Louise Bryant (1885–1936) was an American feminist, political activist, and journalist. After growing up in rural Nevada and graduating with a degree in history from the University of Oregon, she wrote for two newspapers, the Spectator and The Oregonian. After leaving her first husband in 1915, she married John Reed and moved to Greenwich Village, where she formed friendships with leading feminists of the day. Like Reed, she took lovers, including the playwright Eugene O'Neill and painter Andrew Dasburg. Her news stories were distributed by Hearst during and after her trips to Petrograd and Moscow, and appeared in newspapers across the United States and Canada. Generally in sympathy with the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution, her articles featured Catherine Breshkovsky, Maria Spiridonova, Alexander Kerensky, Vladimir Lenin, and Leon Trotsky. A collection of articles from her first trip was published as a book in 1918, Six Red Months in Russia. After Reed's death in 1920, Bryant wrote for Hearst about Turkey, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Russia, and other countries. The Bryant–Reed story is told in the 1981 film Reds. Her neglected grave in Versailles was restored in 1998.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Bryant

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1618:

German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler discovered the third law of planetary motion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Kepler

1658:

After a devastating defeat in the Second Northern War, King Frederick III of Denmark–Norway was forced to give up nearly half his Danish territory to Sweden to save the rest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Roskilde

1910:

French aviator Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman to receive a pilot's licence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymonde_de_Laroche

1924:

Three violent explosions at a coal mine near Castle Gate, Utah, U.S., killed all 171 miners working there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Gate_Mine_disaster

1978:

BBC Radio 4 began transmitting Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a science fiction radio series that was later adapted into novels, a television series, and other media formats. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_(radio_series)

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

distaff: 1. A device to which a bundle of natural fibres (often wool, flax, or cotton) are attached for temporary storage, before being drawn off gradually to spin thread. A traditional distaff is a staff with flax fibres tied loosely to it (as indicated by the etymology of the word), but modern distaffs are often made of cords weighted with beads, and attached to the wrist. 2. The part of a spinning wheel from which fibre is drawn to be spun. 3. Anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only. 4. A woman, or women considered as a group. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/distaff

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We are a bunch of hooligans and anarchists but we do clean up nice. … Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed. Don't talk to us about it at the parties tonight. Invite us into your office in a couple days, or you can come to ours, whatever suits you best, and we'll tell you all about them. I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: "inclusion rider".   --Frances McDormand https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frances_McDormand