Elizabeth Willing Powel (February 21, 1743 – January 17, 1830) was
an American socialite and a prominent member of the Philadelphia upper
class of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. After the American
Revolutionary War, she established a salon of the Republican Court of
leading intellectuals and political figures. She corresponded widely,
including with the political elite of the time. A close friend to George
Washington, she was among those who convinced him to continue for a
second term as president. She wrote extensively, but privately, on a
wide range of subjects, including politics, the role of women, medicine,
education, and philosophy. Powel is said to be the person who asked
Benjamin Franklin "What have we got, a republic or a monarchy?", to
which he replied "A republic ... if you can keep it"; over time the
role played by Powel in this exchange has been all but removed. Hundreds
of her letters and several of her portraits survive.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Willing_Powel>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1893:
Lorrin A. Thurston and the Citizens' Committee of Public Safety
led the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the government of Queen
Liliʻuokalani.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_the_Hawaiian_Kingdom>
1946:
The United Nations Security Council (chamber pictured), the
organ of the United Nations charged with the maintenance of
international peace and security, held its first meeting at Church
House, Westminster.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council>
2002:
Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo began
erupting, killing hundreds and leaving about 120,000 people homeless in
the nearby town of Goma.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Nyiragongo>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
snatch and run:
An unsophisticated method of committing robbery by grabbing someone's
property and attempting to flee with it.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snatch_and_run>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
When people ask me whether being in the White House has changed
my husband, I can honestly say that when it comes to his character, and
his convictions, and his heart, Barack Obama is still the same man I
fell in love with all those years ago. He's the same man who started
his career by turning down high paying jobs and instead working in
struggling neighborhoods where a steel plant had shut down, fighting to
rebuild those communities and get folks back to work … because for
Barack, success isn't about how much money you make, it's about the
difference you make in people's lives.
--Michelle Obama
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michelle_Obama>
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