Author Archives: Archive Librarian
MAO ZEDONG
(1893-1976)
The Suicide of Miss Zhao
Mao Zedong (or Mao Tse-tung), the revolutionary who was to become the leading force in the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, was born to the family of a small landowner. As was the custom among the peasantry, … Continue reading
Filed under Asia, Communism, Mao Zedong, Selections, The Modern Era
LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN
(1889-1951)
from Notebooks 1914-1916
from Letters
Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the most original and influential philosophers of the 20th century, was born in Vienna, the youngest of eight children in a wealthy family headed by a stern steel tycoon who attempted to train his sons … Continue reading
Filed under Europe, Selections, Sin, The Modern Era, Wittgenstein, Ludwig
PAUL TILLICH
(1886-1965)
from The Courage to Be
Paul Tillich was a German-American theologian whose work helped to revolutionize Protestant theology in light of a philosophical analysis of existence. Born in a small Prussian town, the son of an authoritarian Lutheran minister, Tillich attended universities in Berlin, … Continue reading
Filed under Americas, Europe, Existentialism, Protestantism, Selections, The Modern Era, Tillich, Paul
VIRGINIA WOOLF
(1882-1941)
from Mrs. Dalloway
from A Room of One’s Own
Journal Entry, May 15, 1940
Letter to Leonard Woolf
Virginia Woolf, the English novelist and literary critic, profoundly influenced both the modern literary form and feminist criticism. She was born Adeline Virginia Stephen in London and educated at home by her father, Sir Leslie Stephen, a prominent philosopher … Continue reading
Filed under Europe, Selections, The Modern Era, Woolf, Virginia
JOHN HAYNES HOLMES
(1879-1964)
from Is Suicide Justifiable?
John Haynes Holmes, an American clergyman and author, was one of the leaders of the Social Gospel movement in Protestantism. Holmes was born in Philadelphia to a family of meager circumstances; he planned to enter the family music publication … Continue reading
Filed under Americas, Holmes, John Haynes, Martyrdom, Selections, The Modern Era
CARL GUSTAV JUNG
(1875-1961)
from Letters- July 10, 1946
- July 25, 1946
- Oct. 13, 1951
- Nov. 10, 1955
Carl Gustav Jung, born Karl Gustav II Jung, is regarded as the founder of analytical psychology. He was born in Kesswil, Switzerland, the son of a poor Protestant clergyman and philologist who taught him Latin at an early age. … Continue reading
ALFRED ADLER
(1870-1937)
from Suicide
Born near Vienna to a grain merchant, Adler’s experiences with rickets and a near fatal case of pneumonia as a child made him interested in a medical career. He received his M.D. from the University of Vienna in 1895 … Continue reading
Filed under Adler, Alfred, Europe, Psychiatry, Selections, The Modern Era
MOHANDAS K. GANDHI
(1869-1948)
from Indian Home Rule
from An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth
from Non-Violence in Peace and War
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (often called “Mahatma,” or “great soul”), the Indian nationalist and advocate of non-violence, was born in Porbandar to the local chief minister and a mother who was an active disciple of Vaishnavism, the worship of the … Continue reading
Filed under Asia, Gandhi, Mohandas K., Hinduism, Selections, The Modern Era
CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN
(1860-1935)
from The Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Suicide Note, August 17, 1935
from The Right to Die
Charlotte Perkins Gilman—writer, philosopher, feminist, and social critic—contributed significantly to 20th-century political and feminist theory. Born in 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut, she lived much of her childhood in poverty after her father left the family when she was seven … Continue reading
ÉMILE DURKHEIM
(1858-1917)
from Suicide
Émile Durkheim is widely regarded as the founder of the French school of sociology. He was born in Épinal, Lorraine, to a Jewish family who expected him to become a rabbi like his father. Instead, his success in secular … Continue reading
Filed under Durkheim, Emile, Europe, Selections, Societal Organizations, The Modern Era