The aptly named Robert Dollar had established the Dollar Steamship Company in 1901 at the age 57, following an earlier fortune-making career as a lumber baron in the Pacific Northwest. He was a pioneer of US-China trade who became known as the Grand Old Man of the Pacific. Having made his second fortune in the [...]
Last Saturday some 2,000 politicians, celebrities, journalists and assorted hangers-on dined on crabmeat terrine and chocolate truffles and belly-laughed at remarks delivered by President Barack Obama during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Since 1920, the annual affair has been one of Washington’s premier soirees for reporters, politicians and, more recently, celebrities (the other [...]
Susan Cain‘s book on introversion, “Quiet – The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking,” has been on the New York Times bestseller list since its publication in January, obviously striking a chord not only with the many introverts downtrodden by today’s relentless extrovert culture. If I’d been wondering whether to buy [...]
A new study on presidential greatness revisits some of the ground that has been covered in this blog. While authors David Henderson and Zachary Gochenour use data that have been utilized before, most prominently by Dean K. Simonton, they add the new variable of American lives lost during a president’s tenure. The main finding is [...]
A bittersweet Happy Birthday to president Coolidge’s younger son, Calvin Jr. – born April 13, 1908, he passed away at age 16 from blood poisoning incurred from a blister after playing tennis.
Before I received my old-fashioned paper copy of reason magazine in the mail today, I hadn’t been aware that there is an apparently not-that-new-anymore book out that features a revived William Howard Taft entering the 2012 race for the presidency. I’m looking forward to reading this – but I am a little disappointed that author [...]
The excellent Ghosts of DC blog has posted for your viewing pleasure a charming little silent movie of the 1929 inauguration of Herbert Hoover. While I’m not a great fan of the 31st president, this little gem of a newsreel has some nice shots of his predecessor Calvin Coolidge and Coolidge’s wife Grace – and [...]
