28 December: Did you know?

Did you know that it was on this day in 1065  Westminster Abbey is consecrated? Or that it was on this day in 1836 Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico?

And on this day in 1885 Indian National Congress a political party of India is founded in Bombay, British India, in 1895 Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays, in 1908 a magnitude 7.2 earthquake rocks Messina, Sicily killing over 75,000, in 1945 (only 66 years ago) the United States Congress officially recognizes the Pledge of Allegiance and in 2010, during what has become known as the Arab Spring: Popular protests begin in Algeria against the government.

Some birthdays you may want to remember on this day are Earl Hines, American musician (1903-1983), Stan Lee, American comic book writer (1922), Keith Floyd, British chef (1943-2009), Gayle King, American magazine editor and Denzel Washington, American actor (both born in 1954),  Linus Torvalds, Finnish computer programmer (1969), Noomi Rapace, Swedish actress (1979) and Sienna Miller, British actress (1981).

Need a reason to raise a glass of bubbly on this day? Perhaps you should look into the celebration of King Taksin Memorial Day (Thailand) or Proclamation Day, celebration started on the day following Christmas. (South Australia)?

For more information about historic events on this day, please go here.

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12 October: Did you know?

Did you know that on this day in 1216  King John of England loses his crown jewels in The Wash, probably near Fosdyke, perhaps near Sutton Bridge? Or that on this day in 1492  Christopher Columbus‘s expedition makes landfall in the Caribbean, specifically in The Bahamas? The explorer believes he has reached South Asia.

Also on this day in 1773 America’s first insane asylum opens for ‘Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds’ in Virginia, in 1810 the first Oktoberfest was held as the Bavarian royalty invites the citizens of Munich to join the celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, in 1832 Charles Macintosh, of Scotland, sells the first raincoat and in 1892 the Pledge of Allegiance is first recited by students in many US public schools, as part of a celebration marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage.

On this day in 1960 during the Cold War Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a desk at United Nations General Assembly meeting to protest a Philippine assertion of Soviet Union colonial policy being conducted in Eastern Europe, in 1972 En route to the Gulf of Tonkin, a racial brawl involving more than 100 sailors breaks out aboard the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, in 1979 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams is published and in 1999 we celebrated The Day of Six Billion: The proclaimed 6 billionth living human in the world is born.

Some birthdays you may (or may not) want to be reminded of on this day are Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor (1935-2007), Rick Parfitt, British musician (Status Quo) (1948), Marion Jones, American track and field athlete (1975) and Bode Miller, American alpine ski-racer (1977). It was also on this day in 1997 that John Denver, American singer (b. 1943) and in 2010 Belva Plain, American novelist (b. 1919) passed away.

If you need a reason to raise a glass of bubbly on this day, perhaps Freethought Day (United States), Children’s Day or Feast of Our Lady of Aparecida (Brazil) or any of a number of Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances may be your thing?

For more information about historic events on this day, please go here.

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8 September: Did you know?

Did you know that on this day in 1504 Michelangelo’s David is unveiled in Florence? Or that it was on this day in 1892 the Pledge of Allegiance is first recited?

And it was on this day in 1914, during World War I, Private Thomas Highgate becomes the first British soldier to be executed for desertion during the war, in 1930  3M begins marketing Scotch transparent tape, in 1966 the first Star Trek series premieres on NBC and in 1968 The Beatles perform their last live TV performance on the David Frost show. They perform their new hit “Hey Jude“.

Also on this day in 1974 at the end of the  Watergate Scandal, US President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office and in 1975 US Air Force Tech Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, appears in his Air Force uniform on the cover of Time magazine with the headline “I Am A Homosexual”. He is later given a general discharge.

Some birthdays you may or may not want to celebrate on this day are Saint Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (1380-1444) (Saint Bernardino is, among other things, the patron saint of compulsive gambling), Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer (1841-1904), Peter Sellers, English actor (1925-1980), Patsy Cline, American singer (1932-1963), Stefano Casiraghi, Italian businessman; husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco (1960-1990), Carola, Swedish singer (1966), David Arquette, American actor (1971) and Pink, American singer (1979).

If you need a reason to raise a glass of bubbly, I would heartily recommend raising one to celebrate International Literacy Day (International)! Otherwise, why not join in the celebration of the first day of Fiestas de Santa Fe, marked by the burning of the Zozobra (New Mexico) or Independence day, celebrating the independence of Macedonia from Yugoslavia in 1991.

For more information about historic events on this day, please go here.

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