Nancy Mitford (1904–1973) was an English novelist, biographer and journalist. She was the eldest of the renowned Mitford sisters and one of the "Bright Young People" of London's inter-war years. Although mainly remembered for her witty accounts of upper-class life, she also established a reputation as a writer of popular historical biographies. The eldest daughter of the 2nd Baron Redesdale, she published her first book in 1931, but it was her two semi-autobiographical postwar novels, The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, that established her reputation. During the 1950s she was identified with the concept of "U" (upper) and "non-U" language as a determinant of social standing; she had intended this as a joke, but thereafter many considered Mitford an authority on manners and breeding. Her later years were bitter-sweet, the success of her biographical studies of Madame de Pompadour, Voltaire and King Louis XIV contrasting with the ultimate failure of her personal relationships. From the late 1960s her health deteriorated, and she endured several years of painful illness before her death in 1973.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Mitford
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1348:
Charles, King of Bohemia, issued a Golden Bull to establish Charles University (main façade pictured) in Prague, the first university in Central Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_University_in_Prague
1724:
Johann Sebastian Bach debuted the St John Passion, a musical representation of the Passion, at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_John_Passion
1896:
An Arctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen reached 86°13.6'N, almost three degrees beyond the previous Farthest North mark. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen
1969:
The Internet was symbolically born with publication of RFC 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Request_for_Comments
1994:
The Rwandan Genocide began, a few hours after the assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana; an estimated 500,000–1,000,000 Rwandans were killed in the following 100 days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
lollapalooza: (informal) An outstanding, extreme, or outrageous example of its kind. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lollapalooza
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
What though the radiance which was once so bright Be now forever taken from my sight, Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind; In the primal sympathy Which having been must ever be. --William Wordsworth https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Wordsworth