October 1st is
Fire Pup Day *
International Music Day *
Homemade Cookies Day
International Coffee Day *
National Lace Day
Raccoon Appreciation Day *
U.N. International Day of Older Persons *
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MORE! Richard Stockton, Annie Besant and Vladimir Horowitz, click
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WORLD FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
Bhutan – Thimpu: Tshechu
(Bhutanese Buddhist festival)
Cameroon – Unification Day
China – Guiqing Jie
(National Day)
Cyprus, Nigeria, Palau and Tuvalu –
Independence Days
Hong Kong and Macau – National Day
Micronesia – Chuuk (Constitution Day)
Nigeria – National Day
San Marino – Captains Regent Investiture Day
Uzbekistan – O’qituvchi va Murabbiylar Kuni
(Teachers and Instructors Day)
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On This Day in HISTORY
331 BC – Though his forces are heavily outnumbered, Alexander the Great uses tactics and his light infantry to decisively defeat Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela, in what is now Iraqi Kurdistan
959 – Edgar I ‘the Peaceful’ is crowned King of England; his coronation ceremony is arranged by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, and becomes the basis for future English coronation ceremonies down to the present day
A contemporary portrayal of King Edgar in the New Minster Charter
1553 – Coronation of Mary I (‘Bloody Mary’) of England
Queen Mary I by Hans Eworth
1569 – Elizabeth I imprisons Duke of Norfolk for trying to wed Mary Queen of Scots
1730 – Richard Stockton born, American jurist, lawyer and legislator; member of the Second Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence; first Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court; his family donated some of the land for what would become Princeton University, and he was a trustee of the school for 26 years; his wife, poet Annis Boudinot Stockton, is one of the first women authors to be published in Colonial newspapers
1791 – The first session of the short-lived French Legislative Assembly, operating under the French Constitution of 1791; it will pass numerous reforms, most notably the transfer of registration of births, deaths and marriages from the Catholic Church to the state, as well as changes to divorce and inheritance laws; the assembly is divided into two factions: one favors a constitutional monarchy, but the democratic faction distrusts the king, and believes revolutionary measures are necessary
1800 – Spain cedes back to France the Louisiana territory that U.S would later purchase
1811 – The first steamboat on the Mississippi River arrives in New Orleans LA
1911 replica of the original steamboat
1814 – The Congress of Vienna opens, tasked with redrawing national borders in Europe after the defeat of Napoleon
1829 – South African College is founded in Cape Town, South Africa; it will later separate into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools
1832 – Texian political delegates convene at San Felipe de Austin to petition for changes in the governance of Mexican Texas
1843 – The News of the World tabloid begins publication in London
1847 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic, becomes the second woman to discover a comet (C/1847 T1), after Caroline Herschel, winning a prize established by King Frederick VI of Denmark
1847 – Annie Besant born, British socialist, women’s rights activist, theosophist, author and orator; notable speaker for the Fabian Society, the National Secular Society (NSS) and later for the Theosophist Society; prosecuted for publishing a book advocating birth control in 1877; also supported home-rule for Ireland and India, and labor movement actions, including the 1888 London matchgirls strike; elected to the London School Board for Tower Hamlets, even though few women could vote at the time
1861 – Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management is published, selling 60,000 copies in its first year and remaining in print in revised editions to the present day
1862 – Esther Boise Van Deman born, a leading American archaeologist; first woman to specialize in Roman field archaeology, establishing the standards for dating ancient constructions using variations in building materials, which advanced the study of Roman architecture
1865 – Paul Abraham Dukas born, French composer and scholar; The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (L’apprenti sorcier)
1880 – The Edison Lamp Works begins commercial production of electric lamps
1880 – John Philip Souza is named director of the U.S. Marine Corps Band
1881 – William Boeing born, American engineer and aviation pioneer; founder of Boeing Company
1885 – Special delivery mail service begins in the U.S. with first routes in West Virginia
1890 – U.S. Congress passes the McKinley Tariff Act, raising rates to record levels, and also establishes Yosemite National Park
Yosemite Valley View by Ansel Adams
1891 – Stanford University opens its doors as a coeducational, tuition-free (until 1920) institution near Palo Alto CA
1893 – Faith Baldwin born, author of over 85 popular novels, frequently using women juggling career and family as a central theme; her last book, Adam’s Eden, was published in 1977, the year before she died at age 84
1896 – U.S. Post Office begins Rural Free Delivery
1898 – The Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration is founded
1903 – Vladimir Horowitz born in Russia, American piano virtuoso and composer, acclaimed as one of the greatest pianists of 20th century
1904 – Otto R. Frisch born in Germany, a Jewish physicist who left Germany in 1933; worked with Niels Bohr, coined the term “nuclear fission”; worked at Los Alamos on the first theoretical mechanism for detonating an atomic bomb
1908 – The Model T Ford goes on sale for $825.00, or $850.00 for the touring car
1910 – Bonnie Parker born, infamous American robber and murderer; with partner Clyde Barrow, went on crime spree (1932 -1934); dies in hail of bullets fired by police after an extended manhunt
1910 – The Los Angeles Times building is badly damaged by a bomb placed by a member of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers when it goes off prematurely, igniting gas lines, killing 21 people and injuring 100. After the union’s initial national success in organizing iron workers, industrialists, led by U.S. Steel and the American Bridge Company, form the National Erectors’ Association to bust the union, using labor spies, agents provocateur, private detectives, and strike breakers to restore “open shops.” Harrison Gray Otis, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, is vehemently anti-union, and uses his paper to rail against them
1912 – Kathleen Ollerenshaw born, English mathematician and politician; noted for work on critical lattices and most-perfect pandiagonal magic squares; Lord Mayor of Manchester (1975-1976), and High Sheriff of Greater Manchester (1978-1979), while serving as (Conservative party) Councilor for Rushholme (1956-1981); an amateur astronomer who donated her telescope to Lancaster University, where an observatory is named for her
1918 – WWI: Arab forces led by “Lawrence of Arabia” capture Damascus
1928 – Duke Ellington records “The Mooche”
1928 – The Soviet Union introduces its first 5-year plan
1929 – Bonnie Owens born, American singer-songwriter; Just Between the Two of Us, Why Don’t Daddy Live Here Anymore? and Don’t Take Advantage Of Me
1931 – Spain adopts women’s suffrage
1935 – Julie Andrews born, singer and actress; noted for her four-octave vocal range, she has continued her career as an actress after botched surgery for nodules in 1997 damaged her vocal chords, limiting her range and ability to hold notes
1936 – General Franco, ‘El Caudillo’ (the leader) is proclaimed Spain’s head of state
1939 – Winston Churchill describes the Soviet Union as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” during a radio broadcast
1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike opens as the first U.S. toll superhighway
1949 – Mao Tse-tung raises flag of the People’s Republic of China as the Nationalists forces flee to Taiwan
1952 – This is Your Life debuts on NBC-TV
1953 – Grete Waitz born, Norwegian marathon runner; former world record holder, as the first woman to run a marathon in under 2 ½ hours in 1979; she won nine New York City Marathons between 1978 and 1988, more than any other runner in history; Olympic silver medalist in the 1984 games, and gold medalist in the 1983 World Championships
1958 – NASA replaces the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (1915-1958)
1961 – The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is formed, becoming the country’s first centralized military espionage organization
1961 – East and West Cameroon merge as the Federal Republic of Cameroon
1962 – Johnny Carson begins his 29-year stint as host of the Tonight show on NBC, following after Jack Paar
1962 – The Beach Boys first album, Surfin’ Safari, is released
1964 – The Free Speech Movement starts at the University of California at Berkeley
1964 – Japanese Shinkansen (“bullet trains”) begin Tokyo-to-Osaka rail service, with speeds reaching 320 mph (515 km)
Opening ceremonies for the Tokyo-to-Osaka train
1969 – The Beatles Abbey Road album is released in the U.S., after an earlier UK release
1969 – The Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time
1971 – Walt Disney World opens in Orlando FL
1975 – International Music Day * – Yehudi Menuhin joins with UNESCO to initiate this day and promote the musical arts and UNESCO’s International Music Prize
1976 – Styx releases Crystal Ball album
1979 – U.S. hands control of the Panama Canal Zone over to Panama
1980 – Robert Redford becomes the only male featured on the cover of The Ladies’ Home Journal in its 97 years
1982 – Sony begins selling the first compact disc player, in Japan
1984 – U.S. Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan announces his leave of absence after he’s indicted on larceny and fraud charges, but he is later acquitted
1988 – Mikhail Gorbachev becomes President of the Soviet Union
1990 – In Croatia, minority Serbs proclaim autonomy
1990 – U.N. International Day of Older Persons * is established by a vote of the UN General Assembly
1996 – While Fire Pup Day * had been around before the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) started in 1996, which recruits dogs rescued from shelters to partner with firefighters as search-and-rescue teams, it’s been a natural for this organization to promote a day dedicated to fire dogs
1999 – Beijing celebrates 50th anniversary of founding of the Peoples Republic of China
2002 – The first Raccoon Appreciation Day * is launched in California to make people aware of the raccoon’s place in maintaining the ecosystem
2008 – After an initial failure to pass, a $700 billion financial industry bailout wins lopsided passage in the Senate, 74-25, when it is loaded with tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, raises the cap on Federal Deposit Insurances from $100,000 to $250,000, and other sweeteners. The bailout money is to be used to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets from troubled institutions
2015 – International Coffee Day * is officially set on October 1 by the International Coffee Organization, and launched in Milan Italy. The ICO began in London in 1963, under the auspices of the UN because of the great economic importance of coffee; currently, it has 43 producing members and 7 importing members
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Today has something for everyone: International Music Day (this takes care of 90% of the world’s people right off); International elderly day (now we’re over the 100% mark); and of course the raccoons, who could ever forget our little burglars in the treetops! YAY!!
Not to mention it’s International Coffee Day, which certainly affects most Americans, and much of the rest of the world as well.
And let’s not forget the contribution raccoons have made to music.
Hi Gene –
LOL
Darn, I can never get these youtubes to post in the comments – it’s a raccoon playing “sprinkler harp.”
Oh, THERE it is! Huzzah!
OMG that is hysterical! That is the best “funny animal video with music” I have ever seen, by far!!
LOL!