Byrd was born on November 20, 1917 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. He was married to Erma James from 1937 until her death in 2006. They had two children.
Byrd was fourth person in the state (as President "pro tempore" of the Senate, usually longest serving Senator from majority party) from January 1989 to January 1995, from January 3, 2001 to January 20, 2001 and again from June 2001 to January 2003 and January 2007 until his death in 2010.
After Republicans retook control of the Senate, he became the honorary President "pro tempore emeritus" In 2007, Byrd became President Pro Tempore of the Senate again. Before he was elected to the Senate he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1953 until 1959 (he is dean of all Congress).
He was a vocal opponent of President George W. Bush's war in Iraq. In January 2006 he was one of the only four (alongside Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Ken Salazar of Colorado) democratic Senators, who voted for Samuel Alito.
Byrd died on June 28, 2010 in Falls Church, Virginia, aged 92 from natural causes.
Artemis
Artemis is a goddess in Greek mythology. She is one of the Twelve Olympians. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She is the twin sister of Apollo.
Artemis is the goddess of hunting, archery, wild animals, midwifery and the wilderness.
When Artemis was born she became known as the goddess of the moon.
Her symbol is widely known as a bow and arrow.
Her Roman name is Diana.
Hera, who was Zeus's wife, discovered that Leto was pregnant and became very angry. She banned Leto from giving birth on any mainland or island known.
Leto found the island of Delos, which floated and so was not an island or mainland, and gave birth there. Hera then locked up the goddess of childbirth, Eilethyia, so she could not give birth to the twins. Then, all the other goddesses convinced her to let her free so she could finally give birth. Leto gave birth to Artemis without any problem. However she was in labor with Apollo for nine days. Artemis helped Leto to give birth to Apollo.
Apollo
Apollo is a god in Greek mythology, and one of the Twelve Olympians. He is the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Artemis. He is the god of healing, medicine, archery, music, poetry and the sun. He is the leader of the Muses. He also is a god of prophecy, and his Oracle at Delphi is very important. He also is the god of justice. During the 5th century BC, Apollo became also known as the god of Sun, becoming one with the god Helios, and getting the name Phoebus. He is shown as a handsome young man, wearing a laurel wreath and playing the kithara (lyre). It is known as his symbol. His other symbols include the raven.
Apollon or Apollo was one of the Twelve Olympians, the 12 most important gods in Greek mythology. Because of this, there are many myths about him:
Apollo and his twin sister Artemis were the children of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, and the goddess Leto. When Leto became pregnant, Zeus already had a wife, the queen of the gods Hera. Hera was angry that Zeus was having children with Leto, and cursed Leto so that she could not ever give birth to her children anywhere on the earth where the sun shone. Hera then sent a serpent called Python to eat her. Python chased Leto to the edge of the sea, where Leto swam to the island of Delos. Python could not swim, however, and had to leave her alone. The island of Delos was at that time just a big rock floating on the sea, not an island yet, so it wasn't "on the earth". So Leto climbed under the shade of a palm tree and gave birth to her daughter Artemis, and then her son Apollo. Delos then became Apollo's and Artemis' sacred land. It varies from myth to myth what twin was born first.
When Apollo grew up, he went to his father Zeus and asked for a golden bow with arrows as bright and sharp as the sunshine. Then he went looking for a place to build his temple. He came to a spring that belonged to a nymph called "Telephusa" and tried to build his temple there, but Telephusa suggested he build his temple at Delphi instead, since there was already a shrine there to Themis, the goddess of telling the future. Apollo went to Delphi but found out it was taken over by Python, the dragon who had tried to eat his mother. He killed the Python with a hundred arrows and claimed Delphi as his temple. He got two sailors to be his priests and then gave a girl the power of telling the future. The girl became his priestess or oracle. The little god Eros, the son of the love goddess Aphrodite, had watched Apollo kill Python and worshiped Apollo as his idol. Apollo, however, was annoyed by Eros and insulted him. Eros got angry and shot Apollo with his magic arrow, making him fall in love with a nymph named Daphne. Daphne didn't love Apollo and shunned him. Apollo chased her, and she turned herself into a laurel tree to escape him. Apollo still loved her and made the laurel one of his symbols.
Apollo looked after the cattle of the sun-god Helios while Helios was driving the sun through the sky. While Apollo was chasing Daphne, the mischievous baby god Hermes stole the cattle and confused Apollo by making the cattle walk backward as they left their pen. When Apollo went looking for them, it looked like they had walked into the ranch instead of out. Hermes also told a nearby man that he would make him rich if he told no one about what he saw Hermes do. The man, Battos, told Apollo anyway and was later turned into stone by Hermes as punishment. Apollo took Hermes in front of all the gods to be judged. Hermes acted innocent, though, and finally convinced Apollo to forgive him by giving him the lyre. Apollo loved this lyre so much that he not only let Hermes keep the cattle but also gave him the caduceus, a magic wand that could heal wounds and cause sleep. Hermes tried the caduceus out on two dying snakes, who came back to life and curled around the wand for the rest of eternity.
Nike (mythology)
Nike (Greek: Νίκη) is the goddess of victory in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of Styx and Pallas and the sister of Cratos, Bia, and Zelus. Nike and her brothers and sister were all friends of Zeus.
Nike could run very fast, had wings and brings good luck. She is usually worshipped at the same time as Athena. Nike is often linked with sport, with companies named for her like Nike Inc. A picture of Nike also appears in all the medals for the Summer Olympics. Her Roman name is Victoria.
The most famous statue of Nike is the Winged Victory of Samothrace. This is now in the Louvre, which is a museum in Paris, France. She is a symbol of victory displayed outside Olympic stadiums in Olympia and in other places where there are Olympics. She is believed to always be watching over sport stadiums ready to choose the victor of the game.
Daphne
Daphne can mean:
Montagu Island
Montagu Island is the largest island of the South Sandwich Islands.
Styx
Styx is the goddess of the river Styx in Greek mythology, and was the only female river goddess. She was the daughter of Okeanos and Tethys, and with Pallas was also the mother of Zelus, Nike, Kratos, and Bia (and sometimes Eos). During the Titanomachy she sent the children to help Zeus. To reward her for helping the Olympians, Zeus did not throw her in Tartarus, but let her be the guardian of the river Styx. She is the wife of the ferryman, Charon, and the guardian of the river Coctylus, Archeon.
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry Marx or Groucho Marx (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977), was a famous American comedian. He was best known for work with his siblings in The Marx Brothers and then later on his own. He is best known for playing a fast-talking "wise guy" with bushy eyebrows, glasses, moustache, and a cigar.
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is a large collection of stories, started in Ancient Greece, about the beginning of the world, and the lives and adventures of gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines.