July 7, 1933

David McCullough is a leading American historian, and received an American Medal of Freedom, so highly regarded is his scholarship. McCullough was born in Pittsburgh, on July 7, 1933 and graduated from Yale, with an English degree, in 1955. His book John Adams, (2001) won a second Pulitzer for McCullough. In this book we learn of a diary entry made by Adams:

In his diary Adams compared the situation between Britain and America to that of an eagle and a cat. The eagle, soaring over a farmer's yard, sweeped and pounced on the cat, thinking it a rabbit.
The above excerpt is a vivid picture, penned by one good writer and preserved by another.