"This Dust Was Once the Man" is an elegy poem written by Walt Whitman in 1871. The poem is dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, whom Whitman greatly admired. The poem was written six years after Lincoln's assassination in April 1865 at the hands of John Wilkes Booth. Whitman had written three previous poems about Lincoln, all in 1865: "O Captain! My Captain!", "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and "Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day". The poem has not attracted much individual attention, though it was generally positively received and has been analyzed several times, generally as an epitaph for Lincoln. The poem describes Lincoln as having saved the union of the United States from "the foulest crime in history", a line that scholars have conflicting interpretations of. It is generally seen as referring to either the secession of the Confederate States of America or the assassination of Lincoln. (This article is part of a featured topic: Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln.).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Walt_Whitman_and_Abraham_Lincoln

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1807:

In an effort to avoid engaging in the Napoleonic Wars, the United States Congress passed the Embargo Act, forbidding American ships from engaging in trade with foreign nations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embargo_Act_of_1807

1971:

Two groups of French doctors involved in humanitarian aid merged to form Médecins Sans Frontières. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9decins_Sans_Fronti%C3%A8res

1984:

While riding a New York City Subway train, Bernhard Goetz shot four African-American youths who had attempted to rob him, sparking a nationwide debate on vigilantism, racism, and the legal limits of self- defense. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_New_York_City_Subway_shooting

2001:

Richard Reid unsuccessfully attempted to detonate a bomb in his shoe on a transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Reid

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

lotologist: A person who collects lottery tickets. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lotologist

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds, and until we know what has been or will be the peculiar combination of outward with inward facts, which constitutes a man’s critical actions, it will be better not to think ourselves wise about his character.   --George Eliot https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Eliot