Handwriting, #2: History

 

 

 

 

Genealogy tip for today: Handwriting, #2: History  

Handwriting has been around ever since man learned to form thoughts into words and record them on some surface.  It progressed from markings, to picture forms, i.e. hieroglyphics, to actual letters and alphabets. This gave opportunity to variations of how letters were written, even within the same language – from person to person. (One person’s lower case “s” may look like another person’s “r”.) It has only been in the relevant recent past that typing, printing (press), or keyboarding has changed how we record our thoughts and words. Now we

have standard, consistent, exactly alike – all the time writing through the mechanical means of technology.

 

It is an interesting history how we developed our alphabets and writing, from Egyptian and Phoenician times to today. If you are interesting in reading a short article on it, I found this website that gives you an overview. To me it’s a fascinating story.

 

When I was in library school, over 10 years ago, we studied the whole concept of information, thoughts, words, alphabets, language, etc. and how they all came about. I discovered there were two things that were important in any society, no matter how developed they were, or weren’t! Those two things are a society’s religion and their genealogy: who they are and what they believe. This took on all kinds of forms in different parts of the world. The totem poles and the coat of arms are two examples. Even before anything was put down in writing, these two areas of importance found a way to be recorded in many, early societies. Today, another example is the Family Bible – faith and family.

Now with the explosion of the Internet, we have information to the point of overload. English, being the language of the marketplace, has nearly become a universal language, and with the Internet they make communication available virtually anywhere in the world.

Language changes, terminologies come and go, as well as the constant change of current technology, and thus how things are recorded. All of this impacts how we go about doing our research. Tomorrow we will look at language and writings from 100 to 500 years ago, what helps we may have in accurately interpreting the writings and – if we have time and space - tips to assist us in our endeavor.

 

 

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is helpful in anyway.

 

 

 

Today in History

1270		The Seventh Crusade ends by the Treaty of Barbary.
1485		Henry VII of England crowned.
1697		The Treaty of Ryswick ends the war between France and the Grand Alliance.
1838		Oberlin Collegiate Institute in Lorian County, Ohio becomes the first college in the U.S. to admit female students.
1899		Two battalions of British troops are cut off, surrounded and forced to surrender to General Petrus Joubert's Boers at Nicholson's Nek.
1905		The czar of Russia issues the October Manisfesto, granting civil liberties and elections in an attempt to avert the burgeonng supprot for revolution.
1918		The Italians capture Vittorio Veneto and rout the Austro-Hungarian army.
1918		Turkey signs an armistice with the Allies, agreeing to end hostilities at noon, October 31.
1922		Mussolini sends his black shirts into Rome. The Fascist takeover is almost without bloodshed. The next day, Mussolini is made prime minister. Mussolini centralized all power in himself as leader of the Fascist party and attempted to create an Italian empire, ultimately in alliance with Hitler's Germany.
1925		Scotsman John L. Baird performs first TV broadcast of moving objects.
1938		H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds is broadcast over the radio by Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Many panic believing it is an actual newscast about a Martian invasion.
1941		The U.S. destroyer Reuben James, on convoy duty off Iceland, is sunk by a German U-boat with the loss of 96 Americans.
1950		The First Marine Division is ordered to replace the entire South Korean I Corps at the Chosin Reservoir area.
1953		US Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves a top secret document to maintain and expand the country's nuclear arsenal.
1961		The USSR detonates "Tsar Bomba," a 50-megaton hydrogen bomb; it is still (2013) the largest explosive device of any kind over detonated.
1965		US Marines repeal multiple-wave attacks by Viet Cong within a few miles of Da Nang where the Marines were based; a sketch of Marine positions was found on the body of a 13-year-old boy who had been selling the Americans drinks the previous day.
1973		The Bosphorus Bridge is completed at Istanbul, Turkey, connecting Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus Strait.
1974		The "Rumble in the Jungle," a boxing match in Zaire that many regard as the greatest sporting event of the 20th century, saw challenger Muhammad Ali knock out previously undefeated World Heavyweight Champion George Foreman.
1975		Prince Juan Carlos becomes acting head of state in Spain, replacing the ailing dictator Gen. Francisco Franco.
1985		Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off for its final successful mission.
1991		BET Holdings Inc., becomes the first African-American company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
2005		The rebuilt Dresden Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) that was destroyed during the firebombing of Dresden in WWII is rededicated.

 

 

Birthdays today     

1735		John Adams, second president of the United States who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolution.
1751		Richard Sheridan, playwright (The Rivals, The School for Scandal).
1839		Alfred Sisley, landscape painter.
1857		Gertrude Atherton, novelist.
1871		Paul Valery, poet and essayist.
1882		William F. "Bull" Halsey, Jr., American admiral who played an instrumental role in the defeat of Japan during World War II. The Japanese surrender was signed on his flagship, the USS Missouri.
1885		Ezra Pound, American poet who promoted Imagism, a poetic movement stressing free phrase rather than forced metric. He was imprisoned for his pro-Fascist radio broadcasts.
1896		Ruth Gordon, Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe–winning actress (Harold and Maude, Rosemary's Baby).
1906		Hermann Fegelein, SS general of WWII who was brother-in-law to Adolf Hitler's mistress Eva Braun.
1915		Fred W. Friendly, president of CBS News and co-creator of the documentary series See It Now, the program largely credited for bringing down Sen. Joe McCarthy.
1930		Clifford "Brpwnie" Brown, influential jazz trumpeter and composer ("Joy Spring," "Daahoud").
1936		Dick Vermeil, head coach of the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles (1976–1982), St. Louis Rams (1997–1999), and Kansas City Chiefs (2001–2005).
1939		Grace Slick, singer, songwriter; lead singer for the bands The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship.
1945		Henry Winkler, actor, director, producer; rose to fame as "The Fonz" on Happy Days TV series, a role that twice earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy.
1970		Tory Belleci, filmmaker and model maker known for his work on the Mythbusters TV series; also worked on two Star Wars films.

 

 

Word for the Day

falstaffian

PRONUNCIATION:

(fal-STAF-ee-uhn)

 

MEANING:

adjective: Fat, jolly, and convivial.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Sir John Falstaff, a character in Shakespeare's plays Henry IV (parts 1 & 2) and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Earliest documented use: 1809.  

USAGE:

"His hair was long and scruffy, his ties ludicrous and his manner jovial bordering on Falstaffian; a board meeting, for him, was a debate, punctuated by gales of his maniacal laughter."
John Harvey-Jones; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 17, 2008.

 

Quote for the Day

The only thing one can give an artist is leisure in which to work. To give an artist leisure is actually to take part in his creation. - Ezra Pound, poet (1885-1972)

 

 

Today’s Recipe

Treats, No Tricks!

Big Foot(s)!

 

Ingredients for 1 foot
1 kg ground beef or turkey or chicken
1.5 onions
1 egg
4 garlic cloves
breadcrumbs
salt, pepper, paprika powder sweet
1 tbsp instant broth
ketchup
chili sauce or red eatable color

Cooking Instructions
- cut onion in half and cut from each half a 1 cm thick slice – this is the bone.
- from the outer layer of the onion cut toe nails.
- chop the remaining onion in small cubes, garlic cloves as well.
- mix ground meat with egg, spices and ketchup.
- on baking paper form 2 feet out of the meat.
- pre-heat oven on 200 degrees C or 350 F.
- add chili sauce on top (cut off part of the foot!) so it looks like blood, place on top 1 onion slice.
- cut the onion in small pieces and place them as nails on top of the toes. [If you have a miniature biscuit cutter, use it to cut out the nails. it will give them a nice even curved cut. Ed.]
- bake the feet for 30 minutes and 10 minutes before the end, add some more chili sauce on the top of the foot.

Enjoy your feet warm or cold with baguette bread, potato salad or pasta with tomato sauce or mustard.

 

ENJOY!

Now You Know!