deception pass Washington

A Marriage Made Because of Religious War

1492 was a notable year. It was the year that Columbus set sail for the New World. It was the year that the Jews were kicked out of Spain. And on this date, the first grammar for the Spanish language was delivered to Queen Isabella. And it was almost 5oo years later, I was introduced to that grammar – although for me it was the Mexican version of Spanish in high school.

In 1572 in the midst of religious wars in Europe, France tried a marriage proposal to dampen the conflict. Huguenot King Henry III of Navarre married the Catholic Margaret of Valois. In 1920 the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified to guarantee women’s suffrage -though it took more than 50 years before they could get a credit card in their own name, so progress was not swift.

In 1587 Virginia Dare was the first child born to English parents in the New World. In 1750 Italian composer and conductor Antonio Salieri was born – to be the rival to Mozart. In 1774 Meriwether Lewis started to explore his world – which would lead all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Roberto Clemente began his all-too-short life in 1934 but spent it as a shining light to help others as did the still remaining First Lady Rosalyn Carter (1927). This was also the birthdate for two standout actors – Patrick Swayze (1952) and Robert Redford (1936).

Notables who passed on this date include French novelist and playwright Honore de Balzac (1850), American psychologist and author B F Skinner (1990), American journalist and author Robert Novak (2009), former Sec Gen of the UN Kofi Annan (2018) and English stage and film actor Ben Cross (2020), most famously seen in Chariots of Fire.

A Day of Earthquakes

It was a day that the Earth really moved. There were four earthquakes on this date in history, three of them in Turkey. In 1668 a magnitude 8.0 quake caused 8,000 deaths in north Anatolia, Ottoman Empire – part of modern-day Turkey. In 1949 the 6.7 magnitude Karlova earthquake caused 320-450 dead in eastern Turkey. In 1999 a 7.6 magnitude quake in northwest Turkey left over 17,000 dead and 45,000 to 50,000 injured. And in 1976 a 7.9 magnitude quake off the coast of Mindinao Philippines caused a destructive tsunami killing between 5,000 and 8,000 and leaving over 90,000 homeless.

This date gave birth to such diverse characters as frontiersman Davy Crockett (1786), New Dealer and US Sec of Commerce Harry Hopkins (1890), femme fatale movie star Mae West (1893), US general and Manhattan Project head Leslie Groves (1896). and “Deep Throat” himself deputy director of the FBI Mark Felt (1913).

It was also the birthdate for Margaret Heafield Hamilton (1936) computer scientist and engineer largely responsible for the onboard systems of the Apollo program, U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers (1929) center of Soviet-US international crises, actors Robert DeNiro (1943) and Sean Penn (1960), and two Olympic figure skaters -British Robin Cousins (1957) and American Gracie Gold (1995).

Those who passed on this date include the Prussian monarch Frederick the Great (1786), South American liberator and first president of Peru Jose de San Martin (1850), songwriter Ira Gershwin (1983), and two politicians with unique histories – Alcee Louis la Branche (1861)who was the first US Ambassador to Texas – while Texas was an independent Republic – and FDR Jr, who was born (1914) and died (1988) on the same day.

This is Independence Day for Indonesia (from Japan in 1945) and Gabon (from France in 1960). And here is the US it is recognized as Black Cat Appreciation Day

Elvis Has Left the Building

Gold was discovered in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada in 1896 – so almost 50 years after the California Gold Rush the Klondike Gold Rush began, giving rise to Jack London’s White Fang and the Call of the Wild, and some rich miners. Twenty years later the US and Canada signed the Migratory Bird Act in 1916, which helped to preserve the safe migrations of Canadian geese and other wildfowl. In 1906 there was an 8.2 earthquake in central Chile and in 2020 there was the August Complex fire that burned over 1 million acres of forest – both events leading to the destruction of wildlife.

Meanwhile, Joseph Kittinger decided it would be a grand idea to parachute from a hot air balloon at 31,300 miles up over New Mexico in 1960, while Cyprus gained its independence from the UK. And for sports fans, the first issue of Sports Illustrated came out in 1954.

In 1888 the British colonel, diplomat, writer, and archeologist T E Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia) was born. Nobel Prize-winning Israeli Prime Minister – and former Irgun insurgent – Menachem Begin was born in 1913. This was the birthdate for several actors – Fess Parker, of Gunsmoke (1924), Robert Culp, of I Spy (1930), Julia Newman, seen early as one of the actresses who played Catwoman (1933), and Madonna, seen on screen in A League of Their Own, and Desperately Seeking Susan (1958). It is also the birthday of rising American figure skater Karen Chen (1999).

Those who departed the world on this date include the inventor of Coca Cola – chemist and pharmacist John Pemberton (1888), the Bambino, Babe Ruth (1948), Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell (1949), legendary Hungarian-American horror master actor Bela Lugosi (Dracula 1956), and two legendary singers Elvis (1977) and Aretha Franklin (2018) – as well as the Easy Rider Peter Fonda (2019).

The Ides of August

One of the traditions for me growing up was going to our neighbor’s house up the street to watch the annual showing of The Wizard of Oz. We (all the neighborhood kids) went there because they were the only house on the street to have a color TV (early 60s). On this date back in 1939 the movie had its premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in LA. Two other musical events and one technological event also occurred on this date. In 1965 the Beatles performed in front of 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City, and four years later – in 1969 – the Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened in rural upstate New York. The estimated attendance over the four-day festival was 500,000. And in 1998 Apple introduced the iMac.

Two world events occurred on this day. After 190 years of East India Company and British crown rule the nation of India (with a current population of over 1 billion people) gained its independence in 1947. And the first republic of Korea (South Korea) was established in 1948.

Quite a number of notable individuals claim or claimed this date as their birthday. French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica in 1769. English author Sir Walter Scott was born in the British Isles in 1771. 31st First Lady Florence Harding was born in the States in 1860. Chef and part-time spy Julia Child was born in 1912. And future former US Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer was born in 1938. This birthdate was also shared by composer Jimmy Webb (1946), British royal lady Princess Anne (sister to current King Charles III -1950), philanthropist and ex-wife of Microsoft founder Bill, Melinda Gates (1964), and Hunger Games actress Jennifer Lawrence.

The combo of part-Native American social commentator Will Rogers, and pilot Wiley Post both left us in 1935 in a plane crash over Alaska. And civil rights activist and politician Julian Bond exited the world stage in 2015.

Memories of the “Burn”

In 1848 the Oregon Territory was organized by a vote of the US Congress. In 1893 France became the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration. In 1933 loggers caused a forest fire in the Coast Range of Oregon which would later become known as the first forest fire of the Tillamook Burn, which would destroy 240,000 acres of forest land. I remember growing up in the 60s still seeing the remains of the damage while riding with my family to visit my grandparents who lived near Tillamook.

Also in 1935 during my dad’s high school days, President FDR signed the Social Security Act, which benefitted both my Dad and me.

Notables born on this date include Anglo-Irish astronomer and author Margaret Lindsay Huggins (1848), Canadian-American physicist and discoverer of the U-235 isotope, which led to the atomic bomb, Arthur Jeffrey Dempster (1886), Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver (19300 and singer-songwriter and guitarist David Crosby (1941) part of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, who recently passed away earlier this year.

This was also the birthdate for comedian and actor Steve Martin (1945) as well as actress Halle Berry (1966) and Far Side cartoonist Greg Larson (1950) and movie soundtrack composer and conductor James Horner (1953) who sadly passed away in 2015.

Those who left us on this date include two First Ladies – Margaret Taylor (1852) wife of Zachary Taylor, and Sarah Childress Polk (1891) wife of James K Polk. We lost Frederic Joliot-Curie (1958) who with his wife Irene were the second couple to be awarded joint Nobel Prizes in Chemistry – her parents Marie and Pierre Curie also won joint Nobel Prizes.

Good Bye R2D2:(

I always remember this date. It was the date I began my wilderness journey. My dad had taken early retirement and partly because of my mom’s respiratory issues and partly due to family friends nearby, they decided to move to Arizona, especially the Phoenix area. I had just completed my freshman year of high school so it was quite disruptive – and not just because I am a rain lover. There were good things that came out of it, but I don’t recall loads of fond memories:( Let me clarify that. I met new friends, including my very best friend, my soul mate, my sweet dear Debbie. And I met some good friends. It would be more accurate to say I don’t miss Arizona. We got married and hightailed it up to the Northwest.

Around the world, there were other grand events on this date. In 1521 the invading Spanish conquistadors conquered the Aztec capital Techochtilnn. Harry Brearley produced the first stainless steel in 1913. East and West Berlin were separated by the beginning of the Berlin Wall in 1961, which lasted until its destruction almost 3 decades later. And, on a bright note, Opha May Johnson became the first woman to enlist in the US Marine Corp in 1918.

Notable birthdays include American abolitionist and suffragette Lucy Stone (1818), Bert Lahr (1895) the Cowardly Lion of Wizard of Oz, thriller director Alfred Hitchcock (1899), biochemist Frederick Sanger, who identified and isolated the amino acid structure of insulin (1918), and “Leader of the Band” singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg (1951).

Those who left us on this date include the “Lady with the Lamp” Florence Nightingale (1910) hero of Britain’s Crimean War; English sci-fi writer H G Wells (1946); Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle (1995); American French chef Julia Child (2004), and Star Wars own R2D2 Kenny Baker (2016).

Today is World Organ Donation Day, as well as International Lefthanders Day.

Progress and Setbacks

In 1851 Isaac Singer was granted a patent for his sewing machine. In 1865 Joseph Lister performed the first antiseptic surgery. Progress. We had the old and the new – in 1981 the IBM PC was released, and nine years later in 1990 the largest and most complete T-Rex skeleton, nicknamed Sue, was discovered in South Dakota. Yet there were still setbacks. In 1994 the major league baseball players went out on strike causing the cancellation of the World Series that year. And in 2000 the Russian Navy submarine Kursk exploded and sank in the Barents Sea, killing the entire 118-man crew during a military exercise.

Notable people born on this date include Katherine Lee Bates (1859) writer of “America the Beautiful”, American mega movie maker Cecil B DeMille (1881), Austrian Nobel Prize-winning physicist and academic Erwin Schrodinger (1887) remembered most for his mysterious cat, Hungarian-American businessman, financier and fan of Q everywhere George Soros (1930), and Star-Trek reboot Captain Pike and Resident Dr Bell actor Bruce Greenwood (1956).

Cleopatra reportedly got bit by an asp and perished with Mark Anthony in 30 BC. Spy and spy-author Ian Fleming, who brought us James Bond apparently met his match and maker in 1964. Pioneering automaker and assembly line creator Henry Ford reached the end of his line in 1982. Two notable music men died on this date – music theorist and experimenter John Cage (1992) and guitar maker and player Les Paul (2009). And legendary lady of the movies and companion of Bogie – Lauren Bacall left the stage in 2014.

This is International Youth Day and World Elephant Day.

Let the Counting of Days Begin

We have an item from way, way back today. This is the traditional date of the beginning of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by the Mayans of Latin America. The year was 3114 BC. More recently the Great Famine of Europe, in 1315, became so dire that even the King of England had difficulty buying bread for himself and his entourage. In 1929 Babe Ruth became the first ballplayer to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland. In 1934 the first civilian prisoners arrived at the federal prison at Alcatraz. And in 1972 the last US ground combat unit would leave South Vietnam.

Notables born on this date include American historian and author Alex Haley (Roots, 1921), Frederick W Smith, the founder of FedEx (1944), co-founder of Apple computer scientist Steve Wozniak (1950), American journalist and author David Brooks (1961), and actors Chris Helmsworth (1983 Thor) and Viola Davis (1965,, The Help, and Hidden Figures).

Those who departed on this date include American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1919), American novelist and short story writer Edith Wharton (1937), and American painter Jackson Pollack (1956). It was also the day we said farewell to the kind heart of Eunice Kennedy Shriver (2009) who founded Special Olympics, horror master Peter Cushing (1994), and comedian and master of our heart-strings Robin Williams (2014).

Around the World and to the Stars

Over 500 years ago five ships under the command of Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Seville Spain in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Most of the ships and crew, including Magellan, did not make it back- though his second in command did. Magellan was killed in the Philippine Islands. The straits that mark the passage around the tip of South America still bear his name.

Much more recently, in 1990, the space probe named for Magellan reached its target, the planet Venus. In between some other events happened. In 1948 Candid Camera made its TV debut, producing loads of laughter. In 1988 President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 providing $20,000 to Japanese-Americans who were wrongly interned or relocated during WWII. It was the least we could do to atone. And in 961 the innocuously sounding – Operation Ranch Hand US military forces began spraying an estimated 20 million gallons of defoliants and herbicides on Vietnamese jungles to deny food and vegetation cover for the Viet Cong force. The outcomes were horrific and consequences long-lasting not only for the Vietnamese but also for our own soldiers who had the bad fortune to encounter Agent Orange, napalm, and other destructive chemicals.

Those who were born on this date include future President Herbert Hoover (1874), the inventor of Monopoly, Charles Darrow (1889), the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz Jack Haley (1897), the father of Princess Leia Eddie Fisher (1928), and the author of the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins (1962).

Those who left us on this date include American physicist Robert Goddard (1945), American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer nd actor Isaac Hayes (2008) the All-Star goalie on my favorite team – Chicago Blackhawk player Tony Espistito (2021), and one of the most famous movie dogs – Rin Tin Tin (1932) at the for dogs ripe old age of 14.

Another Bloody Day

Again, like Sunday the 6th this day’s events are overshadowed by war. Nagasaki, Japan was devastated by the dropping of an atomic bomb – this time it was the one called Fat Man. There were 35,000 initial deaths, of whom only 150 were Japanese soldiers and up to 2,000 were Korean forced workers. The same day the Russian Red Army invaded Japanese-occupied Manchuria.

In more peaceful news in 1897, the first International Congress of Mathematicians meeting was held in Zurich, Switzerland, which continues every 4 years to this day. In 1936 Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Berlin. And the US Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council released posters with Smokey the Bear for the first time in 1944.

Birthdays include Italian physicist and chemist Amedeo Avogadro (1776), Swiss philosopher and child psychologist Jean Piaget (1896), Australian tennis star Rod Laver (1938), and actors Gillian Anderson (1968 X-Files) and Sam Elliot (1944, Mask, Gettysburg, to name a few).

Departures on this date include Netherlands painter Hieronymus Bosch (1516), German-Swiss poet, painter, and novelist Hermann Hesse (1962),, Dead Head Jerry Garcia (1995), and dancer Gregory Hines (2003).

It is International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples (UN) and National Peacekeepers Day in Canada

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