Lafayette’s spectacular visit to the U.S.
February 24, 2011
Tomorrow at the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston Alan Hoffman will talk about “Lafayette & the Farewell Tour: Odyssey of an American Idol.” Alan Hoffman translated the journal of Lafayette’s visit to the U.S. in 1824-1825, written by Lafayette’s secretary and companion on his 13-month-long tour, as Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825. Lafayette was celebrated in the U.S. as a hero of the American War for Independence and during his visit crowds–thrown into a “delirium . . . by a visit from General La Fayette,” in the words of Thomas Jefferson–met him everywhere he went.
Khan Sculpture at the Sears Tower
February 24, 2011
If you have visited the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) you have probably seen a sculpture that was commissioned by the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois to honor my father. Designed by the Spanish artist Carlos Marinas, it is a large bas-relief made of stainless steel and bronze that represents the Chicago skyline and features a bust of my father. The sculpture was completed in 1988 and today has the special distinction of being seen by the many visitors to the skydeck.
This sculpture at the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) is located near to the elevators at the skydeck ticket area.
Recent FRK article
February 23, 2011
Mr. Weingardt’s article is nicely written and full of detail, and I can see that he carefully read my website as well as my book about my father. Still, a few minor personal errors slipped in–I’ll mention them here to clear up any confusion. First, it is confusing to refer to my father as a Pakistan native. He was born in Bengal in 1929, which was part of British India at the time. In 1947 Bengal was split when India and Pakistan were established as separate countries, with East Bengal becoming East Pakistan. Then in 1971 East Pakistan fought for independence and became Bangladesh.
So, my father would consider himself a Bangladeshi-American, but he also liked to say he was a citizen of the world. After all, the place where he was born had changed from being part of British India, to part of Pakistan, to Bangladesh; and as an adult living in the U.S. he had become an American citizen. Yet he had not changed, he had not become a different person each time.
Two other small points: my father died exactly one week short of his fifty-third birthday; and it was the music of Beethoven that he loved.
New article about FRK
February 21, 2011
This month’s issue of Structure magazine includes a great article about my father by Richard Weingardt. This March it will be 29 years since his death.
Yasmin’s blog
February 21, 2011
It has been almost a year since Enlightening the World came out. I already had a website for my father and my book about him at that point, so I set up this separate site dedicated to the new book. Now it’s time to start changing things a bit. I will post news related to the statue or my father in this blog, and slowly add a section about my father to this site.
Yasmin Sabina Khan 