Category Archives: Today

January 2

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January 2 is:

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . nine ladies dancing.
For the significance of each day of Christmas, see: Good Housekeeping.com
The 9 Ladies Dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. The nine fruits of the spirit signify good character traits to observe and maintain in oneself and embrace in your own life. They are Faithfulness, Gentleness, Goodness, Joy, Kindness, Love, Patience, Peace, and Self-Control.

Cream Puff Day
Cream Puffs made their debut in the United States in 1880. However, the first cream puff originated in Europe sometime during the 1540s when Catherine de Medici’s pastry chef created the baked puffed shells for Catherine’s husband, Henry II of France.

In Switzerland: Berchtoldstag (Berchtold’s Day). This day honors the founding of Bern in 1191, by Duke Berchtold V. Legend claims that he went hunting and said he would name the city for the first animal he killed, which was a bear (‘bern’).

Birthday of James Wolfe (1727), English general who died at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec between England and France.  Effectively ended French rule in North America.

Georgia header Georgia Ratification Day, commemorating Georgia’s entry into the Union in 1788 as the fourth state.

  • Capital: Atlanta
  • Nickname: Peach State; Empire State of the South
  • Bird: Brown Thrasher
  • Flower: Cherokee Rose
  • Tree: Live Oak
  • Motto: Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation
  • Amphibian: American Green Tree Frog
  • Butterfly: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
  • Dance: Square dance
  • Fish: Largemouth bass
  • Food: Grits, Peach, Vidalia onion
  • Fossil: Shark tooth
  • Gem: Quartz
  • Insect: European honey bee
  • Mammal: Right whale
  • Mineral: Staurolite
  • Reptile: Gopher tortoise
  • Rock: Granite
  • Shell: Knobbed Whelk
  • Soil: Tifton
  • Song: “Georgia on My Mind”

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

In 1811, Senator Timothy Pickering, a Federalist from Massachusetts, became the first senator to be censured when the Senate approved a censure motion against him by a vote of 20 to seven. Pickering was accused of violating congressional law by revealing secret documents communicated by the President to the Senate.

Birthday of Isaac Asimov (January 2, 1920), the immensely popular science fiction writer.

On this date in 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 mph.

Also in 1974, Tex Ritter (born Woodward Maurice Ritter), died in Nashville, Tenn. Some of his greatest hits were “Rye Whiskey,” “Wayward Wind,” and “You Are My Sunshine.” His performance of “High Noon,” from the movie of the same name, won an Oscar in 1952. Ritter appeared in eighty-five movies and starred in the television series “Ranch Party” (1959-1962). In 1964 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. John Ritter, his youngest son, starred in the popular series “Three’s Company.” – See more at: Texas Day by Day

January 1

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Monday, January 1, 2025 is the first day of a brand new year! We made it out of 2020! And 2021! And 2022! And now 2023! And 2024!

Happy New Year!

Today is the 8th Day of Christmas:
“On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me: 8 maids a-milking.”
For the significance of each day of Christmas, see: Good Housekeeping.com. (The 8 Maids A-milking are the eight beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount):

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Today is First Foot Day! This is a New Year’s custom that started in Scotland.  The superstition goes back to the era of the Viking raiders when a fair-haired Norseman at a Scotsman’s door meant trouble.

If the first person to set foot in your house on the morning of January 1 is a dark-haired male, you will have good luck for the entire year. Ideally a first footer should bring gifts, such as:

  • a lump of coal to symbolize warmth all year
  • a silver coin for wealth and prosperity
  • some bread so you’ll never be hungry

After greeting everyone in the house, the first footer must exit through a different door from the one he had entered. Nobody should leave the house before the first footer shows up because the first traffic across the threshold should be coming in, not going out.

Blonde and red-haired male first footers bring BAD LUCK.
A female first footer spells DISASTER on the entire household.
********************************************************************************

Another superstition associated with New Year’s Day says one should not do laundry, do dishes, or sweep on this day. But, in China and Latin America, a legend suggests that you can literally sweep negativity away!

And one should not eat chicken today. Some believe that because chickens have wings, your luck will fly away if you have it on New Year’s.

January 1st is also National Bloody Mary Day. A Bloody Mary is a cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice, and combinations of other spices and flavorings. It is popular as a cure for hangover – from too much New Year’s Eve partying, maybe.

As a religious holiday, Jan 1 celebrates the Circumcision of Jesus, 8 days after birth in keeping with Jewish law. It is of significant medical importance that male circumcision be carried out on the eighth day after birth since the level of vitamin K is highest on this day and vitamin K plays a pivotal role in regulation and control of the important clotting factors in the coagulation pathway that helps in stopping bleeding.

AND, January 1st is the feast day of St. Basil, patron of hospital administrators. St. Basil came from a very holy family. It is remarkable to note that from the ten siblings in St. Basil’s family, five children became saints: St. Basil, who became the Archbishop of Caesarea; St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa; St. Peter, Bishop of Sebaste, St. Naucratius, and St. Macrina, as well as his grandmother, St. Macrina and his mother, St. Emellia.
Traditionally on St. Basil’s Day a St. Basil’s cake is made with a coin inside. Whoever gets the coin will have good luck for the entire year. Recipe here food.com

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #31:Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788. The opponents to the Constitution argue that the federal government will usurp the rights of the states by creating a monopoly on taxation and that the states would eventually be excluded and destroyed. Hamilton argues that a representative legislature would prevent that from happening.

New Year’s Day is celebrated by the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California (begin in 1890), the Mummer’s Day parade in Philadelphia, and the Mobile Carnival in Mobile, Alabama, birthplace of the Mardi Gras.

If that’s not enough, January 1 is also the birthday of:
Paul Revere, Born January 1 1735
Paul Revere (1735),

"Mad" Anthony Wayne, born January 1Anthony Wayne (1745), American Revolutionary War officer known as “Mad Anthony”,

Betsy Ross, born Jan 1,Betsy Ross (1752), and

J. Edgar Hoover, born January 1J. Edgar Hoover (1895).

In 1808 the importation of slaves was banned in the United States.

January 1 is the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 when Lincoln freed the slaves in the Confederate states….said nothing about the slaves in the North.

In 1892 Ellis Island opened to begin processing LEGAL immigrants into the U.S.

Happy New Year one and all!

The month of January

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January is the first month in the Gregorian calendar. At least 125 sovereign nations celebrate New Year’s Day as a public holiday.

the month of January
The name January was derived from the Latin “Januarius Mensus“, or the month of Janus. In the old Roman year, it was a festival month honoring Janus, the god of gates and doorways. Janus is depicted on coins and works of sculpture as a deity with two faces, one looking into the past, the other into the future. Janus is associated in mythology with new beginnings for all human enterprises.

The month has 31 days and two official flowers. The chief flower is the carnation and the snowdrop is the alternate. The birthstone is the garnet.

…from Gregory, Ruth W. Anniversaries and Holidays, Third Edition;. Chicago: American Library Association, 1975.

Celebrations this month:

  • New Years Day on the 1st
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 20th
  • Australia Day on January 26th
  • National Bath Safety Month
  • National Blood Donor Month
  • National Book Month
  • National Braille Literacy Month
  • National Eye Care Month
  • National Hobby Month
  • Hot Tea Month
  • National Oatmeal Month
  • National Soup Month
  • National Thank You Month

January in Other Languages

  • Chinese (Mandarin) – yiyuè
  • Danish – januar
  • Italian – gennaio
  • Latin – Ianuarius
  • French – janvier
  • Spanish – enero

According to the Chinese horoscope, the Snake is the animal sign of 2025. The date of the Chinese New Year in 2025 is Jan 29th.
Per Wikipedia: According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian (a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains) during the annual Spring Festival. The Nian would eat villagers, especially children in the middle of the night. One year, all the villagers decided to go hide from the beast. An old man, appeared before the villagers went into hiding and said that he would stay the night, and would get revenge on the Nian. All the villagers thought he was insane. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The day after, the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing had been destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers then understood that Yanhuang had discovered that the Nian was afraid of the color red and loud noises. So the tradition grew that when New Year was approaching, the villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. After that, Nian retreated to a nearby mountain. The name of the mountain has long been lost over the years
The Snake is the sixth sign from the 12 animals cycle of the Chinese Astrology. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. The Snake, clever and strategic, coiled around the Horse’s hoof, managing to finish the race ahead of the Horse and claim sixth place. The Snake represents wise and intuitive energy. The Snake, symbolizing wisdom and transformation, offers opportunities for personal growth and change. Snakes are known in the zodiac for their wisdom, intuition, and mystery. Naturally strategic, they are excellent problem-solvers and skilled communicators.

The state of Georgia was admitted January 2, 1788.
The state of Alaska was admitted January 3, 1959.
The state of Utah was admitted January 4, 1896.
The state of New Mexico was admitted January 6, 1912.
The state of Connecticut was admitted January 9, 1888
The state of Michigan was admitted January 26, 1837.
The state of Kansas was admitted January 29, 1861.

Tidbits of History, December 31, 2024

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This entry of December 31, 2024,  marks the eleventh year of “Tidbits of History”. I’d like to acknowledge some of the resources and references used for this project:

I’m also indebted to many, many books, including:

  • From Asimov, Isaac. Isaac Asimov’s Book of Facts. New York, Bell Publishing Company, 1981
  • From 2201 Fascinating Facts by David Louis, published by Greenwich House, New York, 1983
  • From Anniversaries and Holidays, Third Edition by Ruth W. Gregory, published by American Library Association, Chicago 1975.

I’ve gathered information from wherever I’ve come across it and deeply appreciate the efforts of others who contributed to the subjects I’ve included in Tidbits of History. Choosing what to include and what to ignore has been the challenge of this project and I’ve tried to include a variety of facts and events that I found interesting. The above mentioned websites offered more information than anyone could possibly digest on a daily basis.

I’d also like to thank “WordPress” for providing a forum which makes this blog easy. It allowed me to add formatting where I chose without having to HTML-ize every entry.

2024 has been a challenging year, as they all are. A diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease has led to many changes in our lives. The disease is complex and ever-changing. What symptoms Benney displays this week will be different than last week or next week. Keeps us guessing and on our toes. Medication is helping. Life is the opportunity to continue learning and changing and we are doing our best to adapt. One of the best things about this year and this situation was meeting with a speech therapist. Melanie was always upbeat, encouraging, complimentary. She recognized Benney’s strengths and positive qualities and meeting with her was a pleasure.

The Biden administration has been a disaster – from mass immigration at the border to the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The so-called “deep state” is deeper and more sinister than we ever suspected before. We (and 77 Million other voters) are very hopeful that things will improve with the inauguration of Donald J. Trump on January 20th.

So, as 2025 begins, I look forward to another opportunity to study, to learn, and to share historical information. I am not attempting to provide comprehensive information on any subject, just a “tidbit” to whet your appetite in the hopes that you, too will find history worth learning.

There are those who would try to destroy or distort our history. To me that is a crime against humanity for we are the caretakers of the past. One of our favorite quotes by George Santayana is:

“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

May 2025 be a wonderful year for all of us! May we continue to learn new and old “tidbits of history” and find delight in the discoveries.

Tidbits of History, December 31

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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 30

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December 30 is:

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . six geese a-laying.
For the Catholic interpretation of the significance of each day of Christmas, see: crosswalk.com

National Bicarbonate of Soda Day

1066 – Granada massacre: A Muslim mob stormed the royal palace spreading the gospel of the “Religion of Peace” in Granada, crucified Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacred most of the Jewish population of the city.

On December 30, 1813, British soldiers burned Buffalo, New York during the War of 1812.

Gadsden Purchase, December 30, 1853Gadsden Purchase: The United States bought land from Mexico in 1853 to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest. 29,670 square miles for $10 million.

Pennsylvania Rock Oil Co., first oil company in the US, was incorporated in NYC in 1854. “Rock Oil” = “petroleum”.

Electric arc lamp set fire to Iroquois theater in Chicago leaving 602 dead in one of the deadliest blazes in American history on December 30, 1903.

The All India Muslim League was founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India Empire, in 1906 which later laid down the foundations of Pakistan.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed in 1922. Lasted until 1991.

1948 – The Cole Porter Broadway musical, “Kiss Me, Kate” (1,077 performances), opened at the New Century Theater and becomes the first show to win the Best Musical Tony Award. It was a musical version of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

The first color TV sets went on sale for about $1,175 in 1953. Average annual salary was $4700.

Saddam Hussein2006 – Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging.

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:


Feliz Navidad

(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 29

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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

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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 27

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December 27 is:

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . three French hens.
For an interpretation of the significance of each day of Christmas, see: crosswalk.com

Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day

National Fruitcake Day
From Foodimentary.com

The Egyptians thought so much of these cakes that they put them in tombs. They thought that fruitcakes would survive the long journey to the afterlife.
Even Crusaders knew that fruitcakes could withstand a long journey. Not only did these cakes withstand long journeys, but they were also full of nutritious items like dried fruit and nuts.
Fruitcakes were the wedding cake of choice in England. Single female wedding guests would take a piece home and place it under their pillow in hopes of dreaming of the man they would marry.
Fruitcake is perfectly edible as long as there is no mold on it.
If your fruitcake dries out, soak it in alcohol or some other liquid and it will become as edible as it ever was.

Kepler born December 27, 1571Birthday of Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571), German astronomer who formulated three major laws of planetary motion.

  1. The orbit of a planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci.
  2. A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.
  3. The ratio of the square of an object’s orbital period with the cube of the semi-major of its orbit is the same for all objects orbiting the same primary.

In 1845, Ether anesthetic was used for childbirth for the first time by Dr. Crawford Long in Jefferson, Georgia. He gave it to his wife, and she successfully gave birth to a baby girl, their second child, Fanny.

John O'Sullivan cites Manifest Destiny, December 271845 – Journalist John L. O’Sullivan, writing in his newspaper the New York Morning News, argues that the United States had the right to claim the entire Oregon Country “by the right of our manifest destiny“. Presidential candidate James K. Polk used this popular outcry to his advantage, and the Democrats called for the annexation of “All Oregon” in the 1844 U.S. Presidential election.

1900 –Carrie Nation raided saloon December 27 Carrie Nation staged her first raid on a saloon at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. She broke each and every one of the liquor bottles that could be seen. Suspicious that President William McKinley was a secret drinker, Nation applauded his 1901 assassination because “drinkers got what they deserved”.

In 1903, in New York City, the barbershop quartet favorite, “Sweet Adeline,” was sung for the first time.

Show Boat opened December 27“Show Boat”, considered to be the first true American musical play, opened at the Ziegfeld Theater on Broadway on December 27, 1927. Music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on a book by Edna Ferber. The musical contributed such classic songs as “Ol’ Man River”, “Make Believe”, and “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man”. “Show Boat” was made into a movie three times: 1929 with Laura La Plante; 1936 with Irene Dunn; 1951 with Kathryn Grayson.

1929 – Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin ordered the “liquidation of the kulaks as a class” in an effort to spread socialism to the countryside. That order results in the deaths of somewhere between five and fifteen million people. According to Wikipedia:

Kulaks … were a category of relatively affluent farmers in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union. The word kulak originally referred to independent farmers in the Russian Empire who emerged from the peasantry and became wealthy following the Stolypin reform, which began in 1906. The label of kulak was broadened in 1918 to include any peasant who resisted handing over their grain to detachments from Moscow. During 1929-1933, Stalin’s leadership of the total campaign to collectivize the peasantry meant that “peasants with a couple of cows or five or six acres more than their neighbors” were being labeled “kulaks”.

In 1968, Apollo 8 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the first orbital manned mission to the Moon.

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:
Remember Judy Garland singing this in “Meet Me in St. Louis”?

Tidbits of History, December 26

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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.)