Today is September 3rd. That means Qatar observes Independence Day, San Marin observes St. Marinus' Day/Republic Day, Venezuela observes Civil Servants' Day, and the U.S. observes Labor Day.


2006: Tennis player Andre Agassi retired after losing his third-round match at the U.S. Open.

2005: President George W. Bush ordered more than 7,000 active duty forces to the Gulf Coast as his administration intensified efforts to send aid to the hurricane-ravaged region in the face of criticism it did not act quickly enough.

2004: A three-day hostage siege at a school in Beslan, Russia, ended in bloody chaos after Chechen militants set off bombs and Russian commandos stormed the building; more than 330 people were killed, most of them children.

1995: Computer programmer Pierre Omidyar founded the online auction Web site eBay, as AuctionWeb, in San Jose, California.

1976: The unmanned U.S. spacecraft Viking II landed on Mars, taking the first close-up color photographs of the planet.

1971: Qatar regained independence from the United Kingdom.

1967: Sweden switched from driving on the left- to the right-hand side of the road.

1966: Donovan hit #1 with "Sunshine Superman".

1954: The last new episode of the Lone Ranger was aired on radio after 2,956 episodes over a period of 21 years.

1951: The first long-running American television soap opera, Search for Tomorrow, aired its first episode on the CBS network.

1939: Britain and France declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland. New Zealand and Australia joined in on the same day.

1925: The first international handball match was held.

1912: The world's first cannery opened in England to supply food to the navy.

1895: The first professional football game was played, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between the Latrobe YMCA and the Jeannette Athletic Club. (Latrobe won the contest 12-0).

1888: George Eastman patented his roll film camera and registered the Kodak name.

1838: Frederick Douglass escaped slavery. He became an abolitionist, orator, writer, and diplomat.

1783: Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. Representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Spain, and France signed it, and the United States became a free and independent nation.

1777: The flag Stars and Stripes was flown in battle for the first time at Cooch's Bridge, Maryland during the Revolutionary War.

1752: This day never happened, nor next 10, as England adopted the Gregorian calendar. People riot thinking the government stole 11 days of their lives.

1609: Henry Hudson discovered the island of Manhattan.

1189: Richard I (Richard the Lion-Hearted) was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.

301: Saint Marinus founded San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world’s oldest republic still in existence.

Births:
1965: Charlie Sheen [Carlos Irwin Estevez] (American actor) [Spin City, Hot Shots!, Major League, Platoon]

Deaths:
1658: Oliver Cromwell (English soldier/statesman)

1962: e.e. cummings (American poet/painter) [Eight Harvard Poets, Tulips and Chimneys, 95 Poems]

1970: Vince Lombardi (American pro football coach)

2005: William Rehnquist (Chief Justice of the U.S.)


Word of the day: maudlin \MAWD-lin\
Etymology: An alteration of (Mary) Magdalene, who in paintings was often represented with eyes red and swollen from weeping.
(adjective)
1. Tearfully or excessively sentimental.


Mistfox - who can be maudlin at times

Today is September 4th. That means Curacao observes Animals' Day, Iran observes Iman Ali Day and the U.S. observes Newspaper Carrier Day.


2002: Singer Kelly Clarkson was voted the first "American Idol" on the Fox TV series.

1997: In Lorain, Ohio, the last Ford Thunderbird rolled off the assembly line.

1984: Brian Mulroney led the Progressive Conservative Party to power in Canada, ending 20 years of nearly uninterrupted Liberal rule.

1972: The Price Is Right, hosted by Bob Barker, returned to television with a new format on CBS.

1967: The last new episode of the television sitcom Gilligan's Island aired on CBS-TV.

1965: The Beatles' "Help!," single went to #1 and stayed #1 for 3 weeks.

1957: Arkansas governor Orval Faubus and the Arkansas National Guard prevented nine students from entering Central High School in Little Rock. Three weeks later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent 1,000 Army paratroopers there to guarantee peaceful desegregation of the school.

1951: President Harry Truman held the first live coast-to-coast television broadcast from San Francisco. 94 stations carried the broadcast.

1950: The "Beetle Bailey" comic strip debuted.

1948: Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicated the crown for health reasons. Daughter Julianna became queen.

1893: English author Beatrix Potter first told the story of Peter Rabbit.

1886: Geronimo, the Apache leader, surrendered to General Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona.

1882: First municipal electric power station, Pearl Street Station in New York City, built by Thomas Edison, gave electricity to the first 85 customers.

1862: Robert E. Lee's Confederate army invaded Maryland, the start of the Antietam Campaign.

1833: The first newsboy, 10-year-old Barney Flaherty, was hired by the N.Y. Sun.

1781: Los Angeles was founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula (the City of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula) by a group of 44 Spanish settlers.

1682: English astronomer Edmund Halley saw his namesake comet.

0476: Odoacer, a German barbarian, deposed the last emperor of the western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustus. Odoacer declared himself king of Italy, but later recognized Emperor Zeno of the east as the Roman ruler.

Births:
1905: Mary Renault [Mary Challans] (English novelist) [Fire from Heaven, The Persian Boy, Funeral Games, The King Must Die, The Bull from the Sea]

1918: Paul Harvey (American radio commentator)

1960: Damon Wayans (American comedian/actor) [Saturday Night Live, In Living Color]

1981: Beyoncé Knowles (American R&B singer) [Destiny's Child]

Deaths:
1965: Albert Schweitzer (Alsatian-German philosopher/theologian/organist/physician/humanitarian)

1993: Hervé Villechaize (French actor) [Fantasy Island, The Man with the Golden Gun]

2006: Steve Irwin (Australian naturalist/television personality) [The Crocodile Hunter]


Word of the day: ophidian \oh-FID-ee-uhn\
Etymology: From New Latin Ophidia, suborder name, from Greek ophis, snake.
(adjective)
1. Of, relating to, or resembling snakes.
(noun)
2. Belonging or pertaining to the suborder Ophidia (Serpentes), comprising the snakes.
3. A snake.


Mistfox - who is definitely not ophidian

Today is September 5th. That means Pakistan observes Defense of Pakistan Day.


2006: Felipe Calderon was declared Mexico's president-elect after two months of uncertainty over a disputed election.

2002: The Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which burned 499,570 acres (2,020 km²), was finally contained.

1980: The St. Gothard Tunnel opened in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.32 km), stretching from Goschenen to Airolo.

1975: President Gerald R. Ford escaped an assassination attempt by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, in Sacramento, California.

1972: Members of the Black September faction of the Palestinian Liberation Army attacked the Israeli delegation at the Munich Olympic Games Village. Seventeen people died in the incident.

1966: Jerry Lewis' first Muscular Dystrophy telethon raised $15,000.

1957: "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac, the defining novel of the Beat Generation, was published.

1949: A former sharpshooter in World War II, Howard Unruh killed 13 neighbors in Camden, New Jersey with a souvenir Luger to become America's first single-episode mass murderer.

1914: Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a professional for Providence in the International League.

1914: The Battle of Marne began. The British and French fought the Germans for six days, resulting in 500,000 casualties.

1910: Marie Curie demonstrated radium's transformation from ore to metal at the Academy of Sciences in France.

1905: In New Hampshire a treaty (the Treaty of Portsmouth) mediated by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, was signed by victor Japan and defeated party Russia, ending the Russo-Japanese War.

1882: The first Labor Day parade was held with 10,000 workers in attendance in New York City. Peter J. McGuire, a carpenter and labor union leader who cofounded the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, initiated this first celebration.

1836: Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas.

1793: In France, the French National Convention voted to implement terror measures to enforce the principles of the French Revolution, initiating the Reign of Terror.

1774: The first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia. Delegates drafted a declaration of rights and grievances and elected Virginian Peyton Randolph as the first president of Congress.

1698: In an effort to move his people away from Asiatic customs, Tsar Peter I of Russia imposed a tax on beards. All men except priests and peasants, were required to pay a tax of one hundred rubles a year and the commoners had to pay one kopek each.

1666: The Great Fire of London burned out after three days. 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral were destroyed, but only 16 people are known to have died.

3114 BCE: From this day was reckoned the Mayan Long Count end-of-the-world date: December 21, 2012.

Births:
1638: Louis XIV (King of France) Built the palace of Versailles.

1842: Jesse James (American outlaw)

1946: Freddie Mercury [Farrokh Pluto Bulsara] (Zanzibarian-born British pop singer/composer) [ Queen ]

1950: Cathy Lee Guisewite (American cartoonist) ["Cathy"]

1969: Dweezil Zappa (American musician)

Deaths:
1992: Fritz Leiber (American science fiction and fantasy author) [A Specter is Haunting Texas, the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories]

1997: Mother Teresa [Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu] (Albanian-born Indian nun/social activist)


Word of the day: peccable \PEK-uh-buhl]
(adjective)
Etymology: From Latin peccatum, from peccare, "to make a mistake, to err, to sin." It is related to impeccable, "without flaw or fault."
1. Liable to sin or error.


Mistfox - who is peccable from time to time

Today is September 6th. That means Bulgaria observes Unification Day, Swaziland observes Somhlolo Day/Independence Day, Scotland observes Braemar Highland Gathering, and Sao Tome and Principe observe National Heroes' Day.


2006: President George W. Bush acknowledged previously secret CIA prisons around the world and said 14 high-value terrorism suspects had been transferred from the system to Guantanamo Bay for trials.

2005: The California Legislature became the first legislative body in the nation to approve same-sex marriages. (Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger later vetoed the bill.)

2003: Mahmoud Abbas resigned as Palestinian prime minister.

2001: The United States Justice Department announced that it would no longer seek to break-up software maker Microsoft and would instead seek a lesser antitrust penalty.

1997: Princess Diana's funeral was held in Westminster Abbey.

1991: Leningrad's name changed back to St. Petersburg.

1975: Czechoslovakian tennis star Martina Navratilova requested U.S. asylum.

1968: Swaziland became independent.

1966: "Star Trek" premiered on NBC TV.

1966: South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd was stabbed to death by a parliamentary page during a session in Cape Town. Verwoerd was an architect of South Africa's racist apartheid policies.

1957: Elvis recorded "White Xmas," "Silent Night" & "Here Comes Santa Claus".

1953: The last official act of the Korean War took place as American and Korean prisoners are exchanged in Operation Big Switch.

1952: Canadian television broadcasting began in Montreal.

1936: Beryl Markham flew the first east-to-west solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

1915: The first prototype tank was tested for the British Army for the first time.

1901: Anarchist Leon Czolgosz mortally wounded President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley died eight days later and Theodore Roosevelt became President.

1899: Carnation Company made the first can of evaporated milk.

1837: First U.S. coeducational college opened in Oberlin, Ohio:- the Oberlin Collegiate Institute (now Oberlin College).

1628: Puritans settled Salem, which would later become part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1620: The Pilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower to settle in North America.

1522: The Vittoria, one of the surviving ships of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, returned to San Lucar de Barrameda in Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world.

0394: Theodosius became sole ruler of Italy after defeating Eugenius at the Battle of the River Frigidus.

Births:
1757: Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roche-Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de LaFayette (French aristocrat/soldier/statesman) La Fayette is considered a national hero in both France and the United States and is only one of six people in history to become an Honorary U.S. Citizen.

1947: Jane Curtin (American actress and comedienne) [Saturday Night Live, Kate & Allie, 3rd Rock from the Sun]

1958: Jeff Foxworthy (American comedian) ["You Might Be A Redneck If"]

Deaths:
1701: James II (King of England, Scotland and Ireland )

1966: Margaret Sanger (American birth control activist) Founder of Planned Parenthood.

1998: Akira Kurosawa (Japanese film director) [Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Rashomon]


Word of the day: verily \VER-uh-lee\
(adverb)
Etymology: From Middle English verraily, from verrai, true.
1. In truth; in fact.
2. With confidence; assuredly.


Mistfox - who doesn't think "verily's a girl's name" [Dangermouse reference]

Today is September 7th. That means Mozambique observes Victory Day, Andorra observes a National Holiday (for Our Lady of Meritxell), and Brazil observes Independence Day.


2006: Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage confirmed he was the source of a leak that had disclosed the identity of CIA employee Valerie Plame, saying he didn't realize Plame's job was covert.

2005: The first presidential election was held in Egypt.

1998: Google was incorporated, co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were students at Stanford University.

1979: ESPN (the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) made its cable TV debut.

1971: The last new episode of The Beverly Hillbillies was aired (the first episode debuted on September 26, 1962).

1963: The Pro Football Hall of Fame was dedicated in Canton, Ohio.

1940: Nazi Germany began its first blitz of London in World War II. Eight days later, the RAF staged a dramatic counterattack against the Luftwaffe, turning the tide in the Battle of Britain.

1927: TV pioneer Philo T. Farnsworth succeeded in transmitting an image through purely electronic means by using a device called an image dissector.

1921: In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first Miss America Pageant was held.

1915: Former cartoonist John B. Gruelle was given a patent for his Raggedy Ann doll.

1901: The signing of the Peking Protocol ended the Boxer Rebellion in China.

1892: First heavyweight-title boxing match fought with gloves under Marquis of Queensbury rules ended when James J. Corbett knocked out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round.

1888: The first incubator for premature infants was used.

1822: Brazil declared independence from Portugal.

1818: Carl III of Sweden-Norway was crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim.

1776: During the world's first submarine attack, the American submersible craft Turtle attempted to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship Eagle in New York Harbor.

1664: The Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam and governor Peter Stuyvesant surrendered to the British, who renamed it New York, in honor of the Duke of York.

Births:
1533: Elizabeth I (Queen of England)

1936: Buddy Holly [Charles Hardin Holley] (American rock-and-roll musician/songwriter) ["That'll Be the Day," "Peggy Sue," "Not Fade Away"]

Deaths:
1548: Catherine Parr (Widow of Henry VIII of England)

1978: Keith Moon (English rock drummer) [The Who]

1984: Liam O'Flaherty (Irish novelist/short-story writer) [Thy Neighbour's Wife, The Informer, The Pedlar's Revenge and Other Stories, Dúil]

1994: James Clavell [Charles Edmund DuMaresq de Clavelle] (British author/screenwriter) [Shogun; The Great Escape; To Sir, with Love]


Word of the day: sere \SEER\
(adjective)
Etymology: From Old English sear, "dry."
1. Dry; withered.


Mistfox - who has a very sere lawn

Today is September 8th. That means Malta observes National Day (Our Lady of Victories); it's United Nations International Literacy Day; North Korea observes National Day; and Bulgaria and Luxembourg observes Liberation Day.


2006: A Senate report faulted intelligence gathering in the lead-up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and said Saddam Hussein regarded al-Qaida as a threat rather than a possible ally, contradicting assertions President Bush had used to build support for the war.

2004: "60 Minutes Wednesday" aired a report questioning President George W. Bush's National Guard service. CBS News later apologized for a "mistake in judgment" after memos featured in the report were challenged as forgeries.

2003: The Recording Industry Association of America filed 261 lawsuits against individuals for copyright infringement, accusing them of unauthorized sharing of files containing copyrighted material, including 12-year-old Brianna LaHara.

2000: The head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs apologized for the federal agency's "legacy of racism and inhumanity" that included massacres, forced relocations of tribes and attempts to wipe out Indian cultures.

1986: "The Oprah Winfrey Show" premiered.

1974: President Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former President Nixon.

1971: The Kennedy Center opened in Washington, D.C.

1966: The TV series "Star Trek" premiered on NBC (not two days earlier - I hate when sources get things wrong).

1955: United States, Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Thailand signed the mutual defense treaty that established the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).

1952: Ernest Hemmingway's "Old Man & Sea" was published.

1946: Bulgaria ended its monarchy.

1930: The "Blondie" comic strip was first printed.

1930: 3M began marketing Scotch transparent tape.

1920: New York-to-San Francisco airmail service was started.

1900: Galveston, Texas, was devastated by a hurricane that kills over 6,000 people. It is considered to be the single worst natural disaster in U.S. history.

1760: The French surrendered the city of Montreal to the British.

1636: Harvard College (originally Cambridge College) was founded, the first college in the U.S.

1565: San Augustine (Florida) was founded by Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés -- making it the oldest city in North America. It was built near the site where Ponce de Léon, the discoverer of Florida, landed in 1513.

1504: Michelangelo's 13-foot marble statue of David was unveiled in Florence, Italy.

Births:
1157: Richard I [Lion-Hearted] (King of England)

1841: Antonin Dvoráak (Czechoslovakian composer/violinist)

1932: Patsy Cline [Virginia Patterson Hensley] (American country singer) ["Crazy", "She's Got You," "I Fall To Pieces", "Sweet Dreams"]

Deaths:
1949: Richard Strauss (German composer) [Don Juan, Also sprach Zarathustra, Salome]


Word of the day: fungible \FUHN-juh-buhl\
(adjective)
Etymology: From Medieval Latin fungibilis, from Latin fungi (vice), "to perform (in place of)."
1. (Law) Freely exchangeable for or replaceable by another of like nature or kind in the satisfaction of an obligation.
2. Interchangeable.
3. Something that is exchangeable or substitutable. Usually used in the plural.


Mistfox - who thought the word of the day dealt with mushrooms

Today is September 9th. That means Italy observes Salerno Day, Japan observes Chrysanthemum Day, Tajikistan observes Independence Day, California observes Admission Day, France observes Pffiferdaj (Day of the Flutes), North Korea observes a National holiday, and Belize observes National Day/St George's Caye Day.



2005: Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown, the principal target of harsh criticism of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, was relieved of his onsite command.

2003: The Boston Roman Catholic Archdiocese agreed to pay $85 million to 552 people to settle clergy sex abuse cases.

1997: Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army's political ally, formally renounced violence as it took its place in talks on Northern Ireland's future.

1993: The Palestine Liberation Organization agreed to recognize Israel's right to exist, and Israel agreed to recognize the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people.

1971: Attica Correctional Facility prisoners rioted and seized control of the maximum-security prison (near Buffalo, New York). The siege ended up claiming 43 lives.

1965: France left NATO in protest of the U.S.'s domination of the organization.

1956: Elvis Presley made his first American appearance, on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

1942: A rare attack on the U.S. mainland by the Japanese occurred; they dropped incendiaries on Oregon in hopes of starting forest fires.

1926: The Radio Corporation of America formed the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC).

1908: Orville Wright made the first one-hour airplane flight at Fort Myer, Virginia.

1867: Luxembourg gained its independence.

1850: California became the 31st state of the Union.

1776: Second Continental Congress made the term "United States" official, replacing "United Colonies."

1543: Mary Stuart, at nine months old, was officially crowned "Queen of Scots" in the central Scottish town of Stirling.

1513: At the Battle of Flodden Field James IV of Scotland was defeated.

0337: Constantine's three sons, already Caesars, added the title of Augustus. Constantine II and Constans shared the west while Constantius II took control of the east.

Births:
1828: Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy (Russian novelist/social reformer) [War and Peace, Anna Karenina]

1890: “Colonel” Harland Sanders (American businessman/creator of Kentucky Fried Chicken)

1900: James Hilton (British novelist) [Lost Horizon, Goodbye Mr. Chips]

1960: Hugh Grant (British actor) [Nine Months, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary]

Deaths:
1087: William I [William The Conqueror] (King of England/duke of Normandy)

1513: James IV (King of Scotland)

1901: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French painter)

1976: Mao Tse-tung (Communist Chinese leader/ revolutionary)


Word of the day: yen \YEN\
(noun)
Etymology: From Chinese (Cantonese) yan, "craving."
1. A strong desire or inclination; a longing.
2. To have a strong desire or inclination; to long.

Mistfox - who often has a yen for chocolate

Today is September 10th. That means Switzerland observes Kaseteilet, Bulgaria observes Liberation Day, and China observes Teachers' Day.


2002: Switzerland joined the United Nations.

2000: NBC's "The West Wing" won a record nine Emmy awards, including best drama series.

2000: Broadway's longest-running production, "Cats," closed after more than 7,400 performances.

1993: The "X-Files" television series debuted.

1989: Hungary stopped enforcing East German visa restrictions and opened its borders, beginning a flood of emigration that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall two months later.

1981: Pablo Picasso's painting "Guernica" was returned to Spain and put in Madrid's Prado Museum. Picasso's will said that the painting was not to return to Spain until the Fascists lost power and democracy was restored.

1977: Convicted murderer Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant, became the last person to be executed by the guillotine in France.

1974: Guinea-Bissau declared its independence from Portugal.

1967: The people of Gibraltar voted to remain a British dependency rather than becoming part of Spain

1966: The Beatles' "Revolver," album went to #1 and stayed #1 for 6 weeks.

1963: Twenty black students entered public schools in Birmingham, Tuskegee and Mobile, Ala., following a standoff between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace, who resisted integration.

1960: Mickey Mantle hit what is thought to be the Major League's longest home run, sending the ball an estimated 643 feet.

1955: "Gunsmoke" premiered on TV.

1953: Swanson sold its first "TV dinner".

1939: Canada and South Africa declared war on Germany, following the declarations of Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand on the previous day.

1823: Simon Bolivar was named president of Peru.

1919: New boundaries were settled in the Treaty of Saint-Germain, which brought about the end of the Austrian Empire.

1913: The first paved coast-to-coast road, named the Lincoln Highway, opened in the U.S.

1846: Elias Howe received a U.S. patent for the first sewing machine.

1813: Oliver H. Perry and an American naval force defeated the British at the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.

1608: Captain John Smith was elected council president of the Jamestown colony in Virginia.

Births:
1929: Arnold Palmer (American professional golfer)

1941: Stephen Jay Gould (American paleontologist/biologist/science writer) [The Panda's Thumb, The Flamingo's Smile, Wonderful Life]

Deaths:
0954: Louis IV (King of France)

1797: Mary Wollstonecraft (English writer/philosopher/feminist [A Vindication of the Rights of Woman]

1935: Huey Long ["Kingfish"] (American politician/governor of Louisiana/U.S. senator) Assassinated.


Word of the day: cozen \KUZ-un\
(transitive verb)
Etymology: Perhaps derives from Early Modern French cousiner, "to defraud; literally to treat as if a cousin (hence to claim to be a cousin in order to defraud)," from Old French cosin.
1. To cheat; to defraud; to deceive, usually by petty tricks.
2. To obtain by deceit.
3. To act deceitfully.

Mistfox - who would never cozen someone

Today is September 11th. That means Ethiopia observes New Year, Pakistan observes Jinnah Day, Chile observes National Liberation Day, the Philippines observe Barangay Day, Niger observes Cure Salee, the United States observe Patriot Day, and Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau observes National Day.


2005: The State of Israel completed its unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip.

2001: Suicide hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in New York, causing the 110-story twin towers to collapse. Another hijacked airliner hit the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

1997: Scotland voted to re-establish its own Parliament on the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Stirling Bridge, after 290 years of union with England.

1997: The Army issued a searing indictment of itself, asserting that "sexual harassment exists throughout the Army, crossing gender, rank and racial lines."

1992: Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history during its time, devastated the State of Hawaii, especially the islands of Kauai and Oahu.

1977: South African black student leader Steven Biko died while in police custody, setting off a global outcry.

1970: The Ford Pinto was introduced.

1967: "The Carol Burnett Show" premiered on TV.

1954: The Miss America Pageant debuted on TV. Miss California, Lee Ann Meriwether, was crowned the winner.

1916: The "Star Spangled Banner" was sung for the first time at the beginning of a baseball game in Cooperstown, New York.

1850: Opera singer Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale," made her American debut at New York's Castle Garden Theater.

1847: Stephen Foster's song, "Oh! Susanna", was first performed at a saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1814: The American fleet scored a decisive victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Champlain (War of 1812). The American victory, coupled with the end of the British war against Napoleon, led to peace negotiations in Ghent, Belgium.

1649: At the Massacre of Drogheda, Ireland, Cromwell killed 3,000 royalists.

1297: Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace defeated the army of Edward I at Stirling Bridge.

Births:
1862: O. Henry [William Sydney Porter] (American short story writer) ["The Gift of the Magi", The Ransom of Red Chief]

1885: D.H. Lawrence (English novelist/editor) [Sons and Lovers, Women in Love, Lady Chatterley's Lover]

1967: Harry Connick, Jr. (American singer)

Deaths:
1971: Nikita Khrushchev (Soviet Union leader)

1987: Lorne Greene (Canadian actor) [Bonanza, Battlestar Galactica]

2003: John Ritter (American actor) [Three's Company, Problem Child, Sling Blade, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter] Son of legendary country singing star and actor Tex Ritter.


Word of the day: plangent \PLAN-juhnt\
(adjective)
Etymology: Derives from the present participle of Latin plangere, to beat, to strike (noisily), especially to strike the breast, head, etc. as a sign of grief.
1. Beating with a loud or deep sound, as, "the plangent wave."
2. Expressing sadness; plaintive.

Mistfox - who knows a lot of people will be sounding plangent today, remembering 2001

Today is September 12th. That means Maryland observes Defenders Day, Pennsylvania observes John Barry Day, Cape Verde observes National Day and Ethiopia observes National Revolution Day.



2005: Hong Kong Disneyland opened in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong.

2005: Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown resigned, three days after losing his onsite command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

2003: During the Ontario general election, 2003, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party issued a press release that called the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party an "Evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet".

2000: Dutch lawmakers gave same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt children.

1994: The Netscape web browser was released.

1974: In Boston on the day the schools opened, opposition to court-ordered school "busing" turned violent. The National Guard was mobilized in October to restore peace.

1959: Bonanza premiered as the first regularly scheduled TV program presented in color.

1954: The TV show "Lassie" premiered.

1949: The Ladies Professional Golf Association of America (LPGA) was formed in New York City with Patty Berg as its first president.

1940: Lascaux Cave's 17,000-year-old paintings were discovered by teenagers who stumbled upon the ancient artwork when trying to find their dog. The paintings are the finest examples of art from the Paleolithic Period.

1910: The world's fist female cop, Alice Stebbins Wells, was appointed to the LAPD.

1609: English explorer Henry Hudson sailed the ship Half Moon into the river that now bears his name.

490 BCE: Athenian and Plataean Hoplites commanded by General Miltiades drove back a Persian invasion of Greece at Marathon.

Births:
1449: Lorenzo de Medici (Italian politician)

1888: Maurice Chevalier (French singer/dancer/actor) [The Love Parade, The Big Pond., Gigi]

1892: Alfred A. Knopf (American publisher)

1944: Barry White (American singer/record producer ) ["Walking in the Rain (With The One I Love)"; "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby"; "You're the First, the Last, My Everything"]

Deaths:
1869: Peter Mark Roget (English physician/lexicographer) Compiled the popular reference book entitled "Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases" in 1852.

1977: Steve Biko (South African anti-apartheid activist)

2003: Johnny Cash (American country singer) ["Flesh and Blood", "Sunday Morning Coming Down", "Man in Black", "Boy Named Sue"]


Word of the day: impassible \im-PASS-uh-buhl\
(adjective)
Etymology: From Late Latin impassibilis, from Latin in-, "not" + Late Latin passibilis, "passible; capable of feeling or suffering" from Latin passus, past participle of pati, "to suffer." It is related to passion, which originally meant "suffering" but came to apply to any strong feeling or emotion.
1. Incapable of suffering; not subject to harm or pain.
2. Unfeeling or not showing feeling.

Mistfox - who is definitely not impassible

Today is September 13th. That means Rhodesia observes Pioneer Day, Belgium observes Bruegel Feesteen (honoring the painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder), and Nicaragua observes the Battle of San Jacinto.


2004: The anime InuYasha finished its run in Japan with episode 167.

2001: Secretary of State Colin Powell named Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in the terror attacks on the United States; limited commercial flights resumed for the first time in two days.

1993: Israel and Palestine signed their first major agreement during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The historic agreement granted Palestine limited self-government in the Gaza Strip and in Jericho on the occupied West Bank.

1990: "Law & Order" premiered on NBC.

1987: Paul Lynch of Great Britain did 32,573 push-ups in 24 hours.

1985: Nintendo released super Mario Brothers.

1976: "The Muppet Show" premiered.

1971: The four-day revolt at the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York, came to end when 1,500 state police and National Guardsmen stormed the complex.

1970: The first running of the New York City Marathon was held.

1963: "The Outer Limits" premiered on ABC TV.

1948: Margaret Chase Smith (R-Maine) was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.

1943: Chiang Kai-shek became president of China.

1862: Union troops in Frederick, Maryland, discovered General Robert E. Lee's attack plans for the invasion of Maryland wrapped around a pack of cigars.

1847: The Battle of Chapultepec, the last action of the war between the United States and Mexico, was waged. U.S. General Winfield Scott captured a fort overlooking Mexico City and then took the town by storm the next day.

1813: The British failed to capture Baltimore, Maryland, which was a turning point in the War of 1812.

1759: The British achieved a dramatic victory when they scaled the cliffs over the city of Quebec, defeating French forces on the Plains of Abraham in the last of the French and Indian Wars (known as the Seven Years' War).

0533: Belisarius and the Roman Empire defeated Gelimer and the Vandals at the Battle of Ad Decimium.

0122: The building of Hadrian's Wall began.

Births:
1851: Walter Reed (U.S. Army doctor) Discovered the cause of yellow fever.

1857: Milton Hershey (American businessman/candy company founder)

1911: Roald Dahl (British author) [Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, Matilda]

Deaths:
1321: Dante Alighieri (Italian author) [La Divina Commedia]

1996: Tupac Shakur [Lesane Parish Crooks] (American rap musician and actor) [Me Against the World]

1998: George C. Wallace (Alabama governor) Led the South's fight against federally ordered racial integration in the 1960s.

2006: Ann Richards (Texas Governor)


Word of the day: roué \roo-AY\
(noun)
Etymology: From French, from the past participle of rouer, "to break upon the wheel" (from the feeling that a roué deserves such a punishment), ultimately from Latin rota, "wheel."
1. A man devoted to a life of sensual pleasure; a debauchee; a rake.

Mistfox - who seems to use "roué" a lot when playing Boggle

Today is September 14th. That means Bolivia observes a public holiday and Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua observe Independence Day.


2006: An outbreak of E. coli illnesses in 26 states was traced to bagged spinach.

2005: Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

1999: Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga joined the United Nations.

1975: Pope Paul the Sixth declared Mother Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton the first U.S.-born saint. She founded the United States' first religious order, the Sisters of Mercy of St. Joseph.

1960: Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia formed OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries).

1960: Chubby Checker's "The Twist" hit #1.

1959: Soviet space probe Luna Two became the first manmade object to reach the Moon as it impacted the lunar surface.

1948: Ground was broken in New York City for the United Nations' world headquarters.

1940: Congress passed the Selective Service Act, providing for the first peacetime draft in U.S. history.

1936: Dr. Walter Freeman in Washington, D.C performed the first prefrontal lobotomy in attempt to relieve depression and anxiety.

1901: President William B. McKinley died in Buffalo, N.Y., of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin eight days earlier. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, 42, was sworn in, becoming the youngest president in U.S. history.

1848: Alexander Stewart opened the first U.S. department store.

1814: Francis Scott Key was inspired to write a poem, "The Star-Spangled Banner" when he witnessed an attack on Baltimore by a British fleet and the bombing of Fort McHenry. It later became the national anthem of the United States.

1812: French emperor Napoleon entered Moscow, but found it deserted. After waiting a month for a surrender that never came, Napoleon, faced with the onset of the Russian winter, was forced to order his starving army out of Moscow. The Grande Armée finally escaped Russia, having suffered a loss of over 400,000 men during the disastrous invasion.

1741: George Frederick Handel finished the "Messiah" oratorio, after working on it non-stop for 23 days

Births:
1769: Baron Freidrich von Humbolt (German naturalist/explorer) Made the first isothermic and isobaric maps.

1849: Ivan Pavlov (Russian physiologist)

1879: Margaret Sanger (American nurse) Proponent of birth control who founded Planned Parenthood.

Deaths:
1852: Arthur Wellesley (1st Duke of Wellington/British general/Prime Minister)

1901: William McKinley (President of the U.S.A.)

1927: Isadora Duncan [Dora Angela Duncanon] (American modern dance pioneer)

1982: Grace Kelly (American actress/Princess of Monaco)


Word of the day: ignoble \ig-NOH-bul\
(adjective)
Etymology: Derives from Latin ignobilis, from in- "not" + nobilis (Old Latin gnobilis), "noble."
1. Of low birth or family; not noble; not illustrious; plebeian; common; humble.
2. Not noble in quality, character, or purpose; characterized by baseness, lowness, or meanness.

Mistfox - who is ignoble by the first definition, but not the second

Today is September 15th. That means Malaysia, Singapore, and El Salvador observe Independence Day; the United Kingdom observes the Battle of Britain Day; Japan observes Respect for the Aged Day; and the U.S. observes National POW/MIA Recognition Day.


2006: Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, agreed to plead guilty to two criminal charges in the congressional corruption probe spawned by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

2004: National Hockey League owners agreed to lock out the players. (The 2004-05 season was eventually canceled.)

1985: Willie Nelson's Farm Aid concert began.

1982: Gannett published the first issue of USA Today.

1971: The environmental group Greenpeace was founded.

1965: Lost in Space premiered. Danger, danger, Will Robinson.

1963: An 11-year-old and three 14-year-old children were killed when a dynamite bomb exploded during Sunday services at the all-black 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Robert Chambliss, the prime suspect in the bombing, was not brought to justice until 1977.

1956: Elvis Presley's Don't Be Cruel topped the singles sales charts at #1.

1946: The Brooklyn Dodgers were beating the Chicago Cubs, 2-0, in the 5th inning when a swarm of gnats caused the game to be postponed.

1940: The Luftwaffe sustained heavy losses inflicted by the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain in World War II. This turning of the tides forced Adolf Hitler to abandon his plans to invade Britain.

1935: The Nuremberg Laws were enacted, depriving German Jews of their citizenship and civil rights and making the swastika the official symbol of Nazi Germany.

1928: Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered the antibiotic effects of penicillin. For his discovery, Fleming was knighted by King George VI of England in 1944 and shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1945.

1923: Oklahoma was placed under martial law in response to terrorist activity by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

1917: Alexander Kerensky, the head of a provisional government, proclaimed Russia a republic.

1916: Tanks were used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme.

1830: William Huskisson (politician)became the first person killed by a train, at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

1821: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador proclaimed independence.

1784: Italian Vincenzo Lunardi achieved the first ascent in a hydrogen balloon, in England.

1683: Thirteen immigrant families founded Germantown, Pennsylvania.

Births:
0053: Trajan (Roman emperor)

1789: James Fenimore Cooper (American novelist) [The Last of the Mohicans]

1857: William Howard Taft (President of the U.S.A./chief justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court.

1890: Dame Agatha Christie [Agatha Miller] (English mystery writer) [The Mousetrap, Witness for the Prosecution, Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, By the Pricking of My Thumbs]

1946: Tommy Lee Jones (American actor) [The Fugitive, Men in Black]

Deaths:
1885: Jumbo (P.T. Barnum's famous Elephant,) Hit by locomotive while crossing the tracks, he died instantly. He was later stuffed and put on display with the circus.

1989: Robert Penn Warren (American novelist/poet/poet laureate)

2004: Johnny Ramone [John Cummings] (American guitarist) [The Ramones] He died of a five-year battle with prostate cancer.


Word of the day: yerk \yurk\
Etymology: Chiefly British dialect, perhaps from late Middle English.
(verb - used with object)
1. To strike or whip.
2. To stir up; arouse; excite.
3. To jerk.
4. To move (a part of one's body) with a jerk.
5. To pull (stitches) tight or bind tightly.
(verb - used without object)
6. To kick.
7. To rise suddenly.
8. To enter into something eagerly.
(noun)
9. A kick or jerk.
10. A thud or blow, as from a stick.

Mistfox - who was feeling like she'd been yerked about a week ago

Today is September 16th. That means Papua New Guinea observes National Day, Mexico observes Independence Day, the United States observes Citizenship Day, and Oklahoma observes Cherokee Strip Day.


2006: The Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI "sincerely" regretted offending Muslims with his reference to an obscure medieval text characterizing some of the teachings of Islam's founder as "evil and inhuman," but the statement stopped short of the apology demanded by Islamic leaders.

2004: Hurricane Ivan plowed into the Gulf Coast with 130 mph wind and a major storm surge; Ivan was blamed for at least 115 deaths, 43 in the United States.

1987: Two dozen nations signed the Montreal Protocol, an agreement to save the ozone layer by curbing harmful emissions.

1978: Filming on Monty Python's Life of Brian, began.

1975: Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia.

1975: Rhodes Scholarships were first offered to women.

1974: President Gerald R. Ford announced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War deserters and draft-evaders.

1966: The Metropolitan Opera opened its new opera house at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

1963: Malaysia formed from Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo and Sarawak

1956: Play-Doh was introduced to the world.

1919: The American Legion was incorporated by an act of Congress.

1915: Haiti became a U.S. protectorate

1893: More than 50,000 people claimed land in the Cherokee Strip during the first day of the Oklahoma land rush.

1862: The Battle of Antietam was held outside of Sharpsburg, Maryland. It’s considered the bloodiest day during the Civil War.

1810: Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest, launched the Mexican War of Independence with the issuing of his Grito de Dolores, or "Cry of Delores," calling for an end to the 300 years of Spanish rule in Mexico.

1795: United Kingdom conquered Cape Town, South Africa.

1741: George Frederick Handel's "The Messiah," premiered in Dublin

1668: King John Casimer V of Poland abdicated the throne.

1630: Shawmut (also called Trimontaine), Massachusetts, was renamed Boston, and became the state capital.

Births:
1925: Lauren Bacall [Betty Perske] (American actress) [The Big Sleep, Key Largo, Murder on the Orient Express, The Mirror Has Two Faces]

1925: Charlie Byrd (American jazz guitarist)

1925: B.B. [Riley B.] King (American musician/blues guitarist/singer) ["You Know I Love You," "Woke Up This Morning," "Please Love Me," "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer"]

Deaths:
1977: Maria Callas (American-born soprano)


Word of the day: turpitude \TUR-puh-tood; -tyood\
Etymology: From Latin turpitudo, from turpis, "foul, base."
(noun)
1. Inherent baseness or vileness of principle, words, or actions; depravity.
2. A base act.

Mistfox - who has lately been staying away from books with lots of turpitude in them

Today is September 17th. That means Angola observes the Day of the National Hero and Chile observes Independence Day (Aniversario Nacional).


2004: San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds hit his 700th career home run, joining Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755) as the only players to reach the milestone.

2001: The Late Show with David Letterman was the first TV talk show to return to the airwaves six days after terrorists attacked the United States in New York City and Washington D.C.

2001: The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened for the first time after the September 11 attacks. The stocks plummeted throughout the trading session and posted its biggest point drop in its history closing down 684.81 points to 8920.70.

1997: Northern Ireland's main Protestant party joined peace talks, bringing the major players together for first time.

1991: Lithuania, North Korea and South Korea joined the United Nations.

1978: At Camp David, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed the first peace treaty between Israel and one of its Arab neighbors.

1977: Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" was #1 on the charts for the 19th straight week.

1976: NASA unveiled the first space shuttle, the Enterprise, in Palmdale, California.

1972: "M*A*S*H" premiered on TV.

1967: "Mission Impossible" premiered on television.

1964: The TV show "Bewitched" premiered.

1953: Siamese twins were successfully separated for the first time.

1939: The Soviet Union invaded Poland, just weeks after Nazi Germany launched its assault there.

1920: The American Professional Football Association, the precursor of the National Football League, was formed in Canton, Ohio.

1862: This was the bloodiest single day of fighting in the American Civil War; more than 26,000 men were killed, wounded, or missing in action at the Battle of Antietam in western Maryland. Yes, one of my sources had it as yesterday and I didn’t check.

1787: The Constitution of the United States of America was completed and signed by 38 of 41 delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Narrowly approved in some states, the Constitution of the United States of America became law by June 1789.

1394: Jews were expelled from France by order of King Charles VI.

Births:
1883: William Carlos Williams (American physician/poet/playwright/essayist/author) [An Early Martyr, Broken Span, The Wedge, The Great American Novel ]

1935: Ken Kesey (American author) [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]

Deaths:
1985: Laura Ashley (Welsh fashion designer/manufacturer/retail entrepreneur)

1996: Spiro Agnew (Vice President of the U.S.)

1997: Red Skelton (American radio and television comedian/variety show host)


Word of the day: fallible \FAL-uh-bul\
Etymology: Derives from Medieval Latin fallibilis, from Latin fallere, "to deceive." It is related to fail, false (from falsum, the past participle of fallere), fallacy ("a false notion"), fault (from Old French falte, from fallere), and faucet (from Old Provençal falsar, "to falsify, to create a fault in, to bore through," from fallere).
(adjective)
1. Liable to make a mistake.
2. Liable to be inaccurate or erroneous.


Mistfox - who is often fallible

Today is September 18th. That means the Unification Church observes Foundation Day, Netherlands observes Prinsjesdag (the official opening of parliament at The Hague) and Bhutan observes Blessed Rainy Day.


2003: Hurricane Isabel hit North Carolina's Outer Banks with 100-mph winds and moved up the Eastern Seaboard; the storm was blamed for 40 deaths.

1997: Ted Turner donated $1 billion to the United Nations.

1990: Liechtenstein became a member of the UN.

1990: A 500 lb, 6' Hershey Kiss was displayed at 1 Times Square, NYC.

1985: Steve Jobs resigned from Apple Computer.

1964: "The Addams Family" premiered on TV.

1947: The Air Force was established as a separate branch of the military. The National Security Act was passed, unifying the Army, Navy, and Air Force of the U.S.

1934: The League of Nations admitted the Soviet Union.

1932: Actress Peg Entwistle committed suicide by jumping from the H in the Hollywood sign, forever turning the sign into a symbol for the paradox of the American film industry.

1927: The Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System (later, CBS) started operations with 16 radio stations.

1895: Daniel David Palmer made the first chiropractic adjustment.

1889: Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr opened Hull House in Chicago. Hull House's main purpose was to provide social and educational opportunities for working class people (many of them recent immigrants) in the surrounding neighborhood.

1872: King Oscar II acceded to the throne of Sweden-Norway

1851: The New-York Daily Times, which would become The New York Times, began publishing.

1850: Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, requiring the return of escaped slaves to their owners. It was the second fugitive slave law passed by Congress.

1810: Chile declared its independence from Spain.

1793: President George Washington laid the cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol.

1789: The U.S. took out its first loan. Alexander Hamilton took the loan from the Bank of New York and Bank of North America.

1759: The French formally surrendered Quebec to the British. Both James Wolfe and Louis Montcalm, the British and French commanders, died in the battle.

0096: Nerva was elevated as Roman Emperor after Domitian was stabbed to death.

Births:
1709: Samuel Johnson (British lexicographer/poet/essayist/novelist)

1905: Greta Garbo [Greta Gustafsson] (Swedish-born actress) [Camille, Anna Christie, Romance, Ninotchka]

1939: Frankie Avalon [Frances Avellone] (American singer/actor) [Operation Bikini, Back to the Beach]

1961: James Gandolfini (American actor) [The Sopranos, The Mexican, The Man Who Wasn't There]

1971: Lance Armstrong (American cycling champion)

Deaths:
1961: Dag Hammarskjöld (United Nations Secretary-General)

1970: "Jimi" [James Marshall] Hendrix (American rock musician and guitarist)


Word of the day: potboiler \POT-boi-lur\
Etymology: Comes from the phrase "boil the pot," meaning "to provide one's livelihood."
(noun)
1. A usually inferior literary or artistic work, produced quickly for the purpose of making money.


Mistfox - some people say writes potboilers, but we know better

Today is September 19th. That means St. Kitts (Christopher) and Nevis observe Independence Day, Laos observes Thanksgiving, and it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day.



2005: Former Tyco CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski was sentenced in New York to up to 25 years in prison for looting the company of hundreds of millions of dollars; Tyco's former finance chief, Mark Swartz, received the same sentence.

1995: The Washington Post published the so-called "Unabomber's Manifesto," a sixty-five-page thesis on what the "Unabomber" thought were the problems with America's society.

1985: Mexico City was struck by the first of two huge earthquakes that claimed more than 10,000 lives.

1984: Great Britain and China announced their agreement to transfer Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997.

1983: St. Kitts and Nevis declared independence from England.

1981: Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel performed a reunion concert in Central Park.

1964: "Flipper" premiered on television.

1959: Nikita Khrushchev was denied access to Disneyland.

1957: The U.S. conducted its first underground nuclear test, in the Nevada desert.

1955: Juan Domingo Perón, president of Argentina since 1946, was deposed and exiled in a military coup.

1952: The U.S. barred Charlie Chaplin from reentering the country after a trip to England.

1893: New Zealand granted women the right to vote.

1796: President George Washington's farewell address was published. In it, America's first chief executive advised, "Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all."

1783: The Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier sent up the first hot-air balloon with live creatures on board, in Versailles, France.

1777: The Continental Congress fled their capital in Philadelphia for the more secure site of York, Pennsylvania, upon learning of the approach of General William Howe and the British forces.

1777: Americans under General Horatio Gates won the Battle of Saratoga in the Revolutionary War.

1692: Farmer Giles Corey was pressed to death after refusing to plead in the Salem witch trials.

1356: In an important battle of the Hundred Years' War, English Prince Edward defeated the French at Poitiers and took King John II as a prisoner.

Births:
1911: Sir William Golding (Cornish novelist) [Lord of the Flies, The Inheritors, Fire Down Below]

1929: Adam West [William West Anderson] (American actor) [Batman]

1949: Twiggy [Leslie Hornby, Twiggy Lawson] (British model/actress/singer)

Deaths:
1881: James A. Garfield (President of the U.S.A.) Died 80 days after being shot.


Word of the day: pied \pahyd\
Etymology: From Middle English "pie", magpie
(adjective)
1. Having patches of two or more colors, as various birds and other animals: a pied horse.
2. Wearing pied clothing.


Mistfox - who has to remember to say "yar, matie" a lot today

Today is September 20th. That means Malta observes Independence Day.


2006: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez repeatedly referred to President Bush as "the devil" during a speech to the United Nations.

2004: CBS News apologized for a "mistake in judgment" in its story questioning President George W. Bush's National Guard service, saying it could not vouch for the authenticity of documents featured in the report.

1973: Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in the nationally televised "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match, in three straight sets.

1969: The Archies' "Sugar Sugar" hit #1.

1954: The first program compiled from FORTRAN ran.

1939: The Cannes Film Festival debuted in France.

1873: "Black Friday," occurred. This was the first time the New York Stock Exchange was forced to close because of a banking crisis.

1850: The slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia.

1519: Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain on a voyage to find a western passage to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. Though he was killed, one of his ships successfully circumnavigated the globe by September, 1522.

0451: General Aetius defeated Attila the Hun at Chalons-sur-Marne

480 BCE: Themistocles and a Greek fleet scored a decisive naval victory over Xerxes' Persian force near Salamis.

Births:
357 B.C.E.: Alexander III [Alexander the Great] (Emperor/king of Macedonia)

1842: Lord James Dewar (British chemist/physician) Invented the vacuum flask and cordite (smokeless powder).

1934: Sophia Loren [Sofia Scicolone] (Italian-born actress) [Grumpier Old Men, The Cassandra Crossing, Two Women, The Millionairess, Desire Under the Elms]

Deaths:
1973: Jim Croce (American singer/songwriter) ["You Don't Mess Around with Jim"; "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"; "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)"; "Time in a Bottle"]

2005: Simon Wiesenthal (Holocaust survivor/Nazi hunter)


Word of the day: cacophony \kuh-KAH-fuh-nee\
Etymology: From Greek kakophonia, from kakophonos, from kakos, "bad" + phone, "sound." The adjective form is cacophonous. The opposite of cacophony is euphony.
(noun)
1. Harsh or discordant sound; dissonance.
2. The use of harsh or discordant sounds in literary composition.


Mistfox - who was listening to a crow cacophony earlier today

And then in yesterday's news: ...



Whole story: HERE

Today is September 21st. That means the Philippines observe Thanksgiving, Armenia observes Independence Day, Belize observes Independence Day, and Mali observes Independence Day/Proclamation of the Republic Anniversary.


2006: The White House and rebellious Senate Republicans announced agreement on rules for the interrogation and trial of suspects in the “war on terror”.

2003: NASA's aging Galileo spacecraft was deliberately plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere, ending its 14-year exploration of the solar system's largest planet and its moons.

1999: Google launched its search engine.

1989: Hurricane Hugo hit the South Carolina coast with destruction totaling $8 billion.

1984: Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom

1981: Belize was granted full independence from the United Kingdom

1970: "NFL Monday Night Football" debuted on ABC.

1964: Malta became independent from the United Kingdom

1949: People's Republic of China was proclaimed by its Communist leaders.

1937: J. R. R. Tolkien published The Hobbit.

1931: Britain went off the gold standard.

1915: Stonehenge was sold by auction for 6,600 pounds sterling to a Mr. Chubb, who bought it as a present for his wife. Three years later he gave it back to Britain.

1898: Empress Dowager Cixi seized power and ended the Hundred Days' Reform in China.

1893: Frank Duryea and Charles Duryea demonstrated the first U.S.-made gas-propelled car.

1837: Charles Tiffany founded his jewelry and china stores

1792: The French National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy; the French Republic was then proclaimed.

1784: The "Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser" became the nation's first daily newspaper.

1780: Benedict Arnold gave the British the plans to West Point

1745: During the Battle of Prestonpans, the Hanoverian army under the command of John Cope was defeated, in ten minutes, by the Jacobite forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart.

1520: Suleiman the Magnificent became Ottoman sultan in Constantinople.

Births:
1866: H. G. Wells (British science fiction writer) [The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine]

1874: Gustav Holst (British composer) [The Planets]

1912: "Chuck" [Charles Martin] Jones (American animator/artist/screenwriter/producer/director of animated films) [Road Runner, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies]

1931: "Larry" [Lawrence Martin ] Hagman (American actor) [Dallas, I Dream of Jeannie]

1947: Stephen King (American author) [Carrie, 'Salem's Lot , Cujo, From a Buick 8, Cell]

Deaths:
19 BCE: Virgil [Publius Vergilius Maro] (Roman poet) [The Bucolics (or Eclogues), the Georgics, the Aeneid]

1327: Edward II (King of England) Murdered after his forced abdication.

1832: Sir Walter Scott (Scottish novelist/poet/biographer/historian) [Marmion, Waverley, Ivanhoe]

1998: Florence Griffith Joyner (American track star) Died in her sleep after suffering an epileptic seizure.


Word of the day: intrepid \in-TREP-id\
Etymology: From Latin intrepidus, "calm," from in-, "not" + trepidus, "anxious, disturbed."
(adjective)
1. Fearless; bold; brave; undaunted; courageous; as, an intrepid soldier; intrepid spirit.


Mistfox - who usually doesn't feel intrepid

Today is September 22nd. That means Laos observes Ho Khao Slak and Puerto Rico observes Grito de Lares Day. Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien observe Hobbit Day, the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.


2005: John Roberts' nomination as chief justice cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 13-5 vote.

2004: CBS-owned stations were fined $550,000 by the Federal Communications Commission for showing Janet Jackson's exposed right breast during the Super Bowl halftime show. (CBS has appealed.)

1997: Elton John released his tribute to Diana, "Candle in the Wind 1997".

1994: "Friends" premiered on television.

1988: The government of Canada apologized for the World War II internment of Japanese-Canadians and promised compensation.

1981: The world's fastest train, the France TGV, took its inaugural run from Paris to Lyons.

1980: Persian Gulf conflict between Iran and Iraq erupted into full-scale war.

1976: "Charlie's Angels" premiered on TV.

1975: Sara Jane Moore attempted to shoot President Gerald R. Ford outside a San Francisco hotel, the second assassination attempt on him in less than three weeks.

1970: President Richard M. Nixon signed a bill giving the District of Columbia representation in the U.S. Congress.

1969: Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants became the first baseball player since Babe Ruth to hit 600 home runs.

1964: The musical "Fiddler on the Roof" opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 3,242 performances.

1964: "The Man from U.N.C.L.E," premiered on NBC-TV.

1961: President John F. Kennedy established The Peace Corps when he signed the Congressional act.

1960: Mali gained independence from France.

1959: The first telephone cable linking Europe and the United States was opened.

1951: The first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast, a college football game between Duke and the University of Pittsburgh, was televised on NBC.

1949: The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb.

1945: President Harry Truman accepted the U.S. Secretary of War's recommendation to call the war, World War II.

1921: The Band-Aid was invented.

1903: Italo Marchiony was granted a patent for the ice cream cone.

1869: Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold debuted in Munich.

1862: President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in rebel states should be free as of Jan. 1, 1863.

1789: U.S. Congress authorized the office of Postmaster-General.

1784: Russia established a colony at Kodiak, Alaska.

Births:
1791: Michael Faraday (British chemist/physicist/inventor) [The dynamo, transformer, Faraday cage, and electric motor]

1958: Joan Jett [Joan Marie Larkin] (American singer/guitarist/songwriter) ["Cherry Bomb"]

1987: Tom Felton (British actor/singer) [Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Anna and the King, The Borrowers]

Deaths:
1776: Captain Nathan Hale (American Revolutionary patriot) Hanged by the British for spying.

1828 – Shaka (African ruler/founder of the Zulu Kingdom) Murdered by his half-brother Dingane.

1989: Irving Berlin [Israel Isidore Baline] (Siberian-American composer/lyricist) ["God Bless America", "White Christmas"]

2001: Isaac Stern (Russian-born American violinist)


Word of the day: embonpoint \ahn-bohn-PWAN\
Etymology: From the French, literally "in good condition" (en, "in" + bon, "good" + point, "situation, condition").
(noun)
1. Plumpness of person; stoutness.

Mistfox - who thinks eating too many bon-bons can lead to embonpoint

Today is September 23rd. That means Saudi Arabia observes Unification Day/Kingdom Unification, Wyoming observes Frontier Day, the United States observes Native American Day and the Pennsylvania Dutch observes Schwenkenfelder Day/Thanksgiving Day. The fall equinox occurred at 5:51 a.m. EDT (09:51 UT).


2002: Mozilla Firefox (Phoenix version 0.1) web browser was born.

1993: Sonic the Hedgehog CD was released for the Sega Mega-CD in Japan.

1990: Iraq threatened to destroy Middle East oil fields and attack Israel if other nations tried to force it from Kuwait.

1973: Former Argentine president Juan Peron returned to power after an 18-year exile in Spain.

1962: "The Jetsons" premiered on TV.

1957: "That'll Be Day" by Buddy Holly and the Crickets reached #1.

1952: Republican vice-presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon went on television to deliver the "Checkers" speech, a refute of allegations of improper campaign financing.

1932: The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd was renamed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

1846: German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle discovered Neptune, the eighth planet.

1845: The Knickerbocker Baseball Club, the first professional baseball team, was founded in New York.

1806: Lewis and Clark and their expedition returned to St. Louis from the Pacific Northwest, three years after it departed.

1788: Louis XVI of France declared the Parliament restored.

1642: Harvard College held its first commencement.

1518: The Royal College of Physicians was established to protect citizens from medical charlatans and quacks.

Births:
484 BCE: Euripides (Greek playwright)

63 BCE: Augustus Caesar [Octavian] (The first Roman emperor)

1949: Bruce Springsteen (American singer/songwriter) ["Born to Run", "Born in the U.S.A."]

Deaths:
1241: Snorri Sturluson (Icelandic historian/poet/politician) [The Younger Edda, Egils Saga]

1939: Sigmund Freud (Austrian neurologist/founder of psychoanalysis)

1973: Pablo Neruda [Ricardo Eliecer Neftali Reyes Basoalto] (Chilean poet)

1987: Bob Fosse (American theater and motion-picture choreographer/director) [Cabaret, Chicago, Damn Yankees]



Word of the day: abrogate \AB-ruh-gayt\
Etymology: Derives from Latin abrogare, "to repeal a law wholly, to annul," from ab-, "away from" + rogare, "to ask, to inquire, to question; also, to propose a law."
(transitive verb)
1. To annul or abolish by an authoritative act.
2. To put an end to; to do away with.

Mistfox - who occasionally wants to abrogate responsibility

Today is September 24th. That means Guinea-Bissau observes Independence Day, South Africa observes National Heritage Day, the Dominican Republic and Peru observe the Feast of Our Lady Mary, Ghana observes Third Republic Day, New Caledonia observes Territorial Day, Trinidad and Tobago observe Republic Day, Venezuela observes Day of the Public Functionary, and Rwanda observes Government Day/National Assembly Day/Referendum Day/Kamarampaka Day.


2005: Hurricane Rita struck eastern Texas and the Louisiana coast, causing more flooding in New Orleans.

1996: The United States and the world's other major nuclear powers signed a treaty to end all testing and development of nuclear weapons.

1993: Norodom Sihanouk was reinstalled as king of Cambodia.

1993: Imelda Marcos, wife of the late Ferdinand Marcos, former dictator of the Philippines, was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for corruption.

1993: Broderbund released the computer game Myst. And started an obsession in my house.

1988: The first female Episcopal assistant bishop was ordained (Barbara Harris).

1977: The "Love Boat" was first broadcast on ABC-TV.

1976: "Oh! Calcutta!" opened at the Edison Theater in NYC for 5959 performances.

1975: Brits Dougal Huston and Doug Scott became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest via the southwest face.

1973: Guinea-Bissau declared its independence from Portugal.

1969: The first Elvis convention was held in Cincinnati, Ohio. 2500 fans attended.

1969: "60 Minutes" debuted.

1964: "The Munsters" premiered on TV.

1960: The USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was launched at Newport News, Virginia.

1948: Honda Motor Company was founded.

1906: President Theodore Roosevelt signed a bill designating Devils Tower, a natural rock formation in the Black Hills of Wyoming, as the country's first National Monument.

1890: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounced polygamy.

1869: Financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to corner the gold market, sending Wall Street into a panic and leaving thousands of investors in financial ruin.

1841: The Sultan of Brunei ceded Sarawak to Britain.

1789: Congress passed the first Judiciary Act, which provided for an attorney general and a Supreme Court. The United States Post Office Department was also established at this time.

1742: Faneuil Hall opened in Boston.

1657: The first autopsy and coroner's jury verdict was recorded in state of Maryland.

1493: Christopher Columbus departed on his second expedition to the New World.

0622: Mohammed and his followers commenced the Hegira, or "flight," to Medina, where he founded Islam.

Births:
1896: F. Scott Fitzgerald (American author) [The Great Gatsby, Tender Is the Night]

1936: Jim Henson (American puppeteer) [The Muppets]

Deaths:
0768: Pippin “the Short” {King of the Franks)

1991: "Dr. Suess" [Theodor Geisel] (American children's book author/illustrator) [The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, Fox in Sox]


Word of the day: contumacious \kon-t(y)oo-MAY-shuhs; kon-tuh-\
Etymology: Derives from Latin contumax, contumac-, "insolent."
(adjective)
1. Obstinate; stubbornly disobedient; persistently, willfully, or overtly defiant of authority.

Mistfox - who can be stubborn, but is usually not contumacious

Today is September 25th. That means New Zealand observes Dominion Day and Mozambique observes the Day of the Armed Forces.


2006: The Louisiana Superdome, a symbol of misery during Hurricane Katrina, reopened for a New Orleans Saints game.

2005: The Irish Republican Army (IRA) gave up its weapons in front of independent weapons inspectors.

2001: Michael Jordan returned to basketball with the NBA's Washington Wizards.

1991: A peace accord was signed in El Salvador ending an 11-year civil war.

1981: Sandra Day O'Connor was sworn in as the first female justice on the Supreme Court.

1979: "Evita" opened at Broadway Theater, NYC for 1568 performances.

1974: Scientists warned that continued use of aerosol sprays would cause ozone depletion, leading to an increased risk of skin cancer and global weather changes and warming.

1962: The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria was formally proclaimed. Ferhat Abbas was elected President of the provisional government.

1957: U.S. Army troops escorted nine black children to their classes at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Until the arrival of federal troops, riots and violence had prevented desegregation of the public school.

1942: The War Labor Board ordered equal pay for women in the United States.

1926: Henry Ford of the Ford Motor Company announced the 8-hour, 5-day work week.

1890: President Benjamin Harrison established Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. The U.S. Congress established Yosemite National Park.

1882: The first doubleheader was played in Major League Baseball - Providence v. Worcester.

1804: The Twelfth Amendment was ratified, changing the procedure of choosing the president and vice-president.

1789: The first U.S. Congress adopted 12 amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of the amendments became the Bill of Rights.

1690: "Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick", the first newspaper published in the Americas, was published for the first and only time.

1676: Greenwich Mean Time began when two very accurate clocks are set in motion at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England. Greenwich Mean Time, now known as Universal Time, became the standard for the world in 1884.

1513: Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean

Births:
1897: William Faulkner (American author) [The Sound and the Fury, The Reivers]

1906: Dmitri Shostakovich (Russian composer)

1930: Sheldon Allan "Shel Silverstein" (American humorist/author/poet/songwriter/composer/cartoonist,) [A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up, The Giving Tree] He wrote the music and lyrics for "A Boy Named Sue", performed by Johnny Cash; and "The Unicorn Song", performed by The Irish Rovers. He wrote the lyrics and music for most of the Dr. Hook songs, including "Cover of the Rollin' Stone" and "Sylvia's Mother".

1931: Barbara Walters (American television journalist) [The View]

Deaths:
1066: Harald III (King of Norway) Died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge

1960: Emily Post (American etiquette expert)

1999: Marion Zimmer Bradley (American author/cofounder of the Society for Creative Anachronism) [The Mists of Avalon, Darkover Landfall, the Sword and Sorceress series]

2003: George Plimpton (American author/journalist/editor/actor) [Paper Lion, Mad Ducks and Bears]

2005: Don Adams (American actor/voice actor) [Get Smart, Tennessee Tuxedo, Inspector Gadget]


Word of the day: exsanguinate \eks-SANG-gwuh-neyt\
Etymology: From Latin exsanguinātus, drained of blood : ex-, ex- + sanguis, sanguin-, blood.
(verb - used with object)
1. To drain of blood; make bloodless.
(verb - used without object)
2. To bleed to death.

Mistfox - who borrowed the "WOTD" from Sookie Stackhouse's "Word of the Day" calendar

Today is September 26th. That means Sri Lanka observes Bandaranaike Day, Yemen observes Revolution Day, the Khmer Republic observes the Ceremony of the Dead, and Ethiopia observes the Feast of the Finding of the True Cross/Maskal.


2006: President George W. Bush ordered release of a declassified version of a government intelligence report that said the war in Iraq had become a "cause celebre" for Islamic extremists

2006: A federal judge in Houston sentenced former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow to six years in prison for his role in the fallen energy company's bankruptcy.

2000: Slobodan Milosevic conceded that his challenger, Vojislav Kostunica, had finished first in Yugoslavia's presidential election. Milosevic declared a runoff, a move that prompted mass protests leading to his ouster.

1996: U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid returned to Earth in the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis, after six months in orbit aboard the Russian space station Mir. It set an endurance record for an American and a woman in space.

1986: William H. Rehnquist was sworn in as the 16th Chief Justice and Antonin Scalia joined the Supreme Court as its 103rd member.

1984: Great Britain formally agreed to honor the expiration of its 99-year lease on the island of Hong Kong. The agreement was signed in Peking.

1969: "The Brady Bunch" premiered on TV.

1969: The Beatles last album, "Abbey Road," was released.

1964: "Gilligan's Island" debuted on TV.

1960: The first televised presidential debate took place between Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy (in Chicago).

1957: The musical "West Side Story," written by Leonard Bernstein, opened on Broadway.

1953: Sugar rationing in Great Britain was ended after almost 14 years.

1950: United Nations troops recaptured the South Korean capital of Seoul from the North Koreans.

1918: The last major battle of World War I began when French and American troops attacked German holdings in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The battle ended in the eleventh hour of November 11.

1789: Thomas Jefferson was appointed the first United States Secretary of State; John Jay was appointed first Chief Justice of the United States; Samuel Osgood was appointed first United States Postmaster General; and Edmund Randolph was appointed first United States Attorney General.

1777: British troops occupied Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War. Sir William Howe had just defeated George Washington at the Battle of Brandywine and his forces easily captured the undefended capital.

1687: The Parthenon in Athens was partially destroyed after an explosion caused by the bombing from Venetian forces led by Morozini who were besieging the Ottoman Turks stationed in Athens.

1580: Sir Francis Drake returned to Plymouth, England, in the ship Golden Hind, having become the first British navigator to circumnavigate the globe.

Births:
1774: Johnny Appleseed [Jonathan Chapman] (American pioneer/planter)

1888: T.S. Eliot (American poet) [The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats]

1898: George Gershwin [Jacob Gershowitz] (American composer) [Rhapsody in Blue, An American In Paris, Porgy And Bess]

1948: Olivia Newton-John (British-born Australian singer/actress) [Grease, Xanadu]

1962: Melissa Sue Anderson (American actress) [Little House on the Prairie]

1968: James Caviezel (American actor) [The Passion of the Christ, The Count of Monte Cristo, Frequency]

1985: My baby

Deaths:
1820: Daniel Boone (American frontiersman)

1945: Bela Bartok (Hungarian composer) [The Wooden Prince, Concerto for Orchestra]


Word of the day: factotum \fak-TOH-tuhm\
Etymology: From Medieval Latin, from Latin fac totum, "do everything," from facere, "to do" + totus, "all."
(noun)
1. A person employed to do all kinds of work or business.


Mistfox - who wonders if a "jack-of-all-trades would be considered a factotum