John Hay (1838–1905) was an American statesman and official whose
career in government stretched over almost half a century. After
graduation from Brown University in 1858, Hay read law in his uncle's
office in Springfield, Illinois, adjacent to that of Abraham Lincoln.
Hay worked for Lincoln's successful presidential campaign, and became
his assistant private secretary at the White House. Through the years of
the American Civil War, Hay was close to Lincoln, and stood by his
deathbed after the President was shot at Ford's Theatre. In 1897,
President William McKinley, for whom he had been a major backer, made
him Ambassador to the United Kingdom. The following year, Hay became
United States Secretary of State. He served almost seven years, under
McKinley, and after his assassination, under Theodore Roosevelt. Hay was
responsible for the Open Door Policy in China, and negotiated the
Hay–Pauncefote Treaty (1901) with the UK, as well as the Hay–Herrán
Treaty (1903) with Colombia, and the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty (1903)
that cleared the way for the building of the Panama Canal. Hay was also
an author and biographer, and wrote poetry and other literature through
much of his life.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hay>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
451:
The Council of Chalcedon, a Christian ecumenical council in
Christianity that repudiated the Eutychian doctrine of monophysitism,
and set forth the Chalcedonian Creed, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Chalcedon>
1862:
American Civil War: The Battle of Perryville, one of the
bloodiest battles of the war, was fought in the Chaplin Hills west of
Perryville, Kentucky.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Perryville>
1904:
The Canadian cities of Edmonton, Alberta (Downtown Edmonton
pictured), and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, were both incorporated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Albert,_Saskatchewan>
1969:
Demonstrations organized by the Weather Underground known as
the Days of Rage began in Chicago.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Days_of_Rage>
1998:
Gardermoen Airport, the main domestic hub and international
airport for Norway, began operating as Oslo Airport, Fornebu, closed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Airport,_Fornebu>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
choreography:
1. The art of creating, arranging and recording the dance movements of a
ballet, etc.
2. The representation of these movements by a series of symbols.
3. The notation used to construct this record.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/choreography>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Not the wretchedest man or woman but has a deep secretive
mythology with which to wrestle with the material world and to overcome
it and pass beyond it. Not the wretchedest human being but has his share
in the creative energy that builds the world. We are all creators. We
all create a mythological world of our own out of certain shapeless
materials.
--John Cowper Powys
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Cowper_Powys>