The people who adopted Buster and Kaitlyn came on Christmas Eve to bring them home. It was a last minute thing, as the kittens are a secret. The mom told me she was going to hide them in her bathroom! I hope it all worked out, and they didn't find them before this morning.
Christmas Eve was spent making pastries for my dad, and cleaning the fridges for the leftovers the family will send home with us.
So, we are off (actually, i'm always a bit off) to see the family.
A blessed and beautiful Christmas to all who celebrate. May your day be full of joy.
Today is:
A'phabet Day (a/k/a No "L" Day!)
Blessed are the Peacemaker's Day
Carol Day
Christmas Day
Constitution Day -- Taiwan
La Feria de Cali -- Cali, Colombia, through the 30th
Malkh-Festival -- Nakh peoples of Chechenya and Ingushetia
National Pumpkin Pie Day
Quaid-e-Azam's Day -- Pakistan
St. Eugenia's Day
Birthdays Today
Dido, 1971
Rickey Henderson, 1958
Shane MacGowan, 1957
Annie Lennox, 1954
Ron Foos, 1949
Sissy Spacek, 1949
Barbara Mandrell, 1948
Jimmy Buffett, 1946
Gary Sandy, 1945
Carlos Castaneda, 1925
Rod Serling, 1924
Anwar Sadat, 1918
Cab Calloway, 1907
Humphrey Bogart, 1899
Robert Ripley, 1893
Conrad Hilton, 1887
Clara Barton, 1821
Isaac Newton, 1642
Traditional Birthday of Mithras
Traditional Birthday of Sol
Today in History:
The first Christmas, according to calendar maker Dionysus Exiguus, 1
The earliest possible date that Christmas was celebrated on the 25th, 337
The first definite date that Christmas was celebrated on the 25th, 352
Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome, 800
William I, Conqueror, crowned king of England, 1066
Boudouin I of Boulogne crowned king of Jerusalem, 1100
Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first King of Sicily, 1130
St Francis of Assisi assembles the first Nativity scene, in Greccio, Italy, 1223
The city of Natal, Brazil is founded., 1599
Gov William Bradford of Plymouth forbids game playing on Christmas, 1621
The Massachusetts General Court ordered a fine of five shillings for "observing any such day as Christmas", 1651
The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria, 1818
Louisiana & Arkansas are the first US states to observe Christmas as holiday, 1831
Despite bitter opposition, Pres Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all persons involved in Southern rebellion (a/k/a the Civil War, or, tongue planted firmly in cheek, that recent unpleasantness between the States), 1868
The legendary/unofficial "Christmas Truce" takes place between the British & Germans, 1914
Emperor Taisho of Japan dies; his son, Prince Hirohito succeeds him as Emperor Showa, 1926
Montgomery Ward introduces Rudolph the 9th reindeer, 1939
The first in Europe artificial, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated within Soviet nuclear reactor F-1, 1946
The Stone of Scone, traditional coronation stone of British monarchs, is taken from Westminster Abbey by Scottish nationalist students, 1950
Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans Earth Injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit, 1968
Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Northern Territory Australia, 1974
Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, 1977
The first successful trial run of the system which would become the World Wide Web, 1990
Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day), 1991
Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which would later successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan, 2004
#2 Son's party did not quite turn out as he expected. He only ended up with about 15 people, not the 30 he was expecting. That is okay, though, they had a huge fire, ate a lot, and had a good time. That was the whole point anyway.
My fingers seem to be getting no worse, which is what happens when they are on the way to getting better, so i am grateful.
We cleaned the church a day early this week so that we wouldn't have to do it on Christmas Eve. That meant we had to also clean the shelter that evening.
There were only 3 adoptions at the Wednesday night event. Dolly, Bunny, and Belle went to great homes. The only people who were interested in kittens all had the attitude that of course they would let them outside, that's where cats belong! Not my babies, thankyouverymuch.
JuJu, Bowie, Katy, Bebe, Muffin, Lucky (who is doing a bit better now that he is back on his meds), Heathcliff, Squirt, Peepers, Tiffany, Rosie, Harley (who is not eating again), Sophia, Roxanne, Devon, Corrie, Angel, Dustie, Nanette, Frieda, Clint, Grady, Prissy, Candy, Ginny, Zoey, Gidget, and Baby will be spending their Christmas in the shelter. As much as i love them all, even the crazy ones, i hope they all get new places soon. The shelter is a great place of its kind, but not as great as a forever home.
Today is:
Adam & Eve Day
Aofangadagskvold -- Iceland (arrival of the 13th and final Yule Lad)
Calendas -- Oaxaca, Mexico
Celtic Tree Month Beth (Birch) commences
Christmas Eve
Declaration of Christmas Peace -- Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas City
Feast of the Seven Fishes(La Vigilia) -- Italy (traditional serving of seven kinds of seafood at dinner)
Global Accountability Day
Jul -- Denmark
Juvenalia -- Roman Empire (celebration of coming of age)
Modresnach -- Germanic/Scandinavian/Anglo-Saxon Odinist festival celebrating midwinter and motherhood
National Egg Nog Day
Noche Buena -- Spain and Spanish speaking countries
Tolling the Devil's Knell -- All Saints Parish Church, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England (the church bell tolls once for each year since the birth of Christ, signaling when the Devil's demise was heralded)
T'owd 'oss -- Richmond, North Yorkshire, England (A tradition of dressing in hunting clothes and blowing the hunting horns on Christmas Eve.)
Utter Day -- Fairy Calendar (Every word uttered by the fairy folk becomes a physical object he/she must wear for the rest of the day.)
Zerowork Season begins
Birthdays Today:
Ryan Seacrest, 1974
Stephanie Meyer, 1973
Ricky Martin, 1971
Mary Higgins Clark, 1929
Ava Gardner, 1922
Howard Hughes, 1905
Johnny Gruelle, 1880
Kit Carson, 1809
Today in History:
The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes, 563
Thomas Wolsey is appointed English Lord Chancellor, 1515
Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is "discovered" by James Cook, 1777
"Silent Night" is composed by Franz Joseph Gruber; it is first sung the next day, 1818
The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning, 1826
Fire devastates the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroys 35,000 volumes, 1851
Henry Ford completes his first useful gas motor, 1893
Irving Fisher patents an archiving system with index cards, 1912
The first radio transmission of NCRV in Netherlands, 1924
NORAD Tracks Santa for the first time in what will become an annual Christmas Eve tradition, 1955
Shooting begins on "The Cage" the pilot for the Star Trek series, 1964
The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so, 1968
"Mom, you gotta come see what he's doing!" Little Girl is always excited when she thinks #2 Son is doing something particularly extraordinary or funny.
What is it this time?
"Just come see!"
Out we go, to the front yard, to find #2 Son with his bow and practice, dull tipped arrow, the broken reel from his fishing pole, and a big grin.
"Hey, mom, guess what I'm going to do!"
I couldn't begin to imagine.
"I'm going to go climb a tree in the woods! I'm going to shoot this arrow into the tree and climb using this 13 pound test line! This is so going to work!"
This is so going to fail, i told him.
"No, mom, really, it will work!"
He let the arrow, with test line trailing a broken reel, fly. It soared to about second floor height, then got pulled back down by the weight of the reel. It traveled about 10 feet.
I couldn't help laughing, it was hysterical.
"I need to let out more line!" His enthusiasm was not curbed at all, and he began unreeling more line. I went in to get the rest of the family.
"This is going to work!" He kept saying it, and i just kept laughing.
The next shot traveled up, again was jerked back by the weight of the reel, and went about 20 feet, to the edge of the property. Now all of us are laughing.
"The next one will get across the street!"
The others gave up after a final laugh, but i needed to smile so i kept watching as he repeated the performance, the reel pulling the arrow back, the let out of more line, over and over until he reached the stand of trees across the street.
Finally he reached the end of the reel, so he picked a tree, and let fly. It went about halfway up, hit, and bounced back. Exactly as i expected. Undaunted, he tried again, with the expected result.
Next he tried to get the arrow over a limb. Enter, again, the weight of the reel.
Finally, in disgust, he picked up the arrow, tossed it around a tree as high as he could get it, grabbed it and tucked the arrow under the line, pulling it tight.
\
"I'm going to climb that two feet of tree, this will work!"
The arrow fell off.
The whole time, i am laughing fit to be tied.
Finally he picked it all up in disgust, shaking his head. "Well, that was an epic fail."
It didn't fail to give me a laugh, son, so really it was a success.
Today is:
Birthday of the Queen Silvia, an official flag day -- Sweden
Day of Acca Larentia -- Ancient Rome, Republic and Empire (earth goddess and protectress who raised Romulus and Remus)
Festivus -- For the Rest of Us! (The holiday started by Kramer on the episode of Seinfeld that aired 12/18/97, have some meatloaf, decorate with an unadorned aluminum pole, have a "Feats of Strength" contest and an "Airing of Grievances"!)
Mouse-Marketing Day -- Fairy Calendar
National Pfefferneusse Day
Noche de Rabanos (Night of the Radishes) -- Oaxaca, Mexico (part of the lead up to Christmas, bring out your best carved radish!)
Popcorn Popping Day (so you can string it on the tree, of course)
Porlaksmessa, Feast of St. Thorlaker -- Iceland (patron saint, though never officially recognized by the Holy See)
Secret of the Unhewn Stone -- Celtic Calendar (Only day on their calendar not governed by a tree month)
St. John of Kanti's Day (patron of Lithuania, Poland)
St. Servulus' Day (patron against paralysis)
Tenno Tanjobi -- Japan (Birthday of Emperor Akihito, national holiday observed as a day of rest.)
Two Days To Go Day
Victory Day -- Egypt
Ziemassvetki -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (birth of Dievs, highest of the gods)
Birthdays Today:
Corey Haim, 1971
Carla Bruni, 1967
Eddie Vedder, 1964
Susan Lucci, 1946
Harry Shearer, 1943
Jose Greco, 1918
Madame C.J. Walker, 1867
Connie Mack, 1862
Today in History:
Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist, 962
St Philip of Moscow martyred by Ivan the Terrible, 1569
Giovanni Cassini discovers Rhea, a satellite of Saturn, 1672
John Flamsteed observes Uranus without realizing it's undiscovered, 1690
The Continental Congress negotiates a war loan of $181,500 from France, 1776
Benedict Arnold court-martialed for improper conduct, 1779
"A Visit from St Nicholas" by C. Clement Moore is published in the Troy (NY) Sentinel (Now usually titled " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas"), 1823
The opera Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is first performed, 1893
The first all-steel passenger railroad coach completed, in Altoona, Pa, 1907
The first hospital ship built to move wounded naval personnel is launched, 1919
Alice H Parker patents gas heating furnace, 1919
Discovery of the first modern coelacanth in South Africa, 1938
The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories, 1947
Dedication of Tokyo Tower, the world's highest self-supporting iron tower, 1958
The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City is topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in the world, 1970
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000, 1972
The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, having survived by cannibalism, 1972
Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling, 1986
In a referendum, 88% of Slovenia's population vote for independence from Yugoslavia, 1990
An 8.1 magnitude earthquake hits Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, 2004
Woke up with the pinkie worse, and knew i had to get to the doctor. I had spoken to the nurse the evening before, and she told me if i showed up at 7:30am they would work me in. Since i also had to get a kitten to the vet for spay, bringing along a sample from the poopie kittens, it was a toss up whether to go or not. Ended up going, and i'm glad i did.
It has become obvious that the place i originally thought was a staph infection is actually a bug bite i don't remember getting that is destroying tissue under the skin. It did need an antibiotic, though, because these things are notorious for getting infected.
Upon starting the antibiotic, the fungal infection, which had obviously not every fully cleared out, came roaring back.
So now i am on both, which i needed to be anyway, and got a cortisone shot for the inflammation at the site of the bite. As long as it doesn't get any worse, i will just finish the course of meds and move on.
Speaking of cortisone shots, the nurse managed to hit right next to the sciatic nerve when she told me to bend over. Remember the little hammer trick that makes your knee jerk? When she popped that needle into my rump, my knee jerked up involuntarily, i could feel the electricity shooting down my leg. It is still sore, and i am limping.
When did i break down this badly? Don't answer that.
I also managed, somehow, to get back home in time to take Tiger for her spay surgery, and drop off the samples. Turns out one of the older ones has a tapeworm! I'm glad i took in the sample even though they eat some dry food and so their mess is just soft and not liquid. She had her first pill for it today, and left me with a nice bleeding souvenir of the process. On top of everything else.
The younger 4 are clean, and need more solid in their diet. We are now soaking kitten chow in formula until it is soft enough to go through the bottle. Next step is getting them to drink it themselves from a bowl.
Good news about adoption opportunities. There is an adoption event every Wednesday at the shelter, and usually kittens are not there because they want the adult cats to have an opportunity to shine. This time, they are begging us to bring the kittens, as lots of people are calling and saying they want to come if they can adopt a Christmas kitten. One more chance for Dawnflower, Tiger, Hummingbird, Fuzz, and Mike, as well as for Meg's kittens.
Today is:
Beetle Banquet and Badger Ball -- Fairy Calendar
Christmas Tree Light Day
Dongzhi Festival -- East Asia (solstice festival)
Festival of Demeter -- Ancient Greek Calendar
Mother's Day -- Indonesia
National Date Nut Bread Day
St. Chaeremon's Day
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini's Day (Mother Cabrini, patron saint of immigrants)
Unity Day -- Zimbabwe
Birthdays Today:
Jordin Sparks, 1989
Maurice Gibb, 1949
Robin Gibb, 1949
Steve Garvey, 1948
Diane Sawyer, 1945
Joe Pyne, 1925
Barbara Billingsley, 1922
Gene Rayburn, 1917
Lady Bird Johnson, 1912
Today in History:
A serious earthquake strikes Innsbruck, 1689
The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies, 1790
The first freight train is operated in Roorkee, India, 1851
Jules Janssen flies in a balloon in order to study a solar eclipse, 1870
The first string of Christmas tree lights is created by Thomas Edison, 1882
Ito Hirobumi, a samurai, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan, 1885
French officer Alfred Dreyfus court-martialed for treason, triggers worldwide charges of anti-Semitism (Dreyfus later vindicated), 1894
Colo is born, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity, 1956
Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany, 1989
Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63, 2001
"This is the day Judah. It's between us now."
"
Yes, this is the day, Messala. this is the day."
Judah Ben Hur and Messala, just before the chariot race.
Well, this is the day. #2 Son will be having his solstice bonfire tonight. He has invited scads of his friends, and convinced his father and sisters to leave the premises. I am the token adult.
He has laid in supplies. Every Sunday, before church, he has gone through the grounds gathering and cutting the deadfall wood, hauling it home until he now has a sizable stack. He has the makings for s'mores, sodas, and folding chairs and an electrical cord borrowed from Sweetie's work.
The other guests are also supposed to bring supplies, including some of the equipment they want to plug in out there. After all, what is a bonfire without music and your favorite video games? (Insert eye roll here.)
So, we will see what happens. As long as the police don't show up, and i don't have to call the fire department. I just don't need that right now.
Today is:
Alban Arthuan -- Druid Festival, 4th Station
Divalia -- Roman Empire (part of Saturnalia, feast of Angerona)
Festival of Isis -- Ancient Egypt
First Day of Winter / Winter Solstice / Solar New Year (Shortest daylight hours of the year)
Forefather's Day -- New England (Sometimes called Pilgrim's Day or Pilgrim Landing Anniversary)
Full Cold Moon or Full Long Nights Moon
Humbug Day
Look At the Bright Side Day (And why not? After all, each day after this will have more sun!)
Mumping Day a/k/a Gooding Day (Traditional day on which beggars beg for, or "mump", good things for Christmas, always on the former St. Thomas' Day)
National French Fried Shrimp Day
National Flashlight Day
National Haiku Poetry Day
Pancha Ganapati -- India (Through the 25th, Hindu honoring of Lord Ganesha.)
Phileas Fogg Wins A Wager Day
St. Peter Canisius' Day (patron of Germany)
St. Thomas' Day, the Doubting Thomas (old date, now celebrated on June 3, but many of the superstitions related to it are still observed at this time)
Soyal -- Hopi and Zuni Native American solstice ceremony
Yalda continues -- Iran (To celebrate the longest night of the year, many stay up for the fight against dark and evil.)
yule Festivals begin -- various calendars, religions, countries and observances
Birthdays Today:
Jack Noseworthy, 1969
Kiefer Sutherland, 1966
Andy Dick, 1965
Florence Griffith Joyner, 1959
Ray Romano, 1957
Jane Kaczmarek, 1955
Chris Evert, 1954
Samuel L. Jackson, 1948
Frank Zappa, 1940
Jane Fonda, 1937
Phil Donahue, 1935
Joe Paterno, 1926
Paul Winchell, 1922
Joseph Stalin, 1879
Today in History:
A hurricane hits Holland/Friesland, destroying villages with widespread flooding, 1163
The Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche Native Americans, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile; all Spanish cities south of the Biobio river are eventually taken by the Mapuches, and all conquest of Mapuche territories by Europeans practically ceases, until the 1870s "Pacification of Araucania", 1598
William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1620
Hue Tay Son becomes emperor Quang Trung of Vietnam, 1788
The Rochdale Pioneers commence business at their cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement, 1844
The first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army are formed: The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1883
The first Word-Cross puzzle, which the printer mislabeled as a Cross-Word (the name that stuck), is published in the New York World, 1913
The first feature length color and sound cartoon, Disney's Snow White, premiers, 1937
Rondane National Park is established as Norway's first national park, 1962
Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew performs the first ever manned Trans Lunar Injection and become the first humans to leave Earth's gravity, 1968
The United Nations adopts the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1969
Mexican volcano Popocatepetl, dormant for 47 years, erupts gases and ash, 1994
The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control, 1995
If you hate not so good health news, read no further.
The fungal infection in my hand is back, and has spread. Right index finger, as before, but it started in the right pinkie, and not at the tip, like the other, but at the joint.
I felt it coming, which is strange. I saw just a tiny bit of red, felt a tiny twinge, nothing anyone would think about. Got to see the physician assistant at my doctor's office. She didn't think anything of it. I think she decided i was a hypochondriac, but was trying to be polite. This weekend, thank goodness my doc was on call and seeing patients at the office, and he has me back on meds.
Dang, i was on an antifungal for 6 months! This should have been taken care of. For it to come back, and flare up as fast as it did (the index finger was normal one day and horribly swollen when i woke the next morning), means a different antifungal and lots of prayer and watching. If this doesn't take care of it, the next step is the stronger stuff that costs a ton and can get you hospitalized because of side effects, or because it can only be administered in the hospital.
My doctor admits to being stumped. He has never seen a fungal infection come back like this in his 23 years of practice.
So, lots of prayer or good vibes or whatever you do, please. I would also join you in crossing my fingers, but it hurts too much.
Today is:Feast of Winter Solstice -- ChinaFete des Cafres -- Reunion (commemorates freeing of the slaves)Go Caroling DayInternational Human Solidarity Day -- UNMudd Day (Don't hang your head in shame if your name is Mudd! Today is your day.)National Sangria Day (If you still aren't ready for Christmas, you might need it.)Snowflake-Riding Championships -- Fairy Calendar (no Goblins allowed!)St. Ignatius of Antioch's DayWinter Solstice EveYalda -- Iran (Persian winter solstice festival)Birthdays Today:David Cook, 1982Billy Bragg, 1957Uri Geller, 1946Peter Criss, 1945George Roy Hill, 1922Irene Dunne, 1898Harvey Firestone, 1868Today in History:Vespasian enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor, 69Richard the Lionheart is captured in Vienna, 1192Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta, 1522Peter the Great orders the Russian New Year changed from Sept 1 to Jan 1, 1699The Louisiana Purchase is formally transferred from France to US for $27M, 1803The international cantilever railway bridge opens at Niagara Falls, 1883North America's longest railway, at 50,000km, the Canadian National Railways, is established, 1919The first international dogsled mail leaves Minot, Maine for Montreal, Quebec, 1928Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom, 1955Djibouti and Vietnam join the United Nations, 1977NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X, 1996US District Court Judge John E. Jones III rules against mandating the teaching of "intelligent design" in his ruling of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 2005Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days, 2007
The last adoption event before the end of the year was only of limited success. Meg brought her 15 kittens, i brought 7. All other kittens went to the other pet store.
We only had 3 adoptions, and all were of my kittens. Poor Meg. I wish at least one of them had been hers, in spite of the fact that we are both at capacity right now.
John went to a very nice mom, dad, and 3 kids. They are renaming him Ewie. No, i don't get it either. They wanted a young one that would get used to a dog.
Then there are Buster Davis and Kaitlyn. A nice lady came in wanting a boy kitten for her son and a girl kitten for her daughter. She chose them, but she isn't telling them. We will work out a way to get them to her on Christmas Eve as a surprise.
So, nice kitten Christmas fun all around.
Today is:
Build a Snowman Day
Chocolate Pizza Day (yes, really!)
Fiesta de Santo Tomas -- Guatemala (festivities last through Dec. 25)
Look for an Evergreen Day
National Oatmeal Muffin Day
Opiconsivia -- Roman Empire (feast of Opalia, 3rd day of the Saturnalia)
Riddle-Making Trials -- Fairy Calendar
Robinson Crusoe Rescue Day
St. William of Fenoli's Day
United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation
Birthdays Today:
Alyssa Milano, 1972
Tyson Beckford, 1971
Amy Locane, 1971
Criss Angel, 1967
Jessica Steen, 1965
Jennifer Beals, 1963
Robert Urich, 1946
Richard Leakey, 1944
Alvin Lee, 1944
Tim Reid, 1944
Al Kaline, 1934
Cicely Tyson, 1933
David Susskind, 1920
Ralph Richardson, 1902
Today in History:
Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor, 324
The Seldjuken under Toghril Beg occupy Baghdad, 1055
The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery depart England carrying settlers who found, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States, 1606
Benjamin Franklin, under the name Richard Saunders begins publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack", 1732
Thomas Paine publishes his first "American Crisis" essay, in which he wrote that "These are the times that try men's souls," 1776
Chinese troops occupy the capital Thang Long Vietnam, 1788
The US state of Kentucky becomes the first to appropriate money for road building, 1795
The US state of Georgia becomes the first to pass a birth registration law, 1823
Allen Wilson of Connecticut patents a sewing machine that can sew a curved seam, 1854
Albert L. Jones patents corrugated cardboard, 1871
The first black US Catholic priest, Charles Uncles, is ordained in Baltimore, 1891
The first city ordinance requiring separate neighborhoods for blacks and whites is passed, in Baltimore, 1910
Robert Ripley begins his "Believe It Or Not" column in the NY Globe, 1918
The British Broadcasting Corp begins transmitting overseas, 1932
The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, returns to earth, 1972
The Sino-British Joint Declaration, stating that the People's Republic of China, in 1997, would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, is signed, 1984
