On this day in 1787, fourteen blacks, describing themselves as taxpaying “freemen” of Boston (Massachusetts abolished slavery in 1783), submitted a petition to the legislature protesting that their children were excluded from the Boston public schools because of their race. Deliberately echoing the protests of the Sons of Liberty, they complained to the legislature of taxation without education.
But the Commonwealth’s lawmakers ignored their plea. Rebuffed by the legislature, Boston’s blacks established a school of their own. Prince Hall, one of the fourteen blacks who petitioned the legislature in 1787, was the school’s first teacher. Hall was one of the most influential black leaders of the late 1700s. Hall served in the Continental Army during the revolution.
Having served in the Revolutionary War, Hall and other blacks expected, but did not receive, racial equality when the war ended. Hall collaborated with others to propose legislation for equal rights. He also hosted community events, such as educational forums and theater events, to improve the lives of Black people.
Hall was interested in the Masonic fraternity because Freemasonry was founded on liberty, equality, and peaceful ideals. Having been rejected by colonial Freemasonry, Hall and 15 others sought and were initiated into Masonry by members of Lodge No. 441 of the Grand Lodge of Ireland on March 6, 1775. Hall and other freedmen founded African Lodge No. 1, and he was named Grand Master. Hall was considered the “father of African Freemasonry”.
“My new work schedule is three days in the office and two days at home dreading going to the office.”
Today is the birthday, in 1972, of Haitian rapper and musician Wyclef Jean, who with The Fugees had the 1996 UK No.1 single Killing Me Softly and the 1998 solo 1998 UK No.3 single ‘Gone Till November’. Their second album The Score (1996) became one of the best-selling albums of all time. Jean has won three Grammy Awards for his musical work. He co-wrote the 1999 singles ‘My Love Is Your Love’ for Whitney Houston and ‘Maria Maria’ for Santana. He guest performed on Shakira’s 2006 single, ‘Hips Don’t Lie’, reaching No.1 in 55 countries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUT5rEU6pqM
Today is the anniversary of the execution of Marie Antoinette in 1793. was the last queen of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. She was the wife of King Louis XVI.
Born an archduchess of Austria, she was the penultimate child and youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I of the Holy Roman Empire. She married Louis Auguste, Dauphin of France, in May 1770 at age 14, becoming the Dauphine of France. On 10 May 1774, her husband ascended the throne as king, and she became queen.
Beginning with the convocation of the Estates General in 1789, the French Revolution overturned the monarchy and led, eventually, to the trial, conviction and execution of the king and eventually, the queen. Many of the revolution’s ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy, and its values remain central to modern French political discourse. Causes of the revolution include crippling government debt, unfair taxation, economic hardship and social inequality.
During the French Revolution, she became known as Madame Déficit because the country’s financial crisis was blamed on her lavish spending and her opposition to social and financial reforms. On 21 September 1792, France was declared a republic and the monarchy was abolished. Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793. Marie Antoinette’s trial began on 14 October 1793; two days later, she was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason. Marie Antoinette was executed by beheading by guillotine at 12:15 pm on 16 October. Her last words are recorded as, “Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Je ne l’ai pas fait exprès” or “Pardon me, sir, I did not do it on purpose”, after accidentally stepping on her executioner’s shoe.
Marie Antoinette’s execution by guillotine on 16 October 1793: at left, Sanson, the executioner, showing Marie Antoinette’s head to the people. Anonymous, 1793
That last performer can leave quite a mark!
HANDS OFF MY BUMPER STICKERS!
signsess
Today is the birthday, in 1947, of American musician and songwriter Bob Weir, best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. The group released more than 140 albums during their career, the majority of them recorded live in concert. Weir also founded and played in several other bands during and after his career with the Grateful Dead, and Weir, along with former Grateful Dead members, joined John Mayer to form the band Dead & Company. What a long, strange trip it’s been! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuyaK0hGxWk
Today is the birthday, in 1872, of Edith Wilson. She was First Lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 as the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during his first term as president. She became essentially the acting President during the last 18 months of his term.
Edith Bolling was born October 15, 1872, in Wytheville, Virginia. Bolling was a descendant of the first settlers to arrive at the Virginia Colony. Through her father, she was also a descendant of Mataoka, better known as Pocahontas. Her father was descended from Pocahontas’s granddaughter Jane Rolfe, who married Robert Bolling. a wealthy slave-owning planter and merchant. Additionally, she was related, either by blood or through marriage, to Thomas Jefferson, Martha Washington, Letitia Tyler, and the Harrison family.
While visiting her married sister in Washington, D.C., Edith met Norman Galt (1864–1908), a prominent jeweler of Galt & Bro. Norman Galt died unexpectedly at the age of 43. Edith hired a manager to oversee his business, paid off his debts, and with the income left to her by her late husband, toured Europe.
In March 1915, the widow Galt was introduced to recently widowed U.S. President Woodrow Wilson at the White House. Wilson took an instant liking to Galt and proposed soon after meeting her. Wilson married Galt on December 18, 1915, at her home in Washington, D.C.
Following his attendance at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Woodrow Wilson returned to the United States to campaign against strong non-interventionist sentiment for the ratification of the peace treaty and of the League of Nations Covenant. However, in October he suffered a stroke that left him bedridden and partially paralyzed. Edith Wilson and others in the President’s inner circle (including his physician and a few close friends) hid the true extent of the president’s illness and disability from the American public.
Edith also took over a number of routine duties and details of the executive branch of the government from the onset of Wilson’s illness until he left office almost a year and a half later. Edith became the sole communication link between the President and his Cabinet. She required they send her all pressing matters, memos, correspondence, questions, and requests. Edith took her role very seriously, even successfully pushing for the removal of Secretary of State Robert Lansing after he conducted a series of Cabinet meetings without the President (or Edith herself) present.
She assisted President Wilson in filling out paperwork, and would often add new notes or suggestions. She was made privy to classified information, and was entrusted with the responsibility of encoding and decoding encrypted messages.
On December 8, 1941, the day after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war, taking pains to draw a link with Wilson’s April 1917 declaration of war. Edith Wilson was present during Roosevelt’s address to Congress. On April 14, 1945, she attended Roosevelt’s funeral at the White House. She later attended the January 20, 1961 inauguration of President John F. Kennedy.
Edith Wilson died of congestive heart failure on December 28, 1961, at age 89. She was to have been the guest of honor that day at the dedication ceremony for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge across the Potomac River, on what would have been her husband’s 105th birthday. She was buried next to her husband at the Washington National Cathedral.
Woodrow Wilson’s first posed photograph after his stroke. He was paralyzed on his left side, so Edith holds a document steady while he signs. June 1920.
Only applies to ice cream…
Ouch!
BADA BING!!
A very philosophical friend asked me, “What is Earth without art?” I just looked at him and said, “Eh?”
Baldwin is a cool name. It is the opposite of Hairloss.
Before the Internet, most people thought villages had only one idiot. Boy, were they wrong.
Them: How much faith do you have in the human race? Me: I’m a dog person.
My midlife crisis is over – I’m working on my senior life catastrophe.
“The truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie.” – Mark Twain
Guy1: Bro, have you ever had an argument with your girlfriend? Guy2: Nope. Me and my girl don’t argue. She tells me to shut up and I do.
Bankrupt farmland will be perfect for building data centers and then provide the groundwater to cool the data centers.
ICE agent: Stop calling us Nazis or we’re going to take you to one of our concentration camps.
People are so dumb cooking food at 350 degrees for 40 minutes when they could just do the math and cook it a 14,000 degrees for one minute.
Next they’re going to tell us autism is caused by the demand to release the Epstein files. – Steve Hofstetter
Eyelashes are supposed to prevent things from getting into your eyes. When I do have something in my eye it’s always an eyelash. Eyeronic.
Does this couch I’m lying on make me look unmotivated?
Today is the birthday, in 1946. of American record producer, arranger, pianist and composer Richard Carpenter, who formed half of the sibling duo The Carpenters alongside his younger sister Karen. They had the 1973 UK No.2 single ‘Yesterday Once More’ and the 1970 US No.1 & UK No.6 single ‘Close To You’. The Carpenters 1972 hit ‘Goodbye to Love’ was one of the first pop ballads to have a fuzz guitar solo and influenced the development of the power ballad. The duo hosted a television series during the summer of 1971, called Make Your Own Kind of Music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjFoQxjgbrs
Today is the anniversary of Battle of Hastings in 1066, beginning the Norman conquest of England. It took place approximately 7 mi (11 km) northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory. The battle lasted from about 9 am to dusk. Early efforts of the invaders to break the English battle lines had little effect. Therefore, the Normans adopted the tactic of pretending to flee in panic and then turning on their pursuers. Harold’s death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army. After further marching and some skirmishes, William was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066.
There continued to be rebellions and resistance to William’s rule, but Hastings effectively marked the culmination of William’s conquest of England.
Norman knights and archers at the Battle of Hastings, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry
Decision was made…
Nursing homes have changed…
Today is the birthday, in 1974, of American musician Natalie Maines, lead singer with The Chicks. With sales of 27.2 million albums in the US alone, they have become the top-selling all-female band and the biggest-selling country group in the US. Their 2006 album Taking the Long Way won five Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year). On March 10, 2003, nine days before the invasion of Iraq, the Dixie Chicks performed at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, England, UK. Introducing their song ‘Travelin’ Soldier’, Maines told the audience the band did not support the upcoming Allied invasion of Iraq and were “ashamed” that President George W. Bush was from Texas. This triggered a backlash in the US, resulting in the group being blacklisted by thousands of country radio stations, and the band members received death threats. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw7gNf_9njs
On this day in 1767, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon complete their survey of the boundary between the colonies of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The survey was part of a resolution to Cresap’s War, a border conflict involving Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
Maryland’s charter of 1632 granted Cecil Calvert land north of the entire length of the Potomac River up to the 40th parallel. A problem arose when Charles II granted a charter for Pennsylvania in 1681. The grant defined Pennsylvania’s southern border as identical to Maryland’s northern border, but described it differently, as Charles relied on an inaccurate map. The terms of the grant clearly indicate that Charles II and William Penn believed the 40th parallel would intersect the Twelve-Mile Circle around New Castle, Delaware, when in fact it falls north of the original boundaries of the City of Philadelphia, the site of which Penn had already selected for his colony’s capital city.
The issue remained unresolved until Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore ceased contesting the claims on the Maryland side and accepted the earlier agreements. Maryland’s border with Delaware was to be based on the Transpeninsular Line and the Twelve-Mile Circle around New Castle. The Pennsylvania–Maryland border was defined as the line of latitude 15 miles (24 km) south of the southernmost house in Philadelphia (on what is today South Street). As part of the settlement, the Penns and Calverts commissioned the English team of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to survey the newly established boundaries between the Province of Pennsylvania, the Province of Maryland, and Delaware Colony.
The surveyors also fixed the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania and the approximately north–south portion of the boundary between Delaware and Maryland. Most of the Delaware–Pennsylvania boundary is an arc, and the Delaware–Maryland boundary does not run truly north–south because it was intended to bisect the Delmarva Peninsula rather than follow a meridian.
The Mason–Dixon line was marked by stones every mile 1 mile (1.6 km) and “crownstones” every 5 miles (8.0 km), using stone shipped from England. The Maryland side says “(M)” and the Delaware and Pennsylvania sides say “(P)”. Crownstones included both coats of arms.
Many of the original stones are still visible, resting on public land and protected by iron cages; a number have gone missing or were buried. The actual locations of the stones may differ a few hundred feet east or west from the exact positions where Mason and Dixon intended to place them, still, the line drawn from stone to stone forms the legal boundary.
The lines have been resurveyed several times over the centuries without substantive changes to Mason’s and Dixon’s work, and additional benchmarks and survey markers were placed where necessary.
Maryland/Delaware boundary marker at the southwest corner of the Delaware-Maryland border, near Mardela Springs, Maryland, USA
(temporarily filled with cookies)
Credit to a great marketing team…
More marketing!!!
BYOB(us)
winner of Netherlands’ annual Worst Slogan of the Year contest
Today is the birthday, in 1981, of Irish singer-songwriter and musician, Una Healy, best known for being a member of girl group The Saturdays. They made their chart debut in July 2008 with ‘If This Is Love’, which reached the top ten in the UK. Its follow-up single ‘Up,’ (2008), debuted at No.5 on the UK Singles Chart and to date has sold over 345,000 copies in the UK alone and stayed in the charts for 30 weeks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKtEWdYWHZQ
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