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Brother Buzz

(40,723 posts)
7. The movie was engaging, but the book by Simon Winchester was riveting.
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 11:36 PM
Thursday

The movie kinda glossed over his early years, and how Dr. William Chester Minor, a man with high morals and ethics, was driven insane by the atrocities of the Civil War. Ordered to brand a “D” on the cheeks of Irishmen who deserted and were captured, pushed him over the edge.

Dr. William Chester Minor was born and raised in Sri Lanka by US missionary parents, and returned to the US for college. A boatload of the words he submitted to OED originated in Sri Lanka. One word I remember was serendipity, possible the most pleasing word in the English language.

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