This Day In History

[The Poet]

Today in 1933, in Chicago's Comiskey Park, baseball's first All Star Game was played, won by the AL 4-2. There is no record of fans from Missouri stuffing the ballot box. In 1935, Tenzin Gyatso was born in Takster Tibet. Two years later he was proclaimed the 14th Dalai Lama. In 1957 Althea Gibson became the first African American to win at Wimbledon, though the terms used to designate her race were not as PC at the time. Of at least as significant culturally, on the same day, half a nation away to the NW, two Liverpudlians named John Lennon and Paul McCartney at the Woolton Parish Church Garden Fest, to which John's Quarry Men Skiffle Group had been invited to play. Paul was a rapt spectator who later impressed Lennon by playing his own guitar with more skill than John possessed at the time.

And in 1994 the movie Forrest Gump opened, not only becoming a smash hit but also winning Tom Hanks his second (and consecutive) Oscar for Best Actor. Run, Forrest, run!

[The Poet]

By popular definition, July 7 was the best day ever, since in 1928 sliced bread was invented. In 1930 construction began on the Hoover Dam. According to author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, today in 1852 Dr. John H. Watson was born. Strangely, Conan Doyle died on this same date in 1930. In 1941 the US moved closer to war with Nazi Germany as it took occupational control over Iceland, while in 1958 the US changed the status of its own territorial icebox when Pres. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act. And again oddly, the US moved further away from war in 1969 with the first withdrawal of American troops from South Vietnam.

And in 1962 a throwaway piece of music composed by David Rose for an obscure TV show four years earlier hit #1 on the pop charts, and the tune which became known as The Stripper entered the American psyche.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YdMaZRVUU8

[The Poet]

Today in 1951, Paris celebrated its 2,000th birthday. I don't know if they did so just to p!$$ off Scott or not.

In 1776 the Liberty Bell tolled to summon citizens of Philadelphia to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. And in 1859 Commodore Matthew Perry sailed four American warships into Tokyo Bay in defiance of Japanese restrictions against foreigners, in a gambit to force the opening of this closed society. It is still a question as to how successful this actually turned out to be. In 1960 Francis Gary Powers was charged with espionage by the Soviet Union. Who knows why they'd think so. And in 1994 Kim Il Sung, the Great Leader of North Korea, died at the age of 82. It is remarkable how that nation has changed in the interim.

[The Poet]

On July 9 not much happened that interests me. In 1918 a heartbroken William Faulkner, whose high school sweetheart had just married another man, left Oxford MS and joined the RAF in Canada, supposedly hoping the romance of a "Foreign Legion"-type existence would succor his pain. In 1948, after 21 years in the Negro League, Leroy "Satchel" Paige made his MLB debut with the Indians at age 42. And in 1962 Bob Dylan recorded his non-protest protest song, Blowin' In The Wind, though we would not hear it until nearly a year later when he released the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Yet we already knew the song itself, since Peter, Paul, and Mary had already made it a hit. Thus the question, if not the answer, was previously on the air.

[Subvet642]

Originally Posted by The Poet

On July 9 not much happened that interests me. In 1918 a heartbroken William Faulkner, whose high school sweetheart had just married another man, left Oxford MS and joined the RAF in Canada, supposedly hoping the romance of a "Foreign Legion"-type existence would succor his pain. In 1948, after 21 years in the Negro League, Leroy "Satchel" Paige made his MLB debut with the Indians at age 42. And in 1962 Bob Dylan recorded his non-protest protest song, Blowin' In The Wind, though we would not hear it until nearly a year later when he released the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Yet we already knew the song itself, since Peter, Paul, and Mary had already made it a hit. Thus the question, if not the answer, was previously on the air.

If you ask me, the Cy Young Award should be called the Satchel Paige Award; 2500 starts and about 2000 wins! He used to write the word "Fastball" on the bottom of his shoe to let the batter know what kind of pitch he was gonna miss. Also, 30 years ago today, I was separated from the Navy.

[The Poet]

Another slow day in history. In 1850, following the death of Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore was sworn in as President. Who?? And in 1925, in Dayton TN the Scopes Monkey Trial began. Though the trial lasted less than 2 weeks, the case itself still faces the same debate . . . which should prove that man has not evolved.

[The Poet]

Today in 1804, not too far from here, Aaron Burr fatally shot Alexander Hamilton on the dueling grounds near Weehawken NJ, following a heated feud between them which had grown over nearly a decade. Though charged with murder in both New York and New Jersey, Vice-President (!!) Burr avoided prosecution due to his immunity . . . just like he avoided charges of treason a few years later. Meanwhile Hamilton, a key contributor to the US Constitution and the Federalist Papers, and George Washington's choice as the first Secretary of the Treasury, ended up as the face on the ten-dollar bill . . . for now, anyway.

In 1914 George Herman "Babe" Ruth made his MLB debut, pitching 7 strong innings against the Cleveland Indians for a 4-3 win by the Red Sox. He also went 0 for 2 at the plate.

In 1922 the Hollywood Bowl opened, hosting the LA Philharmonic. Speaking of Hollywood, in 1960 the novelty song Alley Oop, recorded by a fictitious group named for the intersection of the studio's address, became a #1 hit on the charts, and the Hollywood Argyles entered the lists as one-hit wonders.

[The Poet]

On this day in 1389 Geoffrey Chaucer was named chief clerk of the king's work in Westminster by Richard II. I'm not sure what this meant, aside from the fact that those in power once recognized the value of poets. In 1933 the first Dymaxion car was produced in Bridgeport CT. Designed by Buckminster Fuller and styled by Isamu Noguchi, it was either ahead of its time or a product whose time will never arrive. Whichever, it was more successful as a concept than as an automobile revolution. And in 1979 the Chicago White Sox made only their second contribution to American culture (the first being the 1919 Black Sox scandal ) when their "Disco Demolition" promotion resulted in a riot where 9 were injured, 39 arrested, the game was forfeited to the Tigers, and disco was, with the rest of us, put out of its misery.

[The Poet]

Today in 1793 Charlotte Corday assassinated French revolutionary Jean Paul Marat in his bathtub, by stabbing him with a knife hidden in her bodice. This event was immortalized, and is best known, by the painting of his supine corpse by Neo-classicist artist Jacques-Louis David. As for Mlle. Corday, she was guillotined 4 days later. And in 1798 William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy visited a ruined church called Tintern Abbey. The poem thus inspired, published later that year, expounded many of the principles of the Romantic school of poetry.

That's all I have today. Feel free to add your own.

[The Poet]

With apologies to Scott, and all you other Francophobes, I would be remiss if I did not note that today, in 1789, Parisian revolutionaries and mutinous troops stormed and took the Bastille fortress, then used as a prison for the most uncommon of criminals and political troublemakers . . . such as the only French writer Scott will read, the Marquis de Sade. And speaking of the storming of fortified walls, in 1099 knights and infantry of the First Crusade captured the Holy City of Jerusalem, which they then cleansed with the blood of thousands of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants.

In 1811 poet George Gordon (Lord) Byron returned to England after a 2-year tour of Europe and the Near East, and penned his first highly-successful work inspired by this sojourn, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. In 1968 Hank Aaron hit his 500th home run. He managed to knock a few more before he retired. And in 1995 a new file compression algorithm used to reduce the size of digital music files was dubbed MP3. Though I don't condemn it as fiercely as, say, Neil Young, I do feel it corrupts musical fidelity. Then again, considering what is being foisted off as music these days, that may not be a bad thing. Less is more, if the more so totally sucks.

[Col. Kurtz]

Ahhh. The good old days. Before lossy digital compression. It's still ok to condemn Neil young though.

[The Poet]

Neil Young has been a grumpy old man since he was 25 at least, so I'm used to it by now.

[The Poet]

In 1606 Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn was born in Leiden. Smile, brother, smile. In 1903 the Ford Motor Company took its first order for a two-cylinder Model A, at a cost of $850, from Chicago dentist Ernst Pfenning. I don't know what 850 bucks would be today, but it is considerably more than a pfenning. In 1988 the movie Die Hard opened, making a huge star out of Jersey boy Bruce Wills. Yippie-ki-yay, motherfarker. And in 1986, after a 26-year partnership, Columbia Records dropped Johnny Cash from its label, shortly after they had done the same to another dead-beat non-performer, Miles Davis. Another man done gone, another song to sing, and flushed from the bathroom of your heart.

[The Poet]

Today in 1769 Franciscan missionary Father Junipero Serra founded the first Catholic mission in Alta California, which he named San Diego de Alcala. From that point I don't know what happened to the Catholics, the Mexicans, or to San Diego.

In 1935, in Oklahoma City, Park-O-Meter No. 1 was installed at the corner of First Street and Robinson Avenue. Thankfully, much to the benefit of a growing automobile culture in America and worldwide, the freedom-restricting concept of paid parking did not catch on . . . much. And in 1945, in the desert near Alamogordo NM, the first atom bomb was successfully detonated, yielding the equivalent of 15-20,000 tons of TNT. This quantum leap in military capability has since resulted in a stable world order of peace and tranquility. As Robert J. Oppenheimer, one of the leading architects of the project, remarked at the time, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

[The Poet]

On this day in 1941, in a game against the Cleveland Indians, Joltin' Joe DiMaggio failed to get a hit. Of itself, this would not be of significance, but it was the first time he hadn't in 56 consecutive games. That streak remains to this day, and likely shall for the foreseeable future. In 1938 aviator Douglas Corrigan took off from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, with a flight plan filed for a return trip to California. Twenty-eight hours later, he landed in Dublin Ireland, and thus earned the appellation "Wrong Way" . . . though his claims that he got lost were widely dismissed as a fabrication.

In 1955 Disneyland opened in Anaheim CA, and you still can't manage to get in . . . unless you are a Kardashian. And in 1967 teen heart-throbs The Monkees, on a summer-long American tour, lost their opening act after only 8 shows when The Jimi Hendrix Experience suddenly left, due mainly to the guitarist (largely unknown to the US audience) getting sick of hearing the teeny-bopper crowd booing him offstage as they screamed for Davy Jones. This fiasco might have been foreseen by all but the totally myopic, even if those early dates had not included such avant-guard locations as Jacksonville, Charlotte, and Greensboro.

[Subvet642]

Originally Posted by The Poet

On this day in 1941, in a game against the Cleveland Indians, Joltin' Joe DiMaggio failed to get a hit. Of itself, this would not be of significance, but it was the first time he hadn't in 56 consecutive games. That streak remains to this day, and likely shall for the foreseeable future. In 1938 aviator Douglas Corrigan took off from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, with a flight plan filed for a return trip to California. Twenty-eight hours later, he landed in Dublin Ireland, and thus earned the appellation "Wrong Way" . . . though his claims that he got lost were widely dismissed as a fabrication.

In 1955 Disneyland opened in Anaheim CA, and you still can't manage to get in . . . unless you are a Kardashian. And in 1967 teen heart-throbs The Monkees, on a summer-long American tour, lost their opening act after only 8 shows when The Jimi Hendrix Experience suddenly left, due mainly to the guitarist (largely unknown to the US audience) getting sick of hearing the teeny-bopper crowd booing him offstage as they screamed for Davy Jones. This fiasco might have been foreseen by all but the totally myopic, even if those early dates had not included such avant-guard locations as Jacksonville, Charlotte, and Greensboro.

I've always liked them both.

[The Poet]

Originally Posted by Subvet642

I've always liked them both.

I thought The Monkees were fun and put out some good catchy tunes (even though they had little to do with them), while Jimi was God, not Clapton as claimed. But they were wildly different creatures. Plus, The Fake Four were highly popular at the time with a wide, young, and heavily female fanbase. Hendrix was all-but unknown in America at the time, his look and sound was shocking and beyond confusing to the teen fans with a crush on Davy Jones, and those fans would likely have been impatient for the headliners regardless of the opening act.

No one should fault The Monkees for this epic fail. They were fans of Hendrix and simply hoped to promote his US rep by introducing him to a wider audience. But the concept was flawed. Hey, imagine One Direction having some death-metal band open?

[AdamJoshua]

You missed the Anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch and the Soyuz docking

[The Poet]

Originally Posted by AdamJoshua

You missed the Anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch and the Soyuz docking

No, I just left it for you to post.

[The Poet]

A few years back, in 64, Rome burned. I don't know how long it took to build it, nor if Nero fiddled. In 1925 Adolf Hitler published Mein Kampf, which became the best-selling piece of crap writing until the likes of L. Ron and J. K. came along. In 1914 Wobbly organizer and singer Joe Hill was sentenced to death in Utah, even though the evidence of the murder charges was meager. I did not dream I saw him last night. And in the only event I witnessed, in 1999 Yankee pitcher David Cone threw a perfect game against the Montreal Expos in The Bronx. It only took Coney 88 pitches to record the 27 outs, so he definitely wasn't jerking off that day.