Paul Kane was an Irish-Canadian painter, famous for his paintings of First Nations peoples in the Canadian West and other Native Americans in the Oregon Country. Largely self-educated, Kane grew up in Toronto (then known as York) and trained himself by copying European masters on a study trip through Europe. He undertook two voyages through the wild Canadian northwest in 1845 and from 1846 to 1848. The first trip took him from Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie and back. Having secured the support of the Hudson's Bay Company, he set out on a second, much longer voyage from Toronto across the Rocky Mountains to Fort Vancouver and Fort Victoria in the Oregon Country and back again. On both trips Kane sketched and painted Native Americans and documented their life. Upon his return to Toronto, he produced from these sketches more than one hundred oil paintings. Kane's work, particularly his field sketches, are still a valuable resource for ethnologues. The oil paintings he did in his studio are considered a part of the Canadian heritage, although he often embellished these considerably, departing from the accuracy of his field sketches in favour of more dramatic scenes.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1872: Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in the world, was established. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_National_Park)

1896: Ethiopia won the decisive Battle of Adowa over Italy, ending the First Italo-Abyssinian War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adowa)

1919: Korea under Japanese rule: The Samil Movement began with numerous peaceful protests in Korea, but was brutally suppressed by the Japanese police and army. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1st_Movement)

1947: The International Monetary Fund began its financial operations. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund)

1954: The 15-megaton hydrogen bomb Castle Bravo was detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in one of the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by nuclear testing. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Bravo)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

I dreamt the past was never past redeeming: But whether this was false or honest dreaming I beg death's pardon now. And mourn the dead. -- Richard Wilbur -- (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Wilbur)