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Apparently it was coined by Alger Hiss, but I've seen Jason Kottke use the term "The Great Span" to describe this phenomenon of a small number of generations sp
by lastofthemojito 5y ago
Apparently it was coined by Alger Hiss, but I've seen Jason Kottke use the term "The Great Span" to describe this phenomenon of a small number of generations spanning surprisingly long periods of time.
Looking at that tag on kottke.org, the top few results are a Civil War widow dying in 2020, John Tyler (president in 1841) having a living grandson, and a 2020 interview with the son of a formerly enslaved person. Wild stuff.
https://kottke.org/tag/The%20Great%20Span https://kottke.org/tag/The%20Great%20Span
- apotheon 5y agoJust for the sake of those who might misunderstand this comment: She wasn't a "Civil War widow" per se. She was not widowed by the death of her husband in the Civil War. She was seventeen years old in 1936, and married a ninety-three year old Civil War veteran. She was the widow of a Civil War veteran.