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reetings from Australia. 

Welcome to this Red-Letter Day. Below you will find today's global celebrations, birthdays and events.

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Today is

The just man builds on a modest foundation and gradually proceeds to greater things.
King Alfred the Great (attrib.)

The English resisted the Danes heroically under Alfred, never fighting except against heavy odds, till at the memorable Peace of Wedmore Alfred compelled the Danes, who were now (of course) beaten, to stop being Danes and become English and become Church of England and get properly married.
Sellar and Yeatman; 1066 And All That

To dare, and again to dare, and without end to dare!
Georges Jacques Danton, French revolutionist, born on October 26, 1759

On the 26th day of October we arrived at the metropolis, called in their language Lorbrulgrud, or Pride of the Universe. My master took a lodging in the principal street of the city, not far from the royal palace, and put out bills in the usual form, containing an exact description of my person and parts.
Jonathan Swift; Gulliver's Travels

I don't mind what the opposition say of me, so long as they don't tell the truth.
Mark Twain in a speech in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, October 26, 1880

When women understand that governments and religions are human inventions; that bibles, prayer-books, catechisms, and encyclical letters are all emanations from the brains of man, they will no longer be oppressed by the injunctions that come to them with the divine authority of 'Thus sayeth the Lord'.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American feminist, who died on October 26, 1902

I live ... 
For the cause that lacks assistance, 
For the wrong that needs resistance, 
For the future in the distance 
And the good that I can do.
Poem quoted on the title page of the diary of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

The sky was set for such a role:
the great Cross glittered at the pole
Orion and his wrath were red
and the Milky Way white overhead
RAK Mason, 'Twenty-Sixth October'

October 26 is the 299^th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (300^th in leap years), with 66 days remaining.
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Angam Day (Homecoming Day; Day of Fulfilment), Nauru

The people of Nauru celebrate Angam Day to commemorate the birth of the 1,500^th Nauruan citizen at the end of the epidemic in 1920s. The Nauruan word angam means: 'jubilation', 'celebration', 'to have triumphed over all hardships', 'to have reached a set goal' or 'coming home'.  

Nauruans experienced a dramatic drop in population in 1920 due to the influenza epidemic. The total number of Nauruans decreased dramatically, reaching a level of only 1,068 people. This appalling 'demographic drop' caused fear for the continuing survival of community.

The effect of this flu on the Nauruans was most ravaging because the epidemic erupted in a population that was just recovering from another disaster, a dysentery epidemic. This disease had been brought to Nauru by Chinese laborers, for whom quarantine was not sufficiently enforced, and, in 1907, 150 died of dysentery.

The health situation was in a precarious state; beside the loss of people, there was debilitation, weakening those who had escaped death. After this catastrophe, it took twelve years for the population to again reach the level of 1,500.

It was not until October 26, 1932 that the 1,500th Nauruan – a baby girl called Eidegenegen Eidagaruwo, was born. There was a great celebration and the event was commemorated by declaring the day a public holiday, called Angam Day – because it had achieved the hope of all Nauruans.

Sources vary as to Angam's date (October 26 is most commonly cited): one source gives October 27 for this event which commemorates the various times in history when the size of the Nauruan population has returned to 1,500, which is thought to be the minimum number necessary for survival. 

Every year, Angam Day is observed as a National Holiday on Nauru. Angam Day is a day of celebration and a time of reflection for the Nauruan people. Twice in its history did the Nauruan population fall below 1,500. The Nauruan Race was considered in danger of extinction. On both occasions the Nauruan population recovered and on reaching the magical figure of 1,500, a number considered to be the minimum required for the survival of a population, Angam Day was declared. The first Angam was in 1932 and the second time in 1949.

Nauru, pawn in Australia's game

An oval-shaped South Pacific island lying near the equator 4,000 km from Sydney, Australia, Nauru is the smallest republic in the world – and an ecological basket case. It lies 42km (26 miles) south of the equator, and its nearest neighbour is Ocean Island (Banaba, part of Kiribati), 305km (190 miles) to the east. Until recently, Nauru was the richest nation per capita on earth. That was before the bird-droppings phosphate ran out. It has all been mined and shipped to the Rich World, where it has fertilized our farms. (Western corporations, having dug up and shipped out all the bird-guano phosphate for fertilizer, departed – guano consists of ammonia, along with uric, phosphoric, oxalic, and carbonic acids, as well as some earth salts and impurities. The high concentration of nitrates also makes guano an important strategic commodity.)

In 2001, following the the saga of the MV Tampa, the Australian government of ultra-conservative Prime Minister John Howard, in order to keep tinted refugees/asylum seekers from white Australian shores, began shipping desperate boat people to Nauru. The Nauru government, strapped for cash following the collapse of its economy, accepted refugees for money. In Nauru, people fleeing persecution in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq found themselves locked up in this tropical isle. Hot and isolated, the inhospitable 21 sq km island has been called a "living hell" for the refugees.

Fresh water is scarce and communications poor. Amnesty International Australia said that lawyers, health professionals, churches and members of ethnic communities were prevented from going to Nauru to inspect conditions. The Naruan government closed its borders except to a very few outsiders in order to comply with the Australian government's deal.

In December of 2003, several dozen of these refugees, in protest of the conditions of their detention on Nauru, began a hunger strike. The hunger strike was concluded in early January 2004 when an Australian medical team agreed to visit the island.

There is currently some debate as to whether Nauru is a truly sovereign nation, due to the fact that the island's finances and security forces are almost entirely controlled by Australia.

Nauru and global warming

Like many low-lying poor nations, Nauru is threatened by the greenhouse effect caused by wealthy Western nations. As global warming of the earth causes sea levels to rise, the habitable low-lying land areas are becoming threatened by tidal surges and flooding.  

Sources: Wikipedia article, Angam Day; the homepage of the Republic of Nauru Permanent Mission to the UN, et al.

"Nauru is the poor little rich kid of the Pacific. Seemingly limitless mining proceeds have made Nauruans the wealthiest people in the Pacific, but at various stages in their history people, culture, forest, soil and then subsoil have been stripped or shipped away at the whim of foreign powers. Exploitation has become an art form. The bird poop that was the island has been an economic boon to islanders, but Nauru's interior could now only be described as an 'ecological basket case'."   Source

Amnesty attacks Nauru 'security'

Amnesty International Australia (Refugees –Australia)    Refugees: Australia's moral failure

Refugees Australia - National Directory    We are all Boat People

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Moon festival of the goddess Hathor, ancient Egypt In Egyptian mythology, Hathor is the mother goddess and goddess of love of ancient Egypt. She was worshipped c. 2700 BCE or possibly earlier, to c. 400 CE, in a cult that flourished in Ta-Netjer ('Land of God' – modern day Dendera, or Dendara) in Upper Egypt, as well as Thebes and Giza, and her priests included both men and women. Other names for Hathor are Het-Hert, Athyr and Hetheru. Her name appears to mean 'house of Horus', a reference to her role as a sky goddess, the 'house' denoting the heavens depicted as a great cow. (At the temple of Queen Nefertari at Abu Simbel, Nefertari is shown as Hathor, and her husband Ramses II is shown in one sanctuary receiving milk from Hathor the cow.) Hathor was often regarded as the mother of the Egyptian pharaoh, who styled himself the 'son of Hathor'. During the Old Kingdom she assumed the properties of an earlier bovine goddess, Bat. She is an ancient goddess and appears to have been mentioned as early as the 2nd Dynasty. Hathor existed for the entire history of the ancient Egyptian culture as a powerful and influential deity. She was goddess of death, and the cow goddess. Her father is the sun god Ra (or Re); Hathor is often described as mother of all pharaohs. In myth, she is referred to as both Ra's Mother and his Daughter, serving as both his purpose to continue his daily cycle (the progression of the sun through the sky), and alternatively as an agent of his will. In the 'daughter' aspect, she sits upon Ra's brow as a coiled cobra, breathing flames and venom at his enemies. In early Egyptian mythology, she was the mother of the sky god Horus, but was later replaced in this capacity by Isis. One of the tales of Hathor tells that she was originally a goddess of destruction (Hathor-Sekhmet), but Hathor later became a consort and/or protectress of Horus. She was depicted either as a cow, or in human form wearing a crown consisting of a sun disk held between the horns of a cow ... Read on at the Hathor page in the Scriptorium    Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days Source of date    On the dating of Egyptian festivals and rites   Ludi Victoriae Sullanae, ancient Rome (Oct 26 - Nov 1) Games instituted by Roman general and dictator Sulla (c. 138 BCE - 78 BCE) in celebration of his victories. The games were dedicated in his honour for up to 200 years after his death. Roman festivals    Roman festivals and notable days in the Book of Days Ancient Ones, Slavic pagan calendar "This is the fourth day of commemoration/worship of the Ancient Ones in the year. This is also a day of remembrance for the warriors who were slain in the year 1380 on Kulikovskoe Field. Say a toast to the honor and glory of the Russian Heroes."   Source Feast day of St Albinus Feast day of St Alfred the Great, King of England Feast day of St Amandus of Strasburg Feast day of St Amandus of Worms Feast day of St Bonaventura of Potenza Feast day of St Damian dei Fulcheri Feast day of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki (Demeter) St Demetrius' relics are kept in Thessaloniki, Greece, a city of which he is the patron saint. He is also revered by the Serbian Orthodox Church as Mitar, having a feast of Mitrovdan on November 8. The Greek tradition for today is to broach the wine barrels and taste the new season's wine. "In Albania, this is the day on which houses are prepared for winter. Blankets and sheepskins are brought out and the house made snug. Like other autumn saints, St. Luke and St. Michael, St. Demetrius often brings a spell of good weather called 'the summer of St. Demetrius.'." Spicer, Gladys Dorothy, The Book of Festivals, The Womans Press 1937 Source: School of the Seasons Feast day of St Evaristus, pope and martyr (Late golden rod, Solidago petiolaris, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.) Feast day of St Gaudiosus of Salerno Feast day of St Gibitrudis Feast day of St Gwinoc Feast day of St Humbert Feast day of Ss Lucian and Marcian, martyrs Lucian "was formerly a demon worshipper and sorcerer. It is said that when a good Christian woman was able to ward off his spells simply by making the Sign of the Cross, he gave up his idolatrous life and converted to the Church. He spent the rest of his days explaining and working against the error [sic] of his earlier life. St Marcian, another former 'devil worshiper' who converted to the Church is also remembered on this day. They are both reported to have been martyred c. 250 CE and are the patrons of converts and possessed people." Source: Earth, Moon and Sky Feast day of St Quadragesimus Feast day of St Quodvultdeus Shop Saints Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days International Red Cross Day Disarmament Week (UN) (Oct 24 - 30) National Magic Week, USA  (Oct 25 - 31) National Day, Austria Anniversary of the Declaration of Neutrality (1955).   Intersex Awareness Day Intersex Awareness Day is the (inter)national day of grass-roots action to end shame, secrecy and unwanted genital cosmetic surgeries on intersex children. "What is intersex? Intersex refers to a series of medical conditions in which a child's genetic sex (chromosomes) and phenotypic sex (genital appearance) do not match, or are somehow different from the "standard" male or female. About one in 2,000 babies are born visibly intersexed, while some others are detected later. The current medical protocol calls for the surgical "reconstruction" of these different but healthy bodies to make them "normal," but this practice has become increasingly controversial as adults who went through the treatment report being physically, emotionally, and sexually harmed by such procedures. What's so significant about October 26? On October 26, 1996, intersex activists from Intersex Society of North America (carrying the sign "Hermaphrodites With Attitude") and our allies from Transexual Menace held the first public intersex demonstration in Boston, where American Academy of Pediatrics was holding its annual conference. The action generated a lot of press coverage, and made it difficult for the medical community to continue to neglect our growing movement. That said, events related to Intersex Awareness Day can take place throughout October and does not necessarily have to be on the 26th."   Source Intersex Society of North America   Origins and folklore of Halloween, in the Scriptorium         On which day of the week were you born? Find out here 1673 Dimitrie Cantemir, Moldavian writer and linguist 1685 Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer of hundreds of sonatas 1759 Georges Jacques Danton, a leader of the French Revolution 1790? William Charles Wentworth (d. March 20, 1872), Australian explorer, poet ('Australasia', 1823) and statesman; most usually associated with the first expedition to cross the Blue Mountains, led by Gregory Blaxland. The discovery of a passage through the mountains opened up the vast Australian continent to European exploration and settlement. He founded the University of Sydney in 1852 and co-founded the newspaper The Australian in 1824. Wentworth was a prominent and prescient advocate of self-government for Australia. More   1811 Isaac Singer (Isaac Merritt Singer; d. July 23, 1875), American inventor, actor, entrepreneur, and magnate. He made important improvements in the design of the sewing machine and was the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He was also an actor and founder of the Merritt Players ... and a notorious serial polygamist. On August 12, 1851, he patented his famous sewing machine. The first American patent had been issued to Elias Howe some five years earlier, and Singer's machine was so similar to Howe's that the earlier inventor sued Singer for patent infringement, and won. By 1860, Isaac had fathered and recognized eighteen children (sixteen of them remaining alive), by four women. Singer left an estate of about US$14,000,000.  "In 1839, Singer received his first patent. It was for a rock-drilling machine, and it earned him $2,000. Singer used this money to found his own acting troupe, the 'Merritt Players', with Mary Ann Sponseler. Singer, not free to remarry legally, entered into a common-law marriage with Sponseler, who went on to bear him 10 children. With the Merritt Players, Singer performed under the name Isaac Merritt, and Sponseler performed under the name 'Mrs Merritt'. The Merritt Players toured the country until the money finally ran out. They happened to be in Fredericksburg, Ohio, when the troupe disbanded, and Singer had to take a job in a local print shop, where he conceived the idea of a machine to cut wood blocks for printing images. After a short stint there, he also worked in Pittsburgh and then in New York City. In New York City, the prototype of Singer's cutting machine was at the machine shop of A. B. Taylor & Co., but when the boiler blew up at A. B. Taylor's, Singer's prototype was destroyed. However, Orson C. Phelps, who had a machine shop in Boston, had heard about this cutting machine and invited Singer to recreate it in his shop ..."   Source Singer the polygamist "The financial success gave Singer the ability to by [sic] a mansion on Fifth Avenue, into which he moved his second family. In 1860, he divorced his first wife, on the basis of her adultery with Stephen Kent. He continued to live with Mary Ann, until she spotted him driving down Fifth Avenue seated beside one Mary McGonigal, an employee, about whom Mary Ann had well-founded suspicions, for by this time Mary McGonigal had borne Isaac Singer five children. The surname Matthews was used for this family. Mary Ann (still calling herself Mrs. I. M. Singer) had her husband arrested for domestic violence. Singer was let out on bond and, disgraced, fled for London, taking Mary McGonigal with him. In the aftermath, another of Isaac's families was discovered: he had a "wife" Mary Eastwood Walters and daughter Alice Eastwood in Lower Manhattan, who both adopted the surname 'Merritt'. By 1860, Isaac had fathered and recognized eighteen children (sixteen of them remaining alive), by four women … "Singer then began seeing Mrs. Isabella Eugenie Boyer Summerville, said to have been a model for Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty, who left her husband and married Isaac on June 13, 1863, while she was pregnant. Mary Ann, unaccountably, did not sue Isaac for bigamy."   Source More (in German)   1844 Tennessee Claflin ('Tennie C'; d. January 18, 1923), American suffragette best known as one of the first women to open a Wall Street brokerage firm; sister of Victoria Woodhull (1838 - 1927) 1854 CW Post, cereal entrepreneur 1865 Benjamin Guggenheim (d. 1912), businessman, went down on the Titanic 1873 Thorvald Stauning (d. 1942), Prime Minister of Denmark 1874 Martin Lowry, British chemist 1911 Mahalia Jackson (d. 1972), American gospel singer 1911 Sorley MacLean, Scots Gaelic poet 1912 Don Siegel (d. 1991), American director 1914 Jackie Coogan (d. 1984), American child actor whose action against his parents for withholding his earnings led to the Coogan Act which protects child stars. Later, Uncle Fester in TV series The Addams Family 1916 François Mitterrand (d. 1996), socialist president of France 1981 - '95 1919 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran (d. 1980), shah of Iran 1932 Eidegenegen Eidagaruwo, first Angam Baby 1942 Bob Hoskins, British-born Hollywood actor (Who Framed Roger Rabbit; Hook) 1945 Pat Conroy, novelist 1946 Pat Sajak, game show host 1947 Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator from New York, wife of former President of the United States, Bill Clinton 1947 Jaclyn Smith, American actress 1947 Holly Woodlawn, actress 1951 Bootsy Collins, American musician (P Funk) 1953 Keith Strickland, drummer (The B-52's) 1954 DW Moffett, actor 1958 Rita Wilson, actress 1961 Dylan McDermott, actor (The Practice) 1962 Cary Elwes, British actor 1963 Natalie Merchant, singer   Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section Send a free e-card to friends and family for today's celebrations and any topic Do you forget birthdays and anniversaries? Schedule your cards to be sent during the coming year. Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards Chocolate Day [ Oct 28 ] Birthdays Daylight Saving Time Begins / Ends [ Date varies in country, hemisphere ] Halloween / Samhain [ Oct 31 ] Varies Full Moon Day Varies Friday the 13th Varies Buddhist e-cards Varies Christian e-cards Varies Hindu e-cards Varies Jewish e-cards Varies Muslim e-cards Varies Pagan e-cards Varies Peace e-cards Varies Friendship e-cards Varies Bhai Dooj Varies Eid ul-Fitr Varies Hari Raya Varies Sukkot Varies Navratri Varies Karva Chauth Varies Simchat Torah Varies Durga Puja Varies Daylight Saving Time Begins / Ends 4th Mon. in Oct. International School Library Day   October 23 Mothers-in-law Day 24 International Forgiveness Day 24 Match Day 24 United Nations Day 25 Say "Hey" Day 25 Picasso Day 26 Mule Day 27 Boxer Shorts Day 28 Chocolate Day 28 Statue Of Liberty Day, USA 29 The Internet's Birthday 30 Candy Corn Day 30 Bodybuilders' Day 31 Halloween 31 Samhain 31 Magic Day November 1 All Saints' Day 1 Nutty Pecan Day 1 Play A Game Of Chess Day 1 World Vegan Day 1 Authors Day 1 Cake Appreciation Day 2 All Souls' Day 2 "Practice Being Psychic" Day 2 Deviled Egg Day 2 Piggy Bank Day 2 Admission Day (North Dakota, USA) 3 Sandwich Day 3 Tunnel Day 3 Independence Day (Panama) ... More Events Visit the Blogmanac, where today's Almanac is 'live' And I hope you will sign my GuestMap Your family and friends will get a kick when they hear their own name being sung in 'Happy Birthday'!! You can schedule your singing cards in advance, and even add your own face to funny animations. (Pay cards)         If you are enjoying this page, click to receive similar items daily with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine Webmaster, webmasters free content, or else articles at very reasonable rates Pip Wilson's articles are available for your website or publication, on application. Further details   709 This image shows Lintel 24, structure 23, at Yaxchilan an ancient Maya city located in what is now the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The sculpture depicts a sacred blood-letting ritual which took place on October 26, 709. King 'Shield Jaguar' is shown holding a torch, while Queen 'Lady Xoc' draws a rope through her pierced tongue. 740 An earthquake struck Constantinople, causing much damage and death.     King Alfred 899 Death of St King Alfred the Great (b. 847?), king of England from 871 to 899. The day was the 26th of October (because he died "six days before All Hallow's Mass Day"), and the year is now generally thought to have been 899, not 900 or 901 as was previously accepted. Alfred, the scholar-monarch who ruled southern England, was called the 'Education King' for his dedication to literacy and learning. We know much of his life from a chronicle written by Asser, Bishop of Sherborne, in around 888. Winston Churchill, not usually reputed for his modesty, when being told that he must be the greatest Englishman that ever lived is said to have replied "No! The greatest Englishman that ever lived was King Alfred". King Alfred's crown was unique – it had two bells attached to it. The Alfred Jewel "The remarkable jewel ... was found, in 1693, at Newton Park, a short distance north of the site of Ethelney Abbey, in Somersetshire, near the junction of the rivers Parret and Thone. It is now preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, at Oxford; and, independent of its bearing the name of Alfred, is a most interesting specimen of Anglo Saxon art. The inevitable melting pot has left few similar specimens of that age, but we know there must have been many, for the business of a goldsmith was held in high repute by the Anglo Saxons, and a poem in that language, on the various conditions of men, contains lines that may be translated thus: For one a wondrous skill in goldsmith's art is provided, full oft he decorates and well adorns a powerful kings noble, and he to him gives broad land in recompence.   "Asser, the friend and biographer of Alfred, informs us that, when the great monarch had secured peace and protection to his subjects, he resolved to extend among them a knowledge of the arts. For this purpose he collected, from many nations, an almost innumerable multitude of artificers, the most expert in their respective trades. Among these were not a few workers in gold and silver, who, acting under the immediate instructions of Alfred, executed, with incomparable skill, many articles of these metals. From the circumstance of the jewel having inscribed on it, in Saxon characters, AElfred are had gewercan (Alfred had me wrought), we may reasonably conclude that it was made under his own superintendence; and further, from its richness of workmanship and material, that it was a personal ornament worn by the good king himself. The lower end of the jewel, as represented in the engraving, is formed into the head of a griffin, a national emblem of the Saxons. From the mouth of this figure issues a small tube, crossed in the interior by a minute pin of gold. The latter is evidently intended to connect the ornament with the collar or hand by which it was suspended round the neck; the general flatness of form indicating that it was worn in that manner. Antiquaries have not agreed as to the person represented on one side of the jewel. Some have supposed it to be the Saviour, others St. Cuthbert, or Pope Martin ... Alfred himself, symbolising his kingly office, is as general and tenable as any yet advanced upon the subject." Robert Chambers, (Ed.), The Book of Days: A miscellany of popular antiquities in connection with the calendar, etc, W & R Chambers, London, 1881 (1879 Edition is online and 1869 edition here with CD-ROM available; See also The English Year: A Personal Selection from Chambers' Book of Days) King Alfred and the Cakes Shop Medieval    An Illustrated Biography of Alfred the Great King Alfred daffodil    King Alfred cakes fungus    Asser's Life of King Alfred Alfred the Great, Shaftesbury from the Shaftesbury website history section Alfred the Great from the official website of the British Monarchy King Alfred the Great and Alfred Jewel by Ken Roberts Ron Schuler's Parlour Tricks: Alfred the Great    Lays of Boethius Royal Berkshire History: King Alfred the Great   1369 Charles V 'the Wise', King of France, dedicated a monument to his personal chef, for a recipe for pickled fish.   1440 The execution of Gilles de Rais, the original Bluebeard. Better known in infamy as Marshal de Retz, this nobleman was born in France in or about the year 1396. He had a distinguished military career – in 1429 he was a captain under the celebrated Joan of Arc. Through inheritance and marriage he became incredibly wealthy, and he plunged himself into a life of debauchery. As his estates and fortune dwindled, he looked to alchemy for treasure, seeking to turn base metals to gold, and it is said he sold his soul to Satan. Whatever the cause, children started going missing around his estates. Soon the law caught up with him and he made a clean and complete confession of the horrific torture-murders of more than 120 boys and girls aged between 8 and 18.  Sentenced to be strangled, he begged the Bishop of Nantes to lead the procession for the occasion, on this day, it is believed, in 1440.  Probably for some personal peculiarity, Giles de Laval became remembered as Barbe-bleue, or Bluebeard. The fairy tale writer Charles Perrault (1628 - 1703), who gave us Cinderella, also wrote the tale of Bluebeard, though his fictional character murdered not children but his own wives, one after another. Tales similar to Bluebeard   1623 The day of 'the Fatal Vespers'. Some 300 people crammed into an upper room of the residence of the ambassador of France to England, at Blackfriars, to hear Father Drury, a Jesuit, preach. Drury and about 100 of the congregation were killed when the floor collapsed, and it was seen by many of the day to be God's judgement against Jesuits. 1640 The Treaty of Ripon was signed, restoring peace between Scotland and Charles I of England. 1749 Black slavery was legalised in Georgia, USA. 1764 Death of William Hogarth (b. 1697), British painter. William Hogarth and 18th-Century Print Culture The Complete Site for Research on William Hogarth A site for Hogarth researchers, including a bibliography    More 1795 The French Directory, a five-man revolutionary government, was created. 1795 Fired up by the French Revolution, a mass meeting of workers was held in Islington, England. Three days later, the meeting prompted an angry crowd to waylay King George III in St James's Park. He was stoned and jeered, and the bootmaker John Ridley was foiled in his attempt to haul him from his coach and lynch him. Ridley was never apprehended. Source: The Daily Bleed 1806 Death of John Graves Simcoe, first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada. 1822 At 17, the tall Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875), towering over his 11-year-old classmates, belatedly enrolled in grammar school to secure an education. 1825 The Erie Canal was opened (commenced July 4, 1817 at Rome, NY), linking New York City with the Great Lakes via the Hudson River. It was 584 km  (363 miles) long, 12 m (40 feet) wide, and 1.2 m (4 feet) deep. There were 83 locks along the canal, each 27 m by 4.5 m (90 feet by 15 feet). CW Briggs lantern slide of opening 1858 Australia: The first telegraph between Sydney and Melbourne was completed. 1860 Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi proclaimed Victor Emmanuel King of Italy. 1863 The International Federation of the Red Cross was formed.   1881 Tombstone, Arizona, USA: Wyatt Earp and his brothers Morgan and Virgil, and John H ('Doc') Holliday had the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral with Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborne. The 30-second shootout left three cowboys dead and Virgil Earp and Morgan Earp badly wounded. The shootout actually took place in a vacant lot near the intersection of Third Street and Fremont Street behind the OK Corral next to CS Fly's Boarding House and Photo Studio. The shooting started when Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury cocked their pistols. The Earps and Doc Holliday were arrested for murder by Sheriff Behan. At the trial following the gunfight, it was determined that the Earps acted within the law. John Sturges made a Hollywood film, Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957), which served to further popularize this ugly part of American history, in a decade when violent western movies and TV shows were extremely popular worldwide.   See also Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight, the Going Snake Massacre and the Gunfight at Hide Park. Posthumous reunion: Visit the graves of the gunfighters Visit Boothill Graveyard, Tombstone Territory, Arizona    More   1902 Death of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, feminist, suffragette. 1905 Norway became independent from Sweden, under its new king, Haaken VII. 1909 Death of Prince Hirobumi Ito, former Japanese governor of Korea (assassinated). 1934 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi), Indian leader and proponent of civil disobedience, inaugurated the All-India Village Industries Association. "The object of the association is the relief and service of the poor in the villages by all means including village reorganisation and reconstruction, and improvement of village industry and the moral and physical advancement of the villagers of India." Gandhi believed that India lives in the villages; hence the village reconstruction program was launched as a precursor of the national reconstruction movement. Gandhi Timeline   1936 USA: The first generator went online at Boulder Dam. 1944 The Battle of Leyte Gulf ended. 1947 The Maharaja of Kashmir agreed to allow his kingdom to join India. 1948 Killer smog settled into Donora, Pennsylvania, USA. 1954 An attempt was made on the life of Egypt's prime minister, Gamal Abdel Nasser. 1955 After the last Allied troops had left the country, and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, Austria declared its permanent neutrality. 1955 Ngo Dinh Diem declared himself Premier of South Vietnam. 1956 The Soviets crushed the rebellion in Hungary. 1958 Regular jet services across the Atlantic were started by BOAC and Pan Am. 1965 The four Beatles were presented with MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) medals for contributions to music. Some more conservative Britons returned or declined their medals out of protest. Wilson's Almanac Book of Days hip list 1970 Doonesbury (by Garry Trudeau) debuted in 28 papers. Comix, comics and cartoons in the Book of Days 1976 Transkei declared its 'independence' from South Africa. 1978 USA: The Independent Counsel Act was signed into law. 1979 The World Health Organisation announced the eradication of smallpox Variola Minor. The last naturally occurring case of the more deadly Variola Major was detected two years earlier in November 1975. It cost a mere 300 million United States dollars to rid the world of smallpox. Compare this with about $200 billion to illegally invade and occupy Iraq ($203,585,818,824 as of October 26, 2005 according to costofwar.com). 1979 Park Chung-hee, President of South Korea, was assassinated by KCIA head, Kim Jaegyu. Choi Kyu-ha became the acting President. 1984 USA: 'Baby Fae' received a heart transplant from a baboon, at the Loma Linda University Medical Center, California. 1985 Australian Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen handed over title to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Uluru National Park to the Mutijulu Aboriginal Community. Uluru is the second largest monolith in the world (after Mount Augustus, also in central Australia). 1985 In the movie Back To The Future, all of the 'present' events occur on this date in 1985. In the movie Death Becomes Her, Helen first drinks the immortality potion on October 26, 1985. Like Back To The Future, this movie was directed by Robert Zemeckis. 1986 Deputy Chairman of the British Conservative Party, Jeffrey Archer, resigned following claims that he paid a prostitute to avoid a scandal. 1988 Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev pledged to free all political prisoners by the end of the year. 1994 Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty. 1994 Announcement of Andrew Wiles's correct proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Mossad agents assassinated Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shikaki in his hotel in Malta. 1999 Britain's House of Lords voted to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament. 2000 Laurent Gbagbo took over as president of Côte d'Ivoire following a popular uprising against President Robert Guéï. 2001 The United States passed the controversial (and ridiculously named) Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act) into law. Reichstag Fire Decree    American Civil Liberties Union on PATRIOT Act    More    More    And more 2002 The Moscow Theatre Siege ended: Approximately 50 Chechen rebels and 150 hostages died when Russian commandos stormed the House of Culture theatre in Moscow, which had been occupied by the rebels since October 23. 2005 Last day of Cream reunion tour in United States.   Tomorrow: Thurkill's strange journey    Main calendar | Yesterday | Tomorrow | Search     Wikipedia and David Brown's prodigious Daily Bleed are both excellent resources that aid my research. I frequently make use of their generously liberal 'fair use', 'copyleft' and 'anti-copyright' policies, with much gratitude. © My own copyright policy is also liberal, but as this is my livelihood, conditions apply. Read more about today at Wilson's Blogmanac

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