The American poet Walt Whitman spoke publicly many times on Abraham
Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. A series of at least
eleven lectures on Lincoln's life and his assassination began in Steck
Hall in New York City on April 14, 1879, and concluded in Philadelphia
on April 14, 1890, two years before Whitman's death. They were
generally well received, and cemented the poet's public image as an
authority on Lincoln. Whitman greatly admired Lincoln and was moved by
his assassination in 1865 to write several poems honoring him, including
"O Captain! My Captain!", which Whitman recited during some of the
talks. The lecture in 1887 at Madison Square Theatre in New York City is
considered the most successful of the series, and was attended by many
prominent members of American society. Whitman later described its
reception as "the culminating hour" of his life. (This article is part
of a featured topic: Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln.).
Read more:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Walt_Whitman_and_Abraham_Lincoln>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1944:
The freighter Fort Stikine, carrying cotton bales, gold and
ammunition, exploded in the harbour of Bombay, India, sinking
surrounding ships and causing about 800 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1944_Bombay_explosion>
1970:
After an oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 exploded, disabling the
spacecraft's electrical and life-support systems, astronaut Jack Swigert
reported: "Houston, we've had a problem here" (audio featured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston,_we_have_a_problem>
1983:
Let's Dance, English musician David Bowie's best-selling album,
was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Dance_%28David_Bowie_album%29>
1994:
Iraqi no-fly zones conflict: In a friendly-fire incident during
Operation Provide Comfort, two U.S. Air Force aircraft mistakenly shot
down two U.S. Army helicopters over northern Iraq, killing 26 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Black_Hawk_shootdown_incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
tread the boards:
1. To work as an theatre actor.
2. (figuratively) To write plays for the theatre.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tread_the_boards>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Kennaston no longer thought of himself as a man of flesh-and-
blood moving about a world of his compeers. Or, at least, that especial
aspect of his existence was to him no longer a phase of any particular
importance.
--James Branch Cabell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Branch_Cabell>
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