George Tucker (August 20, 1775 – April 10, 1861) was an American
lawyer, politician, author, and educator. He wrote the first in-depth
biography of Thomas Jefferson, the first fictional account of colonial
life in Virginia, and the four-volume History of the United States.
Despite a social life which had been profligate, and at times even
scandalous, at age 50 he was named Professor of Moral Philosophy at
Jefferson’s newly founded University of Virginia and served in that
post for twenty years. A son of the first mayor of Hamilton, Bermuda, he
immigrated to Virginia at age 20, was educated at the College of
William and Mary, and was admitted to the bar. He was elected in 1816 to
the Virginia House of Delegates, then served in the United States House
of Representatives from 1819 to 1825. In 1827 he wrote A Voyage to the
Moon, one of America's earliest works of science fiction. He also
produced diverse compositions on slavery, suffrage, morality,
intracoastal navigation, wages, and banking.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tucker_%28politician%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1882:
The 1812 Overture by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
debuted in Moscow, conducted by Ippolit Al'tani.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_Overture>
1920:
The American Professional Football Association, a predecessor
of the National Football League, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League>
1950:
Korean War: United Nations forces repelled an attempt by North
Korea to capture the city of Taegu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Taegu>
2008:
Spanair Flight 5022 crashed just after take-off from Madrid's
Barajas Airport, killing 154 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanair_Flight_5022>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
gamin:
(dated, also attributively) A homeless boy; a male street urchin; also
(more generally), a cheeky, street-smart boy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gamin>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
To see a promising solution to a dilemma and then just leave it
to questionable development at its own pace without trying to aid its
implementation would seem a dereliction.
--Roger Wolcott Sperry
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Wolcott_Sperry>