Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2021 January 22

= January 22 =

Territorial ambitions of Russian Fascists
In their Wikipedia article, it states this about the territorial ambitions of the Russian Fascist Party:

"Under his leadership, Rodzaevsky envisioned Russia taking back Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland, and in addition, he planned to annex Romania, Bulgaria, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mongolia.[1]:170"

However, other than the information right above, is there any additional information anywhere about the territorial ambitions of Russian Fascists? Futurist110 (talk) 04:00, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
 * "According to Rodzaevsky, Russia would achieve the highest level of prosperity and social justice, and the greatest Eurasian Empire would be created after Finland, Poland, and the neighboring Baltic countries joined Russia in that union." --Soman (talk) 19:25, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * "Fascist Russia would achieve such high levels of prosperity and social justice that peripheral nations (Finland, Latvia , Poland , Rumania , Bulgaria , Persia , Afghanistan , and Mongolia ) would seek incorporation into what would eventually emerge as a great Eurasian empire." --Soman (talk) 19:28, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Is that a direct Rodzaevsky quote? Futurist110 (talk) 20:13, 25 January 2021 (UTC)
 * No, it is not a direct quote. --Soman (talk) 20:25, 25 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks! Futurist110 (talk) 21:04, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

When was grain refining invented?
I assume at some point in history, all grains were consumed as whole grain (except any incidental removal of bits of the grain as a result of harvesting). I’m particularly interested in wheat here. Did this change occur during the agricultural revolution? Or much later? Or is the whole grain craze we experienced entirely one of our own invention, and ancient peoples would’ve thought us crazy for eating whole wheat bread? 69.174.144.79 (talk) 17:30, 22 January 2021 (UTC)


 * The History of Wheat and Flour Milling and Wheat milling both say that it was down to the introduction of roller milling from Hungary together with the hard-grained wheat varieties developed in North America that enabled white flour to be massed produced from about 1870. Alansplodge (talk) 18:21, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
 * The heavier bran can be separated by sifting. Some cultures did this, a notable example being Ancient Rome. This refined flour was consumed by the rich, as the extra labor added cost. It's also more suited for dessert goods. --47.152.93.24 (talk) 01:37, 25 January 2021 (UTC)

U.S. Grant's first presidential inauguration
Donald Trump didn't go to this week's inauguration of Joe Biden, and according to the BBC, this was the first time since 1869 that a president skipped his successor's inauguration. (Obviously this is scheduled inaugurations, since the first inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson was skipped by his predecessor.) Why did Johnson skip Grant's inauguration? First inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant says ''Outgoing president Andrew Johnson did not attend the inaugural ceremonies, as he refused to sit with Ulysses S Grant in the carriage going to them, or even to go in a separate carriage. Instead, he was in the White House signing last-minute legislation. So apparently he was busy, but refused to sit with Ulysses S Grant'' makes it sound as if they didn't get along. What was the underlying reason? Nyttend (talk) 17:33, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I don’t know specifically but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was related to Grant’s actions during Johnson’s impeachment. See Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, particularly the second paragraph. Johnson apparently had a serious falling-out with Grant when the latter resigned his interim appointment as secretary of war. 69.174.144.79 (talk) 17:50, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
 * According to this article, the origin of the feud was Johnson's disastrous Swing Around the Circle rally tour of 1866, after which Grant (along with many others in the administration) helped fuel attacks by the press on Johnson's performance, telling a reporter, "I am disgusted with this trip. I am disgusted at hearing a man make speeches on the way to his funeral". Alansplodge (talk) 00:08, 23 January 2021 (UTC)

A John Bright text


On the 21st January 1885 advertising began for The Work of the Liberal Party During the Past Fifty Years by John Bright. I have been unable to track down the text of this, all the usual suspects (archive.org, Hathi Trust, Gutenberg) having failed me. Can anyone help? Thank you, DuncanHill (talk) 22:58, 22 January 2021 (UTC)


 * No luck with the text, but it appears in the Catalogue of the Guildhall Library of the City of London (1889), so perhaps they still have it? I spent many happy lunch hours in their most wonderful reference library in Bishopsgate; it was the nearest thing to Google before the internet. Alansplodge (talk) 23:40, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
 * The only other thing I found was the The National Liberal Club Pamphlets which are at Bristol University. Unfortunately, their online search function doesn't function. Alansplodge (talk) 23:53, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
 * BINGO! The Work of the Liberal Party during the last fifty years: a sequel to a letter from the Right Honourable John Bright, M.P.. All you need is JSTOR access... Alansplodge (talk) 00:17, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Forget that; once you get the title right, you can find the whole thing on Google Books. Time for bed. Alansplodge (talk) 00:26, 23 January 2021 (UTC)


 * (e/c - composed beofre the above) Thanks - I can't find it in the modern Guildhall Library catalogue. It ought to be in the National Liberal Club pamphlets at Bristol, but I know some of the choicer items were siphoned off by one of Thorpe's spiv friends. I have found a copy on Abebooks so have ordered that. Will see if I can scan and upload it to Archive.org when it comes. DuncanHill (talk) 00:28, 23 January 2021 (UTC)


 * (composed after) Many thanks Alan - that is splendid work and very helpful. DuncanHill (talk) 00:28, 23 January 2021 (UTC)


 * The Bishopsgate Library (handily placed a minute or so from Liverpool Street station) is part of the Bishopsgate Institute.  The Guildhall library is within the Guildhall. 95.149.135.141 (talk) 11:41, 26 January 2021 (UTC)


 * It is now available as a pdf on Commons - preview at right. DuncanHill (talk) 13:26, 28 January 2021 (UTC)