Happy Hump Day, H-Bombers.
Have at it!
Interrogatories:
What was your high school life like, fun or miserable or in-between? Are you a joiner (clubs, etc.)? What, if any, religion were you raised in? Are you still? What do you hope to be up to when you are 80? What food is your greatest downfall?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted Florida. Had Rick Scott been around in those days, he would have turned tail and run.
In 1794, President George Washington and Congress authorized creation of the U.S. Navy.
In 1851, an expedition (military) of white folks beheld Yosemite for the first time:
The grandeur of the scene was but softened by the haze that hung over the valley -- light as gossamer -- and by the clouds which partially dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity of vision but increased the awe with which I beheld it, and as I looked, a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being, and I found my eyes in tears with emotion.
It still affects people that way...
In 1915, Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States, was put in quarantine, where she remained for the rest of her life.
In 1939, Oregon won the first NCAA basketball tournament with a 46-33 victory over Ohio State.
In 1964, a massive earthquake struck Anchorage, Alaska. Lasting nearly 4 minutes (if you've ever been in a quake you know how long a mere 30 seconds feels) and having a magnitude of 9.2, it remains the largest quake ever to strike the US. Most of the estimated 128 deaths were from resulting tsunamis in Alaska, Oregon, and California.
In 1998, The FDA approved the drug Viagra. Apparently (according to Dear Abby correspondence), many women who had had less than perfect sexual relations with their husbands were not happy about this development.
Born on This Day
1712 – Claude Bourgelat, French veterinary surgeon (d. 1779)
1767 – Charles Didelot, French-Ukrainian dancer and choreographer (d. 1837)
1785 – King Louis XVII of France (d. 1795)
1813 – Nathaniel Currier, American illustrator (d. 1888)
1818 – Erminia Frezzolini, Italian operatic soprano ⟨d. 1884⟩
1832 - William Quiller Orchardson, Scottish painter (d. 1910)
1845 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1923)
1847 – Otto Wallach, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
1875 - Albert Marquet, French painter (d. 1947)
1886 – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German architect (d. 1969)
1892 – Dorrit Weixler, German actress (d. 1916)
1893 – Karl Mannheim, Hungarian sociologist (d. 1947)
1895 – Betty Schade, German-born American actress (d. 1982)
1898 – Alma Tell, American actress (d. 1937)
1899 – Gloria Swanson, American actress (d. 1983)
1902 - Mary Nicol Neill Armour, Scottish landscape and still life painter (d. 2000)
1906 – Pee Wee Russell, American jazz musician (d. 1969)
1914 – Richard Denning, American actor (d. 1998)
1914 – Budd Schulberg, American screenwriter and novelist (d. 2009)
1917 – Cyrus Vance, American politician and 57th United States Secretary of State (d. 2002)
1920 – Robin Jacques, British illustrator (d. 1995)
1924 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (d. 1990)
1937 - Johnny "Clyde" Copeland, American blues guitarist/singer (d. 1997)
1942 – Michael York, English actor
1946 – Andy Bown, English bass player and songwriter (Status Quo (band) and Judas Jump)
1950 – Tony Banks, English musician (Genesis)
1957 – Billy Mackenzie, Scottish musician (Associates) (d. 1997)
1963 – Quentin Tarantino, American director, writer, and producer
1967 – Talisa Soto, American actress
1970 – Brendan Hill, British drummer (Blues Traveler and Stolen Ogre)
1971 – Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor
1975 – Fergie, American pop singer (The Black Eyed Peas and Wild Orchid)
Died onThis Day
1378 – Pope Gregory XI (b. 1336)
1572 – Girolamo Maggi, Italian Renaissance man (b. c. 1523)
1625 – King James I of England and Ireland, James VI of Scotland (b. 1566)
1679 – Abraham Minjon, Dutch painter (b. 1640)
1770 – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian artist (b. 1696)
1809 – Joseph-Marie Vien, French painter (b. 1716)
1882 - Thomas Jones Barker, English painter (b. 1815)
1899 - Myles Birket Foster, English painter (b. 1825)
1923 – Sir James Dewar, Scottish chemist (b. 1842)
1972 – Sharkey Bonano, American jazz musician (b. 1904)
1972 – M. C. Escher, Dutch artist (b. 1898)
1977 – Eve Meyer, American model (b. 1928)
1989 – May Allison, American actress (b. 1890)
2000 – Ian Dury, English musician (The Blockheads) (b. 1942)
2002 – Milton Berle, American actor and comedian (b. 1908)
2002 – Dudley Moore, British actor (b. 1935)
2002 – Billy Wilder, American director (b. 1906)
2011 – Farley Granger, American actor (b. 1925)
Today is
National Spanish Paella Day
National "Joe" Day
World Theatre Day
Education and Sharing Day
Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day