John Doubleday (about 1798 – 1856) was a British craftsperson, restorer, and dealer in antiquities. He was employed by the British Museum for the last 20 years of his life as a specialist restorer, perhaps the first person in that role. In 1845 the Portland Vase, a Roman cameo glass piece, was smashed into hundreds of pieces, and Doubleday was selected for the restoration. Guided by a watercolour of the fragments by Thomas H. Shepherd, he glued the vase whole again within a few months, omitting only 37 small splinters. This restoration would remain for more than 100 years, until the adhesive grew increasingly discoloured. In other work for the museum, he cleaned bronzes from Nimrud, and he at least twice testified in criminal trials. By the time of his death he had amassed one of the largest collections of casts of seals in the world. In 2006 William Andrew Oddy of the British Museum ranked him "in the forefront of the craftsmen-restorers of his time".
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Doubleday_%28restorer%29
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1857:
Queen Victoria selected Ottawa, then a small logging town, to be the capital of the British colony of Canada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa
1963:
Despite Prime Minister Roy Welensky's efforts, the Central African Federation officially collapsed, subsequently becoming three separate nations: Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Welensky
1986:
Three disgruntled employees set fire to the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, killing more than 90 people and injuring 140 others (rescue efforts depicted), making it the second deadliest hotel fire in United States history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dupont_Plaza_Hotel_arson
1999:
Panama took control of the Panama Canal Zone from the United States, in accordance with the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_Zone
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
auld lang syne: (idiomatic) Days gone by; former times. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/auld_lang_syne
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
We must present democracy as a force holding within itself the seeds of unlimited progress by the human race. By our actions we should make it clear that such a democracy is a means to a better way of life, together with a better understanding among nations. Tyranny inevitably must retire before the tremendous moral strength of the gospel of freedom and self-respect for the individual, but we have to recognize that these democratic principles do not flourish on empty stomachs, and that people turn to false promises of dictators because they are hopeless and anything promises something better than the miserable existence that they endure. However, material assistance alone is not sufficient. The most important thing for the world today in my opinion is a spiritual regeneration which would reestablish a feeling of good faith among men generally. Discouraged people are in sore need of the inspiration of great principles. Such leadership can be the rallying point against intolerance, against distrust, against that fatal insecurity that leads to war. It is to be hoped that the democratic nations can provide the necessary leadership. --George Marshall https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Marshall