Interrogatories
Are you a pack rat? What sort of things do you hang on to?
What public, non-political figure would you like to see drop out of sight for good?
Do you still have faith in humanity? Why (or why not)?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1792, the Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, was signed by President George Washington.
In 1809, the Supreme Court ruled that the power of the federal government is greater than that of any individual state.
In 1839, Congress prohibited dueling in the District of Columbia. (That must have been very effective.)
In 1872, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened in New York City.
In 1931, Congress approved the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (their approval was required due to the bridge passing through Yerba Buena Island, a naval base).
In 1938, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigned in protest over Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's decision to negotiate with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
In 1962, while aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in 4 hours, 55 minutes.
Born on This Day
1633 – Jan de Baen, Dutch portrait painter (d. 1702)
1844 - Mihály Munkácsy, Hungarian Realist painter (d. 1900)
1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet (d. 1813)
1779 - Augustus Wall Callcott, English painter (d. 1844)
1828 - Karl Ferdinand Charles Wimar, U.S. painter (d. 1862)
1848 – Edward Henry Harriman, American railroad executive (d. 1909)
1863 - Lucien Pissarro, French-born English artist (d. 1944) son of Camille Pissarro
1874 – Mary Garden, Scottish operatic soprano (d. 1967)
1888 - Anthony Thieme, Dutch-U.S. painter (d. 1954)
1889 - Maurice Barraud, Swiss painter and printmaker (d. 1954)
1893 – Russel Crouse, American playwright (d. 1966)
1897 - Ivan Albright, American painter (d. 1983)
1899 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman (d. 1992)
1902 – Ansel Adams, American photographer (d. 1984)
1910 - Julian Trevelyan, British artist (d. 1988)
1911 - Margot Grahame, English actress (d. 1982)
1916 – Jean Erdman, American dancer
1924 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American socialite and clothing designer
1927 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer (d. 1986)
1927 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban musician (Buena Vista Social Club) (d. 2005)
1927 – Sidney Poitier, American actor
1929 – Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
1937 – Nancy Wilson, American Jazz singer
1941 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer
1943 – Mike Leigh, British film director
1946 – Sandy Duncan, American singer and actress
1946 – J. Geils, American guitarist (The J. Geils Band)
1949 – Ivana Trump, Czech-born American socialite who must have had a very strong stomach.
1950 – Walter Becker, American guitarist (Steely Dan)
1951 – Randy California, American guitarist (Spirit) (d. 1997)
1953 – Poison Ivy, American musician (The Cramps)
1954 – Anthony Head, English actor
1954 – Patty Hearst, American socialite
1960 – Joel Hodgson, American comedian (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player
1963 – Ian Brown, English singer (The Stone Roses)
1967 – Kurt Cobain, American musician (Nirvana) (d. 1994)
1967 – Lili Taylor, American actress
1969 – Vaginal Davis, American drag queen and performance artist
1971 – Calpernia Addams, transgender activist
1976 – Ed Graham, English drummer (The Darkness and Stone Gods)
1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian singer
Died on This Day
1479 - Antonello da Messina, Sicilian painter (b. 1430)
1762 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer (b. 1723)
1803 – Marie Dumesnil, French actress (b. 1713)
1862 – William Wallace Lincoln, son of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850)
1865 - Constant Troyon, French painter (d. 1810)
1871 – Paul Kane, Irish-born painter (b. 1810)
1891 - Cornelis Springer, Dutch cityscape painter (b. 1817)
1893 – P.G.T. Beauregard, American Confederate general (b. 1818)
1895 – Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist writer (b. 1818)
1900 - William Holbrook Beard, US painter specialized in anthropomorphic animals (b. 1823)
1909 - Paul Ranson, French Nabi painter (b. 1864)
1916 - Léon-François Comerre, French painter (b. 1850)
1920 – Robert Peary, American explorer (b. 1856)
1936 – Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879)
1972 – Walter Winchell, American journalist (b. 1897)
1976 – Kathryn Kuhlman, American evangelist (b. 1907)
1987 – Wayne Boring, American comics artist (b. 1905)
1992 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (b. 1898)
1997 – Zachary Breaux, American jazz guitarist (b. 1960)
1999 – Gene Siskel, American film critic (b. 1946)
2005 – Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1944) See Tipple Jar
2005 – John Raitt, American actor (b. 1917)
2005 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (b. 1937)
Today is
World Day of Social Justice
National Cherry Pie Day
Hoodie Hoo Day
Love Your Pet Day
National Handcuff Day