Tidbits of History, November 22

November 22 is the 327th day of the year

National Cranberry Relish Day
A barrel of cranberries weighs 100 pounds. Give or take a few, there are about 450 cranberries in a pound and 4,400 cranberries in one gallon of juice.

1542 – Spain delegates “New Laws” against slavery in America. From Wikipedia:

The New Laws consisted of many regulations on the encomienda system, (in which the stronger people protected the weakest in exchange for a service) including its solemn prohibition of the enslavement of the Indians and provisions for the gradual abolition of the encomienda system. The New Laws stated that the natives would be considered free persons, and the encomenderos could no longer demand their labor. The natives were only required to pay the encomenderos tribute, and, if they worked, they would be paid wages in exchange for their labor. The laws also prohibited the sending of indigenous people to work in the mines unless it was absolutely necessary, and required that they be taxed fairly and treated well. It ordered public officials or clergy with encomienda grants to return them immediately to the Crown, and stated that encomienda grants would not be hereditarily passed on, but would be canceled at the death of the individual encomenderos.

In 1718 – Off the coast of North Carolina, British pirate Edward Teach (best known as “Blackbeard”) was killed in battle with a boarding party led by Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard.

Abigail AdamsFormer First Lady Abigail Smith Adams was born on November 22, 1744. She was the wife of John Adams and the mother of John Quincy Adams.

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #10: The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection written by James Madison. “Federalist No. 10 is among the most highly regarded of all American political writings.” Madison discusses the nature of man as a factor in forming a government, ie, balancing the rights of the individual with the rights of a community inevitably leads to factions which he describes as “a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed (antagonistic) to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.” He says “the most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property.”

George Elliot, born November 22, 1819Birthday of George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) (November 22, 1819). English novelist famous for “Silas Marner”, “Mill on the Floss” and others.

“Bolero” by Maurice Ravel debuted in Paris in 1928. Revel never dreamed that one day Torvill & Dean would use his music at the 1984 Olympics for the best ice-dancing routine ever!

Santa“Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” was first heard on Eddie Cantor’s show on November 22, 1934. It became an instant hit with orders for 500,000 copies of sheet music and more than 30,000 records sold within 24 hours.

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows when you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake

Kennedy assassinated 19631963 – Death of John F. Kennedy,thirty-fifth President of the United States. He was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald. Kennedy was 46 years old. Texas Governor John Connally was seriously wounded. Lyndon B. Johnson became the 36th President of the United States. See Wikipedia re assassination. It was one of those events (like the attacks of 9-11) that those who were alive at the time can sharply remember.

1995 – Toy Story was released as the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery.

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Tidbits of History, November 21

November 21 is:

National Adoption Day

World Television Day

164 BC – Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restored the Temple in Jerusalem. This event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah.

Voltaire bd November 21, 1694Birthday of Jean Francois Marie Arouet (Voltaire), (November 21, 1694) French Enlightenment author, historian and philosopher. Author of “Candide”. Known for his wit and attacks on the established Church. He was a key figure in the European intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment.

North CarolinaNorth Carolina became the twelfth state in 1789:

  • Capital: Raleigh
  • Nickname: Tar Heel State
  • Bird: Cardinal
  • Flower: Flowering dogwood
  • Tree:Pine
  • Motto: To be rather than to seem

The State of North Carolina has 42 official state emblems including the state insect (European honey bee), gemstone (emerald), beverage (milk), dog (Plott hound) , vegetable (sweet potato), fruit (Scuppernong grape), folk dance (clogging), and sport (Nascar).
See our page North Carolina for more interesting facts and trivia about North Carolina.

Rebecca FeltonIn 1922, Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia took the oath of office, becoming the first female United States Senator.

Florence HardingFormer First Lady Florence Harding died of renal failure on November 21, 1924, at Marion, Ohio, U.S., wife of President Warren G. Harding.

November 21, Tweety Bird1942 – Tweety Bird, aka Tweety Pie, debuted in “Tale of Two Kitties”

On Nov. 21, 1995, the Presidents of three rival Balkan states (Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia) agreed to make peace in Bosnia, (the Dayton Agreement) ending nearly four years of terror and ethnic bloodletting that left a quarter of a million people dead in the worst war in Europe since World War II.

Tidbits of History, November 20

November 20 is:

National Peanut Butter Fudge Day
The exact origin of fudge is disputed, but most stories claim that it resulted from a bungled (“fudged”) batch of caramels made on February 14, 1886—hence the name “fudge.”

author of Federalist Paper#8Publication of Federalist Paper #8: The Consequences of Hostilities Between the States written by Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton discusses the necessity of a standing army. If the states are not united, stronger states could over-run smaller states; states would need to raise their own military. Hamilton then compares the U.S. to Great Britain which does not require a standing army because it is an island country with a strong navy. The U.S. is similar in that it is isolated from European attacks and state militias would be adequate until a national army could be assembled.

New Jersey became the first U.S. state to ratify the Bill of Rights in 1789. The Constitution had taken effect on June 21, 1788.

From Today in Science
In 1866, the first U.S. patent for a yoyo was issued to James L. Haven and Charles Hittrick of Cincinnati, Ohio. Although termed a “Whirligig” or a “Bandalore” in the patent title, it had the familiar construction of a yoyo with two disks “coupled together at their centers by means of a clutch.” It was also the first time rim-weighting to maintain momentum was mentioned in a patent. “It will be observed that the marginal swell … exercises the function of a flywheel.” This patent is important since it shows the first use of patents to protect design improvements in the manufacture of a yoyo. Messrs. Haven and Hettrick were in the business of mass-producing yoyos over a half century before the better known Flores brand.

Robert Byrd, born November 20, 1917Robert C. Byrd, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, was born (November 20, 1917) Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr. in North Wilkesboro, N.C. His parents were Cornelius Calvin Sale Sr. and Ada Mae Kirdy. When he was ten months old, his mother died in the 1918 Flu Pandemic. In accordance with his mother’s wishes, his father dispersed their children among relatives. Calvin Jr. was adopted by his aunt and uncle, Titus and Vlurma Byrd, who changed his name to Robert Carlyle Byrd and raised him in the coal-mining region of southern West Virginia. Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959. He served as a United States Senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. In the 1940s, Byrd organized and led a local Klan chapter as its Exalted Cyclops, but he wasn’t a Grand Wizard as his often reported.

Robert KennedyBirthday of Robert F Kennedy (November 20, 1925), U.S. Attorney General and Senator from New York. Brother of President John F. Kennedy. He was a Democratic candidate for president in 1968 when he was assassinated.

Joe BidenBirthday of PresidentJoseph Robinette Biden Jr, November 20, 1942, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Microsoft Windows 1.0 was released in 1985.

Tidbits of History, November 19

November 19 is:

World Toilet Day

International Men’s Day

National Macchiato Day
Macchiato is milk added to freshly brewed espresso.
Macchiatos are known for having more foam, rather than simply hot milk.
Two of the most common variations are: macchiato clado (served hot) and the macchiato freddo (served cold).
When Starbuck’s introduced the ‘Macchiato’ on their menu in 1987 it quickly became one of their most popular beverages on the menu.
Some Italians only drink cappuccinos in the morning and macchiatos in the afternoon.

The United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain signed Jay’s Treaty in 1794, which attempted to resolve some of the lingering problems left over from the American Revolutionary War.

Lewis & Clark reached the Pacific Ocean on November 19, 1805, becoming the first European-Americans to cross the continent.

Garfield's birthday, November 19Birthday of James Abram Garfield, (November 19, 1831) twentieth president of the U.S. Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other. In 1877 he said:

Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature …

President Abraham Lincoln, Nov 19, 1863On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

1953 – US Supreme Court ruled (7-2) in Toolson v. New York Yankees that baseball is a sport not a business, and therefore not subject to antitrust laws.

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Tidbits of History, November 18

November 18 is:

National Apple Cider Day
Kids were baptized in cider during the 14th century because it was believed that cider was more sanitary than water.
President John Adams drank cider every morning because he believed it promoted good health. Adams lived to 90 years old.
It takes about 36 apples to make one gallon of apple cider.

According to legend, William Tell shot an apple off his son’s head on this date in 1307.

Louis Jacques DaguerreBirthday of Louis Jacques Daguerre (November 18, 1789), French inventor of the “daguerreotype” method of producing permanent pictures.

Mark Twain’s short story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County was published in the New York Saturday Press. on November 18, 1865. The Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee takes place for a four day weekend, in Angels Camp, CA the third weekend in May every year and is one of California’s longest continually running fairs.

Birthday of Clarence Shepard Day (November 18, 1874), American author of “Life With Father”, a book famous in the late 1930’s, made into a movie in 1947.

In 1883, American and Canadian railroads instituted five standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.

died November 18Death of Chester Alan Arthur , twenty-first President of the United States (November 18, 1886). He became President upon the death of James Garfield. Arthur died in New York City at age 57. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and never regained consciousness.

In 1926, George Bernard Shaw refused to accept the money for his Nobel Prize, saying,

“I can forgive Alfred Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize.”

Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie in 1928, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, featuring the third appearances of cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. This is considered by the Disney corporation to be Mickey’s birthday.

United States President John F. Kennedy sent 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam in 1961.

In 1966, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule forbidding the eating of meat on Fridays.

In Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978, Jim Jones led his Peoples Temple to a mass murder-suicide that claimed 918 lives in all, including over 270 children.

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Tidbits of History, November 17

November 17 is:

Take a Hike Day

National Baklava Day
Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup, frosting or honey.
Baklava is the ancestor of strudel.
It was brought to Hungary by Turkish invaders in the 16th century.

Queen Elizabeth IElizabethan era begins: Queen Mary I of England died on November 17, 1558 and was succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth I of England. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #7: Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States written by Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton continues his argument regarding internal threats from dissensions between the States if the country is not united. He raises the issue of Western lands which were ceded to the country – if the country is broken into sections, what is to become of those lands?

Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C., in 1880 in the partially completed Capitol building.

From Today in Science
In 1869, the Suez Canal in Egypt was opened with a ceremony attended by the French Empress Eugénie (wife of Napoleon III). The 100-mile long canal cuts across the Isthmus of Suez, thus linking the Mediterranean and the Red Seas, and providing a direct transportation route for trade between Europe and Asia. Its construction was accomplished by the French engineer, Ferdinand de Lesseps. As a former French consul to Cairo, de Lesseps had made an agreement (1854) with the Ottoman governor of Egypt, enabling the Suez Canal Company to be formed (1856) with the rights to construct and operate the canal for 99 years. Digging began 24 Apr 1859, by hand, with forced labour. Progress improved with European mechanical dredgers and steam shovels, but was delayed by labour disputes and a cholera epidemic. His later started work on the Panama Canal.

1933 – United States recognized Soviet Union, opening trade.

Johnson wedding, November 17, 19341934 Lyndon B. Johnson married Claudia Alta Taylor, better known as “Lady Bird.”

1970 Douglas Engelbart receives the patent for the first computer mouse

2003BritneySpears Britney Spears, at 21 years old, becomes the youngest singer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Tidbits of History, November 16

November 16 is:

National Fast Food Day
During the early 1900s, the hamburger was thought to be polluted, unsafe to eat, and food for the poor. Street carts, not restaurants, typically served them.
There are more than 300,000 fast food restaurants in the U.S. alone

From Today in Science
In 1620, the first corn (maize) found in the U.S. by British settlers was discovered in Provincetown, Mass., by sixteen desperately hungry Pilgrims led by Myles Standish, William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins, and Edward Tilley at a place they named Corn Hill. The food came from a previously harvested cache belonging to a local Indian tribe. This corn provided a much needed supply of food which saw the Pilgrims through their first winter in the New World. A commemorative plaque placed on Corn Hill quotes in part “And sure it was God’s good providence that we found this corn for else we know not how we should have done.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky1849 – A Russian court sentenced writer Fyodor Dostoevsky to death for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group. At the last moment, a note from Tsar Nicholas I was delivered to the scene of the firing squad, commuting the sentence to ten years’ hard labor in Siberia. Dostoevsky’s seizures, which may have started in 1839, increased in frequency in Siberia, and he was diagnosed with epilepsy. On his release, he was forced to serve as a soldier, before being discharged on grounds of ill health. He survived until 1881. Dostoevsky was the author of Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov.

Oklahoma City Oklahoma became the United States 46th state on November 16, 1907

  • Capital: Oklahoma City
  • Nickname: Sooner State
  • Bird: Scissor-tailed flycatcher
  • Flower: Mistletoe
  • Tree: Redbud

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

Trivia:: Although the film, Oklahoma, was initially to have been shot on location in the title state, the producers opted to shoot elsewhere, apparently because the oil wells would be a distraction for exterior scenes. Location shooting was done mostly in Nogales, Arizona. The corn field in the opening number as well as the reprise song, “Surrey With the Fringe On Top” was shot at the historic Canoa Ranch in Green Valley, Arizona. The train station used in the “Kansas City” routine was located in Elgin, Arizona.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” opened on Broadway in 1959.

Charlie B Rangel convicted of ethics violations Nov 16, 2010In 2010, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel was convicted on 11 of 13 charges related to financial misconduct, prompting fellow lawmakers to censure the 80-year-old New York Democrat. Despite the ethics violations, Rangel was re-elected in 2012 and 2014.

Tidbits of History, November 15

November 15 is:

Clean Your Refrigerator Day

America Recycles Day

National Bundt Cake Day The shape of the Bundt pan was originally inspired by the traditional European fruit cake known as Gugelhupf.

National Philanthropy Day

National Spicy Hermit Cookie Day, a cookie spiced with cinnamon, cloves, allspice and/or nutmeg and filled with raisins, nuts and dates.

The Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation in 1777, a precursor to the Constitution of the United States. The Articles of Confederation (full title: the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union) was the first governing document of the United States of America. After months of debate, it was adopted by the Second Continental Congress, under President Henry Laurens, on November 15, 1777. It served as a non-binding plan of government but did not become effective (law) until it had been ratified by all 13 states. The final state (Maryland) signed, and it was ratified into law, on March 1, 1781 in York, Pennsylvania.

Pikes" PeakIn 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike saw a distant mountain peak while near the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Originally called “El Capitán” by Spanish explorers, the mountain was renamed Pike’s Peak. The Arapaho name is heey-otoyoo’ (“long mountain”).)

Jefferson MemorialIn Washington, D.C. on November 15, 1939, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial. It was completed in 1943. The bronze statue of Jefferson was added in 1947.

Heinrich Himmler1943 – The Holocaust: German SS leader Heinrich Himmler orders that Gypsies are to be put “on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps”.

1969 – Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 250,000-500,000 protesters staged a peaceful demonstration against the war, including a symbolic “March Against Death”.

1969 Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy’s Hamburger restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.

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Tidbits of History, November 14

November 14 is:

World Diabetes Day

Operating Room Nurse Day

National Guacamole Day

Robert Fulton, born November 14, 1765Birthday of Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765), American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing a commercially successful steamboat; the first was called North River Steamboat. In 1807 that steamboat traveled on the Hudson River with passengers, from New York City to Albany and back again, a round trip of 300 miles, in 62 hours.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #6: Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States written by Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton moves the discussion from threats from foreign powers to threats from internal factions. He uses the example of Greece and the Peloponnesian wars, the intrigue of the court of Henry VIII, and history of Holland and Venice as warnings.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, died November 14, 1831Death of Georg Wilhelm Hegel (Nov 14, 1831), German philosopher, and a major figure in German Idealism. He achieved recognition in his day and—while primarily influential in the continental tradition of philosophy—has become increasingly influential in the analytic tradition as well. His dying words were “Only one man understood me and he didn’t understand.”

Claude Monet, born November 14, 1840Birthday of Claude Monet (November 14, 1840), French landscape painter. In almost every sense he was the founder of French Impressionist painting, the term itself coming from one of his paintings, Impression, Sunrise. His paintings can be viewed at Wikiart.

“Moby Dick,” by Herman Melville, was published in 1851.

Nellie BlyIn 1889, pioneering female journalist Nellie Bly (aka Elizabeth Cochrane) began a successful attempt to travel around the world in less than 80 days. She completed the trip in 72 days.

Mamie Eisenhower, born November 14, 1896Birthday of Mamie Eisenhower (November 14, 1896), wife of Dwight Eisenhower; First Lady 1953-1961.

Prince Charles Birthday of King Charles II (November 14, 1948), (Charles Philip Arthur George), is the eldest child and heir of Queen Elizabeth II. He married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 and they had two sons: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (born 1982), and Prince Harry (born 1984). In 1996, the couple divorced. Diana died in a car crash the following year. In 2005, Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, who now uses the title Queen Consort.

Condi RiceBirthday of Condoleezza Rice, (November 14, 1954) American political scientist and diplomat; former Secretary of State in the George W. Bush administration.

Curt Schilling, born November 14, 1966Birthday of Curt Schilling, (November 14,1966), baseball pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in 1993 and won World Series championships in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in 2004 and 2007 with the Boston Red Sox.

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Tidbits of History, November 13

November 13 is:

National Indian Pudding Day; Indian Pudding is made with cornmeal, milk and molasses.

World Kindness Day; to remember that little acts of kindness can have a big impact.

Sadie Hawkins Day, invented by Alfred Gerald Capp for his comic strip “Li’l Abner” on which day the spinsters of Dogpatch might pursue the unattached males. Sadie was said to be “the homeliest gal in them hills”.

Thomas_CranmerOn November 13, 1553, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer and four others, including Lady Jane Grey, were accused of high treason and sentenced to death under Catholic Queen “Bloody” Mary I. Thomas Cranmer was the Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He supported the principle of royal supremacy, in which the king was considered sovereign over the Church within his realm. When Edward came to the throne, Cranmer was able to promote major reforms. He wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, a complete liturgy for the English Church. He changed doctrine or discipline in areas such as the Eucharist, clerical celibacy, the role of images in places of worship, and the veneration of saints. After the accession of the Catholic Mary I, Cranmer was put on trial for treason and heresy. His legacy lives on within the Church of England through the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles, an Anglican statement of faith derived from his work.

November 13, 1850 birthBirthday of Robert Louis Stevenson (November 13, 1850), Scottish novelist and poet famous for writing “Treasure Island”, “A Child’s Garden of Verses”, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and many more. Treasure Island is in the public domain and is available at our other website Nextdoorestore.com. A Child’s Garden of Verses is also available at Nextdoorestore.com.

Stevenson had always wanted his ‘Requiem’ inscribed on his tomb:

Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

1851 – The Denny Party landed at Alki Point, the first settlers of what would become Seattle, Washington.

War on Terrorism 2001: In the first such act since World War II, US President George W. Bush signed an executive order allowing military tribunals against foreigners suspected of connections to terrorist acts or planned acts on the United States.

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