In 1141 Empress Matilda became the first female ruler of England, taking the title of “Lady of the English” and in 2022 Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first African American associate justice of the US Supreme Court. There were two orchestral premiers on this date: Johann Sebastion Bach with St John Passion at St Nicholas Church in Leipzig, Germany in 1724; and Ludwig van Beethoven with his Third Symphony at Theatre an der Wien in Vienna in 1805.

In 1940 Booker T Washington became the first African American to appear on a US postage stamp. In 1943 the NFL made helmets mandatory. And in 1948 the World Health Organization was established by the United Nations.

In 1506 was born the co-founder of the Jesuits – St Francis Xavier. In 1770 the Romantic poet William Wordsworth joined the world to share his poetry Francis Ford Coppola joined in 1939 to share his motion picture vision. In 1915 Billie Holiday added her voice to the sounds of the world. And in 1951 Janis Ian came on board to share her songs with the world.

In 1814 Greek-Spanish painter El Greco laid down his brush and palette and in 1891 PT Barnum stepped out of the ring. In 1947 Henry Ford passed the auto-building baton to others while in 2009 Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson quit playing, knowing his creation had succeeded. in 2012 Mike Wallace quit commenting, knowing that his legacy would be carried on by his son Chris. And in 2007 Wizard of Id creator Johnny Hart passed on with full knowledge that the King was still a fink.

This is Genocide Rembrenc Day in Rwanda, where the beginnings of that horrible tragedy began on this date. And it is also World Health Day in honor of the WHO being established on this date.