Emily Dickinson (c. 1847)
More mysterious than anything, Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) struggled with lifelong health problems and, supposedly, debilitating agoraphobia. Despite having been moderately successful during her living years, Dickinson would posthumously become one of the United States’ most renowned poets. Amherst College said that her daguerreotype is the solely legitimized picture of the poet known to date. Millicent Todd Bingham awarded the daguerreotype to the college during 1956. The picture had been handed down from generation to generation, with Bingham having been given it in 1894 by Wallace Keep, handed to him in 1894 by his brother Austin, with Dickinson’s sister Lavinia being the original possessor.
Emily Dickinson
President Franklin Pierce (c. 1851 – 1860)
Despite his best efforts, Franklin Pierce (1804 – 1869) is largely regarded as a rather disappointing president. Sadly, the best that could be said about this leader was that he was good looking and that he wished to make his second term more successful. He would not get the chance to do so, having been barred by his party. The Northerner was a slavery apologist and added his name to the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, one signed to bring the formerly banned slavery acts back into effect within zones north of 36 degrees latitude. Pierce was not, of course, a fan of Lincoln when he took over him. He was critical to the point that when the celebrated president was assassinated, he was forced to convince an angry rabble against wrecking his home.
President Franklin Pierce
