Happy Friday, Friends! Welcome to the Poo-Flinging Free Zone. No, that does not mean you are free to fling poo, or that poo flinging is free, it means that this post is free of poo-flinging (though we do fling the occasional wine).
Yesterday we had lots of fun discussing really important things. I will try to add to yesterday's list. Truly controversial issues, like, "Does Journey Really suck?" (yes, they do) or "Twilight Zone or Outer Limits?" or "The Profiler or Millennium?" or "which Yardbirds guitarist was the best?" or "is candy corn the worst candy ever?" or "what is the best flavor of ice cream on the planet?"
Let me check my Twitter Feed:
Now, on to the history lesson!
On This Day
1865, the New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad, near Wall Street in NYC.
In 1896, Utah was admitted as the 45th state.
In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed his "Great Society" during his State of the Union address.
In 1974, President Richard Nixon refused to hand over materials subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
In 1999, former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as governor of Minnesota. (Californians laughed at this until they voted in a former bodybuilder a few years later.)
In 2007, the 110th United States Congress convened, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
Born on This Day
1785 – Jacob Grimm, German philologist and folklorist (one of the Brothers Grimm) (d. 1863)
1838 - Charles Stratton, [General Tom Thumb] circus sideshow star (d. 1883)
1878 – Augustus John, Welsh painter (d. 1961)
1882 – Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian artist (d. 1943)
1910 – Arthur Villeneuve, Quebec painter (d. 1990)
1916 – Slim Gaillard, American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist.(d. 1991)
1922 – Rosalie Crutchley, English actress (d. 1997)
1923 – Don Butterfield, American jazz and classical tuba player (d. 2006)
1927 – Barbara Rush, American actress
1935 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
1937 – Dyan Cannon, American actress
1942 – John McLaughlin, English jazz guitarist
1943 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, American writer
1955 – Mark Hollis, English musician and composer (Talk Talk)
1956 – Nels Cline, American guitarist and composer (Wilco)
1958 – Andy Borowitz, American comedian and satirist
1960 – Michael Stipe, American singer (R.E.M. and Automatic Baby)
1962 – Robin Guthrie, Scottish guitarist (Cocteau Twins)
1965 – Cait O'Riordan, British musician (The Pogues)
Died on This Day
1584 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter. (b. 1539)
1773 – Anton Losenko, Russian painter (b. 1737)
1877 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American entrepreneur (b. 1794)
1901 – Nikolaos Gyzis, Greek painter (b. 1842)
1940 – Flora Finch, British-American silent-film comedienne (b. 1867)
1960 – Albert Camus, Algerian-born philosopher and Nobel laureate (b. 1913)
1965 – T. S. Eliot, American-born British Nobel laureate (b. 1888)
1974 – Epameinondas Thomopoulos, Greek artist (b. 1878)
1975 – Carlo Levi, Italian painter, writer and activist (b. 1902)
1986 – Christopher Isherwood, English writer (b. 1904)
1986 – Phil Lynott, Irish musician (Thin Lizzy) (b. 1949)
2005 – Alton Tobey, American artist (b. 1914)
Today is
National Spaghetti Day
Trivia Day