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"Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852–October 31, 1916) was a prominent early 20th century Christian [Restoration] minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement, from which Jehovah's Witnesses and numerous independent Bible Student groups emerged after his death. Charles Taze Russell was born to Scotch-Irish parents, immigrant Joseph Lytel Russell and Ann Eliza Birney on February 16, 1852 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA. Russell was the second of five children, and was one of only two to survive into adulthood. His mother died when he was 9 years old. The Russells lived in Philadelphia, as well as Allegheny, before moving to Pittsburgh, where they became members of the Presbyterian Church. In his early teens, Charles' father made him partner of his Pittsburgh haberdashery store. By age twelve, Russell was writing business contracts for customers and given charge of some of his father's other clothing stores. At age thirteen, Russell left the Presbyterian Church to join the Congregational Church. In his youth he was known to chalk Bible verses on fence boards and city sidewalks to draw attention to the punishment of hell awaiting the unfaithful in an attempt to convert unbelievers. On March 13, 1879, Russell married Maria Frances Ackley after a few months' acquaintance. The couple separated in 1897. Russell blamed the marriage breakup on disagreements over Maria Russell's insistence for a greater editorial role in Zion's [Watchtower] magazine, though a later court judgment noted that he had labelled the marriage "a mistake" three years before the dispute over her editorial ambitions had arisen. Maria Russell died at the age of 88 in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 12, 1938 from complications related to Hodgkin's disease. In 1897 Russell's wife, Maria, left him after a disagreement over the management of [Zion's Watchtower] magazine. She believed that, as his wife, she should have equal control over its administration and equal privilege in writing articles, preaching, and traveling abroad as his representative. In 1903 she filed for legal separation on the grounds of mental cruelty, because of what she considered to be forced celibacy and frequent cold, indifferent treatment. The separation was granted in 1906, with Russell charged to pay alimony. During the trial Mrs. Russell's attorney alleged that in 1894 Mr. Russell had engaged in "improper intimacy" with Rose Ball, by then a 25-year old woman whom the Russell's had previously cared for as a foster daughter after claiming to be an orphan. Mrs. Russell alleged that Ball had told her Mr. Russell claimed to be an amorous "jellyfish floating around" to different women until someone responded to his advances. Mr. Russell denied the accusations and stated that he had never used such terminology to describe himself. When the judge asked Mrs. Russell if she was accusing her husband of adultery, she replied, "No." Russell directed the production of a worldwide roadshow presentation entitled The Photo-Drama of Creation, an innovative eight-hour religious film in four parts, incorporating sound, moving film, and color slides. It was the first major screenplay to synchronize sound with moving film. Production began as early as 1912, and the Drama was introduced in 1914 by the [Watchtower, Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc] A book by the same name was also published. The project's expenses put the organization under some financial pressures; the full cost was estimated at about US$300,000 (current value $6,990,000). Russell's health had become increasingly poor in the last three years leading up to his death. During his final ministerial tour of the western and southwestern United States he became increasingly ill with cystitis, but ignored advice to abandon the tour. He suffered severe chills during his last week, and at times had to be held in position in bed to prevent suffocation. He was forced to deliver some of his Bible discourses sitting in a chair, and on a few occasions his voice was so weak as to be barely audible. Russell, aged 64 died on October 31, 1916, near Pampa, Texas, while returning to Brooklyn by train. An associate of Russell's stated that at age 64 his body was more worn out than that of his father who died at age 89. He was buried in Rosemont United Cemetery, Pittsburgh. The [grave-site] is marked by a headstone; nearby stands a 7-foot-tall pyramid memorial erected by the [Watchtower, Bible and Tract Society] in 1921."
Source: Wikipedia.org | Tuesday, November 28, 2017, 12:00AM James Johnson was born on Friday, September 14, 1951 and parted ways with everything under the sun on Saturday, November 9, 2019, at the age of 68. He was likely named by his parents after his Late uncle "James Johnson" and is the second male child born to the now Late Mr. Jessie James Johnson (1912-1989) and the now Late Ms. Nancy Johnson (1918-2001). Although Jessie Johnson's lifelong nickname carried the sound of "Poke" or "Polk," a 1920 census document partly listing all of the children of our paternal grandparents "Simial" and "Elvira" "Johnson" actually spelled Jessie's nickname "Porke." As for our Late uncle "James Johnson," he was known by some as "Red Cap." Yet, we called him "Uncle Brother." Uncle Brother literally died in his nephew James Johnson's arms while he lay on a sofa at his sister's home in East Baton Rouge Parish, LA. Uncle Brother's oldest sister and our aunt's name spelled "Christeen Johnson Bonds." The Late Mr. Raymond Johnson (1938-1955) was the first male child born to Jessie and Nancy prior to the couple's celebration of their marital vows on Sunday, March 24, 1940. Raymond's life was tragically and brutally taken away from him on Sunday, July 24, 1955. The couple's marital rites were also celebrated just prior to the "Sixteenth Census of the United States" of April 1, 1940. Even though for the first time all "48" states allegedly had a population above "100,000" the census was, in my opinion, a flawed "Roll Call" as Colored People may not have been accurately counted, or named. In 1951, James Johnson was born in Prairieville, LA in a little farm house located on a three(3) acre tract of land in the rural section of Ascension Parish, LA. The land was purchased for the private use of this couple, used primarily for farming and for the couple to raise their family. In short, with their own sweat and sometimes tears, they made good use of the resources acquired by the hard work of two people working together and the two worked wonders considering the limited freedoms afforded to Colored People. Although neither of the two had a racist bone in their bodies, it was, no doubt, a hard fought, uphill battle while laboring under the constant disheartening, debilitating racial strife of those days. Yet, Jessie and Nancy steadied the course, braved the storms, farmed their land together and they done it well. A Mr. Sammy Johnson, that's me, is the last surviving, male child of only three(3) male children born to Jessie and Nancy, according to my mother's own signature(s). Later in his adult life, James aspired to be one of "Jehovah’s Witnesses." On or about November 9, 2019, he allegedly lost the battle to a sudden illness that surfaced after December 24, 2018. He eventually passed away at his home in Geismar, LA. However, his demise and death is not without its own, unique set of problems. Thus, it may not be without consequence. His remains were cremated and spread among several individuals.
Source: Ancestry.com | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court | East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court | Social Security Death Index | U. S. Federal Census, 1940 | Wikipedia.org | Sunday, September 20, 2020, 12:00 AM CDT | Revised Thursday, October 1, 2020, 5:30 AM CDT, Sunday, November 15, 2020, 8:44 AM CDT | Thursday, December 24, 2020, 11:59 PM CDT | Monday, January 30, 2023, 12:00 AM CDT "Saint Katharine Drexel, S. B. S., (November 26, 1858–March 3, 1955) was an American heiress, philanthropist, religious sister, educator, and foundress. She was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 2000; her feast day is observed on March 3. She was the second canonized saint to have been born in the United States and the first to have been born a U. S. citizen. Katharine Mary Drexel was born Catherine Mary Drexel in Philadelphia on November 26, 1858, the second child of investment banker Francis Anthony Drexel and Hannah Langstroth. Hannah died five weeks after her baby's birth. For two years Katharine and her sister, Elizabeth, were cared for by their aunt and uncle, Ellen and Anthony Drexel. When Francis married Emma Bouvier in 1860 he brought his two daughters home. A third daughter, Louisa, was born in 1863. Louisa would marry General Edward Morrell. The Morrells, "actively promoted and advanced the welfare of African Americans throughout the country. The Morrells used their wealth to build magnificent institutions that served and aided the education and upward mobility of African Americans. Gen. Morrell took charge of the Indian work, while Katharine Drexel was in her novitiate." Private tutors educated the girls at their home. They toured parts of the United States and Europe with their parents. Twice weekly, the Drexel family distributed food, clothing, and rent assistance from their family home at 1503 Walnut Street in Philadelphia. When widows or lonely single women were too proud to come to the Drexels for assistance, the family sought them out, but always quietly. As Emma Drexel taught her daughters, "Kindness may be unkind if it leaves a sting behind." As a young and wealthy woman, Drexel made her social debut in 1879. However, watching her stepmother's three-year struggle with terminal cancer taught her the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or death. Her life took a profound turn. She had always been interested in the plight of Native Americans, having been appalled by what she read in Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor. When her family traveled to the Western states in 1884, Katharine Drexel saw the plight and destitution of the Native Americans. She wanted to do something specific to help. Thus began her lifelong personal and financial support of numerous missions and missionaries in the United States. After her father died in 1885, Katharine and her sisters had contributed money to help the St. Francis Mission on South Dakota’s Rosebud Reservation. For many years she took spiritual direction from a longtime family friend, Father James O’Connor, a Philadelphia priest who later was appointed vicar apostolic of Nebraska. When Kate wrote him of her desire to join a contemplative order, Bishop O’Connor suggested, "Wait a while longer....... Wait and pray." Katharine and her sisters Elizabeth and Louise were still mourning their father when they sailed to Europe in 1886. Their high-powered banker father left behind a $15.5 million estate and instructions to divide it among his three daughters—Elizabeth, Katherine, and Louisa-after expenses and specific charitable donations. However, to prevent his daughters from falling prey to "fortune hunters," Francis Drexel crafted his will so that his daughters controlled income from his estate, but upon their deaths, their inheritance would flow to their children. The will stipulated that if there were no grandchildren, upon his daughters’ deaths, Drexel's estate would be distributed to several religious orders and charities—the Society of Jesus, the Christian Brothers, the Religious of the Sacred Heart, a Lutheran hospital and others. Because their father's charitable donations totaled about $1.5 million, the sisters shared the income produced by $14 million—about $1,000 a day for each woman. In current dollars, the estate would be worth about $400 million. On February 12, 1891, Drexel professed her first vows as a religious, dedicating herself to work among the American Indians and African-Americans in the western and southwestern United States. She took the name Mother Katharine, and joined by thirteen other women, soon established a religious congregation, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Frances Cabrini had advised Drexel about the "politics" of getting her new Order’s Rule approved by the Vatican bureaucracy in Rome. A few months later, Philadelphia Archbishop Ryan blessed the cornerstone of the new motherhouse under construction in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. In the first of many incidents that indicated Drexel's convictions for social justice were not shared by all, a stick of dynamite was discovered near the site. In all, Drexel established 145 missions, 50 schools for African Americans, and 12 schools for Native Americans. Xavier University of Louisiana, the only historically black Catholic college in the US, also owes its existence to Drexel and the Sisters. Mother Katharine Drexel died at the age of 96, on March 3, 1955, at her order's motherhouse, where she is buried. Because neither of her biological sisters had children, after Mother Katharine's death, pursuant to their father's will, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament no longer had the Drexel fortune available to support their ministries. Nonetheless, the order continues to pursue their original apostolate, working with African-Americans and Native Americans in 21 states and Haiti."
Source: Wikipedia.org | Tuesday, November 28, 2017, 12:00AM "Linda Evans (born on November 18, 1942) is an American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s, she gained notice for playing Audra Barkley in the Western television series, The Big Valley. However, she is most prominently known for the role of Krystle Carrington in the 1980s ABC prime time soap opera Dynasty, a role she played from 1981 to 1989. Evans, the second of three daughters, was born Linda Evenstad in Hartford, Connecticut to Arlene Dart and Alba Evenstad both of whom were professional dancers. "Evenstad" was the name of the small farm in Nes, Hedmark in Norway from where her paternal great-grandmother emigrated to the United States in 1884 with her young son, Evans' grandfather and a couple of relatives. When Evans was six months old, the family moved from Hartford to North Hollywood. She attended Hollywood High School, where she was a sorority sister of future actress Carole Wells. Her introduction to drama came through classes that she took "as a form of therapy, to cure her of her shyness." When she started her professional career, she changed her last name to "Evans." Evans' first guest-starring role was on a 1960 episode of Bachelor Father, which starred her future screen husband, John Forsythe. She would co-star with him 20 years later on Dynasty. After several guest roles in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet between 1960–62, and guest appearances on television series such as Wagon Train and Outlaws, Evans gained her first regular role in 1965 in The Big Valley. Playing Audra Barkley, daughter of Victoria Barkley Evans was credited in the series until it ended in 1969, though she was only a semi-regular cast member during the last two seasons. Then came her breakthrough role in television. In 1980, Evans was cast as John Forsythe's wife, Krystle Carrington, in Aaron Spelling's opulent new primetime soap opera, Dynasty. Intended as ABC Television's answer to the hit CBS series Dallas, the show first aired in January 1981. Although initially sluggish in the ratings, audience figures improved after the show was revamped and British actress Joan Collins was brought in to play opposite Evans and Forsythe as the evil Alexis Carrington. By the 1984-85 season, Dynasty was the number one show on American television, even outranking Dallas. Audiences became enthralled by the onscreen rivalry and infamous catfights between Krystle and Alexis, and Evans and Collins became two of the most celebrated television stars of the decade. In her late teens, Evans was engaged to Patrick Curtis, who later became a press agent and married Raquel Welch. Evans has been married and divorced twice. Her first marriage was to actor, photographer and film director John Derek. They married in 1968 and separated in 1974 when Derek disclosed his affair with Bo Derek, who was 30 years his junior, and was 16 years old when the relationship began. Evans' second marriage was to Stan Herman, a property executive, from 1975 to 1980. In 1989, she began a relationship with new age musician Yanni, which lasted until 1998. She is close with her ex-stepdaughter Sean Catherine Derek, who has a summer house next to Evans' property in Washington state, and with John's Europe-based second wife, Ursula Andress, a frequent house guest at her home in Beverly Hills. After being diagnosed with idiopathic edema, Evans began investigating alternative healing, delving into Eastern philosophy and naturopathy. In 1985, she became involved with controversial metaphysical teacher J. Z. Knight and her Ramtha's School of Enlightenment and eventually moved to Rainier, Washington to be closer to Knight and her school. Evans appeared in Playboy magazine at the behest of her then-husband John Derek in 1971. As she gained tremendous fame on Dynasty, the photos were published a second time in 1982. Evans has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California."
"Horace Julian Bond (January 14, 1940–August 15, 2015) was an American social activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement, politician, professor and writer. While a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped to establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Bond was elected to four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives and later to six terms in the Georgia State Senate, serving a combined twenty years in both legislative chambers. From 1998 to 2010, he was chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Bond was born at Hubbard Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, to parents Julia Agnes Washington and Horace Mann Bond. His father was an educator who went on to serve as the president of Lincoln University. His mother, Julia, was a former librarian at Clark Atlanta University. At the time, the family resided on campus at Fort Valley State College, where Horace was president. The house of the Bonds was a frequent stop for scholars, activists, and celebrities passing through, such as W. E. B. Du Bois and Paul Robeson. In 1945 his father accepted the position of president of Lincoln University—becoming its first African-American president—and the family moved North. In 1957, Bond graduated from George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. On April 17, 1960, Bond helped co-found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He served as the communications director of SNCC from January 1961 to September 1966, when he traveled around Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas, to help organize civil rights and voter registration drives. Bond left Morehouse College in 1961 to work on civil rights in the South. From 1960 to 1963, he led student protests against segregation in public facilities and the Jim Crow laws of Georgia. In 1965, Bond was one of eleven African Americans elected to the Georgia House of Representatives after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 had opened voter registration to blacks. By ending the disfranchisement of blacks through discriminatory voter registration, African Americans regained the ability to vote and entered the political process. Bond became the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center in 1971. He served until 1979, remaining a board member and president emeritus for the rest of his life. He was a strong critic of policies that contribute to anthropogenic climate change and was amongst a group of protesters arrested at the White House for civil disobedience in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline in February 2013. On July 28, 1961, Bond married Alice Clopton, a student at Spelman College. They divorced on November 10, 1989. They had five children; Phyllis Jane Bond-McMillan, Horace Mann Bond II, Michael Julian Bond, Jeffrey Alvin Bond and Julia "Cookie" Louise Bond. He married Pamela Sue Horowitz, a former SPLC staff attorney, in 1990. Bond died from complications of vascular disease on August 15, 2015, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, aged 75, cremated, ashes scattered at sea."
"Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) known professionally as Vanessa L. Williams or Vanessa Williams, is an American singer, actress, producer and former fashion model. In 1983, she became the first African-American woman crowned Miss America, but a scandal arose when Penthouse magazine bought and published nude photographs of her. She relinquished her title early and was succeeded by the first runner-up, Suzette Charles of New Jersey. Williams rebounded by launching a career as an entertainer, earning multiple Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award nominations. She is arguably the most successful former Miss America winner in the field of entertainment. Williams was born in Millwood, New York, the daughter of music teachers Helen L. Tinch and Milton Augustine Williams, Jr. She is of African American, Welsh and Native American descent. Williams and her younger brother Chris, who is also an actor, grew up in Millwood, a predominantly white middle-class suburban area. Prophetically, her parents put "Here she is: Miss America" on her birth announcement."
"Bellamy Young (born Amy Maria Young; February 19, 1970) is an American actress, singer and producer, best known for her role as President Melody "Mellie" Grant in the ABC drama series Scandal (2012–present). In 2014, for her portrayal of Mellie, Young won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Young was born as Amy Maria Young in Asheville, North Carolina, and raised by adoptive parents. Her mother was her teacher from sixth grade through eighth grade. She had to change her name to join the Screen Actors Guild since there was another Amy Young registered and chose the name Bellamy as a tribute to her late father's best friend, Bill, who had helped to raise her after her father died. She graduated from Asheville High School in 1987. She attended Yale University, majoring initially in Physics but ultimately studying English and Theatre, and graduated in 1991. Young spent a summer during college at the British American Drama Academy at Oxford University in England. Young was a regular cast member in the USA Network series Peacemakers in 2003. The show was cancelled after one season of nine episodes. She had recurring roles in the Lifetime legal drama series For the People as Deputy District Attorney Agnes Hunt in 2002; on NBC period drama American Dreams as Diane Shaw in 2003; on NBC's Scrubs as Dr. Grace Miller in 2004; as Assistant State Attorney Monica West on CBS's CSI: Miami and on ABC primetime soap opera Dirty Sexy Money as Ellen Darling, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Darling family. She also had a recurring role in Criminal Minds as Beth Clemmons from 2011 to 2013. In 2011 Shonda Rhimes cast Young in the recurring role of First Lady, then 2016 Republican Presidential nominee, Melody "Mellie" Grant on the ABC political thriller television series Scandal. Before Scandal, Young appeared in Shonda Rhimes' Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. She appeared in every episode of the first season of Scandal and was upgraded to a series regular as of season two. Young later said that originally her part was a minor role for the three episode recurring arc. Young has received critical acclaim for her performance as Melody Grant throughout her time on the show. On May 15, 2015, Young released her first album, Far Away So Close, on iTunes. The 10-song album covers songs from Pink to Fleetwood Mac. Young is a Feminist and a registered Democrat. Young is pro choice and in 2016, was one of seven actresses to campaign for "draw the line," which aims to draw the line against attacks on safe and legal abortion. Via social media, Young has stated she is in favour of gun control in the United States. Young is the honorary chair for the domestic violence nonprofit organization 'Helpmate' and has helped raise funds for victims of domestic violence. In 2015, Young won Celebrity Jeopardy! and as a result won $50,000 for Operation Blankets of Love–a charity which donates blankets to animals in shelters. At the 2015 GMHC AIDS Walk New York, Young gave a speech at the opening ceremony. As a Yale alumni, Young was given the opportunity to endow a scholarship to a student attending Yale each year, beginning in 2016. As a teenager, Young began to suffer from migraines and still suffers from them to this day. She became a partner with GlaxoSmithKline for Treximet, in 2015, to spread migraine awareness. Young partnered with Merck & Co., in November 2016, to help educate people on the importance of biomarker testing in non-small cell lung cancer–a cause dear to Young as her adopted father was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 1984 and died 10 months later. Young is close friends with ex-boyfriend Joshua Leonard whom she dated from 2000 to 2002. Young dated British actor Ed Weeks the two went public with their relationship at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Party. In an interview with Larry King in 2017, Young revealed that she had not wanted to get married until recent years and thinks being a wife would be a beautiful job. Young resides in Los Angeles and has 1 dog and 3 cats."
"Shneur Zalman of Liady (September 4, 1745–December 15, 1812) was an Orthodox rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, then based in Liadi in the Russian Empire. He was the author of many works, and is best known for Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Tanya and his Siddur Torah Or compiled according to the Nusach Ari. Shneur Zalman was born in 1745 in the small town of Liozna, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was the son of Baruch, great-grandson of the mystic and philosopher Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the "Maharal of Prague." He displayed extraordinary talent while still a child. By the time he was eight years old, he wrote an all-inclusive commentary on the Torah based on the works of Rashi, Nahmanides and Abraham ibn Ezra. Until the age of twelve, he studied under Issachar Ber in Lyubavichi; he distinguished himself as a Talmudist, such that his teacher sent him back home, informing his father that the boy could continue his studies without the aid of a teacher. At the age of twelve, he delivered a discourse concerning the complicated laws of Kiddush Hachodesh, to which the people of the town granted him the title "Rav" At age fifteen he married Sterna Segal, the daughter of Yehuda Leib Segal, a wealthy resident of Vitebsk, and he was then able to devote himself entirely to study. During these years, Shneur Zalman was introduced to mathematics, geometry and astronomy by two learned brothers, refugees from Bohemia, who had settled in Liozna. One of them was also a scholar of the Kabbalah. Thus, besides mastering rabbinic literature, he also acquired a fair knowledge of the sciences,philosophy, and Kabbalah. He became an adept in Isaac Luria's system of Kabbalah, and in 1764 he became a disciple of Dov Ber of Mezeritch. In 1767, at the age of 22, he was appointed maggid of Liozna, a position he held until 1801. Rabbi Shneur Zalman's sons were: Dovber Schneuri who eventually succeeded him, Chaim Avraham, and Moshe, who allegedly converted to Catholicism. Moshe's apostasy is negated by Chabad sources, but supported by Belarusian State archives in Minsk uncovered by historian Shaul Stampfer. Rabbi Shneur Zalman's daughters were named Freida, Devorah Leah and Rochel. Other families have lore telling that they are also descendants of the Alter Rebbe, but they are undocumented in existing family records of the Alter Rebbe's descendants. In 1797 following the death of the Gaon, leaders of the Vilna community falsely accused the Hasidim of subversive activities-on charges of supporting the Ottoman Empire, since Rabbi Shneur Zalman advocated sending charity to support Jews living in the Ottoman territory of Palestine. In 1798 he was arrested on suspicion of treason and brought to St. Petersburg where he was held in the Petropavlovski fortress for 53 days, at which time he was subjected to an examination by a secret commission. Ultimately he was released by order of Paul I of Russia. The Hebrew day of his acquittal and release, 19 Kislev, 5559 on the Hebrew calendar, is celebrated annually by Chabad Hasidim, who hold a festive meal and make communal pledges to learn the whole of the Talmud; this practice is known as "Chalukat HaShas." Rabbi Shneur Zalman was a prolific writer. He produced works of both mysticism and Jewish law. Chabad tradition recasts his Yiddish name "Shneur" as the two Hebrew words "Shnei Ohr" referring to Schneur Zalman's mastery of both the outer dimensions of Talmudic Jewish study, and the inner dimensions of Jewish mysticism. His works form the cornerstone of Chabad philosophy. His ability to explain even the most complex issues of Torah made his writings popular with Torah scholars everywhere. Rabbi Shneur Zalman composed a number of Hassidic melodies. Some accompany certain prayers, others are sung to Biblical verses or are melodies without words. Depending on the tune they are meant to arouse joy, spiritual ecstasy or teshuvah. One special melody, commonly referred to as The Alter Rebbe's Niggun or Dalet Bovos, is reserved by Chabad Hassidim for ushering a groom and bride to their wedding canopy and other select occasions. When Schneur Zalman died, many of his followers flocked to one of his top students, Rabbi Aharon HaLevi of Strashelye. He had been Shneur Zalman’s closest disciple for over thirty years. While many more became followers of Dovber Shneuri, known to his followers as the Mittler Rebbe, the Strashelye school of Chassidic thought was the subject of many of Dovber's discourses."
Source: Wikipedia.org | Friday, March 2, 2018, 11:59PM CDT "Jeanne Louise Calment (21 February 1875–4 August 1997) was a French super-centenarian and the oldest human whose age is well-documented, with a reputed lifespan of 122 years and 164 days. Her longevity attracted media attention and medical studies of her health and lifestyle. According to census records, Calment outlived both her daughter and grandson. In 1988, at age 112, she was widely reported to have been the oldest living person, and in 1995, at age 120, was declared the oldest person to have ever lived. During her life and after her death, medical researchers have taken many studies into her health and lifestyle, and how it may have affected her statistically anomalous age. Jeanne Louise Calment was born on 21 February 1875 in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence. Her father, Nicolas Calment (8 November 1837–28 January 1931), was a shipbuilder, and her mother, Marguerite Gilles (20 February 1838–18 September 1924), was from a family of millers. She had an older brother, François. Some of her close family members also lived an above-average lifespan: her brother lived to the age of 97, her father to 93, and her mother to 86. From the age of seven until her first communion, she attended Mrs Benet's church primary school in Arles, and then the local collège, finishing at 16 with the brevet classique diploma (O-level). Asked about her daily routine while at primary school, she replied that "when you are young, you get up at eight o'clock." In lieu of a solid breakfast, she would have either coffee with milk, or hot chocolate, and at noon her father would pick her up from school to have lunch at home before she returned to school for the afternoon. In the following years, she continued to live with her parents, awaiting marriage, painting, and improving her piano skills. On 8 April 1896, at the age of 21, she married her double second cousin, Fernand Nicolas Calment. Their paternal grandfathers were brothers, and their paternal grandmothers were sisters. He had reportedly started courting her when she was 15, but she was "too young to be interested in boys." Fernand was heir to a drapery business located in a classic Provençal-style building in the center of Arles, and the couple moved into a spacious apartment above the family store. Jeanne employed servants and never had to work; she led a leisurely lifestyle within the upper society of Arles, pursuing hobbies such as fencing, cycling, tennis, swimming, roller-skating ("I fell flat on my face") playing the piano and making music with friends. In the summer, the couple would stay at Uriage for mountaineering on the glacier. ("Even at 16, I had good legs.") They also went hunting for rabbits and wild boars in the hills of Provence, using an "18mm rifle." Calment said she disliked shooting birds. She gave birth to her only child, a daughter named Yvonne Marie Nicolle Calment, on 19 January 1898. Yvonne married army officer Joseph Billot on 3 February 1926, and their only son, Frédéric, was born on 23 December of the same year. Yvonne Calment died of pleurisy on 19 January 1934, her 36th birthday, after which Jeanne raised Frédéric, although he lived with his father in the neighbouring apartment. World War II had little effect on Jeanne's life. She said that German soldiers slept in her rooms but "did not take anything away," so that she bore no grudge against them. In 1942, her husband Fernand died, aged 73, reportedly of cherry poisoning. By the 1954 census, she was still registered in the same apartment, together with her son-in-law, retired Colonel Billot, Yvonne's widower; the census documents list Jeanne as "mother" in 1954 and "widow" in 1962. Frédéric Billot lived next door with his wife Renée. Her brother François died in 1962, aged 97. Her son-in-law Joseph died in January 1963, and her grandson Frédéric died in an automobile accident in August of the same year. In 1965, aged 90 and with no heirs left, Calment signed a life estate contract on her apartment with notary public André-François Raffray, selling the property in exchange for a right of occupancy and a monthly revenue of 2,500 francs until her death. Raffray died in 1995, by which time Calment had received more than double the apartment's value from him, and his family had to continue making payments. Calment commented on the situation by saying, "in life, one sometimes makes bad deals." In 1985, she moved into a nursing home, having lived on her own until age 110. A documentary film about her life, entitled Beyond 120 Years with Jeanne Calment, was released in 1995. In 1986, Calment became the oldest living person in France at the age of 111. Her profile increased during the centennial of Vincent van Gogh's move to Arles, which occurred from February 1888 to April 1889 when she was 13–14 years old. Calment claimed to reporters that she had met Van Gogh at that time, introduced to him by her (future) husband in her uncle's shop. She remembered the meeting as a disappointment, and described him as ugly and "very disagreeable," adding that he "reeked of alcohol." She was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person when she was 112. At the age of 114, she briefly appeared in the 1990 documentary film Vincent and Me, walking outside and answering questions. Her profile further increased when Guinness named her the oldest person ever in 1995. Far exceeding any other verified human lifespan, Calment was widely reckoned the best-documented super-centenarian ever recorded. For example, she was listed in fourteen census records, beginning in 1876 as a one-year-old infant. After Calment's death, at 122 years and 164 days, 116-year-old Marie-Louise Meilleur became the oldest validated living person. Several claims to have surpassed Calment's age were made, but no such case was proven. For over two decades, Calment has held the status of the oldest-ever human being whose age was validated by modern standards. In 1994, the city of Arles inquired about Calment's personal documents, in order to contribute to the city archives. However, reportedly on Calment's instructions, her documents and family photographs were selectively burned by a distant family member, Josette Bigonnet, a cousin of her grandson. The verification of her age began in 1995 when she turned 120, and was conducted over a full year. She was asked questions about documented details concerning relatives, and about people and places from her early life, for instance teachers or maids. A great deal of emphasis was put on a series of documents from population censuses, in which Calment was named from 1876 to 1975. The family's membership in the local Catholic bourgeoisie helped researchers find corroborating chains of documentary evidence. Calment's father had been a member of the city council, and her husband owned a large drapery and clothing business. The family lived in two apartments located in the same building as the store, one for Calment, her husband and his mother, one for their daughter Yvonne, her husband and their child. Several house servants were registered in the premises as well. Calment's remarkable health presaged her later record. On television she stated "J'ai jamais été malade, jamais, jamais" (I have never been ill, never ever). At age 20, incipient cataracts were discovered when she suffered a major episode of conjunctivitis. She married at 21, and her husband's wealth allowed her to live without ever working. All her life she took care of her skin with olive oil and a puff of powder. At an unspecified time in her youth, she had suffered from migraines. Her husband introduced her to smoking, offering cigarettes or cigars after meals, but she did not smoke more. Calment continued smoking in her elderly years, until she was 117. At "retirement age" she broke her ankle, but before that had never suffered any major injuries. She continued cycling until her hundredth birthday. Around age 100, she fractured her leg, but recovered quickly and was able to walk again. After her brother, her son-in-law and her grandson died in 1962–63, Calment had no remaining family members. She lived on her own from age 88 until shortly before her 110th birthday, when she decided to move to a nursing home. Her move was precipitated by the winter of 1985 which froze the water pipes in her house (she never used heating in the winter) and caused frostbite to her hands. According to one of her doctors, she had been quite healthy until she moved to the nursing home, and only began showing signs of ageing during her stay. Calment died of unspecified causes on 4 August 1997 around 10 a.m. The New York Times quoted Robine as stating that she had been in good health, though almost blind and deaf, as recently as a month before her death."
Source: Wikipedia.org | Monday, February 22, 2021, 12:00 AM CDT | This person's profile was originally showcased on 12/3/2017 on Galleria 1. "This is a list of tables of the oldest people in the world in ordinal ranks. To avoid including false or unconfirmed claims of old age, names here are restricted to those people whose ages have been validated by an international body dealing in longevity research, such as the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) or Guinness World Records (GWR), and others who have otherwise been reliably sourced." |
"Jennifer Lopez," born "Jennifer Lynn Lopez" on Thursday, July 24, 1969, is an American actress, dancer, entrepreneur, fashion designer, film producer, philanthropist, recording artist and spokeswoman. Jennifer was born in the Castle Hill neighborhood of The Bronx, New York. The middle child of Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodriguez and David Lopez, she has an elder sister, Leslie, and a younger sister, Lynda. David worked the night shift at the Guardian Insurance Company, before becoming a computer technician at the firm, while Guadalupe was a homemaker. When Lopez was born, the family was living in a small apartment. A few years later, her parents had saved up enough money to be able to purchase a two-story house, which was considered a big deal for the relatively poor family. At the age of five, Lopez began taking singing and dancing lessons. She toured New York with her school when she was seven years old. Her parents stressed the importance of work ethic and being able to speak English. They encouraged their three daughters to put on performances at home; singing and dancing in front of each other and their friends so that they would stay "out of trouble." While attending her final year of high school, Lopez learned about a film casting that was seeking several teenage girls for small roles. She auditioned and was cast in My Little Girl, a low-budget film co-written and directed by Connie Kaiserman. Lopez acted as Myra, a young woman at a center for troubled girls. After she finished filming her role in the film, Lopez realized that she wanted to become a "famous movie star." Following her break-up with Affleck in January 2004, Lopez began dating longtime friend Marc Anthony, real name, Marco Antonio Muñiz. The couple wed that June and lived in Brookville, New York. Lopez, who is a Roman Catholic, has stated that her faith discouraged her from pursuing in vitro fertilization treatment while trying to get pregnant. Lopez gave birth to a son, Maximilian David, and a daughter, Emme Maribel, in Long Island, New York, on February 22, 2008. The twins were introduced in the March 11, 2008, issue of People, for which the magazine paid a reported $6 million; the photographs of the twins became the most expensive celebrity picture ever taken at the time. Three years later in July 2011, the couple announced their split, with Anthony filing for divorce in April 2012. Their divorce was finalized on June 16, 2014, with Lopez retaining primary physical custody of the two children. On December 31, 2014, she legally changed her name back to Jennifer Lopez, dropping Anthony's last name Muñiz. In October 2011, Lopez began dating her former backup dancer Casper Smart. They temporarily split in June 2014, but reconciled several months later. The couple ended their relationship again in August 2016. Lopez endorsed President Barack Obama's 2012 presidential campaign, speaking in television advertisements and attending a fundraising event for Obama in Paris. She endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016, headlining a free concert in Florida in support of her that October; she urged Latinos in particular to vote for Clinton. Lopez had an on-off relationship with her former backup dancer Casper Smart from October 2011 to August 2016.She dated New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez from February 2017 to early 2021. They became engaged in March 2019 but postponed their wedding twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to tabloid speculation about the state of their relationship, they released a statement in March 2021, saying they were "working through some things." They announced the end of their relationship in April 2021. In April 2021, Lopez and Affleck were reported to be dating again, with Lopez publicly confirming their rekindled relationship that July. In the years after their breakup, they had remained in contact and spok[e] highly of each other in the press. Both Affleck and Lopez have spoken of the gift of a second chance with each other since reuniting. On April 8, 2022, Lopez announced their second engagement, 20 years after the first proposal. They were married in Las Vegas on July 16, 2022. The following month, they held a wedding celebration for family and friends."
"George Alexander Trebek July 22, 1940–November 8, 2020) was a Canadian-American game show host and television personality. He was the host of the syndicated game show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons from its revival in 1984 until his death in 2020. He also hosted a number of other game shows, including The Wizard of Odds, Double Dare, High Rollers, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, and To Tell the Truth. Trebek also made appearances in numerous television series, in which he usually played himself. A native of Canada, Trebek became a naturalized United States citizen in 1998. He received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host seven times for his work on Jeopardy!. He died on November 8, 2020 at age 80 after a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He had been contracted to host Jeopardy! until 2022. Trebek was born in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, on July 22, 1940, the son of George Edward Trebek, a chef who had emigrated from Ukraine as a child, and Lucille Marie Lagacé (born April 14, 1921), a Franco-Ontarian. Trebek also had roots in Renfrew County, Ontario where his grandmother on his mother's side was born in Mount St. Patrick near Renfrew. He grew up in a bilingual French-English household. Trebek's first job was when he was 13; he was a bellhop at the hotel where his father worked as a chef. Trebek attended Sudbury High School (now Sudbury Secondary School) and then attended the University of Ottawa. Trebek graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in philosophy in 1961. While a university student, he was a member of the English Debating Society. At the time, he was interested in a career in broadcast news. Trebek married broadcaster Elaine Callei in 1974. The couple had no children although Trebek adopted Callei's daughter Nicky; they divorced in 1981. In 1990, he married Jean Currivan, a real estate project manager from New York. They had two children, Matthew and Emily. In 1996, Trebek ran the Olympic torch in Jacksonville, Florida, through a leg of its journey to Atlanta. He became anaturalized citizen of the United States in 1998. In late 2001 during Jeopardy!'s 18th season, Trebek shaved the mustache that he had worn for over 30 years. He wore a fake mustache for the first half of the April 1, 2008, episode as an April Fools' joke. In summer 2014, Trebek regrew the mustache for the 31st season of Jeopardy!, only to shave it off again a month into the season. Trebek grew out a full beard at the beginning of the 2018 season, shaving it down to a goatee for the second episode and a mustache by the second week, and the next day was clean-shaven again. On January 30, 2004, Trebek escaped major injury after falling asleep behind the wheel of his pickup truck while driving alone on a rural road in the Central Coast town of Templeton, California, returning from a family home in Lake Nacimiento. The truck sideswiped a string of mailboxes, flew 45 feet over an embankment, and came to rest against a utility pole in a ditch. Trebek was not cited for the accident and returned to work taping Jeopardy! four days later. Trebek owned and managed a 700-acre (283 ha) ranch near Paso Robles in Creston, California, known as Creston Farms, where he bred and trained thoroughbred racehorses. His colt Reba's Gold is the stakes-winning son of Slew o' Gold. Trebek sold the operation in 2008 and the property is now an event center called Windfall Farms. In a 2018 interview with Vulture, Trebek said he was a political moderate and registered independent, neither conservative nor liberal, with some libertarian leanings. Trebek stated he believed in God as a Christian. During a 2018 gubernatorial debate, he said he was raised Catholic during his childhood and adolescence. On March 6, 2019, Trebek announced that he had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. He had been experiencing a persistent stomach ache before the diagnosis but did not recognize it as a symptom of the disease. In a prepared video announcement of the diagnosis, Trebek noted that his prognosis was poor but said that he would aggressively fight the cancer in hopes of beating the odds and would continue hosting Jeopardy! for as long as he was able, joking that his contract obligated him to do so for three more years. Trebek updated the situation in May 2019, stating that he was responding exceptionally well to treatment and that some of the tumors had shrunk to half their previously observed size; he credited the prayers and well wishes of his fans for the better-than-usual results and planned to undergo several more rounds of chemotherapy. Trebek finished that round of chemotherapy treatments in time to resume taping of the show in August 2019. Follow-up immunotherapy was ineffective, and Trebek resumed chemotherapy in September. In March 2020, Trebek announced he had survived one year of cancer treatment (noting that his prognosis had given him only an 18% chance to survive that long) and that, though the chemotherapy treatments were often worse than the cancer symptoms themselves, he was confident that he would survive another year, saying that ending treatment would be a "betrayal" to his family, supporters, and to the God in whom he has faith.[96] As a precautionary measure, Jeopardy! was to tape episodes without a studio audience, as protection from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; Trebek, because of both his age and his condition, was particularly at risk of death from the particular strain of coronavirus circulating.[97] Soon afterward, production of the show was suspended altogether.[98] The show resumed taping in August, in time for the season 37 premiere. On July 16, 2020, Trebek gave an update regarding his cancer. He said that, while he still felt fatigued, the chemotherapy was "paying off." He also stated that he was looking forward to taping again. On July 21, 2020, he published his memoir The Answer Is...: Reflections on My Life. Trebek underwent surgery related to his cancer treatment in October. He returned to the show two weeks after the surgery, but was unable to handle his full workload because of pain from the surgery and had to split his usual five-episode taping session over two days; these five episodes would be his last. He taped his final episode on October 29, 2020. Trebek died at his home in Los Angeles on November 8, 2020, at the age of 80, after more than 18 months fighting pancreatic cancer. His remains were cremated and given to his wife."
Source: Wikipedia.org | FindAGrave.com | Thursday, December 24, 2020, 11:59 PM CDT "William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (February 23, 1868–August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, and editor. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relatively tolerant and integrated community. After completing graduate work at the University of Berlin and Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate, he became a professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University. Du Bois was one of the co-founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909. Racism was the main target of Du Bois's polemics, and he strongly protested against lynching, Jim Crow laws, and discrimination in education and employment. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to Alfred and Mary Silvina Burghardt Du Bois. Mary Silvina Burghardt's family was part of the very small free black population of Great Barrington and had long owned land in the state. She was descended from Dutch, African and English ancestors. William Du Bois's paternal great-grandfather was James Du Bois of Poughkeepsie, New York, an ethnic French-American who fathered several children with slave mistresses. One of James' mixed-race sons was Alexander. He traveled and worked in Haiti, where he fathered a son, Alfred, with a mistress. Alexander returned to Connecticut, leaving Alfred in Haiti with his mother. The 1910s were a productive time for Du Bois. In 1911 he attended the First Universal Races Congress in London and he published his first novel, The Quest of the Silver Fleece. Two years later, Du Bois wrote, produced, and directed a pageant for the stage, The Star of Ethiopia. In 1915, Du Bois published The Negro, a general history of black Africans, and the first of its kind in English. The book rebutted claims of African inferiority, and would come to serve as the basis of much Afro centric historiography in the 20th century. The Negro predicted unity and solidarity for colored people around the world, and it influenced many who supported the Pan-African movement. Du Bois was organized and disciplined: His lifelong regimen was to rise at 7:15, work until 5, eat dinner and read a newspaper until 7, then read or socialize until he was in bed, invariably before 10. He was a meticulous planner, and frequently mapped out his schedules and goals on large pieces of graph paper. Many acquaintances found him to be distant and aloof, and he insisted on being addressed as "Dr. Du Bois." Du Bois was something of a dandy, he dressed formally, carried a walking stick, and walked with an air of confidence and dignity. He was relatively short 5 feet 5.5 inches and always maintained a well-groomed mustache and goatee. He was a good singer and enjoyed playing tennis. Du Bois was married twice, first to Nina Gomer, with whom he had two children, a son Burghardt who died as an infant and a daughter Yolande, who married Countee Cullen. As a widower, he married Shirley Graham, an author, playwright, composer and activist. She brought her son David Graham to the marriage. David grew close to Du Bois and took his stepfather's name; he also worked for African American causes. When asked to lead public prayers, Du Bois would refuse. In his autobiography, Du Bois wrote, "When I became head of a department at Atlanta, the engagement was held up because again I balked at leading in prayer. I flatly refused again to join any church or sign any church creed. I think the greatest gift of the Soviet Union to modern civilization was the dethronement of the clergy and the refusal to let religion be taught in the public schools." Du Bois accused American churches of being the most discriminatory of all institutions. He also provocatively linked African-American Christianity to indigenous African religions. Du Bois occasionally acknowledged the beneficial role religion played in African American life–as the "basic rock" which served as an anchor for African American communities–but in general disparaged African American churches and clergy because he felt they did not support the goals of racial equality and hindered activists' efforts. Although Du Bois was not personally religious, he infused his writings with religious symbology, and many contemporaries viewed him as a prophet. His 1904 prose poem, "Credo," was written in the style of a religious creed and widely read by the African-American community."
"Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 or January 6, 1705–April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A renowned polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, free-mason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions. He facilitated many civic organizations, including Philadelphia's fire department and a university. Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, first as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation. Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. He played a major role in establishing the University of Pennsylvania and was elected the first president of the American Philosophical Society. Franklin became a national hero in America when as agent for several colonies he spearheaded the effort to have Parliament in London repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations. His efforts to secure support for the American Revolution by shipments of crucial munitions proved vital for the American war effort. For many years he was the British postmaster for the colonies, which enabled him to set up the first national communications network. He was active in community affairs, colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. From 1785 to 1788, he served as governor of Pennsylvania. Toward the end of his life, he freed his own slaves and became one of the most prominent abolitionists. His colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored on coinage and the $100 bill; warships; the names of many towns; counties; educational institutions; corporations; and, more than two centuries after his death, countless cultural references. During Franklin's lifetime slaves were numerous in Philadelphia. In 1750, half the persons in Philadelphia who had established probate estates owned slaves. Dock workers in the city consisted of 15% slaves. Franklin owned as many as seven slaves, two males of whom worked in his household and his shop. Franklin posted paid ads for the sale of slaves and for the capture of runaway slaves and allowed the sale of slaves in his general store. Franklin profited from both the international and domestic slave trade, even criticizing slaves who had run off to join the British Army during the colonial wars of the 1740s and 1750s. Franklin, however, later became a "cautious abolitionist" and became an outspoken critic of landed gentry slavery. In 1758, Franklin advocated the opening of a school for the education of black slaves in Philadelphia. After returning from England in 1762, Franklin became more anti-slavery, in his view believing that the institution promoted black degradation rather than the idea blacks were inherently inferior. By 1770, Franklin had freed his slaves and attacked the system of slavery and the international slave trade. Franklin, however, refused to publicly debate the issue of slavery at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Franklin tended to take both sides of the issue of slavery, never fully divesting himself from the institution."
"Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936–January 25, 2017) was an American actress, known for her roles in the television sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show in which she starred as Mary Richards, a single woman working as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and The Dick Van Dyke Show, in which she played Laura Petrie, a former dancer turned Westchester homemaker, wife and mother. Her film work includes 1967's Thoroughly Modern Millie and 1980's Ordinary People, in which she played a role that was very different from the television characters she had portrayed, and for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Due to her roles on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show, in which her characters often broke from stereotypical images of women and pushed gender norms, Moore became a cultural icon and served as an inspiration for many younger actresses, professional women, and feminists. She was later active in charity work and various political causes, particularly the issues of animal rights and diabetes. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes early in the run of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She also suffered from alcoholism, which she wrote about in her first of two memoirs. In May 2011, Moore underwent elective brain surgery to remove a benign meningioma. Moore was born in Brooklyn, New York, to George Tyler Moore, a clerk, and his wife Marjorie Hackett. Moore was the oldest of three children, her siblings were John and Elizabeth. Moore's family lived on Ocean Parkway in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. Her paternal great-grandfather, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Tilghman Moore, owned the house which is now the Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters Museum in Winchester, Virginia. When she was eight years old, Moore's family moved to Los Angeles. She was raised Catholic and attended St. Rose of Lima Parochial School in Brooklyn until the third grade. She then attended Saint Ambrose School in Los Angeles, followed by Immaculate Heart High School in Los Feliz, California. Moore's sister, Elizabeth, died at age 21 "from a combination of painkillers and alcohol" while her brother died at age 47 from kidney cancer. At age 18 in 1955, Moore married Richard Carleton Meeker, whom she described as "the boy next door" and within six weeks she was pregnant with her only child, Richard Jr. Meeker and Moore divorced in 1961. Moore married Grant Tinker, a CBS executive in 1962, and in 1970 they formed the television production company MTM Enterprises, which created and produced the company's first television series, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Moore and Tinker divorced in 1981. On October 14, 1980, at the age of 24, Moore's son Richard died of an accidental gunshot to the head while handling a sawed-off shotgun. The model was later taken off the market because of its "hair trigger." Moore married Robert Levine on November 23, 1983, at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. They met when her mother was treated by him in New York City on a weekend house call, after Moore and her mother returned from a visit to the Vatican where they had had a personal audience with Pope John Paul II. Moore was diagnosed with Type I diabetes when she was 33. In 2011, she had surgery to remove a meningioma, a benign brain tumor. In 2014, friends reported that she had heart and kidney problems and was nearly blind. Moore died at the age of 80 on January 25, 2017, at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut from cardiopulmonary arrest complicated by pneumonia after having been placed on a respirator the previous week. In addition to her acting work, Moore was the International Chairman of JDRF. In this role, she used her celebrity to help raise funds and awareness of diabetes mellitus type 1. Moore received a total of six Emmy Awards. On Broadway, Moore received a special Tony Award for her performance in "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" Also in 1980, Moore was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, as well. In 1986, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. In 1987, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy from the American Comedy Awards. Moore's contributions to the television industry were recognized in 1992 with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame."
"Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794–January 4, 1877) also known informally as "Commodore Vanderbilt," was an American business magnate and philanthropist who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. Born poor and having but a mediocre education, he used perseverance, intelligence and luck to work into leadership positions in the inland water trade, and invest in the rapidly growing railroad industry. He is best known for building the New York Central Railroad. As one of the richest Americans in history and wealthiest figures overall, Vanderbilt was the patriarch of a wealthy, influential family. He provided the initial gift to found Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Cornelius Vanderbilt was born in Staten Island, New York on May 27, 1794 to Cornelius van Derbilt and Phebe Hand. He began working on his father's ferry in New York Harbor as a boy, quitting school at the age of 11. At the age of 16, Vanderbilt decided to start his own ferry service. According to one version of events, he borrowed $100 from his mother to purchase a periauger, a shallow draft, two-masted sailing vessel, which he christened the Swiftsure. However, according to the first account of his life, published in 1853, the periauger belonged to his father and the younger Vanderbilt received half the profit. He began his business by ferrying freight and passengers between Staten Island and Manhattan. Such was his energy and eagerness in his trade that other captains nearby took to calling him The Commodore in jest - a nickname that stuck with him all his life. While many Vanderbilt family members had joined the Episcopal Church, Cornelius Vanderbilt remained a member of the Moravian Church to his death. In fact, he, along with other members of the Vanderbilt family, helped erect a local Moravian parish church in his city. On December 19, 1813, at age 19 Vanderbilt married his first cousin, Sophia Johnson, daughter of Nathaniel Johnson and Elizabeth Hand. They moved into a boarding house on Broad Street in Manhattan. They had 13 children together. In addition to running his ferry, Vanderbilt bought his brother-in-law John De Forest's schooner Charlotte and traded in food and merchandise in partnership with his father and others. But on November 24, 1817, a ferry entrepreneur named Thomas Gibbons asked Vanderbilt to captain his steamboat between New Jersey and New York. Although Vanderbilt kept his own businesses running, he became Gibbons's business manager. After Thomas Gibbons died in 1826, Vanderbilt worked for Gibbons' son William until 1829. Though he had always run his own businesses on the side, he now worked entirely for himself. Step by step, he started lines between New York and the surrounding region. On November 8, 1833, Vanderbilt was nearly killed in the Hightstown rail accident on the Camden and Amboy Railroad in New Jersey. Also on the train was former president John Quincy Adams. When the Civil War began in 1861, Vanderbilt attempted to donate his largest steamship, the Vanderbilt, to the Union Navy. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles refused it, thinking its operation and maintenance too expensive for what he expected to be a short war. Vanderbilt had little choice but to lease it to the War Department, at prices set by ship brokers. Vanderbilt also paid to outfit a major expedition to New Orleans. He suffered a grievous loss when George Washington Vanderbilt I, his youngest and favorite son, and heir apparent, a graduate of the United States Military Academy, fell ill and died without ever seeing combat. Following his wife Sophia's death in 1868, Vanderbilt went to Canada. On August 21, 1869, in London, Ontario, he married a cousin from Mobile, Alabama with the unusual name for a woman of Frank Armstrong Crawford. Frank was 45 years younger than her husband. Her cousin's husband, Holland Nimmons McTyeire, convinced Vanderbilt to endow what would become Vanderbilt University, named in his honor. Vanderbilt gave$1 million, the largest charitable gift in American history to that date. He also bought a church for $50,000 for his second wife's congregation, the Church of the Strangers. In addition, he donated to churches around New York, including a gift to the Moravian Churchon Staten Island of 8½ acres for a cemetery, the Moravian Cemetery. He chose to be buried there. Cornelius Vanderbilt died on January 4, 1877, at his residence, No. 10 Washington Place, after having been confined to his rooms for about eight months. The immediate cause of his death was exhaustion, brought on by long suffering from a complication of chronic disorders. At the time of his death, aged 82, Vanderbilt had a fortune estimated at $100 million. In his will, he left 95% of his $100 million estate to his son William and to William's four sons. The Commodore said that he believed William was the only heir capable of maintaining the business empire. Cornelius Vanderbilt was buried in the family vault in the Moravian Cemetery at New Dorp on Staten Island. He was later reburied in a tomb in the same cemetery constructed by his son Billy. Three of his daughters and son, Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt, contested the will on the grounds that their father was of unsound mind and under the influence of his son Billy and of spiritualists whom he consulted on a regular basis. The court battle lasted more than a year and was ultimately won outright by Billy, who increased the bequests to his siblings and paid their legal fees. A living descendant is his great-great-granddaughter Gloria Vanderbilt, a renowned fashion designer. Her youngest son is Anderson Cooper, a television news anchor. Through Billy's daughter Emily Thorn Vanderbilt, another descendant is actorTimothy Olyphant."
"George Ervin Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician who is the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture, in office since 2017. Perdue previously served as the 81st Governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011. Upon his inauguration as Governor on January 13, 2003, he became the first Republican Governor of Georgia since Reconstruction. Perdue currently serves on the Governors’ Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, DC, and is Secretary of Agriculture in the Cabinet of Donald Trump. Perdue is only the second Secretary of Agriculture from the Deep South. The first was Mike Espy of Mississippi, who served under President Bill Clinton from January 1993 to December 1994. On January 18, 2017, Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be Secretary of Agriculture. His nomination was transmitted to the Senate on March 9, 2017. His nomination was approved by the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on March 30, by a 19-1 voice vote and by the entire Senate in a vote of 87-11 on April 24. Perdue was born in Perry, Georgia, the son of Ophie Viola Holt, a teacher, and George Ervin Perdue Jr., a farmer. He grew up and still lives in Bonaire, an unincorporated area between Perry and Warner Robins. Perdue has been known as Sonny since childhood and prefers to be called by that name; he was sworn in and signs official documents as "Sonny Perdue." Perdue is the first cousin of U. S. Senator David Perdue. Perdue played quarterback at Warner Robins High School and was a walk-on at the University of Georgia, where he was also a member of the Beta-Lambda chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. In 1971, Perdue earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and worked as a veterinarian before becoming a small business owner, eventually starting three small businesses. Perdue is not related to the family that owns and operates Perdue Farms. Perdue served in the U. S. Air Force, rising to the rank of captain before his discharge. In December 2001, Perdue resigned as State Senator and devoted himself entirely to running for the office of Governor. He won the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial election, defeating Democratic incumbent Roy Barnes, 51% to 46%, with Libertarian candidate Garrett Michael Hayes taking 2% of the vote. He became the first Republican governor of Georgia in over 130 years since Benjamin F. Conley. In 2006, Perdue was re-elected to a second term in the 2006 Georgia gubernatorial election, winning nearly 58% of the vote. His Democratic opponent was Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor. Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes was also on the ballot. On November 13, 2007, while Georgia suffered from one of the worst droughts in several decades, Perdue led a group of several hundred people in a prayer on the steps of the state Capitol. Perdue addressed the crowd, saying "We’ve come together here simply for one reason and one reason only: To very reverently and respectfully pray up a storm" and "God, we need you; we need rain." On January 18, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Perdue to be United States Secretary of Agriculture. The Senate committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry overwhelmingly approved his nomination on March 30, with a 19-1 vote. The sole vote against him came from Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Senator David Perdue (R-GA) abstained, as he is the nominee's first cousin. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 24, and sworn in by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. Perdue and his wife, Mary Ruff were married in 1972 after dating for four years. They have four children, Leigh, Lara, Jim, and Dan, fourteen grandchildren (six boys and eight girls), and have also been foster parents for many children. Perdue lives in Bonaire, Georgia. Perdue is an avid sportsman. He enjoys flying and, in a 2003 incident, was accused of flying a state helicopter without a license. In 2006, Perdue's financial disclosure forms revealed that he had a net worth of approximately $6 million and received compensation of $700,000 that year."
"Li Ching-Yuen or Li Ching-Yun (died 6 May 1933) was a Chinese herbalist, martial artist and tactical advisor, known for his supposed extreme longevity. He claimed to be born in 1736, while disputed records suggest 1677. Both claimed lifespans, of 197 and 256 years, far exceed the longest confirmed life span of 122 years and 164 days of French woman Jeanne Calment. His true date of birth was never determined and his claims have been dismissed by gerontologists as a myth. Li Ching-Yuen was born at an uncertain date in Qijiang Xian, Sichuan, Qing Empire. He spent most of his life in the mountains and was skilled in Qigong. He worked as an herbalist, selling lingzhi, goji berry, wild ginseng, he shou wu andgotu kola along with other Chinese herbs, and lived off a diet of these herbs and rice wine. It was generally accepted in Sichuan, that Li was fully literate as a child, and that by his tenth birthday had travelled to Gansu, Shanxi, Tibet, Vietnam, Thailand and Manchuria with the purpose of gathering herbs, continuing with this occupation for a century, before beginning to purvey instead herbs gathered by others. It was after this he relocated to Kai Xian and there Li supposedly, at 72 years of age, in 1749, joined the army of provincial Commander-in-Chief Yeuh Jong Chyi as a teacher of martial arts and as a tactical advisor. In 1927, the National Revolutionary Army General Yang Sen invited him to his residence in Wan Xian, Sichuan. The Chinese Warlord Wu Peifu took him into his home in an attempt to discover the secret of living 250 years. He died from natural causes on 6 May 1933 in Kai Xian, Sichuan, Republic of China and was survived by his 24th wife, a woman of 60 years. Li supposedly produced over 200 descendants during his lifespan, surviving 23 wives. Other sources credit him with 180 descendants, over 11 generations, living at the time of his death and 14 marriages. In Qijiang County, Sichuan province, in the year 1677 Li Qingyun was born. By age thirteen he had embarked upon a life of gathering herbs in the mountains with three elders. At age fifty-one, he served as a tactical and topography advisor in the army of General Yu Zhongqi. When seventy-eight he retired from his military career after fighting in a battle at Golden River, and returned to a life of gathering herbs on Snow Mountain in Sichuan province. Due to his military service in the army of General Yu Zhongqi, the imperial government sent a document congratulating Li on his one hundredth year of life, as was subsequently done on his 150th and 200th birthdays. Researchers have called his claim "fantastical" and also noted that his claimed age at death, 256 years, is a multiple of 8, which is considered good luck in China, and therefore is indicative of fabrication. Additionally, the connection of Li's claimed age to his spiritual practices has been pointed to as another reason for doubt; researchers perceived that "these types of myths [that certain philosophies or religious practices allow a person to live to extreme old age] are most common in the Far East."
Source: Wikipedia.org | Sunday, December 3, 2017, 2:00AM "Ludmya Bourdeau Love (born December 6, 1975) is an American politician, and representative-elect for Utah's 4th congressional district. She was the former mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah and was the 2012 Republican Party nominee for the United States House of Representatives in Utah's 4th congressional district. In 2012 she ran on a fiscally conservative platform of limited government and placed a heavy emphasis on personal responsibility during her campaign. She was also a speaker at the 2012 Republican National Convention. On May 18, 2013, Love said that she would run again in 2014. Love won the Republican nomination in the 4th Congressional district at the April 26th, 2014 Utah Republican convention. She won election to the House of Representatives on November 4, 2014, defeating Democratic opponent Doug Owens. Upon being sworn in as a member of the United States Congress, she will be the first Haitian American and first black female Republican ever elected to Congress. Love was born Ludmya Bourdeau on December 6, 1975, to Mary and Jean Maxine Bourdeau in Brooklyn, New York. Both of her parents emigrated fromHaiti in 1973, leaving their two children behind. According to Love, her birth occurred just before an immigration law would expire in 1976. Her father had been threatened by the Tonton Macoute, the secret police in Haiti, and came to the United States on a tourist visa. After the family moved to Norwalk, Connecticut, her parents brought her older siblings from Haiti. Love attended Norwalk High School. Love graduated from the University of Hartford with a degree in the performing arts. While at the University of Hartford she was part of the Hartt School's Music Theatre program. She worked at Sento Corp. and the Ecopass Corporation. She was also a flight attendant with Continental Airlines. Love won a seat on the Saratoga Springs City Council in 2003, becoming the first female Haitian-American elected official inUtah County, Utah; she took office in January 2004. After six years on the Council she was elected Mayor winning with 861 votes to 594 for her opponent Jeff Francom. Love served as Mayor of Saratoga Springs from January 2010-December 2013. Love was part of the city council that approved a transition from the agriculture tax to municipal tax. She also worked with other city council members to cut expenses, reducing the city’s shortfall during the economic downturn from $3.5 million to $779,000. Saratoga Springs now has the highest possible bond rating for a city of its size. Also during her time as mayor Love led the city through natural disasters of a wild fire and a mudslide shortly later."
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"Balaam's" "Ass" speaks?
"40 acres and a mule?"
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