January 9

January 9 is the 9th day of the year.

Play God Day What would you do if you were god for a day?

National Apricot Day

1349 – The Basel massacre – The Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing Black Death, was rounded up and incinerated.

ConnecticutConnecticut Ratification Day; in 1788 Connecticut became the fifth state.

  • Capital: Hartford
  • Nickname: Constitution State
  • Aircraft – Corsair F4U
  • Animal – Sperm Whale
  • Bird: Robin
  • Composer – Charles Edward Ives
  • Flower: Mountain Laurel
  • Folk Dance – Square Dance
  • Fossil – Eubrontes Giganteus dinosaur tracks
  • Hero – Nathan Hale
  • Heroine – Prudence Crandall
  • Insect – Praying Mantis
  • Mineral – Garnet
  • Motto: He Who Transplanted Still Sustains
  • Poet Laureate – John Hollander
  • Shellfish – Eastern Oyster
  • Ship – USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
  • Song – “Yankee Doodle”
  • Tall Ship – Freedom Schooner Amistad
  • Tree: White Oak

See our page Connecticut for more interesting facts and trivia about Connecticut.

The Daguerrotype photo process was announced in 1839.

1902 – New York State introduced a bill to outlaw flirting in public.

January 9 Birthday
Birthday of Richard Nixon (January 9, 1913), born in Yorba Linda, California, thirty-seventh President of the United States.

In 1942 Joe Louis achieved the heavyweight boxing title by knocking out Buddy Baer in the first round.

Dear Abby” advice column by Abigail Van Buren first appeared in newspapers in 1956.

Birthday of Catherine “Kate” Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, (January 9, 1982) wife of Britain’s Prince William.

On January 9, 2007, Steven P. Jobs introduced Apple’s long-awaited entry into the cellphone world, the iPhone.

January 8

January 8, 2022 is:

Bubble Bath Day

National English Toffee Day

Feast of St. Erhard of Regensburg, patron saint for livestock; Images of him were used as Schluckbildchen (Schluckbildchen; from German, means literally “swallowable pictures”, small notes of paper that have a sacred image on them with the purpose of being swallowed.) They were used as a religious practice in the folk medicine and given to sick animals during the eighteenth, nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.

1642 Astronomer Galileo Galilei died in Arcetri, Italy.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #36: Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788. Hamilton details the government’s need for a body of tax collectors knowledgeable of every district, so as to establish a value to be taxed. He claims that this will be accomplished by using the same tax collectors as the state governments do. Hamilton argues against a poll tax. The argument arises that the Federal Government would lack information about the needs and circumstances of each state. Hamilton again uses the argument that each state has representatives who would be familiar and knowledgeable about the needs of their state. (Why did the 17th Amendment pass?)

Anniversary of the first State of the Union message by President George Washington in 1790. Text may be found at The American Presidency Project

Battle of New Orleans Day or Old Hickory’s Day, or Jackson Day. Commemorates the historic battle with the British won by Andrew Jackson in 1815. The battle took place 18 days after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which formally ended the War of 1812, on December 24, 1814, though it would not be ratified by the United States (and therefore did not take effect) until February 16, 1815, as news of the agreement had not yet reached the United States from Europe.

1835 – The United States national debt is zero for the only time.

January 8, 18561856 – Dr. John A. Veatch discovers borax at Tuscan Springs, California. Wagons pulled by teams of twenty mules each give rise to the brand “Twenty Mule Team Borax.”

January 8, 18891889 – Herman Hollerith was issued US patent #395,791 for the ‘Art of Applying Statistics’ — his punched card calculator. Remember punch cards? An extra hole or two from a hand-held clandestine punch could gum things up… “Keypunch operator” was one of the careers for which one could train and was my first job in 1960.

1918 – President Woodrow Wilson announces his “Fourteen Points” for the aftermath of World War I.

Birthday of Elvis Presley (January 8, 1935), American singer, musician, and actor. Cultural icon of the 20th Century.

1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “War on Poverty” in the United States. According to the Heritage Foundation:

In the 50 years since that time, U.S. taxpayers have spent over $22 trillion on anti-poverty programs. Adjusted for inflation, this spending (which does not include Social Security or Medicare) is three times the cost of all U.S. military wars since the American Revolution. Yet progress against poverty, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau, has been minimal, and in terms of President Johnson’s main goal of reducing the “causes” rather than the mere “consequences” of poverty, the War on Poverty has failed completely. In fact, a significant portion of the population is now less capable of self-sufficiency than it was when the War on Poverty began.

January 7

January 7 is:

According to National Today.com, January 7th is National Tempura Day “It is always a yummy time to celebrate tempura, a fantastic Japanese dish made from deep-frying vegetables, seafood, or other foods dipped in a light batter of flour, eggs, and water. Tempura has been with us for about three centuries. Although the Portuguese living in Nagasaki in the 16th century introduced it, tempura has become entrenched in Japanese culture, and you can find tempura everywhere in Japan today. On this day, you can enjoy tempura in different ways, including with a dipping sauce or something more experimental like tempura ice cream.”

Old Rock Day The unofficial holiday encourages people to acknowledge, celebrate, and learn more about old rocks and fossils.

Anniversary of First U.S. Presidential Election – The first presidential election was held on the first Wednesday of January in 1789. No one contested the election of George Washington.

Christmas observed by the Russian Orthodox Church in accordance with the Julian calendar.

Fillmore January 7Birthday of Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800), thirteenth president of the United States. President Zachary Taylor died July 9, 1850 and Vice-President Fillmore was sworn in the next day. Fillmore accepted the resignations of all the department heads and appointed an entirely new cabinet. Fillmore was the first President who was a health nut. He did not smoke or drink, and was fastidious about measures he believed could affect his physical well-being. For example, one hot summer night in Washington, he left the White House to sleep in the cooler and breezier part of Washington known as Georgetown because of the malaria risk.

First Lady Abigail Fillmore was appalled to find no books in the White House, supposedly not even a Bible. Of this omission was to come her greatest gift: the White House Library.

On January 7, 1904 the distress signal “CQD” was established only to be replaced two years later by “SOS”. Land telegraphs had adopted the convention of using “CQ” (“sécu”, from the French word sécurité) to identify alert, or precautionary messages of interest to all stations along a telegraph line. CQ had then been adopted in maritime radiotelegraphy as a “general call” to any ship or land station.

From wikipedia:

In landline use there was no general emergency signal, so the Marconi company added a “D” (“distress”) to CQ in order to create a distress call. Sending “D” was already used internationally to indicate an urgent message. Thus, “CQD” was understood by wireless operators to mean All stations: Distress.

At the first International Radiotelegraphic Convention, held in Berlin in 1906, Germany’s Notzeichen distress signal of three-dots three-dashes three-dots ( ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ) was adopted as the international Morse code distress signal. This distress signal soon became known as “SOS” because it has the same dash-dot sequence as the letters S O S with the gaps between the letters removed, and in fact it is properly written SOS, with an overbar, to distinguish it from the three individual letters. In contrast, CQD is transmitted as three distinct letters with a short gap between each, like regular text. The SOS distress code is also easier to hear as it is nine symbols long, while no other character or sign is longer than six symbols.

From 1899 to 1908, nine documented rescues were made by the use of wireless. The earliest of these was a distress call from the East Goodwin lightship. However, for the earliest of these, there was no standardized distress signal. The first US ship to send a wireless distress call in 1905 simply sent HELP (in both International Morse and American Morse). 

On 7 December 1903, Ludwig Arnson was a wireless operator aboard the liner SS Kroonland when she lost a propeller off the Irish coast. His call of CQD brought aid from a British cruiser. In 1944 Mr. Arnson received the Marconi Memorial Medal of Achievement in recognition of his sending the first wireless distress signal.[9] By February 1904, the Marconi Wireless Company required all its operators to use CQD for a ship in distress or for requiring URGENT assistance.[1] In the early morning of 23 January 1909, whilst sailing into New York from Liverpool, RMS Republic collided with the Italian liner SS Florida in fog off the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States. Radio Operator Jack Binns sent the CQD distress signal by wireless transmission.

On 15 April 1912, RMS Titanic radio operator Jack Phillips initially sent “CQD”, which was still commonly used by British ships. Harold Bride, the junior radio operator, suggested using SOS, saying half-jokingly that it might be his last chance to use the new code. Phillips thereafter began to alternate between the two.[4]: 1911  Although Bride survived, Phillips perished in the sinking.

President Harry S. Truman announced in his State of the Union address of 1953 that the United States had developed a hydrogen bomb.

The United States recognized Fidel Castro‘s new government in Cuba in 1959.

In 1968 First Class Postage increased from 5¢ to 6¢.

January 7, 1969 US Congress doubled presidential salary from $100,000 to $200,000 per year.

Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government in 1979. The Khmer Rouge leadership boasted over the state-controlled radio that only one or two million people were needed to build the new agrarian communist utopia. As for the others, as their proverb put it, “To keep you is no benefit, to destroy you is no loss.” Head of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot presided over a government that killed 1-3 million people, about 20% of the Cambodian population.

January 6

January 6 is the sixth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Bean Day Wondering why National Bean Day is held on January 6? That’s the same day as the famous geneticist, Gregor Mendel, died in 1884. Mendel used bean plants and pea plants to develop theories on genetics in plants. So the formation of National Bean Day has more to do with scientific development than how good bean recipes taste. But don’t let that deter you from enjoying eating beans on this holiday!

Cuddle Up Day Link includes suggestions for cuddling.
National Shortbread Day Link includes history of shortbread.

Feast of the Epiphany. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles.

Birthday of Joan of Arc (January 6, 1412), the Maid of Orleans, national heroine of France.

Birthday of Carl Sandburg (January 6, 1878), American poet, historian, biographer of Abraham Lincoln.

New MexicoNew Mexico Admission Day On this day in 1912 New Mexico became the forty-seventh state.

  • Capital: Santa Fe
  • Nickname: Land of Enchantment
  • Aircraft – Hot air balloon
  • Amphibian – New Mexico Spadefoot Toad
  • Animal – Black Bear
  • Bird: Roadrunner
  • Butterfly – Sandia hairstreak butterfly
  • Colors – Red and Yellow
  • Cookie – Biscochito
  • Cowboy Song – Under The New Mexico Skies
  • Fish – NM cutthroat trout (Rio Grande cutthroat trout)
  • Flower Yucca flower
  • Fossil – Coelophysis (small late Triassic dinosaur)
  • Gem – Turquoise
  • Grass – Blue grama grass
  • Guitar: New Mexico Sunrise guitar
  • Insect – Tarantula hawk wasp
  • Motto: It Grows as it Goes
  • Necklace: Native American squash blossom necklace
  • Reptile – New Mexico whiptail lizard
  • Slogan – “Everybody is somebody in New Mexico”
  • Tie – Bola tie
  • Tree: Pinon
  • Vegetables – chile and frijole

See our page for New Mexico for more interesting facts and trivia about New Mexico.

1853 – President-elect of the United States Franklin Pierce and his family were involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts while on their way to his Inauguration. Their son, Benjamin Pierce (April 13, 1841 – January 6, 1853), died at the age of 11.

German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presented his theory of continental drift in 1912.

T. Roosevelt, died January 6On January 6, 1919, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, died in Oyster Bay, N.Y., at age 60. He became president following the assassination of William McKinley.
According to Wikipedia:

On the night of January 5, 1919, Roosevelt experienced breathing problems. He felt better after treatment from his physician, Dr. George W. Faller, and went to bed. Roosevelt’s last words were “Please put out that light, James” to his family servant James Amos. Between 4:00 AM and 4:15 AM the next morning, Roosevelt died in his sleep at Sagamore Hill as a result of a blood clot detaching itself from a vein and entering his lungs. Upon receiving word of his death, his son Archibald telegraphed his siblings simply, “The old lion is dead.” Woodrow Wilson’s vice president, Thomas R. Marshall, said that “Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight.”

Four Freedoms Day commemorating FDR’s message to Congress in 1941 defining national goals as Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear.

January 5

January 5 is:

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . twelve drummers drumming.
Eleven pipers piping.
Ten lords a-leaping.
Nine ladies dancing.
Eight maids a-milking.
Seven swans a-swimming.
Six geese a-laying.
Five Golden Rings
Four calling birds
Three French hens
Two turtledoves.
And a partridge in a pear tree.

For the significance of each day of Christmas, see: Goodhousekeeping.com The 12 Drummers Drumming are the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed. The Creed most likely originatee in 5th-century Gaul, as a development of the Old Roman Symbol, the old Latin creed of the 4th century. It has been in liturgical use…since the 8th century, and by extension in the various modern branches of Western Christianity, including the modern liturgy and catechisms of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, the Moravian Church, Methodism, and Congregational churches.

  1. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
  2. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord
  3. Who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary
  4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried
  5. He descended into hell.The third day he arose again from the dead
  6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty
  7. He will come again to judge the living and the dead
  8. I believe in the Holy Spirit
  9. the holy catholic Church, the Communion of Saints
  10. the forgiveness of sins
  11. the resurrection of the body
  12. And in life everlasting.

National Bird Day, anniversary of the incorporation of the National Associations of Audubon Societies.

In 1757 – Louis XV of France survived an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering, the traditional and gruesome form of capital punishment used for regicides.

Anniversary of the death of Elizabeth I of Russia on January 5, 1762. It was said that when she died 15,000 dresses were found in her closets. She changed her dress two or three times every evening.

Birthday of Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779), American general who commanded an early exploring expedition into the West. Pike’s Peak is named after him.

In 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, was burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #35: Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788. In this article Hamilton responds to the argument that the federal government should be given the authority to tax only certain objects rather than a broad spectrum. He argues that if only imports are taxed, the taxes would be increased to the point of injuring trade, decreasing consumption, and promoting smuggling. Further, who pays these duties? If the merchant pays, increases may put them out of business; if the customer pays, the importing states would carry a heavier burden than manufacturing states.
Secondly Hamilton answers the charge that the House of Representatives is not large enough for all citizens.

Since it was assumed that all members of Congress would be merchants, professionals, or land owners, all types of citizens would be represented.

In 1895 – Dreyfus affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island.  In November 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer, was convicted of treason.  Sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly having communicated French military secrets to the German Embassy in Paris, Dreyfus was sent to the penal colony at Devil’s Island in French Guiana,, where he spent almost five years.  Eventually all the accusations against Alfred Dreyfus were demonstrated to be baseless. In 1906 Dreyfus was exonerated.

On Jan. 5, 1914, Henry Ford, head of the Ford Motor Company, introduced a minimum wage scale of $5 per day.

January 5, Coolidge diedIn 1933 Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, died in Northampton, Mass., at age 60 from coronary thrombosis. Coolidge became president upon the death of Warren Harding.

Introduced January 51945 – Pepe LePew debuts in Warner Brothers cartoon “Odor-able Kitty“.

1959 – “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” backed by “Raining in My Heart” was released by Coral Records. It was the last release of Buddy Holly before his death.

1998 – Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident. He was 62. He came to fame in partnership with his wife Cher, as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. He was also mayor of Palm Springs, California, from 1988 to 1992, and congressman for California’s 44th district from 1995 until his death in 1998.

Christmas Music:

Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Nothing says Christmas like the carols and songs heard only at this time of year. Here’s today’s sample which represents the end of this Christmas music season – until December 2021! Hope you’ve enjoyed it.

12 Days of Christmas
The 12 Days of Christmas

(by clicking the Windows Media Player icon button, a midi file will play [if it’s installed on your computer]. No music has been embedded.
Lyrics can be printed by using the File->Print Preview Commands. They will print in black ink with no images.)

Tidbits of History, December 31

December 31 is:
Widely known as New Year’s Eve

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . . seven swans a-swimming.
For the Catholic interpretation of the significance of each day of Christmas, see: crosswalk.com

Memorial, December 31On December 31, 1687 the first organized group of Huguenots set sail from the Netherlands to the Dutch East India Company post at the Cape of Good Hope. The largest portion of the Huguenots to settle in the Cape arrived between 1688 and 1689 in seven ships as part of the organized migration, but quite a few arrived as late as 1700; thereafter, the numbers declined and only small groups arrived at a time. Many of these settlers were settled in an area that was later called Franschhoek (Dutch for French Corner), in the present-day Western Cape province of South Africa. A large monument to commemorate the arrival of the Huguenots in South Africa was inaugurated on 7 April 1948 at Franschhoek, where the Huguenot Memorial Museum was erected in 1957.

1695 – A window tax was imposed in England, causing many householders to brick up windows to avoid the tax.

December 31, 1857 – Queen Victoria chose Ottawa, then a small logging town, as the capital of Canada.
According to Wikipedia:

On New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1857, Queen Victoria as a symbolic and political gesture was presented with the responsibility of selecting a location for the permanent capital of the Province of Canada… The ‘Queen’s choice’ turned out to be the small frontier town of Ottawa for two main reasons: Ottawa’s isolated location in a back country surrounded by dense forest far from the American border and situated on a cliff face would make it more defensible from attack. Ottawa was located approximately midway between Toronto and Kingston in (Canada West) and Montreal and Quebec City in (Canada East). Despite Ottawa’s regional isolation it had seasonal water transportation access to Montreal over the Ottawa River and to Kingston via the Rideau Waterway. By 1854 it also had a modern all season Bytown and Prescott Railway that carried passengers, lumber and supplies the 82 kilometre distance to Prescott on the Saint Lawrence River and beyond. The smaller size of the town also made it less prone to rampaging politically motivated mobs, as had happened in the previous Canadian capitals. The government already owned the land that would eventually become Parliament Hill which they thought would be an ideal location for building the Parliament Buildings. Ottawa was the only settlement of any substantial size that was already located directly on the border of French populated former Lower Canada and English populated former Upper Canada thus additionally making the selection an important political compromise. Queen Victoria made her ‘Queen’s choice’ very quickly just before welcoming in the New Year.

1862 – American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln signed an act that admitted West Virginia to the Union, thus dividing Virginia in two. West Virginia was admitted as a state June 20, 1863. See for a discussion on why the two areas split.

Thomas EdisonThomas Edison demonstrated incandescent lighting to the public for the first time in 1879. (2012 – Incandescent bulbs are essentially outlawed.)

1907 – The first New Year’s Eve celebration to be held in Times Square was in 1907, (then known as Longacre Square) in New York, New York. (By 1872, the area had become the center of New York’s carriage industry. The area not having previously been named, the city authorities called it Longacre Square after Long Acre in London, where the carriage trade in that city was centered and which was also a home to stables.) Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building.

farthing ceased to be legal tender in the United Kingdom December 31, 1960.The farthing coin ceased to be legal tender in the United Kingdom in 1960. The farthing represented 1/4 of a penny (or a “fourthing”).

The Marshall Plan expired in 1961 after distributing more than $12 billion U.S. dollars in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.

1999 – The United States Government handed control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties. The Torrijos–Carter Treaties (Spanish: Tratados Torrijos-Carter) are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which superseded the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903. The treaties guaranteed that Panama would gain control of the Panama Canal after 1999, ending the control of the canal that the U.S. had exercised since 1903. The treaties are named after the two signatories, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the Commander of Panama’s National Guard, General Omar Torrijos.

Christmas Music:

Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Nothing says Christmas like the carols and songs heard only at this time of year. And nothing says New Years like Robert Burns’ Auld Lang Syne.

    Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
    And never brought to mind?
    Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
    And auld lang syne.

    Chorus

    For auld lang syne, my dear,
    For auld lang syne.
    We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
    For auld lang syne.

    And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
    and surely I’ll buy mine!
    And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
    for auld lang syne.

    Chorus

    We two have run about the slopes,
    and picked the daisies fine;
    But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
    since auld lang syne.

    Chorus

   We two have paddled in the stream,
   from morning sun till dine;
   But seas between us broad have roared
   since auld lang syne.

    Chorus

    And there's a hand, my trusty friend!
    And give's a hand o' thine!
    And we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
    For auld lang syne.

    Chorus

Tidbits of History, December 29

December 29 is:

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . five gold rings.
For the Catholic interpretation of the significance of each day of Christmas, see: crosswalk.com

National “Get on the Scales” Day

Pepper Pot Day

Johnson born December 29 1808Birthday of Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808) 17th President of the United States.  He became President upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Texas headerTexas was admitted as the 28th U.S. state in 1845.

  • Capitol: Austin
  • Nickname: Lone Star State
  • Bird: Mockingbird
  • Flower: Bluebonnet
  • Tree: Pecan
  • Motto: Friendship

See our page Texas for more interesting facts and trivia about Texas.

President James K. Polk, born Nov 2, 1795 U.S. President James Polk turned on the first gas light at the White House in 1848.

Bowling ball was invented in 1862.

Birthday of Henry P. DeForest (December 29, 1864),
According to Today in Science: Henry Pelouze deForest was an American gynecologist and surgeon who in 1902 established the first fingerprint file in the U.S., and invented the dactyloscope, a measuring device to analyze finger print patterns. Shortly after becoming its chief medical examiner, he was requested by the New York Civil Service Commission, to devise a system of personal identification to combat fraud at civil service examinations for police and fire department jobs. Hired stand-ins had been taking the test on behalf of candidates. A scandal resulted when a particular stand-in revealed he had taken the test for a dozen different candidates. DeForest first thought of utilizing the Bertillon anthropometric method, but instead adopted the simpler fingerprinting procedure used by Scotland Yard. This fingerprint file thus began for bureaucratic rather than criminal purposes. The first record was created on 19 Dec 1902.

December 29, 1890 – Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota killed by the US Army.

In 1896, “Lava” soap was trademarked by William Waltke & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri.

Christmas Music:

Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Nothing says Christmas like the carols and songs heard only at this time of year. Here’s today’s sample:


It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

(by clicking the Windows Media Player icon button, a midi file will play [if it’s installed on your computer]. No music has been embedded.
Lyrics can be printed by using the File->Print Preview Commands. They will print in black ink with no images.)

Tidbits of History, December 28

December 28 is:

“On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . four calling birds.”
For the Catholic interpretation of the significance of each day of Christmas, see: crosswalk.com

Card Playing Day

National Chocolate Day
From Foodimentary.com
The word “chocolate” comes from the Aztec word, “Xocolatl”, which ironically means “bitter water”.
The biggest bar of chocolate ever made was created in 2000 and weighed 5,000 pounds. Turin is the city in Italy that can be proud of this accomplishment.
While the US produces the most chocolate and consume the most pounds every year, the Swiss consume the most per capita, followed closely by the English.
Chocolate manufacturers currently use 40% of the world’s almonds and 20% of the world’s peanuts.
Every Russian and American space voyage has included chocolate bars.

Feast day of the Holy Innocents – The Massacre of the Innocents is the biblical narrative of infanticide by Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed King of the Jews. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi. Historians can find no evidence that the massacre occurred. According to historian Raymond Brown, based on Bethlehem’s estimated population of 1,000 at the time, the largest number of infants that could have been killed would have been about twenty.

Westminster Abbey was consecrated in 1065 as St. Edward’s Church. In 1245 Henry III pulled down the whole of Edward’s church (except the nave) and replaced it with the present abbey church in the pointed Gothic style of the period.

Galileo observed Neptune December 28 Galilei in 1612 became the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly cataloged it as a fixed star.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #30: Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1787. Hamilton says that the federal government needs revenue to pay for the raising of troops, the building and equipping of fleets, and other expenses connected with the defense of the country. He says there are other obligations of the federal government such as payment of national debts. Therefore, the government must have a power of taxation.

Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto, Ontario, Canada) in 1795.

John C Calhoun resigned December 28John C. Calhoun became the first Vice President of the United States to resign, stepping down in 1832 over differences with President Andrew Jackson.

Iowa headerIowa Day, admission of Iowa (1846) as the twenty-ninth state

  • Capital: Des Moines
  • Nickname: Hawkeye State
  • Bird: Eastern goldfinch
  • Flower: Wild Rose
  • Tree: Oak
  • Motto: Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain

See our page Iowa for more interesting facts and trivia about Iowa.

Wilson, born December 28Birthday of Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856), American historian and politician, 28th President of the United States.

1945 Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance in 1945.

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by Francis Bellamy. It read:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

In 1923, the National Flag Conference called for the words “my Flag” to be changed to “the Flag of the United States”, so that new immigrants would not confuse loyalties between their birth countries and the United States. The words “of America” were added a year later. The United States Congress officially recognized the Pledge for the first time, in the following form, on June 22, 1942:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

In 1954, at President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s urging, the Congress legislated that “under God” be added.

Former First Lady Edith Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson, died of congestive heart failure at age 89, on December 28, 1961.

U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announced on December 28, 2000 that it was going out of business after 128 years.

Christmas Music:

Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Christmas may be over but there are still seasonal songs that I particularly like:

White Christmas
White Christmas

(by clicking the Windows Media Player icon button, a midi file will play [if it’s installed on your computer]. No music has been embedded.
Lyrics can be printed by using the File->Print Preview Commands. They will print in black ink with no images.)

Tidbits of History, December 26

December 26 is:

Boxing Day A holiday traditionally celebrated the day following Christmas Day, when servants and tradespeople would receive gifts, known as a “Christmas box”, from their bosses or employers. Also, a day when you pack up your Christmas gifts in a box for returning to the merchants for refunds.

“On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . two turtledoves.”
For the Catholic interpretation of the significance of each day of Christmas, see: crosswalk.com

National Candy Cane Day

Alms for the Poor

Day of the Wren or Wren’s Day in the Republic of Ireland. See The Irish Used to Celebrate The Day After Christmas by Killing Wrens

George Washington defeated Hessians at Battle of Trenton in American Revolutionary War in 1776.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #28: The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered written by Alexander Hamilton in 1787. This paper continues the discussion of standing armies in peace time with the admission that there may be times when a national government will be required to use force to suppress seditions and insurrections. The safeguard against the use of force against the people is the legislature being representative of the citizens. Hamilton could not foresee a time when the federal government would maintain a military big enough to endanger the liberty of the entire population.

Four thousand people attended George Washington’s funeral in 1799 where Henry Lee III declares him as:

“First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

Trapped in snow in the Sierra Nevadas and without food, members of the Donner Party resorted to cannibalism in 1846.

James H. Mason of Massachusetts patented first US coffee percolator in 1865.

Birthday of Mao Zedong, (December 26, 1893), Communist leader of the Republic of China, founder of the People’s Republic of China which he governed from 1949 to 1976. Often referred to as “Chairman Mao”, he is credited with bringing China into the modern world, from an agrarian to an industrial society. He is also considered the person most guilty of democide (murder through government action) in human history, being responsible for the deaths of 40-70 million people through starvation, forced labor, and executions.

BabyFrances Gumm/Judy Garland, debuted December 26Judy Garland, 2½, billed as Baby Frances, made her show business debut on December 26, 1924.

Johnny Weissmuller retired December 26Johnny Weissmuller announces his retirement from amateur swimming in 1928, goes on to be a particularly memorable movie star, especially as Tarzan.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, born Jan 30, 1882, died April 12, 1945On December 26, 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

The Beatles song released December 26The Beatles“I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There” are released in the United States, marking the beginning of Beatlemania on an international level in 1963.

Harry S. Truman, died December 261972 – Death of Harry S. Truman, thirty-third President of the United States. He became president upon the death of Franklin D Roosevelt. Truman died in Kansas City, Missouri at age 88. He had pneumonia and multiple organ failure.

1982 – Time’s “Man of the Year” is for the first time a non-human, the personal computer.

The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union met and formally dissolved the USSR in 1991.

Ford, died December 262006-Death of Gerald Ford (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.), thirty-eighth President of the United States. He became president upon the resignation of Richard Nixon. Ford died at age 93 in Rancho Mirage, California of arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease.

Christmas Music:

Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Christmas may be over but there are still seasonal songs that I particularly like: Below are links to You Tube Videos.

Their midi files can be found at the bottom of:
Christmas Music

(by clicking the Windows Media Player icon button, a midi file will play [if it’s installed on your computer]. No music has been embedded.
Lyrics can be printed by using the File->Print Preview Commands. They will print in black ink with no images.)

Tidbits of History, December 25

December 25 is:

Merry Christmas to all!

“On the First Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: A partridge in a pear tree.”
Teaching the Catholic faith was outlawed in sixteenth-century England. Those who instructed their children in Catholicism could be drawn and quartered. Thus, the church went underground. To hide the important and illegal elements of their teaching, clerics composed poems that seemed silly to most people. But these verses were veiled works that taught the church’s most important tenets. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is said to be one of these teaching tools.

Most people today believe that the twelve days of Christmas start on December 12th or 13th and run through Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. But in fact, the first day of Christmas is December 25th and the final day is January 5th. Thus, for hundreds of years the Christmas holidays didn’t begin until Christmas Eve and didn’t end until Epiphany.

For the Catholic interpretation of the significance of each day of Christmas, see: crosswalk.com

National Pumpkin Pie Day

The American colonists used pumpkin in pie crusts, but not in the filling.
The type of pumpkin pie we know today was not made until the 1700s.
Every year, 50 million pumpkin pies are made using Libby’s canned product.
The world’s largest pumpkin pie weighed over 350 pounds and was made with 80 pounds of pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, and 144 eggs.

National “Kiss the Cook” Day

Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome in the year 800.

The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary was established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary in the year 1000.

1621 Governor William Bradford of Plymouth forbid game playing on Christmas.

1651 Massachusetts General Court ordered a five shilling fine for “observing any such day as Christmas”.

Anders Celsius introduced scale December 25, 17411741 – Astronomer Anders Celsius introduced Centigrade temperature scale based on two easily reproducible natural standards, the freezing and boiling points of water.

1776 –Washington crossing the Delaware, December 25, 1776 George Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River to attack Great Britain’s Hessian mercenaries in Trenton, New Jersey.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #27: The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered written by Alexander Hamilton in 1787. Hamilton addresses the fear that the federal government requires the aid of a military to enforce its laws. He argues that because the national Senate will consist of men chosen by State Legislatures, the representatives will be men of high morals and good judgement who will not pass laws which require military enforcement. He also says that the more interaction between the federal government and the citizens, the more respect and loyalty will be felt by the citizens.

1818 – Handel’s “Messiah” made its US premiere in Boston. George Frideric Handel’s Messiah was originally an Easter offering. It burst onto the stage of Musick Hall in Dublin on April 13, 1742. The audience swelled to a record 700, as ladies had heeded pleas by management to wear dresses “without Hoops” in order to make “Room for more company.” Handel’s superstar status was not the only draw; many also came to glimpse the contralto, Susannah Cibber, then embroiled in a scandalous divorce.

Read more at: Smithsonian Magazine

Birthday of Clara Barton, (December 35, 1821) the founder of the American Red Cross, born in Oxford, Mass.

President Andrew Johnson, pardon of Confederates December 25, 1868 U.S. President Andrew Johnson granted unconditional pardon to all Civil War Confederate soldiers in 1868.

“Stars & Stripes Forever” was written by John Philip Sousa on December 25, 1896.

Ringo gets drums1959: An apprentice engineer from Liverpool named Richard Starkey, then already eighteen, got his first real set of drums for Christmas (the young Starkey’s family couldn’t afford a proper set when he was a child). Later, he would become known as Ringo Starr.

1969: 16-year-old Robbie Bachman of Winnipeg, Canada received his first drum kit for Christmas and begins to play along with his older brother, guitarist Randy. Just three years later, Randy asks him to join his new band, named Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

Gorbachev resigned December 25, 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev formally resigned as President of USSR in a televised speech on December 25, 1991.

Christmas Music:

Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Nothing says Christmas like the carols and songs heard only at this time of year. Here’s today’s sample:

Little Drummer Boy
Little Drummer Boy

(by clicking the Windows Media Player icon button, a midi file will play [if it’s installed on your computer]. No music has been embedded.
Lyrics can be printed by using the File->Print Preview Commands. They will print in black ink with no images.)