Curio Cabinet / Person, Place, or Thing

Anyone who was raised off-the-grid and goes on to obtain a PhD from Cambridge University surely has an amazing story to tell. American author Tara Westover did just that. In her 2018 memoir Educated, Westover recalls an early life without access to public school, vaccinations, or her own birth certificate. In the years since Educated debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, Westover has pointed out that her experiences are indicative of the divide between rural and urban America, and could help explain the country's shifting political landscape.

 
On September 27, 1986, Westover was born at her rural childhood home in Clifton Idaho, with no doctor present. Her parents, who already had 6 other children, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her father, Gene, believed himself to be a prophet. Their specific church sect encouraged distrust in the federal government, education, and modern medicine, so Westover's family lived as survivalists or "preppers". The family grew their own food and stockpiled fuel and other resources for an upcoming apocalypse. Westover and her siblings were denied medical care, even when seriously ill or injured. Westover's mother, Faye, served as their only "doctor" and "teacher", treating them with alternative medicine and providing loose homeschooling, although Westover relied on an older brother to teach her how to read. Her home did not have a television, but did have a few textbooks, which she read by the time she was a teenager. Desperate to become educated, Westover obtained her freedom one piece at a time, saving up money to buy textbooks which she studied thoroughly enough to get a good score on her ACT exam. Even without a highschool diploma, Westover managed to gain admission to Brigham Young University, in Utah.

 
Adjusting to college life and the modern world was difficult. "One of my first lectures, I raised my hand and asked what the Holocaust was because I had never heard of it," Westover said, during an interview with NPR. Despite the rough start, Westover managed to get good grades, and graduated with honors in 2008. The following year, she traveled to the UK, became a graduate student at Trinity College Cambridge, and began writing what would eventually become her memoir. During her time as a graduate student, Westover became estranged from her family, since her manuscript detailed her abuse at the hands of one of her brothers, which her parents denied. Westover went on to earn both a Masters Degree and PhD in intellectual theory from Cambridge. In 2018, Educated was published to instant acclaim.

 
Unlike many memoirs detailing an author's escape from a fundamentalist upbringing, Educated focuses on Westover's tenacious pursuit of an education as the thing which changed her life. That a woman raised by survivalists in rural Idaho could end up living as a bestselling author in London may seem unbelievable, to some. But according to Westover, her story has more to teach readers than just the ins and outs of her own life. In a 2019 interview with The Atlantic, Westover stated that the U.S.'s quality-of-life divide between rural areas and cities, which she has experienced firsthand, has led to the country's current political schism. People in rural areas, she explained, distrust the government due to the economic hardship they endure. Moreover, people in cities look down on those in rural communities. Westover refers to this state as "poor political hygiene," and cautions against making "caricatures" of people across the political aisle. "We think that because we know someone is pro-choice or pro-life, or that they drive a truck or a Prius, we know everything we need to know about them. Human detail gets lost in the algorithm. Thus humanity gives way to ideology," she explained. The only solution, as far as she is concerned? Empathy—especially for those living in places hit hardest by economic strife. "You look at where the holes are in Obamacare—they’re in rural areas. You look at where the opioid epidemic hit hard—it’s in rural areas. You look at educational outcomes for rural kids—they’re troubling, every report. These facts should be the foundation of our empathy, not of our contempt." Of course, only time will tell if the U.S. is interested in "cleaning up" its political discourse and achieving some level of unity.

 
[Image description: American author Tara Westover, wearing a black jacket and grey shirt, sits in front of a grey background.] Credit & copyright: Lauren Margit Jones.

 
Written by: Maria C.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...unless you become internationally renowned magicians! Such was the case with famed entertainers Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn—the original Tiger Kings. Although Roy Horn passed away last year due to COVID-19, and Fischbacher died from pancreatic cancer just 8 months later, the duo's legacy is destined to endure. Together, they shared a career powerful enough to spawn its own T.V. show, and a personal relationship strong enough to endure a life-altering tragedy.
 

Siegfried and Roy were both born in Germany during World War II. They met in 1960 aboard the TS Bremen, a cruise ship where 17-year-old Siegfried worked as a performing magician and where 13-year-old Roy worked as a waiter. One night, Siegfried asked Roy to join him onstage as an audience volunteer. The young men quickly bonded over their love of exotic animals and their unhappy childhoods. Siegfried, the son of a homemaker and veteran, had grown up feeling distant from other children, and used his love of magic to cope. Roy, whose father had died in the war and whose mother had worked factory jobs to make ends meet, felt similarly lonely. Siegfried was overjoyed to learn that Roy had direct access to exotic animals, since his mother's friend was the founder of the Bremen Zoo. Together, they planned a magic act centered around animals. They were soon fired from the TS Bremen, however, for bringing a cheetah onto the ship.
 

For the next five years, Siegfried and Roy toured Europe's night club circuit to great success. In 1967, talent scout Tony Azzie offered them a job performing in Las Vegas, where they soon went from sharing billing with other performers to being a headlining act. In 1981, producer Ken Feld started the Beyond Belief show at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino. The show's name was a reference to the magic Seigfriend and Roy performed and also to the unbelievable relationship they seemed to share with their performing animals. By 1988, Seigfriend and Roy had rocketed to fame, become U.S. citizens, and bought a 100-acre estate in Las Vegas, where they raised lions and tigers. Though some animal rights groups criticized them for exploiting big cats, and for putting themselves in danger by performing with them, Siegfried and Roy maintained that their bond with the animals kept them safe. "Sleeping with lions and tigers means you don't need many pillows," Roy famously said, in one interview. "Their bellies are just as comfortable."
 

The grandiose and risky nature of Siegfried and Roy's act had a profound impact on Las Vegas entertainment, as other acts procured more elaborate costumes and sets to keep up. Like other celebrities, Siegfried and Roy lived under constant press scrutiny, and were hounded over the nature of their personal relationship. Although it is still assumed that the two were romantically involved, they never talked openly about their sexuality. Seigfriend and Roy's devotion to one another became all the more clear, however, after a career-ending tragedy in the early 2000s.
 

On October 3, 2003, just as a T.V. show based on their act, Father of the Pride, was beginning production, Siegfried and Roy's show at the Mirage Theatre went horribly wrong. When Roy held a microphone to the mouth of a seven-year-old white tiger named Montecore, the cat bit him on the arm. When Roy fell onto his back, the tiger attacked, biting Roy's neck and dragging him offstage. By the time rescuers reached him, Roy had suffered severe injuries, including a severed spine and major blood loss, which triggered a stroke (although Roy would later insist that he'd had a stroke beforehand, and Montecore had tried to get him to safety by dragging him offstage).
 

Roy survived his injuries and Father of the Pride went on to air from 2004 to 2005. However the attack ended Siegfried and Roy's career, other than a farewell performance, in 2010. Roy did not regain the ability to walk until 2005, and his speaking ability was greatly impacted. Siegfried was his caregiver until his condition improved. "He helps me every day to do my exercises," Roy said, in one interview. "Siegfried told me once, 'The one who is a hero is the one who can hang on just one minute longer.'" Although their career ended far less happily than they'd hoped, there's no doubt that Siegfried and Roy's impact on Las Vegas will be felt for years to come. Their 60-year relationship will also be remembered as one of the strongest in history between two famous performers.

 
[Image description: Wearing sequined jackets, entertainers Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn pose with a white lion.] Credit & copyright: Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress

 
Written by: Maria C.

A passionate speaker who minced no words in his quest to empower Black Americans, Malcolm X is one of the most famous civil rights leaders in U.S. history , alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. However, he and King used very different tactics to fight the same injustices. Malcolm was tragically assassinated on this day in 1965, just three years before King's own assassination. He remains one of the most controversial figures of his time.
 
Born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, to activists Louise and Earl Little, he was one of seven children. Malcolm's parents were admirers of Jamaican civil rights activist Marcus Garvey. His father was outspoken about racial equality, and his family was under constant threat from white supremacists—the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Legion (a Klan splinter group) attacked their home on several occasions. In 1931, when Malcolm was six, his father was hit and killed by a streetcar. Though police called his father's death an accident, Malcolm's mother and other Black community members believed he was murdered. In 1938, Malcolm's mother suffered a nervous breakdown and was committed to a mental hospital. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and sent to foster homes.
 
In spite of the tragedies he'd faced, Malcolm excelled in school. He loved to read, and dreamed of becoming a lawyer. While attending Mason High School in Michigan, a white teacher told Malcolm he could never become a lawyer because he was black. Disheartened, Malcolm dropped out of school. He moved to Boston, then to Harlem, where, around the age of 21, he began committing crimes, including drug-dealing and robbery. When Malcolm moved back to Boston, in 1945, he was arrested for robbery and sentenced to eight to ten years in prison. Malcolm's incarceration proved to be a new beginning.
 

In prison, Malcolm read about the history of slavery and the United States education system. "You couldn’t have gotten me out of books with a wedge," he later wrote, in his autobiography. His reading guided him to the Nation of Islam, a religious and political movement for Black Americans led by Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm began exchanging letters with Muhammad. He also changed his name to "Malcolm X", later explaining that, "For me, my 'X' replaced the white slavemaster name of 'Little' which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears."
 
After leaving prison on parole in 1952, Malcolm rapidly rose within the ranks of the Nation of Islam, becoming one of its best-known ministers. By 1954, he led the Nation's Temple Number 7, in Harlem. He became known to most Americans in 1957, after he and other Nation of Islam members marched on a New York police station where several of their members were being held. Although the F.B.I. began aggressively tracking Malcolm, his popularity only increased. However, as the American Civil Rights Movement came into full swing in the late 50s and early 60s, and Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as its leader, Malcolm's beliefs faced greater public scrutiny from Black Americans.
 
At the time, the Nation of Islam held ideas that were troubling to many Americans, such as the idea that Blacks were superior to whites, and that they needed to form their own nation (an idea called Black Nationalism). Because the American Civil Rights Movement focused on integration, Malcolm took issue with it. In several fiery speeches, Malcolm simultaneously sought to empower Black Americans and tear down the idea of integration, even going so far as to call the 1963 March on Washington "the farce on Washington." Malcolm also disagreed with King's non-violent approach to Civil Rights. Nonetheless, in 1964, Malcolm broke from the Nation of Islam because he believed they weren't active enough in promoting civil rights.
 

In 1964, Malcolm took an extended trip to Africa and the Middle East which seemed to change his view of the American Civil Rights Movement. He later wrote, "the true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to recognize that anger can blind human vision." Unfortunately, less than a year later, Malcolm X was shot by three Nation of Islam members as he tried to break up a scuffle at the Organization of Afro-American Unity, in Manhattan. Today, he is remembered as a man who spoke plainly about the violence facing Black Americans and the solutions he thought were appropriate, regardless of whether his beliefs made others uncomfortable.
 

Image credit & copyright: History.com

 
Written by: Maria C.

While names like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X might be at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement's history, other activists like the Reverend Howard Thurman played vital roles. Through his faith, writings, and travels, Howard Thurman was responsible for introducing nonviolent practices to young black activists, and giving them the tools to counter racism in the streets and at the ballot box.
 

Howard Thurman was born on November 18, 1899 in Daytona Beach, Florida and was raised by his ex-slave grandmother. Faith was integral to his upbringing—his family was part of the Mount Bethel Baptist Church. In the eighth grade, Thurman was sent to one of only a few high schools for black children in Jacksonville. At the train station, Thurman recalled learning he had to pay extra to have his trunk shipped with him. Penniless and alone, Thurman sat on the steps and cried—when he saw a black man in overalls walk past him and pay the shipping costs for the boy's luggage. The two never spoke, though Thurman would later dedicate his 1979 autobiography With Head and Heart to "to the stranger in the railroad station in Daytona Beach who restored my broken dream sixty-five years ago."
 

Thurman began his activism as a student and youth movement leader in the Young Men's Christian Association. In 1923 he graduated from Morehouse College as valedictorian, and two years later was ordained as a Baptist minister in Roanoke, Virginia. At his first pastorate in Oberlin, Ohio, he discovered the work of the Quaker mystic and leader of the Interracial Fellowship of Reconciliation, Rufus Jones. Thurman became philosophical about pacifism after encountering Jones' work, posing the question "How can we manage the carking fear of the white man's power…. and not be defeated by our own rage and hatred?"
 

Thurman's reputation grew, and he began travelling abroad to places like India. In 1936 a meeting with Mahatma Gandhi further challenged his beliefs. Gandhi challenged Thurman to find sources of pacifism and opposition to unjust power within Thurman's own faith. Thurman came home speaking of his encounter with Gandhi, and began a series of lectures that would eventually become Jesus and the Disinherited (1949), a theological study of Jesus Christ's New Testament gospel in accordance with nonviolent responses to oppression.
 

Thurman met Martin Luther King Jr. when the latter was just a boy. Thurman was often a guest in the young King's house, as the preacher was the same age as King's father, who was also a minister in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1951, King attended Boston University for his doctoral studies in systematic theology, where two years later, Thurman would become dean of Marsh Chapel and deliver several of his lauded sermons on nonviolence and activism; some years later, King would also invite Thurman to speak at his first pulpit in Montgomery, Alabama. Their most notable correspondence though was after King was stabbed and hospitalized at a 1958 book signing in New York City. Thurman encouraged King to extend his rest period by two weeks, recuperating physically and spiritually from the immense responsibilities of the Montgomery bus boycotts. King took Thurman's advice, and was known to keep a well-read copy of Jesus and the Disinherited in his pocket during the Montgomery boycotts.
 

While Howard Thurman's legacy of inspiring Martin Luther King, Jr. could be notable enough, his influence goes much further. In 1953, Life magazine named him one of the 12 most important religious leaders in the U.S. After his passing in 1981, the Howard Thurman Center at Boston University was founded, and Howard University, where he was once the dean, named the Thurman Chapel in the School of Divinity after him. No doubt too that in our time of great social upheaval, returning to Thurman's teachings is a great way to remind ourselves of the power of activism and nonviolence in working towards ending institutionalized racism.

 
Image credit & copyright: Emory University

 
Written by: Esther P.

Move over, Harry Potter. Step back, Star Wars. There's another multi-million dollar franchise full of colorful characters in town. Actually, it's been here far longer! First created in 1926, Winnie-the-Pooh is still generating new adaptations, from cartoons and movies to toys. The entire phenomenon began with one man: British author A.A. Milne, who passed away on this day in 1956. However, Milne had never set out to create some of the most beloved characters of all time. He had simply been looking for stories to tell his young, toy-loving son, Christopher Robin.
 

Born in Kilburn, London, Alan Alexander Milne attended the Henley House School, which was run by his father. Interestingly, one of Milne's instructors at Henley House was the famous author H.G. Wells. Wells was a great inspiration to Milne, but not in the subject of writing. At the time, Wells was not a published writer but a mathematics teacher. Milne went on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge on scholarship. During his studies Milne played cricket with other future authors, including J.M. Barrie (creator of Peter Pan), and Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes). These friendships helped spark Milne's interest in writing, and, along with his brother Kenneth, he published and edited in the student magazine Granta. After graduation, he contributed to Punch magazine and later became an assistant editor for the publication.
 

Milne served as a second lieutenant during the Great War. Disillusioned by the suffering he witnessed, and endured, Milne sought solace in his family and writing.
He bought a country home in Sussex and, in 1913, married Dorothy "Daphne" de Sélincourt. The couple had a son, Christopher Robin Milne, in 1920. Miline began writing plays, some of which were well-received, such as Mr. Pim Passes By and The Dover Road. In 1924, Milne wrote his first book of children's poems, When We Were Young. Some of these poems were inspired by Christopher Robin's childhood pastimes, and, in 1926, Milne channeled that inspiration into the first of two books that would define his life (and the life of his son). Winnie-the-Pooh was a collection of stories about a fictionalized version of Christopher Robin and his (stuffed) animal companions. The main animal character was Winnie-the-Pooh, an absentminded bear whose name was inspired by Winnipeg, a black bear living at the London Zoo . Whimsical illustrations from artist Ernest H. Shepard helped make the book an instant hit. By the time Miline published The House at Pooh Corner (1928), he had become a household name.
 

Unfortunately, the young Christopher Robin had also become famous. Throughout his adolescence, Milne's son endured bullying from both children and adults, who often expected him to be cuter and more cheerful than he actually was. Ultimately, Winnie-the-Pooh strained the relationship between Milne and his son. The pair became largely estranged when, as a grown man, Christopher Robin chose to marry his first cousin, Lesley de Sélincourt. Only after Milne's death, in 1956, did Christopher Robin write a book of his own, The Enchanted Places, about his unusual childhood. He later stated that the book lifted him "from under the shadow of my father and of Christopher Robin, and to my surprise and pleasure I found myself standing beside them in the sunshine able to look them both in the eye."
 

For almost one hundred years, the characters from Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books have inspired generations of children. In 1961, pioneering businessman Walt Disney gained licensing rights to Milne's characters, and the Walt Disney Company has since created several series of cartoons, a live-action T.V. show, and even amusement park ride based on Milne's works. In 2017, they even created a successful live-action Winnie-the-Pooh movie. It seems increasingly clear that no matter how advanced or fast-paced the modern world becomes, the simple lessons and lighthearted stories from Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh will continue to endure.

 
Image credit & copyright: National Portrait Gallery, London

 
Written by: Maria C.

It was one of the most famous criminal trials of all time and a defining moment of the 1990s. The murder trial of famed American football player O.J. Simpson began on this day in 1995, and had a lasting impact on popular culture and the country's legal landscape.
 
Born in San Francisco in 1947, Orenthal James Simpson had record-breaking careers in college and professional football, earning him the moniker "The Juice" (because of his nickname, OJ, the abbreviation for "orange juice"). By 1985, Simpson had been inducted into both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. He acted in movies, worked as a football broadcaster, and endorsed commercial products. All of that changed, however, on June 12, 1994, when Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death outside Nicole's condo in Los Angeles.
 
Because Simpson's marriage had ended due to domestic violence—he had pleaded no contest to spousal abuse charges in 1989—Simpson immediately became a murder suspect. He was ordered to turn himself in on June 17, 1994. Instead, Simpson fled with his friend, Al Cowlings, in a white Ford Bronco. Police pursued the pair, and a 45-minute, televised, slow-speed chase ensued, with around 95 million Americans watching. Eventually, both men surrendered to police. On January 24 the following year, prosecutors gave their opening statements in what would soon become "The Trial of the Century."

 
The prosecution seemed to have a strong case against Simpson. His former record and brief flight painted a grim picture, as did bloodstains found inside his car and house. Prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden spoke passionately and plainly about Simpson's motivations. At one point, Darden told the jury that Simpson "killed her because he couldn't have her."
 
Lasting nearly a year, the case was far from cut and dry, especially once it became clear that race would play a major role. Simpson's Defense team, headed by Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran, pointed out that LAPD had been involved in many recent, racially-charged scandals. These included shootings of unarmed Black people and unwarranted searches of Black people's homes. O.J. Simpson was a known hero to the Black American community, and the defense argued that he was yet another victim of a racist criminal justice system. In March, the defense pointed out that LAPD Detective Mark Fuhrman, who was testifying on behalf of the prosecution, had used racial slurs and admitted to planting drugs on Black suspects during recorded interviews between himself and writer Laura McKinny. During cross-examination, defense attorneys flat-out asked Fuhrman whether he was racist.
 
In what became the trail's most iconic moment, the defense team had Simpson try on a pair of gloves believed to have been worn by the killer. Famously, the gloves didn't appear to fit on Simpson's hands, leading attorney Johnnie Cochran to tell the jury, during his closing argument, "if it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
 

To the relief of some and the shock of others, the jury did, indeed, acquit Simpson of murder. He was immediately released from custody, and returned to his Los Angeles estate. Legal troubles have followed Simpson for much of his post-trial life. In 2008, he was convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping, among other crimes, and sentenced to 33 years in prison. He was granted parole and released in October, 2017.

 
Today, the verdict of the O.J. Simpson murder trial remains one of the most controversial in history. The trial led many prosecutors to rely more heavily on forensic evidence than witness testimony. The domestic violence proceeding Nicole's murder also motivated Congress to pass a 1996 law prohibiting domestic batterers from purchasing guns. Whatever one believes about Simpson's guilt or innocence, one thing is clear: the O.J. Simpson trial fundamentally changed how many Americans understand race relations and the criminal justice system.

 
Image credit & copyright: Vince Bucci, AFP, Getty Images

 
Written by: Maria C.

Let's face it: presidential election cycles can be a hot mess. Even before 2020's Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference, certain lame duck elected officials were infamous for their late-term ineffectiveness. Luckily in 1933, a constitutional amendment was passed to remedy that… the 20th, to be precise.
 
Before the 20th Amendment passed, the duration of presidential and congressional terms was ambiguous. Article 1 of the Constitution mandated Congress meet at least once a year, usually in December to perform their federal duties: all went as planned during odd years, but in even (election) years, lame duck sessions ensured little was accomplished. While such inaction during the year might make us think of them as the precursor to a "do nothing Congress," the reality was that in the 18th and 19th century, politicians often had to set their affairs in order at home over several months before undergoing travel to the nation's capital. It also didn't help that Congress and the new president had to wait between Election Day in November and March 4th the next year to start their new jobs. That date was chosen by the 1789 Congress of the Confederation (the original unicameral legislative and executive body) as the beginning of new elected terms. The four-month long delays heavily tested the country's mettle during events like the secession of the Southern states in February 1861, which proved national emergencies wait for no man or new body politic to come into power.
 
The one-month Congress became a bigger and bigger problem as it failed to meet the needs of a growing nation transformed by trains, planes, and automobiles. Among the champions of progressive politics in the Senate was Republican George W. Norris of Nebraska, who advocated for labor rights, direct election of senators, and isolationism in foreign policy. In 1923, Norris proposed a resolution to shorten the lame duck session of the legislative and executive bodies. The resolution didn't pick up much steam during the roaring 20s, however the onset of the Great Depression demanded New Deal reforms in the social safety net, and the way Washington did business. The 72nd Congress proposed the 20th Amendment on March 2, 1932, with Section 1 addressing much needed changes to the four-month lame duck period:

Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

After being ratified by three-fourths of the states, the 20th Amendment was passed on January 23, 1933, incidentally during a lame duck period. Franklin D. Roosevelt would become the last president to take office on March 4th in 1933, and also the first to be inaugurated on January 20th in 1937 under the 20th Amendment changes. In 1935 Clerk of the House South Trimble noted “This is the first time in 146 years that an old Congress dies and a new one is born on the 3d day of January…today we inaugurate the first session of the Seventy-fourth Congress.”
 

While the 20th Amendment also outlines other important procedural actions in the executive and legislative branches, like the chain of succession to the presidency, it's mostly known these days for setting the date for the Inauguration Day ceremony and celebrations at the Capitol Building and National Mall. And in these days of high speed internet and other forms of instant gratification, some are upset about the lame duck delay between Election Day and January 20th! Not to worry though, the president elect and his transition team are, by all accounts, kept incredibly busy during the transition period between presidents. We might even say it's a time for the newly-elected ducklings to get to work and start quacking!

 
Image credit & copyright: Alex Wong, Getty Images

 
Written by: Esther P.

Ann Patchett is the author of our first Book of the month.
 

Many novelists specialize in portraying the complex intricacies of human relationships, but few have done it quite as expertly as American author Ann Patchett. Patchett's novels catapulted her to fame in 1992. Since then, she has not only become one of the U.S.'s most acclaimed authors, but a champion of independent booksellers, and the co-owner of her own independent bookshop.
 
Born in 1963, in Los Angeles, California, Patchett's father was a police chief while her mother was a nurse-turned novelist. When Patchett was five, her parents divorced, her mother remarried, and her family moved to Nashville Tennessee. Patchett would later write that her mother's three marriages, as well as Patchett's own two, greatly influenced her fiction writing: she often writes about characters from disparate backgrounds attempting to find common ground.

 
After graduating from St. Bernard Academy, Patchett attended Sarah Lawrence College, during which time she published her first story in The Paris Review. After earning her M.F.A. from Iowa Writers' Workshop and taking a job at Seventeen magazine, Patchett primarily wrote nonfiction for the next nine years. Her writing career really took off with the publication of her first novel, The Patron Saint of Liars (1992). The book, which tells the story of a woman who flees her marriage, was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. In 1998, it was turned into a television movie.
 
The next few years were a whirlwind of published novels, for Patchett. In 1994, she published Taft, the story of an ex-jazz musician whose son is taken away from him. The novel won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize in fiction. In 1997, she published The Magician's Assistant, in which a widow uncovers secrets from her husband's past. In 2001, Bel Canto, her novel about the relationship between hostages and the terrorists holding them captive in South America was published. Bel Canto was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and won the PEN/Faulkner Award.
 
Even in the midst of her early successes, however, Patchett's own father remained critical of her choice to be a professional writer. In an article in The New Yorker, Patchett wrote, "I got an M.F.A. from Iowa, a handful of fellowships, a smattering of prizes. I published stories, articles, three novels, and still he sent me notices for summer work on cruise ships." However, Patchett also said that there was an upside to her father's disapproval, since "having someone who believed in my failure more than in my success kept me alert. It made me fierce. Without ever meaning to, my father taught me at an early age to give up on the idea of approval."
 
Patchett has always been a passionate advocate of brick-and-mortar bookstores. In 2010, she co-founded Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee with her friend Karen Hayes, a veteran of the publishing industry. When explaining the importance of independent, brick-and-mortar bookstores during an interview with Fifth & Flower, Patchett pointed out that many writers can't succeed without them. "One of the things that’s so important about having a real bookstore is—if Ann Patchett publishes a book, I’ve got a fan base and I’ve got guaranteed reviews in major newspapers and magazines and you’re going to hear about my new book out—but what about someone who is publishing their first novel, or collection of short stories, or book of poetry?"
 
In 2012, Patchett was named one of Time Magazine's "100 most influential people in the world." In 2016, Parnassus Books expanded into a larger space and added a bookmobile, to reach readers throughout the Nashville area. Last year, Patchett published two novels: Lambslide, her first children's book, and The Dutch House, about the bond that forms between a pair of siblings who are abandoned by their mother. Patchett has shown no signs of slowing down throughout 2020, publishing several articles this year about running a bookshop during lockdown and which books to read throughout it. Although Patchett hasn't announced plans for any new novels, her active presence throughout this year seems to suggest that her writing career won't be slowing down any time soon.
 
Image credit & copyright: Heidi Ross

 
Written by: Maria C.

It's easy to see why this state is called "the last frontier"! Positioned near the top of North America, between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, Alaska is one of the U.S.'s most remote states. It's a place replete with wilderness, natural resources, and an impressive array of arctic wildlife. Yet it took quite a while for Alaska to become United States property, let alone a full-fledged state on this day in 1959. Not everyone was happy with Alaska's statehood.
 
Alaska has been populated by humans since at least 14,000 B.C.E., when nomadic people crossed the Bering land bridge. Today, there are six main groups of Native Alaskans still living in the state: the Inupiat, the Haida, the Yuits, Athabascans, Aleuts, and Tlingits. The name "Alaska" comes from the Aleut word "Alaxsxaq", meaning "mainland" in English. In the 17th Century, contact was established between Native Alaskans, Russians, and Europeans. By the 18th Century, the Haida engaged in regular trade with them. However, when the Russians the majority of Alaska as a colony, in 1733, tensions began to rise between Native Alaskans, who had called Alaska home for thousands of years, and outsiders looking to profit from its rich resources.  

The 18th and 19th Centuries in Alaska were marked by conflict and disease. Nearly 80 percent of the Aluet population was destroyed by foreign illnesses due to contact with Russia. In 1857, a battle broke out between American settlers and a group of Haida and Tlingits who refused to recognize American authority. This culminated in a U.S. military officer, Colonel Isaac Ebey, being shot and beheaded by the Tlingits. In 1867, the same year that the United States bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, an American ship brought smallpox to Alaska's shores. The Haida population dwindled from around 6,600 individuals to around just 830.
 
Russia had its reasons for selling Alaska. During the 19th Century, Russia and England were engaged in a power struggle called "the great game", in which both sought to become the most powerful nation on earth. As war threatened to break out between the two countries, Russia realized that Alaska would be strategically difficult to defend, and feared the humiliation of losing it to Britain. Instead, they opted to sell it to the United States, although the change of ownership was unpopular on all fronts at first. Many Russians felt that Alaska had been given up too quickly or too cheaply. Many Native Alaskans saw the deal as yet another foreign attack on their way of life. Many Americans didn't understand how their country could benefit from owning an "icebox" state. Some even referred to the deal as "Seward's icebox" or "Seward's folly", so named for the U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, who had signed the deal. However, the American populace changed its tune in 1896, when gold was discovered along a Klondike River tributary running through Canada and Alaska, ushering in the Klondike Gold Strike.
 
Despite having occupied Alaska for thousands of years, the indigenous peoples did not become U.S. citizens when Alaska was purchased. This meant that they couldn't vote or technically own property in their homeland. Their citizenship was finally recognized in 1924, when the Indian Citizenship Act was passed. 35 years later, in 1959, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act, making Alaska the 49th U.S. state. Importantly, the act contained language guaranteeing certain ancestral lands to Native Alaskans. After several more decades of dispute, President Richard Nixon finally ceded 44 million acres of federal land to Native Alaskans, in 1971.
 
Although Alaska was scarred by colonialism, today around 120,000 of Alaska's nearly 740,000 people are Native Alaskan. The state also maintains a reputation as one of the most beautiful places on earth. Alaska contains the U.S.'s largest national forest, Tongass National Forest. It is also home to three of the world's eight bear species: black bears, brown bears, and polar bears, as well as more wolves than anywhere else on earth. Talk about a wild place with a wild history!
 
Image credit & copyright: Alaskan mountains and pine trees bordering a lake.

 
Written by: Maria C.

The history of Las Vegas can be divided into two eras: before and after the opening of the Flamingo Hotel & Casino. The brainchild of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, an opulent-minded mobster boss, The Flamingo turned the desert town of Las Vegas into an all-night mecca for human vices. Not to mention it was a jackpot for money laundering.
 
Prior to opening the Flamingo in 1946, Russian-Jewish mobster Bugsy Siegel had made a name for himself as a leader of the Bugs and Meyer Mob, one of the major crime organizations operating out of Manhattan. Siegel eventually became part of the Syndicate, an alliance of mob bosses across the nation, and operated the "Murder, Inc." branch responsible for putting out hits on anyone who crossed the bosses. When Murder, Inc. got in trouble with the law in the mid 1930s, Siegel's partner Meyer Lansky sent him away to avoid prosecution. In exile, he set up various operations in the American South West, including narcotics operations in Mexico and Al Capone's Trans America Wire service. Siegel also made a name for himself in Hollywood, where he threw lavish parties and garnered the kind of attention he craved from movie stars and musicians alike.
 
Meanwhile in Las Vegas, the owner of The Hollywood Reporter Billy Wilkerson bought 33 acres of land east of Route 91 in 1945 with plans to develop a European-style hotel and casino. At the same time, Siegel's plans to rebuild the El Cortez were impeded by city officials who did not want to green light a mobster's project in their town. When Wilkerson ran out of money to complete his project, Siegel masqueraded as an interested businessman and bought two-thirds stake in the project. Siegel's opulent lifestyle poured over into his work on the hotel: he secured financing from the Syndicate and began building a Havana-style resort modeled on their Cuban gambling properties. Each of the 105 rooms had individually built sewage pipes and air conditioning. He would even name the hotel after his sweetheart, Virginia Hill, nicknamed "Flamingo" for her attractive legs.
 
When the Flamingo Hotel & Casino opened on December 26, 1946, it was the first luxury hotel on the Vegas Strip. Despite its tropical decor (a change from the Wild West frontier-themed resorts of the era), it was no paradise. Bad weather forced many of Siegel's Hollywood friends to miss the opening gala. Many of the rooms were unfinished, and the casino lost money in its first month of operation. Siegel's lack of business acumen meant that his building costs ballooned to $6 million dollars—a fee that caused some in the Syndicate to believe he was skimming money off of them.

 
The "Fabulous Flamingo" reopened in March 1947 after months of Siegel's efforts to drum up investments and good press for the hotel. It was too little too late for Siegel though: the Syndicate put a hit out on him. in June 1947 he was gunned down while reading the evening newspaper in Hill's Beverly Hills home. That same night, Siegel's lieutenants Davey Berman, Gus Greenbaum and Morris Rosen arrived at the Flamingo and took over management.
 

Though Siegel did not live to see it, the Flamingo became a high roller's paradise. In 1948 the casino made $4 million in profits and their unrivalled entertainment included performances by Judy Garland, Ray Charles, and Ella Fitzgerald. The location also served as the ubiquitous Vegas casino setting in films like Viva Las Vegas and the original Ocean's 11, and Hunter S. Thompson's book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas took place there as well. After decades of federal investigations into illegal activities in Vegas, the Nevada Gaming Control Board cracked down on the mob's control of Sin City with their 1980 Excluded Person List, a black book of persona non gratas who are banned from entering any casinos in the state. As Vegas cleaned up its image, the vestiges of Siegel's vision remain in the gaudy neon lights surrounding Fremont Street, and the meticulously preserved history at the city's Mob Museum.

 
Image credit & copyright: The Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1946

 
Written by: Esther P.

She's Britain's longest-reigning monarch, and also their oldest as of this day in 2007. Yet, Queen Elizabeth II was never supposed to be queen. Queen Elizabeth II is a symbol of British tradition and a force in modernizing royal protocols. Throughout her reign, she has balanced governmental responsibilities with the glamour (and tabloid rumors) of celebrity status, weathering scandals but enjoying many more public triumphs.
 
She was born on April 21, 1926 as Princess Elizabeth Alexanda Mary to Prince Albert, Duke of York and his wife, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Neither of her parents had reason to believe that their daughter would ever take the throne. Since Prince Albert was King George's 2nd son, the title of King was meant to pass to his brother, Edward. That all changed in 1936 when King Edward abdicated his throne in order to pursue a forbidden romance with Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee whom the British monarchy would not allow him to marry. Thus, Elizabeth's father became King George VI, ruling until his death on February 6, 1952. Against all odds, it was suddenly time for 25-year-old Elizabeth to assume the throne.
 

While she was technically declared Queen on the day of her father's death, Elizabeth's coronation was held on June 2 the following year. It was a massive affair, and the first coronation of British monarchy to be broadcast live on television. Around 27 million of the United Kingdom's 36 million people tuned in to watch. Queen Elizabeth II had already married Philip Mountbatten, a Greek and Danish Prince (and her distant cousin), but due to the customs of British succession, he was not declared a British Prince until 1957.
 

Throughout the 1960s, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip made a number of important diplomatic visits. In 1965, they journeyed to the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) which at the time was separated from the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) by the Berlin Wall. The visit was Germany's first from British royalty since 1913, and marked 20 years since the end of World War II.
 
Possibly the greatest tragedy to occur during Queen Elizabeth II's reign was an event now known as the Aberfan Disaster. In 1966, a coal mine in the Welsh village of Aberfan suffered a failure of its colliery spoil tip, a pile of waste rock and soil. The resulting avalanche buried a nearby school in debris, killing 116 children and 28 adults. The Queen was faced with a difficult decision: immediately go to the village and risk distracting from the rescue effort, or remain in London and risk appearing heartless. In the end, Elizabeth remained in London for a week, earning plenty of scorn in the press.
 
One of the most common criticisms of the Queen today centers around her treatment of newcomers to the royal family (or public perception of it, anyway). The Queen's son, Prince Charles, married Lady Diana Spencer (Princess Diana) in 1981. But their marriage was rocky and fraught with public scandals, thus the Queen's opinion of Diana was endlessly speculated upon by the press. Upon Diana's untimely death in a car crash in 1996, the Queen at first refused to lower the British flag over Buckingham Palace to half staff. Although Diana hadn't technically been part of the monarchy when she died—she and Charles had divorced earlier that same year—the Queen's decision drew public outrage, and the flag was eventually lowered.
 

More recently, the Queen's opinion of Meghan Markle, who became the Duchess of Sussex upon her marriage to the Queen's grandson, Prince Harry, has come into question. It has been widely reported, though never publicly confirmed, that Queen Elizabeth II didn't approve of the couple's decision to step away from their royal duties and move to the U.S. Regardless of her personal feelings, the fact that Queen Elizabeth II never publicly objected to their marriage still represents a modern attitude, for a monarch. After all, the Queen's own uncle had to abdicate his throne to pursue a similar relationship!
 
Today, Queen Elizabeth II is as adored and maligned by the media as any other celebrity. (See the recent season of Netflix's The Crown, which was asked to add a disclaimer about the fictional contents at the beginning of each episode.) With every public appearance and gracious speech she continues to prove that, even in an age where the royal family manages its own Facebook page, there is still style, poise and tradition to be found in the British monarchy.
 

Image credit & copyright: WMagazine, Pool, Tim Graham Picture Library, Getty Images

 
Written by: Maria C.

Explorer, captain, historical icon...pirate? On this day in 1577, Sir Francis Drake set off on a voyage that would make him the first Englishman to circumvent the globe. However, Drake wasn't exploring for exploration's sake. He had secretly promised Queen Elizabeth he would raid Spanish ships and ports for valuable cargo, lending him an infamous reputation in Spain.
 
Born in Tavistock, Devon, England on an unrecorded date, Drake's family moved to the port city of Plymouth when he was still a child. When Drake was deemed old enough to work, his father apprenticed him to relatives, the Hawkins family, who kept a small fleet of ships. The Hawkins family were well-known merchants and privateers—pirates who looted foreign vessels. Drake quickly took to his new trade. At age 18, he accompanied the Hawkins family to sea for the first time. Not long after, Drake's aptitude for sailing earned him a place in the family's fleet. By the 1560s, Drake had gained command of his own ship and grown particularly close with his cousin, John Hopkins.
 
From John Hopkins Drake learned about the slave trade. The pair sailed to West Africa, where they captured villagers and stole already-captured slaves from Portuguese ships off the African coast. Hopkins and Drake then sold the slaves to plantations in the Spanish Caribbean, which was illegal under Spanish law. In 1568, the Spanish government retaliated against the Hawkins fleet, ambushing them at the Mexican port of Juan de Ulúa. Four of their ships were destroyed, and many crew members killed. Drake thus developed a deep hatred for Spain, which he harbored the rest of his life.
 

Drake did not set out to circumnavigate the globe. Rather, his most famous voyage came about after his exploits raiding Spanish ships caught the attention of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1577, the Queen secretly sent Drake on a government-backed expedition against the Spanish colonies on the American Pacific Coast. Although Drake didn't know it at the time, this expedition would turn into a trip around the world.
 
After one false start due to bad weather, Drake set sail on December 13, 1577, aboard his 120-ton lead ship, the Pelican. After a successful raid, his fleet grew to six ships and his crew to over 165 men. The voyage was plagued by trouble, however. While crossing the Atlantic, Drake scuttled or deliberately sank, two of his ships after losing a considerable number of crewmen. Soon after, he discovered that another of his ships, the Mary , had rotting timbers, and had to be burned. Soon, only the Pelican, which Drake renamed the Golden Hind, remained in their fleet. With tensions rising amongst Drake's crew, Drake's co-commander, Thomas Doughty, took to constantly quarrelling with him. On June 3, 1578, Drake accused Doughty of witchcraft and mutiny. He had Doughty beheaded on July 2.
 
Spending the winter in San Julian, Argentina, Drake then sailed the Pacific waters—the first Englishman to do so. After raiding Spanish ports along South America's west coast, the Spanish began calling Drake El Draque, "the dragon". King Philip II, of Spain, even put a bounty on Drake's head, but to no avail. After heading north in search of passage back to the Atlantic, Drake made his way to what is today San Francisco. While fixing their ship, Drake's crew claimed the land in the name of Elizabeth I by nailing a brass plate to a tree. This made Drake the first Englishman to claim land in North America. From there he turned back west, sailing the Pacific to the Philippines, then around the Cape of Good Hope. The remainder of his journey took him on a twisting path around all five continents over the course of 1,020 days. By the time he arrived back in Plymouth, in September 1580, he had long been presumed dead. Although only 56 men from his crew survived, Drake was honored as a British hero and knighted by the Queen aboard the Golden Hind a few months after his return.
 
Drake continued his battle against the Spanish until his death from dysentery, in 1596. His legacy is one of both exploration and exploitation; of discovery and violence. At least San Francisco is no longer under El Draque's management.
 

 
Image credit & copyright: Painting of Sir Francis Drake, c. 16th-17th century

 
Written by: Maria C.

Even paradise comes with a few volcanoes! The Island of Hawai'i, a tropical paradise by any measure, faced a small volcanic eruption on this day in 1975 after its most active volcano, Kīlauea, was triggered by an earthquake. Not only is Hawai'i the most volcanically active of the Hawaiian Islands, it is also the largest, spanning 4,029 square miles. The natural history of the "Big Island" (as it is called by locals) is every bit as fascinating as the human history that has taken place there.
 
Hawai'i owes its large size to five overlapping shield volcanoes—short, wide volcanoes composed mainly of fluid lava flows. This lava constantly expands the island's land mass, as it moves outward and solidifies. In fact, between 1983 and 2002, Hawai'i grew by over five hundred acres. Three of the island's volcanoes, Kohala, Mauna Kea and Hualalai, are dormant. Its two active volcanoes are Mauna Loa, one of the largest volcanoes in the world, and Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes. It's no wonder that Hawai'i was said to be the home of Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, lighting, and volcanoes.
 
At around half a million years old, Hawai'i is the youngest of the Hawaiian Islands. It was only discovered by humans about 1,500 years ago, by Polynesian travelers from the Marquesas Islands. The Hawaiian islands quickly developed a thriving culture, centered in Hawai'i. In 1778, the Western World "discovered" the island's existence when Captain James Cook, a British explorer, landed there. Unfortunately, Cook had little respect for the island's people. On several occasions, he offended local leaders by toppling sacred monuments, taking food without permission, and accusing Hawaiians of theft. On his third trip to Hawai'i, Cook's men tried to kidnap Chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu and hold him in exchange for a boat that they claimed the Hawaiians had stolen. Before Cook could get the chief onto their ship, however, the Hawaiians fought back, and Cook was killed. Cook's mistake helped make Hawai'i known as a place where travelers were expected to be courteous.
 

Throughout the 1800s, sugar production became an important part of Hawai'i's economy. Laborers from countries like China and Korea were recruited to work on the island. Eventually, wealthy businessmen from China, Europe, and the United States made their way to the island as well, eventually leveraging their power to help overthrow Queen Liliʻuokalani, in 1893. The Hawaiian Islands were annexed by the United States in 1898, but they didn't become a state until 1959.
 
On November 29, 1975, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Big Island, killing two people, injuring almost thirty, and causing around $4 million in property damage. At the time, it was Hawai'i's biggest earthquake in over a century. Not only were the earthquake's tremors felt throughout the entire island chain, but they also triggered a small eruption of Kīlauea and caused a 47-foot-high tsunami. Small portions of Hawai'i's southern coast were permanently submerged. Afterward, some buildings in the island's biggest cities, like Hilo, were rebuilt with greater earthquake protection.
 

Today, Hawai'i is the second-most inhabited of the Hawaiian Islands. It is prized for its wildlife and forested and areas, a respite from tourist-filled beaches. Many of the Hawaiian Islands' endemic species, including their only native mammal, the Hawaiian Hoary Bat, live on the Big Island. Colorful salmon-billed i‘iwi birds can be found in the Big Island's forests, while sea turtles and whales can be spotted along its coasts. Judging by the number of tourists drawn to Hawaii each year, most people are willing to brave a little lava for the chance to glimpse the Big Island's natural splendor!
 

 
Image credit & copyright: Jet Setter

 
Written by: Maria C.

Not every researcher completely changes public perception of their field. American anthropologist Margaret Mead, who passed away on this day in 1978, did just that. Throughout her career, Mead wrote about the Western World's attitudes toward sex and family structure. These topics were fairly taboo to speak about at the time, particularly for women. Mead's persistence helped influence the U.S.'s "sexual revolution", or women's rights movement.
 
Born in Pennsylvania, Mead's father was a finance professor and her mother was a sociologist. Mead's academic parents were a great influence on her career. By the time Mead earned her degree from Barnard College in New York City, she had strong opinions about anthropology, and the way it characterized women and cultures outside the Western World. She said it was caught up in "the stupid underbrush of nineteenth century arguments."
 
After earning her Master's degree from Columbia University in 1924, Mead traveled to Samoa, to do fieldwork. This trip laid the groundwork for her views on sex, family structure, and child-rearing in cultures outside the U.S. At the time, anthropology had just begun focusing on culture as a controlling factor in human behavior (rather than debunked claims about race controlling behavior). Mead witnessed firsthand that, despite popular racist claims of the day, Somoan culture was rich and intriguing. Mead came to believe in cultural determinism: the idea that a person's culture and how they are raised determines who they grow to be. Mead's trip to Samoa also offered another turning point in her life. While living there, she found out that her boyfriend, Edward Sapir, whom she was considering leaving her husband for, had married another woman. Mead burned his love letters on a Samoan beach.
 
Mead's work was influenced by her friend and professor, anthropologist Ruth Benedict. Benedict's research focused on child rearing and culture—the subjects Mead eventually studied. By the time Mead earned her PhD in 1929, she had been married twice. She would eventually marry again. She spoke openly about her relationships, even joking "Everyone should marry three times: once to leave home, once to have children, and once for companionship."
 
Mead believed in the power of observation—qualitative research—and largely used it to support her writings. She also promoted certain childrearing practices she had observed in other cultures, such as breastfeeding children only when they cried. Mead went on to publish 23 books, most focused on cultures she had observed around the world.
 
During the 1940s, Mead was a curator at the American Museum of Natural History and taught at The New School and Columbia University. Her popular influence grew throughout the 1950s and 1960s as she spoke out against the U.S.'s unfair treatment of women, Black people, and the disabled. She was known as a fiercely articulate scholar. "If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls of the university and laboratory until one gets a better grasp of one’s subject matter," she declared.
 
In the 1960s, Mead took a particular interest in sign language and cross-cultural communication. Working with communications theorist Rudolf Modley, she helped establish Glyphs Inc. with the goal of creating a universal language using graphic symbols. During the 1970s, She became Vice President of the New York Academy of Sciences and President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. When Mead passed away, she had changed the American public's perception of anthropology—from a field which relied on dry data and statistics to a complex social science focused on observation and comprehension of cultural nuances. In 1979, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor. It should be no surprise that one of Mead's most sincere beliefs was in people's ability to bring about cultural change. As she famously expressed: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
 

Image credit & copyright: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.

 
Written by: Maria C.

On this day in 1789, Reverend Elijah Craig distilled the first bourbon whiskey in Kentucky, or so legend has it. Born in Orange County, Virginia sometime between 1738 and 1743, Elijah Craig was the fifth child of Polly Hawkins and Toliver Craig, Sr. Craig converted to the Baptist faith around 1764, and became an ordained minister in 1771. He was imprisoned in 1768, 1770, and 1771, for proselytizing without a license from the Anglican Church (the Church of England)—colonists who did not adhere to the official religion were considered seditious. At the time, Baptists preached to racially mixed congregations and openly supported abolition. In 1781, Craig's brother Lewis, also a pastor, led an exodus known as the Travelling Church to modern-day Kentucky. Craig joined his brothers in 1785, eventually purchased a parcel of land near modern-day Georgetown. On the property he built the first fulling mill, paper mill, ropewalk, and lumber and gristmill in the area. He produced paper, rope, lumber, and whiskey.

Two years later, Craig opened the first classical school in Kentucky. He also served as minister at the Great Grossing Church—a role that conflicted with his entrepreneurial endeavours. Baptists believe The Bible tells them drinking is wrong, and typically abstain from alcohol. Nonetheless, it was the parishioners who provided his corn supply because they were unable to pay him a proper salary. Craig turned the corn to mash for whiskey. According to legend, one day there was a small fire behind the mill where the barrels were stored. Some of the barrels were scorched, but Craig didn't want to throw them out. Instead, he put the corn whiskey inside to see what happened. The result was what we now-call bourbon. Whether or not this origin story of bourbon is true, one thing is certain, Craig's distillery was one of many making whiskey.

Craig died in 1808, leaving behind 4,000 acres of land. He died a slave owner—like many Baptists he went from being an abolitionist to merely encouraging better treatment of slaves while benefiting from their free labor. The Kentucky Gazette eulogized Craig as follows, "He possessed a mind extremely active and, as his whole property was expended in attempts to carry his plans to execution, he consequently died poor. If virtue consists in being useful to our fellow citizens, perhaps there were few more virtuous men than Mr. Craig."

It was not until long after his death that Craig became labeled the father of bourbon. The Bourbon Institute created a public-relations campaign that ran from 1958 to 1968, claiming Craig conveniently invented bourbon the same day George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States (April 30, 1789).
Today, Craig's name lives on through the eponymous bourbon brand, Elijah Craig, produced at the Heaven Hill Bernheim distillery in Louisville, Kentucky.

The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau now regulates the spirit's production and distribution. To be considered bourbon, and not just whiskey, distillers must follow these protocols. First, it must be made in the United States, from 51% or more corn (the "mash bill"), and distilled at no higher than 160 proof. True bourbon is aged at 125 proof in charred new oak barrels for at least two years. Any bottles of "bourbon" you purchase are free of additives, and between 80 and 100 proof. Water and yeast are the only other ingredients used in the process. The rest is bourbon myth.
 
Image credit & copyright: Portrait of Elijah Craig.