Showing posts with label Scottish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scottish. Show all posts

Monday, May 9, 2022

May 9: J. M. Barrie, Scottish novelist and playwright

BORN MAY 9:

J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright whose other works (there were nearly 70) were overshadowed by that one annoying character who showed up in five of Barrie's novels and plays: Peter Pan. The character grew, as did Carroll's Alice (in Wonderland), from Barrie's close acquaintance with the children of a family (raising the usual unfounded speculations posthumously). The boy on whom the character was based, Peter Llewelyn Davies, threw himself under a train as it was pulling into a London Underground station when he was 63. Anyway, the story may also have popularized (if not downright introduced) the name Wendy. His best-known non-Peter work may be The Admirable Crichton, written for the stage and adapted to film, TV, and radio at least five times.

Navigation:


Topics , , , ,

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Apr. 21: John Muir, Scottish-born Californian conservationist

BORN APRIL 21:

Name John Muir (1838-1914) was a Scottish-born Californian conservationist who was called "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks" for his influence on the wilderness preservation policies of the U.S. He was a self-taught botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, naturalist, author, and environmental philosopher. According to one article, "at least one high school, 21 elementary schools, six middle schools, and one college" have been "named after him, as well as a glacier, a mountain, a woods, a cabin, an inlet, a highway, a library, a motel, a medical center, a tea room and a minor planet." He helped preserve the Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park, and co-founded The Sierra Club, a prominent American conservation organization. His letters, essays, and books have been read by millions. Alas, in recent years his racism toward Native Americans and Blacks has emerged, and the Sierra Club has found itself apologizing for his views and taking steps to correct the harm done by this part of his legacy. Notable books include The Mountains of California; Our National Parks; My First Summer in the Sierra; and The Yosemite.

Navigation:


Topics , , , ,

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Mar. 31: Andrew Lang, Scottish writer

BORN MARCH 31:

Andrew Lang (1844-1912) was a Victorian Scottish poet, novelist, and folklorist. He is best-known for the Fairy Book series of 14 colors, starting with The Blue Fairy Book. He also collaborated on translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey and wrote or edited a total of around 200 books, bringing lots of history, folk and fairy tales, and classic literature to a wider audience.

Navigation:


Topics , , , , ,

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Mar. 8: Kenneth Grahame, Scottish children's author

BORN MARCH 8:

Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) was a Scottish writer most famous for the adventures of Mole, Rat, Mr. Badger, and the notorious Mr. Toad, friends who, among other things, spend their time "simply messing about in boats," as the Rat says. I'm talking, of course, about "The Wind in the Willows," one of the greatest of children's classics. He also wrote "The Reluctant Dragon," a charming short story about a poetry-loving dragon who prefers not to fight, and instead makes friends with St. George the notorious dragon-slayer.

Navigation:


Topics , , , ,

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Mar. 3: Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-born American scientist

BORN MARCH 3:

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) Scottish-born scientist who became a "British-subject in Canada" from 1870-1882, then an American citizen in 1882. He is credited with patenting the first practical telephone, and he co-founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1885. Both his mother and wife were deaf, and his work on behalf of the deaf community is legendary: the telephone was almost a by-product of his research on hearing and speech, including hearing devices. (He considered his invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.) He was also the second president (for five years) of the National Geographic Society. But the story I like best about him is this: In his 20s, Bell found himself living across the river from the Six Nations Reserve for Native Americans (in Canada, "First Peoples") and learned the Mohawk language. He translated it into a system of phonetic symbols developed by his father (called "Visible Speech"), and was subsequently awarded the title of Honorary Chief, and so participated in a ceremony where he donned a Mohawk headdress and danced traditional dances.

Navigation:


Topics , , , , ,

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Jan. 25: Robert Burns, Scottish poet

BORN JANUARY 25:

Robert Burns (1759-1796) Scottish poet without whom we'd have nothing to sing on New Year's Eve (he wrote "Auld Lang Syne"). Nothing penetrates the lessons of nature like "To a Mouse" ("the best-laid plans of mice and men..."). His use of the Scots language sometimes requires translation, but can usually be understood well enough by English speakers, and brings a color his work would lack otherwise.

Navigation:


Topics , , , , ,

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Nov. 13: Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish writer

BORN NOVEMBER 13:

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. He was a prolific writer and traveled widely, despite lifelong poor health. He died at his home in Samoa at age 44. He wrote Treasure Island; Kidnapped; A Child's Garden of Verses; and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Navigation:


Topics , , , , , ,

Friday, October 29, 2021

Oct. 29: James Boswell, Scottish biographer

BORN OCTOBER 29:

James Boswell (1740-1795) Scottish biographer and perhaps the world's most famous literary hanger-on. Boswell was a friend of London's 18th-century literary lion, the great Samuel Johnson, and capitalized on that friendship by writing what has been considered "the most famous single work of biographical art in the whole of literature," namely, The Life of Samuel Johnson. Boswell wrote other works as well, but so famous was his biography that dictionaries call "any devoted biographer of a specific person" by the term "a Boswell."

Navigation:


Topics , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)