Interrogatories
It's National Forgiveness Day. Is there anyone you still need to forgive?
It's National Chocolate Pudding Day. What is better, chocolate pudding or chocolate souffle?
Are you fond of amusement park rides? If so, what is your favorite?
What electronic device are you reading this on? Desktop, laptop, tablet, phone?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1409, the Roman Catholic Church gained a third pope (at once) when Alexander V was crowned in Pisa. The others were Gregory XII in Rome, and Benedict XII in Avignon.
In 1870, Christmas was officially made a Federal holiday.
In 1894, the American Railway Union went on strike in solidarity with the striking Pullman workers.
In 1927, Coney Island's Cyclone roller coaster opened for the first time.
In 1945, 50 nations signed the United Nations charter at a gathering in San Francisco.
In 1973, the Senate Watergate Committee heard testimony from John Dean about Nixon's now-famed "enemies list."
In 2003, the Supremes ruled that states laws banning sodomy were unconstitutional in the case of Lawrence v. Texas.
Born on This Day
1681 – Hedvig Sophia of Sweden (d. 1708)
1730 – Charles Messier, French astronomer (d. 1817)
1735 - Joseph Ducreux, French painter (and viral internet meme) (d. 1802)
1763 - George Morland, English painter (d. 1804)
1817 – Branwell Brontë, English painter and poet (d. 1848)
1819 - Elias Pieter van Bommel, Dutch painter (d. 1890)
1824 – William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish physicist and engineer (d. 1907)
1834 - Manuel Gómez-Moreno González, Spanish painter and archeologist (d. 1918)
1865 – Bernard Berenson, American historian (d. 1959)
1874 - Frank Tenney Johnson, American painter of Western scenes (d. 1939)
1880 – Natalia, Princess Brassova (d. 1952)
1890 - Jeanne Eagles, American stage actress (d. 1929)
1892 – Pearl S. Buck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
1897 - Viola Dana, American actress (d. 1987)
1898 – Chesty Puller, American military officer (d. 1971)
1903 – Big Bill Broonzy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1958)
1904 – Peter Lorre, Hungarian actor (d. 1964)
1906 – Viktor Schreckengost, American industrial designer (d. 2008)
1908 – Salvador Allende, Chilean politician (d. 1973)
1909 – Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager (d. 1997)
1922 – Eleanor Parker, American actress
1938 – Billy Davis, Jr., American singer (The 5th Dimension)
1943 – Georgie Fame, English singer and pianist (Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings)
1951 – Pamela Bellwood, American actress
1955 – Mick Jones, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite)
1956 – Chris Isaak, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1957 – Patty Smyth, American singer-songwriter (Scandal)
1961 – Terri Nunn, American singer and actress (Berlin)
1963 – Harriet Wheeler, English singer (The Sundays)
1969 – Colin Greenwood, English musician and composer (Radiohead)
1970 – Chris O'Donnell, American actor
Died on This Day
1732 - Abate Andrea Belvedere, Italian still life painter (b. 1652)
1793 – Gilbert White, English ornithologist (b. 1720)
1809 - Georg Frederik Ziesel, Flemish still life painter (b. 1756)
1810 – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, French inventor, co-invented the hot air balloon (b. 1740)
1829 - Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, German portrait painter (b. 1751)
1835 - Baron Antoine-Jean Gros, French Neoclassical and Romantic painter (b. 1771)
1922 – Albert I, Prince of Monaco (b. 1848)
1927 - Jean-Baptiste-Armand Guillaumin, French Impressionist landscape painter (b. 1841)
1938 – James Weldon Johnson, American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist (b. 1871)
1957 – Malcolm Lowry, English poet and novelist (b. 1909)
1967 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress (b. 1942)
1993 – Roy Campanella, American baseball player (b. 1921)
2003 – Denis Thatcher, English businessman, husband of Margaret Thatcher (b. 1915)
2003 – Strom Thurmond, American politician (b. 1902)
2012 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and writer (b. 1941)
Today is
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
National Chocolate Pudding Day
Forgiveness Day
Beauticians Day
National Canoe Day