Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) was an American poet. Born in Amherst,
Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she
lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the
Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at
Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in
Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for
her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or,
later in life, even leave her room. Dickinson was a prolific private
poet; fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were
published during her lifetime. Dickinson's poems are unique for the era
in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles,
and often utilize slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization
and punctuation. Many of her poems deal with themes of death and
immortality, two subjects which infused her letters to friends. Despite
unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the
late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be
a major American poet.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Dickinson>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
217 BC:
Syrian Wars: Forces under Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeated Antiochus III
the Great of the Seleucid Empire at the Battle of Raphia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Raphia>
1854:
The British Parliament abolished the Seigneurial system of New France.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seigneurial_system_of_New_France>
1941:
World War II: As Nazi Germany began its invasion of the Soviet Union,
the Lithuanian Activist Front took the opportunity to start an uprising
to liberate Lithuania from Soviet occupation and establish a new
government.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_Activist_Front>
1978:
Working at the United States Naval Observatory, American astronomer
James W. Christy discovered Charon, then considered the sole moon of
Pluto.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon_%28moon%29>
1986:
Argentine footballer Diego Maradona scored both the "Hand of God goal"
and the "Goal of the Century" against England during the quarter-final
match of the FIFA World Cup in Mexico City.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina_v_England_%281986_FIFA_World_Cup_quarter-final%29>
2002:
An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw struck a region of northwestern Iran,
killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others, and eventually
causing widespread public anger due to the slowness of the victims
receiving aid and supplies.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bou%27in-Zahra_earthquake>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
panjandrum (n):
1. An important, powerful or influential person.
2. A self-important or pretentious person
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/panjandrum>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
If we glance at the most important revolutions in history, we are at no
loss to perceive that the greatest number of these originated in the
periodical revolutions of the human mind.
--Wilhelm von Humboldt
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_von_Humboldt>