Who said: "We believe that all men are created equal"? I suppose it all comes down to what definition you apply to "men." One of the first presidents of the United States was a well-known slave owner. Meanwhile, we have the first Afro-American President in the White House. Annette Gordon-Reed’s The Hemingses Of Monticello: An American Family was published by Norton as it a timely reminder of a second family of a historic president. |
| Thomas Jefferson |
American President Thomas Jefferson is the lynchpin in this story shedding light on his two families, a white one and a slave one. Firstly, there was his wife, Martha Wayles Skelton who was the daughter of a fellow slave owner in Virginia. Her dowry consisted of slaves, of which at least one was a half sister: Sarah ‘Sally’ Hemings. It makes you wonder how it felt owning and selling your own children as slaves.
Sarah Hemings was nine when Martha Wayles Skelton died. Later, she became the mistress of Thomas Jefferson. She accompanied Thomas Jefferson to Paris when he was posted there as US ambassador to France. The French looked at these affairs differently and would not object, and the fellow slave owners in Virginia might think it normal, if a bit eccentric, to take your slave mistress on an assignment of such importance. American political circles frowned on such antics as inappropriate. Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams who would precede Thomas Jefferson in the White House. Writing from London where John Adams was ambassador to the court of King George of the United Kingdom, she admonished him not to commit such an outrage. Keeping slaves was quite in order, but having an affair was completely unthinkable.
When Jefferson was called back to the United States, Sarah Hemings felt disinclined to follow him there. Slavery was outlawed in France; legally, she wasn't a slave but a free woman as long as she didn't return to the United States; the same principle would apply to all her children. She was pregnant with his child when the recall came. Being promised that her children would be freed at the age of 21 made her agree to go back with him to the country of the free.
Thomas Jefferson didn’t take great care to conceal their relationship when they returned to the United States. Their relationship produced four children and endured unto his death. It also laid him open to political attacks and other base and abusive vituperation. The high point in abuse would be reached during his Presidency when rabid racists constantly attacked him and his policies over it.
Eventually, he freed their children as promised, two of them by deed of will. Sarah was not freed in his will. She was also not sold in the estate auction when the other ‘130 valuable negroes’ mentioned in the auction catalog were sold off. It seems that she was given ‘free time’; this would have spared her from having to leave Virginia. As a freed slave, she would have been bound to leave the state within a year of being freed.
Annette Gordon-Reed’s book covers the whole of Thomas Jefferson’s adult life. It contains a lot of historical information without being boring at any point. It also makes you wonder about the thought processes of the men who founded the United States.
Further readingAbolition of Slavery: A Purely Financial DecisionThe White Sex Slaves of 1874Sex Workers of Georgian London
Every year, the awarding of the Nobel Prizes and the subsequent announcement of the winners gives ample opportunity to make snide remarks and scope for a good gripe. Did the right person get it or was the wrong person overlooked and went away empty-handed? Was the award given from political motivation or was it handed out on the basis of a great discovery? The Nobel Prize has many stories that range from strange to touching and outright tragic.
The award to Menachem Begin in 1978 was a similar mistake. Later, members of the Nobel Committee apologized for the decision. Menachem Begin was the leader of an underground organization that perpetrated lethal attacks against British Mandate authorities in 1948. In 1978, The committee didn't know of these atrocities, or maybe just didn't want to know about them.
Sometimes, the Nobel Peace Price is awarded as a lifeline to political prisoners. German publisher and author Carl von Ossietzky was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935 when Adolf Hitler was consolidating his grip on power in Germany. He had made the secret rearmament of the German Reichswehr public to the world and as a consequence was interned in a concentration camp (today, the US government calls such people terrorist helpers and traitors, too; doesn't that make you think?). He was released after the announcement of the award, but at the order of the Nazis was not allowed to accept the award.
The Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 should also have served in a saving mission. It went to the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. Following the announcement of this award, he was released from prison but is still under house arrest. Like Carl von Ossietzky, he could not accept the price personally.
Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. It was not awarded for his work on the general theory of relativity as you would expect. He received it for the little known publication of his explanation of the photoelectric effect. Critics claim that the committee was just too stupid to understand his theory of relativity.
Lise Meitner's contribution to the understanding of nuclear fission was overlooked by the committee, too. According to the laudatory speech, she had "only" found out how much energy is being released in the process and explained the result relatively simple formulas.
Occasionally, there were genuine mistakes. Danish pathologist John Grib Fibiger was awarded the 1926 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his discovery that a small nematode did trigger stomach cancer. This assumption later proved to be completely wrong.
Canadian John Macleod was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1923. While his employees discovered insulin, he himself had actually been on holiday and in no way involved in the process.
Similarly, the relevant facts in the case of Selman Waksman point in an other direction. The American was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1952 for his discovery of streptomycin. In fact, the antibiotic was the discovery of his student Albert Schatz.
And at least once, the committee was completely wrong. Anthony Hewish was cited in 1974 for his "decisive role in the discovery of pulsars". Actually, all the work was done by his doctoral student Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
By content of the original deed, dead people can't receive an award. Sadly, the history of Canadian immune researcher Ralph Steinman partly overturned that inflexible rule. He died three days before the announcement of his win in 2011. The jurors were told of his death only after the prize had been awarded to him. Although the price may actually be awarded only to living people, the jury awarded a Nobel Prize posthumously.
Winston Churchill also graces the list of winners. But Mr. "No Sports" did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize, but the Nobel Prize in Literature. This was justified by his oratory and his biographical writing. The literary world reacted surprised and slightly annoyed. Only the winner was not surprised. When Winston Churchill received the news of having won the Nobel Prize, he just asked, "In which discipline?"
There is a group of multiple winners. A Nobel Prize was awarded twice to only four people ever. In addition to Marie Curie (1903 for Physics and 1911 for Chemistry), Linus Pauling (for Chemistry in 1954 and in 1962 for Peace) and John Bardeen (in 1956 and 1972 respectively for Physics) there was also Frederick Sanger (1958 and 1980 respectively for Chemistry). Of this illustrious list, only Linus Pauling didn't have to share his prizes with someone else.
When Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize in 1921, he could not enjoy the prize money: He had promised the money to his wife Mileva to get her to consent to a divorce.
Something similar happened to Robert Lucas. His wife had consented to the divorce only if she gets half the prize money should he be an award winner. Nearly seven years later and a few weeks before the deadline of the agreement, her ex-husband received the news of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1995.
The list of "unlucky" losers is long. Some incomprehensible jury decisions will always remain uncorrected. Mahatma Gandhi failed three times to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. During the fourth attempt, the signs were better. Before the committee meeting took place, he was murdered.
Vilhelm Bjerknes was no terrorist, yet the committee begrudged him the prize. The Norwegian meteorologist was nominated more than 50 times for a Nobel Prize. He never got it. The same happened to German physicist Friedrich Paschen who was nominated 45 times.
It's hard to imagine, but Adolf Hitler was once on the list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize. Swedish member of parliament Erik Brandt had nominated him. The nomination was made in protest in 1939. Erik Brandt was outraged that shortly before, British Prime Minister Chamberlain was proposed because of his policy of appeasement. Brandt removed the nomination later. However, it is still shown on the official website of the Nobel Committee.Further reading Prophet of The Great WarRobert Koch: With System Against DiseaseFirst Family of Science
They are dead and earn millions every year. Celebrities from the recent and not so recent past are still generating huge income. Meet the ten corpses who earn more in a year than you will in a lifetime. Some of their names you will easily recognize, some of them maybe not.
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| Heath Ledger cover |
He was one of the all-time greats of Hollywood and gave a new face to the Western genre: Steve McQueen. His cool demeanour was his label and made him an idol for young actors and fans worldwide. His first film appearance was in Somebody Up There Likes Me in 1956. His fame was made with The Magnificent Seven. One of his most famous movies was Getaway where he starred besides Ali McGraw. His yearly average income these days is estimated at $6 million.
Her name stands for the word sexy: Marilyn Monroe. Her first film appearance was in Dangerous Years in 1947. Her fame was made with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. One of her most famous movies was Some Like It Hot. Privately she was unhappy and lover to a President and his brother. As a singer she was just plain awful. Her yearly income these days is estimated at $6.5 million.
His name is synonymous for pop art: Andy Warhol. His colourful screen prints of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, or Audrey Hepburn are known to everybody. Actually he was very talented as painter, photographer, and videographer, but these expressions of his art are widely ignored. He is estimated to earn $9 million a year.
His name is a legend in itself: John Lennon. He is one of the members of the unforgettable Beatles, husband to the aristocratic and eccentric Yoko Ono, a fighter for peace. After the split of the Beatles, he became successful as a singer and songwriter in his own right. Just imagine he is still earning $9 million every year.
His most famous figure is the Grinch: Dr. Seuss. His children’s book The Cat in The Hat is still a favourite in the United States. His many books and comics are still selling. Estimated income from his writing and drawing is at $12 million a year.
One of the most famous producers ever was Aaron Spelling. His series are cult. Whatever he took a hand to was made to money. Starsky and Hutch was a big hit even in German, after all the fun had been translated out of it. And of Charlie's Angels we must face further spinoffs, I think. His income a year is estimated at $12 million.
His name is used instead of the word genius: Albert Einstein. His physical theories changed the way we look at the world today. He was not only one of the most brilliant scientists of all time, but also one of the best earning ones as well. Put in relation to the income of the top earner of this list, it’s relatively small, but his income these days is $18 million a year.
Brokeback Mountain put his name on the map: Heath Ledger. Coming to the screen in some rather quirky films, he made it big with Brokeback Mountain. He was nominated for an Oscar for the role of a gay cowboy in that movie. His last role as Joker in Batman – The Dark Knight made a legend of him. His income this year is estimated at $20 million.
Peanuts are money, too: Charles M. Schulz. His Peanuts conquered the world and have enriched children for it. They also generate a yearly income of $33 million.
The King: Elvis. Even though he lives, he tops this list with ease. Even his awful films are still being shown. His acting potential was on a par with Marilyn Monroe’s voice power. His estimated income is at $52 million a year.
Further readingDaniel RadcliffeJustin BieberZac Efron
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