Good morning, Bombers! I hear it's getting kind of scary out there in the greater GOS. Thankfully there are places to get away from that, and talk about things that really matter, like which Zin is superior or if dark chocolate is better than light. Or if Bette Davis or Joan Crawford is the scary one. Or if Dietrich or Garbo had the better cheekbones. Or the pressing question, is Velveeta really cheese? And should nuts be permitted in brownies? And are raisins really food?
Twitter is not immune from the sickness, but I can avoid most of those tweets. Unless they are delicious, of course.
OK, pay attention class. It's time for your history lesson.
On This Day
In 1496, Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tested his flying machine.
In 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X.
In 1861, Delaware voted not to secede from the Union.
In 1870, construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge.
In 1938, the March of Dimes was established by FDR.
In 1947, Congressional proceedings were televised for the first time.
In 1959, Alaska was admitted as the 49th state.
In 1961, the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Cuba.
In 1977, Apple Computer was incorporated.
In 1999 – Israel detained, and later expelled, 14 members of Concerned Christians, whose goal was to destroy the ancient Al-Aqsa Mosque, believing its destruction was necessary to bring about the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Born on This Day
1879 – Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States (d. 1957)
1880 – Francis Browne, Irish photographer who boarded the Titanic at Southampton but got off in Queenstown, Ireland before the ship continued to its date with the iceberg. His photographs taken on his journey have become very famous. (d. 1960)
1886 – Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957) (Harvey, Arsenic and Old Lace)
1887 – August Macke, German painter (d. 1914)
1892 – J. R. R. Tolkien, British writer (d. 1973)
1894 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)
1897 - Pola Negri, Polish silent film star (d. 1987)
1897 – Marion Davies, American actress and longtime mistress of WIlliam Randolph Hearst (d. 1961)
1905 – Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)
1907 – Ray Milland, British actor (d. 1986)
1916 – Betty Furness, American actress and consumer rights advocate. (d. 1994)
1919 - Frank Duveneck, painter (b. 1848)
1919 – Herbie Nichols, jazz composer and pianist (d. 1963)
1929 – Sergio Leone, Italian director (d. 1989)
1932 – Dabney Coleman, American actor
1941 – Van Dyke Parks, American musician
1945 – Stephen Stills, American musician (Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Manassas)
1954 – Ned Lamont, American businessman and political figure
1954 – Ross the Boss, American guitarist (The Dictators and Manowar)
1955 – Palmolive, British musician (The Slits, The Raincoats)
1956 – Mel Gibson, anti-Semitic and misogynist American-Australian actor/ director
1981 – Eli Manning, American football player
Died on This Day
1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, British potter (b. 1730)
1945 – Edgar Cayce, American psychic (b. 1877)
1967 – Mary Garden, British singer (b. 1874)
1967 – Jack Ruby, American killer of Lee Harvey Oswald (b. 1911)
1991 - Doris Zinkeisen, Scottish painter of society portraits, stage productions, designer of stage sets and costumes, and painter of the aftermath of World War 2. (b. 1898)
2002 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican band leader (b. 1918)
2010 – Mary Daly, American theologian and feminist scholar (b. 1928)
Today is
Festival of Sleep Day
Humiliation Day (hopefully not your own)
Memento Mori "Remember You Die" Day
National Drinking Straw Day
Fruitcake Toss Day
Chocolate Covered Cherry Day