All;
Today's my birthday. It's really not a big deal, but I was reading Wikipedia's entries for today, as I do just about every day, and figured, why not do a special "me" birthday edition. No, it's not the Morning Coffee, but what is? It's seems the MC has been retired. But like Roger Clemens, you never know when it'll come out of retirement. Perhaps the MC would be able to "bring the heat" better than Roger this time, or at least go longer than six innings.
The Comstock Lode was discovered in 1859. It yielded the equivalent of $600 billion in gold and silver in 2005 dollars. Not bad, eh?
Baseball Stuff: In 1880, the first perfect game in baseball history was pitched, by Lee Richmond. And in 1922, Hub Pruett, a pitcher for the St. Louis Browns, stuck out Babe Ruth three consecutive times. In 1939, the Baseball Hall of Fame was dedicated. Unfortunately, 1981 saw a 49 day players' strike over free-agent compensation. Also unfortunately, Inter-league Play began, and ended a 126-year tradition of league separation until the World Series.
Cold War/Russia: Ronald Reagan suggests that Mikhail Gorbechev "tear down this wall!" in reference to the Berlin Wall during a speech at Brandenburg Gate. Today is Russia Day, on which the Russian Federation declared its sovereignty in 1990. A year to the day later, Boris Yeltsin was elected the President.
WWII News: Thirteen thousand British and French troops surrender to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at Saint-Velery-en-Caux. Anne Frank received a diary for her 13 th birthday in 1942.
Our legal system prevailed in 1978, when David Berkowitz, aka the Son of Sam, was sentenced to 365 years in prison for the murder of six people. Needless to say, he'll be dead in 365 years.
Births: Otto Skorzeny, a Waffen-SS commando was born in 1908. George H.W. Bus was born in 1924. The aforementioned Anne Frank in 1929. Baseball players Ryan Klesko (1971) and Hideki Matsui (1974). Two of my favorite hot girls were also born on this day: the magnificent Adriana Lima (1981) and Kendra Wilkinson (1985). The latter is dumb as heck, but still nice to look at.
Deaths: Pope Leo III met his maker in 816. Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson (1994). Gregory Peck (2003).
In the Roman Empire, today would be the sixth day of Vestalia, in honor of Vesta. In Brazil (birthplace of the lovely Adriana Lima) celebrates Dia dos Namorados, or Lover's Day.
All in all, an interesting day. But aren't they all when you look back through history?
