Births which
occurred on a May 15:
1990
New Cray supercomputer ^top^
Cray Research introduces a new,
cheaper supercomputer. The machine, priced at about $2.2 million,
was considerably cheaper than Cray's other computers, priced between
$5 million and $23 million. Cray Research was founded by Seymour Cray,
whose work for UNIVAC, Remington Rand, and Control Data Corporation
helped develop the modern computer. The supercomputer developed in
1963 under his watch at Control Data Corporation was far faster than
existing mainframes: The military used the machine to simulate nuclear
explosions and break codes. In 1972, Cray founded Cray Research, which
became a leader in high-end machines. In addition to military purposes,
these machines were used to model hurricanes and the formation of
galaxies. In 1989, Cray spun off Cray Computer Corporation to make
even faster and more powerful computers. |
1942
the Women's Army Corps ^top^
A bill becomes law, which creates
the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAACs) and grants women official
military status.
In May 1941,
Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts, the first congresswoman
ever from New England, introduced legislation that would enable women
to serve in the Army in noncombat positions. Rogers was well suited
for such a task; during her husband John J. Rogers' term as congressman,
she was active as a volunteer for the Red Cross, the Women's Overseas
League, and military hospitals. Because of her work inspecting field
and base hospitals, President Warren G. Harding, in 1922, appointed
her as his personal representative for inspections and visits to veterans'
hospitals throughout the country. She was eventually appointed to
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, as chairwoman in the 80th and
83rd Congresses.
The bill to
create a Women's Auxiliary Army Corps would not be passed into law
for a year after it was introduced (the bombing of Pearl Harbor was
a great incentive). But finally, the WAACs gained official status
and salary — but still not all the benefits accorded to men.
Thousands of women enlisted in light of this new legislation, and
in July 1942, the "auxiliary" was dropped from the name, and the Women's
Army Corps, or WACs, received full Army benefits in keeping with their
male counterparts.
The WACs performed
a wide variety of jobs, "releasing a man for combat," as the Army,
sensitive to public misgivings about women in the military, touted.
But those jobs ranged from clerk to radio operator, electrician to
air-traffic controller. Women served in virtually every theater of
engagement, from North Africa to Asia.
It would take until 1978 before the Army would become sexually integrated
(though still barring women from combat), and women participating
as merely an "auxiliary arm" in the military would be history. And
it would not be until 1980 that 16'000 women who had joined the earlier
WAACs would receive veterans' benefits. |
1939 Brian
Hartley, English mathematician whose main topic was that of
locally finite groups; he used his wide knowledge of finite groups in proving
properties of infinite groups which were in a sense close to finite. There
is a mountain in the Lake District of England that he always wanted to climb
and he decided to try it “before he got too old”. He was not
too old to make to the top but he was too old to avoid collapsing on the
way down and dying on 08 October 1994.
1936 Paul Zindel,
Playwright.
1931 Pierre Lagaillarde, fondera l'Organisation
de l'Armée Secrète en février 1961. Se réfugiera en Espagne.
1926
Anthony Shaffer, playwright ("Sleuth")
1926 Peter
Shaffer, Playwright ("Amadeus")
1923 Richard Avedon,
US, photographer (1957 ASMP award)
1922 Adil Carcani,
en Fushe-Bardha, Albania, será primer ministro de Albania (1982–).
1915 Paul A Samuelson economist (1970 Nobel, 1947 John
Bates Clark Medal)
1910 Robert F Wagner (Mayor-D-NYC,
1949-65)
1902 Richard Daley (Mayor-D-Chic)
 1890
Callie Porter, later known as writer Katherine
Anne Porter, in Indian Creek, Texas..
^top^
Porter
grew up in poverty. Before she turned two, her mother died and her
father moved in with his mother. Porter's grandmother, Catherine Anne
Porter, provided love and support, and Porter later changed her first
name to echo her grandmother's. Her grandmother died in 1901, and
Porter was sent to convent school in New Orleans and later attended
school in San Antonio.
At age
16, she married the 27-year-old son of a rancher, but the marriage
was a failure. In 1911, Porter left for Chicago, where she worked
as a reporter. She later spent two years traveling around Texas as
a ballad singer and in 1918 became a reporter for the Rocky Mountain
News in Denver. In 1918, Porter became deathly ill. After her recovery,
she traveled to Mexico, where she spent most of her time for several
years.
Her first published work
of fiction, the short story María Concepción
(1922), received almost immediate appreciation from critics. In 1925,
she married again but soon divorced. Her collection Flowering
Judas and Other Stories (1930) was a critical success and helped
her win a Guggenheim Fellowship to support her writing.
From 1931 to 1937, she lived in Europe, married and divorced a third
time, then married again in 1938. That year, she returned to the US
with her fourth husband and settled in Baton Rouge. In the 1940s,
she wrote film scripts and lectured at universities.
During her lifetime, she published only 25 stories and one novel,
Ship of Fools, which took her more than two decades to complete.
While her work was not abundant, almost all of it was critically acclaimed.
She died in 1980 in Maryland. [click
image for painting Ship of Fools, by Hieronymus Bosch >]
Katherine Anne Porter's novel Ship
of Fools (1962) uses the metaphor of the ship Vera to
represent the entire world as it drifts into World War II. Her note
at the start of the novel states: "The title of this book is a translation
from the German of Das Narrenschiff, a moral allegory by
Sebastian
Brant first published in Latin as Stultifera Navis in
1494. I read it in Basel in the summer of 1932 when I had still vividly
in mind the impressions of my first voyage to Europe. When I began
thinking about my novel, I took for my own this simple almost universal
image of the ship of this world on its voyage to eternity. It is by
no means new — it was very old and durable and dearly familiar
when Brant used it; and it suits my purpose exactly. I am a passenger
on that ship.."
Sebastian Brant,
1457–1521, German humanist and moralist. He taught law at the Univ.
of Basel and in 1503 became town clerk of Strasbourg. His verse allegory
Das Narrenschiff [ship of fools] (1494) became world famous.
Illustrated with woodcuts, it went through six editions in Brant's
lifetime alone. The story tells of 112 fools—each representing a fashionable
foible—who sail out to sea and die because of their folly. An English
translation by Alexander Barclay appeared in 1509. See verse translation
(with the woodcuts) by E. H. Zeydel (1944). The poem inspired the
novel Ship of Fools (1962) by Katherine Anne Porter. |
1864 Wilhelm Hammershøi, Copenhagen painter who
died on 13 February 1916. — MORE
ON HAMMERSHØI AT ART “4” MAY
— Self
Portrait — The
painter and his wife — The painter's sister
— InWeiße
Türen/Offene Türen — Intérieur
— Gentofter
See — Fredriksborg Castle
— Interior
— The British Museum
— Specks
of Dust in the Sun's Rays — Ida
Isted — Amalienborg
Square — The
Music Room — Nude
— The
four rooms — Interior
— Interiør,
Strandgarde 30, med ung kvinde set fra ryggen — Study
(Baker shop)
1862 US Department of Agriculture
created
1859 Pierre Curie France, physicist (Nobel
1903)
1856 Lyman
Frank Baum children's book author (The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz), in Chittenango, New York.
L. Frank Baum wrote 14
Oz books. He died on 5 May 1919, leaving Glinda of Oz
unfinished. It was finished and published in 1920. Ruth
Plumly Thompson took over the job of writing Oz books after Baum's
death.
Lyman Frank Baum was born
on 15 May 1856 in Chittennango, NY. His first book Mother Goose in
Prose was published in 1897 with illustrations by famous artist Maxfield
Parrish. In 1900, the first Oz book was published, The Wonderful Wizard
of Oz. For the rest of his life, Baum wrote children's books - so
many that he used aliases such as Captain Hugh Fitzgerald, Edith Van
Dyne, Floyd Akers, George Brooks, John Estes Cooke, Laura Bancroft,
Louis F. Baum, Schuyler Stanton, and Suzanne Metcalf. Under these
names, he also had success; As Floyd Akers, he wrote 6 books on the
adventures The Boy Fortune Hunters As Edith Van Dyne, he published
18 books in three series for girls. But it was the magical charaters
of Oz that brought Baum his fame. He wrote a musical show about Oz
that ran on Broadway, and in 1908, he wrote the first of many screenplays
for silent movies based on Oz. L. Frank Baum died May 6, 1919, in
Hollywood, CA. His last Oz book Glinda of Oz was published the next
year. Although several other authors continued the adventures of Dorothy
and friends in the magical land of Oz, the orginal books by Baum are
the ones veryone remembers. And the popularity of his books continues
to this day!
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
In this story, the first book in the Oz series, Dorothy comes to Oz.
Her house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East. Although she is invited
to stay in Oz, she wants to get home to Kansas. The munchkins advise
her to go to the Wizard of Oz in the Emerald city and she sets off,
accompanied by her dog Toto. On her way, she helps many of the characters
which later become prominent characters in Oz.
Characters:
Aunt Em — Black Bees — Boq — China Joker — China
Milkmaid — China Princess — Cowardly Lion — Crows —
Dorothy — Field Mice — Gillikins — Glinda the Good
— Good Witch of the North — Green Girl — Guardian of
the Gates — Hammerheads — Injured Man — Injured Man's
Wife — Kalidahs — King of the Winged Monkies — Munchkins
— Quadlings — Queen of the Field Mice — Scarecrow —
Soldier with Green Whiskers — Stork — Tin Woodman —
Toto — Uncle Henry — Wicked Witch of the East — Wicked
Witch of the West — Wildcat — Winged Monkies — Winkies
— Wizard of Oz — Wolves.
Aunt Em
is Dorothy's aunt. She is the wife of Dorothy's Uncle Henry. She is
now living in the Emerald City
Aunt Em lived with Uncle Henry in the plains of Kansas on a farm with
Dorothy. The farm was not a good one, and Aunt Em and Uncle Henry
were soon in debt because they could not get enough money. However,
Dorothy was able to get them to Oz, where they live to this day. For
more information on how and why they came to Oz, go to the book, The
Emerald City of Oz.
The Cowardly Lion
is a big lion who thinks that he is a coward. In reality, he is very
brave and will always fight (and always win). He is currently in Ozma's
bodyguard, along with his friend, the Hungry Tiger.
The Cowardly Lion originally lived in a forest in the Munchkin Country.
While Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman were walking through
a forest, the Cowardly Lion sprang out and hit the Scarecrow and the
Tin Woodman and tried to eat Toto. However, Dorothy hit the Cowardly
Lion on the face and told him that he was a coward by trying to eat
Toto. The Cowardly Lion confessed that he was a c oward, and asked
them if the Wizard of Oz could give him any courage. They said he
could, and he joined them on their adventure.
When the party got to the Emerald City, the Wizard of Oz told them
that they needed to kill the Wicked Witch of the West. They did this,
but found out that the Wizard was actually a humbug. Dorothy then
went to Glinda the Good, who advised her to use the silver shoes.
The Cowardly Lion then went back to a forest he found in the Quadling
Country and became its ruler.
When the Cowardly Lion heard that Ozma was made the ruler of Oz, he
went to see her, bringing his friend, the Hungry Tiger. He then became
her bodyguard (with the Hungry Tiger).
Dorothy
is a princess of Oz and is the second most popular person in Oz. She
lives in the Emerald City in the royal palace with Ozma. Dorothy has
a pet dog whose name is Toto and a cat whose name is Eureka. She is
a great friend of Ozma.
Dorothy
lived with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in the Kansas prarie. One day,
a cyclone carried her house away to Oz with Dorothy and Toto inside.
Aunt Em and Uncle Harry were able to get into the storm cellar and
so were not carried away to Oz.
The house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East and set the munchkins
free from the witch. Dorothy, who wanted to get home, was told to
go to the Emerald City by way of the Yellow Brick Road. On her way,
she rescued the Scarecrow from a pole on which he was hanging. Then
they rescued the Tin Woodman. Together they journeyed on until they
met the Cowardly Lion. The Cowardly Lion joined the foursome.
After reaching the Emerald City, they
made the Wizard of Oz see them. He told them that unless they killed
the Wicked Witch of the West, he would grant nothing. Dorothy and
her friends were able to kill the witch and returned to the Emerald
City. There they found out that the wizard was a humbug. However,
the Wizard of Oz was still able to give the Scarecrow brains, the
Tin Woodman a heart, and the Cowardly Lion courage. He then tried
to get Dorothy home, but the balloon flied away without Dorothy. Dorothy
then went to Glinda the Good for help. Glinda told Dorothy how to
use the Silver Shoes to get her home.
Dorothy had many other adventures. She finally came to the Land of
Oz for good in the book, the Emerald City of Oz.
Glinda is the ruler of the Quadling Country and lives
in a beautiful castle in the south of the Quadling Country. Ozma relies
on Glinda for help and magic whenever she needs it. Glinda has also
taught the Wizard of Oz many spells, so now he is almost as powerful
as Glinda.
Glinda has a room
of magic, where she keeps all her magical potions and equipment. However,
her one most powerful object of magic is the Great Book of Records,
which writes down all the events that have happened all over the world.
Glinda reads this once a day and so knows more about what is happening
than anybody else. Glinda appears to be Oz's protector. She always
helps the citizens of Oz whenever they are in danger.
Little is known about Glinda's history. There are some sources that
say she is a fairy, however, this is very unlikely. Glinda overthrew
Singra, a wicked witch who started the Quadling Country, and gained
posession of the Quadling Country. Not much more is known about her
until Dorothy comes to Oz.
The Good Witch of
the North lives in the Gillikin Country. She is a friend
of the Munchkins and helped Dorothy get to the Emerald City.
The Munchkins are the group of people that
inhabit the Munchkin Country. Their favorite color is blue, and all
their cltohing, houses, etc is blue.
The Scarecrow
has some of the best brains in Oz, and is well respected by the people.
He has his own mansion in the Winkie Country that is shaped like a
husk of corn. Near the mansion are fields with corn and oats. He constantly
visits the Tin Woodman and Ozma.
The Scarecrow was originally made by a Munchkin farmer to scare crows.
However, Dorothy found him. At this time the Scarecrow had no brains,
and he desperately wanted them. Since Dorothy was going to the Emerald
City to see the Wizard of Oz, she let him come along so that the Scarecrow
could ask the Wizard of Oz for brains. On their way, they met the
Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion.
When they came to the Wizard of Oz, he told them that they must kill
the Wicked Witch of the West before he granted their wishes. However,
when Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion
returned to the Emerald City, they found out the the Wizard was only
a humbug. However, he was able to give the Scarecrow brains.
When the Wizard left in a balloon,
he pronounced the Scarecrow the ruler of Oz. However, the Scarecrow
was soon overthrown by Jinjur and her army, who were later overthrown
by Ozma.
The Tin Woodman (also called
Nick Chopper) is a man made of tin. He is the emperor of the Winkie
Country and a great friend of Ozma, Dorothy, and the Scarecrow. The
Tin Woodman lives in a tin castle in the Winkie Country.
Nick Chopper was once a meat person who lived in the Munchkin Country.
He fell in love with Nimmie Amee, a beautiful girl who was a slave
of the Wicked Witch of the East. However, the witch was determined
not to lose her slave and enchanted the ax of Nick Chopper. While
Nick was chopping wood, the ax cut off his leg. Nick went to Ku-Klip,
a tinsmith, who was his friend. Ku-Klip then made Nick a leg out of
tin. The next day, the ax cut off his other leg. Ku-Klip replaced
this also. Nimmie Amee still declared that she loved Nick.
However, the witch was not done. The ax then cut of both of Nick's
arms, which were replaced by Ku-Klip. Then the ax split Nick's body
into two parts. The witch, who was standing near by, then chopped
his body into many pieces. However, Nimmie found him and carried his
arms, legs, and head to Ku-Klip, who made Nick a tin body. The axthen
chopped of Nick's head and the witch carried the head and hid it.
Nimmie again found him and helped him to Ku-Klip. Ku-Klip made him
a head, but right when it was finished, Nimmie brought Nick's old
head to him. However, Nick prefered the tin head. Nimmie wanted to
marry Nick more than ever, but Nick could not love her without a heart
and went away. Unfortunately, he rusted in a forest and no one found
him for a long time.
After much
time, Dorothy and the Scarecrow found him, and he traveled with them,
and a Cowardly Lion they found later, to the Emerald City. The Wizard
of Oz promised the Tin Woodman if Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly
Lion, or he could kill the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy was able
to kill the witch. But when they got back to the Emerald City, they
found out that the Wizard of Oz was really a humbug wizard. However,
the fake wizard was still able to give the Tin Woodman a heart.
After Dorothy went bact to Kansas by
using her silver shoes, the Tin Woodman went to rule the Winkie Country.
He had many adventures, which you can read about in the Oz books.
Toto is Dorothy's pet dog. He loves his mistress
very much and likes to go with her. Toto has been on almost every
one of Dorothy's adventures and now lives in the Emerald City with
Dorothy. He is considered a curiosity among the people, because Toto
is the only dog in Oz.
The Wicked Witch of the
East ruled the Munchkin Country until Dorothy's house landed
on her. The Wicked Witch of the East had started and ruled the Munchkin
Country for a long time. She kept the people as slaves and was responsible
for the Tin Woodman becoming all tin.
The Wicked
Witch of the West started and ruled the Winkie Country. She
was a mean witch and kept her people in bondage. She had only one
eye, but it was as powerful as a telescope, and she could see every
part of her country.
The Wicked
Witch's magic was pretty strong. Before Dorothy and her friends came
to the Winkie Country the witch had the Golden Cap, which gave the
wearer of it the command of the Winged Monkies three times, a whistle
that commanded her Wolves, Crows, and Bees, and knowledge of basic
magic.
The Wicked Witch started
and formed the Winkie Country. She did this with the help of the Winged
Monkies. After the Wizard of Oz came, he tried to destroy her, but
the Winged Monkies drove him out. However, when Dorothy came, the
witch was melted by her and the Winkies made the Tin Woodman their
leader.
The Wizard of Oz (actually Oscar
Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs), is
only one of two magicians that is allowed to perform magic in Oz.
He is Glinda's assistant and lives with Ozma in the palace in the
Emerald City. Although less powerfull than Glinda, he knows enough
magic to be of great help to Ozma. The Wizard of Oz keeps most of
his magical tools in his black bag. There he has most of the tools
he needs for all his magic.
Oscar
Diggs was born in Omaha Kansas. He had many skills, including those
of a circus magician and ventriloquist. He tired of both of these
jobs and became a balloonist. One day the ropes got twisted in his
balloon and he was carried away to Oz. Diggs performed some simple
tricks and the people thought that he was a great magician. He became
king (Pastoria had already been deposed of) and ordered the building
of the Emerald City and the royal palace.
After the palace was built, Diggs shut himself into it and allowed
to one to see him. However, Dorothy arrived and forced him to see
her. This led to the discovery of Diggs as a humbug wizard. However,
this didn't stop him from giving the Tin Woodman a heart, the Scarecrow
brains, and the Cowardly Lion courage. He tried to take Dorothy to
Kansas in a balloon, but the balloon floated away without Dorothy.
Diggs eventually got back to Kansas. He returned to Oz in the book,
Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. After returning to Oz, he learned
magic from Glinda and became a true wizard.
BAUM ONLINE: |
|
Dorothy
and the Wizard in Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
The
Emerald City of Oz
The Emerald City of Oz
Glinda
of Oz
A
Kidnapped Santa Claus
The
Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
American Fairy Tales
The Enchanted Island of Yew
Glinda of Oz
John Dough and the Cherub
A Kidnapped Santa Claus
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus |
The
Lost Princess of Oz
The
Magic of Oz
The
Marvelous Land of Oz
Ozma
of Oz
The
Patchwork Girl of Oz
Little
Wizard Stories of Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz
The Magic of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Ozl
The Master Key
The
Master Key
Ozma of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Rinkitink in Oz |
Rinkitink
In Oz
The
Road to Oz
The
Scarecrow of Oz
Tik-Tok
of Oz
The
Tin Woodman of Oz
The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Road to Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
The Sea Fairies
Sky Island
Tik-Tok of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
co-author of:
The Royal Book of Oz |
1842 Gustav Karoly Igler, Hungarian artist who died in
1938.
1835 Émile
Léonard Mathieu, French mathematician who died on 19
October 1890. He is remembered especially for his discovery (in 1860 and
1873) of five
sporadic simple groups named after him.
1628 conte Carlo
Cignani, Italian painter and draftsman who died on 06 September1719.
— more
1625
Carlo Maratti (or Maratta), Italian painter who died on 15 December
1713. — MORE
ON MARATTI AT ART “4” MAY — LINKS
— Self-portrait
— Adoration
of the Magi (in Garland) — Adoration
of the Shepherds — Assumption
and the Doctors of the Church — Madonna
and Child Enthroned with Angels and Saints — Pope
Clement IX — Rebecca
and Eliezer at the Well — Apollo
Chasing Daphne
1567 Claudio Monteverdi Cremona
Italy, composer (L'Orfeo) |
1941
First Allied jet plane flies.
^top^ 
Deaths
2001
Idit Mizrahi, 22, [< photo] shot from ambush by
Palestinian gunmen, shortly after 19:00, near the settlement of Ma'aleh
Mikhmas, east of Ramallah. She was from the secular West Bank enclave settlement
of Rimonim, driving to Jerusalem for a family wedding with her father and
brother.
