Ransom, John Crowe, 1888-1974, American poet and critic, b. Pulaski, Tenn., grad. Vanderbilt Univ. and studied at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He is considered one of the great stylists of 20th-century American poetry. His verse, elegant and impersonal, is concerned with the breakdown of traditional order and stability in the modern world. His first volume of verse, Poems about God, appeared in 1919. It was followed by Chills and Fever (1924) and Two Gentlemen in Bonds (1926). He taught at Vanderbilt from 1914 to 1937, during which time he (with Allen Tate, Robert Penn Warren, and others) founded and edited the Fugitive (1922-25), a bimonthly literary magazine. One of the so-called new critics, he brought to 20th-century criticism a new respect for poetry as a medium, emphasizing close textual analysis and the importance of a poem as a poem. From 1937 to 1958 he taught at Kenyon College; there he founded the Kenyon Review, a magazine that established him as an influential and controversial critic and editor. In The World's Body (1938) and The New Criticism (1941) he voices his literary theories.

ransom, price of redemption demanded by the captor of a person, vessel, or city. In ancient times cities frequently paid ransom to prevent their plundering by captors. The custom of ransoming was formerly sanctioned by law. Soldiers, given the right to kill or enslave their prisoners, frequently preferred to free them after receiving payment. This mitigated bloodshed, for it was more profitable to hold enemies for ransom than to massacre them. One of the rights of a feudal lord was to call upon his tenants to ransom him if he were captured in battle. The amount of ransom varied with the rank of the captive; a king or a noted warrior brought a great sum. For the payment of the ransom of Richard I (Richard Cɶur de Lion) a special tax was levied in England; the French sovereign paid heavy ransoms for Bertrand Du Guesclin; and Scotland was impoverished in paying for James I. Merchant vessels captured in privateering were sometimes ransomed by their owners. After receiving the ransom, the privateer sometimes furnished a ransom bill, which allowed safe conduct for the ship to one of her native ports. Today the term generally refers to the sum paid to a kidnapper for the release of an individual or to an airplane hijacker for the release of passengers, crew, and plane.

(born April 30, 1888, Pulaski, Tenn., U.S.—died July 4, 1974, Gambier, Ohio) U.S. poet and critic. Ransom attended and later taught at Vanderbilt University, where he became the leader of the Fugitives, a group of poets who shared a belief in the South and its agrarian traditions and published the influential journal The Fugitive (1922–25); he was among those Fugitives called Agrarian who contributed to I'll Take My Stand (1930). At Kenyon College, he founded and edited (1939–59) the Kenyon Review. His literary studies include The New Criticism (1941), which gave its name to an important critical movement (see New Criticism), and he became recognized as a leading theorist of the post-World War I Southern literary renaissance. His Selected Poems (1945; rev. ed., 1969) won the National Book Award.

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(born April 30, 1888, Pulaski, Tenn., U.S.—died July 4, 1974, Gambier, Ohio) U.S. poet and critic. Ransom attended and later taught at Vanderbilt University, where he became the leader of the Fugitives, a group of poets who shared a belief in the South and its agrarian traditions and published the influential journal The Fugitive (1922–25); he was among those Fugitives called Agrarian who contributed to I'll Take My Stand (1930). At Kenyon College, he founded and edited (1939–59) the Kenyon Review. His literary studies include The New Criticism (1941), which gave its name to an important critical movement (see New Criticism), and he became recognized as a leading theorist of the post-World War I Southern literary renaissance. His Selected Poems (1945; rev. ed., 1969) won the National Book Award.

Learn more about Ransom, John Crowe with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Ransom is a village in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 409 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Ransom was a planned community; ads were placed in the Streator Monitor as early as 1876 calling for shopkeepers, craftsmen, and tradesmen. In 1885 the village of Ransom was officially incorporated. The earliest businesses in Ransom included a hotel, saloon, doctor, carpenter, pharmacist, grocery store, cash exchange and a blacksmith. On the edge of the newly developing business district a small wooden water tower was constructed. In 1892 a fire devastated the eastern side of the business district, stymieing the village's growth and causing some business owners to close up shop forever.

After the fire, and much back and forth, the village constructed a new public waterworks with a 68 feet water tower at its center in 1896. The village flourished after the fire, eventually reaching a population peak of around 600 following World War II. On September 7, 1903 the first phone service reached Ransom, and AT&T opened a telegraph office in 1905. Between 1905–1910 the village constructed a sidewalk system. The first electric street lamps appeared on May 7, 1910 with the acquisition of a dozen electric street lamps from Illinois Valley Gas and Electric. Electricity gradually made its way into the homes of Ransom following the introduction of the street lamps.

Namesake

The village was named for American Civil War General Thomas E.G. Ransom. Ransom hailed from the state of Illinois.

Geography

Ransom is located at (41.155955, -88.653178).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.0 square miles (2.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 409 people, 147 households, and 109 families residing in the village. The population density was 412.6 people per square mile (159.5/km²). There were 159 housing units at an average density of 160.4/sq mi (62.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.04% White, 0.24% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.24% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.18% of the population.

There were 147 households out of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the village the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $53,333, and the median income for a family was $55,682. Males had a median income of $46,458 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,524. About 2.3% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of eighteen or sixty-five or over.

References

External links

• Village of Ransom