On This Date In History
My husband was born on April 15. In case you're wondering, this is not a good day to have a birthday. When you're young, your dad is upset from filing his taxes and writing a big check. When you're older, you're the one writing the big check. And maybe your wife spends the whole day working on taxes instead of baking you a cake (sorry!).
We were talking this weekend about other things that happened on the date of his birth, such as that the Titanic hitting an iceberg. We were with a friend who was born on September 11. In addition to the unpleasant events of 2001, we discovered two other interesting tidbits about things that happened on that same date:
1609 – Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island and the indigenous people living there.
1941 – Ground is broken for the construction of The Pentagon.
Interesting, no?
What about you? Any great moments in history that share your date of birth? I have Columbus setting sail in 1492 and that's about it.
- Comment (51)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (4)
Comments:
Nov '11
Re: On This Date In History
Wow, I was about to cheat the whole thing and paste. Then I remembered there's a word limit.
Then I skimmed through and kept the interesting stuff.
November 6
May '10
Re: On This Date In History
I was born on Groundhog's Day. If I wake up and see my shadow I just pull the covers up and go back to bed for six weeks.
Jun '10
Re: On This Date In History
The Chappaquiddick incident happened on July 19, 1969. Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The first Moon landing (JFK's dream) turned out to be the greatest gift that a deceased man ever gave to his younger brother. The Moon landing was about the only news that could ever push a Kennedy scandal below the fold on your newspaper.
Mar '11
Re: On This Date In History
My birthday was yesterday, the same as Ann Romney and Pope Benedict XVI.
Masada fell in 73. The Battle of Culloden was on that day in 1746, ending Bonnie Prince Charlie's last best shot at taking over Scotland. Lenin got back to St. Petersburg in 1917.
Oh, and according to an astronomer's theory, Odysseus got home to Penelope on April 16, 1178 BC.
Feb '11
Re: On This Date In History
Liberation of Auschwitz.
Apr '11
Re: On This Date In History
October 28: The Battle of Milvian Bridge, 312 creates the modern Christian state. Harvard is founded, 1636. 1664, the Royal Marines founded. 1708, the man I like to refer to as George zero, Queen Anne's husband, dies. 1776, The Battle of White Plains persuades Washington to cross the Delaware, setting the scene for a more iconic Delaware crossing when he returns. 1886, the Statue of Liberty is dedicated. 1919, Volstead Act passes (always a good excuse for a drink). 1962, Cuban Missile crisis ends; apocalypse averted.We Greek Orthodox celebrate St. Athanasios.
March 12 (my Wife's): 512, Belisarios achieves Byzantium's peak of power as the siege of Rome is lifted. 1622, Jesuit founders canonized. 1689, Irish Catholics object to the English Bill of Rights, later to be the basis of the US Bill of Rights, and begin in earnest the bellyaching that continues today. My wife, distressingly, kind of endorses the 1689 version of the bellyaching. 1894, First Coca Cola sold. 1912, Girl Guides set up in America. 1947, Truman doctrine begins the long rhetorical struggle eventually perfected by Peter Robinson. Also, Mitt Romney born. 1994, CofE "ordains" first women "priests", leading, ultimately, to my wife leaving.
May '10
Re: On This Date In History
I prefer this summary of the moon landing:
Apr '11
Re: On This Date In History
Mine is August 23 and on that date in history:
1305: William Wallace was executed
1572 and 1929: The St Bartholomew’s Day and Hebron Massacres took place
1939: The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was signed
1971: Shamu died
On the other hand, my brother was born on July 20 and is permanently connected with the pinnacle of human achievement.
Jun '10
Re: On This Date In History
Mine is October 24th. In 1929 that was Black Thursday, the stock market crash that began the Great Depression. And in 2008 it was "Bloody Friday," as the 2008 stock-market collapse - which had hit U.S. markets hard earlier in the month - spread around the world.
Also, by the old Julian calendar which was then still in effect in Russia, October 24th, 1917 was the day on which the Bolshevik red guard began to seize government buildings, primarily in St. Petersburg, marking the start of the October Revolution (which, by our calendar, took place in November).
A propitious day for a conservative...
May '10
Re: On This Date In History
Today -- Bay of Pigs. Great. Bleah.
Feb '11
Re: On This Date In History
The Jewish calendar and the Gregorian calendar intersect every nineteen years, aside from an occasional leap day issue.
Therefore the Challenger and Gemini explosions were on the same day in the Jewish calendar. My birthday nineteen years before Gemini.
I was quite convinced something would happen on that date in 2005 - enough that I made travel plans accordingly. Nothing did, of course.
Apr '11
Re: On This Date In History
Although both of our birthdays contain plenty of good excuses for parties (explicitly not including Mitt's birthday, which I am not allowed to celebrate), for people in their 30s, I prefer weeks of age as a party excuse.
For instance, I'm currently 1798 weeks old; 1798 was the first year of the Anglosphere alliance, as the Quasi-War begins. It's when the Marine Corps was founded. It's the date of the Battle of the Pyramids, an inflection point for my wife's profession (she runs the collections side for 6 museums), and of the Battle of the Nile, although sadly my Royal Naval friends are out of the the country and thus unavailable to drink with. If I were in the US, I'm sure I'd be able to dig up someone to celebrate the founding of Mississippi territory with (it included modern Alabama, enlarging the pool.)
There's a good calculator here. I've found this excuse for a party/ excuse to read history a really good way of learning history in the past, and great fun. If you've got kids, it's a great way of providing a timescale.
Re: On This Date In History
I was born on Easter Day in 1986. My birthday, March 30, was also the day that President Reagan was shot. My youngest brother's birthday, February 6, was President Reagan's birthday.
May '10
Re: On This Date In History
On my birthday, April 12, the Crusaders breached the city walls of Constantinople leading to its sacking the next day (1204), the Civil War began (1861), Frank Whittle performed the ground test of a jet engine (1937), President Franklin Roosevelt died (1945), Yuri Gagarin made his first orbit (1961), the Space Shuttle had it first launch (1981).
I guess I'm not surprised at my choice of careers.
Sep '10
Re: On This Date In History
Mollie, you have made my day with this question. My birthday is July 27. After reading your post I did some web searching and I am delighted to find that my hero, Bugs Bunny, was born on the the same date in 1940.
Feb '12
Re: On This Date In History
My mother was born on June 25th; all Lutherans know this date!
Jul '10
Re: On This Date In History
On my birthday:
•Adolf Eichmann is hanged by the Israelis (YAYY!!)
•Congress cuts off funding for bombing the Khmer Rouge (BOOO!!)
I share a birthday with Clint Eastwood, Jim Jones, and Genghis Khan. Fitting, I would say.
May '10
Re: On This Date In History
Wylee Coyote: On my birthday:
•Adolf Eichmann is hanged by the Israelis (YAYY!!)
•Congress cuts off funding for bombing the Khmer Rouge (BOOO!!)
I share a birthday with Clint Eastwood, Jim Jones, and Genghis Khan. Fitting, I would say. · 2 minutes ago
With your Ricochet nickname, you should share a birthday with Chuck Jones, not Jim Jones.
May '11
Re: On This Date In History
I was born on a lame day. Feb 10th. The only thing notable that happened on Feb. 10th was Mike Tyson going to prison for rape. Other than that a few long forgotten about disasters. Most notable celebrity born on my birthday is 7 time gold medalist Mark Spitz.
Aug '10
Re: On This Date In History
March 2nd 1962- Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points.
Chamberlain played for the Philadelphia Warriors, their opponent that night was the New York Knicks. The game took place in Hershey PN before a crowd of only 4,000 fans. The game was not televised and there is no video of his achievement. Only one photographer stayed to the end of the game.
Incredibly, a young man who aspired to be radio announcer actually recorded the end of the game directly from his portable radio using a reel to reel tape recorder and that audio is available online.
Unfortunately the audio is only available under the the evil and vial auspices of my fifth favorite NPR-ish program, The Story at American Public Media, so click at your own peril and scroll quickly to the third story on the page.