Lag B'Omer is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 18th day of Iyar, the 33rd day of the Omer, and is a day of celebration for the whole nation of Israel. According to tradition, the students of the great sage Rabbi Akiva, who had been dying in great numbers, stopped dying on this day, and this is why it is a day of celebration, or rejoicing. It is also the day on which Rabi Shimon bar Yochai died, and although not normally an occasion for celebration, tradition has it that upon his death he revealed great wisdom, and so on Lag B'Omer he is also celebrated with people flocking to his grave in the city of Meron, singing and dancing and lighting bonfires. Research Lag B'Omer More information about Lag B'Omer
Clary (Salvia sclarea) is a biennialherb of the Sagegenus, family Labiatae, with a square, erect, little-branched stem, large almost sessile, opposite leaves which are broadly ovate, wrinkled and irregularly shallow lobed or toothed. The flowers are white, violet or pink in colour, two-lipped, and arranged in whorls in a terminal spike, interspersed with bracts of the same colour. The fruit consists of four nutlets. Research Clary
Sage (Salvia) is a genus of hardy, shrubby, evergreen perennial herbs of the family Labiatae. They bear mostly showy flowers, with a two-lipped calyx, the lower lip bifid, a gaping corolla, and two stamens. They are native to southern Europe, and are largely cultivated as a pot herb, having been used in cooking since at least the time of the Romans. Research Sage
The sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is an American grouse which inhabits the dry plains of the western states, and feeds upon the ' sage brush'. It has a long, pheasant-like tail; the upper surface of the body is mottled, the lower black apart from a white chest. At the sides of the neck in the male are inflatable air-sacs, which are distended during courtship. Research Sage Grouse
Alcibiades was an Athenian general and statesman. He was born in 450 BC and died in 404 BC.
An Athenian of high family and of great abilities, but of no principle, he was the son of Cleinias, and a relative of Pericles, who also was his guardian. In youth he was remarkable for the beauty of his person, no less than for the dissoluteness of his manners. He came under the influence of Socrates, but little permanent effect was produced on his character by the precepts of the sage. He acquired great popularity by his liberality in providing for the amusements of the people, and after the death of Cleon attained a political ascendancy which left him no rival but Nicias. Thus he played an important part in the long-continued Peloponnesian war.
In 415 he advocated the expedition against Sicily, and was chosen one of the leaders, but before the expedition sailed he was charged with profaning and divulging the Eleusinian mysteries, and mutilating the busts of Hermes, which were set up in public all through Athens. Rather than stand his trial he went over to Sparta, divulged the plans of the Athenians, and assisted the Spartans to defeat them. Sentence of death and confiscation was pronounced against him at Athens, and he was cursed by the ministers of religion. He soon left Sparta and took refuge with the Persian satrap Tissaphernes, ingratiating himself by his affectation of Persian manners, as he had previously done at Sparta by a similar affectation of Spartan simplicity.
He now began to intrigue for his return to Athens, offering to bring Tissaphernes over to the Athenian alliance, and latterly he was recalled and his banishment cancelled. He, however, remained abroad for some years in command of the Athenian forces, gained several victories, and took Chalcedon and Byzantium. In 407 BC he returned to Athens, but in 406, the fleet which he commanded having suffered a severe defeat, he was deprived of his command. He once more went over to the Persians, taking refuge with the satrap Pharnabazus of Phrygia, and here he was assassinated in 404 BC.
*Alcuin
Alcuin (real name Ealhwine) was an English theologian and scholar. He was born in 755 and died in 804. He was the confidant, instructor, and adviser of Charles the Great (Charlemagne). . He was educated and latterly had the management of the school at York. Alcuin having gone to Rome, Charlemagne became acquainted with him at Parma, invited him in 782 to his court, and made use of his services in his endeavours to civilize his subjects. To secure the benefit of his instructions Charlemagne established at his court a school, called Schola Palatinci, or the Palace School. In the royal academy Alcuin was called Flaccus Albinus. Most of the schools in France were either founded or improved by him; thus he founded the school in the abbey of St Martin of Tours, in 796, after the plan of the school in York. Alcuin left the court in 801, and retired to the abbey of St Martin of Tours, but kept up a constant correspondence with Charles to his death in 804. He left works on theology, philosophy, rhetoric, also poems and letters, all of which have been published. Research Alcibiades
Buddha - meaning the wise or the enlightened one - is the sacred name of the founder of Buddhism, an Indian sage who appears to have lived in the 5th century BC. His real name was Siddhartha Gautama; and he is often called also Sakya-muni (from Sakya, the name of his tribe, and muni, a Sanskrit word meaning a sage). His father was King of Kapilavastu, a few days' journey north of Benares. Siddhartha Gautama, filled with a deep compassion for the human race, left his father's court, and lived for years in solitude until he had penetrated the mysteries of life, and become the Buddha. He then began to teach his new faith, in opposition to the prevailing Brahmanism, commencing at Benares. Among his earliest converts were the monarchs of Magadha and Kosala, in whose kingdoms he chiefly passed the latter portion of his life, respected, honoured, and protected. Research Buddha
J (John) Gregory Smith was an American politician and railroadmagnet. He was born in 1818 at St Albans, Vermont and died in 1891. He attended the University of Vermont and Yale Law School, and was admitted to the Vermont bar in 1842. His father was a lawyer who was actively involved in the expansion of the railroads in Vermont and J Gregory joined him both in the practice of law and railroad management. John Smith was on the board of the Vermont Central Railroad, a railroad chartered in 1843 and headquartered in Northfield, and was president of the Vermont and CanadaRailroad, which he had started in 1845 to eventually connect the Vermont Central Railroad with Montreal. Upon his father's death in 1858, J Gregory Smith became president of the Vermont Central Railroad and his brother, Worthington C. Smith, was named president of the Vermont and Canada. The Central VermontRailroad was organized in 1873 and assumed management of both the Vermont Central and Vermont and Canada Railroads. In 1883 the Consolidated Railroad of Vermont
was formed to purchase the Vermont Central and Vermont and Canada property, and immediately leased it to the Central VermontRailroad thereby consolidating the Smith family's railroad holdings. The family expanded their holdings to include related industries such as the St. Albans Foundry, the National Car Company, and its subsidiary the Vermont Iron and Car Company. While expanding his holdings in Vermont and the northeast,
J Gregory Smith became interested in the idea of a railroad to the west and became president of the Northern PacificRailroad Company in 1866, a position he held until 1872. Smith was also active in politics and was elected to the state senate in 1858 and 1859. In 1860, 1861, and 1862 he was elected to the house as a representative of St. Albans, and served as speaker of the house. In 1863 Smith was elected governor and served two terms before retiring to devote time to his duties as the president of Central Vermont and the Northern PacificRailroad.
J Gregory Smith married Ann Eliza Brainerd of St Albans in 1843 and together they had six children: George Gregory (who married Frances Lewis), Edward Curtis (who married Anna B. James), Lawrence (who died in infancy), Annie B., Julia B. (who married Oliver Stevens), Helen L. (who married D. SageMackay). Research J Gregory Smith
Luis Velez De Guevara y Duenas was a Spanish dramatic poet. He was born in 1570 and died in 1644. His literary fame rests chiefly on his Diablo Cojuelo (LameDevil), which suggested the famous Diable Boiteux of Le Sage. Research Luis Velez De Guevara y Duenas
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