On this date in history, a war ended and a royal wedding happened. The French and Indian War -the one that caused a bunch of those taxes we colonies were upset about -ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1963 with the French losing and France ceding Quebec to the British. Queen Victoria got married to Prince Albert in 1840.
We had a mishap in space in 2009 when two Russian satellites collided with both of them being destroyed. Shot-down U2 pilot Gary Powers was exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolph Abel in 1962, , ending the U2 crisis. And in 2021 the Carnival festival in Rio de Janeiro was canceled for the first time due to Covid.
We welcomed in an author, a political leader, and a composer on this date in history. The great Russian writer Boris Pasternak (Doctor Zhivago) was born in 1890. British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was born a few years later in 1894. And composer for great films (Star Trek, Gremlins, Air Force One, to name a few) Jerry Goldsmith was born in 1929.
Many actors were born on this date. Lon Chaney Jr (wolfman) in1906; Robert Wagner (It Takes a Thief) in 1930; Laura Dern (Jurassic Park, Mask) in 1967; and Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games series) in 1974.
Two great voices began singing on this date (or the baby equivalent in sounds): American operatic soprano Leontyne Price (1927) and blues great Roberta Flack (1937). As well as Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Mark Spitz (1950).
We bid farewell to a couple of political figures on this date. The French lawyer and philosopher Montesquieu, who wrote about the necessity of separation of powers (executive, legislative, and judicial) laid down his pen in 1755. He was one of the inspirations for our American constitutional writers. Ron Ziegler, White House press secretary (the 14th )under Richard Nixon, passed on in 2003 -long since leaving the White House and appearing on our TVs -thankfully.
We bid farewell the Joseph Lister, , who made surgery more safe and sane with his discovery of antisceptics – he laid down his scalpel in 1912. William Roetgen, was a German scientist who enhanced the practice of radiology by discovering x-rays and then passed on in 1923. And Shirley Temple, child star who grew up to be a diplomat ceased to act in 2014.
We lost a few good writers on this date. Russian Romantic poet and author Alexander Pushkin laid down his pen in 1837. American author of the prairies Laura Ingalls Wilder passed off the page in 1957. And prolific American epic writer Alex Haley (Airport, Hotel, Roots)finished writing his life’s work in 1992.
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