Random anniversaries (that are interesting)

Thanks. My birthday is 4 days away. Now I have something to… contemplate until, and on, that day.

I was born in 1970, 25 years after WW2, which both of my grandfathers fought in.

It’s now 27 years since the Gulf War, which I fought in.

Sigh.

Born 41 years after WW2 wrapped up, 31 today. . . my grandfather didn’t even quite make it into WW2; he served in Korea, instead.

Seems like a good day to take note of another space first. On February 7, 1984 Astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first human satellite by exiting the Space Shuttle Challenger at an altitude of 217 miles and maneuvering untethered, using a bulky jet pack. This successful EVA was the direct predecessor of later more complex missions, such as repairing the Hubble Space Telescope and construction of the International Space Station.

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Rhapsody in Blue

received its premiere in the concert, An Experiment in Modern Music, which was held on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Whiteman and his band with Gershwin playing the piano.

(quote from Wikipedia)

Also, of course, both Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on Feb 12, 1809.

Although March 10, 1876 is the more famous telephone date, on Feb 14, 1876 both Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell filed preliminary patents (“caveats”). Guess who won that patent fight…

On February 16, 1923, Howard Carter opened the sealed tomb of King Tutankhamen and unleashed hell upon the earth:

Planet or not-a-planet? In any case, on February 18, 1930, astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh discovered Pluto at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

50 years ago today:

Episode 1

Aired on February 19, 1968.
This is the first episode of the series.
King Friday XIII, Lady Elaine Fairchilde, Daniel Striped Tiger, Henrietta Pussycat, X the Owl, Joe (Handyman) Negri, and Mr. McFeely are introduced in this episode. (Lady Elaine is not actually seen in the episode until episode 5.)

Mrs. Russellite sends an invitation to Mr. Rogers so he can see her lampshade collection at her home. Lady Elaine’s changes to the geography of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe worry King Friday, who begins to impose new rules and restrictions on Make-Believe.

On February 20, 1962, Astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, completing three orbits in his Mercury Capsule, Friendship 7.

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60th birthday of the peace sign:

The internationally recognized peace symbol – variously known as the nuclear disarmament symbol, the CND symbol and the peace sign[47] – was designed for the British nuclear disarmament movement by Gerald Holtom. Holtom, an artist and designer, presented it to the Direct Action Committee on 21 February 1958 where it was “immediately accepted” as a symbol for a march from Trafalgar Square, (wikipedia)

He designed it by superimposing representations of semaphores for N and D (‘Nuclear Disarmament’)
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Every time I see semaphore I think of this:

February 22, 1980: Do you believe in miracles? Yes!

On February 27, 1912, the New York Yankees announced that they would wear pinstripes on their home uniforms for the upcoming season. The pinstripes were abandoned for the 1913-14 seasons and then readopted in 1915.

pinstripes

On March 5, 1936, the Supermarine Spitfire made its first flight. A late family friend was a Polish pilot in the RAF. He flew Griffon-engined Spitfire Mk XIV’s (pictured below) on missions to bring down V-1 flying bombs.

The preferred method of bringing down a V-1 was to tuck the fighter’s wing tip under the V-1’s and then (carefully) flip the V-1 over. This would destabilize the V-1’s gyroscope, causing it to crash.

flip

50 years ago today - Eugene McCarthy did not win the New Hampshire primary (Johnson 50%, McCarthy 42%), but McCarthy’s much stronger than expected showing signaled the beginning of the end for LBJ.

Two solar system anniversaries:

March 13, 1781: Uranus discovered by William Hershel
March 13, 1930: Pluto discovery announcement sent to Harvard College Observatory (first discovered Feb 18, but they did not have enough photographs to be confident enough to say anything until March 13)

And the beginning of centuries of adolescent jokes.