Introductions are in order- the "Other" entries of History

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Greetings East Pacificans!

My nation is known as The Borderlands of Furnifold. Like all good Furnifoldians, I am versed in the history of my nation, including the founder and its namesake, Furnifold McLendel Simmons. I want to give a little history lesson to all those who may not have the responsibility to catalog he, and other, famous “others” in history, people who were not the “Michael Jordan’s” of their field but more of the “Luc Longley’s,” well-known for their time but perhaps overshadowed by other personalities.

You will not find the fact that Mr. Furnifold Simmons created a nation on the Wikipedia entry. Instead you will find such facts as he being a Senator in the United States from the state of North Carolina, and who unsuccessfully ran for the President in 1920. While Mr. Simmons unfortunately was a white supremacist, I can assure you that my nation does not ascribe to those attitudes. We prize empathy towards all people, especially those less-fortunate. Our political system allows for all people to have opinions, even opposing the government if necessary.

Like Mr. Simmons, the nation of Furnifold will probably be regarded by historians of the future as a famous "other, " but my people will chart our own path and make a difference for the better here in the now. One of the ways we will do so is to share our vast knowledge of historical “others” to the people of The East Pacific, so you good people may take this important library of knowledge with you to the nearest pub for trivia night, or impressing your friends and family while watching Jeopardy!

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I watch Jeopardy nearly every weekday, so I think I’ll be liking some extracurricular edumacation.

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Sounds like a plan, I shall scour my vast library and post some knowledge tomorrow!

4

Friends,

My Keeper of the Books has given me information of another notable “other” in history. Again, he is a politician, this time across the pond in the United Kingdom. His name, Leo Amery.

It is 1930s Europe, and Great Britain is facing a crisis. Having been hit hard by a World War and in the midst of crippling depression, the leaders and public were aghast at having to involve themselves in European affairs during the rise of fascist dictators. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain pursued a policy of appeasement; essentially giving the Hitler and the Nazis anything they wanted without opposing them. There were proverbial “red lines in the sand” that Hitler crossed without so much as a peep from the government of Britain. Leo Amery was one of a group of “Troublesome Young Men” (to quote author Lynne Olson’s work) who went against their party to oppose Chamberlain and the appeasement policy.

The reason Amery is known as an other in this case is because he was eclipsed by future Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan, but he famously helped turned the tide of appeasement, giving an impassioned speech in 1940 during a House of Commons debate to help bring about a change in government and the rise of Churchill. You know how history turned out from there.

There were many others like he, but without people like this who stand up when others are too fearful, the world would most certainly be a different place

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For today’s lesson in the “others” of history, we will be looking at Dora Carrington. While not a member of the famous group of pan-sexual artists, political thinkers, writers, economists, and all-around Renaissance people known as the Bloomsbury Group, she was very much associated with them.

Carrington was an artist and is best known now for her surrealist style of landscapes, portraits, and woodblock prints. Many of the portraits we have of the Bloomsbury Group were attributed to her. Very introverted, she was not much of a noteworthy artist due to her lack of promotion as well as lack of support from others. Instead, what she was known as during her time was her multitude of affairs, menage a trois, and passionate love throughout her life, specifically for Lytton Strachy. She never married Strachy, but their love for each other is well documented through their letters.

Carrington committed suicide two months after the death of Strachy, citing no more of a will to live. She toiled in obscurity until portions of her diary were published, and since has received more well-deserved attention.

She is an intriguing person who was eclipsed by the more famous Bloomsbury Group members like E.M. Forster, John Maynard Keynes, and Virginia Woolf. We in the nation of Furnifold work diligently to bring these lesser known but very important figures to light.

Sincerely,
Nocasta Ju
Chief Librarian for the Borderlands of Furnifold

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Another entry from the Other Library of Histories has been given to me for sharing.

There are famous siblings in world history. One of the more well known literary siblings are the Bronte sisters. You know their famous works of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights from Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, but did you know there was actually a forth sibling? His name was Branwell Bronte, and he shared much of his sisters’ talent for art and narrative. All of them crafted a fantastic role-playing story based in West Africa about a world called the Glasstown Confederacy. In these stories he was directly involved in a leadership role in the nation of Angria, and, along with Charlotte, designed fantasy adventures that greatly influenced their writings.

After the other sisters moved into their careers, Branwell attempted to make a name for himself in several magazines and editorials, but was turned down. He eventually became a tutor to a rich family’s child, where his sister Anne worked as a governess. Accounts differ, but he was fired from the job after five years due to an affair with the wife of his employer. He got involved with alcohol and drugs, and became depressed, especially when the former employer died and the wife refused his proposal. Eventually he died of tuberculosis, an affliction that also took his sisters Emily and Anne.

Branwell’s most lasting works are a collection of poems, his stories of Angria and the Glasstown Confederacy that influenced the writings of the other three siblings, and his portrait of the Bronte sisters, in which he is disappointed with how he painted himself so he took himself out of it. Branwell is not as well-known has his sisters are, but he was instrumental in getting his sisters to the literary talents they are known as, and should certainly be commended as such.

Yours in other knowledge,
Furnifold

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Friends,

Our journey through the “other” history places us in the sights of Stephanie Kwolek, an American chemist and inventor who pioneered the production of synthetic fibers. Kwolek was born Pennsylvania in 1923, and worked for DuPont during World War II. Interestingly, but unsurprisingly, the only reason she was hired was because there was a shortage of men due to being called for duty during the war. Afterwards, she should have been let go, but her work was so impressive that she was able to make a career out of DuPont.

In 1964, Kwolek and her team were attempting to make tires stronger, and in one of the waste byproducts was this material that was five times stronger than steel by weight as well as pliable. Kwolek had created Kevlar, material used in more than two hundred appliances, including body armor of course, and cell phones. Kwolek essentially created the study of polymer chemistry with her invention, and her accomplishments are not easily forgotten.

Not only was she involved in chemistry, she was active in encouraging young women to pursue studies and careers in the sciences. She was truly a remarkable woman who wanted to pay it forward, and I am of the opinion she did so.

Truly yours,

Nocasta Ju
Chief Librarian for the Borderlands of Furnifold

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Friends,

Leonard Woolf is a famous “other” in history. The man has the noteworthy distinction of being the husband of well-known author Virginia Woolf. As well as being an author himself, his other foray was in British and international politics, where he was essential in providing a political philosophy for the creation of the League of Nations. His achievements in the project behind-the-scenes were overshadowed by figures like Woodrow Wilson, William Howard Taft, Jan Smuts, James Bryce, and Robert Cecil. Since the League itself was overshadowed by its failure and the creation of the United Nations, Woolf has the distinction of having a won the upstaged-trifecta. However, I have noticed Mr. Woolf and his accomplishments, and his place in history is cataloged with us.

Leonard Woolf was born in 1880. He attended Cambridge University, where he met other members of the Bloomsbury Group, a collection of friends, artists, academics, lovers, and thinkers. Woolf worked for the Fabian Society and wrote for the New Statesman, a political review magazine, in the 1910s. He advocated for an international government before, during, and after World War I, and his work, International Government was used as reference material for work on the creation of the League of Nations.

While he was instrumental in the founding of the League, he also was a devoted husband. Virginia Woolf is noteworthy for committing suicide in 1941, but she was troubled for years before this. Woolf cared for his wife all throughout her life, himself being afflicted with depression, and together they founded the Hogarth Press. The Hogarth Press was a publishing company, noteworthy for publishing works by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and economist John Maynard Keynes. This occupied their time together until a few years after his wife’s suicide.

Mr. Woolf, who died in 1969, is buried with his wife at their home, Monk’s House, which is open to the public. Mr. Woolf was a very influential figure in politics and literature, and i am grateful I am able to share some of his noteworthy accomplishments as such.

Sincerely,
Nocasta Ju
Chief Librarian for the Borderlands of Furnifold