Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday

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Thomas Jefferson 1

Thomas Jefferson (born: April 13, 1743  died: July 4, 1826) was one of our most famous Presidents of the United States and the author of the Declaration of Independence.  He was a member of the Continental Congress, Governor of Virginia, U.S. Minister to France and the first U.S. Secretary of the State under President George Washington and he also served as Vice President under President John Adams.

Jefferson was born in Shadwell, Virginia and his father was Peter Jefferson, a planter and surveyor and his mother was Jane Randolph, the daughter of a ship’s captain.  When a friend of his father’s, William Randolph, died in 1745 his will stipulated that Peter Jefferson be appointed guardian of the Tuckahoe plantation located near Charlottesville, Virginia.  The Jefferson family lived at Tuckahoe for seven years before eventually returning to Shadwell.

While the Jefferson family lived at Tuckahoe, Jefferson began his formal childhood education at the age of nine with a Presbyterian minister who taught him Latin, Greek and French then later he studied history, science and classic literature.  At the age of 16, Jefferson enrolled at the College of William & Mary located in Williamsburg, Virginia where he continued his education and studied mathematics, metaphysics and philosophy.  While he was at college, Jefferson met a law professor, George Wythe who was to become a major influence in his life and a mentor.  Jefferson was an excellent student and graduated in only two years, afterwards he went to work as a law clerk for Wythe while he studied law was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1767.

Sadly, a few years before he went to college, his father died in 1757 and according to the terms of his will, Jefferson inherited approximately 5,000 acres of the former Tuckahoe tobacco plantation.  So, at the age of 26, Jefferson began making plans for his home and since he had independently studied the principles of architecture, he based the design on a neoclassical style developed by Andrea Palladio who was a popular Italian Renaissance architect in eighteenth century Europe.  The home was to be built on the top a mountain located on the property and Jefferson named it Monticello which was an Italian word meaning “little mount”.  (Please see this month’s Travel Post for more information regarding the history of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello home)

As the building continued at Monticello, Jefferson worked as a circuit court lawyer and in 1769 he began his political career when he represented the county of Albermarle in the Virginia House of Burgess.  During this time he met and married Martha Wayles Skelton in 1772.  The Jefferson’s marriage was a happy one and they shared many common interests.  Both loved to read and enjoyed music, Jefferson played the violin and cello and Martha played the piano.  Jefferson and Martha had six children during their short ten year marriage and only two of the children survived to adulthood.  (Martha, known as Patsy, was born in 1772 and Mary, known as Polly, born in 1778.)

During their marriage, as the British colonies began to fight for their freedom from England in the American Revolutionary War, Jefferson served as a Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress and he soon established a life-long friendship with a fellow delegate from Massachusetts, John Adams.  In 1776, when the Congress began to consider the resolution of independence, Jefferson was appointed to the committee and he was given the task of writing this important document.  With minor changes the Congress voted to approve the final draft and the Declaration of Independence was signed by the delegates on July 4, 1776.

Jefferson with Franklin and Adams

Near the end of 1776, Jefferson returned to Virginia to continue his political career and was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.  While serving on various committees, Jefferson helped draft the Virginia state constitution, the Bill for Religious Freedom in addition to 126 bills within three years.  In 1779, Jefferson was elected the Governor of Virginia and a year later he moved the state capital from Williamsburg to Richmond. During the Revolutionary War Jefferson was ineffective as a governor in coordinating the Virginia militia and the British troops lead by General Benedict Arnold captured the city.  Later, when General Cornwallis failed to capture him at Monticello, Jefferson retreated to his other plantation in Poplar Forest, his actions were deeply criticized at the time and consequently he was not re-elected to a third term as governor of Virginia.

Throughout the years as Jefferson was establishing his political career, first as a Virginia delegate for House of Burgess in Williamsburg, in Philadelphia for the Continental Congress and then in Richmond as the Virginia governor, he frequently returned home to see his wife and children.  In 1782, Martha, who was now suffering from diabetes, died shortly after the birth of the couple’s sixth child, she was only 33 years old.  While on her deathbed, Martha told Jefferson that she could not bear to have another woman raising her children and she pleaded with him to solemnly promise never to marry again, Jefferson was to honor that request and he never married again.

Following victory against the British in the Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States of America created a new government and Jefferson was once again appointed a Virginia delegate.  After Martha’s death, a severely depressed Jefferson needed to distance himself from Monticello, so he eventually left the country to take a position as the Minister to France.  Serving as minister (1785 – 1789), Jefferson enjoyed his time in Paris and was greatly influenced by the culture, arts, architecture and cuisine of France.  In regards to his political position, Jefferson worked closely with Marguis de Lafayette to establish trade agreements between the United States and France to pay off the considerable debt incurred by the United States during the Revolutionary War.  On a personal note, Jefferson arrived in Paris with his oldest daughter, Martha (Patsy) and several of his Monticello slaves, his other children remained in Virginia.  By 1786, Jefferson had met and fallen in love a young married woman named Maria Cosway who was an artist and musician, after a short time she returned to England but they continued their lifelong friendship over the years through their correspondence.  After Jefferson’s daughter Lucy had died in 1785, he sent for his youngest daughter Mary (Polly).  She arrived in France accompanied by a young slave named Sally Hemings and it was during this time that Jefferson began his controversial relationship with her.  After a five year stay in Paris, Jefferson returned to America shortly before the French Revolution started.

Upon returning to the United States in 1789, Jefferson took the position as the Secretary of State (1790 – 1793) in the cabinet of the newly elected President George Washington.  Jefferson soon developed a contentious association with the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and they found themselves with increasingly opposite views regarding the consolidation of the federal government debts and the location of the capital.  In addition, Jefferson worked diligently to secure first an admission from Great Britain that they had violated the Treaty of Paris, second that they vacate their military posts in the Northwest region of the United States and thirdly that the American slave owners be compensated for the loss of their slaves at the end of the Revolutionary War, he failed to achieve any of these goals and resigned his position at the end of 1793.  Even though Jefferson had returned to Monticello temporarily ending his political life, he continued privately to oppose the policies of President Washington and specifically Hamilton.

In 1796, after President Washington decided not to return for a third term, Jefferson re-enter politics in a bid for the presidency but lost to his friend, John Adams.  Jefferson became Vice President (1797 – 1801) and over the following years there were many political disagreements between the Federalist Adams and the Democratic-Republican Jefferson.  But Adams was destined to serve only one term because in the 1800 election Jefferson challenged and defeated Adams by 73 to 65 electoral votes.  Jefferson became the third President of the United States and he took the oath of office on March 4, 1801 in Washington D.C.

By the time of Jefferson’s Presidency, the United States had relatively few problems both domestic and foreign but many changes in the federal policies were to come during his administration.  He first set out to immediately change Hamilton’s federal fiscal system which always went against Jefferson’s political beliefs.  He began the process by eliminating several federal internal taxes, starting with the whiskey tax, and then he closed numerous unnecessary federal offices, drastically limited military expenses during peacetime and reorganized the national bank system.

During Jefferson’s first term as President (1801 – 1805), he negotiated the purchase of approximately 827,000 square miles of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 which almost doubled the size of the United States.  In 1804, he appointed his personal secretary Meriwether Lewis who joined with William Clark to lead an exploration into the newly acquired territory.  Known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the journey of the 45 men that would be called the Corps of Discovery, was important to Jefferson because it was meant to establish an American presence across the country and hopefully finding the infamous Northwest Passage through to the Pacific Ocean.  Jefferson was very specific in his goals for the expedition and he personally tutored Lewis on such topics as cartography (map making) and astronomy to add navigation, natural history including botany and mineralogy to aid in documenting new discoveries and Jefferson also gave Lewis access to his extensive library of books located at his home in Monticello, VA for further preparation for the expedition.  The Corps of Discovery assembled outside of St. Louis leaving in May 1804 to travel across the country with the assistance of various Native American guides, the most famous one being an Indian woman known as Sacajawea, to finally reach the Pacific Ocean along the Oregon Coast in November 1805 and successfully returning by September 1806.  The Expedition not only established the United States claim to the territory but they were able to fully document and map the area and returned with numerous animal specimens and fossils as well as seeds and plants samples.  (In the Entrance Hall at Jefferson’s Monticello home are displayed many of these items acquired during the Lewis and Clark Expedition)

Due to his successful first term and immense popularity, Jefferson easily won a second term during the 1804 election winning by an overwhelmingly 162 votes to 14 votes for the Federalist nominee, Charles Pinckney.  Jefferson’s second term (1805 – 1809) had numerous problems and the United States political relations with Great Britain, which were never good, severely deteriorated while France, now under the leadership of Napoleon, became more aggressive in commerce trade negotiations with the United States.  Another important issue during this time was the international slave trade; following the American Revolution all the states had informally abolished the lucrative international import and sale of slaves.  Although Jefferson owned slaves on his Monticello plantation, he always treated them fairly but in general he felt that most owners treated their slaves cruelly and in response to South Carolina reopening its international slave trade Jefferson publicly denounced slavery as the violation of human rights.   Then in 1807, Congress passed the Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves and it was signed into law by Jefferson in 1908, officially putting an end to the international slave trade but the United States domestic slave trade was still allowed and it continued to dominate commerce in the southern states.

When Jefferson’s presidency ended in 1809, he returned to his beloved Monticello.  Fully retired from a political life, he still remained active in public life.   Although he spent most of the remaining years pursuing his varied personal interests in the arts and science, Jefferson had always believed that education was the key to achieving greatness.  By 1819, his plans to create an institution dedicated to higher learning were founded in the University of Virginia.  His goal was to have the school free of church and religious influence and he also felt it was important to have it paid for by the general public thereby allowing poor students the same education as the wealthy ones.  Jefferson planned the campus layout creating each individual academic department building organized around a central quadrangle.  The buildings, which he personally designed, had multiple classrooms, faculty offices and student residences, even the landscape of the campus was also beautifully designed to include grass lawns and flower gardens.  The University of Virginia was very important to Jefferson and he considered it his greatest achievement.

University of Virginia

Although Jefferson enjoyed a relatively calm and peaceful life at Monticello with his family he also extensively and lavishly entertained visiting friends and political dignitaries with excellent food and drink.  Toward the end of his life, Jefferson spent many hours going over his personal finances and tried to make arrangements to reconcile his massive debts.  Sadly, Jefferson died in his bed at Monticello on July 4, 1826, he was 82 years old.  The date also marked the fiftieth anniversary of the day that the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, a document that Jefferson is credited for writing, which officially marked the former British colonies freedom from England.  On the same day, miles away at his home in Massachusetts, John Adams died five hours later.  These two men, friendly adversaries and former Presidents, were the last surviving members of the Continental Congress to have signed the Declaration of Independence. Before his death, Jefferson had stipulated in his will the wish to be buried at the family cemetery at Monticello and a large stone obelisk marks the site with the inscription, “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson the author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the statute of Virginia for religious freedom and father of the University of Virginia”.

Thomas Jefferson 2

Jane Goodall’s Birthday

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Jane Goodall with chimp 1

This post today is in honor of the world famous primatologist Jane Goodall who was born on this day – April 3, 1934.  When I was a child I remember watching the 1963 National Geographic documentary about Goodall and the wild chimpanzees of Gombe, Tanzania.  I enjoyed the story of this young woman who bravely travels from her home in England to conduct an interesting research project involving the social behaviors and family interactions of the chimpanzees.  Over the years I have read many books regarding her research in Gombe, such as “My Life with the Chimpanzees” by Jane Goodall, and I also read her interesting biography, “Jane Goodall – the Woman Who Redefined Man” by Dale Peterson.

Jane Goodall and Cassandra 2When I was watching the documentary and reading the books all those years ago I never realize that I would have the opportunity to actually meet Jane Goodall.  In March 2008 I saw a notice in our local newspaper about her upcoming appearance at Purdue University and we decided to attend the event. When she walked onto the stage to begin her presentation I thought to myself, this is the woman I have admired since I was a child and here I was sitting in the audience alongside my husband and daughter listening to her tell her wonderful stories about her life living among the chimpanzees.  After her presentation we were so excited to be able to go backstage to meet her, she was so kind to my daughter and even took a picture with her.  It was definitely a day our family will remember for a long time!

Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall was born in London, England.  Her parents were Mortimer, a local businessman and Margaret Joseph, a novelist and she has one sister, Judith.  Her lifelong interest in animals began when she was a child and received a chimpanzee toy as a present from her mother which lead her to reading “The Story of Doctor Dolittle” and the “Tarzan of the Apes”.  Then, years later on a trip to Kenya in 1957 to visit a friend, Goodall was to meet a man who would change her life.  Louis Leakey, an archaeologist and paleontologist, was studying the great apes and he believed that their behavior was an indication of how early man had developed.  Goodall took a job as his secretary and the two developed a good working relationship.  Then, in anticipation for a proposed wildlife project, Leakey sent Goodall back to England to get her personal affairs in order as preparation for a study that would involve extensive research in a remote area of Africa for a period of several months or possibly years.

National Geographic 1In July 1960, Goodall returned to Africa, with her mother as chaperon, and they went to the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.  Without any formal education, Goodall began her observations of a group of chimpanzees and their social behaviors and family interactions.  (Later Goodall was able to study for a PH. D degree in Ethology from Cambridge University. She completed her thesis, “Behavior of Free-Ranging Chimpanzee” in 1965, writing about the first five years of her study of the animals at the Gombe Reserve)  Unlike any previous scientific research Goodall took an unconventional approach during her field observations and she named the chimps instead of giving them numbers.  In the past, numbers had been assigned to animals to keep a neutral perspective and avoid an emotional attachment toward the animals being observed.  Gradually her presence in the field was tolerated and accepted by the chimps and she was soon able to identify the various chimps determined by their distinct personalities.  Goodall also noted the special bonds between the chimps and she documented how they showed numerous signs of emotions such as joy and sorrow, feelings that were previously thought to exist only in humans.

Goodall’s groundbreaking research went on to prove other animal characteristics previously undocumented.  The first remarkable behavior was that the chimpanzees were capable of using tools.  This skill was previously thought to be a unique characteristic that only humans had and originally this is how we distinguished ourselves from the animal kingdom and how humans were defined by their intelligence.  Through Goodall’s field research she was able to observe and document a chimp feeding at a termite mound and using a stalk of grass as a tool.  The chimp repeatedly inserted the grass stalk into the hole of the mound effectively removing the termites.  Goodall also observed other chimps taking twigs from the trees, stripping off the leaves and using them to extract the termites from the mound.  This modification of an object was a definitive sign of a primitive form of making tools.  In response to these remarkable findings, Leakey called for the science community to redefine the definition of human.

Goodall’s field research also proved that chimpanzees, which previously were thought to have a strictly vegetarian diet, occasionally supplemented their food supply with meat.  At Gombe, Goodall observed that the chimps displayed an aggressive behavior toward the colobus monkeys which also lived in the area.  The chimps would work in groups isolating a single monkey, blocking their escape, and then they would capture, kill and eat the monkey.  This behavior was a major scientific discovery and determined that chimps can be carnivorous animals that showed aggressive behavior.

After spending several years of observing the chimpanzee’s relatively peaceful and ordered existence at Gombe, Goodall witnessed a very disturbing behavior of a group of dominant females that deliberately killed the young chimp of a weaker female of the group.  These unprovoked acts of aggression and random violence continued periodically over the years but it is hard to determine if these attacks were a means of maintaining dominance toward the vulnerable female chimps of the group or if the killings were provoked by jealous emotions.

In 1977, after Goodall’s initial time contracted by Leakey was over, she established the Jane Goodall Institute which has gone on to support further chimpanzee research in Gombe.  Goodall herself has become an important global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats.  Then in 1991, the Roots and Shoots program started as a simple meeting between Goodall and local teenagers in Tanzania.  The group discussed concerns and ways for children to become more involved and experience animals and nature while also protecting and preserving their wild environment.  Since that first meeting the Roots and Shoots organization has grown into 10,000 groups in over 100 countries.

On a personal note, in 1964 Goodall married Baron Hugo van Lawick, a Dutch nobleman and wildlife photographer that worked with her in Gombe.  The couple had one son, Hugo, born in 1967 but then they divorced in 1974.  Within a year, Goodall married Derek Bryceson, who was a member of the Tanzania parliament and director of their national parks.  In his service to the country, Bryceson was able to implement an embargo on tourism at Gombe and thereby protecting Goodall’s research of the chimpanzees.  He died of cancer in 1980.  Since that time, Goodall has gone on to become a successful public speaker traveling around the world giving presentations about her experiences in Gombe including her chimpanzee observations and research as well as the importance of saving wildlife and the environment.

Jane Goodall with chimp 2

Jules Verne – The Legacy

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Verne

Hello, Jeff again.  While Barbara wrote about the life of Jules Verne, I was more interested in his works and the lasting impact they have had.  In Barbara’s post she mentioned the fact that Verne wrote a series titled “Voyages Extraordinaires” which were published between 1863 and 1905. The series of 65 books strove “to outline all the geographical, geological, physical, and astronomical knowledge amassed by modern science and to recount, in an entertaining and picturesque format … the history of the universe.”  In addition, Verne was not interested in writing an encyclopedia.  He wanted to create works of literary merit.

So what was so special about Jules Verne?  First he was one of the first, if not THE first, author to incorporate the exciting scientific discoveries of the time into popular literature creating a new genre – Science Fiction!  Before we go into the details of his stories that eventually became reality, take a minute to think about the time he lived in.  The telephone had not been invented, no cars, no airplanes, no radio, limited knowledge of electricity, medicine was just learning about germs and astronomy was still in its infancy.  Against this background Verne’s imagination, intelligence, choice of friends and ability to research allowed him to envision things many of which weren’t created until long after his death!

So here are a couple of his visions:

  1. Submarine life – Verne’s description of the life aboard the Nautilus in his 1870 book “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, with the exception of the iconic organ played by Captain Nemo, is very close to life on modern-day submarine which have a double hull, use compressed air and are entirely run by electricity.    Many early submarine researchers-inventors such as Simon Lake, an early American industrialist and entrepreneur, credit Verne with inspiring them.  Walt Disney was so taken with the book that he made the 1954 “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” film. This was the only science fiction movie personally directed by Walt and it won two academy awards.(As Barbara mentioned in her post, Jules Verne’s Birthday, it is one of her favorite Jules Verne books and she also likes the Disney film)  Walt Disney - Nautilus
  2. Travel to the Moon –  In his 1865 book “From the Earth to the Moon” Verne predicted weightlessness in space, something that could hardly be imagined at that time.  He also predicted the approximate weight of “projectile” which turned out to be almost the same weight as Apollo 11 and cost of the “projectile” in 1865 dollars was only slightly off from the cost of the Apollo program.  In the book, the spaceship “launched” from Florida with a three man crew and also splashed down in the ocean upon its return to earth using parachutes to slow it’s descent.  All these things happened many years later in the 1960s.   On the way back from his mission to the moon Neil Armstrong said, “A hundred years ago, Jules Verne wrote a book about a voyage to the Moon. His spaceship, Columbia, took off from Florida and landed in the Pacific Ocean after completing a trip to the Moon. It seems appropriate to us to share with you some of the reflections of the crew as the modern-day Columbia completes its rendezvous with the planet Earth and the same Pacific Ocean tomorrow.”
    Jules Verne Projectile      Apollo 11

With 65 works to choose from, there are many, many more predictions including fuel cells, world wars and people addicted to the internet.  This being said, the real legacy of Jules Verne is not his predictions, but how he inspired generation after generation to dream beyond what was considered possible.  Neil Armstrong credited Verne with inspiring the moon missions.  Simon Lake, an early American industrialist and entrepreneur, was inspired by him to create his submarines.  HG Wells was inspired to write several of his own science fiction books.

I really enjoyed reading the books by Jules Verne, my favorite is “Around the World in 80 Days” followed by “The Mysterious Island”.   Many of his works are available for free on the internet as a quick search of “Jules Verne” will reveal.  Try to find one of the later translations as some of the early ones left a large portion of the text out of print and frequently botched is calculations / scientific explanations.

Jules Verne’s vision was extraordinary.  How is yours?  What are your predictions for the next 100 years?

Jules Verne’s Birthday

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Jules VerneAs a child, and even later as an adult, I enjoyed reading the books by Jules Verne.  Over the years several of the books have been made into movies, such as “Journey to the Center of the Earth” and “Around the World in Eighty Days”.  My favorite among the movies was the 1954 Disney film “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” starring James Mason as Captain Nemo and Kirk Douglas as Ned Land.  The movie actually inspired me to read my first Jules Verne book and I found the story about the mysterious Nautilus ship, a fascinating mix of action and drama with a little bit of science fiction.

In this post I will discuss the life and times of the French author, poet and playwright Jules Verne (Born: February 8, 1828 Died: March 24, 1905).  Verne was born in the tiny seaside town of Nantes, France.  His parents were Pierre Verne, a successful attorney and Sophie Allote de la Fuye, her family were a local seafaring family.  Verne had one younger brother and three younger sisters.

Verne was sent to boarding school at the age of six and later to a Catholic school, Ecole Saint Stanislas, were he enjoyed subjects such as geography.  As a child Verne loved stories about the sea and life aboard ships.  There is a story about an eleven year old Verne secretly intending to become a cabin boy on the “Coralie” which was scheduled to depart Nantes for a three year voyage to the Indies.  Luckily, his father found out just in time to rescue his son and Verne was urged to make a promise that the only way he was to travel in the future was in his imagination and his father also strongly suggested that the young boy stay close to home until he was much older.

During the following years the Verne family moved several times within the area of Nantes.  Verne was also enrolled in several religious schools nearby and he soon began to realize that he enjoyed writing stories.  By 1847, at the age of nineteen, Verne wanted to pursue a literary career and his father was greatly disappointed in the decision because he was hoping that his son would join the family law practice.

But, that was not the only problem and Verne would soon to suffer a great romantic loss when his cousin Caroline, who he had been in love with for many years, married a much older man.  Verne’s father quickly decided to take advantage of the situation and urged Verne to distance himself from his first love and he was sent to Paris to begin his studies in law school.  After his first year in Paris, Verne fell in love with Rose Grossetiere and using his writing skills he expressed his love to her in a series of thirty romantic poems.  Unfortunately, her parents did not approve of the relationship and she was quickly married off to a rich older man.  Verne took this new loss extremely hard and it seemed to deeply affect him not only on a personal level but also in his future literary works.

In 1848, upon returning to Paris for this second year of law studies, the city was in the midst of the French Revolution and the government had recently been overthrown causing great political changes.  With the use of his family connections, Verne now decided it was time to make his entrance into Paris society and he started attending literary salons (or parties).  While still continuing his law studies, Verne soon found a love of the theatre and inspired by the Victor Hugo’s play, “Notre Dame de Paris”, Verne began writing a series of plays.

Unfortunately during this time, Verne began experiencing health problems.  His severe stomach cramps were diagnosed as colitis and he also suffered from several mysterious attacks of facial paralysis which were later determined as being caused by an inner ear infection.  All these medical concerns prevented Verne from being required to enlist in the French military which was a relief since he had very strong views against war and these feelings were to remain with him throughout his life.

Given all his medical conditions, Verne somehow managed to continue attending the literary salons while also pursuing his writing.  He was very busy because in addition to these activities he was still continuing his law studies and after a few years he graduated with a law degree in 1851.  Even though he was set to start a career as a lawyer, Verne was soon offered a writing opportunity by Pierre Chevalier for a French magazine, “Musee des Families”.  Verne started researching and writing articles for the magazine about geography, history, science and technology.  The magazine job quickly lead to writing short stories and ultimately a position as secretary for the Theatre Lyrique.  Verne wrote and produced several comic operas.

With his literary career making progress Verne soon abandoned the thought of being a lawyer despite the fact that his father had given him an ultimatum to join the family lawyer practice.  It was while Verne was doing research for his stories that he met an explorer named Jacques Arago.  During his intense discussions with Arago, Verne was inspired because he had found a new topic concerning the subject of world travel for his future stories.  Verne was also developing an increased interest in the field of science and he was thinking of combing these two ideas into a new style for writing books.

On January 10, 1857 Verne married Honorine de Viane Morel, who a twenty-six year old widow with two young children.  During a trip to Sweden and Denmark, the trip was abruptly cut short when Verne was called back to Paris by his wife and he arrived back home shortly after the birth of his son, Michel.  By this time Verne had started a brokerage business in order to support his new family but he continued to write and develop his style for adventure books.  Then in 1862, Verne met the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel and through their collaboration Verne wrote a series of books known as the “Voyages Extraordinaires”.  His first book, “Five Weeks in a Balloon” was published in the beginning of 1863.  Several more books were published over the following years and these very popular adventure novels included the books “Journey to the Center of the Earth” published in 1864, “From the Earth to the Moon” in 1865, “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” in 1870 and “Around the World in Eighty Days” in 1873.  Unfortunately, the normally good relationship between Hetzel and Verne became strained over a disagreement regarding the storyline of “Twenty Thousand Leagues”. Despite their difficulties the professional collaboration between the two continued as Verne wrote additional books that Hetzel continued to publish.

Verne finally fulfilled his passion for travel and the sea by purchasing a small ship, the “Saint-Michel”, after the success of his first books.  Then, as his fame increased with more books published and his wealth continued to improve his financial situation, Verne bought and replaced several more ships over the years.  Sadly, on a personal level, Verne’s relationship with his son became very difficult due to his grown son’s bad behavior and his poor lifestyle choices and the two became distant but eventually the situation improved and the father and son became close again toward the end of Verne’s life.

Jules Verne tomb in Amiens, FranceIn 1888, Verne took a political position and was elected town counselor of Amiens, France which is located about 75 miles north of Paris.  He served in that position for the next fifteen years.  In 1905, Jules Verne died from complication with diabetes and he is buried in the cemetery in Amiens.

Clark Gable’s Birthday

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01v/24/arve/G1841/057When I was a young girl I remember watching Clark Gable in the old classic movies and two of my favorites were “Gone with the Wind” in which Gable starred with Vivian Leigh in the epic Civil War drama and “It Happened One Night” in which he starred opposite Claudette Colbert in a story about a wise-cracking newspaper reporter and a feisty heiress on the run to avoid her wedding.  I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever seen … except of course for my Dad!  A funny story is that I think my Dad looked a lot like Clark Gable when he was younger with his perfectly trimmed skinny moustache and the fashionable way of dressing in great suits during the 1940s.  (In his later years, my Dad started to look like Walt Disney to me … but that is another story for another time!!)

William Clark Gable was a born on February 1, 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio to an oil well driller father named William Gable and his wife Adeline Hershelman.  Sadly, when Gable was only 10 months old his mother died and in 1903 Gable’s father married Jennie Dunlap.  The young Gable was very tall for his age and because of his stepmother’s influence he always very clean and wore nice clothes.  His stepmother gave Gable piano lessons but he also like to work on cars with his father.  Gable’s father wanted him to hunt, fish and do hard physical work but Gable enjoyed reading and he liked to recite Shakespeare’s sonnets.  By 1917, his father had financial problems and the family moved to a small farm in Ravenna near Akron, Ohio.  Instead of working on the farm as his father expected him to do, Gable left to work in the Goodrich tire factory in Akron.

By the time Gable turned 21, his stepmother had died and his father mover to Tulsa.  Gable was inspired to become an actor and found work in several different theater companies that eventually had him moving to Oregon.  He supported his amateur acting career by working odd jobs as a logger and a salesman for a local department store.  It was while working in the local theater company that Gable meet Laura Hope Crews who encouraged him to pursue acting as a full-time career (many years latter Crews would play the part of Aunt Pittypat in Gone with the Wind).

Around this time Gable met a woman that would soon become a great influence in his life, she was Josephine Dillon a Portland theater manager and she later became his acting coach and personal manager.  She helped Gable to improve his stage presence by working on voice control, facial expressions and body posture.  She also offered him financial aid to improve his appearance by getting his teeth repaired, his hair styled and he started wearing better clothes.  With those personal improvements and better acting skills Dillon decided that Gable was ready to attempt a film career.

In 1924, Gable and Dillon, who were now married, went to Hollywood and for the next few years Gable was only able to find work as an extra in silent movies.  Unfortunately Gable was not offered any substantial film roles and he decided to return to the stage.  By 1927 Gable was working for a Houston theater company and with his good looks and improved acting skills he soon had moderate success as a local matinee idol.  Gable and Dillon now decided to try their luck in New York.

Clark Gable 1Gable received good reviews from his parts on Broadway but then the Great Depression hit and combined with a new form of entertainment, “the talking pictures”, many plays were cancelled making acting roles very harder to find.  On a personal level, Gable had recently meet a Texas socialite named Maria “Ria” Langham and he quickly divorced Dillon. Gable now decided to give Hollywood another try and in 1930 MGM studios offered him a small contract and he began playing supporting roles in low-budget films and Gable starting receiving attention from the movie fans.

In the beginning most of the roles Gable played were villainous characters but with the increase in fan mail to the studios, MGM started developing Gable into a strong, manly and rugged character for larger parts.  In some of his first leading man roles he played opposite many equally strong yet feminine women, such as Barbara Stanwyck, Greta Garbo, Marion Davies.  He went on to work with Joan Crawford in eight films; she was his personal favorite actresses to work with.  He also worked with Myrna Loy in seven films, Jean Harlow in six films, Lana Turner in four films and he worked with Norma Sherer and Ava Gardner in three films each.  His final film was “The Misfits” in which he starred opposite Marilyn Monroe.

Gable received his first Oscar nomination for his lead role in the 1934 movie “It Happened One Night”.  There is an interesting Hollywood story that goes as follows: MGM studio head, Louis B. Mayer, lent Gable to Columbia Pictures as punishment when Gable started refusing to take roles that he felt had bad movie scripts and deemed inferior to his newfound leading man status.  Gable was cast opposite Claudette Colbert with Frank Capra as the film’s director.  The movie went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and both Gable and Colbert won for Best Actor and Best Actress.  Gable had his sweet revenge against Mayer and he returned to MGM an even bigger star!

Clark Gable - It Happened One Night

Gable was now on a roll and he received another Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Fletcher Christian in the 1935 movie “Mutiny on the Bounty”.  He did not win but he was now receiving the recognition for his acting that he so rightly deserved.

By this time Gable was separated from his second wife and he had met the love of his life, actress Carole Lombard.  They had appeared in the 1932 “No Man of Her Own”.  At the time Gable was married to Langham and Lombard was married to actor William Powell.  Their romance started in 1936 after getting reacquainted at a Hollywood party and they were soon madly in love.  Gable felt that Lombard was a woman he could totally depend on for companionship and she learned to enjoy all the hobbies that he loved, such as camping, fishing and hunting.

Langham was giving Gable are difficult time in obtaining a divorce and it proved to be a very lengthy and expensive process.  Then the opportunity of starring in “Gone with Wind” came about by popular demand for the fans for Gable to play the character of Rhett Butler.  The movie was destined to be his most famous role and more importantly to Gable it was an opportunity for a larger salary and that allowed him to finalize a divorce settlement with Langham.  Happily, during the filming of “Gone with the Wind”, Gable and Lombard were finally able to get married.  Gable also received his third Academy Award Best Actor nomination for the role in the movie but he did not win much to the public’s disappointment.

Clark Gable - Gone with the Wind 1

The marriage of Gable and Lombard proved to be the happiest period in his personal life.  They led a very simple life and enjoyed their time together away from the pressures of Hollywood.  They lived on a farm in the San Fernando Valley just over the hill from the movie studios.  Sadly, their happiness was cut short when in 1942 Lombard was killed in a plane crash during a tour to promote the selling of war bonds.  Her mother and agent were also killed on the flight along with another 19 passengers.

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard

Gable went into a deep depression and following Lombard’s death he joined the U.S. Army Air Forces.  After his military training Second Lieutenant Gable was sent overseas to England.  Gable flew in five combat missions during World War II but after a close call during one of the flights MGM studio executives urged the military to have him reassigned to non-combat duties.  He returned stateside in 1943 to complete a film he had been previously working on.  In 1944 Gable was promoted to major but no further military orders came and he was relieved from active duty at his request and he was officially discharged.

After the war, Gable returned to Hollwood and made 27 more films.  Gable was to become involved in several affairs with young stars such as Virgina Grey, Paulette Goddard and Gene Tierney.  He also had an affair with Grace Kelly while they were filming the movie “Mogambo”.  He married again in 1949 to a British divorcee, Sylvia Ashley but that relationship quickly ended in divorce in 1952.

Clark Gable 3During the early 1950s things were changing in Hollywood and Gable was unhappy with the mediocre roles he was receiving from MGM and in 1953 he did not renew his contract with the studio and he began to work as an independent actor not afilliated with a particular studio.  In 1955, Gable married his fifth wife, Kay Williams and former model and actress.   Gable went on to appear in several unsuccessful movies and his health was being to fail.  Gable’s last film was the 1961 movie “The Misfits” costarring Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Cliff.  Many movie critics consider it on of Gable’s finest performances.

Gable died on November 16, 1960 from a coronary thrombosis ten days after suffering a severe heart attack.  At the time, his wife Kay was pregnant and sadly she gave birth to their son, named John Clark Gable, on March 20, 1961 at the same hospital where four months earlier she had lost her husband.  Clark Gable is interred in the mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California beside his beloved third wife, Carole Lombard.