Emma Lazarus, American poet and educator (d. 1887)
Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet "The New Colossus" in 1883. Its lines appear inscribed on a bronze plaque, installed in 1903, on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The last lines of the sonnet were set to music by Irving Berlin as the song "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor" for the 1949 musical Miss Liberty, which was based on the sculpting of the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World). The latter part of the sonnet was also set by Lee Hoiby in his song "The Lady of the Harbor" written in 1985 as part of his song cycle "Three Women".
Lazarus was also the author of Poems and Translations (New York, 1867); Admetus, and other Poems (1871); Alide: An Episode of Goethe's Life (Philadelphia, 1874); Poems and Ballads of Heine (New York, 1881); Poems, 2 Vols.; Narrative, Lyric and Dramatic; as well as Jewish Poems and Translations.
1849Jul, 22
Emma Lazarus
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Events on 1849
- 13Feb
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The delegation headed by Metropolitan bishop Andrei Șaguna hands out to the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria the General Petition of Romanian leaders in Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina, which demands that the Romanian nation be recognized. - 29Mar
Punjab region
The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab. - 14Apr
Lajos Kossuth
Hungary declares itself independent of Austria with Lajos Kossuth as its leader. - 3Jul
Italian unification
The French enter Rome in order to restore Pope Pius IX to power. This would prove a major obstacle to Italian unification. - 17Sep
Harriet Tubman
American abolitionist Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery.