July 11^th is:

 World Population Day

Bowdler’s Day (see below)

Cheer up the Lonely Day

All American Pet Photo Day

NATIONAL HOLIDAYS ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Belgium – Celebration of the Golden Spurs

Canada – Orangemen’s Day

China – Maritime Day

Kiribati – Independence Day

Mongolia – Naadam/Revolution Day

On This Day in HISTORY

1274 – Scottish King Robert the Bruce is born

1302 –Battle of the Golden Spurs: A Flemish coalition beats France’s Royal Army

1405 – Chinese fleet commanded by Zheng He sets sail to explore the world

1533 – Pope Clement VII excommunicates England’s King Henry VIII

Who  was Thomas Bowdler?  Find out by clicking 

1754 – Thomas Bowdler, infamous re-writer of Shakespeare, is born

Thomas Bowdler and his sister Henrietta thought Shakespeare was way too racy for women and children, so Henrietta cut out or re-wrote all the parts which she found offensive, and then Thomas published her mangled version as The Family Shakspeare [sic]. They even gave a happy ending to Romeo and Juliet!  Their name has become synonymous with censorship – to ‘bowdlerise’ means to remove material that is considered improper or offensive, especially if the result is that the work becomes weaker or less effective.

1801 – French Astronomer Jean-Louis Pons discovers first of his 36 comets

1804 – Alexander Hamilton is fatally wounded by Aaron Burr in a duel

1834 – James McNeill Whistler, American painter, is born 

1848 – Waterloo Station opens – today it’s Britain’s busiest railway station

1893 – Mikimoto Kokichi produces first ‘mabes’ – cultured pearls

1899 – E.B. White, author of Charlotte’s Web, is born

1914 – Babe Ruth makes his Major League debut

1921 – The Mongolian People’s Republic founded after capture by Red Army

1922 – The Hollywood Bowl opens in Los Angeles

1960 – Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird published

1970 – The Who’s version of “Summertime Blues” released

1972 – World Chess Championship between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky begins

1987 – Earth’s human population reaches 5 billion people

• 1948 Poster for the Waterloo Station Centennial 
• The Who in 1970