Happy Birthday! June 30

Czeslaw Milosz; Nobel Poet 6-30-1911

Lena Horne Singer-Actress 6-30-1917

Susan Hayward Actress 6-30-1918

Paul Berg Nobel Biochemist 6-30-1926

Harry Blackstone, Jr. Magician 6-30-1934

Michael Phelps Olympics Swimmer 6-30-1985

June 30, 1859: Blondin was first to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope

June 30, 1864: President Lincoln established Yosemite as the first National Park

June 30, 1908: Tunguska meteor devastated Siberia toppling 80 million trees

June 30, 1936: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell published

June 30, 1940: Dale Messick's comics "Brenda Starr" made its debut

June 30, 1962: Sandy Koufax pitches his first no-hitter against the NY Mets

June 30, 1950: U.S. 995: Boy Scouts of America First Day Cover: Postmarked Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

June 30, 1863: U.S. 81a: $2 Revenue cancel St. Johnsbury, VT

June 30, 1977: Great Britain 810: 8-1/2 pence Air Anglia Commemorates QEII Visit to London

Goethe (1749-1832)

The great feast of St. Peter and St. Paul has come at last. Yesterday we saw the illuminated dome and the fireworks of Castel Sant' Angelo. The illuminations are spectacular, like a scene from fairyland; one can hardly believe one's eyes. Now that I have learned to see objects just as they are and not, as formerly, to suply with imagination what is not there, a spectacle has to be really grand before I can enjoy it. On my journey I have seen, I count, about half a dozen, and this last one is certainly among the greatest. To see the colonnade, the church and, above all, the dome, first outlined in fire and, after an hour, become one glowing mass, is a unique & glorious experience. when one thinks that, at this moment, the whole enormous building is a mere scaffolding for the lights, one realizes that nothing like it could be seen anywhere else in the world. The sky was cloudless and the light of the risen moon softened the brightness of the lamps; but when the second lot of illuminations were set ablaze, the moonlight was eclipsed. Then the blaze was over, and again the full moon softened the lights and made everything a fairyland again. The fireworks were beautiful because of their setting, but they did not compare with the illuminations of the church. We are going to see them both a second time. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Italian Journey, June 30, 1787

Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863)

Paris, June 30, 1854: Went to Saint-Sulphice, which is getting along well. My heart beats faster when I find myself in the presence of great walls to paint. Dined with Mme. de Forget, to whom I went at five o'clock to look at the decorations over her doors; they are out of proportion, and she is replacing them with hangings; I finished the evening there. — Eugène Delacroix, Journal, June 30, 1854 Painting at Met (1850); Mural at Saint Sulphice (1861) France 1054 (issued 3-2-1963) to honor Delacroix's mural.

Jacob Wrestles the Angel (1854-1861)

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Concord, Massachusetts, June 30, 1852: Nature must be viewed humanly to be viewed at all; that is, her scenes must be associated with humane affections, such as are associated with one's native place. She is most significant to a lover. A lover of Nature is preeminently a lover of man. If I have no friend, what is Nature to me? She ceases to be morally significant... The moon appears full. At first a mere white cloud. As soon as the sun sets, begins to grow brassy or obscure golden in the gross atmosphere. It is starlight about half an hour after sunset tonight when the first stars appear. The moon is now brighter, but not so yellowish. Ten or fifteen minutes after, the fireflies are observed. Sparrows quite generally, and occasionally a robin sings... The creak of the crickets is more universal and loud, and becomes a distinct sound. The oily surface of the river in which the moon is reflected looks most attractive at this hour. I see the bright curves made by the water-bugs in the moonlight, and a muskrat crossing the river, now at 9 o'clock. Finally the last traces of the day disappear, about 9:30 o'clock, and the night fairly sets in. The color of the moon is more silvery than golden, or silvery with a slight admixture of golden, a sort of burnished cloud. — Journal (1852), pp. 163-164

Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

Paris, June 30, 1898: Try to find a moment, my dear friend, to go to Bernheim to examine three sketches of flowers by Delacroix, so that we can discuss them to-morrow at your place. There are also two ancient Corots to verify. Greetings. — Letter to Henri Rouart      Thursday, June 30, 1898 Degas' Paintings; Degas' Sculptures: Rouart's Paintings

Henri Rouart by Degas (1833-1912)

Ken Wilber (born 1949)

Boulder, Colorado, June 30, 1998: Emptiness alone, only and all, with an edge of extremely faint yet luminous bliss. That is how the subtle feels when it emerges from the causal. So it was early this morning. As the gross body then emerges from this subtle luminous bliss, it's hard to tell, at first, exactly where its boundaries are. You have a body, you know that, but the body seems like the entire material universe. Then the bedroom solidifies, and slowly, very slowly, your awareness accepts the conventions of the gross realm, which dictate that this body is inside this room. And so it is. And so you get up. And so goes involution, yet again. But the Emptiness remains, always. — One Taste: The Journals of Ken Wilber,      Monday, June 30, 1998, Shambhala, Boston, 1999, p. 141

Birth Flower: Rose Passion, romance, true love, angelic energy & blessings Birthstone: Pearl Perfection, elegance, beauty, integrity, tears of the gods Zodiac Sign: Cancer Adaptable, analytical, curious, expressive, highly intelligent

© Peter Y. Chou, Wisdom Portal P.O. Box 390707, Mountain View, CA 94039 email: (6-30-2022)