0638 - Start of the Islamic calendar

1492 - "Pentateuch" (Jewish holy book) first printed

1622 - William Baffin, British explorer, dies at about 38

1789 - Georgetown College, the first Roman Catholic college established in America, was founded by Father John Carroll, 54, in Washington, D.C.

1793 - Humane Society of Philadelphia organized

1849 - Mrs Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman physician in the US with a medical degree from Geneva College in New York

1854 �?First meeting of Wellington County Council at court house in Guelph. Erin represented by William Clarke & Robert L. Campbell

1863 - Toronto Stock Exchange introduces first regular daily trading sessions

1865 - General Robert E Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies

1879 - National Archery Association formed in Crawfordsville Indiana

1883 - Montrealers celebrate winter with the city's first ice palace carnival

1888 - Natural gas discovered at Kingsville, Ontario

1907 - Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American US senator

1922 - At Toronto General Hospital, 14-year-old Canadian Leonard Thompson becomes the first person to receive an insulin injection as treatment for diabetes

1935 - First prisoners arrive at Kingston's Prison For Women

1941 - German prisoner of war Franz von Werra escapes from a train and makes it back to Germany, only to die in action a year later; the only German POW to make a successful escape in Canada

1943 - Detroit Red Wings score NHL record 8 goals in 1 period

1944 - Detroit Red Wings score 15 goals against New York Rangers and an NHL record 37 points, also most consecutive goals & most lopsided game 15-0

1950 �?The Israeli Knesset resolves that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel

1953 - NFL Dallas Texans become Baltimore Colts (now Indianapolis Colts)

1960 - Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy lieutenant Don Walsh descend into the bottom of Challenger Deep (10,916 m/35,810 ft), setting a new undersea record

1962 - Tony Bennett records "I Left My Heart In San Francisco"

1965 - "The King Family Show" premieres on ABC TV

1968 - The USS Pueblo a Navy intelligence vessel, is engaged in a routine surveillance of the North Korean coast when it is intercepted by North Korean patrol boats and captured

1969 - Cream release their last album "Goodbye"

1975 - "Barney Miller" premieres on ABC TV

1975 - Ottawa ends tax breaks to Canadian companies advertising in Canadian editions of foreign magazines

1977 - Miniseries "Roots" premieres on ABC

1983 - "The A-Team" with Mr T premieres on NBC

1986 - The first inductees into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame include Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino

1991 - "Seinfeld" debuts on NBC-TV

1997 - Madeline Albright is sworn in as America's first female secretary of state by Vice President Al Gore at the White House

 

 

Birthdays

1737 - John Hancock, Braintree Massachusetts - Merchant and patriot; first member to sign the Declaration of Independence; elected as the first governor of Massachusetts
1783 - Stendahl [Marie Henri Beyle] Grenoble France - author: Le Rouge et Le Noir, La Chartreuse de Parme
1832 - Édouard Manet, Paris France, - impressionist painter: Déjeuner sur L'Herbe, Music in the Tuileries
1889 - Franklin Pangborn, Newark NJ - actor: My Best Gal, Hats Off, Easy Living
1898 - Randolph Scott - actor: Last of the Mohicans, Western Union
1899 - Humphrey Bogart, NY City - actor: Casablanca, Caine Mutiny, African Queen
1900 - Ralph Graves, Cleveland Ohio - actor: Dirigible, Flight, Dream Street
1904 - Peggy Seller, Montreal Quebec - synchronized swimmer; wrote the FINA synchronized swimming rules in 1952, as well as the first descriptive rule book for the sport
1906 - Bob Steele, Pendleton Oregon - actor: Duffy -F Troop, Big Sleep
1907 - Dan Duryea, White Plains NY - actor: Pride of the Yankees
1910 - Django Reinhardt, Belgium - Gypsy jazz guitarist
1919 - Ernie Kovacs, Trenton NJ - comedian: Ernie Kovacs' Show
1923 - Florence Halop, Queens NY - actress: Florence -Night Court, St Elsewhere
1923 - Walter M[ichael] Miller Jr - sci-fi author: View from Stars
1928 - Jeanne Moreau, Paris France - actress: Going Places, Jules & Jim
1930 - Derek Walcott, St. Lucia - poet/playwright: In a Green Night: Poems 1948-1960, Dream on Monkey Mountain
1933 - Arlene Golonka, Chicago Illinois - actress: Millie -Mayberry RFD
1933 - Chita Rivera, Washington DC - actress: West Side Story, Sweet Charity
1934 - Lou Antonio, Oklahoma City Oklahoma - actor: Barney -Snoop Sisters, Makin' It
1936 - Jerry Kramer - NFL player: Green Bay Packers; author: Instant Replay
1943 - Gil Gerard, Little Rock Arkansas - actor: Buck Rogers in 25th Century
1944 - Rutger Hauer, Holland - actor: Blade Runner, Ladyhawke, Osterman Weekend
1948 - Anita Pointer, Oakland California - singer: Pointer Sisters -She's So Shy
1950 - Richard Dean Anderson, Minneapolis Minnesota - actor: MacGyver, Stargate 1
1950 - Richard Gilliland, Fort Worth Texas - actor: Jonesy -Waltons, Tom –Heartland
1953 - Pat Haden, Westbury NY - NFL quarterback: Los Angeles Rams
1957 - Caroline Louise Margueritte, Monaco - Princess of Monaco; eldest daughter of Prince Rainier III of Monaco and American actress Grace Kelly
1959 - Tyrone Power Jr, Los Angeles California - actor: Shag
1963 - Gail O'Grady, Detroit Michigan - actress: Hitman, Nobody's Perfect, NYPD Blue
1964 - Mariska Hargitay, Los Angeles California - actress: Jesse Smith –Downtown
1968 - Petr Korda, Prague Czechoslovakia - professional tennis player
1969 - Brendan Shanahan, Mimico Ontario - NHL left wing: Whalers, Red Wings
1970 - Mark Wohlers, Holyoke Massachusetts - baseball pitcher: Atlanta Braves
1970 - Richard Smehlik, Ostrava Czechoslovakia - NHL defenseman: Buffalo Sabres,
1970 - Sherman Obando, Changuinola Panamá - baseball outfielder: Montréal Expos
1974 - Tiffani-Amber Theissen, Long Beach California - actress: Saved by Bell, 90210

 

 

 

Family Tree

 

When my granddaughter, Ann, was 9-years-old, she was given an assignment by her teacher to write a story on "Where my family came from." The purpose was to understand your genealogy.
 
I was not aware of her assignment when she asked me at the dining room table one night, "Grandma, where did I come from?"

I responded quite nervously because my son and daughter-in-law were out of town and I was stalling until they returned home, "Well, honey, the stork brought you."
 
"Where did Mom come from then?"

"The stork brought her, too."
 
"OK, then where did you come from?"

"The stork brought me too, dear."
 
"Okay, thanks, Grandma."
 
I did not think anything more about it until two days later when I was cleaning Ann's room and read the first sentence of her paper, "For three generations there have been no natural births in our family."