Thursday, October 18, 2007

1827 to 1830

Literature
The Prairie. James F. Cooper. American. 1827. Novel. Death of aged Natty Bumppo. Notable prairie descriptions--from Lewis and Clark. Squatters portend ill for future of democracy. Natty: selfless, noble, disinterested.

Traditiones Perunas. Ricardo Palma. Peru. 1827/1906. Traditions. Covers virtually every aspect of the Peruvian past; history, anecdote, satire.

Society
1828. Andrew Jackson, hero of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, is elected president.

1828. An American Dictionary of the English Language is published after 28 years of work by Noah Webster, now 70, who has studied 26 languages in order to determine the origins of English words. Webster defines nearly 70,000 words, introduces Americanisms, such as revolutionary, skunk, and applesauce, and gives words such as colour and plough American spellings (color, plow).

Literature
Fanshawe. Nathaniel Hawthorne. American. 1828. Novel. Pale, serious student gives Ellen up to a man he knows she loves and then he dies. Influenced by Scott and the Gothic novel. [RayS: Don't waste your time reading it.]

Elsie Dinsmore. Martha (Farquharson) Finley. American. 1829/1909. Novel. Pious little prig who remains a paragon of virtue although persecuted by everyone.

Society
1829. Greece gains her independence from the Ottoman Empire after 4 centuries of Ottoman rule.

1829. At least 75,000 Americans go to prison for debt each year, says the U.S. Prison Discipline Society. More than half owe less than $20.

1829. Photographer Louis Daguerre accidentally discovers the light-sensitivity of silver-iodide. Daguerre finds that an iodized silver plate exposed to light in a camera will produce an image if the plate is fumed with mercury vapor.

1829. London "Bobbies" introduced Sept. 29, make the city's streets safe after dark. Named for Home Secretary Robert Peel.

Literature
Wilhelm Meister's Travels or the Renunciants. Goethe. German. 1829. Novel. Finally discovers true calling as a surgeon; Goethe develops ideas on a variety of subjects.

Les Chouans. Honore de Balzac. French. 1829. Historical novel. French peasant insurgents, supporters of royalist cause in the Revolution.

Society
1830. The Indian Removal Act signed by President Jackson provides for the general removal of Indians to lands west of the Mississippi.

1830. Cholera spreads throughout the interior of Russia. The pandemic kills 900,000 this year and will kill several millions in Europe before it ends.

1830. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is founded at Fayette, NY, by local farmhand Joseph Smith, Jr.

1830. The Philadelphia Inquirer has its beginnings in the the Pennsylvania Inquirer.

1830. Birds of America by John James Audubon is published. He has pursued his passion for painting birds from life.

1830. Congress makes abortion a statutory crime.

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