History Book: What they left behind

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Monday, November 4th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next, the WORLD History Book. Today … remembering the death of a prominent businessman who’s known more for the New York City museum he left behind than what he did for a living. And, an actor runs for office … on a fake presidential ticket.

EICHER: But first, a Christian archaeologist discovers two ancient cities. Here’s WORLD’s Paul Butler.

PAUL BUTLER: On November 8th, 1845, Sir Austen Henry Layard begins an archaeological dig in modern day Iraq. He’s convinced that he will unearth the long buried city of Nineveh.

English born Layard begins his career as a lawyer, but soon leaves the practice to adventure around the Middle East. As he travels on horseback, he becomes interested in the ancient history of the region. And he soon dedicates his life to discovering empires that once ruled the land in Biblical times.

After days of digging southwest of Mosul city, Layard find the ruins of a royal palace belonging to the Assyrian King, Ashurnasirpal II. Enormous, carved sculptures on the walls, called reliefs, depicted winged, humanlike spirits. Audio here from Christie’s.

CHRISTIE’S: The palace was one of the largest known in antiquity. All the reliefs in the palace were designed to impress and overwhelm. Every aspect is related to the strength and power of the King.

Although Layard initially thinks that he had discovered Nineveh, he later realizes that it is actually the city of Nimrud … the historic capital of Assyria during the 8th and 9th centuries B.C.

But Layard remains convinced that Nineveh exists because of the Biblical account. After two more years of faithful excavations, Layard finds what he was looking for. Several inscriptions found on the walls corresponded with biblical accounts of the siege of Jerusalem and the reign of King Hezekiah. Nineveh’s discovery reaffirms the reliable, historical accuracy of the Bible.

Sadly, a 2015 ISIS terrorist attack destroys priceless stone carvings and statues in Nimrud. Audio here from CBS Evening News.

CBS: The men use sledgehammers and jackhammers to take down walls, and power tools to cut through stone. “God has honored us to remove all of these idols and statues worshiped instead of Allah,” one Jihadist says.

Local Iraqis are trying to restore the site, but it is expected to take years, and much original work has been lost.

Next, November 3rd, 75 years ago, Solomon R. Guggenheim dies in Long Island, New York … but he leavesbehind what becomes an architectural landmark. Audio here from Fox Business.

FOX: Controversy on which he thrived in life follows Frank Lloyd Wright to his grave with the opening of the cylindrical Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

A successful businessman, Guggenheim loves collecting artworks. When he meets the artist and collector Hilla Rebay in 1927, she introduces him to the beauty of abstract art. Together they want to display their large collections. Guggenheim begins planning a modern art museum with the help of an eccentric architect.

CLIP: Frank Lloyd Wright is considered by many people to be America’s greatest architect. He is a man who really revolutionized the way we build, the way we live.

The project takes 15 years to complete due to wartime supply shortages and internal disagreements. When it finally opens in 1959, the concrete building defies the norms of the popular skyscrapers of the day.

An enormous skylight shines down on a ramp system that spirals upward. Guests walk up the ramp while admiring paintings on the curved walls along the way. Audio here from the Guggenheim Foundation.

CLIP: Here we have people, people are in the walls, people are moving in the fabric of the building. And the building is part of them. It’s a strange and wonderful feeling.

In 2019 the building is dedicated as a World Heritage Site for its value and importance. Ranking it among monuments like the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House, and Monticello.

And we end with Will Rogers’ birth on November 4th, 145 years ago. Growing up on his family’s Oklahoma ranch, Rogers practiced horse and rope tricks for fun. But his hobby soon turned into a profession.

Rogers regularly performed in East Coast theaters, throwing in funny ad libs to liven up the act. The audiences loved Broadway shows featuring his folksy cowboy persona. And his dry one-liners often poke fun at politics and current social events. Audio here from RSU Public TV from one of Roger’s political addresses.

ROGERS: With Congress, every time they make a joke, it’s a law. [laughter] And every time they make a law, it’s a joke!

Roger’s biggest political joke came in 1928 when he launched a presidential campaign, running as the “bunkless candidate” for the “Anti-Bunk Party.” Life magazine jumped in—sponsoring him in an effort to increase readership. When asked who his running mate was he said: “The answer to that is easy: we haven’t any, and we don’t intend to have one. In fact, one of the major forms of bunk that we plan to eliminate is the Vice-Presidency—thereby saving the taxpayers a salary of $15,000.”

Rogers declared victory on Election Day … and then resigned. Though he remained critical of politics, he became friendly with Calvin Coolidge and the Roosevelts. And he welcomed the new governor of California after the 1930 election …

ROGERS: I have to welcome the governor, I want to welcome him too, because that’s one thing we do in California is welcome, we welcome anything who’ll come here.

Rogers died in an airplane crash at 55 years old. But his witty social commentary rings just as true today as it did 100 years ago.

That’s this week’s WORLD History Book. I’m Paul Butler.

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