...and the only American architect most Americans can name is born.
Via the Library of Congress, we find that June 8 seems to have a lot of stuff going on.
As a little brain-teaser, without looking on the Internets, just how many American architects can YOU name? (And obviously, if you're NOT American, how many famous architects from your country can you think of?)
And speaking of secession and Tennessee and such like, those wacky kids up in Vermont might want to read up on the the State of Franklin.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at June 8, 2007 11:26 AMLet's see. Stanford White, and, uhmmm, Philip Johnson, and, uhmmm, one of those Wright brothers, and uhmmm, J. Patrick Ranch?
Posted by: Janis Gore at June 8, 2007 11:40 AMTerry Oglesby?
Posted by: Diane at June 8, 2007 11:45 AMDiane gets a bonus in her pay packet today!
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at June 8, 2007 11:53 AMI.M. Pei's another..... can he count as American?
Posted by: southtrek at June 8, 2007 11:55 AMOh, sure. If you go by seniority, he's more American than me, having been naturalized in 1954.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at June 8, 2007 12:02 PMFranklin! I've done a lot of reading on this and the history of that region (far northeast Tennessee right after the Revolutionary War) is incredible.
Franklin was, if I remember rightly, the site of the only battle fought between states outside of the Civil War: the Battle of Tipton's Farm. The leader of the pro-Franklin side was General John Sevier, who later went on to become the first governor of Tennessee. His opponent was General John Tipton, of the pro-Carolina side. Tiptonites very much wanted to keep that part of the world part of North Carolina.
The antipathy between the two was so bad that one day they got into a brawl on a city street that had to be broken up by onlookers.
Anyway, Tipton carried out a warrant for repayment of bad debts against Sevier by taking several of his slaves back to Tipton's farm. Sevier rounded up a couple hundred supporters and went to get them back. Tipton only had a relative handful of supporters with him, but got word out for reinforcements.
Sevier staged a siege of the farm in the middle of the coldest part of winter, in a driving blizzard. There was lots of shooting but only one known casualty, who died several days afterwards from the wound. At some point, Tipton's men captured two of Sevier's older sons. Tipton was preparing to execute them but was eventually talked out of it.
The whole thing came to a draw and both sides departed relatively peacefully. But that incident proved to be the beginning of the end for the State of Franklin. Just four glorious years.
John Sevier was also a famed, if shockingly brutal, Indian fighter, and a land speculator. The incident where he met his second wife, Katherine, was the basis of the song, "My Bonnie Kate."
Lots of men from that era and place went on to become important parts of Old Southwest, as well as North Alabama and Tennessee history.
There won't be a quiz on this, so have a good weekend!
Posted by: mike hollihan at June 8, 2007 02:42 PMThere was a lot of that sort of thing going on around the end of the war. Another obscure one that sprang up was the Trans-Oconee Republic.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at June 8, 2007 03:29 PM