American Revolution

People made fun of Hillary Rodham Clinton for channeling Eleanor Roosevelt, but yesterday President Bush went to Mount Vernon and compared the war in Iraq to the American Revolution and himself to George Washington. Is there something in the water over at the White House? Thursday is the 275th birthday of the Father of Our Country, and somehow the current President of Our Country seems to have felt a need to show that he's living up to the old man's standards. "I feel right at home here," he told a crowd at the Washington estate.

Novels set in Africa and India, modern-day New Jersey and the stark landscape of a post-apocalyptic world will vie for the best work of fiction published in 2006, in nominations announced last week for the National Book Critics Circle awards. The winner will be named in March; awards will also be given in nonfiction, biography, poetry, memoir and criticism. The National Book Critics Circle, founded in 1974, is a nonprofit made up of nearly 700 book reviewers across the nation. The fiction nominees were Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun (Alfred Knopf)

When Henry Harford (1758-1834) inherited the ownership of the Maryland colony in 1771, he gained control of the vast wealth of the Calvert family. Soon, however, he lost claim to his land, including 5,600 acres along the Gunpowder River, when the Maryland General Assembly ruled that British subjects could no longer own property. A teenager at the time, Harford was not in a position to join the enthusiastic Colonial rebels in his namesake county, and his status as the illegitimate son of Frederick Calvert, the sixth Lord Baltimore, weakened his claim for compensation.

DAR Constitution Hall This National Historic Landmark, owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution, is a beautiful indoor space for a concert. Where -- 1776 D St. N.W. in Washington. Call -- 202-628-1776 Web site -- dar.org/conthall Notable -- With high, painted ceilings and seating for 3,702, this midsize venue is a great place to catch a host of events, which have ranged from speeches by the Dalai Lama and Art Buchwald to performances by Bruce Springsteen and the New York Philharmonic.

Maj. Gen. Edwin Warfield III -- a retired adjutant general and commander of the Maryland National Guard whose family's military tradition dates to the American Revolution -- died yesterday morning of congestive heart failure at St. Agnes HealthCare. He was 75.General Warfield's military career spanned nearly four decades and included surviving four days on a life raft after the P-51 Mustang warplane he was piloting was shot down over Japan during World War II.In civilian life, he had been board chairman and chief executive of the Daily Record, which was founded by his grandfather, Edwin Warfield, who was governor of Maryland from 1904 to 1908.

John Joseph Ryan, 63, office manager, journalistJohn Joseph "Jack" Ryan, an office manager and former journalist, died Sunday of liver failure at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Baltimore. The Cockeysville resident was 63.He had managed the office of William A. Swisher, a Baltimore attorney and former city state's attorney, for the past four years. Before then, he was a reporter and editor at the News-Post and the News American for more than 20 years, at United Press International in New York and at the Pittsburgh Press.

It took a lot of chutzpah for Stan Mack to do what he has done.To attempt to consolidate 4,000 years of Jewish history - from Abraham's first discussion with God in the desert to today's turmoil over peace in the Middle East - into a 265-page book and, of all things, in cartoons.But that is exactly what Mack, a 62-year-old New York City illustrator, set out to do in his new book, ``The Story of the Jews: A 4,000-Year Adventure.''``I concluded that there was room for a popular overview of Jewish history that put everything into perspective,'' said Mack.

75 years ago, The annual football game between Annapolis midshipmen and the West Point cadets has been secured for the Baltimore stadium for next Nov. 20. -- The Sun, March 3, 1924.A fire in Glen Burnie destroyed a bungalow belonging to Anthony Serio and assumed such menacing proportions that an appeal for help was sent to the Baltimore Fire Department who responded. -- The Sun, March 7, 1924.U.S. Naval Academy athletes scored six triumphs in an athletic carnival. -- The Sun, March 8, 1924.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Up at the Capitol - the old colonial Capitol - Thomas Jefferson was talking about property rights.He was talking about his owning slaves - even though he penned the immortal phrase "all men are created equal" - and about a bill he wants the Virginia Legislature to adopt that would overturn laws passing all property down to the first son - even though he is a first son.At least he looked like Thomas Jefferson, and this looked like the...

When Mary Crain Smoot Robertson died Tuesday, so did a piece of history: She was a descendant of Thomas Stone, a lawyer from Charles County and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.Mrs. Robertson died of complications from pneumonia at the St. Agnes Health Care Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on North Ridge Road in Ellicott City, where she moved after a stroke in 1994. She was 95.She was a member of the John Hanson Society, an active member of the Baltimore Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for 60 years, president of the Colonel Frances Warring Society Children of the American Revolution for six years, a national officer of the Daughters of Colonial Wars, past president of the Maryland state chapter of the Daughters of Colonial Wars, past president of the state chapter of the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America, and an active member of the Ark and Dove Society and the First Families of Virginia.

On his inaugural whistle-stop tour that rolled through Baltimore this year, President Barack Obama made a point of mentioning that a runaway slave was among the troops who beat back the British during the battle in 1814 that inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner." He didn't name the soldier, but the history buffs of Fort McHenry knew exactly who he was talking about. "He was referring to Frederick Hall, who escaped from a plantation in Prince George's County and joined the regular U.S. Army under the assumed name of William Williams," said Vincent Vaise, a park ranger at Fort McHenry who commands the historical guard and serves as a font of historical knowledge.

Katherine C. Turner, a former registered nurse and Towson neighborhood activist, died Monday of heart failure at Oak Lodge Senior Home in Pasadena. She was 85. Katherine Clemson, who was also known as "KC" or "Kitty," was born and raised in Westminster. She was a graduate of Westminster High School and attended what was then St. Mary's Female Seminary, now St. Mary's College, and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1944 from the old Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College.

Emma Carroll, who established an antiques and consignment business at Glencoe Gardens in Baltimore County and headed the Daughters of the American Revolution in Maryland, died of a stroke Jan. 1 at her Sparks home. She was 90. Born Emma Mosner in Baltimore and raised on Walker Avenue, she was a 1936 Eastern High School graduate. She attended Towson University and was a Baltimore Business College graduate. She was office manager for the Prudential Insurance Co. many years ago. After her marriage to landscaper and Towson Nurseries owner William C. Price, she developed an antiques and Christmas decorating business at Glencoe Gardens, an 1830s brick and stone barn that stands on the west side of York Road in Sparks.

Audrey Elizabeth Kleppinger, who was active in the Daughters of the American Revolution, died of complications from a stroke Oct. 23 at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington. The Tuscany-Canterbury resident was 85. Audrey Elizabeth Blake was born in Baltimore and raised on Maryland Avenue in Charles Village. She was a 1940 Seton High School graduate and attended the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. As a young woman, she was a buyer for the old O'Neill's department store.

Merle I. Scott, a homemaker and accomplished sailor, died Wednesday of pneumonia at the Genesis Salisbury Center in Salisbury, N.C. The former longtime Annapolis resident was 88. Merle Ingham was born and raised in Tacoma, Wash. She was a graduate of the Horace Mann School in New York City and earned a bachelor's degree in 1942 from Skidmore College. She was married in 1943 to C. Gaither Scott, a professional photographer, and settled in Annapolis in 1946. The two were longtime members of the Annapolis Yacht Club and enjoyed sailing the bay in sailboats and powerboats.

In campaign literature and speeches, each of the three leading presidential candidates has trumpeted the experience that makes him or her best suited for the job. A biography on Sen. John McCain's campaign Web site proclaims his "remarkable record of leadership and service." Sen. Barack Obama's Web site describes the "rich and varied experiences" of his life. Sen. Hillary Clinton has spoken of her "35 years of change" and told supporters, "We need a president who understands the magnitude and complexity of the challenges we face and has the strength and experience to address them from day one."

Today, we celebrate 231 years of American independence - or, rather, declared independence. Anyone who has read David McCullough's compelling account, in 1776, of Gen. George Washington's troubles in Boston and New York that fateful year knows the July 4 signing was a high point during a period that brought its share of defeats for the revolutionaries and reformers. Last week, I was in Katmandu to give a series of lectures to Nepal's civic, military and major-party leaders about that country's attempt to form a constitutional government.

DAR Constitution Hall This National Historic Landmark, owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution, is a beautiful indoor space for a concert. Where -- 1776 D St. N.W. in Washington. Call -- 202-628-1776 Web site -- dar.org/conthall Notable -- With high, painted ceilings and seating for 3,702, this midsize venue is a great place to catch a host of events, which have ranged from speeches by the Dalai Lama and Art Buchwald to performances by Bruce Springsteen and the New York Philharmonic.

When Henry Harford (1758-1834) inherited the ownership of the Maryland colony in 1771, he gained control of the vast wealth of the Calvert family. Soon, however, he lost claim to his land, including 5,600 acres along the Gunpowder River, when the Maryland General Assembly ruled that British subjects could no longer own property. A teenager at the time, Harford was not in a position to join the enthusiastic Colonial rebels in his namesake county, and his status as the illegitimate son of Frederick Calvert, the sixth Lord Baltimore, weakened his claim for compensation.

People made fun of Hillary Rodham Clinton for channeling Eleanor Roosevelt, but yesterday President Bush went to Mount Vernon and compared the war in Iraq to the American Revolution and himself to George Washington. Is there something in the water over at the White House? Thursday is the 275th birthday of the Father of Our Country, and somehow the current President of Our Country seems to have felt a need to show that he's living up to the old man's standards. "I feel right at home here," he told a crowd at the Washington estate.