William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 – 14 May 1219)
Wikipedia: 'William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 – 14 May 12190, also called William the Marshal (Guillaume le Maréchal), was an English soldier and statesman. He has been described as the 'greatest knight that ever lived' (Stephen Langton). He served five kings — Henry the Young King, Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, John and Henry III — and rose from obscurity to become one of the most powerful men in Europe. Before him, the hereditary title of 'Lord Marshal' designated a sort of head of household security for the king of England; by the time he died, when people in Europe (not just England) said, 'the Marshal,' they meant William."
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...am_Marshal.jpg
William Marshal at a joust unhorses Baldwin Guisnes. From the Historia Major of Matthew Paris,
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College Library, vol 2, p. 85.
It seems Marshal rose to prominence as a kind of international sports super star, a popular favourite with the crowds. He was the champion of mêlée tournaments, which were martial-arts (no pun intended) free-for-alls in which one took prisoners, seizing their weapons and armor and holding them for ransom. There was much money to be made by this kidnapping, and Marshal was patronized/sponsored by Kings.
The Beeb has a special tomorrow evening on the mêlée tournament. Their promo blurb:
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...figybbc203.jpg
BBC: Brutal reality of the tournament
(The face above is Marshal's funeral effigy.)
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Blaise Pascal - June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662
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Pascal at Wikipedia
"Blaise Pascal (pronounced [blɛːz paskal]), (June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father. Pascal's earliest work was in the natural and applied sciences where he made important contributions to the construction of mechanical calculators, the study of fluids, and clarified the concepts of pressure and vacuum by generalizing the work of Evangelista Torricelli. Pascal also wrote in defense of the scientific method.
Pascal was a mathematician of the first order. He helped create two major new areas of research. He wrote a significant treatise on the subject of projective geometry at the age of sixteen, and later corresponded with Pierre de Fermat on probability theory, strongly influencing the development of modern economics and social science.
Following a mystical experience in late 1654, he abandoned his scientific work and devoted himself to philosophy and theology. His two most famous works date from this period: the Lettres provinciales and the Pensées. Pascal suffered from ill health throughout his life and died two months after his 39th birthday."
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosphy: "'Pascal's Wager' is the name given to an argument due to Blaise Pascal for believing, or for at least taking steps to believe, in God."
Or for that matter in:
http://www.venganza.org/wp-content/u.../10/fsmrof.jpg
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
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Indian guru Maharishi YogMaharishi Yogi dies
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...2006ap203b.jpg
BBC: Indian guru Maharishi Yogi dies
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BBC Obituary: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Wikipedia: Maharishi Yogi
Wikipedia: Sexy Sadie
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
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Tara Singh Hayer, November 15, 1936–November 18, 1998
Tara Singh Hayer, O.B.C. (November 15, 1936–November 18, 1998) was a Sikh Canadian newspaper publisher and a murder victim.
Hayer was perhaps at one time a Sikh militant extremist. It can be documented that he supported the Punjabi separatist movement which seeks to create the independent state of Khalistan. It can also be demonstrated that he at one time ridiculed moderate voices against extremism. His past is complex.
However, it can be further documented that he became disillusioned with extremism and violence and that he chose to become a spokesperson for moderation and reason, a courageous choice that eventually cost him his life. He was threatened, and despite an assassination attempt that left him confined to a wheelchair, Hayer persisted in his opposition to the tyranny of violent extremism. He was eventually shot while trying to get out of his car and into his wheelchair.
There is now a Canadian journalism award named in his honour.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_Singh_Hayer
http://www.protocol.gov.bc.ca/protoc...995_THayer.jpg
Province of British Columbia
Other reading -- some tributes, some criticism:
http://www.globaljournalist.org/arch...er-20002q.html
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1525/15250430.htm
http://www.omnivore.org/jon/orwell/tara_singh_hayer.htm
http://www.straight.com/article/haye...-not-so-simple
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
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Norman Jeffrey Healey -- March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008
Bo Diddley (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008)
Richard William Wright - 28 July 1943 - 15 September 2008
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008)
First Known Chemical Warefare Victims?
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...300yaleuni.jpg
BBC: Ancient Persians first to use chemical warfare
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
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Davey Graham (26 November 1940–15 December 2008)
Wikipedia: Davey Graham (26 November 1940–15 December 2008)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ouiskillen.jpg
"David Michael Gordon Graham, known as Davey Graham (originally Davy Graham), was a British guitarist and one of the most influential figures in the 1960s folk music revolution in England. He inspired many of the famous practitioners of the fingerstyle acoustic guitar, such as Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, Paul Simon, Eltjo Haselhoff and even Jimmy Page...."
Le Cousins.co.uk: BBC R2 Documentary, Whatever Happened to Davy Graham? 2005
Offical Website: http://www.daveygraham.moonfruit.com/
It is impossible to overstate the importance of this man to comptemporary acoustic guitar playing.
I was unaware of his death until yesterday.
:sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
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Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
William and Caroline Hershel
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Herschel01.jpg
Wikipedia: William Herschel
"Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel (15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a Hanoverian astronomer, technical expert, and a composer. Early in his life Wilhelm followed his father into the Military Band of Hannover. Later, Herschel became most famous for the discovery of the planet Uranus in addition to several of its major moons such as Titania and Oberon. He also discovered infrared radiation. Finally, Herschel is lesser known for the twenty-four symphonies that he composed."
A very interesting life story.... musician turned scientist....
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Wikipedia: Caroline Herschel
"Caroline Lucretia Herschel (16 March 1750 – 9 January 1848) was a German astronomer, the sister of astronomer Sir Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel with whom she worked throughout both of their careers. Her most significant contribution to astronomy was the discovery of several comets and in particular the periodic comet 35P/Herschel-Rigollet, which bears her name. She was the fourth of six children."
Also a very interesting life story... largely overshadowed by her absolutely brilliant brother...
But....
She was one of the first women, if not the first, to be paid as a research scientist -- George III of England awarded her £50 a year, not an overly handsome sum of money but still an unbelievable amount to be paid to a woman for a year's work.
She was probably the first woman to have papers accepted by British royal scientific societies.
In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society presented her with their Gold Medal for her work - no woman would be awarded it again until Vera Rubin in 1996.
In 1835, along with Mary Somerville, she was elected to honorary membership of the Royal Astronomical Society; they were the first honorary women members. In 1838 she was also elected as a member of the Royal Irish Academy. In 1846 at the age of 96, she was awarded the Gold Medal for Science by the King of Prussia.
Her accomplishments may seem minor by comparison to male scientists of her day, but sometimes its not where you get to that measures accomplishment but rather where you get to in relationship to where you started from. Measuring her from her starting point of social disadvantage (a working class, immigrant, woman), we find that she is a giant among her contemporaries.
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
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Jerome David Salinger January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/arts/ph...rec-cp-584.jpg
CBC: The last rebel
"J.D. Salinger did the unthinkable – he refused to play the fame game"
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._D._Salinger
BBC Obituary: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3786891.stm
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
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John Babcock, 1900-2010 - Canada's last First World War Soldier
John Babcock, 1900-2010 - Canada's last First World War Soldier
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/re...ock-cp-392.jpg
CBC Obituary: John Babcock, 1900-2010 - Canada's last First World War Soldier
A so called "tin soldier."
He lied about his age so that he could enlist. He got caught out after enlistment and spent his time in training camp in the UK. Peace came close enough to his 18th birthday that he never saw combat duty. I guess eighteen was the age at which society could, with good conscience, send one off to become fertilizer for some Frenchman's or Belgian's field.
He immigrated to the US in the 1920's. So while not having been an American soldier, he is probably one of the last Americans to have been a first world war soldier.
That he never saw combat is no reflection on his courage or determination. He deserves his moment of silence.
Sadly, The War to End All Wars slips ever closer to being a text book entry completely divorced from the meaningful grounding of living memory.
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