It's October 28 | (Pic: Edexlive)
It's October 28 | (Pic: Edexlive)

What happened on October 28: When Gulliver's Travels was published, satire peaked. Plus, Harvard turns 385-years-old!

Also, Julia Roberts was born today! So much to rejoice about October 28, isn't it? We take you through these three wonderful events and tell you what they were all about

Have you read Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships? Okay wait, let us rephrase. Have you read Gulliver's Travels? Well, it's one and the same. And if you think that its writer had some twisted sense of humour, you are right, he did. By his own admission, he wrote the book "to vex the world rather than divert it".

Ladies, gentlemen and lillputs, such is the charm of the ultimate satirist and Irish clergyman Jonathan Swift who wrote under several pen names, including Lemuel Gulliver. This particular book, meaning Gulliver's Travels, which was published on October 28, 1726, is often termed as "a satirical masterpiece". It targets human nature and traveler's tales. So much so that the pompous lord from the book Flimnap was intended to be the very embodiment of Britain’s first prime minister, Robert Walpole.

READ ALSO :  Harvard University gets its first Black, elected student body president

So don't mistake it for a children's book because it ruthlessly takes on English customs and politics and lays it bare via the story of Lemuel Gulliver who suffers a series of mishaps and ends up on various islands and meets one oddball character after another.

The grand old varsity
The oldest varsity in the USA, the beyond prestigious Harvard University was started on October 28, 1636. Where do we begin with what makes this Ivy League institute the absolute crème de la crème of educational institutions? Shall we start with its path-breaking research, the most recent study being the effect of sodium intake on blood pressure, or the state-of-the-art library with over 17 million volumes? The tradition, legacy and prestige associated with this institute continues to make it a coveted one.

That smile though
Also, it's Pretty Woman Julia Roberts' birthday today. Currently shooting a romantic comedy, her winning wide smile and blonde tresses can make any man, or woman because why not, go weak in their knees. Let's not forget the intelligent choices of movies she made, people. We mean Notting Hill is fine but could anybody else have pulled of Erin Brockovich like this American actress did. No, sir!

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
EdexLive
www.edexlive.com