James Russell Lowell (February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He was the first editor of The Atlantic Monthly and was one of the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who wrote poetry suitable for families entertaining at their firesides, with conventional forms and meters. His first collection of poetry was published in 1841. He was involved in the movement to abolish slavery, using poetry to express his anti-slavery views. In 1848 he gained notoriety with the publication of A Fable for Critics, a book-length poem satirizing contemporary critics and poets. The same year, he published The Biglow Papers, in which he tried to emulate the true Yankee accent in the dialogue of his characters. This depiction of the dialect and his satires were an inspiration to writers like Mark Twain and H. L. Mencken. Lowell went on to publish several other poetry and essay collections, and in later years was ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain and the Court of St James's. (Full article...)
... that only two men who participated in the Whiskey Rebellion were convicted of treason, but they were later pardoned by President George Washington?
... that Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi earned the nickname the "Butcher of Fallujah" after allegedly masterminding the 2004 ambush in which four private contractors were killed, mutilated, and their bodies displayed?
... that George Washington Pilipō, a leading Hawaiian politician of the 19th century, was known as "The Lion of North Kona"?
1997 – Scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland announced the birth of Dolly(pictured), the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell.
This Wikipedia is written in English. Started in 2001 (2001), it currently contains 5,341,471 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.