This date has a musical note: in 1717 King George I sailed down the River Thames on a barge with 50 musicians in the premiere of George Fredrick Handel’s Water Music. In 1821 the Kingdom of Spain ceded the territory of Florida to the US. Does anybody want to give it back?:) In 1902 Willis Carrier created the first air conditioner (yea!) but it was in Buffalo, New York, of all places. In 1945 the Potsdam Conference was held with Churchill, Truman, and Stalin determining the future of the defeated nation of Germany. And in 1955 Disneyland opened in Anaheim, CA – don’t tell me that doesn’t bring a tune to mind.:(
Some notables born on this date include hymn-writer Isaac Watts (1674), our 5th US VP (under Madison) Elbridge Gerry (1794) who we remember for another reason, lawyer and author Earl Stanley Gardner (1889) who brought me hours of pleasure with his Perry Mason novels, actor James Cagney (1899),, and the 7th International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Sammaranch (1920)
Those who left us on this date include Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith (1790, Wealth of Nations); American frontier scout and explorer Jim Bridger (1881); terror on the basepaths Hall of Famer Ty Cobb (1961), saxophonist and composer John Coltrane (1967 – remember Mr Holland’s Opus?); and newsman for the ages Walter Cronkite (2009).
This is the World Day for International Justice, and World Emoji Day – ’cause you just can’t escape those, can you?
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