On this day in 1585, Ralph Lane, under the direction of Sir Walter Raleigh, founded the first English colony in North America on Roanoke Island in what is now North Carolina. Lane’s colony was troubled by a lack of supplies and poor relations with some of the local Native American tribes. A resupply mission by Sir Richard Grenville was delayed, so Lane abandoned the colony and returned to England with Sir Francis Drake in 1586. Grenville arrived two weeks later and also returned home, leaving behind a small detachment to protect Raleigh’s claim.
In 1590, John White returned to the colony with supplies, but found it abandoned. The cryptic word “CROATOAN” was found carved into the palisade, which White interpreted to mean that the colonists had relocated to Croatoan Island. Before he could follow this lead, rough seas and a lost anchor forced the mission to return to England.
The fate of the approximately 112–121 colonists remains unknown. Speculation that they had assimilated with nearby Native American communities appears in writings as early as 1605. Investigations by the Jamestown colonists produced reports that the Roanoke settlers had been massacred, and there were stories of people with European features being seen in Native American villages, but no conclusive evidence was found.
Nominative Determinism…
Unfortunate juxtaposition…
Did hair look much better back then?
Thanks, Bob…
Today is the birthday, in 1944, of Michelle Gilliam, from American folk rock vocal group The Mamas & the Papas who had the 1965 hit ‘California Dreamin”, the 1966 US No.1 single ‘Monday Monday’ and the 1967 hit ‘Dedicated to the One I Love’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUr5_QVPCAI
Today is the birthday, in 1904, of Dr. Charles Drew. His pioneering work made blood transfusions possible and safe. His work and organizational skills helped save thousands of Allied soldiers’ lives during World War 2.
At the outbreak of the war he went to New York City as the medical director of the United States’ Blood for Britain project. It was here that Drew helped set the standard for other hospitals donating blood plasma to Britain by ensuring clean transfusions along with proper aseptic technique to ensure viable plasma dispersals were sent to Britain. The Blood for Britain project was a project to aid British soldiers and civilians by giving U.S. blood to the United Kingdom.
Drew’s work led to his appointment as director of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank in February 1941. He also invented what would be later known as bloodmobiles, mobile donation stations that could collect the blood and refrigerate it; this allowed for greater mobility in terms of transportation and increased prospective donations. The blood bank supplied blood to the U.S. Army and Navy, who initially rejected the blood of African-Americans and later accepted it only if it were stored separately from that of Whites. Drew objected to the exclusion of African-Americans’ blood from plasma-supply networks, and in 1942 he resigned in protest.
In 1941, Drew’s distinction in his profession was recognized when he became the first African-American surgeon selected to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery.
Drew had a lengthy research and teaching career, returning to Freedman’s Hospital and Howard University as a surgeon and professor of medicine in 1942. He was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP in 1944 for his work on the British and American projects. He was given an honorary doctor of science degree, first by Virginia State College in 1945 then by Amherst in 1947.
This bird looks…bushed.
Spice up!!
It’s TACO TUESDAY!!
Thanks, Debra
hat if your first name was Holden and your last name was Berries. You’d be Holden Berries and everyone would think you’re holden berries. A guy named Holden Cox didn’t think this was funny.
An influencer who attended tRUMPs meme coin dinner says he got a Walmart steak and no access to the president. Wow, he got scammed by the most famous scammer on Earth at the scam meeting? Who could have seen this coming?
I wish Facebook would notify me when someone unfriends me so I could like it.
“Do not touch” must be one of the scariest things to read in braille.
Why do we say ‘slept like a baby’? Babies wake up every two hours crying. I want to sleep like my cat. 14 hours, no responsibilities.
If you’re attracted to both women and men but neither of them are attracted to you that means you are Bi-Yourself.
It’s probably hard to separate church and state when you can’t separate fact from fiction.
Sign: Groj sale – My guess is there will be no books at this one.
Counselor to husband: Do you feel dominated by your wife. Wife: No, he doesn’t.
What do you call a Knight that’s afraid to fight? Sir Render.
All my passwords are protected by amnesia.
Balloons are weird. Happy Birthday, here’s a plastic sack of my breath.
A penny for your thoughts… even though that does seem a little pricey.
“No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot.” – Mark Twain
Today is the birthday, in 1951, of American singer–songwriter Deniece Williams, who had the 1978 US No.1 & UK No.3 single with Johnny Mathis ‘Too Much Too Little Too Late’, and the 1984 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘Let’s Hear It For The Boy’. Worked as a backing singer with Stevie Wonder’s group Wonderlove. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI7YHZVc7mM
On this day in 1953, Elizabeth II was crowned queen of the United Kingdom and her other realms and dominions around the world. She was 26. During her reign she was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and was the monarch of 15 realms at her death in 2022.
Debbie gets around…
Prophesy…
Today is the birthday, in 1959, of Michael Steele, American bassist, guitarist, songwriter, and singer who began her professional career as Micki Steele in the teen-girl band the Runaways. With The Bangles she scored the 1986 UK No.2 hit single with the Prince song ‘Manic Monday’, and the 1986 US No.1 single ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsmVgoXDq2w
Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. It has been celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar for millennia. During this festival, people across Asia, and especially Central and Southern China, gather to watch dragon-shaped boats race along river banks and lakes.
Legend has it that the holiday honors the tragic death of Chu Yuan, who died in 288 BC. At the time of Warring States, Chu Yuan was a poet and the minister of the state. The King was captured during fighting and in honor and remembrance of the old King, Chu Yuan wrote a poem called “Li Soa.” This angered the new King, who ordered Chu Yuan into exile. Instead of leaving his beloved country, Chu Yuan threw himself into the Mi-Lo River.
The legend proclaims that the people tried to rescue their honored statesmen by chasing him down the river, beating drums to scare away the fish and throwing dumplings into the river so that the fish would not eat his body. Today’s celebrations symbolize the vain attempts of the friends and citizens who raced down the river to save Chu Yuan.
he festival’s origin is much, much older and is actually connected with very ancient beliefs in the power of the spirits that animated the world and the need to propitiate them. The wish to appease the Water Dragons, who were the spirits of the rivers, will have started on the banks of the great rivers with China’s first agriculturalists.
A popular tradition associated with the Dragon Boat Festival is eating sticky rice dumplings called zongzi. They are often given out as small gifts during the festival and are available from most shops.
The rice is wrapped in bamboo or lotus leaves and the rice is flavoured depending on the region. In the north of China, the dumplings are usually sweet; while in the south of China, the zongzi are more typically savoury. In Taiwan, they may be made with peanuts, chestnuts and squid.
On this day in 1453, Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, was captured by an Ottoman army led by he 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II (later nicknamed “the Conqueror”). After conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital, replacing Adrianople.
The fall of Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire was a watershed of the Late Middle Ages, marking the effective end of the Roman Empire, a state which began in roughly 27 BC and had lasted nearly 1,500 years. The city’s fall also stood as a turning point in military history. Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended upon ramparts and walls to repel invaders. The Walls of Constantinople, especially the Theodosian Walls, protected Constantinople from attack for 800 years and were noted as some of the most advanced defensive systems in the world at the time.[22] However, these fortifications were overcome with the use of gunpowder, specifically from Ottoman cannons and bombards, heralding a change in siege warfare.
Umm…
A good diet is important…
Today is the birthday, in 1955, of Mike Porcaro, bassist with American rock band Toto who had the 1980s Top 5 hits ‘Hold the Line’, ‘Rosanna’, and ‘Africa’. The band has released 17 studio albums, and has sold over 40 million records worldwide. Porcaro died on 15th March 2015 following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY
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