June 12th is

Crowded Nest Awareness Day *

Peanut Butter Cookie Day *

Little League Girls Baseball Day *

National Jerky Day *

National Loving Day *

National Red Rose Day

Orlando United Day *

International Falafel Day *

World Day Against Child Labour

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MORE! Georgia Harris Brown, Chick Corea and Mo’ne Davis, click

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WORLD FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

Brazil – Dia dos Namorados
(Valentine’s Day)

Finland – Helsinki Day

Nigeria – Democracy Day
(honors Moshood Abiola)

Paraguay – Chaco Armistice Day

Philippines – Independence Day

Russia – Russia Day

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On This Day in HISTORY

1107 – Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty born, his reign lasted from his assent to the throne in 1127 until he abdicated in 1162 to live in retirement in his palace, Virtuous Longevity, devoting his time to the arts, especially calligraphy and poetry; several of his works have survived, including Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain

1161 (day uncertain) – Constance born, daughter of Duke Conan IV and Margaret of Huntingdon. At age five, she became the Duchess of Brittany when Henry II of England invaded Brittany, and forced her father to abdicate in her favor, so he could arrange the  betrothal of Constance to his son Geoffrey. She spent the rest of her youth at the English court. In 1181, Constance, age 20, was forced to marry Geoffrey, but in 1186, he was trampled to death during a tournament, leaving Constance as the effective ruler of Brittany. In 1191, King Richard I proclaimed Constance’s son Arthur, his nephew, as his heir in a treaty signed with Philip II of France. Constance began including her son in the government of the Duchy in 1196, but King Richard had other plans for the Duchy and summoned her to Bayeau, where he arranged for her to be abducted by Ranulf, Earl of Chester (who already styled himself as the Duke of Brittany, although this was never accepted in Brittany.) She was imprisoned Saint-James de Beuvron, and the rumor was spread that it was for matrimonial reasons. This sparked rebellions in Brittany by her loyal subjects, and Arthur was sent to Brest. Richard eventually bowed to growing pressure, and had Constance released in 1198. Back in Brittany, the Duchess had the “marriage” annulled, and Arthur became her co-ruler. In 1199, she married Guy of Thouars. In 1201, Constance died at age 40, probably of complications from the birth of twin daughters

1240 – At the instigation of Louis IX of France, an inter-faith debate, known as the Disputation of Paris, starts between a Christian monk and four rabbis. A commission of Christian theologians condemned the Talmud to be burned, and 24 carriage loads of Jewish manuscripts were set on fire in the streets of Paris. Louis IX, the debate’s sponsor, said only skilled clerks could conduct a disputation with Jews but that laymen should plunge a sword into those who speak ill of the Christ

Louis IX of France by Auguste de Creuse

1429 – The Loire Valley campaign: Joan d’Arc leads the French army in their capture of the city of Jargeau, used by the English as a staging area, and the English commander, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk in the second day of the Battle of Jargeau

1550 – The city of Helsinki, Finland (belonging to Sweden at the time) is founded by King Gustav I of Sweden

1665 – The English begin running New York, the former Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam

1686 – Marie-Catherine Homassel-Hecquet born, French writer who wrote under the pen name “Madame H―” a pamphlet biography of the feral child Marie-Angélique Memmie Le Blanc (also known as the Wild Girl of Champagne) called Histoire d’une jeune fille sauvage trouvée dans les bois à l’âge de dix ans, which was translated several years later into English as An Account of a Savage Girl. The girl is believed to have survived in the forest for ten years, from about ages 9 to 19, before being captured by villagers in Songy, Champagne. At least one researcher found some evidence that she may have been a Native American of the Meskwaki (Fox) people, who re-learned human speech, and learned to read and write as an adult, a feat unique among long-term feral children

1802 – Harriet Martineau born, English sociologist and author of numerous books and essays, known as the first woman sociologist and for her feminist perspective; she earned enough to support herself entirely by writing, rare for a woman in the 19^th century

1812 – Napoleon’s invasion of Russia begins

1819 – Charles Kingsley born, clergyman, historian, novelist, and reformer in the Christian socialism movement; author of the children’s classic, The Water Babies; correspondent and friend of Charles Darwin

1827 –  Johanna Spyri, Swiss children’s book author; best known for Heidi

1889 –Lilian Jeannette Rice born, American architect, noted for the California Spanish Colonial Revival style; lead planner of the Rancho Santa Fe development in San Diego County CA (1922-1927), opened her own firm in 1928, became one of the few women members of the American Institute of Architecture (ALA) when she joined the San Diego chapter in 1931; several of her employees were women, including architect Olive Chadeayne; Rice died of ovarian cancer in 1938 at age 49

Lilian Jeannette Rice – El Mirador, Hamilton Carpenter Estate – 1928

1892 – Djuna Barnes born, American author, journalist, playwright, illustrator and artist; started in 1913 as a freelance journalist and illustrator for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and quickly became a very busy feature reporter and interviewer; published her illustrated volume of poetry, The Book of Repulsive Women, in 1915; sent by McCall’s magazine to Paris, she lived there from 1921 to 1931, and wrote A Book, published in 1923, and began her novel Nightwood, published in 1936, a classic of lesbian fiction, also considered an important book in modernist literature; in the 1940s, she drank heavily and did little work, often making ends meet with donations from friends, but swore off alcohol in 1950, and wrote her verse play The Antiphon and much poetry, in spite of being ravaged by arthritis;  became increasingly reclusive; elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1961

1895 – Eugénie Brazier born, French chef, who developed Lyonnaise cuisine. In 1921, she opened her first restaurant, La Mère Brazier, in Lyon. Brazier was the first person and first woman hold six Michelin stars simultaneously, three Michelin stars at two restaurants, after she opened a second restaurant in Col de la Luère. She held this record alone for 36 years. Noted nouvelle cuisine chef Paul Bocuse was one of her students. Eugénie Brazier Prizes include the Grand Prize for a cookbook by a woman or about women’s cooking, and a prize for best illustrations or photographs in a cookbook

1897 – Carl Elsener patents a penknife, now known as the Swiss Army Knife

1898 – Philippine nationalists declare their independence from Spain

1908 – Marina Semyonova born, Russian ballet dancer, first Soviet-trained prima ballerina, named a People’s Artist of the USSR

1912 – Eva Crane born, earned a doctorate in nuclear physics, but abandoned physics to become an expert on bees as a researcher, historian, archivist, editor and author; founder of the International Bee Research Association (1949)

1916 (date uncertain) – Peanut Butter Cookie Day * – the Aztecs and the Incas were making a paste of peanuts at least 3,500 years ago, but the modern version is claimed by several inventive types, including Dr. John Kellogg, and its popularity became assured by its appearance at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The Peanut Butter Cookie is even harder to track, but George Washington Carver became a much-sought-after speaker between 1916 and 1933. One of his most frequent topics: the many uses of the peanut

1917 – Ansuyah Ratiul Singh born, South African physician, community worker, novelist and playwright. Earned her medical degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1944, and returned to South Africa in 1946. She became part of the Passive Resistance Movement in Durban, and founded a series of clinics to serve the poor. In 1956, she was the first Indian woman appointed to the Natal Provincial Administration, and in 1962, she earned a diploma in Public Health from the University of Natal. Singh also wrote novels, including Behold the Earth Mourns, considered the first novel published by an Indian South African writer, an historical novel about the struggle against apartheid. She lectured to students on health and family planning, the Arts, and the role of women in the Indian community

1918 – Georgia Louise Harris Brown born, the second African American woman to become a licensed architect in the U.S. She was also the first black woman to earn a degree in architecture from the University of Kansas, and the only black member of the Chicago chapter of Alpha Alpha Gamma (women architects and allied women professionals. Before she became a license architect, Brown worked for Kenneth Roderick O’Neal (1945-1949), When she became licensed on 1949, she went to work for Frank J. Kornacker & Associates, and took evening classes in civil engineering. In 1953, she left for Brazil, where there were fewer racial barriers in her field. Brown learned to speak Portuguese by studying with a friend, and permanently moved to São Paulo by 1954, where she started a design firm, Escandia Ltda. She was project manager and designer for a large complex in Osasco, did a project for Pfizer Pharmaceutical Corporation in Guarulho, designed a Jeep factory in San Bernardo, a shipping facility for Siemens, and a Kodak Brasileire Comerico film factory. She also designed several homes for wealthy Brazilians. She retired to Washington DC in 1995, and died in 1999

1919 – Uta Hagen born in Germany, German-American actress; blacklisted during the McCarthy era, she became better known as a highly influential acting teacher and author of Respect for Acting and A Challenge for Actors; elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981

1921 – U.S. President Warren G. Harding urges every young man to attend military training camp

1922 – Margherita Hack born, influential Italian astrophysicist and author, who contributed to the spectral identification of many stars; first woman administrator of the Trieste Astronomical Observatory (1964-1987), member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. She was a vocal advocate for civil rights and equality, and a member of and the Italian Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics, and battled the strictures of the Vatican. She also launched a successful campaign against construction of nuclear power plants in Italy

1923 – Harry Houdini escapes from a strait jacket while suspended upside down 40 feet in the air

1924 – Grete Dollitz born in Germany, American classical guitarist, educator, and radio host; author of a story of her family’s experiences as immigrants

Grete Dollitz in 1930 and 2012

1925 – Gladys Hansen born, American librarian, curator of the Museum of the City of San Francisco; San Francisco’s longtime city archivist, and a renowned expert on the city’s history, especially the 1906 earthquake and fires. Using old records, letters and newspaper accounts, she put together a list of missing casualties, first on three-by-five cards and later on computers. Her research uncovered over 3,000 people who died in the quake or the fires afterwards, a much higher number than the official list of 478 dead. Co-author, with former San Francisco Fire Chief Emmet Condon, of Denial of Disaster, published in 1989, arguing that the city fathers had covered up the real death toll because admitting such a high number was bad for business

1929 – Brigid Brophy born, British author, critic, social reformer and animal rights activist; Hackenfeller’s Ape and Mozart the Dramatist

1929 – Anne Frank born, Dutch author and WWII Holocaust victim; know for The Diary of Anne Frank

1930 – Barbara Harris born, American minister and Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, first woman ordained a bishop in the Anglican Communion

1931 – Rona Jaffee born, American novelist, noted for controversial book Mazes and Monsters (1981) about possible dangers of fantasy role-playing games; hired in 1960s by Editor Helen Gurley Brown to write cultural pieces for Cosmopolitan magazine. In 1995, she created the Rona Jaffee Foundation, which gives the Rona Jaffee Foundation Writer’s Awards, exclusively for women authors, in Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry categories

1932 – Mimi Coertse born, South African operatic soprano

Mimi Coertse as Queen of the Night from Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

1935 – U.S. Senator Huey Long of Louisiana makes the longest speech in Senate history, speaking for 15 ½ hours

Huey Long on TIME cover – April 1935

1935 – Ella Fitzgerald, age 17,  makes her first recordings: “Love and Kisses” and “I’ll Chase the Blues Away”

Ella Fitzgerald in 1935

1935 – The Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay ends in a truce

1939 – The National Baseball Hall of Fame is dedicated at Cooperstown, NY

1941 – In London, the Inter-Allied Declaration is signed, the first step towards the establishing the United Nations

1941 – Lucille Roybal-Allard born, American Democratic politician, U.S. House of Representatives for three different California districts since 2003, first Mexican-American woman elected to U.S. Congress; currently serving the 40^th District; California State Assemblywoman (1986-1992); currently on House Appropriations Committee, Homeland Security Subcommittee and Labor/Health/Human Services/Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee; member of Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Co-Chair with Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) of the Women’s Working Group on Immigration Reform

1941 – Chick Corea born, American Jazz and Fusion composer and musician

1944 – Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung announces he will support Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek in the war against Japan

1946 – Catherine Bréchignac born, French physicist, co-founder of the field of cluster physics; President of CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) from 1997 to 2002;  commander of the Légion d’honneur, and “secrétaire perpétuel” of the Académie des sciences since 2011

1948 – The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act is signed into law allowing women to serve as regular members of the United States armed forces. Prior to this they could only serve during times of war

1950 – Little League Girls Baseball Day * – A girl plays an entire season with a team in New York, but then the Little League organization institutes a ban on girls in Little League. The ban stays on the books until 1974, when the National Organization for Women (NOW) backs Maria Pepe in a discrimination lawsuit in which the New Jersey Superior Court decides that Little League must allow girls to try out

Pennsylvania’s Mo’ne Davis becomes the first girl to pitch
a shut-out in the Little League World Series, 2014

1963 – Civil rights leader Medgar Evers is fatally shot in front of his Jackson MS home

1967 – Loving Day * – Mildred and Richard Loving are each sentenced to a year in prison for marrying each other, a violation of Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924, because she is black and he is white. They bring suit, and the U.S. Supreme Court makes a unanimous decision in Loving v. Virginia that the Virginia law is unconstitutional, ending all race-based restriction on marriage in the U.S.

1979 – Bryan Allen provides the man power to fly the Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel

1981 – The movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, starring Harrison Ford, premieres

1981 – USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) classifies ketchup and pickle relish as vegetables. Public protest and ridicule cause them to reverse the decision

1982 – 75,000 people rally against nuclear weapons in New York’s Central Park

1999 – NATO peacekeeping forces enter Kosovo province in Yugoslavia

2005 – The first known Crowded Nest Awareness Day * is inspired by the Kathleen Shaputis book Crowded Nest Syndrome: Surviving the Return of Adult Children

2011 – The first International Falafel Day * is created by American-Israeli blogger and entrepreneur Ben Lang, with a goal of “connecting the world through Falafel”

2012 – National Jerky Day * is launched by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, but the dried meat has been around, made with various meats. Its name is believed to be derived from a Quechua word, ch’arki, but its use is wide-spread, especially in the Andes Mountains of South America, as a staple of travelers. Related to, but not the same as Pemmican, which includes other dried ingredients, like berries, which is a travel food of many North American tribes

2016 – Police say approximately at least 20 people were killed and another 40 wounded after a gunman armed with multiple weapons opened fire in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub around 2 a.m. The shooter was killed by police at about 5 a.m. after creating a hostage situation inside the club. Investigators say the gunman was a 29-year-old Floridian. Police believe the attack was planned well in advance

2017 – The inaugural Orlando United Day * honoring the memory of the 49 victims killed and supporting the survivors of the Pulse nightclub tragedy. This is a coalition event of the One Orlando Alliance, Orlando’s LGBTQ+ ‘Acts of Love and Kindness’ movement, with the governments of the City of Orlando and Orange County of Florida, now an annual day in Orlando, with programs and charitable events

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