By the end of his life in 1892, Walt Whitman had published eight revised editions (eight or so; there is some scholarly debate whether some editions constitute a full edition) of his major volume of poems, Leaves of Grass, culminating in a ninth edition, what he himself called with dark humor his “deathbed edition.” Walt Whitman was born on this date in 1819.

“L. of G. at last complete—after 33 y’rs of hackling at it, all times & moods of my life, fair weather & foul, all parts of the land, and peace & war, young & old,” he wrote a friend. He was only 72 when he died, but with his white beard and self-presentation as a man who seemed to have existed for the entire country’s history, he seemed older.
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In America, today is Memorial Day. It is a day of remembrance for those Americans who died in war. There is a long history behind this day, which was first named “Decoration Day,” as those in mourning for dead relatives would decorate the graves of the dead soldiers. It dates from shortly after the Civil War. Memorial Day is a commemoration, not celebration, as this is not a day for celebrating.

The commemoration that this day represents is an acknowledgment that soldiers are sent to fight and many die. War is a saddening, maddening fact of life, whether or not it ought to be.

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On this date in 1911, the first edition of The Indianapolis 500 was run. Ray Harroun won (photo at top), in a controversial fashion, as he was the only driver to not have a passenger with him. (What?!?—needle scratches across record.)
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No one recorded exactly what Sojourner Truth said to the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, on this date in 1851. The speech was memorable, even if it was mis-remembered. It is known as the “Ain’t I a Woman” speech, though a newspaper report from a month after, written by a journalist who was present, does not include that phrase.

Years later, a version appeared that captured Truth’s words but in a “plain-spoken” Southern dialect, which, many historians point out would not have been Truth’s accent: she was from upstate New York and Dutch was her first language.
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