Great Regulars: In 1814, General Ross and Admiral Cockburn

of the British army set up camp at Beanes's house in Upper Marlborough, Maryland. Key wanted to rescue his friend, and received a ship from President Madison to do so. When they arrived, General Ross agreed to release Beanes, but detained the Americans during the British attack on Baltimore, which they witnessed from their ship. The morning after the battle, the American flag hanging at nearby Fort McHenry was still intact, communicating the U.S. victory and inspiring Key to write the poem later known as "The Star-Spangled Banner."

from findingDulcinea: Happy Birthday: Francis Scott Key, Author of "The Star-Spangled Banner"

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Stanley Kunitz was born on July 29, 1905, in Worcester, Mass. As a child he would scour the dictionary for a new word each day--but not just any word. "It was a big word, a word like eleemosynary or phantasmagoria," he told Elizabeth Farnsworth of PBS. Once Kunitz had stumbled upon a word to his liking, he'd run outside, shout the word out loud, and revel in the sounds.

from findingDulcinea: Happy Birthday: Stanley Kunitz, American Poet

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