24 July 2017

Interesting tidbits:

1487 – Citizens of Leeuwarden, Netherlands strike against a ban on foreign beer.

1651 - Anthony Johnson, a free black, receives grant of 250 acres in VA.

1847 - Rotary-type printing press patented by Richard March Hoe, NYC.

1881 – The Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.

1901 - O. Henry was released from prison in Austin, Texas, after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank.

1903 – The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.

1911 – Hiram Bingham III re-discovers Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas". Bingham was thrilled by the prospect of unexplored Inca cities, and in 1911 went to the Andes with the Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1911. Melchor Arteaga led Bingham to Machu Picchu, which had been largely forgotten by everybody except the small number of people living in the immediate valley (possibly including two local missionaries named Thomas Payne and Stuart McNairn whose descendants claim that they had already climbed to the ruins in 1906). Also the Cusco explorers Enrique Palma, Gabino Sanchez and Agustín Lizarraga are said to have arrived at the site in 1901. Bingham returned to Peru in 1912 and 1915 with the support of Yale and the National Geographic Society. Bingham has been cited as one possible basis for the "Indiana Jones" character. His book Lost City of the Incas became a bestseller upon its publication in 1948.

1914 – Austria-Hungary issues a series of demands in an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia demanding Serbia to allow the Austrians to determine who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Serbia accepts all but one of those demands and Austria declares war on July 28.

1935 – The Dust Bowl heat wave reaches its peak, sending temperatures to 109°F (43°C) in Chicago, Illinois and 104°F (40°C) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1938 - Instant Coffee introduced.

1950 – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station begins operations with the launch of a Bumper rocket (V2 with a WAC second stage).

1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean.

Today's birthday crew:

1802 – Alexandre Dumas, French writer (The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers).

1853 – William Gillette, American actor, playwright and stage-manager. He is best remembered today for portraying Sherlock Holmes on stage and in a now lost 1916 silent film. Gillette's most significant contributions to the theater were in devising realistic stage settings and special sound and lighting effects, and, as an actor, in putting forth what he called the Illusion of the First Time. His portrayal of Holmes helped create the modern image of the detective. His use of the deerstalker cap (which first appeared in some Strand illustrations by Sidney Paget) and the curved pipe became synonymous with the character. He assumed the role onstage more than 1,300 times over thirty years, starred in a silent motion picture based on his Holmes play, and voiced the character twice on radio.

1860 - Alphonse Mucha, Czech Art Nouveau artist.

1878 – Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany, Irish writer and dramatist, notable for his work, mostly in fantasy, published under the name Lord Dunsany. Dunsany's most notable fantasy short stories were published in collections from 1905 to 1919. He paid for the publication of the first such collection, The Gods of Pegana, earning a commission on sales. The stories in his first two books, and perhaps the beginning of his third, were set within an invented world, Pegana, with its own gods, history and geography. Starting with this book, Dunsany's name is linked to that of Sidney Sime, his chosen artist, who illustrated much of his work, notably until 1922. One of Dunsany's best-known characters was Joseph Jorkens, an obese middle-aged raconteur who frequented the fictional Billiards Club in London, and who would tell fantastic stories if someone would buy him a large whiskey and soda. From his tales, it was obvious that Mr Jorkens had travelled to all seven continents, was extremely resourceful, and well-versed in world cultures, but always came up short on becoming rich and famous. The Jorkens books, which sold well, were among the first of a type which was to become popular in fantasy and science fiction writing: extremely improbable "club tales" told at a gentleman's club or bar. Dunsany's writing habits were considered peculiar by some. Lady Beatrice said that "He always sat on a crumpled old hat while composing his tales." Dunsany almost never rewrote anything; everything he ever published was a first draft. Much of his work was penned with quill pens, which he made himself; Lady Beatrice was usually the first to see the writings, and would help type them. It has been said that Lord Dunsany would sometimes conceive stories while hunting, and would return to the Castle and draw in his family and servants to re-enact his visions before he set them on paper. A partial list of writers who claim Lord Dunsany as a major influence includes H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, J.R.R.Tolkien, Arthur C. Clarke, Margaret St. Clair, Evangeline Walton, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, and Ursula K. Le Guin.

1895 – Robert Graves, English author (I, Claudius, The White Goddess).

1897 - Amelia Earhart, American aviation pioneer and author.

1899 – Chief Dan George, Canadian actor.

1900 – Zelda Fitzgerald, American author.

1915 – Dick Sprang, American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on the superhero Batman during the Golden Age of Comic Books.

1916 – John D. MacDonald, American novelist. In 1972, MacDonald was named a grandmaster of the Mystery Writers of America.

1936 – Mark Goddard, American actor who portrayed Major Don West, the adversary of Dr. Zachary Smith in the cult 1960s CBS television series, Lost in Space. At the time, a number of influential network executives considered Lost in Space to be the equal of Star Trek.

1942 – Chris Sarandon, American actor (Jack Skellington).

1945 – Linda Harrison, American actress (Nova).

1951 – Lynda Carter, American actress best known as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman (1975–77) and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (1977–79).

1968 – Colleen Doran, American writer, and cartoonist. She has illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, and dozens of stories and articles, including works written by Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Joe R. Lansdale, Anne Rice, J. Michael Straczynski, Peter David and Tori Amos, including The Sandman, Wonder Woman, Legion of Superheroes, Teen Titans, Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and her own space opera series, A Distant Soil.

1979 – Mark Andrew Smith, American author (Popgun Comics anthology).

1981 – Summer Lyn Glau, American actress known for playing River Tam in Firefly and Serenity, and Cameron in the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles series.

Happy birthday guys!

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