Category: History

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Virginia Postrel’s 7 Most Glamorous Women in History

I Prefer Blondes

For my entire life, I’ve always been attracted to strong women (preferably blonde). Okay, now my secret is out. So as not to get into trouble, it’s the stories of strong blonde women that I’m attracted to. For some reason I turned to Virginia Postrel’s article in USA Today (August 8, 2014) entitled, History’s 7 Most Glamorous Women. What caught my eye was the woman she named number one: Marie Curie.

Marie Curie, an influential woman
Marie Curie (circa 1898). Photo (photographer unknown). Wikimedia Commons.

The Strong Ones 

I’m very familiar with the story of Marie Curie (#1). She was responsible for the discovery of radiation (she coined the term radioactivity) and x-rays. Madame Curie shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in physics with her husband and she won outright the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She died in Paris (1934), likely of radiation poisoning from the x-rays she performed during World War I. Madame Curie is the only woman buried in the Pantheon based on the merits of her own achievements. Based on the pictures I’ve seen of Madame Curie, I would not put her in the bucket called “glamorous.” By the time I got through the remaining 6 names, I figured out that by “glamorous,” what Ms. Postrel really meant is “strong.” While I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with Ms. Postrel’s identifying these individuals as strong women, I would perhaps come up with some other women to put in their place or at the very least, to join them on the list. I guess it could be a toss up between Joan Crawford (#7) and Bette Davis. Or how about Barbara Stanwyck and Mary Pickford? Clearly, this is the entertainment category. Read More Virginia Postrel’s 7 Most Glamorous Women in History

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Wallace Fountains

Cool, Clear, Water

Wallace fountain located at Rue de Maurepas (photo by Moonik).
Wallace fountain located at Rue de Maurepas (photo by Moonik).

Just about everyone knows that throughout the centuries, clean and drinkable water in Paris was very difficult to find. Running water didn’t come to certain parts of Paris (e.g., Village of Saint-Paul) until the early 1970s. Well, one person saw to it that the citizens of Paris, in particular the poor, had potable drinking water available to them shortly after the Paris Commune of 1871.

Shortly after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, a little-known charity called the British Charitable Fund (BCF) was established for the purpose of assisting British citizens who had moved to France and became destitute. In other words, they needed financial assistance for food and shelter. One of the largest benefactors (and later, a BCF trustee) was Sir Richard Wallace (1818–1890).

An Expat In Paris

Wallace was a British expat living in Paris who had inherited a large sum of money from his father in 1870. Among his other philanthropic endeavors, he founded a hospital. However, Sir Richard’s legacy to modern day Paris is the Wallace Fountain found throughout Paris (and other parts of the world). Read More Wallace Fountains