Interrogatories
Are you fond of jewelry? Do you (or spouse/partner) have any nice or interesting pieces?
Did any of your ancestors own slaves? Or conversely, were any slaves?
What is the most important or valuable thing you ever lost?
Have you ever lived through a serious drought? Did you ever have to ration water?
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On This Day
In 1837, a "stationery and fancy goods emporium" called Tiffany & Young opened in New York City. Today it is known for little blue boxes of bling, and is called Tiffany & Co.
In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which declared that all runaway slaves were to be returned to their so-called masters.
In 1851, The New York Times began publication under the name "The New-York Daily Times."
In 1882, the San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange, later combined with the Los Angeles Oil Exchange to become the Pacific Stock Exchange, opened.
In 1885, citizens of Montreal rioted against mandatory smallpox vaccinations. Apparently Jenny McCarthy got hold of a time machine.
In 1919, Fritz Pollard made history playing with the Akron Pros football team, the first African-American to play on a professional team.
In 1927, the Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBS) went on the air (this was, mind you, pre-Time Warner Cable).
In 1947, the National Security Act established the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency.
In 1975, the FBI arrested kidnaped heiress Patty Hearst for bank robbery. In two years, Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence, and Bill Clinton later pardoned her.
Born on This Day
53 – Trajan, Roman emperor (d. 117)
1739 - Jean-Jacques Lagrenée, Parisian painter (d. 1821)
1643 – Gilbert Burnet, Scottish bishop, theologian, and historian (d. 1715)
1764 - Mauro Gandolfi, Italian painter and printmaker (d. 1834)
1765 – Pope Gregory XVI (d. 1846)
1819 – Léon Foucault, French physicist (d. 1868)
1838 – Anton Mauve, Dutch painter (d. 1888)
1838 - Friedrich Otto Gebler, German painter (d. 1917)
1854 - Fausto Zonaro, Italian painter (d. 1929)
1859 - Thomas Austen Brown, British painter (d. 1924)
1894 – Fay Compton, English actress (d. 1978)
1905 – Eddie Anderson, American actor (d. 1977)
1905 – Agnes de Mille, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
1905 – Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (d. 1990) See Tipple Jar
1912 – María De la Cruz, Chilean activist and journalist (d. 1995)
1916 – Rossano Brazzi, Italian actor and singer (d. 1994)
1923 - Xavier Valls, Spanish painter (d. 2006)
1927 – Phyllis Kirk, American actress (d. 2006)
1933 – Bob Bennett, American retired Senator (R, Utah)
1933 – Robert Blake, American actor
1933 – Jimmie Rodgers, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1939 – Frankie Avalon, American actor and singer
1939 – Fred Willard, American comedian, actor, and author
1950 – Anna Deavere Smith, American actress and playwright
1951 – Dee Dee Ramone, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Ramones) (d. 2002)
1955 – Keith Morris, American singer-songwriter (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Off!)
1958 – Joan Walsh, American journalist
1961 – Mark Olson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Jayhawks and Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers)
1962 – Joanne Catherall, English singer (The Human League)
1964 – Holly Robinson Peete, American actress and singer
1967 – Ricky Bell, American singer (New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe)
1967 – Tara FitzGerald, English actress
1971 – Jada Pinkett Smith, American model and actress
1979 – Alison Lohman, American actress
1993 – Patrick Schwarzenegger, American model and actor
Died on This Day
887 – Pietro I Candiano, Italian 16th Doge of Venice (b. 842)
1426 - Hubert van Eyck, Flemish painter, brother of Jan van Eyck. His only surviving work was completed by his brother after his death, so it is unknown how much is his. (b. ca. 1390)
1721 – Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat (b. 1664)
1807 - Franciszek Smuglewicz, Polish painter (b. 1745)
1830 – William Hazlitt, English philosopher, writer, and critic (b. 1778)
1886 - Eduard Jakob von Steinle, Austrian painter (b. 1810)
1890 – Dion Boucicault, Irish actor and playwright (b. 1820)
1914 - Albert Kappis, German landscape painter (b. 1836)
1929 - Hippolyte Petitjean, French painter (b. 1854)
1949 – Frank Morgan, American actor (b. 1890)
1961 – Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish diplomat, economist, and author, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
1968 – Franchot Tone, American actor best remembered today as Joan Crawford's ex. (b. 1905)
1970 – Jimi Hendrix, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Blue Flame and The Isley Brothers)(b. 1942)
2004 – Russ Meyer, American director (b. 1922)
2005 – Clint C. Wilson, Sr., African-American editorial cartoonist (b. 1914)
Today is
World Water Monitoring Day
National Cheeseburger Day
National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day
National Rehabilitation Day
National Respect Day