Introductory note on Edmund Burke (#2) (Volume 24, Harvard Classics)

What the Fourth of July is to Americans, the Fourteenth of July is to Frenchmen. It commemorates an oppressive tyranny overthrown by a freedom-loving people. (Volume 24, Harvard Classics)

The Bastille surrendered, July 14, 1789.

Introductory note on Plutarch (Volume 12, Harvard Classics)

Pericles used public money to beautify Athens. The citizens protested against the expense, as citizens in all ages do. By a clever stroke Pericles won their support to his ambitious plans. (Volume 12, Harvard Classics)

Introductory note on Henry David Thoreau (Volume 28, Harvard Classics)

Thoreau's individuality was unique and original. He had no profession; he never married; he never went to church; he never voted or paid taxes; he never smoked; he never drank wine. His amusement was walking, to observe and meditate. (Volume 28, Harvard Classics)

Henry David Thoreau born July 12, 1817.

Introductory note on Simon Newcomb (Volume 30, Harvard Classics)

The greatest spectacle offered man is a view of the magnificent vault of heaven. Under the stupendous arch of the Milky Way the cares of the world roll off. (Volume 30, Harvard Classics)

Newcomb died July 11, 1909.

Introductory note on Leif Ericsson (Volume 43, Harvard Classics)

The shadow of a phantom cast upon the cradle of Snorri, the first white child born in America, was a warning of an Indian attack on the settlement of courageous Norsemen who had risked the terrors of unknown seas to visit "Wineland." (Volume 43, Harvard Classics)