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Show JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY DEAD. Beloved Hoosier Poet Succumbs to Attack of Paralysis. Indianapolis, Ind. James Whitcomb Riley died at his home here, July 22, death being due to paralysis. Mr. Riley suffered his first violent attack of paralysis July 10, 1910. James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier poet, was born in 1853, but was reticent re-ticent as to his exact age. Mr. Riley never married. One of the most unique celebrations In the country was held in his honor October 7, 1915, when "Riley day" was observed by a banquet in Indianapolis, and in schools of the country attended by more than 1,000,000 children. Men prominent in business and politics from all over the coutry assembled to do the poet homage hom-age at the celebration, and many congratulatory con-gratulatory messages were received from abroad on that occasion. James Whitcomb Riley, born of the middle west, sang the Joys, sorrows, fancies and humors of its folk, largely in its own dialect. The world was so touched by his inspiration and the realism of his homely symbols that he was one of the few that, devoting their lives to poetry, gained a fortune. While Mr. Riley never married, he was a lover of children, whose spirit he divined so intimately, and of family fam-ily life. Many of the last years of his life he spent quietly at his home in a secluded section of Indianapolis. |