CAMILLE
BOHANNON

 
Zebulon Montgomery Pike
(January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813)

Approaching the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains during his second exploratory expedition, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike spots a distant mountain peak
that looks “like a small blue cloud.” The mountain was later named Pike’s Peak
in his honor.

Pike’s explorations of the newly acquired Louisiana Territory of the U.S. began before the nation’s first western explorers, Lewis and Clark, had returned from
their own expedition up the Missouri River. Pike was more of a professional
military man than either Lewis or Clark, and he was a smart man who had
taught himself Spanish, French, mathematics, and elementary science. When
the governor of Louisiana Territory requested a military expedition to explore
the headwaters of the Mississippi, General James Wilkinson picked Pike to
lead it.

Moby-Dick is now considered a great classic of American literature and
contains one of the most famous opening lines in fiction: “Call me Ishmael.” Initially, though, the book about Captain Ahab and his quest to catch a giant
white whale was a flop.

Its author, Herman Melville was born in New York City in 1819. As a young
man, he spent time in the merchant marines, the U.S. Navy and on a whaling
ship in the South Seas. In 1846, he published his first novel, Typee, a
romantic adventure based on his experiences in Polynesia. The book was
a success and a sequel, Omoo, was published in 1847. Three more novels
followed, with mixed critical and commercial results. 

Herman Melville (Melvill) (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891)

CAMILLE BOHANNON

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC. on this day in 1982, after a march to its site by thousands
of Vietnam War veterans. About two years later the Three
Soldiers statue was dedicated.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

As chair of the Intelligence Committee, Schiff is one of the lead investigators
in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump stemming from
the Trump–Ukraine scandal.   
 

   
NOTE: THIS IS AS POLITICAL AS THIS BLOG WILL GET!
    

Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shut its doors after processing more
than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892. Today, an estimated 40
percent of all Americans can trace their roots through Ellis Island, located
in New York Harbor off the New Jersey coast and named for merchant
Samuel Ellis (1733-1794), who owned the land in the 1770s. Ellis’s heirs
sold the island to the State of New York in 1808. Today, Ellis Island is one
of the most popular destinations in the National Park system, with over 3
million visitors each year.    

  
   
Ellis and Liberty Island today.