Wow, yesterday was (my) Monday and it's Friday already. I wish every week could be like this.
We're edging closer and closer to that cliff. John Boehner as Wile E. Coyote. Go, Road Runner!
Today's Twitterama:
Now, on to the history lesson!
On This Day
In 1612, Galileo Galilei was the first astronomer to observe Neptune, though he thought it was a "fixed star" rather than a planet.
In 1832, John C. Calhoun became the first Vice President of the U.S. to resign.
In 1836, Spain finally recognized Mexico’s independence.
In 1846, Iowa became the 29th State.
In 1973, the Endangered Species Act was passed.
In 2000, 128 year old retail giant Montgomery Ward announced they would be going out of business.
Born on This Day
1522 – Margaret of Austria, regent of the Netherlands (d. 1583)
1856 – Woodrow Wilson, American politician, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
1865- Felix Vallotton, Swiss painter (d. 1925)
1868 - Marie van Regteren Altena, Dutch still life painter (d. 1958)
1888 – Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, German film director (d. 1931)
1903 – Earl Hines, American musician (d. 1983)
1908 – Lew Ayres, American actor (d. 1996)
1913 – Lou Jacobi, Canadian actor (d. 2009)
1915 – Pops Staples, American musician (The Staple Singers) (d. 2000)
1921 – Johnny Otis, American musician (d. 2012) (pardon the ad and the talking)
1925 – Hildegard Knef, German actress (d. 2002)
1932 – Nichelle Nichols, American actress and singer
1934 – Dame Maggie Smith, British actress
1939 – Philip Anschutz, American wingut gazillionaire businessman, funder of propaganda
1940 - Lonnie Liston Smith, US jazz performer
1946 – Edgar Winter, American musician
1948 – Mary Weiss, American Singer (The Shangri-Las)
1950 – Alex Chilton, American musician (The Box Tops, Big Star) (d. 2010)
1954 – Denzel Washington, American actor
1981 – Sienna Miller, British actress
Died on This Day
1734 – Robert Roy MacGregor, Scottish folk hero (b. 1671)
1838 - Jerome-Martin Langlois, French academic painter (b. 1779)
1870 - Petrus van Schendel, Dutch painter (b. 1806)
1924 – Léon Bakst, Russian artist primarily known for set and costume designs for the ballet. (b. 1866)
1938 – Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (b. 1886)
1945 – Theodore Dreiser, American author (b. 1871)
1952 – Fletcher Henderson, American musician (b. 1897)
1962 – Kathleen Clifford, American actress (b. 1887)
1967 – Katharine McCormick, American women's rights activist (b. 1875)
1976 – Freddie King, American musician (b. 1934)
1983 – Dennis Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys) (b. 1944)
1986 – Jan Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter (b. 1922)
2010 – Billy Taylor, American musician (b. 1921)
Today is
National Chocolate Candy Day
Card Playing Day
No Interruptions Day