apply it to practical applications that could be manufactured and built on a large scale. There were a lot of employees working for Edison at Menlo park. These workers were inventors, too, and did a lot of work on Edison’s ideas to help turn them into inventions.

What are Thomas Edison’s most famous inventions?

Thomas Edison has the patents and credits for many inventions. Three of his most famous include:

The Phonograph – This was the first major invention by Edison and made him famous. It was the first machine that was able to record and playback sound.

Light Bulb – Although he did not invent the first electric light, Edison made the first practical electric light bulb that could be manufactured and used in the home. He also invented other items that were needed make the light bulb practical for use in homes including safety fuses and off/off switches for light sockets.

The Motion Picture – Edison did a lot of work in creating the motion picture camera and helping move forward the progress of practical movies.

                                                                 ISAAC  NEWTON

 

Occupation: Scientist, mathematician, and astronomer

Born: January 4, 1643 in Woolsthorpe, England

Died: March 31, 1727 in London, England

Best known for: Defining the three laws of motion and universal gravitation
Biography :-

Isaac Newton is considered one of the most important scientists in history. Even Albert Einstein said that Isaac Newton was the smartest person that ever lived. During his lifetime Newton developed the theory of gravity, the laws of motion (which became the basis for physics), a new type of mathematics called calculus, and made breakthroughs in the area of optics such as the reflecting telescope.

Early Life :-

Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, England on January 4, 1643. His father, a farmer who was also named Isaac Newton, had died three months before his birth. His mother remarried when Isaac was three years old and left young Isaac in the care of his grandparents.

Isaac attended school where he was an adequate student. At one point his mother tried to take him out of school so he could help on the farm, but Isaac had no interest in becoming a farmer and was soon back at school.

Isaac grew up mostly alone. For the rest of his life he would prefer to work and live alone focused on his writing and his studies.

College and Career : –

In 1661, Isaac began to attend college at Cambridge. He would spend much of his life at Cambridge, becoming a professor of mathematics and a fellow of the Royal Society (a group of scientists in England). He eventually was elected to represent Cambridge University as a member of parliament.

Isaac had to leave Cambridge from 1665 to 1667 because of the Great Plague. He spent these two years in study and isolation at his home in Woolsthorpe developing his theories on calculus, gravity, and the laws of motion.

In 1696 Newton became the warden of the Royal Mint in London. He took his duties seriously and tried to get rid of corruption as well as to reform the currency of England. He was elected President of the Royal Society in 1703 and was knighted by Queen Anne in 1705.

The Principia :-

In 1687 Newton published his most important work called the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (which means “Mathematical principals of Natural Philosophy”). In this work he described the three laws of motion as well as the law of universal gravity. This work would go down as one of the most important works in the history of science. It not only introduced the theory of gravity, but defined the principals of modern physics.

Scientific Discoveries :-

Isaac Newton made many scientific discoveries and inventions throughout his career. Here is a list of some of the most important and famous ones.

Gravity – Newton is probably most famous for discovering gravity. Outlined in the Principia, his theory about gravity helped to explain the movements of the planets and the Sun. This theory is known today as Newton’s law of universal gravitation.

Laws of Motion – Newton’s laws of motion were three fundamental laws of physics that laid the foundation for classical mechanics.

Calculus – Newton invented a whole new type of mathematics which he called “fluxions.” Today we call this math calculus and it is an important type of math used in advanced engineering and science.

Reflecting Telescope – In 1668 Newton invented the reflecting telescope. This type of telescope uses mirrors to reflect light and form an image. Nearly all of the major telescopes used in astronomy today are reflecting telescopes.

Legacy :-

Newton died on March 31, 1727 in London, England. Today, he is considered one of the most influential scientists of all time alongside greats such as Albert Einstein, Aristotle, and Galileo.

                                                                   DALAI   LAMA

 

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born on July 6, 1935 to a peasant family in the small village of Taktser in northeastern Tibet and was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of His predecessor, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Buddha of Compassion, who chose to take rebirth to serve humanity. Dalai Lama means Ocean of Wisdom; Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yizhin Norbu, the Wish-Fulfilling Gem, or simply Kundun, the Presence.

When the Thirteenth Dalai Lama died in 1935, the Tibetan Government had not simply to appoint a successor, but to discover the child in whom the Buddha of Compassion would incarnate: the child need not have been born just at the death of His predecessor, or even very soon thereafter. As before, there would be signs of where to search. For example, when the Thirteenth Dalai Lama’s body was laid in a shrine facing south, His head turned to the east twice, and to the east of his shrine a great fungus appeared on the east side of a pillar of well-seasoned wood. The Regent of Tibet went to the sacred lake of Lhamoe Lhatso, where Tibetans have seen visions of the future. There he saw, among other things, a monastery with roofs of green jade and gold and a house with turquoise tiles. A detailed description of the entire vision was written down and kept a strict secret.

In 1937 high lamas and dignitaries were sent throughout Tibet to search for the place seen in the vision. Those heading east were led by Lama Kewtsang Rinpoche of Sera Monastery. In Takster they found such a place and went to the house, with Kewtsang Rinpoche disguised as a servant and a junior monk posing as the leader. The Rinpoche was wearing a rosary of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and the little boy, recognizing it, demanded that it be given to him. This was promised, if the child could guess who the wearer was. The reply was Sera aga (in the local dialect, a monk of Sera). The boy was also able to tell who the real leader and servant were. After many further tests, the Dalai Lama was enthroned in 1940.

In 1950, at the age of sixteen and still facing nine more years of intensive religious education, His Holiness had to assume full political power when China invaded Tibet. In March of 1959, during the national uprising of the Tibetan people against Chinese military occupation, He went into exile. Since then He has lived in the Himalayan foothills in Dharamsala, India, the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, a constitutional democracy since 1963. Dharamsala, aptly known as Little Lhasa, also has cultural and educational institutions and serves as a “capital-in-exile” for 130,000 Tibetan refugees living mainly in India; others are in Nepal, Switzerland, the UK, the United States, Canada and thirty other countries. In the past decade, the Dalai Lama has tried to open dialogue with the Chinese. He proposed a Five-Point Peace Plan in 1987-88, which would also stabilize the entire Asian region and which has drawn widespread praise from statesmen and legislative bodies around the world, but the Chinese have yet to enter into negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, unlike His predecessors who never came to the West, continues His world-wide travels, eloquently speaking in favor of ecumenical understanding, kindness and compassion, respect for the environment and, above all, world peace.

 

 

                                                              William  Shakespeare

 

William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor born in 1564 inStratford-upon-Avon. His birthday is most commonly celebrated on 23 April (see When was Shakespeare born), which is also believed to be the date he died on in 1616.
Shakespeare was a prolific writer during the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre (sometimes called the English Renaissance or the Early Modern Period). Shakespeare’s plays are perhaps his most enduring legacy, but they are not the only things he wrote. Shakespeare’s poems also remain popular to this day.
Shakespeare’s Work
Shakespeare’s work includes 38 plays, 2 narrative poems, 154 sonnets, and a variety of other poems. No original manuscripts of Shakespeare’s plays are known to exist today. It is actually thanks to a group of actors from Shakespeare’s company that we have about half of the plays at all. They collected them for publication after Shakespeare died, preserving the plays. These writings were brought together in what is known as the First Folio (‘Folio’ refers to the size of the paper used). It contained 36 of his plays and none of his poetry.
Shakespeare’s legacy is as rich and diverse as his work; his plays have spawned countless adaptations across multiple genres and cultures. His plays have had an enduring presence on stage and film. His writings have been compiled in various iterations of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, which include all his plays, sonnets, and other poems. William Shakespeare continues to be one of the most important literary figures of the English language.
Shakespeare’s Life
Records survive relating to William Shakespeare’s family. Through these, we can gain an understanding of the context of Shakespeare’s early life and the lives of his family members. John Shakespeare married Mary Arden, and together they had eight children. John and Mary lost two daughters as infants, so William became their eldest child. John Shakespeare worked as a glove-maker, but he also became an important figure in the town of Stratford by fulfilling civic positions. His elevated status meant that he was even more likely to have sent his children to the local grammar school, where Shakespeare was educated. John was awarded a coat of arms, now displayed on the monument above the Shakespeare grave in Holy Trinity Church. Versions of the Shakespeare coat of arms can also be seen on Shakespeare’s Birthplace, outside of the Shakespeare Centre, and above the entrance to Shakespeare’s New Place.
Shakespeare would have lived with his family in their house on Henley Street until he turned eighteen. When he was eighteen, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was twenty-six. It was a rushed marriage because Anne was already pregnant at the time of the ceremony. Together they had three children. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born six months after the wedding and was later followed by twins Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died when he was just 11 years old.
When did Shakespeare go to London? We do know Shakespeare’s twins were baptised in 1585, and Shakespeare established his reputation in London by 1592. But the intervening years are considered a mystery. Scholars generally refer to these years as ‘The Lost Years’.
During his time in London, Shakespeare became a founding member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company of actors. The company would later become The King’s Men under the patronage of King James I (from 1603). During his time in the company Shakespeare wrote many of his most famous tragedies, such as King Lear and Macbeth, as well as great romances, like The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest.
In 1597, William Shakespeare bought a home called New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon. Recent archaeological evidence discovered in Shakespeare’s New Place shows that Shakespeare was only ever an intermittent lodger in London. This suggests he divided his time between Stratford and London (a two or three-day commute). In his later years, he may have spent more time in Stratford-upon-Avon than scholars previously thought.
Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23 April 1616 at the age of 52. He is buried in the sanctuary of the parish church, Holy Trinity.

                                                                Albert  Einstein

 

Einstein qualified and became aAlbert Einstein’s name has become synonymous with genius but his contributions to science might have been cut short had he stayed in Germany, where he was born on March 14, 1879.

It was 1933 and a charismatic politician called Adolf Hitler had just become Chancellor.

Einstein, a Jew, learned that his name was on a Nazi list of people earmarked for assassination and a bounty had been put on his head.

One German magazine even included him on a list of enemies of the state under the phrase: “Not yet hanged.”

He had already been used to being something of a migrant as, by the age of 17, his parents had already taken him to live in Italy and Switzerland, where he began training to be a physics and maths teacher in 1896.

Swiss citizen but couldn’t find a teaching job so began work as an assistant in the Swiss Patent Office in 1901, where he was passed over for promotion because he had not got to grips with “machine technology”.

However, much of his work was linked to the synchronising of time by mechanical and electrical means, which sowed the seeds that would later transform the understanding of the universe.

His first theoretical paper – on the capillary forces of a straw – was published in a respected journal that same year and by 1905 he was awarded his doctorate by the University of Zurich.

The scientist’s work began to pour out of him – by the end of that year, he published no less than four revolutionary papers on matter and energy; the photoelectric effect; Brownian motion; and the idea that perhaps defined him most of all – special relativity.

Despite the acclaim that he began to accrue, he continued working at the patent office until 1909.

Two years later his work on relativity made him world famous when he concluded that the trajectory of light arriving on Earth from a star would be bent by the gravity of the Sun.

His conclusions ripped up the ideas of Newtonian mechanics which had stood since the 17th century.

They are modest, intelligent, considerate and have a feel for art. [Einstein on the Japanese]

He returned to Germany where he held several prestigious positions, including president of the German Physical Society.

By 1921, his groundbreaking theories had transformed the basics of modern physics and he was awarded the Nobel Prize.

However, it was not given for his most famous work, that of relativity, because it remained too controversial.

Instead, the judges used his explanation of the photoelectric effect to explain the award.

The famous scientist began to lecture worldwide and travelled to Singapore, Sri Lanka, Palestine and Japan, where he spoke before the emperor and declared: “Of all the people I have met, I like the Japanese most, as they are modest, intelligent, considerate and have a feel for art.”

Wherever he went by this stage he was greeted like a head of state or a rock star, with crowds thronging to hear him and cannons fired to salute his arrival.

The rise of Hitler and Nazism persuaded him to move to the US, where he later shed his avowal of pacifism and wrote to President Roosevelt urging him to press ahead with construction of a nuclear bomb to ensure the Germans did not get there first.

There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn. [Robert Oppenheimer on Einstein]

He later said this letter was his life’s biggest regret because nuclear weapons had such a fierce capacity for destruction.

He began work at Princeton University and became a US citizen in 1940 (his third passport) where he was a strident critic of racism, calling it America’s “worst disease”.

Albert Einstein died of internal bleeding on April 17, 1955, aged 76, which was marked with headlines around the world.

But his story did not end there – his brain was removed by the pathologist to try to understand what made him so intelligent.

At his memorial, Robert Oppenheimer, the developer of the atomic bomb which Einstein had backed, said: “He was almost wholly without sophistication and wholly without worldliness.

“There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn.”

                                                               NELSON  MANDELA

 

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Hendry Mphakanyiswa of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand where he studied law. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party’s apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961.

After the banning of the ANC in 1960, Nelson Mandela argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. In June 1961, the ANC executive considered his proposal on the use of violent tactics and agreed that those members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela’s campaign would not be stopped from doing so by the ANC. This led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. His statement from the dock received considerable international publicity. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.

During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela’s reputation grew steadily. He was widely accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.

Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990. After his release, he plunged himself wholeheartedly into his life’s work, striving to attain the goals he and others had set out almost four decades earlier. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa after the organization had been banned in 1960, Mandela was elected President of the ANC while his lifelong friend and colleague, Oliver Tambo, became the organisation’s National Chairperson.

                                                          NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

 

Occupation: Emperor of France

Born: August 15, 1769 at Ajaccio, Corsica, France

Died: May 5, 1821 at St. Helena, United Kingdom

Best known for: A brilliant military commander, conquered much of Europe

Nickname: Little Corporal

Biography: –

Where did Napoleon grow up?

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. His father was Carlo Buonaparte, an important attorney who represented Corsica at the court of the French King. He had four brothers and three sisters including an older brother named Joseph.

Early Life:-

Coming from a fairly wealthy family, Napoleon was able to attend school and get a good education. He went to a military academy in France and trained to become an officer in the army. When his father died in 1785, Napoleon returned to Corsica to help handle the family’s affairs.

While in Corsica, Napoleon became involved with a local revolutionary named Pasquale Paoli. For a while he helped Paoli in fighting against the French occupation of Corsica. However, he later changed sides and returned to France.

French Revolution:-

While Napoleon was in Corsica, the French Revolution occurred in Paris, France. The people revolted against the King of France and took control of the country. The royal family and many aristocrats were killed.

Upon Napoleon’s return, he allied himself with a radical group of the revolutionaries called the Jacobins. He received a position as the artillery commander at the Siege of Toulon in 1793. The city of Toulon was occupied by British troops and the British navy had control over the port. Napoleon came up with a strategy that helped to defeat the British and force them out of the port. His military leadership in the battle was recognized by the leaders of France and, at the young age of 24, he was promoted to the position of brigadier general.

Military Commander :-

In 1796, Napoleon was given command of the French army in Italy. When he arrived in Italy, he found the army to be poorly organized and losing to the Austrians. Napoleon, however, was an ambitious man and a brilliant general. He used superior organization in order to move troops rapidly around the battlefield so they would always outnumber the enemy. He soon drove the Austrians out of Italy and became a national hero.

Becoming Dictator :-

After leading a military expedition in Egypt, Napoleon returned to Paris in 1799. The political climate in France was changing. The current government, called the Directory, was losing power. Together with his allies, including his brother Lucien, Napoleon formed a new government called the Consulate. Initially, there were to be three consuls at the head of the government, but Napoleon gave himself the title of First Consul. His powers as First Consul essentially made him dictator of France.

Ruling France :-

As the dictator of France, Napoleon was able to institute a number of government reforms. One of these reforms was the famous Napoleonic Code. This code said that government positions would not be appointed based on a person’s birth or religion, but on their qualifications and ability. This was a big change in the French government. Before the Napoleonic Code, high positions were given to aristocrats by the king in return for favors. This often led to incompetent people in important positions.

Napoleon also helped to improve the French economy by building new roads and encouraging business. He reestablished the Catholic Church as the official state religion, but at the same time allowed for freedom of religion to those who weren’t Catholic. Napoleon also set up non-religious schools, so anyone could get an education.
his head, but instead crowned himself.

Conquering Europe

Initially, Napoleon maintained peace in Europe, however, soon France was at war with Britain, Austria, and Russia. After losing a naval battle against Britain at the Battle of Trafalgar, Napoleon decided to attack Austria. He soundly defeated the Austrian and Russian armies at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Over the next several years, Napoleon expanded the French Empire. At its greatest extent in 1811, France controlled much of Europe from Spain to the borders of Russia (not including Britain).

Invasion of Russia :-

In 1812, Napoleon made his first major mistake. He decided to invade Russia. Napoleon marched a huge army to Russia. Many of them starved to death along the way. After a fierce battle with the Russian army, Napoleon entered Moscow. However, he found the city deserted. Soon, the city was on fire and many of the supplies were burned. As winter approached, Napoleon’s army ran out of supplies. He had to return to France. By the time he returned to France, most of what was left of his army had died from the weather or starved to death.

Exile on Elba :-

With much of Napoleon’s army decimated from the invasion in Russia, the rest of Europe now turned on France. Despite winning a few victories, Napoleon had too small an army and soon was forced into exile on the island of Elba in 1814.

Return and Waterloo

Napoleon escaped from Elba in 1815. The army quickly backed him and he took over control of Paris for a period called the Hundred Days. The rest of Europe, however, would not stand for a return of Napoleon. They gathered their armies and met him at Waterloo. Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 and was once again forced into exile. This time on the island of Saint Helena.

Death :-

Napoleon died after six years of exile on Saint Helena on May 5, 1821. It is likely that he died from stomach cancer. His remains were moved to France in 1840 to Les Invalides in Paris.
Napoleon’s power and control continued to grow with his reforms. In 1804, he was crowned the first Emperor France. At the coronation, he did not allow the Pope to place the crown on.

                                                            ABRAHAM  LINCOLN
Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on Feb 12, 1809. Raised by poor parents, he received less than a year of formal education by the time he reached the age of 21. His primary means of education was schooling at home, using borrowed books and the Bible.

At the age of 22, he moved to the Illinois village of New Salem in 1831, and continued his self-education by borrowing books and teaching himself subjects such as grammar, history, mathematics, and law. He worked as a store clerk in two different general stores. He taught himself surveying, and worked part time at this vocation. He was also appointed postmaster, and served in the militia for 3 months during the Black Hawk war.

Less than a year after moving to New Salem, he ran for the state legislature. Although defeated in this initial effort he decided to run again the next term. His second effort proved successful, and he was elected one of Sangamon County’s Whig representatives to the Illinois State Legislature in 1834. Vocally anti-slavery, he served four consecutive terms as state legislator, and before he had left that office was admitted to the Illinois bar. He soon became one of the most respected lawyers in the region, known for his honesty and influential manner with juries.

In 1842 Lincoln married Mary Todd, a well-educated woman of a notable Kentucky family. They eventually had four sons, only one of which (Robert Todd Lincoln) survived to manhood.

From 1847 to 1849 Lincoln served a single term in Congress, and then went into semi-retirement from politics in order to concentrate more on his law practice. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which allowed for the propagation of slavery into the new territories, became a catalyst to Lincoln’s decision to seek political office again. He joined the new Republican Party in 1856 and ran for the US Senate in 1858, providing energetic moral argument against slavery in the Lincoln-Douglas Debateswith Stephen A. Douglas.

Even though Lincoln lost the Senate race to Douglas, he was elected President in 1860. As a result of his nomination, eleven southern states declared their independence from the Union. When the South fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor on April 12, 1861, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to help put down the rebellion.

After over a year of indecisive fighting, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves of the rebelling southern states. The Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863. Subsequent Union victories at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga soon had the Southern armies permanently on the defensive. It was during a dedication ceremony at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863 that he presented the Gettysburg Address, now recognized as one of the world’s greatest speeches.

Lincoln was re-elected president in November of 1864.

Lincoln pushed the The Thirteenth Amendment” freeing all slaves everywhere, through congress in late 1864/early 1865. After a great deal of political maneuvering on the part of Lincoln, the House of Representatives passed the Thirteenth Amendment on January 31, 1865.

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, delivered less than 6 weeks before his assassination, eloquently summed up his beliefs. These were that the underlying cause of the war had been slavery, the war was God’s punishment on the nation for its failure to remove slavery from the land, and it was every American’s duty to not only eliminate slavery, but to re-unite the nation, forgive his or her fellow man, and build a lasting peace among all nations.

Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865 and died the following day.

                                                             Rabindranath Tagore

 

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was the youngest son of Debendranath Tagore, a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, which was a new religious sect in nineteenth-century Bengal and which attempted a revival of the ultimate monistic basis of Hinduism as laid down in the Upanishads. He was educated at home; and although at seventeen he was sent to England for formal schooling, he did not finish his studies there. In his mature years, in addition to his many-sided literary activities, he managed the family estates, a project which brought him into close touch with common humanity and increased his interest in social reforms. He also started an experimental school at Shantiniketan where he tried his Upanishadic ideals of education. From time to time he participated in the Indian nationalist movement, though in his own non-sentimental and visionary way; and Gandhi, the political father of modern India, was his devoted friend. Tagore was knighted by the ruling British Government in 1915, but within a few years he resigned the honour as a protest against British policies in India.

Tagore had early success as a writer in his native Bengal. With his translations of some of his poems he became rapidly known in the West. In fact his fame attained a luminous height, taking him across continents on lecture tours and tours of friendship. For the world he became the voice of India’s spiritual heritage; and for India, especially for Bengal, he became a great living institution.

Although Tagore wrote successfully in all literary genres, he was first of all a poet. Among his fifty and odd volumes of poetry are Manasi (1890) [The Ideal One], Sonar Tari (1894) [The Golden Boat], Gitanjali (1910) [Song Offerings], Gitimalya (1914) [Wreath of Songs], and Balaka (1916) [The Flight of Cranes]. The English renderings of his poetry, which include The Gardener (1913), Fruit-Gathering (1916), and The Fugitive (1921), do not generally correspond to particular volumes in the original Bengali; and in spite of its title, Gitanjali: Song Offerings (1912), the most acclaimed of them, contains poems from other works besides its namesake. Tagore’s major plays are Raja (1910) [The King of the Dark Chamber], Dakghar (1912) [The Post Office], Achalayatan (1912) [The Immovable], Muktadhara (1922) [The Waterfall], and Raktakaravi (1926) [Red Oleanders]. He is the author of several volumes of short stories and a number of novels, among them Gora (1910), Ghare-Baire (1916) [The Home and the World], and Yogayog (1929) [Crosscurrents]. Besides these, he wrote musical dramas, dance dramas, essays of all types, travel diaries, and two autobiographies, one in his middle years and the other shortly before his death in 1941. Tagore also left numerous drawings and paintings, and songs for which he wrote the music himself.