Robert Kaske (1921–1989) was an American professor of medieval
literature who founded the medieval studies program at Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York. He published lengthy interpretations of
Beowulf and of poems and passages by Dante and Chaucer. Kaske
particularly enjoyed solving difficult, puzzling passages in works such
as Pearl, Piers Plowman, the Divine Comedy, The Husband's Message and
The Descent into Hell. In 1975 he was appointed chief editor of the
journal Traditio. Over the course of his career he collected what one
former student termed "most of the awards and honors possible for a
medieval scholar", including fellowships from the National Endowment for
the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies, and two
Guggenheim Fellowships. In 1988 Kaske published Medieval Christian
Literary Imagery: A Guide to Interpretation, which colleagues called a
"magisterial work".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kaske>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1816:
Facing rising discontent in France, Louis XVIII was forced to
dissolve the Chambre introuvable, the legislature dominated by Ultra-
royalists.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chambre_introuvable>
1887:
A fire that killed 186 people broke out at the Theatre Royal,
Exeter.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Theatre_Royal_fire>
1964:
Hurricane Cleo dissipated after causing 156 deaths, mainly in
Haiti, and causing roughly US$187 million in damages across the
Caribbean and southeastern United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Cleo>
1975:
Squeaky Fromme, a devotee of Charles Manson, attempted to
assassinate U.S. president Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Gerald_Ford_in_Sacramento>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
zakat:
(Islam) Almsgiving, one of the five pillars of Islam, in the form of an
annual tax on certain types of property which is then used for
charitable purposes.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zakat>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Faith brings recognition that our quest never leads us to
certainty. We are always uncertain, always in doubt that our way is
God's way. That self-doubt makes it possible to be reconciled to one
another. It is faith that makes the reconciling work of politics
possible.
--John Danforth
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth>