On This Day
AD 25 – Guangwu claims the throne as Emperor of China, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty.
Emperor Guangwu (15 January 5 BC – 29 March AD 57),[3] born Liu Xiu (Chinese: 劉秀; pinyin: Liú Xiù), courtesy name Wenshu, was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty, restorer of the dynasty in AD 25 and thus founder of the Later Han or Eastern Han (the restored Han dynasty). He ruled over parts of China at first, and through suppression and conquest of regional warlords, the whole of China was consolidated by the time of his death in AD 57.
Liu Xiu was one of the many descendants of the Han imperial family. Following the usurpation of the Han throne by Wang Mang and the ensuing civil war during the disintegration of Wang’s short-lived Xin dynasty, he emerged as one of several descendants of the fallen dynasty claiming the imperial throne. After assembling forces and proclaiming himself emperor in the face of competitors, he was able to defeat his rivals, destroy the peasant army of the Chimei, known for their disorganization and marauding, and finally reunify China in AD 36.
He established his capital in Luoyang, 335 kilometers (208 mi) east of the former capital Chang’an, ushering in the Later/Eastern Han dynasty. He implemented some reforms (notably land reform, albeit not very successfully) aimed at correcting some of the structural imbalances responsible for the downfall of the Former/Western Han. His reforms gave a new 200-year lease of life to the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Guangwu’s campaigns featured many able generals, but curiously, he lacked major strategists. That may very well be because he himself appeared to be a brilliant strategist; he often instructed his generals on strategy from afar, and his predictions generally would be accurate. This was often emulated by later emperors who fancied themselves great strategists but who actually lacked Emperor Guangwu’s brilliance—usually to great disastrous results.
Also unique among emperors in Chinese history was Emperor Guangwu’s combination of decisiveness and mercy. He often sought out peaceful means rather than bellicose means of putting areas under his control. He was, in particular, one rare example of a founding emperor of a dynasty who did not kill, out of jealousy or paranoia, any of the generals or officials who contributed to his victories after his rule were secure.
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Born On This Day
1880 – Gertrude Rush, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1962)
Gertrude Elzora Durden Rush (August 5, 1880 – September 5, 1962) was the first African-American female lawyer in Iowa, admitted to the Iowa bar in 1918.[1] She helped found the National Bar Association in 1925.
Life and career
Gertrude Elzora Durden was born on August 5, 1880 in Navasota, Texas to Sarah E. and Frank Durden. She attended high schools in Parsons, Kansas and Quincy, Illinois.[2] She taught in Oswego, Kansas; the Indian Territory; and Des Moines, Iowa. She married in 1907 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Des Moines College in 1914, then earned a law degree through distance learning facility La Salle Extension University. She remained the only African American female lawyer in Iowa until 1950.[citation needed]
She took over her husband’s law practice after his death. In 1921 she was elected president of the Colored Bar Association. In 1925 Rush and four other black lawyers founded the Negro Bar Association after being denied admission to the American Bar Association.
Rush was also an activist in the civil rights and suffrage movements, as well as an author and playwright.
Tributes
The Gertrude E. Rush Distinguished Service Award is given by the National Bar Association.
As of 2017, the Iowa National Bar Association is erecting a public art project, A Monumental Journey, in honor of Rush and the others who opened the profession of law to African Americans.
FYI
https://youtu.be/rJwXT4GeC2g
https://youtu.be/X4T4l5wwOkA
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Nice idea about the RING addition!
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