L.K. Peterson's Site of Writings, Random Thoughts & Doodles
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1986: Georgia sodomy law (they’re against it) upheld by Supreme Court (5-4); decision is handed down after repeated viewings of Deliverance.
1864: Lincoln grants Yosemite to California; by mid-afternoon, the waiting list for campsites is three years long.
1917 Lena Horne, Buddy Rich; 1934 Harry Blackstone Jr.; 1959 Vincent D'Onofrio; 1966 Mike Tyson.
1613: William Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London burns down; he and his insurance company quarrel for years over whether the fire is covered by his policy's "Outrageous Fortune" clause.
1900 Antoine Saint-Exupery; 1901 Nelson Eddy; 1919 Slim Pickens; 1944 Gary Busey; 1947 Richard Lewis.
1820: The tomato is proven nonpoisonous; but only after years of experimentation with salads and sauces and lots of researchers saying, "You taste it first." "No, no, after, you."
1905: Russian sailors mutiny aboard the battleship "Potemkin"; in a stirring show of solidarity, Russian citizens shove baby carriages down long marble staircases.
1630: Fork introduced to American dining by Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop; budding American chopsticks industry collapses.
1835: First permanent building constructed in San Francisco; advertised as "fixer-upper w/ample parking."
1876: Battle of Little Big Horn; Custer misinformed that Sioux had no WMD.
1935: Joe Louis defeats Primo Carnera at Yankee Stadium; granted, it was a scuffle over a bag of peanuts but still.
1977: Roy C. Sullivan of Virginia is struck by lightning for seventh time; says, "Once more and I'll start taking it personally."
1903 George Orwell; 1924 Sidney Lumet; 1925 Clifton Chenier, June Lockhart, Robert Venturi; 1933 Gary Crosby; 1945 Carly Simon; 1949 Jimmie Walker; 1963 Mike Myers.
1509: Henry VIII crowned King of England.
1664: The colony of New Jersey is founded. You gotta problem with that?
1949: The first Television Western, Hopalong Cassidy, is aired on NBC starring William Boyd.
1977: IRS reveals Jimmy Carter paid no taxes in 1976; strangely, this does not make him an instant folk hero.
1713: French in Acadia ordered to declare allegiance to Britain or leave; they begin packing up their cookpots and musical instruments before heading for Louisiana.
1860: U.S. Secret Service created; for security reasons, it is not announced until 1907 (although you'd think the hats would have been kind of a dead giveaway).
1868: Christopher Latham Sholes receives a patent for Type-Writer.
1955: Walt Disney's Lady & the Tramp released.
1894 Alfred Kinsey; 1894 Duke of Windsor; 1911 David Ogilvy; 1927 Bob Fosse; 1929 June Carter Cash; 1943 James Levine; 1957 Frances McDormand.
1847: Doughnut created; why isn't this a national holiday?
1969: Aretha Franklin is arrested in Detroit for creating a disturbance; her lawyer argues that she wasn't getting R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
1981: In what passes at that time for "...a disgraceful act of misbehavior" at Wimbeldon John McEnroe asks the visiting Prince of Wales if he 'Has any Grey Poupon'.
1633: Galileo is forced by Inquisition to recant his Copernican heliocentric views because Inquisitors think they "sound kinda dirty."
1948: CBS demonstrates "33 1/3 rpm long playing record" and announces plan to phase out 78's and anyone who's ever made one.
1990: Little Richard gets a star on Hollywood's walk of fame, wooo-ooooo-ooo!
1815: Battle of Waterloo; unable was Napoleon, ere he saw Wellington.
1873: Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote for President in the 1872 election; ironically, by 1973, candidates spend several times that amount per woman courting female voters.
1923: First Checker Cab goes into service; driver carries no cash, speaks no English.
1885: Statue of Liberty arrives in New York from France; customs officials comment that she doesn't look particularly tired, hungry or poor.