February 17:
A Prairie Home Companion radio show made its debut on National Public Radio on this day in 1979. This weekly variety show, which is still on the air, is hosted by Garrison Keillor and features folksy skits and musical guests and the dry humor of the host Garrison Keillor which is sprinkled throughout each episode.
The show is very popular and host Garrison Keillor is the main reason for that popularity – Keillor was born in Minnesota and has a dry Midwestern grounded humor which he uses to comical effect in the Prairie Home Companion shows.
Here’s a link to the official Prairie Home Companion website where you can access the most recent show and even a number of old shows through the Archives section of the website:
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/
And here is a link to a Bio biography of host Garrison Keillor:
http://www.biography.com/people/garrison-keillor-9361805
February 18:
Celebrated glass maker Louis Comfort Tiffany was born in New York City on February 18, 1848. Tiffany started out as a painter but in his twenties he switched to glass making and his works are truly pieces of art. He is most famous for his jewelry, windows and lamps. And today if you were to purchase an originally Tiffany piece at auction you’d pay a pretty penny for it!
Tiffany’s works are truly beautiful and you really do have to see some of them to understand why – so with that in mind – here’s a link to a Metropolitan Museum of Art page that offers you access to a cool slide show featuring many Tiffany glass items:
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tiff/hd_tiff.htm
And here’s a link to Morse Museum overview of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s life and work:
http://www.morsemuseum.org/louis-comfort-tiffany
February 20:
Photographer & Conservationist Ansel Adams born February 20, 1902 in San Francisco, California. Adams grew up in California and began taking photos of the natural world as a young man. He came to the attention of the general public when he published his first photography portfolio titled Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras and his fame and the popularity of his breathtaking black and white photos grew steadily from the 1920s on. And by the mid twentieth century Adams was known as one of the best American photographers in history. And as with the glass works of Louis Comfort Tiffany you really do have to see some of the photos and prints of Ansel Adams to appreciate their beauty – with that in mind – here’s a link to the Official Ansel Adams site, titled The Ansel Adams Gallery where you can look at many of his photos and learn more about this truly creative individual:
http://www.anseladams.com/ansel-adams-photography/yosemite-special-edition-photographs/
And here’s a link to a Bio biography of Ansel Adams:
http://www.biography.com/people/ansel-adams-9175697
February 22:
President George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Washington served in the Colonial Militia as a young man and went on to become a delegate to the Continental Congress, the Commander in Chief of the Continental, and later U.S., Army during the American Revolution; he served at the U.S. Constitutional Convention and then became the first President of the United States serving two terms from 1789 to 1797. George Washington’s life was, of course, filled with many more events and items of interest than are possible to put in a short blog posting – so check out two online biographies of President Washington by clicking on the following links to find out more about the extraordinary man George Washington:
Here’s a link to the official White House biography of George Washington which offers a short overview of his life and career:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewashington
And a link to a Bio biography of George Washington which offers more information on his life:
http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-9524786
And if you’d like to know more about George Washington’s life the library owns a number of excellent books on the subject including His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation also by Joseph Ellis, the complimentary DVD set to the Founding Brothers book – also called Founding Brothers, the American Experience (PBS) DVD George Washington: The Man Who Wouldn’t Be King and the book George Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.
February 23:
W. E. B. Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Du Bois became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1895 and he went on to become a well-known author and one of the most famous advocates for African American civil rights during the first half of the twentieth century. Du Bois co-founded the African American civil rights organization the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or N.A.A.C.P., in 1909. Du Bois was a colossal and controversial figure on the intellectual and civil rights front in the U.S. in the early twentieth century. Notably, he clashed with another African American civil rights activist and co-N.A.A.C.P. founder Booker T. Washington over the issue of how African Americans might best gain civil rights. Washington believed education was the key to gaining civil rights and he promoted the ideal that all African Americans should gain as much education as possible. In contrast, Du Bois believed that a small group of Africa Americans should be extremely well educated so they could work toward civil rights for all African Americans. Du Bois eventually broke with the N.A.A.C.P., left the United States moved to Ghana, Africa and become a citizen of that nation and even joined the Communist Party. Du Bois died in Ghana in 1963 at the age of 95.
Here’s a link to a Bio biography of W. E. B. Du Bois:
http://www.biography.com/people/web-du-bois-9279924
Have a great week!
Linda R
References:
1. George Washington 1789-1797. White House. Online. Accessed February 17, 2014, http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewashington
The Ansel Adams Gallery. Online. Accessed February 17, 2014, http://www.anseladams.com/
Chase’s Calendar of Events 2014. New York. McGraw-Hill. 2014.
Garrison Keillor. Biography. Online. Accessed February 17, 2014, http://www.biography.com/people/garrison-keillor-9361805
George Washington. Biography. Online. Accessed February 17, 2014, http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-9524786
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933).The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Online. Accessed February 17, 2014, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tiff/hd_tiff.htm
Louis Comfort Tiffany. Biography. Online. Accessed February 17, 2014, http://www.biography.com/people/louis-tiffany-9507399
Louis Comfort Tiffany. The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. Online. Accessed February 17, 2014, http://www.morsemuseum.org/louis-comfort-tiffany
On This Day: August 28, 1963: Obituary W.E.B. DuBois Dies in Ghana; Negro Leader and Author, 95. New York Times. Online. Accessed February 17, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0223.html
A Prairie Home Companion With Garrison Keillor. Online. Accessed February 17, 2014, http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/
W.E.B. DuBois. Biography. Online. Accessed February 17, 2014, http://www.biography.com/people/web-du-bois-9279924
The American Dream Starts @ The Southeast Steuben County Library 