On This Day
1905 – During the Russo-Japanese War, sailors start a mutiny aboard the Russian battleship Potemkin.
The Russo-Japanese War was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire (Russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, romanized: Rússko-yapónskaya voyná; Japanese: 日露戦争, romanized: Nichiro sensō, “Japanese-Russian War”) during 1904 and 1905 over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and Korea.[4] The major theatres of military operations were the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden in Southern Manchuria, and the seas around Korea, Japan, and the Yellow Sea.
Russia sought a warm-water port on the Pacific Ocean both for its navy and for maritime trade. Vladivostok remained ice-free and operational only during the summer; Port Arthur, a naval base in Liaodong Province leased to Russia by the Qing dynasty of China from 1897, was operational year round. Since the end of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Japan feared Russian encroachment on its plans to create a sphere of influence in Korea and Manchuria. Russia had demonstrated an expansionist policy east of the Urals in Siberia and the Far East from the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century.[5]
Seeing Russia as a rival, Japan offered to recognize Russian dominance in Manchuria in exchange for recognition of Korea being within the Japanese sphere of influence. Russia refused and demanded the establishment of a neutral buffer zone between Russia and Japan in Korea north of the 39th parallel. The Japanese government perceived a threat to their plans for expansion into mainland Asia and chose to go to war. After negotiations broke down in 1904, the Japanese Navy opened hostilities in a surprise attack on 9 February [O.S. 27 January] 1904 by attacking the Russian Eastern Fleet at Port Arthur, China.
Although Russia suffered a number of defeats, Emperor Nicholas II was convinced that Russia could win if it fought on; he chose to remain engaged in the war and wait for the outcomes of certain key naval battles. After the hope of victory was quelled, he continued the war to preserve the dignity of Russia by averting a “humiliating peace”. Russia ignored Japan’s willingness early on to agree to an armistice and rejected the idea of bringing the dispute to the Arbitration Court at The Hague. The war eventually concluded with the Treaty of Portsmouth (5 September [O.S. 23 August] 1905), mediated by US President Theodore Roosevelt. The complete victory of the Japanese military surprised international observers and transformed the balance of power in both East Asia and Eastern Europe, resulting in Japan’s emergence as a great power and Russia’s decline in prestige and influence in Eastern Europe. The loss of life without victory and the humiliating defeat for the Russian Empire contributed to growing domestic unrest which culminated in the 1905 Russian Revolution and accelerated the disintegration of the Russian autocracy. The war also marked the first victory of an Asian country against a Western power in modern times.[6]
Born On This Day
1812 – Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy Waterston, American writer (d. 1899)[6]
Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy Waterston (sobriquets, A. C. Q. W. and W. A. C. Q.; June 27, 1812 – October 14, 1899) was an American writer of poems, novels, hymns, and a diary.[1]
Early years and family
Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy was born June 27, 1812 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the youngest daughter of Josiah Quincy III, who served as president of Harvard University, U.S. Representative, and Mayor of Boston. Her mother was Eliza Susan Morton Quincy.[2] Anna’s grandfather, Josiah Quincy II, had also served as mayor of Boston, as did her brother, Josiah. Her other siblings were: Eliza, Abigail, Maria, Margaret, and Edmund.[3]
On April 21, 1840, she married Rev. Robert C. Waterston (1812–93).[4] After passing two years in Europe, and, just as they were all about to return home, their daughter, Helen Ruthven Waterston (1841 – July 25, 1858), died at Naples, Italy.[5]
Career
Some of Waterston’s verses were printed in 1863, in a small volume.[2] She also published articles in the Atlantic Monthly.[6] Her sobriquets included, “A. C. Q. W.”,[7][8] and “W. A. C. Q.”.[9]
In 1870, after visiting Jeanne Carr, Waterston left Oakland, California for Yosemite.[8] Waterston was able to gather around her a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. She knew well and was intimately associated with many of the most distinguished people of the former generation. When her father entertained Lafayette, she was a school girl, but the occasions made such an impression upon her mind that she retained a vivid remembrance of it in later years. The cause of the blind was important to her ever since the establishment of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind.[7]
Death and legacy
Waterston died October 14, 1899, at her home, No. 526 Massachusetts Avenue, in Newton, Massachusetts, where she lived since 1860, and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. Her carved marble bust was sculpted by Edmonia Lewis and is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[10] In 2003, her diary, written at the age of seventeen, was posthumously published under the title A Woman’s Wit and Whimsy.[6]
Selected works
Quincy
Sketchbook, ca. 1835
Together, 1863
Verses, 1863
Edmonia Lewis. (The young colored woman who has successfully modelled the bust of Colonel Shaw.)., 1865
Adelaide Phillipps: A Record. Boston: A. Williams and Company, 1883.
A Woman’s Wit & Whimsy: The 1833 Diary of Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy, edited by Beverly Wilson Palmer. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2003.
FYI
STORIES FROM NORTHERN CANADA AND ALASKA: Steep Ridges—Choosing the Alcan Path
By Matt Goff, Sitka Nature: Indian River Valley and Harbor Mountain
The Awesomer: What’s Inside of the Statue of Liberty; Delta Pocket Tool; Bliss; Descending the Dolomites and more ->
Brain Pickings by Maria Popova: FROM THE ARCHIVE | The Soul of an Octopus: How One of Earth’s Most Alien Creatures Illuminates the Wonders of Consciousness
Brain Pickings by Maria Popova: Whom We Love and Who We Are: José Ortega y Gasset on Love, Attention, and the Invisible Architecture of Our Being
By Layla Ashraf, Tiny Buddha: How I Created Opportunities in a World Full of Obstacles
“I really want to, but I can’t because [add semi-valid reason here].”
That’s a template sentence to let yourself off the hook.
It’s not copyrighted, so feel free to use it any time you want to let go of your dreams and not feel bad about it.
Honestly, it hurts me every time I hear someone say it. I see it for what it is—an excuse.
Every single one of us has ambitions, hopes, dreams, and goals. We fantasize about them on our commutes to work and before we sleep. We talk about how we will one day achieve them, but when it comes time to put them to action, we use that template sentence.
I had every reason to use the template sentence. I live in a third-world country in the Middle East. We suffer from a lack of water, electricity, security, and opportunities—especially for girls.
Read more ->
Ideas
By Rachel: Dr Seuss Inspired Desk
By Organikmechanic: Pallet Wood Armchair for Home and Garden
Why cactus plants on the seat?
By hustlingsloth: Toadstool Mushroom-Inspired Rocking Stool
Recipes
By The Heavenly Bakes, Food Talk Daily: Mini Zucchini Pizza Bites
By Betty Crocker Kitchens: Summer Vegetable Chowder with Parmesan Croutons
By Samantha, Food Talk Daily: Lemony Pasta With Prosciutto
By Melva Baumer, Millmont, Pennsylvania, Taste of Home: Cola Burgers
By Betty Crocker Kitchens: Canned Tuna Is the Key to These 10 Quick Recipes
By jessyratfink: How to Smoke a Pork Butt / Shoulder
By Doris Morgan, Verona, Mississippi, Taste of Home: Ribbon Pudding Pie
By Sara’s Tiny Kitchen, Food Talk Daily: Lemon Crisp Cookies
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- Nutella Stuffed Cookies November 22, 2024Nutella Stuffed Cookies. Yes, they are as naughty and indulgent as they look. But so much easier to make than you think! No electric beater, just a wooden spoon. That moment when the melty Nutella floods in your mouth…. send help! Nutella Stuffed Cookies This is no ordinary cookie. This is a cookie that is... […]Nagi
- New Orleans Chicken Wings November 19, 2024Why settle for plain chicken wings when you can have bold, spicy, New Orleans sass?! Tossed in Creole seasoning and garlic butter then baked until golden, the smell alone will make you drool. Easy enough for dinner, excellent for parties. Get in my belly! New Orleans Chicken Wings Today’s recipe is inspired by New Orleans... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 24 November 24, 2024Picture of the day The Scroll of Eighty-Seven Immortals, drawn by an unknown painter, measuring 30cm high and 292cm wide, is a line-drawing Chinese figure painting. Drawn on a long silk scroll with lines, the painting depicts 87 taoist immortals, including three supreme gods with halo, ten divine generals, seven deities and 67 celestial maidens […]
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 23 November 23, 2024Picture of the day Rainbow yarn for knitting displayed in front of a needlework shop in Graz, Austria
E-book Deals:
The Book Junction: Where Readers Go To Discover Great New Fiction!
Mystery & Thriller Most Wanted
Book Blogs & Websites:
Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?