Today is, of course, Guy Fawkes Day. It commemorates an attempt to blow up the House of Lords during the state opening of Parliament on November 5, 1605 by a group of English Catholics, led by Robert Catesby. Catesby is suspected by historians to have embarked on the scheme after hopes of greater religious tolerance under James had faded, leaving many English Catholics disappointed.
One of the conspirators, Guy Fawkes, who had 10 years of military experience fighting in the Spanish Netherlands in the failed suppression of the Dutch Revolt, was given charge of the explosives.
an anonymous letter of warning was sent to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, a Catholic member of Parliament, who immediately showed it to the authorities. During a search of the House of Lords on the evening of 4 November, Fawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder—enough to reduce the House of Lords to rubble—and arrested.
At their trial on 27 January 1606, eight of the surviving conspirators, including Fawkes, were convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered.
Engraving of eight of the thirteen conspirators, by Crispijn van de Passe.
On this day in 1924, Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected governor of Wyoming – the first woman elected as governor of a U.S. state. She was also first female director of the United States Mint from 1933 to 1953. She was a Democrat and supported Prohibition. After her retirement, Ross contributed articles to various women’s magazines and traveled extensively. She made her last trip to Wyoming in 1972 at the age of 96. Five years later, she died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 101. At the time of her death, she was the oldest ex-governor in the United States. She is interred in the family plot in Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne.
Today is, of course, Election Day in the United States. All 435 members of the House of Representatives and 33 senators will be elected. The first congressional election in the US was held from November 24 1788 to March 5, 1789 – each state set their own dates.
With the new form of government needing to be operational prior to the completion of the first national census, Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution set a temporary apportionment of seats. Among the original 13 states, 11 of them ratified the Constitution and elected 59 total representatives. North Carolina and Rhode Island did not ratify the Constitution until after the 1st Congress began, and consequently did not elect their representatives until 1790.
Actual political parties did not yet exist, but new members of Congress were informally categorized as either “pro-Administration” (i.e., pro-Washington and pro-Hamilton) or “anti-Administration”.
The representative chosen for the part of Maryland where I now reside was Daniel Carroll. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a plantation owner. He supported the American Revolution, served in the Confederation Congress, was a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 which penned the Constitution of the United States. He was one of the few Catholics among the Founders. His younger brother John was the first Catholic bishop in the United States (as Bishop of Baltimore, 1790) and founder of Georgetown University; his cousin Charles Carroll of Carrollton signed the Declaration of Independence.
Daniel Carroll
Not for me!
This is a surprise!
Cosmic Cats!
BADA BING!!
Did you know on the Canary Islands there is not one canary? And on the Virgin Isles? Same thing – not one canary there either!
The next time you shop, ask your cashier what kind of candy bar they like and buy them one. I did this today, it was self checkout, but still, it’s a nice thing to do!
Your body has always told you when it’s tired. At 80, you’ve finally stopped arguing with it.
I’m not getting older. I’m becoming a limited edition.
After a sheepdog gets all the sheep in the pen, he reports back to the farmer: “All 40 accounted for.” “But I only have 38 sheep,” ays the farmer. “I know,” says the sheepdog. “But I rounded them up.”
Yesterday I saw a dog wearing a “Do not approach” vest. I wonder if they make those for people.
The US is the only country in the world where people believe government-funded healthcare won’t work because people with government-funded healthcare told them so.
At my age an all-nighter means I didn’t have to get up and pee.
I’m currently experiencing life at the rate of several “WTF’s” per hour.
Putting someone on the ballot just because of their last name is a bit slimy. But enough about Darlene Graham.
I’m actually a very pleasant person to be around … unless I’m hungry, tired, hot, cold, thirsty, anxious, dealing with idiots, or basically uncomfortable in any way.
Today is the birthday, in 1877, of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, known as Aga Khan III. He was the 48th imam of the Nizari Ism’aili branch of Shia Islam. He is considered one of the founding fathers of Pakistan, serving as the first permanent president and founder of the All-India Muslim League (AIML). Shah sought the advancement of Muslims and the protection of Muslim rights in British India.
From a religious perspective, Shah followed a modernist approach to Islam. He believed there to be no contradiction between religion and modernity, and supported Muslims in their endeavor to embrace modernity. Shah was critical of the traditional religious establishment, particularly their emphasis on formalism, legalism, and literal interpretations of scripture. Shah opposed sectarianism, which he believed sapped the strength and unity of the Muslim community. In specific, he called for a rapprochement between Sunnism and Shīʿism.
Shah advocated for women’s rights not solely on the basis of their roles as mothers or wives, but as a matter of individual empowerment and social equity. He endorsed the spiritual equality of men and women in Islam, and he also called for full political equality. This included the right to vote and the right to an education. In regards to the latter issue, he endorsed compulsory primary education for girls.
He married four times and had three sons. He died in 1957 in Versoix, Switzerland, surrounded by his family members. His last words were repeating the verses of the Quran.
Muhammad Shah in 1936
If you’re planning to travel…
Today is the birthday, in 1961, of Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter Kathryn Dawn Lang, (k.d. Lang). She had the 1993 UK No.15 single ‘Constant Craving’. Lang’s career received a huge boost when Roy Orbison chose her to record a duet of his standard, ‘Crying’, a collaboration that won them the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals in 1989. In 2003, she won her fourth Grammy Award, for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for her collaboration with Tony Bennett on A Wonderful World. She is a vegetarian, and her “Meat Stinks” campaign in the 1990s created much controversy, particularly in her hometown, in the middle of Alberta’s cattle ranching industry, where she was banned from more than 30 Alberta radio stations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTx7XHqKYgk
Today is the birthday, in 1797, of John Adams. He was a Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War and in the early years of the new nation, he served the Continental Congress of the United States as a senior diplomat in Europe. Adams was the first vice president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797.
A lawyer and political activist prior to the Revolution, Adams was devoted to the right to counsel and presumption of innocence. He defied anti-British sentiment and successfully defended British soldiers against murder charges arising from the Boston Massacre. He was a member of the Committee of Five assisted Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence and was its primary advocate in Congress.
Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, are the only presidents of the first twelve who never owned slaves. He was the first president to occupy the White House.
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