Who Was Who

I've just finished an oldie-timey humor book called Who Was Who, 5000 B.C. to Date. Edited by Irwin Gordon around 1910, the humor is gentle and good for a smile, but what I found most interesting is the general attitudes and mores of the day that are included.

According to the Foreward:

Who Was Who contains over 500 biographies of those who did or endeavored to become famous.

Mr. Gordon states his policy for accepting corrections - from friends and enemies alike - and notes that the text is protected by the libel laws of both Great Britain and the United States.

Under no circumstance will duels be fought.

Here are a few of my favorite entries:

BACON, Francis, either wrote or did not write Shakespeare.

GOOSE, Mother, a fine old lady who was loved by all, but who told some awful untruths to the innocent.

ROY, Robert, a very wicked Scotchman whom we all hope will always escape the police.

SANTOS-DUMONT, a pre-Zeppelin-Wright air investigator who had enough money and sense to quit before people remarked how natural he looked.

Just for the heck of it, I went and googled "Who Was Who" and came up with several pages of nifty links to explore.

Posted by Ted at July 5, 2004 10:53 AM | TrackBack