Samuel Whitmore was not a king. He was a colonist living near Lexington, Massachusetts when the Revolution began. An 80 year-old veteran of the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War), Whitmore heard that the British were coming and went out to meet them -- alone, with his guns and a sword. He managed to killed one and severely wound another before he was shot, beaten, and left for dead. Not only did he marry again and have another child, he lived to be 90, having witnessed the entire 18th Century. Certified badass.
What helps me grasp the momentous changes of time is my great great grandmother. She was never famous but she was born in the early 1842 and died in 1935. The earliest photographs we have of her as a child in the early Victorian puffed skirts for children, followed with the full crinoline as a woman on the eve of her marriage, including a deep bonnet, to the corsets and bustle of the 1870s, the puffed sleeves of the 1890s, the extravagant hats of the Edwardian era, to finally, the simple blouses and twin sets of the 1930s. Only the latter is recognizably modern and could be worn today. But this woman, in her quiet life, spanned a century of remarkable changes in women's fashions and saw her granddaughters scandalously expose their calves! and great granddaughters in shorts!
Roberta Wright McCain was present at the funeral of her son John McCain, who had died aged 81. That fact always amazes me, especially as a parent. I just can't fathom it. Imagine seeing you own son buried as a very old man.
Ed, you should write a book on this. Each chapter is a famous long-lived person, and you could end the chapter by saying this person knew / met X, the next long lived famous person, and so forth up to the present. See if you can find the fewest links to the furthest past.
Thomas Hardy, who was born in 1840, heard his grandmother reminiscing about the execution of Marie Antoinette in 1793. She had been ironing her best dress when she learned of the Queen's death, but set down the iron and stood stock still in shock; decades later she could still recall the exact pattern of the muslin.
Norrie Woodhall, the last surviving member of the Hardy Players, appeared in the small role of the heroine's sister in Hardy's stage adaptation of Tess of the D'Urbervilles in 1924. Hardy, then in his eighties, personally wrote a line for her in what had been a non-speaking part. In 2007, Norrie, aged 101, was on stage in Dorchester reading Hardy's poetry.
Another fun example: the premier of 1964's Zulu was attended by children of the men it depicted. In fact, the two daughters of Private Hook (portrayed in the film as a thief-turned-hero) were so disgusted that they stormed out.
The punctilious Colour-Sergeant Frank Borne, memorabley portrayed in the film by Nigel Green, lived to see the defeat of the Nazis - dying on 9th May 1945.
The last surviving granddaughter of Pte John Williams, in-part raised by her grandfather, died in 2015. (Williams, alongside Hook, won a VC for evacuating patients from the hospital).
A few years back I found a photograph of an elderly former drummer boy who was spared the 1792 Tuileries massacre of the Swiss Guard by the Paris mob. He was wearing an old Swiss uniform. It was in an old book, the title of which I have forgotten, and I'm afraid I can't find a copy anywhere online. If anyone can locate this record, I would be grateful.
I was going to add Leni Riefenstahl to the Twitter suggestions thread but she slipped my mind until just now. I think she was still making films well into her 90s. Anyway nice historisticle (or whatever).
That "Atrocities" book by Matthew White I recommended to you over Twitter messenger the other day would also make for a good post in the same vein as this one.
I was born in 1978, and my hope is to see Haley's Comet again. But if Peter Thiel can mess with our DNA and make me live to 500 I'd be up for that. *Imagine* how many Substack posts I could write
Samuel Whitmore was not a king. He was a colonist living near Lexington, Massachusetts when the Revolution began. An 80 year-old veteran of the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War), Whitmore heard that the British were coming and went out to meet them -- alone, with his guns and a sword. He managed to killed one and severely wound another before he was shot, beaten, and left for dead. Not only did he marry again and have another child, he lived to be 90, having witnessed the entire 18th Century. Certified badass.
What helps me grasp the momentous changes of time is my great great grandmother. She was never famous but she was born in the early 1842 and died in 1935. The earliest photographs we have of her as a child in the early Victorian puffed skirts for children, followed with the full crinoline as a woman on the eve of her marriage, including a deep bonnet, to the corsets and bustle of the 1870s, the puffed sleeves of the 1890s, the extravagant hats of the Edwardian era, to finally, the simple blouses and twin sets of the 1930s. Only the latter is recognizably modern and could be worn today. But this woman, in her quiet life, spanned a century of remarkable changes in women's fashions and saw her granddaughters scandalously expose their calves! and great granddaughters in shorts!
Roberta Wright McCain was present at the funeral of her son John McCain, who had died aged 81. That fact always amazes me, especially as a parent. I just can't fathom it. Imagine seeing you own son buried as a very old man.
wow. I didn't know that
do we get to vote for an age straddling winner? my money is on pablo casals, the guy who played for Victoria and JFK
Ed, you should write a book on this. Each chapter is a famous long-lived person, and you could end the chapter by saying this person knew / met X, the next long lived famous person, and so forth up to the present. See if you can find the fewest links to the furthest past.
I would like to 'second' this proposal. There's a great book in this idea.
From Julius Caesar to, er, Liz Truss.
Then there's the Greenland shark, floating around twenty or thirty years before Charles I was beheaded:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37047168
blows my mind that the Greenland shark might have passed the Mayflower
Mine too
Thomas Hardy, who was born in 1840, heard his grandmother reminiscing about the execution of Marie Antoinette in 1793. She had been ironing her best dress when she learned of the Queen's death, but set down the iron and stood stock still in shock; decades later she could still recall the exact pattern of the muslin.
Norrie Woodhall, the last surviving member of the Hardy Players, appeared in the small role of the heroine's sister in Hardy's stage adaptation of Tess of the D'Urbervilles in 1924. Hardy, then in his eighties, personally wrote a line for her in what had been a non-speaking part. In 2007, Norrie, aged 101, was on stage in Dorchester reading Hardy's poetry.
oh wow
Thanks, I'm doing a follow up so that's great
Another fun example: the premier of 1964's Zulu was attended by children of the men it depicted. In fact, the two daughters of Private Hook (portrayed in the film as a thief-turned-hero) were so disgusted that they stormed out.
The punctilious Colour-Sergeant Frank Borne, memorabley portrayed in the film by Nigel Green, lived to see the defeat of the Nazis - dying on 9th May 1945.
The last surviving granddaughter of Pte John Williams, in-part raised by her grandfather, died in 2015. (Williams, alongside Hook, won a VC for evacuating patients from the hospital).
A few years back I found a photograph of an elderly former drummer boy who was spared the 1792 Tuileries massacre of the Swiss Guard by the Paris mob. He was wearing an old Swiss uniform. It was in an old book, the title of which I have forgotten, and I'm afraid I can't find a copy anywhere online. If anyone can locate this record, I would be grateful.
I nominate Oliver Wendell Holmes who fought in the Civil War and then was one of the most influential Justices until he retired in 1931 at age 90.
I have him on my list. I have about 30 more. I might put out a second one at some later point.
I think your list is great!
I learned many new things.
thanks!
I was going to add Leni Riefenstahl to the Twitter suggestions thread but she slipped my mind until just now. I think she was still making films well into her 90s. Anyway nice historisticle (or whatever).
That "Atrocities" book by Matthew White I recommended to you over Twitter messenger the other day would also make for a good post in the same vein as this one.
wow
I was born in 1978, and my hope is to see Haley's Comet again. But if Peter Thiel can mess with our DNA and make me live to 500 I'd be up for that. *Imagine* how many Substack posts I could write