Ezra Meeker (December 29, 1830 – December 3, 1928) was an American
pioneer who traveled the Oregon Trail by ox-drawn wagon in 1852,
migrating from Iowa to the Oregon Territory with his wife and newborn
son. The entire Meeker party survived the difficult six-month journey.
In 1862, he settled at the present site of Puyallup, Washington, where
he grew hops for brewing beer, and served as Puyallup's first mayor. An
infestation of hop aphids in 1891 took much of his fortune. He made
four trips to the Klondike during its gold rush, bringing groceries in
an unsuccessful attempt to recoup his losses. In 1906–1908, convinced
that the Oregon Trail was being forgotten, Meeker retraced his steps
along the Trail by wagon despite being in his late 70s, seeking to build
monuments in communities along the way. He reached New York and
Washington, D.C., where he met President Theodore Roosevelt. He wrote
several books, and traveled the Trail several more times, including by
airplane in 1924.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Meeker>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1890:
Sioux Wars: The United States Army killed 250 to 300 Lakota
men, women and children at the Wounded Knee Massacre, beginning the
Ghost Dance War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre>
1911:
Sun Yat-sen was elected the provisional president of the
Republic of China in Nanjing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat-sen>
1959:
American physicist Richard Feynman gave a speech entitled
"There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" at Caltech, anticipating the
field of nanotechnology.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_Plenty_of_Room_at_the_Bottom>
1996:
Peace accords were signed under the leadership of President
Álvaro Arzú and guerrilla leader Rolando Morán, ending the 36-year-
long Guatemalan Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemalan_Civil_War>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
succour:
1. (transitive) To give aid, assistance, or help.
2. (transitive, military) To provide aid or assistance in the form of
military equipment and soldiers; in particular, for helping a place
under siege.
3. (transitive, obsolete except dialectal) To protect, to shelter; to
provide a refuge.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/succour>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Winnow the chaff of a hundred creeds Beyond these systems,
hollow as reeds, Turn unhorizened to where Truth leads, To be
unhoused, O my soul!
--Kuvempu
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kuvempu>
Show replies by date