SEVENTY YEARS SINCE THE BATTLE OF KURSK

A TURNING POINT 

IN WORLD WAR II 

A VETERAN OF THE BATTLE  
OF THE KURSK SALIENT 
at the 50th Anniversary 
ORËL, RUSSIA 
August 1993 

The largest tank battle 

TAKE A MEETING, BEVERLY HILLS

HIGH POWER 

AT HOME 

CREATIVE MEETING 

"HOLLYWOOD" 

THE SEVENTIES 

one of a series 

FRANK SARGENT BORN NINETY-EIGHT YEARS AGO

FRANCIS W. SARGENT 

July 29, 1915-October 21, 1998 

64th Governor of 
the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts 

(Republican) 

1969-1975 

The official profile, here; two obituaries, here and here. 

From an appreciation in the Boston Globe by David Nyhan (October 23, 1998, p. A27): 

No politician of his rank had more fun in office, as often at his own expense as at another's. He was not a complicated man, of twisted psyche, inner turmoil, or desperate ambition. Frank was Frank: a beautiful man, a solid friend, an able leader, an honest public servant. And a million laughs. What's not to prize in such a splendid fellow, now dead at 83? 

He was a product of distinguished and distinctive Massachusetts Yankee lineage, educated well, but not overly so, at Noble & Greenough and MIT -- hence the desktop motto: "Don't ask me; I didn't go to Harvard." Like a lot of his generation who survived World War II, he made the most of what he came back to. A skier-sportsman of the hardy New England variety, he wound up in the fabled 10th Mountain Division that trained hard in Colorado for Alpine combat, then was tossed into midsummer fury of the Italian campaign, where Captain Frank picked up two sets of wounds, a Bronze Star, and other medals. 

MATINA HORNER IS SEVENTY-FOUR

MATINA SOURETIS HORNER  

b. July 28, 1939 

MATINA & JOSEPH HORNER 

AT HOME 

with children and dog, 1972 

when Matina Horner's selection as 

President of Radcliffe College was announced 

Two summings-up after a decade and more of Horner's presidency (she served until 1989), here and here.  Some information on her post-Radcliffe life is here and here and here. 

Dr. Joseph Horner's obituary ("inventor indulged love of chamber music") can be found here. 

SIXTY YEARS SINCE THE KOREAN WAR TRUCE WAS SIGNED

THE ARMISTICE ENDING 

THE KOREAN WAR 

WAS SIGNED 

July 27, 1953 

CHECKPOINT AT 

THE DMZ 

South Korean side of 

the Demilitarized Zone 

Some reflections on the day, here and here and here. 

More DMZ here and here and here and here and here and here and  here. 

RICHARD TRUMKA IS SIXTY-FOUR

RICHARD L. TRUMKA 

b. July 24, 1949 

RICH TRUMKA 

Back when he chaired 

the United Mine Workers 

Published in Business Week 

December 12, 1983, p. 90 

Now and for the last four years, come this September, Trumka is President of the AFL-CIO.   More here. 

BOB DOLE IS NINETY

ROBERT J. DOLE 

b. July 22, 1923 

SENATORS BOB DOLE (R-KS) (l) & 
RUSSELL LONG (D-LA) (r) 
Powerhouses of the Senate 

Published in Business Week, July 29, 1982, p. 52 

Bob Dole was 
A member of the House of Representatives (1961-1969) 
A Senator (1969-1996) 

Majority or Minority Leader of the Senate 
1985-1996 

Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee, 1976 
FORD-DOLE 
(Jimmy Carter & Walter Mondale won) 

Republican Presidential Nominee, 1996 
DOLE-KEMP 
(Bill Clinton & Al Gore won) 

A good long piece on Dole just three months ago by Roy Wenzl of the Wichita Eagle can be found here. 

WILLAM ROTH b. July 22, 1921

WILLIAM V. ROTH, JR. 

July 22, 1921-December 13, 2003 

SENATOR ROTH (R-DE) 

In the Reagan Era 

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives 

January 3, 1967-December 31, 1970 

Member of the U.S. Senate 

January 1, 1971-January3, 2001 

The ROTH in ROTH IRA 

The Congressional Biography, here 

STILL LIFE: TWO TOMATOES WHEN THREE HAVE ALREADY BEEN PICKED

TWO TOMATOES 

ON THE VINE, 

WITH HERBS, 

AT TWILIGHT 

WHEN THREE HAVE 

ALREADY BEEN PICKED 

TWO WINGS & WOOD

TWO WINGS 

ON WOOD 

KARL DEUTSCH BORN A CENTURY AND A YEAR AGO

KARL W. DEUTSCH 

July 21, 1912-November 1, 1992 

PROF. KARL DEUTSCH 

TEACHING AT HARVARD 

For more information on this renowned scholar and 

teacher of political science, please see here; also here. 

"THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT": HELEN THOMAS KNEW A GOOD CLOSING LINE

HELEN THOMAS 

August 4, 1920-July 20, 2013 

The HELEN THOMAS 
in her office 
in the White House when 
Ronald Reagan was President 

In Memoriam, today, here and here and here 

See also 

HELEN THOMAS TAKES ON BARACK OBAMA, here 

THE PACK TURNS ON HELEN THOMAS, here 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTY YEARS SINCE THE DEATH OF COLONEL ROBERT GOULD SHAW -- AND SOLDIERS OF THE 54TH

THE COLONEL 

AND HIS TROOPS 

MEMORIALIZED 

ROBERT GOULD SHAW & 
THE 54TH REGIMENT OF 
MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS 

Sculpture by 
AUGUSTUS-SAINT GAUDENS 

Boston, Massachusetts 

CLOSE-UP OF COLONEL SHAW 
WITH HIS BROKEN SWORD 

COLONEL SHAW 
GETS HIS SWORD BACK 

To be continued 

ANGELA MERKEL IS FIFTY-NINE

ANGELA MERKEL 

b. July 17, 1954 

ROMANO PRODI, 
ANGELA MERKEL, 
AND TONY BLAIR (l-r) 

G8 Summit, St. Petersburg, Russia, July 2006 

At the time, Romano Prodi was Prime Minister of Italy, and Tony Blair was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  Both have since left office.  Angela Blair, then as now, was and is Chancellor of Germany.  In seven weeks or so, she is due to head back to St. Petersburg and the Constantine Palace for this year's G20 summit, hosted by Russia. 

Angela Merkel in the news today: facing elections in September,  still "the most popular politician in the country by far...," here. 

DOUGLAS FEITH IS SIXTY

DOUGLAS J. FEITH 

b. July 16, 1953 

DOUGLAS FEITH 
WORKING FOR 
RONALD REAGAN'S 
PENTAGON 

In the George W. Bush administration, he was a party to the war with Iraq.  A long profile is here; Feith says not to believe everything you read about the Bush White House, here; and gives his own version here. 

TODAY IS THE CENTENARY OF GERALD R. FORD., JR, 38TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

GERALD RUDOLPH FORD, JR. 

July 14, 1913-December 26, 2006 

PRESIDENT AND MRS. FORD 

ATTENDING A MARDI GRAS PARTY 

IN WASHINGTON, D.C.  

flanked on camera left by 

SENATOR RUSSELL B. LONG (D-LA) 

and on camera right by 

SENATOR J. BENNETT JOHNSTON, JR. (D-LA) 

More on GERALD FORD, here 

More on BETTY FORD, here 

EZRA VOGEL HAS A BIRTHDAY

EZRA F. VOGEL 

b. July 11 

Author of the biography of 
DENG XIAOPING 
and other seminal works 
on China and Japan 

More on Ezra Vogel here and here; 
on Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China, here and here; 
on China, here; 
on Japan, here 

MOHAMED ELBARADEI NAMED INTERIM PRIME MINISTER OF EGYPT TODAY -- OR NOT? *UPDATED*

EGYPT HAS A NEW 

*INTERIM* 

PRIME MINISTER 

MOHAMED ELBARADEI 

 (second from left, glasses) 

Smiling at the "Family Photograph" 

of the Expanded G8 

St. Petersburg, Russia, July 2006 

Others, from camera left, Hu Jintao (then president of China), 

Jacques Chirac (then president of France), and 

Paul Wolfowitz (then president of the World Bank) 

At the time of this G8 summit, ElBaradei was Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and 2005 co-winner, with the IAEA, of the Nobel Peace Prize. 

He was mentioned as a potential leader when Hosni Mubarek fell from power, but was passed over.  Now the interim president, Adly Mahmud Mansour, has named ElBaradei the interim prime minister.  Initial reporting and analysis can be found here and here.      

Update:  Someone's having second thoughts; see here. 

Update to the Update (July 9, 2013):  ElBaradei was appointed
"vice president in charge of foreign affairs." Question:  Is there to be another vice president, presumably in charge of domestic affairs, or will that be the job of the finally (?) appointed prime minister, Hazem el-Belawi?  Washington Post account here. 

Five weeks later: Blood on the streets, and ElBaradei resigns, today, August 14, 2013.  From the Reuters dispatch: 

Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who lent liberal political support to the ousting of Egypt's first freely elected president, resigned in dismay at the use force instead of a negotiated end to the six-week stand-off. 

"It has become difficult for me to continue bearing responsibility for decisions that I do not agree with and whose consequences I fear. I cannot bear the responsibility for one drop of blood," ElBaradei said. 

SHE'S BACK! THE STATUE OF LIBERTY IS OPEN AGAIN

HAPPY FOURTH 

OF JULY! 

THE STATUE OF LIBERTY 

Oh Say Does that 

Star Spangled Banner 

Yet Wave 

News of the re-opening here