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Shooting stars. This electrical phenomenon was observed on Wednesday morning last at Richmond and its vicinity, in a manner that alarmed many, and astonished every person that beheld it. From one until three in the morning, those starry meteors seemed to fall from every point in the heavens, in such numbers as to resemble a shower of sky rockets …
Lyrid meteor showers (Apr 15 - Apr 28, peaking April 22); reported in a newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, USA on April 23, 1803

When a star falls from the sky
It leaves a fiery trail. 
It does not die.
Its shade goes back to its own place to shine again.
The Indians sometimes find the small stars
where they have fallen in the grass.
Native Americans legend, among the Menominee of the Great Lakes region (Wisconsin)   Source

The bay trees in our country are all wither'd, 
And meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven; 
The pale-fac'd moon looks bloody on the earth 
And lean-look'd prophets whisper fearful change; 
Rich men look sad, and ruffians dance and leap, 
The one in fear to lose what they enjoy, 
The other to enjoy by rage and war. 
These signs forerun the death or fall of kings. 
William Shakespeare; Richard II, Act II, Scene iv (a Welsh captain warns the Earl of Salisbury)   Shakespeare on Omens and Prophecies

Today is Earth Day, or, as the Bush administration calls it, Monday.
David Letterman, American talk show host and comedian

Highly recommended:
Folklore of World Holidays
by Margaret Read MacDonald

Power and Terror - Noam Chomsky

The Pagan Prosperity

The Celtic Dragon Tarot

Brave Hearts, Rebel Spirits

Activists Beyond Borders

Spellcraft

The Encyclopedia of Saints

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What Would Jefferson Do?
By Thom Hartmann

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Lawless World

 

The Great War for Civilisation

By Robert Fisk

The God Who Wasn't There

A Question of Torture
By Alfred McCoy

When Corporations Rule the World

Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

The Corporation
Highly recommended DVD

Crimes Against Nature : How George W Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy
By Robert F Kennedy, Jr

The Skeptic's Dictionary

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Drawing Down the Moon

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The Impact of the Gene

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The Legend of the Wandering Jew

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Earth Day, USA 

(Celebrated on the Vernal Equinox by the United Nations)

Earth Day at Wikipedia

Earth Day is a secular holiday celebrated in many English-speaking countries. Its founding organizer, US Senator Gaylord Nelson, intended it to be a day that focuses on political efforts to fight pollution, perform conservation, biodiversity, and other environmental concerns to protect the Earth.

The symbol for Earth Day is a green Θ (Greek theta) on a white background. 

History

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970. The first Earth Day was initiated by Senator Gaylord Nelson, an environmental activist in the US Senate, to demonstrate popular political support for an environmental agenda. The holiday proved extremely popular. The first Earth Day had participants and celebrants in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities.

The United Nations, however, celebrates Earth Day each year on the Vernal Equinox (around March 20). On February 26, 1971, Secretary-General U Thant signed a proclamation to that effect. At the moment of the equinox, the Peace Bell is rung at the UN headquarters in New York.

The Tale of the Two Earth Days

"Earth Day Network is an alliance of 5,000 groups in 184 countries working to promote a healthy environment and a peaceful, just, sustainable world.

"Each year, Earth Day inspires a groundswell of grassroots action in communities around the world. People from Peru to India, and from Ireland to the USA take part in Earth Day events and actions which educate, spread awareness and push for tangible change.

"Every voice counts; every action matters. Earth Day is based on the simple philosophy that ordinary people, acting together, can achieve extraordinary things."   Source

Environment and Permaculture in the news (from Daily Planet News)

Want to calculate your personal Ecological Footprint?
Take the Ecological Footprint Quiz (it takes about 5 minutes) at Footprint Quiz.

Here's mine:

CATEGORY GLOBAL HECTARES FOOD 1.8 MOBILITY 0.2 SHELTER 0.3 GOODS/SERVICES 0.4 TOTAL FOOTPRINT 2.7 "IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 1.5 PLANETS."

Roman Catholic Earth Day site    KidCast for Peace    Sustainability - Climate Change links

Fourth 'R' for Earth Day - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle ... Repair    More    And more

Olympeia, ancient Greece (in honour of the Olympian Zeus)
Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar  

Penteria, ancient Rome
Today was the washing of the clothes of Minerva in her temple in Rome. Minerva was the Roman goddess of war who sprang fully armed from the head of Jupiter (Zeus). She had more important festivals, the Minervalia and Quinquatria (Mar 19 - 23).

Roman festivals and notable days in the Book of Days    Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days

Feast day of St Abdiesus

Feast day of St Abrosimus

Feast day of St Aceptismas

Feast day of Ss Alexander and Epipodiuss, martyrs at Lyons

Feast day of St Apelles

Feast day of St Azadanes

Feast day of Ss Azades and Tarbula (Tharba), martyrs in Persia (Iran)

Feast day of St Bicor

Feast day of St Helimenas

Feast day of St James of Persia

Feast day of St Joseph of Persia

Feast day of St Leonidas (Leonides), father of Origen

Feast day of St Mareas

Feast day of St Maria Gabriella

Feast day of St Milles

Feast day of St Opportuna, abbess of Montreuil

Feast day of St Rufus, or Rufin, anchoret at Glendalough, near Dublin
(Wood crowfoot, Rununculus auricomus, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.)

Feast day of Ss Soter and Caius, Popes, martyrs

Feast day of St Theodore of Sykeon (Sicceon), bishop and confessor
A vegetarian, he wore an iron girdle for austerity.

Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints

Arbor Day, Nebraska, USA
Proclaimed in 1872 when more than a million trees were planted. The legislature of California had already made March 7 Bird and Arbor Day.

Oklahoma Day, Oklahoma, USA

Queen Isabella Day, Spain and some US States

Nagasaki Takoage, or Kite-Flying Event, Nagasaki, Japan (Apr 3 - 29)

Bunsui Oiran Dochu, or Courtesan (oiran) Parade, Nishkanbara, Niigita Prefecture, Japan (Apr 16 - 23)

Yasukuni Matsuri, Japan (Apr 21 - 25)

Discovery Day, Brazil

1451 Isabella of Castile (d. November 26, 1504), queen of Castile and Leon, who with her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452 - 1516) established the Inquisition in Spain, which, inter alia, forced Christian conversion on Moors and Jews; those who did not convert, were expelled or put to death.

Expulsion of the Jews and Muslims

From Wikipedia: With the institution of the inquisition, Isabella and Ferdinand set a policy of "religious cleansing". On March 31, 1492 they issued the Alhambra decree for the expulsion of the Jews (See main article on Spanish Inquisition). Approximately 200,000 people were forced to leave, others converted, often only to be persecuted further by the inquisition eager to uncover Marranos. The Muslims of the newly conquered area had been initially granted religious freedom, but pressure to convert increased, and after some revolts, a policy of forced expulsion or conversion was also instituted after 1500 (see article on Moriscos).

1550 Edward de Vere, 17^th Earl of Oxford (d. 1604), hereditary Lord Great Chamberlain of England

1610 Pope Alexander VIII (d. 1691)

1707 Henry Fielding (d. 1754), English author

1724 Immanuel Kant (d. 1804), German philosopher

'The Drinking Song of the Department of Philosophy 
of the University of Woolloomooloo, Sydney, Australia'
(Monty Python)

Immanuel Kant was a real pissant
Who was very rarely stable.
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
Who could think you under the table.
David Hume could out-consume
Wilhelm Freidrich Hegel,
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
Who was just as schloshed as Schlegel.

There's nothing Nietzche couldn't teach ya
'Bout the raising of the wrist.
Socrates, himself, was permanently pissed.

John Stuart Mill, of his own free will,
On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.
Plato, they say, could stick it away--
Half a crate of whisky every day.
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle.
Hobbes was fond of his dram,
And René Descartes was a drunken fart.
'I drink, therefore I am.'

Yes, Socrates, himself, is particularly missed,
A lovely little thinker,
But a bugger when he's pissed.

By Eric Idle

Hear it in full at Source

1812 Solomon Caesar Malan (d. 1894), orientalist

1840 Odilon Redon (d. 1916), French painter

1864 Phil May (Philip William May; d. August 5, 1903), British (Leeds)-born Australian caricaturist famed for his work on The Bulletin of Sydney.

He drank too much and when he died at 39 he weighed only about 70 pounds. Still, in his short life he left behind about 800 cartoons, many of which helped form the golden years of The Bulletin. Phil May is shown here in a self-portrait.

"He returned to London in 1890 and did some book illustrating until he found employment with the Graphic. He began contributing cartoons to Punch in 1893 and two years later became a member of the staff. For twelve years (1892-1904) produced a Phil May Annual."   Source

"In 1883 he found his way to London, went through many hardships, and though he had a few sketches accepted, had to return to Leeds in 1884 in bad health. At the end of that year he did a remarkable page of caricatures of well-known personages for the Christmas number of Society, and in the spring of 1885 he obtained a place on the staff of the St Stephen's Review. He was doing well enough to be able to decline an offer of £15 a week made by W. H. Traill (q.v.), manager of the Sydney Bulletin. The offer was raised to £20 a week, and May, realizing that the climate would be good for his health, accepted it and sailed for Australia at the end of 1885.

"It has often been said that the mechanical weaknesses of the Bulletin printing press led to May's economy of line, but a glance at May's earlier work will show that that is not quite the whole truth. However, the variety and mass of May's work in the Bulletin, he did about 800 drawings during the less than three years that he was on the staff, no doubt gave him great practice in eliminating the unnecessary. It was a wonderful opportunity for a young man of 21, and though in later years May's work may have gained in refinement, it is doubtful whether it ever became more vigorous or more truly comic. After leaving the Bulletin he stayed for a little while in Melbourne but left Australia about the end of 1888. He lived for some time in Rome and Paris with the intention of studying painting, but returned to London about 1890. He continued to send occasional sketches to the Bulletin until 1894, and in London his work was appearing in the St Stephen's Review, the Graphic, Pick-me-up, and in 1893, Punch. His drawings for The Parson and the Painter, which had appeared in the St Stephen's Review, were published in book form in 1891, and in 1892 Phil May's Summer Annual and Phil May's Winter Annual first appeared. Fifteen of these annuals were eventually published, full of excellent drawings from May's pen. In 1896 he became a regular member of the staff of Punch and so remained until his death. He still continued to contribute to other periodicals such as the Sketch and the Graphic, and towards the end of his life did some beautiful work in pencil, lightly coloured. He died after a long illness on 5 August 1903. He had married at the age of 21 a young widow of great charm and personality, Mrs Charles Farrer, who survived him without issue.

"Phil May was slightly above medium height, gaunt, with a profile reminiscent of that of Pope Leo XIII. A born story-teller with an unfailing sense of humour, he was the typical good companion, beloved by hosts of friends and sponged upon by troops of parasites. All the efforts of his best friends and his loyal wife could not prevent him from being continually fleeced and imposed upon. May could never forget he had been once near starvation himself, and his purse was open for all in need. He drank too much for his own good in his later years, but, however careless he may have been about his health, he was never careless in his drawing, and at his death was recognized as one of the great masters of line drawing. Examples of his work will be found at the leading Australian galleries, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the British Museum. In addition to his Summer and Winter Annuals various collections were published, including Phil May's Sketch Book (1895), Phil May's Guttersnipes (1896), Phil May's Graphic Pictures and Phil May's A. B. C. (1897), Phil May's Album (1899), Phil May, Sketches from Punch (1903). Publications after his death included Phil May in Australia (1904), The Phil May Folio (1904), and Humorists of the Pencil, Phil May (1908)."
Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography, written by AG Stephens

Cartoonists of the early Sydney Bulletin

Lawson & Co: People, etc, with associations with Henry and Louisa Lawson

1870 (NS) Vladimir Lenin (b. Vladmir Ilyich Ulynanov; d. January 21, 1924), Russian revolutionary, state leader

1873 Ellen Glasgow (d. 1945), American author

1876 Robert Bárány (d. 1936), Nobel Prize winner in medicine

1881 Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (April 22, 1881 (May 2, New Style) - June 11, 1970), Russian lawyer and politician, second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government, immediately before the Bolsheviks and Lenin came to power

1888 Sir Lala Sukuna (d. May 30, 1958), Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman who is regarded as the forerunner of the post-independence leadership of Fiji. Ratu Sukuna's date of death is celebrated as a national public holiday on the last Monday of May every year.

1891 Harold Jeffreys (d. 1989), English astronomer

1899 (NS) Vladimir Nabokov (d. 1977), Russian-American author. He wrote his first literary works in Russian, but rose to international prominence as a masterly prose stylist for the novels he composed in English.

Nabokov's best-known work in English is undoubtedly Lolita (1955), frequently cited as one of the most important novels of the 20^th Century, probably followed by the singularly structured Pale Fire (1962). Both of these works exhibit Nabokov's love of wordplay and descriptive detail.

His date of birth was April 10, 1899 according to the Julian calendar in use in Russia at that time. The Gregorian equivalent is April 22, which is achieved by adding 12 days to the Julian date. Some sources have incorrectly calculated a date of April 23, by inappropriately using the 13-day difference in the calendars that applied only after February 28, 1900. However this is irrelevant as Nabokov was born before then. In 'Speak, Memory' Nabokov explains the cause of the error and confirms the correct date of April 22.

1904 Robert Oppenheimer (d. 1967), American physicist, developer of the atomic bomb 

Robert J. Oppenheimer, after becoming "father of the atomic bomb" (right), and his former self (left). 
This photograph amid the ruins of Hiroshima records their only meeting. Gallery Bouglaf

"In 1936 Oppenheimer met Jean Tatlock, a psychiatry student, and they made plans to marry, although they were not to do so. Like many intellectuals during the Great Depression, they were drawn to radical causes. Tatlock joined the Communist party, and the couple increasingly moved in leftist circles. With the death of his father in 1937, Oppenheimer became wealthy, and he contributed to several left-wing organizations. In 1939 he fell in love with Katharine "Kitty" Puening Harrison, a biologist and widow of a Communist killed during the Spanish civil war. She, too, had belonged to the Communist party. They married in November 1940 and had two children.

"About this time Oppenheimer began to sever his ties with many leftist friends and organizations. This may have been partly in response to chilling revelations about Joseph Stalin, but Oppenheimer was also strengthening his credentials so as to play a major role in the development of the atom bomb."   Source

"The Trinity Test in New Mexico, 22 kilotons, 16 July 1945. The astonishing power of the bomb affected everyone present. Robert J. Oppenheimer, leader of the team that built the device, later wrote 'We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the . . . Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds'. I suppose we all felt that one way or another.' You can link to an audio file of Oppenheimer making this statement by clicking HERE. The more prosaically minded director of the test, Dr K. Bainbridge, said 'Now we are all sons-of-bitches'. Within three weeks, 'Little Boy' was dropped on Hiroshima." 
Source: Gallery Bouglaf (site of my mate, Douglas Houston)

"Dr. Oppenheimer in his testimony defined 'fellow-traveler' as 'someone who accepted part of the public program of the Communist Party, who was willing to work with and associate with Communists, but who was not a member of the party.' He testified to having been a fellow-traveler from late 1936 or early 1937, with his interest beginning to taper off after 1939, and with very little interest after 1942. He further stated that within the framework of his definition of a fellow-traveler, he would not have considered himself as such after 1942.

"He further stated that with respect to things that the Communists were doing, in which he still had an interest, it was not until 1946 that it was clear to him that he would not collaborate with Communists no matter how much he sympathized with what they pretended to represent."
Findings and Recommendations of the Personnel Security Board in the Matter of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer

1907 Ivan Efremov (d. 1972), Russian paleontologist, taphonomist, science fiction author

1910 Norman Steenrod (d. 1971), American mathematician

1912 Kathleen Ferrier (d. 1953), American contralto

1914 Jan de Hartog (d. 2002), Dutch writer

1915 Arizmendi (José María Arizmendiarrieta; d. November 29, 1976), priest and founder of the Mondragón Cooperative Corporation in the Basque Country

CounterCulture Wiki

1917 Sidney Nolan (d. November 28, 1992), Australian painter

1923 Louise Glück, USA poet

1923 Bettie Page, pin-up model

1923 Aaron Spelling, television producer, writer

1926 James Stirling (d. 1992), British architect

1936 Glen Campbell, American musician

1937 Jack Nicholson, American actor

"Abandoned by his father in his childhood, he was raised believing his grandmother was his mother and his mother was his older sister. The truth was revealed to him years later when a Time magazine researcher uncovered the truth while preparing a story on the star. Jack had a 17 year relationship with actress Anjelica Huston which ended in 1990 after Rebecca Broussard was carrying his child."   Source: IMDB

1937 Juanita Nielsen (d. probably July 4, 1975), Australian publisher of NOW, an alternative newspaper in the Sydney suburb of Kings Cross, where she lived and was involved in a campaign against a proposed development project in the suburb.

Nielsen disappeared on July 4, 1975 and it is generally believed that she was kidnapped and murdered because of her anti-development and anti-corruption stance. Former policeman Fred Krahe has been accused of her murder. A Joint Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia, formed in 1994 to further investigate her disappearance, concluded that corruption impeded the police investigation.

1938 Alan Bond, disgraced Australian businessman, one-time billionaire whose business empire came unstuck after his 1987 purchase of Vincent van Gogh's Blue Irises for $49 million. Bond served less than four years in prison for various corporate crimes and was bankrupted, with no noticeable deleterious effects to his famously opulent lifestyle after his release from prison.

Before his fall from public grace, part of his fame rested in his ownership of a boat called Australia II, which beat all the other boats in the 1983 America's Cup boat race, the first time a non-American challenger had won since the first race on August 22, 1851, causing many Australians to enter a brief jingoistic mania hardly seen before or since. Fortunately.

1943 Colin Tudge, multi-award-winning British science journalist, broadcaster and author (The Day Before Yesterday; The Impact of the Gene; The Variety of Life; Last Animals at the Zoo; So Shall We Reap)

1950 Peter Frampton, musician

1951 Tony Danza, actor

1952 or 1954 Marilyn Chambers, erotic actress

1959 Ryan Stiles, Canadian-American actor, comedian

1974 Shavo Odadjian, bassist (System of a Down)

Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section

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Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards April Showers Day [ Apr 22 ] Birthdays St George's Day [ Apr 23 ] Earth Day [ Apr 22 ]

Varies Full Moon Day
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Varies Good Friday
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April

22 Earth Day
22 April Showers Day
22 Hot Dog Day
22 Jelly Bean Day
22 Oklahoma Day
22 Crawfish Festival (Florida, USA)
23 Cherry Cheesecake Day
23 St George's Day
23 Shakespeare's Birthday
24 Ambivalence Day
25 Cuckoo Day
25 Anzac Day (Australia)
25 Anzac Day (New Zealand)
25 Holocaust Remembrance Day
25 Zucchini Bread Day
26 Pretzel Day
26 Bird Day
26 International Guide Dog Day
27 Morse Code Day
28 Kiss Day
29 Zipper Day
29 Spring Festival (California, USA)
29 International Dance Day
30 Oatmeal Cookie Day
30 Hairstylist Day

May

1 May Day
1 Chocolate Parfait Day
1 New Homeowner's Day
1 Plant A Flower Day
1 Beltane
1 Lei Day (Hawaii, USA)
1 Bird Day (Oklahoma, USA)
1 School Principals' Day
1 Global Love Day
2 Teacher Day
2 Brothers And Sisters Day
2 Baby Day

  ... More Events

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296 Death of Pope Caius.

536 Death of Pope Agapetus I.

1500 Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral became the first European to sight Brazil.

1509 Henry VIII acceded to the throne of England after the death of his father, Henry VII. Feasting, dancing and general rejoicing greeted the death of Henry VII, the first 'modern' British monarch.

1529 The Treaty of Saragossa divided the Eastern Hemisphere between Spain and Portugal along a line 297.5 leagues or 17° east of the Moluccas. Spain received monetary compensation in return for giving Portugal more territory that was in the earlier treaty.

1616 Death of Miguel Cervantes (b. 1547).

 

The Wandering Jew: A curious medieval legend

1774 The Wandering Jew appeared in Brussels. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that there was a Jewish man still alive who had been alive at the time of Jesus Christ; the belief persisted as late as 1868, which is perhaps the last notice we have of 'the Wandering Jew'. The tale has obviously anti-Semitic origins and the central character of the enduring legend may be seen as a sort of medieval Ancient Mariner or Flying Dutchman, with racist overtones.

Cartaphilus, who was about thirty years old then, has remained the same age ever since (despite Gustave Doré's representation of him as an old man). Having insulted Jesus Christ on the last day of the latter's life, he is condemned to wander the earth until Judgement Day.

Cartaphilus showed up numerous times, including Hamburg in 1542 (or 1547); Spain in 1575; the Netherlands in the same year; Vienna (1599); Lübeck (1601); Prague (1602); Lübeck (1603); Bavaria (1604); France (1604); Ypres (1623); Brussels (1640); Leipsic (1642); Paris (1644); Stamford (1658); Astrakhan (1672); Frankenstein (1676); Munich (1721); Altbach (1766); and Brussels in 1774 where he told his story to the bourgeois, but said that he had changed his name to Isaac Laquedem. By the 1800s, sightings of the Wandering Jew were generally attributed to impostors and the mentally ill.

He appeared again at Newcastle, England, in 1790. The last appearance mentioned appears to have been in America in the year 1868, when he was reported to have visited a Mormon named O'Grady. Other names that have been used for Cartaphilus include Ahasuerus (or Ahasverus), Buttadaeus and Juan Espera en Dios.

Biblical origins

The ancient story went that Jesus, as he was being dragged about in the court of Pilate just before his crucifixion, was struck on the back by one of Pilate's porters, Cartaphilus. "Go quicker, Jesus, go quicker! Why do you loiter?" Cartaphilus mocked Christ. Jesus looked at him and said, "I am going, and you will wait till I return".

Most versions of the tale recount that the Wandering Jew soon repented of his sins and was actually baptised in the Catholic Church, by Ananias (who also baptised the Apostle Paul), and was renamed Joseph. He grows old like the rest of us until reaching 100 years of age, at which point he sheds his skin and rejuvenates to the age of thirty.

In Matthew 16:28, Jesus promised a disciple (traditionally John): "There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

A later but more influential parallel to the story comes from John 21:20 ff, from which a legend arose in the Church that St John would not die before the second coming of Jesus; yet another legend declares that the attendant Malchus, whose ear Saint Peter cut off in the garden of Gethsemane (John 18:10), was condemned to wander till the Second Coming of Christ.

The myths somehow merged with several other old tales, for example the Biblical story of Cain who killed his brother Abel and was condemned by God to walk the earth forever, and the Qu'ran's legend of Samari the Samaritan who was cursed by Moses to wander forever because he helped make the idol of the golden calf.

The legend of the Wandering Jew seems to first appear in the Flores Historiarum chronicle of Roger of Wendover in the year 1228. This tells of an Armenian archbishop who was then visiting England, who was asked by the monks of St Albans about St Joseph of Arimathea (feast day March 17), the uncle of Jesus (who legend says took Jesus to the British Isles while Jesus was a youth, and whose tomb Jesus had been laid in after the crucifixion) and who was said to be still alive. The archbishop answered that he had himself seen St Joseph in Armenia, where he was called Cartaphilus. On passing Jesus carrying the cross he had said: "Go on quicker". Jesus answered: "I go; but thou shalt wait till I come". In 1252, other Armenians appeared at the Abbey of St Albans, repeating the same story. (For more on Joseph of Arimathea, see January 5, January 24, March 17, May 19, May 25 and June 20 in the Book of Days.) ...

... Read on at the Wandering Jew article at the Wilson's Almanac Scriptorium

 

1833 Death of Richard Trevithick (b. 1771), English inventor.

1836 Texas Revolution: A day after the Battle of San Jacinto, forces under Texas General Sam Houston captured Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.

1838 The first crossing of the Atlantic by a steamer from New York to Britain, by the packet steamer Sirius.

1860 John McDouall Stuart became the first Western explorer to reach the centre of Australia.

1863 American Civil War: Grierson's Raid began – troops under Union Colonel Benjamin Grierson attacked central Mississippi.

1864 The US Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864 which mandated that the inscription "In God We Trust" should be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.

At the Scriptorium: Was the United States founded on Christianity?

1884 The UK's most destructive earthquake hit Colchester, England, killing one person.

1887 A cyclone sank a Western Australian pearling fleet of 22 ships, with the loss of 140 lives.

1889 Oklahoma land rush: US President Benjamin Harrison opened Oklahoma to white settlement.

1896 Death of Thomas Meik (b. 1812), civil engineer.

1897 "Rockland (Texas). John M. Barclay was intrigued when his dog barked furiously and a high-pitched noise was heard. He went out, saw a flying object circling 5 m above ground. Elongated with protrusions and blinding lights, it went dark when it landed. Barclay was met by a man who told him his purpose was peaceful and requested some common hardware items to repair the craft. He paid with a ten-dollar bill and took off "like a bullet out of a gun." (192; Magonia)"   Source

1898 Spanish-American War: The United States Navy began a blockade of Cuban ports and the USS Nashville captured a Spanish merchant ship.

1906 SF April 18 - 23, 1906 earthquake and fire chronology

1908 Death of Henry Campbell-Bannerman, (b. 1836) British Prime Minister.

1913 Pravda, the voice of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, began publications in Saint Petersburg.

1930 The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States signed the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.

1943 Albert Hofmann wrote his first report about the hallucinogenic properties of LSD. He had synthesized it on April 7, had his first (accidental) trip on April 16, and his first planned one on April 19.

Albert Hofmann Museum     More   And more

1944 World War II: Operation Persecution was initiated – Allied forces landed in the Hollandia area of New Guinea.

1945 World War II: After learning that Soviet forces had taken Eberswalde without a fight, Adolf Hitler admitted defeat in his underground bunker and stated that suicide was his only recourse.

1946 The first instalment of the popular Japanese comic strip, Sazae-san, was published in the Fukunichi Shimbun.

1954 Red Scare: Senator Joseph McCarthy began hearings investigating the United States Army for being "soft" on Communism.

1964 British businessman Greville Wynne, after a year in jail in the Soviet Union for spying, was exchanged for Soviet agent Gordon Lonsdale.

1970 The first Earth Day was celebrated.

1971 John Kerry, dressed in combat fatigues, testified on his views of the Vietnam War before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

1972 Vietnam War: Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompted antiwar protests in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

1972 John Fairfax and Sylvia Cook became the first people to row across the Pacific, landing in Australia.

1975 Barbara Walters signed a five-year $5 million contract with the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), becoming the highest paid television newsperson.

1978 The Blues Brothers made their first appearance on Saturday Night Live.

1979 Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards avoided jail for a drug conviction by performing a benefit concert for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. 

1983 Britain replaced paper notes with coins of the one pound denomination. 

1991 A meeting was convened in Sucre, Bolivia, to discuss the serious cholera epidemic in South America.

1993 USA: In Washington, DC, the Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated.

1993 The web browser Mosaic version 1.0 was released.

1996 Cisco Systems acquired StrataCom for $4 billion.

1997 Haouch Khemisti massacre in Algeria; 93 villagers were killed.

1997 A 126-day hostage crisis at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima, Peru, ended after government commandos stormed and captured the building, rescuing 71 hostages. One hostage died of a heart attack, two soldiers were killed from rebel fire and all 14 rebels were slain.

2000 In a pre-dawn raid, US federal agents seized six-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida, and flew him to his Cuban father in Washington, DC, ending one of the most publicized custody battles in US history.

In November 1999, Elián was taken from Cuba by his mother in an attempt to emigrate to the United States. She and ten others died in the attempt, leaving him to float into Florida on an inner tube with three other survivors. Elián's Miami home became the site of a vast media circus. For much of the summer of 2000, his continuing plight dominated the American news networks. A famous photograph exists of a marshal with a submachine gun pointed in the general direction of Elián and a caregiver who is hiding in a closet.

Religious Symbolism in the Elian Gonzalez Case

2000 The Big Number Change (the name given to the update of dialling codes) took place in the United Kingdom.

2004 Earth Day 2004: Indymedia reports:

"As Earth Day is marked in many nations it seems meaningless to some when few effective actions are seriously taken by industry and government to stem the growing tide of environmental degradation. The collapse of the bio-sphere is no longer wild speculation. Science confirms climatic disruption and seemingly endless sources of pollution are endangering all life on planet Earth. Issues like bio-diversity, forest health, and ecologically sound transportation, to name but a few, go largely unaddressed. Attempts to change business as usual on Mother Earth continue, however it is a daunting struggle.

"Adding insult to injury, the largest polluting nation on Earth, is represented by an administration with the worst environmental record in history. Today, George Bush visited the state of Maine in the U.S. in an attempt to 'greenwash' his regime's horrendous environmental record. He was, of course, met with protests. Meanwhile, back in Washington, DC activists held a press conference during the IMF/World Bank actions condemning the Bush regime's policies. While on the West Coast the ELF has reportedly trashed some gas guzzling SUVs for Earth Day."

E-Day in Netherlands    Zero Waste Day in India    DC Indymedia

2004 Two fuel trains collided in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing up to 150 people.

 

2005

"The U.S. Army celebrated Earth Day this year with a special campaign called 'Sustaining the Environment for a Secure Future.' The effort's website features links to an Army Earth Day message, an Army Earth Day video promo, computer screen wallpaper, and a commemorative poster.

"'We are a nation at war. The need to protect our homeland has never been clearer,' the Army's message states. 'The Army's Strategy for the Environment establishes a long-range vision that focuses efforts that sustain our mission. For success in the global war on terrorism we must carry out our responsibilities for the long-term. The land, air, and water resources we work and train on are vital to both our present and future missions. We must use those resources wisely in a manner that reflects our devotion to duty and respect for the needs of tomorrow's Soldiers.'

"The Army's message may be in response to last October's budget cuts from environmental projects on military bases, a consequence of Iraq war funding priorities. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility reported in October 2004 that military training exercises on Army bases were in 'potential jeopardy' because of the cuts. In the name of national defense, the Army has been exempted for the past three years from certain environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as long as the Army has prepared plans that 'addresses special management consideration or protection.' But with the funding cuts, the Army may no longer be able to create the required plans for critical habit areas contained in its 11.8 million acres."

Source: PRWatch

Bush Wins Earth Day Greenwashing Award (If There Were One)

"The greens are getting pounded politically, losing almost every national battle they fight, including the new energy bill. Today, on the 35th anniversary of Earth Day, they can't even beat George Bush at the PR game.

"Thirty-five years ago 20 million Americans demonstrated, rallied, teach-in'd, lobbied, danced and partied for a healthy, ecologically sound planet on the very first Earth Day. This unprecedented and massive grassroots mobilization was followed by a flurry of green political reforms (supported by many Republicans), from the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency to the first Environmental Impact Statements and the first national clean air and clean water laws. Now, even though surveys show enviromentalism is more widespread and popular than ever, with citizens donating hundreds of millions of dollars each year to Washington DC's big green groups, the movement is a political basket case.

"Today's big Earth Day greenwashing winner is President Bush, arguably the most anti-environmental president in history. He presides over a Republican Party determined to dismantle environmental regulations and enact corporate boondoggles like the energy bill that just passed the House of Representatives, a massive $8 billion give-away to corporate polluters. Yet Bush's Earth Day photo-op, a visit to Great Smoky Park, is getting great press, despite Mother Nature's interference that forced it to move to an airport hanger.

"Meanwhile, the big green groups are looking for image help from George Lakoff, the California professor who has emerged as a PR guru for progressives. Maybe instead of PR advice the greens need political advice. After all, here is a movement with hundreds of millions of dollars, whose goals are supported by a majority of Americans, millions of whom give passionately and generously of their own time and money to the cause - and yet it is politically impotent."
Source: PRWatch

 

Tomorrow: St George and the dragon

 

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George Oilwell's Earth Day Greeting

 

"Mah fellow Americans,
Do not believ--
I say
do not believe
what them focus groups tells you 'bout the risin of the sea.
Listen,
listen to me when ah talk to ya, boy.
That goshdang Tyoko Treaty? We didn't si--
I say
we didn't sign that ornery ole treaty or procotol
whatever them commies wanna name it,
cuz there ain't n--
I say
there ain't no global warmin.
It's jist ... it's jist ... it's jist all a them big ole whales.
There's a way too many of them dang fish!
They's a-pushin up them gol-durn oceans,
what they's a-doin!
We's a-gotta innn-vade them whales an all them other big ole fish.
Displacement, Rummy calls it.
Gol-durn water displacement's all it is.
Gol-durn whales a-pushin up them cotton-pickin seas.
Aint no globalfrigginwarmin.
Friggin big ole fish is all.
An we's a gotta go huntem!
Fo the greatest nation on the face
of Gahd's earth, bless his holy Name, sister.
So hep me Billy Graham we do."

~ PW

 

 

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