John Singer Sargent was somewhat of a rarity, having achieved recognition and success as an artist during his lifetime. He was controversial as an artist- known for realism in a period when experimental forms like impressionism and cubism were in vogue. He was an intriguing person, intensely private, and almost a man without country. But his prodigious body of work is, above all, a stunning record of the time in which he lived.
On October 8, 1842 US Navy Captain Lawrence Kearny sent a letter to the Viceroy of Liangjiang urging that American merchants in China be granted the same treaty privileges as the British. The negotiation would set the tone of US China relations for the next hundred years, and establish a still recognized principle in world trade-. It was an extraordinary act, given Kearney’s limited authority.
In time for Halloween, three classic ghoulish The History Guy Episodes about history and human cadavers.
The Sargo Class submarine USS Seawolf was one of the most active American submarines in the early war in the Pacific. Her extraordinary service was kept secret for operational reasons during the war, but would later be described to two reporters by her chief radioman, and published as a book in 1945.