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• Canadian independence... • US crushes Philippine independence... • George Sand is born... • Battle of Gettysburg... • Battle of San Juan Hill... • First Battle of the Somme... • Battle of El Alamein... • Vespasien empereur... • Puyi sur le trône de Chine... • Accord des évêques espagnols avec Franco... • Hong Kong reverts to China... • Il Osservatore Romano... • 4~year~old kidnapped... • Gasoline tax for highways... • Bombing of North Vietnam continues... • US compromise on Vietnam recommended... • Containment of USSR advocated...

On a 01 July:
2002 On the NASDAQ, the stock of communications services company WorldCom Group (WCOME) which had been suspended from trading because of massive accounting fraud, after closing at 83 cents on 25 June, now, as trading resumes, drops further to an intraday low of 5 cents and closes at 6 cents. On 21 June 1999 it had traded as high as $64.50, 1075 times today's low! Revelation of further massive accounting fraud caused this drop. [< 5~year price chart below left]
      WorldCom subsidiary MCI Group (MCITE), also on NASDAQ and also suspended from trading since 25 June when it closed at $1.68, opens at 11:00 at 2 cents, spikes 6 minutes later at 31 cents, drops back to 10 cents by 11:16, and then climbs back up and settles to close at 24 cents. This stock had started trading on 04 June 2001 at $18.02, reached its all-time high of $22.50 in the next session, and then steadily lost ground. [1~year price chart below right >]
WorldCom stock price 01 July 1997 – 01 July 2002
WCOME 5-year price chart
MCI stock price 01 July 2001 – 01 July 2002
MCI 1-year price chart
2000 Vermont's civil unions law goes into effect, granting same-sex couples most of the rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage.
| 2000 On the third anniversary of the reunification of Hong Kong and China, many Hong Kong residents grumble that property values are down, pollution is up, and that the Hong Kong government headed by Tung Chee Hwa, is riddled by corruption and cronyism. In contrast, there are few complaints about the Peking government, which, on the whole, seems to have respected the "one country, two systems" arrangement.
New York Times 9707011997 China regains Hong Kong         ^top^
      Hong Kong formally reverts back to Chinese rule during ceremonies attended by Chinese and British dignitaries, including Prince Charles of Wales, heir to the British throne.
      In 1839, at the outbreak of the First Opium War, Britain invaded and occupied Hong Kong, a sparsely inhabited island off the coast of southeast China. Two years later, China, defeated in its efforts to resist European interference in its economic and political affairs, formally ceded Hong Kong to the British with the signing of the Chuenpi Convention.
      Britain's new colony flourished as an East-West trading center and as the commercial gateway and distribution center for southern China. In 1898, Britain was granted an additional ninety-nine years of rule over Hong Kong under the Second Convention of Peking.
      In September of 1984, after years of negotiations, the British and Chinese Communists signed a formal agreement approving the 1997 turnover of the island in exchange for a Chinese pledge to preserve Hong Kong's capitalist system. On 01 July 1997, Hong Kong is peaceably handed over to China. The chief executive under the new Hong Kong government, Tung Chee Hwa, formulates a policy based upon the concept of "one country, two systems," thus preserving Hong Kong's role as a principal capitalist center in Asia. The Chinese Communists hope that a similar formula may lead to reuniting with Taiwan.
New York Times front page story   (970701) New Hong Kong leader outlines his program (NYT 970702)
1996 US President Bush (Sr.) nominated federal appeals court Judge Clarence Thomas to the US Supreme Court, beginning a confirmation process marked by allegations of sexual harassment.
1994 El líder de la OLP, Yasir Arafat, llega a Gaza tras 27 años de exilio fuera de Palestina.
1991 El Soviet Supremo de la URSS aprueba la ley sobre desestabilización y privatización de la propiedad.
1991 Se disuelve oficialmente el Pacto de Varsovia.
1990 German Democratic Republic accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency — Se produce la unión económica, monetaria y social entre la República Democrática Alemana y la República Federal Alemana.
1987 Bork nominated to US Supreme Court, rejected in October by Senate.
1985 The US Supreme Court ruled that public school teachers may not enter parochial school classrooms, to provide remedial or enrichment instruction.
1982 El general Bignone asume la presidencia en Argentina con la promesa de entregar el poder a los civiles antes de abril de 1984.
1982 2100 Unification church couples wed in NYC
1981 Lost Mozart symphony to debut:
      In Munich, Germany, the discovery of a hitherto unknown symphony by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart stirred excitement around the world. Researchers confirmed that Mozart's signature on the composition was authentic and that he wrote it at the age of nine. The Symphony in F debuted in Munich, New York, and Washington in early July of 1981.
1981 Radio Shack 3rd release of Model III TRSDOS 1.3
1978 Northern Territory of Australia becomes self-governing.
1976 El Rey de España Juan Carlos I cesa a Carlos Arias como presidente del Gobierno.
1971 The 26th Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified.         ^top^
      North Carolina and Oklahoma complete the number of 39 out of the 50 states. It had been passed by Congress on 23 March 1971. The Amendment reads:
Article XXVI.
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
1971 The US Post Office was replaced with the United States Postal Service.
1970 La Unión Soviética y China Popular reanudan sus relaciones diplomáticas.
1968 US, Britain, USSR and 58 other nations sign Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
1968 Se eliminan las últimas barreras aduaneras en la CEE.
1966 Medicare goes into effect in the US
1966 Bombing of North Vietnam continues         ^top^
      US Air Force and Navy jets carry out a series of raids on fuel installations in the Hanoi-Haiphong area. The Dong Nam fuel dump, 25 km northeast of Hanoi, with 9% of North Vietnam's storage capacity, was struck on this day. The Do Son petroleum installation, 20 km southeast of Haiphong, would be attacked on 03 July. The raids continued for two more days, as petroleum facilities near Haiphong, Thanh Hoa, and Vinh were bombed, and fuel tanks in the Hanoi area were hit. These raids were part of Operation Rolling Thunder, which had begun in March 1965.
      The attacks on the North Vietnamese fuel facilities represented a new level of bombing, since these sites had been previously off limits. However, the raids did not have a lasting impact because China and the Soviet Union replaced the destroyed petroleum assets fairly quickly. China reacted to these events by calling the bombings "barbarous and wanton acts that have further freed us from any bounds of restrictions in helping North Vietnam." The World Council of Churches in Geneva sent a cable to President Lyndon B. Johnson saying that the latest bombing of North Vietnam was causing a "widespread reaction" of "resentment and alarm" among many Christians. Indian mobs protested the air raids on the Hanoi-Haiphong area with violent anti-American demonstrations in Delhi and several other cities.
1965 US compromise on Vietnam recommended.        ^top^
      Undersecretary of State George Ball submits a memo to President Lyndon B. Johnson titled "A Compromise Solution for South Vietnam." It began bluntly: "The South Vietnamese are losing the war to the Viet Cong. No one can assure you that we can beat the Viet Cong, or even force them to the conference table on our terms, no matter how many hundred thousand white, foreign (US) troops we deploy." Ball advised that the United States not commit any more troops, restrict the combat role of those already in place, and seek to negotiate a way out of the war.
      As Ball was submitting his memo, the US air base at Da Nang came under attack by the Viet Cong for the first time. An enemy demolition team infiltrated the airfield and destroyed three planes and damaged three others. One US airman was killed and three US Marines were wounded. The attack on Da Nang, the increased aggressiveness of the Viet Cong, and the weakness of the Saigon regime convinced Johnson that he had to do something to stop the communists or they would soon take over South Vietnam. While Ball recommended a negotiated settlement, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara urged the president to "expand promptly and substantially" the US military presence in South Vietnam. Johnson, not wanting to lose South Vietnam to the communists, ultimately accepted McNamara's recommendation. On July 22, he authorized a total of 44 US battalions for commitment in South Vietnam, a decision that led to a massive escalation of the war. There were less than ten US Army and Marine battalions in South Vietnam at this time. Eventually there would be more than 540'000 US troops in South Vietnam.
1963 US Post Office institutes the (Zone Improvement Plan) 5-digit zip code.
1962 Burundi and Rwanda gain independence from Belgium (National Days).
1961 Haleakala National Park established in Hawaii.
1960 Ghana becomes a republic
1960 Italian Somalia gains independence, unites with Somali Republic.
1959 Se produce una sublevación comunista en el estado de Kerala (India).
1956 Gasoline taxes for US interstate highways         ^top^
      The Highway Revenue Act of 1956 is put into effect by the US Congress, outlining a policy of taxation with the aim of creating a fund for the construction of over 68'000 km of interstate highways over a period of thirteen years. The push for a national highway system began many years earlier, when the privately funded construction of the Lincoln Highway begun in 1919.
      President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) did much to set into motion plans for a federally funded highway system, but his efforts were halted by the outbreak of World War II. With the end of the war came America’s industrial boom and a massive increase in automobile registration. Dwight D. Eisenhower, elected president in 1952, had been a supporter of a federally funded highway system ever since, as an Army Lieutenant in 1919, he led a military convoy from San Francisco to New York. His travels through Germany during World War II only increased his desire to replicate Germany’s autobahn system.
      Eisenhower’s 1954 State of the Union address made clear his intentions to follow through on his interest. He declared the need to “protect the vital interests of every citizen in a safe, adequate highway system.” It wasn’t until 1956 that Eisenhower saw his vision pass through Congress. The scale of the plan was breathtaking: At a time when the total federal budget approached $71 billion, Eisenhower’s plan called for $50 billion over thirteen years for highways.
      To pay for the project a system of taxes, relying heavily on the taxation of gasoline, was implemented. Legislation has extended the Interstate Highway Revenue Act three times. Today consumers pay 18.3 cents per gallon on gasoline. Eisenhower thought of the Federal Interstate System as his greatest achievement. Today, revisionists question the solutions offered by our massive labyrinth of highways.
      Undoubtedly the interstate system changed America and made it what it is today, with suburbs and “edge cities” springing up across the country. Employment increased, as well as the US gross national product. Still, both state and federal governments struggle to appropriate the funds to expand our national road network and meet the demand of the ever-growing population of car-owners. Many economists subscribe to Helen Levitt’s theory that “congestion rises to meet road capacity,” and anti-road activists are citing the loss of productive farmland, the demise of small business, the destruction of the environment, and the “urbanization” of American society.
1950 NYC bus fare rises to 10 cents equal to subway fare, combo fare at 15 cents
1949 Bao Dai's Republic of Vietnam gains independence from France
1948 NYC subway fare goes to 10 cents, bus fare to 7 cents and combo fare at 12 cents
1947 British Dominion Affairs office becomes Commonwealth Relations office
1947 Containment of USSR advocated.         ^top^
      State Department official George Kennan, using the pseudonym "Mr. X," publishes an article entitled "The Sources of Soviet Conduct" in the July edition of Foreign Affairs. The article focused on Kennan's call for a policy of containment toward the Soviet Union and established the foundation for much of America's early Cold War foreign policy. In February 1946, Kennan, then serving as the US charge d'affaires in Moscow, wrote his famous "long telegram" to the Department of State. In the missive, he condemned the communist leadership of the Soviet Union and called on the United States to forcefully resist Russian expansion. Encouraged by friends and colleagues, Kennan refined the telegram into an article, The Sources of Soviet Conduct, and secured its publication in the July edition of Foreign Affairs. Kennan signed the article "Mr. X" to avoid any charge that he was presenting official US government policy, but nearly everyone in the Department of State and White House recognized the piece as Kennan's work.
      In the article, Kennan explained that the Soviet Union's leaders were determined to spread the communist doctrine around the world, but were also extremely patient and pragmatic in pursuing such expansion. In the "face of superior force," Kennan said, the Russians would retreat and wait for a more propitious moment. The West, however, should not be lulled into complacency by temporary Soviet setbacks. Soviet foreign policy, Kennan claimed, "is a fluid stream which moves constantly, wherever it is permitted to move, toward a given goal." In terms of US foreign policy, Kennan's advice was clear: "The main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies."
      Kennan's article created a sensation in the United States, and the term "containment" instantly entered the Cold War lexicon. The administration of President Harry S. Truman embraced Kennan's philosophy, and in the next few years attempted to "contain" Soviet expansion through a variety of programs, including the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. Kennan's star rose quickly in the Department of State and in 1952 he was named US ambassador to Russia. By the 1960s, with the United States hopelessly mired in the Vietnam War, Kennan began to question some of his own basic assumptions in the "Mr. X" article and became a vocal critic of US involvement in Vietnam. In particular, he criticized US policymakers during the 1950s and 1960s for putting too much emphasis on the military containment of the Soviet Union, rather than on political and economic programs.
1946 Rajah cedes Sarawak to the British crown
1946 US drops atom bomb on Bikini atoll (4th atomic explosion)
1943 First withholding tax from paychecks in the US.
1942 The Battle of El Alamein begins         ^top^
      Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is brought to a standstill in the battle for control of North Africa. In June, the British had succeeded in driving Rommel into a defensive position in Libya. But Rommel repelled repeated air and tank attacks, delivering heavy losses to the armored strength of the British, and finally, using his panzer divisions, managed to force a British retreat-a retreat so rapid that a huge quantity of supplies was left behind. In fact, Rommel managed to push the British into Egypt using mostly captured vehicles. Rommel's Afrika Korps was now in Egypt, in El Alamein, only 100 km west of the British naval base in Alexandria.
      The Italian troops that had preceded Rommel's German forces in North Africa, only to be beaten back by the British, then saved from complete defeat by the arrival of Rommel, were now back on the winning side, their dwindled numbers having fought alongside the Afrika Korps. Naturally, Benito Mussolini saw this as his opportunity to partake of the victors' spoils. And Hitler anticipated adding Egypt to his empire. But the Allies were not finished. Reinforced by American supplies, and reorganized and reinvigorated by British General Claude Auchinleck, British, Indian, South African, and New Zealand troops battled Rommel, and his by now exhausted men, to a standstill in Egypt. Auchinleck denied the Axis Egypt. Rommel was back on the defensive — a definite turning point in the war in North Africa.
1942 El títere Pierre Laval autoriza a los coches goniométricos alemanes a penetrar en la zona no ocupada, para descubrir las emisoras clandestinas de la resistencia.
1940 Invaincus, les 22'000 défenseurs de la Ligne Maginot, qui refusaient le cessez-le-feu, se rendent sur ordre du gouvernement et partent en captivité.
1939 El gobierno español establecido en Burgos fija la ración alimenticia diaria de un hombre adulto en 400 g. de pan; 250 de patatas; 100 de legumbres secas; 50 de aceite; 10 de café; 30 de azúcar; 125 de carne; 25 de tocino; 75 de bacalao, y 200 de pescado fresco. A las mujeres adultas les corresponde el 80% de la ración de los hombres.
1937 Les évêques espagnols se mettent d'accord avec Franco.         ^top^
     C'est suite à la Guerre Civile et à la prise de pouvoir du général Franco (le Caudillo). Ils peuvent ainsi rentrer dans les anciens privilèges (diminués en partie lors de la Révolution), garder le monopole ecclésiastique sur l’enseignement secondaire, maintenir la suppression du divorce et la censure religieuse sur la littérature.
      L’Eglise Espagnole vise la reconquête spirituelle des masses populaires perdues lors de la Révolution, mais elle ignore le chèque en blanc qu’elle offre au dictateur. Pendant le règne de Franco, très long, la classe ouvrière sera systématiquement " étouffée " dans ses revendications syndicales. Plus de 200'000 leaders seront ainsi abattus, supprimés, éliminés, souvent après d’abominables tortures durant plus de 40 ans. L’union de l’Eglise et de l’Etat confère ainsi au régime de Franco un caractère de " National - Catholicisme
1934 first x-ray photo of entire body, Rochester, NY
1932 NY Gov FDR nominated for president at the Democratic Convention in Chicago.
1930 Olaya Herrera se convierte en nuevo presidente electo de Colombia.
1929 Dimite el gobierno Tanaka en Japón y se establece un nuevo gobierno liberal presidido por Hamagushi.
1927 Según los datos del censo francés, el país tiene 42'250'000 residentes, de los que 2'544'000 son extranjeros.
1925 Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs created in UK
1924 Through regular transcontinental airmail service established, NYC-SF
1919 US first class postage drops from 3 cents to 2 cents.
1917 Tentative de restauration du régime impérial en Chine.         ^top^
      Qui ne se souvient du merveilleux film de " le dernier empereur ? Depuis lors, l’histoire de Puyi est connue, cet empereur qui devint jardinier.Voici en quelques mots, le résumé de sa vie. Né à Pékin, Puyi, fils du prince Chun et neveu de l’empereur Guangxu, prend la succession de celui-ci à l’âge de trois ans, le 02 decembre 1908. La régence est d’abord assurée par son père, puis par la veuve de l’empereur défunt, Long Yu. La République chinoise est proclamée le 01 janvier 1912. Long Yu signe le décret d’abdication au nom de l’empereur le 12 Feb de la même année. Ainsi prend fin la dernière dynastie du plus vieil Empire du monde, celle des Mandchous, les Qing, dont Puyi était le dernier représentant. Celui-ci garde néanmoins un statut privilégié: il réside dans la Cité interdite, reçoit une pension annuelle de quatre millions de taels et conserve son titre dynastique.
      Le 01 Jul 1917, un groupe de politiciens tente de restaurer l’Empire mandchou et place Puyi sur le trône. Il en est chassé douze jours plus tard. Il reçoit alors une éducation moderne et apprend l’anglais. Il se marie fastueusement en 1922. Chassé de la Cité interdite par le général Feng Yuxiang, il s’installe dans la concession japonaise de Tianjin et se rend en 1928 au Japon où il est question d’une éventuelle restauration.
      Après l’incident de Moukden (18 sept. 1931), les Japonais lui assurent qu’ils n’ont aucune visée sur la Mandchourie et souhaitent seulement favoriser la création d’un nouvel État indépendant dont il serait l’empereur. Puyi se rend alors dans le sud de la Mandchourie et accepte de devenir le chef du nouvel État, à la condition qu’une monarchie soit instaurée avant un an. Il s’installe dans sa nouvelle capitale, Changchun (Xinjing), le 01 mars 1932. Le gouvernement de Nankin l’accuse immédiatement de haute trahison.
      Puyi devient empereur du "Manzhouguo" en mars 1934. Son rôle est strictement limité au domaine du cérémonial, et ce au moment même où l’importance stratégique de "son" État se révèle de plus en plus décisive dans la mesure où il fournit les matières premières dont le Japon a besoin. Lorsque celui-ci capitule, le 15 Aug 1945, Puyi déclare renoncer à son trône et tente de s’envoler pour le Japon. Il est arrêté à Moukden par des troupes soviétiques. Transporté en URSS, il passe cinq ans en prison à Khabarovsk et se voit condamné comme criminel de guerre à Tokyo en 1946 ; il est finalement remis à la Chine populaire en 1950. De nouveau emprisonné à Kharbin et invité à avouer ses fautes, il souligne en 1956, lors d’un procès de criminels de guerre japonais, que tout pouvoir lui avait échappé lors de son règne et que seuls les Japonais avaient dirigé son pays.
      Amnistié en 1959, il retourne à Pékin où il travaille au Jardin botanique puis au Comité des recherches historiques avant de devenir membre du Comité national de la conférence consultative politique du peuple chinois. Il meurt d’un cancer à Pékin à l’âge de soixante et un ans, après avoir publié son autobiographie.
1912 La Asamblea Nacional Francesa declara a Marruecos zona de protectorado, acordando con España un reparto de su territorio.
1911 El estadounidense Hiram Bingham descubre las ruinas de la ciudad sagrada de los incas Machu-Picchu, en Perú.
1910 Union of South Africa becomes a dominion
1902 Start of Sherlock Holmes Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
1902 Cesan las hostilidades en Haití entre los generales Firmín y Nord.
1902 Philippine insurrection declared ended         ^top^
      With congressional passage of the Philippine Government Act, which provided for the Philippines to be governed by a committee appointed by the US president, the US government formally declared the Philippine Insurrection to be at an end.
      In 1896, a revolution against Spanish rule broke out in the Philippines. Emilio Aguinaldo, the rebel leader, made impressive advances against the Spanish, and in 1897, he agreed to a truce. However, the peace was tenuous, and with the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, a new revolution began. In May, US naval forces defeated the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay, and the US supplied Aguinaldo and his rebels with arms. By the time US land forces arrived, Aguinaldo had conquered nearly the entire island of Luzon, the main Philippine island. The Filipinos had also declared their independence and established a republic under the first democratic constitution ever known in Asia.
      In December, however, following their decisive defeat against the United States, the Spanish ceded the Philippines to the US in the Treaty of Paris. In response, Aguinaldo launched a new revolt on 04 February 1899 — this time against the United States. The rebels, consistently defeated in the open field, turned to guerilla warfare, and Congress authorized the deployment of 110'000 troops to subdue them. By the end of 1899, there were 65'000 US troops in the Philippines, but the war dragged on. Many anti-imperialists in the US, such as Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, opposed US annexation of the Philippines, but in November of 1900, Republican incumbent William McKinley was reelected and the war continued.
      On 23 March 1901, US General Frederick Funston and a group of officers, pretending to be prisoners, surprised Aguinaldo in his stronghold in the Luzon village of Palanan and captured the rebel leader. On 19 April, Aguinaldo took an oath of allegiance to the United States and called for an end to the rebellion, but his followers ignored the forced statement and carried on without him. Over the next year, US forces gradually pacified the Philippines, and one US Army general, Jacob Smith, was eventually court-martialed for the atrocities committed by his men against the Philippine population. On 01 July 1902, Congress approved government under the American-run Philippine Civil Commission. Although scattered guerilla fighting continued for several years, the Philippine Insurrection was declared at an end.
1898 The Battle of San Juan Hill         ^top^
      As part of their campaign to capture Spanish-held Santiago de Cuba on the southern-most coast of Cuba, the US Army Fifth Corps engaged Spanish forces at El Caney and San Juan Hill. US General William R. Shafter hoped to capture El Caney before besieging the fortified heights of San Juan Hill, but the five-hundred Spanish defenders of the village put up a fierce resistance and held off ten times their number for the rest of the day. Despite the lack of their planned support, some 8000 Americans pressed forward toward San Juan Hill. Hundreds fell under Spanish gunfire before reaching the base of the heights, where the force split up into two flanks to take San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill.
      Among the troops in the right flank were the Theodore Roosevelt-led "Rough Riders," a collection of Western cowboys and Eastern bluebloods officially known as the First US Voluntary Cavalry. When the order was given by Lieutenant John Miley that "the heights must be taken at all hazards," the Rough Riders, who had been forced to leave their horses behind because of transportation difficulties, led the charge up the hills. The Rough Riders and the African-American soldiers of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry regiments were the first up Kettle Hill, and San Juan Hill was taken soon after. From the crest, the Americans found themselves overlooking Santiago, and the next day they began a siege of the city. On 03 July the Spanish fleet was destroyed off Santiago by US warships under Admiral William Sampson, and on 17 July the Spanish surrendered the city, and thus Cuba, to the Americans.
1890 Machine counting of census begins         ^top^
      2000 Census Bureau clerks begin the daunting task of tallying the results of the country's 11th census, aided for the first time by mechanical calculating devices. Some 45'000 census counters had spent the entire month of June counting America's 60 million-plus population, using hole punches to record the results of their surveys by punching out designated spots on the card, like a train conductor punches a ticket. Later, those cards were counted by a tabulating machine invented by 29-year-old Herman Hollerith. Hollerith's counting machine had soundly beaten other proposed counting methods in a contest sponsored by the Census Bureau. Hollerith later founded the Tabulating Machine Company, which, through a series of mergers and reorganizations, eventually became IBM.
1889 Frederick Douglass named US Minister to Haiti.
1881 International commercial telephone service
      National Bell Telephone Company launches the first commercial telephone service. The service connects Calis, Maine and St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, which are separated by the St. Croix River.
1874 Charley Ross, 4, kidnapped and never seen again         ^top^
      Two men snatch the son of rich Philadelphia grocer Christian Ross from the front lawn of his house. Two days later, a poorly spelled note that demands an indeterminate ransom is delivered to Ross. On July 6, the kidnappers would asked for $20'000. After some stalling, Ross agrees to pay the ransom, but no one ever comes to pick up the money. Generating mountains of publicity, the Ross kidnapping would become the first widely followed kidnap-for-ransom incident.
      On 14 December 1874, as wealthy New Yorker Holmes Van Brunt is about to go to bed, he hears burglars breaking into his brother's house next door. After rounding up three other men to help him surprise the intruders, Van Brunt engages the thieves in a shotgun battle that leaves the robbers severely wounded. On his deathbed, one of the burglars confesses that he had been responsible for kidnapping Charley Ross. He then promises that the child would be returned alive. Nevertheless Charley Ross was never found.
      The Charley Ross kidnapping was the year's biggest story. Over the next 50 years there was a spike in the number of such cases, culminating with the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh's son in 1932. Following that high-profile crime, the government's power over criminal matters was greatly broadened, and the penalties for kidnapping were increased.
1873 Prince Edward Island becomes 7th Canadian province.
1867 Portugal decreta la abolición de la pena de muerte.
1867 Canadian Independence Day         ^top^
      The autonomous Dominion of Canada, a confederation of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the provinces that were to become Ontario and Québec, is officially recognized by Great Britain with the passage of the British North America Act. During the 19th century, colonial dependence gave way to increasing autonomy for a growing Canada. In 1841, Upper and Lower Canada — now known as Ontario and Québec — were made a single province by the Act of Union.
      In the 1860s, the movement for greater Canadian federation grew out of the need for a common defense, the desire of a national railroad system, and the necessity of finding a solution to the problem of French and British conflict. When the Maritime provinces, which sought union among themselves, called a conference of 1864, delegates from the other provinces of Canada attended. Later in the year, another conference was held in Quebec, and in 1866, Canadian representatives traveled to London to meet with the British government. On 01 July 1867, with passage of the British North America Act, the Dominion of Canada was officially established as a self-governing entity within the British Empire. Two years later, Canada acquired the vast possessions of the Hudson's Bay Company, and within a decade the provinces of Manitoba and Prince Edward Island had joined the Canadian federation. In 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, making mass settlement across the vast territory of Canada possible.
Début officiel du Canada.
      Suite au vote à Londres, en Février, de "L’Acte de l’Amérique du Nord", le Roi a sanctionné la décision qui entre en vigueur le 1er Juillet 1867. Le Canada est vraiment né. Le mode actuel de gouvernement au Canada a été établi en 1867 par l’Acte de l’Amérique du Nord britannique, qui est une loi du Parlement du Royaume-Uni réunissant le Haut et le Bas-Canada (aujourd’hui Ontario et Québec), la Nouvelle-Écosse et le Nouveau-Brunswick, et prévoyant, en même temps, l’adhésion future des autres provinces.
      Le Manitoba a joint la Confédération en 1870, la Colombie-Britannique en 1871, l’île du Prince-Édouard en 1873, l’Alberta et la Saskatchewan en 1905, et, finalement, Terre-Neuve en 1949. Le Canada comprend actuellement dix provinces et deux territoires fédéraux.
      La Constitution actuelle du Canada fut la première expérience de type fédéral dans l’histoire de l’Empire ou du Commonwealth des nations britanniques, et venait après plusieurs autres constitutions, dont l’Acte d’union de 1840. Depuis plusieurs années, on agitait la question de la fédération des colonies britanniques de l’Amérique du Nord. Les délégués des trois provinces maritimes se réunirent à Charlottetown le 1er septembre 1864, et le Canada-Uni y envoya des délégués. L’idée d’englober toutes les colonies fit son chemin et, à Québec, le 10 octobre 1864, s’ouvrit une autre conférence où les délégués des deux Canadas, de la Nouvelle-Écosse, du Nouveau-Brunswick, de l’île du Prince-Édouard et de Terre-Neuve discutèrent du projet. On adopta alors les soixante-douze résolutions. Les délégués des deux Canadas, de la Nouvelle-Écosse et du Nouveau-Brunswick se réunirent à Londres, en décembre 1866, et y adoptèrent les résolutions de Londres qui furent à l’origine de l’Acte de 1867.
      Le projet de Constitution suscita peu d’intérêt à la Chambre des communes. Introduit le 21 février, il reçut la sanction royale le 29 mars et entra en vigueur le 1er juillet 1867. Le mot "Confédération" est une désignation inappropriée, car il s’agit, en réalité, d’une union fédérative, et la constitution établit un gouvernement central chargé de régler les questions essentielles au développement, à la permanence et à l’unité du pays, et des gouvernements provinciaux chargés de s’occuper des problèmes régionaux qui sont naturellement de leur compétence.
1863 Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana continues
1863 Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi continues
1863 Free city delivery of mail begins in 49 US cities; postage 3 cents per oz
1863 The Battle of Gettysburg begins         ^top^
      The largest military conflict in North American history begins this day when Union and Confederate forces collide at Gettysburg. The epic battle lasted three days and resulted in a retreat to Virginia by Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Two months prior to Gettysburg, Lee had dealt a stunning defeat to the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville. He then made plans for a Northern invasion in order to relieve pressure on war-weary Virginia and to seize the initiative from the Yankees. His army, numbering about 80'000, began moving on 03 June. The Army of the Potomac, commanded by Joseph Hooker and numbering just under 100'000, began moving shortly thereafter, staying between Lee and Washington, D.C. But on 28 June frustrated by the Lincoln administration's restrictions on his autonomy as commander, Hooker resigned and was replaced by George G. Meade. Meade took command of the Army of the Potomac as Lee's army moved into Pennsylvania. On the morning of 01 July advance units of the forces came into contact with one another just outside of Gettysburg. The sound of battle attracted other units, and by noon the conflict was raging. During the first hours of battle, Union General John Reynolds was killed, and the Yankees found that they were outnumbered. The battle lines ran around the northwestern rim of Gettysburg. The Confederates applied pressure all along the Union front, and they slowly drove the Yankees through the town. By evening, the Federal troops rallied on high ground on the southeastern edge of Gettysburg. As more troops arrived, Meade's army formed a three-mile long, fishhook-shaped line running from Culp's Hill on the right flank, along Cemetery Hill and Cemetery Ridge, to the base of Little Round Top. The Confederates held Gettysburg, and stretched along a six-mile arc around the Union position. For the next two days, Lee would batter each end of the Union position, and on 03 July he would launch Pickett's charge against the Union center.
1862 Battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia: Union artillery cuts down Confederate attackers on the last of the Seven Days' battles.
1862 The Revenue Act         ^top^
      The United States Congress passes Revenue Act. The legislation, which is soon signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln, imposes a three-percent tax on arrual incomes between $600 to $10'000; and a five-percent tax on incomes over $10'000. However, the Revenue Act was perhaps more notable for creating the Bureau of Internal Revenue, a government agency which was charged with collecting the revenue generated by the new taxes.
      Though the Revenue Act and its attendant package of taxes were allowed to lapse into legislative oblivion after the Civil War, the Bureau of Internal Revenue eventually came back to haunt America’s taxpaying citizens in 1913, when the Sixteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution. Along with sanctioning the income tax, the amendment paved the path for the opening of the Internal Revenue Service, which, in its role as the official clearing house for the nation’s taxes, proved to be the bureaucratic progeny of the Internal Revenue Service
1862 Congress outlaws polygamy (first time); bad news for Utah
1862 Lincoln appoints Isaac Newton sec of agriculture-no kidding!
1862 Internal Revenue Law, signed by President Lincoln, imposes first federal taxes on inheritance, tobacco and on incomes over $600 (progressive rate)
1859 Balloon covers a record 1302 km over St Louis
1847 first US postage stamps go on sale, 5 cents Franklin and 10 cents Washington, NYC
1823 United Provinces of Central America gain independence from Mexico
1816 French frigate Medusa wrecked; basis of Géricault's Raft of the Medusa.
1795 John Rutledge becomes 2nd chief justice of Supreme Court
1776 first vote on the US Declaration of Independence
1690 Army of England's Protestant King William III defeats Roman Catholic King James II in Battle of the Boyne in Ireland (Now celebrated on July 12 as "The Battle of the Orange" )
1543 England and Scotland sign the Peace of Greenwich.
1535 Sir Thomas More went on trial in England charged with treason.
1431 Las tropas castellanas de Juan II derrotan al ejército andalusí del rey nazarí Muhammad VIII en la batalla de Higueruela.
1217 Fernando el Santo es coronado rey de Castilla.
0987 Le premier capétien. Par la décision d'une assemblée électorale réunie à Noyon par l'archevêque Adalbéron, un Hugues Capet est proclamé roi. Il sera sacré à Reims, deux jours plus tard. La dynastie des capétiens vient de naître et durera très longtemps.
0069 Vespasien est proclamé Empereur         ^top^
      Vespasien, officier supérieur de l’armée d’Orient, est proclamé, à Alexandrie, "Empereur" de l’Empire Romain. Né en 9 de notre ère, à Rieti, en Italie centrale, Vespasien, fils de publicain, appartient au monde des finances. Comme beaucoup de Romains, ses jeunes années sont consacrées à la politique et à l’armée. Il réussit plusieures campagnes dont celle de Bretagne. Rentré à Rome en triomphateur, il exerce la charge de consul en 51. Sous le règne de Néron, Vespasien est envoyé en Afrique en 62.. A la suite de la révolte qui éclate en Judée, Vespasien est nommé légat impérial dans cette région et les trois légions qu’il commande sont chargées de la répression. Aidé de son fils Titus, Vespasien s’acquitte avec un certain succès de sa tâche et il réussit à contenir les armées juives dont l’une est commandée par le célèbre historien Flavius Josèphe.
      En 68, après plusieurs victoires sur les Juifs, il est sur le point d’investir Jérusalem, lorsque l’empereur Néron est assassiné. Sa succession disputée ouvre dans tout l’empire une période de guerre civile. En moins d’un an, trois empereurs se succèdent sur le trône impérial de Rome: Galba, Othon et enfin Vitellius. Fortes de leurs succès militaires et lassées des désordres, les légions d’Orient proclament Vespasien empereur.
      Vespasien, qui doit achever sa tâche en Orient, dépêche alors à Rome son fils cadet Domitien. Puis il charge Titus, son fils aîné de s’emparer de Jérusalem. Le Sénat romain déclare Vespasien "Auguste" et lui confère la puissance tribunicienne et le désigne consul pour la seconde fois, alors que son fils Titus l’est pour la première fois. Vespasien rentre à Rome en 70 et, pendant les neuf dernières années de son règne, il montre son désir de remettre en ordre l’empire, bouleversé par les guerres civiles. Il prend une série de mesures qui témoignent de son habileté politique et de la sûreté de sa gestion. Il rétablit les finances de l’Empire mises à mal par ses prédécesseurs prodiques. Son avarice est réputée. À celui qui s’étonne que les latrines ne soient plus gratuites sous son règne, Vespasien répond par la formule célèbre : "L’argent n’a pas d’odeur"
      Pour parfaire la solidité des institutions impériales, Vespasien tente d’associer ses deux fils Titus et Domitien aux responsabilités du pouvoir et de créer ainsi une nouvelle dynastie, connue dans l’histoire sous le nom de dynastie flavienne : Titus règnera de 79 à 81 et Domitien de 81 à 96.
      Vespasien définit, en outre, une nouvelle politique d’urbanisation et entreprend la construction du Colisée, la restauration du Capitole et le tracé de nouvelles voies de communication à travers l’Italie. Il est également soucieux de garantir la sécurité des provinces et des frontières de l’Empire romain.
      En dépit des attaques d’historiens, comme Suétone, en dépit des trafics d’influences, en dépit aussi de la persécution violente dont eurent à souffrir les stoïciens, partisans voilés d’une restauration de la République, le règne de l’empereur Vespasien apparaît comme bénéfique à la nation romaine. Si Vespasien manque souvent de générosité, sa vie simple, dépourvue de luxe est tout à son honneur ; de même que la grandeur des derniers instants de son existence, lorsque, épuisé par la maladie, il eut le courage de se lever et de s’habiller avant de s’effondrer en criant : "Il faut qu’un empereur meure debout"
TO THE TOP
Deaths which occurred on a 01 July:
2002 All 69 aboard a Tupolev 154 jetliner and the 2 aboard a Boeing 757 cargo jet which collide at an altitude of 10'700 meters, near Überlingen, Baden-Wuerttemberg , Germany, just north of the Swiss and Austrian borders in Lake Constance, at 23:43. The Tupolev was a Bashkirian Airlines charter flight from Moscow headed to Barcelona, with 57 passengers (5 adults and 52 children no older than 16, 8 of them younger than 12) and a crew of 12. The children were from prominent Bashkortostan families and included Bulat Biglov, 11; they were headed for vacations in Catalunya's Costa Dorada; they had missed their connection in Moscow the previous day; one of the adults accompanying them was from the Soglasiye Tourist agency in Moscow. British pilot Paul Phillips, 47, and Canadian co-pilot Brant Campioni, 34, were flying the DHL delivery service Boeing from Bahrain to Brussels. About 45 seconds before the collision, the automatic onboard anti-collision systems directed the Boieng to descend and the Tupolev to climb. But one second later, the Tupolev is told to descend by a Swiss air controler whose automatic collision detection system was off for maintenance and who's companion was taking an unauthorized break. The Tupolev's pilot hesitates, the Swiss air controler repeats the order to descend, 30 seconds before the collision. The German air controlers, whose zone the Tupolev had just left while still over Germany, saw on radar the two planes on a collision course and tried to phone the Swiss, 2 minutes before the collision, but the line was busy.
2002: 48 Afghan villagers, in US air attacks.         ^top^
      The casualties occur in a cluster of 4 villages, Deh Rawud, Siya Sang, Tirin Kot, and mainly Kakrak, all in the Dehrawud district of Oruzgan province, Afghanistan. Some 100 villagers are injured. The attack is conducted by B-52 (B-53?) bombers with 900-kg teleguided bombs and by AC-130 airplanes outfitted with side-firing cannons and 105-millimeter howitzers.
      Reports on the numbers of the casualties and the circumstances vary with time, and are contradictory. According to the villagers and to the pro-US Afghan authorities who believe them, the four villages were bombed and shelled for several hours starting at 01:00 after celebratory shooting into the air (including tracer bullets) at a pre-wedding party in Kakrak, at the home of a brother of Mullah Anwar, a prominent ally of pro-US interim President Hamid Karzai..
 Trina Persad    According to an 03 July statement by Maj. Gary Tallman, spokesman for a US fact-finding mission, US aircraft (including AC-130s) had flown over the area hourly for the two days before the attack and each time the anti-aircraft gun fired from the compound. Tallman acknowledged that no trace of the gun was found when investigators visited the area on 03 July. However, he said that the compound had been identified by US troops on the ground and verified by global positioning satellites and lasers. Tallman said that six sites were targeted during the raid, including an 82 mm mortar position, anti-aircraft guns and a cave. He said that hours before the attack, US troops saw people covering the mortar with a tarp and moving women and children into the area.
     The US authorities drag their feet about admitting to the “mistake”, but eventually are forced to do so, bit by bit, not before antagonizing a large portion of the Afghan population, previously friendly.

2002 Trina Persad, 10 [photo >], as life support is withdrawn, after receiving on 29 June 2002 a shotgun shot in the head, in Jermaine Goffigan Park in Boston, fired at random by Joseph Cousin, 17, riding in the back of a stolen car driven by Marquis Nelson, 23.

2001 Jamal Defaleh, 35, and Mahmoud Halajieh, 38, by Israeli gunfire returned on a group of attacking Palestinians including policeman Defaleh and Hamas actiivist Halajieh, both from Jenin Refugee Camp, on whose bodies were found the makings of a roadside bomb they had planned to set of as Jewish settlers passed by later in the day in a procession.
1983 R. Buckminster Fuller, 87, inventor, philosopher, mathematician, in LA
1958 Dr. Harry Nicholls Holmes, 78, crystallized vitamin A.
1917 Some 40 to 200 in race riots, East St. Louis, Illinois.
1916, 20'000 British, many French and German soldiers, as the First Battle of the Somme begins         ^top^
      At 07:30, the British launch a massive offensive against German forces in the Somme River region of France, in the hope of relieving Verdun. The assault was preceded by an intense 7-day bombardment of 250'000 shells, followed by the explosion of mines planted under the German trenches. The British troops are told that no German will have survived. Before the smoke and dust clear, 100'000 British soldiers jump out of their trenches and race across no-man's-land. Unfortunately, they are met with a lethal barrage of machine gun fire from the reinforced German trenches, which have survived the artillery onslaught. By nightfall, 20'000 British are dead, including 1000 officers, and 40'000 are wounded. It was the single heaviest day of casualties in British military history. The disastrous Battle of the Somme stretched on for more than four months, with the Allies advancing a total of just eight kilometers.
      The next day, both sides settle down to a war of attrition, similar to the battle of Verdun, characterized by ineffectual but costly offensives and the horrendous conditions of trench life. Even Britain's September introduction of tanks into warfare for the first time in history would fail to break the deadlock along the Western Front. On 18 November 1916, Douglas "Kill More Germans" Haig, 55, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, would call off the Battle of the Somme after nearly five months of mass slaughter.
      The offensive amounted to a total gain of just 325 square kilometers, at a cost of over 420'000 British and 200'000 French soldiers killed, wounded, or missing in action. German casualties were over 650'000. Although Haig was severely criticized for the costly battle, he repeated the carnage at the equally unsuccessful Third Battle of Ypres (July-November 1917). However his willingness to commit massive amounts of men and resources to the stalemate along the Western Front eventually did contribute to the collapse of an exhausted Germany in 1918.
      When World War I broke out in August 1914, great throngs of British men lined up to enlist in the war effort. At the time, it was generally thought that the war would be over within six months. However, by the end of 1914 well over a million soldiers of various nationalities had been killed on the battlefields of Europe, and a final victory was not in sight for either the Allies or the Central Powers. On the Western Front — the battle line that stretched across northern France and Belgium — the combatants had settled down in the trenches for a terrible war of attrition. Maimed and shell-shocked troops returning to Britain with tales of machine guns, artillery barrages, and poison gas seriously dampened the enthusiasm of potential new volunteers.
      With the aim of raising enough men to launch a decisive offensive against Germany, Britain replaced voluntary service with conscription in January 1916, when it passed an act calling for the enlistment of all unmarried men between the ages of 18 and 41. After Germany launched a massive offensive of its own against Verdun in February, Britain expanded the Military Service Act, calling for the conscription of all men, married and unmarried, between the ages of 18 and 41. Near the end of June, with the Battle of Verdun still raging, Britain prepared for its major offensive along a 34-km stretch of the Western Front north of the Somme River.
      For a week, the British bombarded the German trenches as a prelude to the attack. British Field Marshal Douglas Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, thought the artillery would decimate the German defenses and allow a British breakthrough; in fact, it served primarily to remove the element of surprise. When the bombardment died down on the morning of 01 July the German machine crews emerged from their fortified trenches and set up their weapons. At 07:30, 11 British divisions attacked at once, and the majority of them were gunned down. The soldiers optimistically carried heavy supplies for a long march, but few made it more than a couple of hundred yards. Five French divisions that attacked south of the Somme at the same time fared a little better, but without British success little could be done to exploit their gains.
      After the initial disaster, Haig resigned himself to smaller but equally ineffectual advances, and more than 1000 Allied lives were extinguished for every 100 meters gained on the Germans. Even Britain's September 15 introduction of tanks into warfare for the first time in history failed to break the deadlock in the Battle of the Somme. In October, heavy rains turned the battlefield into a sea of mud, and on November 18 Haig called off the Somme offensive after more than four months of mass slaughter.
      Except for its effect of diverting German troops from the Battle of Verdun, the offensive was a miserable disaster. It amounted to a total gain of just 325 square kilometers for the Allies, with more than 600'000 British and French soldiers killed, wounded, or missing in the action. German casualties were more than 650'000. Although Haig was severely criticized for the costly battle, his willingness to commit massive amounts of men and resources to the stalemate along the Western Front did eventually contribute to the collapse of an exhausted Germany in 1918.
1908 Thomas Hill, US Hudson River School painter, specialized in the US West, born on 11 September 1829. — MORE ON HILL AT ART “4” JULY — LINKS — Grand Canyon of the Sierras, Yosemite — View of Lake Tahoe Looking Across Emerald Bay — California Game — Castle Craigs, California — The Muir Glacier in Alaska — Great Falls of the Yellowstone
1904 George Frederic Watts, English Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolist painter and sculptor, born on 23 February 1817. — MORE ON WATTS AT ART “4” JULY — LINKS — Paolo and Francesca — Love and Death — The Angel of Death — Hope — The Dweller in the Innermost
1821 Jules César Denis van Loo, French artist born in 1743.
1735 Jean Ranc, French artist born on 28 January 1674.
1666 Jan Abrahamszoon Beerstraten, Flemish painter born on 31 May 1622. — LINKS — Village of Nieukoop in Winter with Child Funeral
1623 Wolfgang Abrahamszoon Krodel, Dutch artist born on 04 September 1575.
Births which occurred on a 01 July:
1961 Diana Frances Spencer who would become Princess Diana of Wales upon marrying Prince Charles of Wales 810729 in a globally televised ceremony, and die in an automobile accident while fleeing from paparazzi on 970831.
1930 Gonzalo “ Goni” Sánchez de Lozada, president of Bolivia (1993-1997)
1921 Premier Congrès du Parti Communiste Chinois. Il se tient à Shangaï et officialise la naissance de ce Parti. — The party celebrates its anniversary on 01 July although its founding meeting opened on 23 July 1921, in Shanghai.
1912 Les Dieux Ont Soif, roman d'Anatole France [16 Apr 1844 – 12 Oct 1924], est publié. — Anatole France bio and biblio at kirjasto
1908 Estee Lauder CEO (Estee Lauder's cosmetics)
1906 Jean Dieudonné, mathematician.
1875 Universal Postal Union established
1899 The Gideons are founded, in Wisconsin, by three traveling businessmen. They placed their first Bibles in 1908 at the Superior Hotel in Iron Mountain, Montana.
1892 James M Cain Minneapolis Mn, novelist (Postman Always Rings Twice)
1888 Alberto Magnelli, Italian artist who died on 21 April 1971.
1885 Max “Mopp” Oppenheimer, German artist who died on 19 October 1954.
1879 Léon Jouhaux France, socialist, cofounded UN's ILO (Nobel 1951)
1875 Universal Postal Union is established.
1872 Louis Blériot (aviator: first man to fly an airplane across the English Channel [1909])
1861 L’Osservatore Romano         ^top^
      Fondation du quotidien catholique l’Osservatore Romano, par Nicola Zanchini et Giuseppe Bastia. L’Osservatore romano se donnait pour but "d’être l’instrument du message universel de foi, de mener le combat pour la vérité, pour la paix, pour la charité et pour la défense des droits de l’homme". Cette finalité a été réaffirmée, le rôle du quotidien étant, par ses liens étroits avec la papauté, de contribuer à la promotion de l’Église catholique et de proposer des articles de réflexion sur la place de la religion dans la société et la culture contemporaines.
      La diffusion actuelle dépasse les 70'000 exemplaires et compte quelque trente-deux éditions hebdomadaires en langues étrangères. L’édition française a été lancée le 16 décembre 1950. Le nouveau directeur adjoint, Gianfranco Svidecoschi, nommé par Jean-Paul II en juillet 1983, est un laïc qui a une longue expérience professionnelle du journalisme d’information religieuse. Le Vatican espère, grâce à lui, enrayer la baisse de qualité du contenu du quotidien, affecté par les rivalités internes de la rédaction.
      À côté de L’Osservatore romano, le Vatican dispose d’autres structures d’information, en particulier la salle de presse du Vatican qui publie chaque jour informations et documents officiels du Saint-Siège auprès d’environ trois cents journalistes italiens et étrangers accrédités auprès du Saint-Siège. Il dispose également d’une chaîne de radio, Radio-Vatican, inaugurée en février 1931 par Pie XI et qui émet en trente-trois langues, ainsi que d’une chaîne de télévision lancée en mai 1949. Ces deux médias sont rattachés directement à la secrétairerie d’État du Saint-Siège. Et aussi un site web.
1858 Willard Leroy Metcalf, US painter who died on 09 March 1925. — LINKS — Le Sillon — Child in Sunlight
1831 Theodor Pixis, German artist who died on 19 July 1907.
George SandGeorge Sand1804 Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, later known as author George Sand, in Paris.         ^top^
      Sand's father, a descendant of a king of Poland through illegitimate lines, had been married to her mother, a Parisian bird-seller, for only a month when Sand was born. Her father died when she was four. Three years later, Sand went to live on her wealthy grandmother's country estate. Sand attended convent school in Paris and returned to the countryside in 1820, where she spurned her grandmother's attempts to arrange a marriage for her. After her grandmother's death in 1821, Sand married Casimir Francois Dudevant, the son of a baron, and became Baroness Dudevant. The couple had two children but also serious differences. Sand began spending six months of the year in Paris, where she lived with her lover, a law student.
      She began to write for a Parisian newspaper, Le Figaro, sometimes under the byline J. Sand or Georges Sand. Her first novel, Indiana, was published in 1832. Sand engaged in a series of long love affairs and sued her husband for legal separation in 1836. Two years later, she began an affair with the composer Frederic Chopin, which lasted nearly a decade. Sand retired to her country estate, which she had inherited from her grandmother, and wrote books, including many novels, such as Valentine (1832) and François le Champi (1848), and a 20-volume Histoire de ma vie (1854-55). In her writing, Sand affirmed the equality of women, the injustice of arranged marriages, and the need for women's sexual freedom. She also included socialist or rustic themes in many of her novels. She died on June 8, 1876.
     SAND ONLINE: (textes) Indiana — La mare au diable ; François le Champi — Lélia — Histoire de ma vie — Flavie — Histoire d'un rêveur
(images de pages) Contes d'une grand-mère — Les beaux messieurs de Bois-Doré. I — Les beaux messieurs de Bois-Doré. II — L'homme de neige. I — L'homme de neige. II — L'homme de neige. III
English translations: Indiana — Mauprat (1837)
RÉSUMÉS:
INDIANA (1831)
     Indiana, jeune créole issue d'une famille noble, a épousé pour son malheur un officier en retraite, âgé et brutal, le Colonel Delmare. Elle vit avec lui dans la tristesse d'un château de province. Ses seuls réconforts sont sa sœur de lait, Noun, et les visites de son cousin Ralph, jeune homme que de précoces chagrins ont rendu taciturne. Survient au château un séducteur volage, amant de Noun, Raymon de Ramière, qui, lassé de sa maîtresse, veut séduire Indiana. Découvrant cette trahison, Noun se suicide. Raymon, malgré le malheur dont il est la cause, parvient à se faire aimer d'Indiana, mais d'un amour chaste dont il se lasse vite. Ruiné, le Colonel Delmare doit s'exiler dans l'Ile Bourbon. Les amants sont séparés mais Raymon, accablé de malheur, appelle à lui Indiana. La jeune femme n'éprouve aucun remords à quitter son mari car celui-ci la brutalise. Raymon, qui a trouvé une femme riche pour le tirer de ses ennuis, repousse Indiana. Elle se retrouve alors dans le plus complet dénuement. Elle est sauvée par son cousin Ralph qui lui apprend que le Colonel Delmare est mort. Les deux jeunes gens décident alors de retourner dans l'Ile Bourbon et de s'y suicider. Mais, au sein de la nature, ils renoncent à ce projet funeste et vivent des jours paisibles.
LÉLIA (1833)
Le poète Sténio aime passionnément Lélia d'Almovar. C'est une jeune femme qui préfère s'adonner aux joies et aux souffrances de la méditation plutôt qu'aux plaisirs charnels, car, très jeune, elle a vécu un amour malheureux. Elle aime Lélio mais se refuse à lui. Elle a un ami et confident nommé Trenmor, qui est un bagnard repenti. Sténio est d'abord jaloux de Trenmor. Il devient pourtant son ami lorsqu'il le retrouve au chevet de Lélia atteinte du choléra. Ils essaient de la sauver avec l'aide d'un moine, Magnus, qui, lui aussi, est très attiré par Lélia. La jeune femme survit. Après une retraite solitaire d'un mois, Lélia retourne dans "le monde" où elle retrouve sa soeur Pulchérie qui y vit de ses charmes. Lélia promet à Sténio qu'elle va s'offrir à lui, mais, à l'heure du rendez-vous, elle envoie sa soeur à sa place. Désespéré, Sténio se suicide dans un couvent où Trenmor l'avait confié au moine Magnus. Lorsque Lélia vient voir Sténio, Magnus l'étrangle. George Sand a remanié son roman de 1833 (voir fiche Lélia 1833) pour faire une fin plus optimiste : Lélia a réussi à créer une société harmonieuse dans un couvent. Sténio l'y retrouve et a une longue discussion avec elle à la suite de laquelle il se suicide. Magnus conspire alors pour que Lélia soit enfermée pour la vie dans une chartreuse. A la mort de Lélia, Trenmor l'enterre auprès de Sténio.
LE MEUNIER D'ANGIBAULT (1845)
Marcelle de Blanchemont, veuve d'un baron qui ne lui a laissé que des dettes, pense pouvoir épouser un ouvrier socialiste, nommé Henri Lémor, malgré les préjugés de classe de ce dernier. Mais Henri s'enfuit et se cache au moulin d'Angibault. Marcelle considère ce départ comme un manque d'amour. Dans le voisinage du château de Blanchemont vit un riche paysan, Bricolin, paysan cupide qui empêche ses filles de se marier selon leur coeur. L'ainée, Louise, est devenue folle de chagrin, en lui interdisant d'épouser un jeune homme, qu'il ne trouvait pas assez riche. La cadette, Rose, est amoureuse de Grand-Louis, un meunier pauvre d'Angibault et souffre en silence. S'étant prise d'affection pour le couple, la baronne de Blanchemont, vient à son aide. Marcelle fait un marché avec le Bricolin : elle lui cédera son château s'il consent au mariage de Rose et du meunier. Par bonheur, Grand-Louis rentre en possession d'une petite fortune qui permet de mettre tout le monde d'accord. Le meunier épouse Rose et Marcelle, Lémor. Ils travailleront tous ensemble, en harmonie.
FRANÇOIS LE CHAMPI (1847)
Isabelle Bigot, la Zabelle vient d'aménager avec son fils adoptif, le champi, une maison dont le propriétaire, le meunier Cadet Blanchet est un homme méchant et volage. Sur les instances de Mme Blanchet, la mère du meunier dont elle est la locataire, La Zabelle consent contre l'exonération de ses loyers à se séparer de son fils adoptif, le Champi, et à le reconduire à l'hospice qui le lui avait confié. Au moment de monter dans la diligence qui doit le conduire à la ville, il s'abandonne à une crise et s'évanouit. Mais la femme du meunier Madeleine, femme jeune et au grand coeur passait par là. Elle s'arrête et propose à Isabelle de prendre soin de l'enfant. Le Champi reste aux cotés de sa mère adoptive et de Madeleine qui le nourrti en cachette et l'instruit.
LA MARE AU DIABLE (1848)
Germain ne peut se consoler de la mort de sa femme qui l'a laissé seul avec trois enfants. Son beau-père l'engage à ne plus pleurer et à se remarier. Germain accepte, pour le bien de ses enfants. Une veuve d'une région voisine cherche à se remarier. Germain part lui rendre visite accompagné par Marie, une jeune fille du pays dont lui a confié la garde. Elle doit se placer dans une ferme proche du lieu où vit la veuve. Un des fils de Germain est aussi du voyage, en passager clandestin. Un orage les presse de quitter leur route pour se réfugier dans une forêt. Ils campent toute la nuit près d'une mare. C'est un lieu enchanté qui les rapproche irrésistiblement les uns des autres. Marie confie qu'elle préfère les hommes plus âgés qu'elle. Au matin, on reprend la route, la magie de la nuit s'étant dissipée. Ayant atteint le but de leur voyage, Germain et Marie doivent tous les deux faire face à de cruelles déconvenues. Germain n'est pas le seul prétendant auprès de la veuve qui joue les coquettes. Il est celui qu'elle préfère, mais il ne veut pas participer à une compétition qu'il juge humiliante. Il part chercher son fils qu'il a confié à Marie. Mais la jeune fille et l'enfant ont fui la ferme où le propriétaire a tenté d'abuser de Marie. Germain les retrouve dans les bois. Chacun rentre chez soi. Il faudra bien du temps à Germain pour s'avouer qu'il est amoureux de Marie et la demander en mariage.
LA PETITE FADETTE (1849)
Deux jumeaux berrichons, Sylvinet et Landry, ont grandi ensemble. Landry le cadet est engagé dans une ferme de la région; et Sylvinet, qui souffre de la séparation disparait. Landry, alerté, part à sa recherche et le retrouve grâce à la petite Fanchon, dite Fadette, maigre et noire comme un grillon. Il a dû lui promettre en échange de la faire danser pour la Sainte Andoche. Le jour venu, Landry qui courtise Madelon, la nièce de son patron, s'exécute de mauvais gré; mais ses sentiments évoluent ; et de son côté, Fadette; métamorphosée par l'amour, devient une séduisante jeune fille. landry se déclare ; Sylvinet, jaloux souffre en silence ; et Madelon, pour se venger, fait épier fadette, qui doit quitter le pays. Elle revient pour recueillir l'héritage de sa grand-mère. Va-t-elle pouvoir épouser Landry ? Sylvinet, tombé en langueur, est un obstacle à leur union. Elle le soigne, le sermonne, et il s'efface ; mais, un mois après le mariage de son frère, il s'engage dans les armées de Napoléon. Quoiqu'il n'eut le moindre gout pour l'état militaire, il commanda si bien qu'il deviendra capitaine. Le charme de Fadette à distance agissait encore.
LES MAÎTRES MOSAÏSTES
Pendant la rénovation la Cathédrale Saint Marc à Venise deux familles de mosaistes italiens s'entre-déchirent, Les Zuccati et les Bianchini. Les Zuccati, véritables orfèvres sont jalousés par les Bianchini qui ont mauvaise réputation. Ils parviennent avec la complicité d'un de leur ouvriers le Bozza à conspirer contre eux. Les Bianchini accusés de malfaçons sont jetés en prison et ruinés. Un concours organisé pour un travail de mosaïste et auquel participent les deux familles est gagné par les deux fils Bianchini, Valério et Francesco. Bartholoméo le fils Zuccati n'arrive que troisième. Extraits Francesco Biancini …/Peut-être est-ce une folie et une vanité que de se croire quelque chose, parce qu'à force de se rapprocher de l'idéal par la pensée, on en est venu à concevoir le beau un peu mieux que les autres hommes. Et pourtant de quoi l'homme se glorifiera-t-il, si ce n'est de cela ? Pourquoi faut-il que l'homme se glorifie ? Pourvu qu'il jouisse, n'est-il pas assez heureux ?
ANDRÉ
Le Marquis de Morand abandonne les activités frivoles de sa classe pour se consacrer à ses terres. Il souhaite pour son fils André une bonne éducation mais ce dernier chétif est un peu son douleur douleur. André se sent attiré par une jeune fille aperçue lors d'une promenade. Le marquis de Morand incite son fils à sortir avec un jeune voisin, Joseph, qui aime bien les grisettes. André accepte pensant retrouver la jeune fille. Il fait sa connaissance, c'est une jeune artisane, geneviève, qui crée des fleurs artificielles. Il lui rend visite en cachette pour ne pas braver la colère de son père. La jeune fleuriste décide de quitter la ville où personne ne veut plus lui donner de travail mais Joseph réussit à convaincre André de braver son père et de ramener Geneviève. Geneviève est enceinte. Joseph parvient à persuader le Marquis de Morand de recueillir les deux jeunes époux. Mais la vie au château, entre un beau-père brutal et un mari lâche, est un enfer pour Geneviève. Son enfant meurt avant de naître et elle décède à son tour. Le début Il y a encore au fond de nos provinces de France un peu de vieille et bonne noblesse qui prend bravement son parti sur les vicissitudes politiques, là par générosité, ici par stoïcisme, ailleurs par apathie. Je sais d'anciens seigneurs qui portent des sabots, et boivent leur piquette sans se faire prier. Ils ne font plus ombrage à personne ; et si le présent n'est pas brillant pour eux, du moins n'ont-ils rien à craindre de l'avenir.
LE SECRÉTAIRE INTIME
St. Julien, jeune noble provincial, est élevé par un prêtre. De retour chez lui, il apprend que sa mère a trompé son mari et obtenu son pardon. St Julien, dégoûté par tant de laxisme, s'enfuit de chez lui sans ressources. Il est recueilli comme secrétaire par la Princesse Cavalcanti dont on convoite le territoire . Mais St Julien ne supporte pas les réjouissances de la cour qu'il qualifie de futilités. Des ragots circulent sur la princesse, on dit quelle aurait fait assassiner, par caprice, un jeune homme, Max, que ses opposants voulaient lui voir épouser. St Julien ne veut croire ces histoires car la Princesse est l'image même de la femme vertueuse. Un page à qui elle s'était refusée raconte à St Julien qu'elle voit en cachette un étudiant Spark. St Julien se déclare alors à la princesse mais elle le jette en prison. Spark n'est en fait que Max.qui n'est pas mort mais avait fui la cour pour vivre dans l'anonymat. La Princesse l'avait retrouvé et épousé en secret. St Julien retourne auprès de ses parents et pardonne à sa mère. Il épouse une jeune fille de son pays. Le début Par une belle journée, cheminait sur la route de Lyon à Avignon un jeune homme de bonne mine. Il se nommait Louis de Saint-Julien, et portait à bon droit le titre de comte, car il était d'une des meilleures familles de sa province. Néanmoins il allait à pied avec un petit sac sur le dos ; sa toilette était plus que modeste, et ses pieds enflaient d'heure en heure sous ses guêtres de cuir poudreux.
MAUPRAT
Bernard de Mauprat a perdu ses parents à l'âge de sept ans. Il est alors tombé sous la dépendance de son oncle Tristan de Mauprat et de ses deux fils qui se sont appliqués à le pervertir. Ces trois hommes, derniers rejetons d'une noblesse féodale sauvage et cruelle, vivent de rapines et terrorisent leur voisinage. Edmée de Mauprat, cousine de Bernard, s'étant malheureusement égarée du côté de la demeure des Mauprat, est capturée par ces derniers. Ces monstres poussent Bernard à violer sa cousine. Abruti par l'alcool, Bernard tente de s'exécuter, mais la jeune fille parvient à le contenir et s'enfuit avec lui. Le repaire des Mauprat est attaqué par la Maréchaussée. La bâtisse brûle et les oncles de Bernard passent pour morts. Le jeune homme est recueilli par le Chevalier Hubert, père d'Edmée et consent à faire des études pour plaire à Edmée. Mais malgré tous ces efforts, elle refuse ses avances. Il part pour l'Amérique avec l'armée de Lafayette et y reste six ans. Lorsqu'il revient, il retrouve Edmée seule. Il la redemande en mariage mais elle refuse encore. Peu après, Edmée est abattue d'un coup de fusil au cours d'une chasse. Bernard est tout de suite soupçonné d'avoir commis le crime et il est jeté en prison. Edmée, remise, intercède pour lui. On découvre le vrai coupable, 'Antoine de Mauprat qui n'était pas mort dans l'incendie de son château. Après cette ultime épreuve, Edmée décide que Bernard est enfin digne d'elle et ils se marient.
LA DERNIÈRE ALDINI
Première partie: Nello est le fils d'un pêcheur de Chioggia, qui le trouve trop chétif pour lui enseigner son métier et l'envoie travailler comme gondolier à Venise. Assis sur les marches d'un palais, il est attiré par le son d'une harpe qui lui parvient d'une fenêtre et il décide d'y grimper. Il rencontre Bianca Aldini et lui plait. Elle est la veuve d'un noble qui l'avait rendue bien malheureuse, mais qui lui a donné une fille arrogante Alezia. Bianca est généreuse et ayant découvert que Nello avait une voix superbe lui offre des leçons de chant. Nello, pris par ses études, était moins souvent près d'elle, elle dépérit. Le jeune homme abandonna aussitôt ses leçons pour la soigner. C'est ainsi qu'ils découvrirent qu'ils étaient amoureux l'un de l'autre. Bianca voulait absolument épouser Nello malgré leurs différences sociales. Mais le jeune homme l'a ramena à la raison : elle risquait de perdre sa fille au profit de sa belle famille. Les deux amoureux se quittèrent et Nello retourna chez son père.
Deuxième partie: Nello est devenu un chanteur très adulé, sous le pseudonyme de Lélio. Un soir, alors qu'il interprète Roméo, il remarque une jeune fille d'une beauté extraordinaire qui semble, ne pas apprécier sa prestation. Lélio apprend qu'elle fait partie d'une famille princière. La jeune fille revient tous les soirs. Lélio en devient obsédé et malade. Checchina, camarade de Lélio demande au Comte Nasi, son amant, de prêter sa maison de campagne à Lélio, afin qu'il puisse se rétablir. Près de la résidence du Comte Nasi, Lélio a la surprise de retrouver la Princesse Grimani. Elle est en fait amoureuse de lui. Elle lui dévoile alors son identité. Elle s'appelle Alézia, la fille de Bianca Aldini. Lélio quitte une nouvelle fois l'amour. Le Comte Nasi épouse Alezia. Lélio et Checchina reprennent leur vie de bohème.
1789 Johann-Heinrich-August Friedrich, German artist who died on 02 June 1843.
1788 Jean-Victor Poncelet, mathematician, founded projective geometry.
1700 Mattheus Verheyden, Dutch artist who died after 1776.
1646 Gottfried Leibniz         ^top^
Seventeenth century philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Leibniz built a model of a calculating machine in 1673. Leibniz argued that the time and difficulty of performing complex calculations by hand limited scientific achievement, and he set out to develop a machine to ease the burden on scientists. His machine used gears and rods to keep track of numbers as they were added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided. As a philosopher; he postulated monads.
Holidays Bangladesh, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iraq, Taiwan : Bank Holiday / British Virgin Islands : Territory Day / Burundi, Rwanda : Independence Day (1962) / Canada : Canada Day (except Sunday) (1867) / Ghana : Republic Day (1960) / Hong Kong : « Year Day / Ireland : Pilgrimage to Shrine of Blessed Oliver Plunkett / Somalia : Union Day/Foundation Day (1960) / Surinam : Freedom Day/Labour Day / Turkey : Navy and Merchant Marine Day / US : Honor America Days / Czechoslovakia : St†znice Folk Festival
Religious Observances Luth : Catherine Winkworth, John Neale, hymnwriters / Old Catholic : Precious Blood of Jesus / RC : St Oliver Plunkett, Irish martyr/theologian/primate
Thought for the day: "The more we learn the more we realize how little we know." — R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983).
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