Oh! The Humanities!

Some of these questions are from a former professor, Dr. B. Her lectures on the Humanities left a strong impression in me, not only because of what I learned in the classroom. When we covered America’s involvement in WWII, our assignment was to interview a person who had been alive at that time, and learn what life was like. She told us that she preferred if we spoke with those who had been young adults, possibly fighting in or assisting the armed forces. However, Dr. B. told us, there are so few of those people left that if we were only able to find someone who had been a child at that time, she would accept that as well.

I realize now how fortunate I was to have two relatives living at that time who had been directly involved in the War. My Great-Uncle Rudy was part of the 101^st Airborne Division, HQ Company that parachuted into Normandy on D-Day. Many of his friends and comrades were portrayed in the mini-series Band of Brothers. Both my grandfather (Dick) and my step-grandfather (Glen) fought in the Pacific in the Navy. I was able to capture Great-Uncle Rudy and Grampa Glen on tape as they spoke of their memories and opinions of that time in their lives. My father tells me that I am very fortunate to have done that, because my step-grandfather died a short time after that, and now my Great-Uncle is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Neither I nor any other family member ever recorded Granpa Dick's experiences before he died in 1983.

So I thank Dr. B. every time I think that a part of my family’s history that might have been lost if not for her assignment.

1) Who was the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature?
Gwendolyn Brooks for Annie Allen (poem) in 1950.

2) Which 19th century British philosopher asked to have himself stuffed after death?

Both The Encyclopedia Britannica and The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy have wonderful articles on Jeremy Bentham, who indeed was stuffed after death. His body is still in a room at University College in London.

3) What did Monet’s father want him to be?
While I have not been able to find the exact answer to this question, from the many encyclopedias I searched I came to the conclusion that Monet’s father wanted him to continue in the family business, rather than become an artist. I realize that I could find the definitive answer from a biography of Monet, but I do not have the time to read such a book, nor would a Reference Librarian. Source : Claude Monet : Life and Art