|
|
|
|
This page is big!
If it fails to load fully, please click Refresh on your browser menu.
It's fully loaded when you see the purple menu bar at the foot of the page.
reetings from Australia.
Welcome to this Red-Letter Day. Below you will find today's global celebrations, birthdays and events.
First time here? See the Index for
How it works
Celebrate each and every day with a free subscription to the daily ezine. You can apply by form or send a blank email. Read what the 'Almaniacs' (members) say about Wilson's Almanac.
I request your support if this website pleases and informs you, as this is my livelihood. Thank you, from the bottom of my fridge.
Inquiries from publishers are welcome, but, dear reader, please don't use my work without my written permission. If I've inadvertently used something of yours that you consider not to fall under the fair use doctrine, please tell me and I'll remove it.
Carpe diem! (Seize the day!)
Our news on your homepage (that is, if you use My Yahoo, which we recommend for your start-up page)
|
|
|
Let Posterity know And knowing be astonished! That On the 15th day of September, 1784 Vincent Lunardi of Lucca in Tuscany The First Aerial Traveller in Britain Mounting from the Artillery Ground in London And traversing the Regions of the Air For two Hours and fifteen Minutes in this Spot Revisited the Earth. On this rude Monument For Ages be recorded That wonderous enterprize, successfully achieved By the powers of Chymistry And the fortitude of man That improvement in Science Which The Great Author of all Knowledge Patronising by his Providence The Inventions of Mankind Hath generously permitted To their Benefit His own Eternal Glory Vincent Lunardi; on his pioneer balloon flight of September 15, 1784; his own words on a monument he erected How few the worldly evils now I dread, |
|
The weather on an average is, at least, six
times out of seven fine on this day.
William Hone,
British folklorist; The
Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year, William Tegg and Co.,
London, 1878; 1825-26
edition online
The effect was that of a miracle on the multitude which surrounded the place, and they passed from incredulity and menace into the most extravagant expressions of approbation and joy.
Vincent Lunardi on his historic balloon ascent in
England in 1784
I had often looked wistfully on Jumbo, but with no hope of ever getting possession of him, as I knew him to be a great favorite of Queen Victoria, whose children and grandchildren are among the tens of thousands of British juveniles whom Jumbo had carried on his back. I did not suppose he would ever be sold.
PT Barnum in his memoirs,
Struggles and Triumphs. He owned Jumbo, the world's most loved elephant, which was killed on September
15, 1885
The animal
reached out his long trunk, wrapped it around the trainer and then drew him down to where that majestic head lay blood stained in the cinders. Scotty cried like a baby. Five minutes later, they lifted him from the lifeless body
That night Scotty laid down beside the body of his friend. At last exhausted from the strain, he fell asleep.
Edgar H Flach, a prominent jeweller from Ontario, and eyewitness to the
accident that killed Jumbo
Mrs Annie Besant, now in Melbourne, has come
to Australia for the purpose of lecturing on Theosophy ... Mrs Besant's
daughter, Mrs Besant-Scott, is married to a Melbourne pressman and is a
clever young lady who has succeeded equally well as a cyclist and as
spokeswoman of an adult-suffrage deputation to the Victorian Premier. ...
Mrs Besant makes her clearest and brightest point in charging the church
with having led man to believe that he is naturally a base animal with
having persistently cursed his fleshly lusts, and exhorted him to feel
sorry for his disgraceful conduct, instead of teaching him to glory in his
noble impulses. What has the brimstone shepherd to say to this?
The 'Society' column, The Bulletin
of Sydney, Australia, September 15, 1894. Beginning on September 29, Mrs
Besant continued her lecture tour in Sydney.
The Australians do not seem to me to differ
noticeably from Americans, either in dress, carriage, ways,
pronunciation, inflections, or general appearance.
American humorist Mark Twain,
observing in Australia which he entered on September 15, 1895; More
Tramps Abroad
I am a revolutionist by birth,
breeding, principle, and everything else.
Mark Twain, to a reporter in 1906,
cited in Kaplan, Justin, Mr Clemens and Mark Twain. NY,
Simon and Schuster, 1966, p 368
I detest him (Bret Harte), because I think
his work is shoddy. His forte is pathos but there should be no pathos
which does not come out of a man's heart. He has no heart, except
his name, and I consider he has produced nothing that is genuine. He
is artificial.
Mark Twain, interviewed in the Sydney, Australia; Argus,
September 17, 1895
Probably there is an imperceptible touch
of something permanent that one feels instinctively to adhere to true
humour, whereas wit may be the mere conversational shooting up of
"smartness" a bright feather, to be blown into space the
second after it is launched ... Wit seems to be counted a very poor
relation to Humour
Humour is never artificial.
Mark Twain, quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald,
September 17, 1895
The popular idea that a child forgets easily is not an accurate one. Many people go right through life in the grip of an idea which has been impressed on them in very tender years.
Agatha Christie, English mystery author, born on September 15, 1890; Murder in
Mesopotamia, 1935
The human mind prefers to be spoon-fed with the thoughts of others, but
deprived of such nourishment it will, reluctantly, begin to think for itself
and such thinking, remember, is original thinking and may have
valuable results.
Agatha Christie; The Moving Finger, 1942
I don't think necessity is the mother of invention invention . . .
arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble.
Agatha Christie; An Autobiography, 1977
I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.
Agatha Christie; ibid
At the premiere of King Kong I wasn't too impressed. I thought there was too much screaming ... I didn't realise then that King Kong and I were going to be together for the rest of our lives, and longer.
Fay Wray, American actress, born on September 15, 1907
I'm on a string of grandslams I have one in a row.
Tennis player Andr้ Agassi, press conference, September 15, 1994
September 15
is
the 258th
day of the year in the Gregorian
Calendar (259th in leap years), with 107
days remaining.
Calendar converter Almanacs,
calendars, time, dedicated weeks, etc
Almanac screensavers
On this day
Dictionary
I
recommend
IMDB
days
IMDB years
Wikipedia days
Wiki decades
Wiki centuries
Timelines
Conversions
Calendrica
Lunabar
Birthday calculator
When 'Source'
links on this page move address or die, I might allow them to stay here, but the
Wayback Machine might help you
locate the original.
Onam, Kerala, India (2005; date varies; August - September)
A note about the dating of items in Wilson's Almanac
Onam, a harvest festival, is celebrated in Kerala, a state in India. It generally falls in the months of August-September. Onam is a celebration to mark the annual return of the spirit of the mythical King Mahabali to his kingdom, and a commemoration of his benevolent rule and his sacrifice. The festivities are intended to assure the King that his people are happy and to wish him well.
Mahabali, according to the legend was a just and a wise ruler dearly loved by all his subjects. He however incurred the wrath of the gods when he tried to extend his kingdom to paathaalam (the nether world), and to the heavens. The ruler of heaven and king of the devas, Lord Indra, was apprehensive of Mahabali's popularity and might, and approached Lord Vishnu, the preserver in the Hindu trinity, for help and advice.
Vishnu then took on the shape of a (Vamana) Brahmin, (the Vamana is considered one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu), and went to see Mahabali. He approached the King in this form and asked him for alms. Mahabali was a very generous man. He told the Vamana to ask for anything. The Vamana asked for three paces of land and the king agreed to the request.
Immediately the Vamana began to grow in size until he became as big as the universe. With the first step, he covered the entire earth, with the next paathaalam, and there was no land left for his third step. Mahabali, who was a man of principles, in order to stay true to his word, asked the Vamana to step upon his head. The Vamana placed his foot on Mahabali's head and pushed him into paathaalam. However, before doing so, he granted Mahabali a boon. Mahabali requested to be allowed to return and country once a year to visit his people. As the legend goes, he comes to visit his people during the festival of Onam. In memory of the happy days of Mahabali's rule, his annual home-coming is celebrated in Kerala with pomp and splendour.
The glory of those ancient times is recaptured in a popular folk song, which is sung all over Kerala:
When Mahabali ruled the land / Everyone was equal / Happily they lived / Danger befell none / There was no falsehood, or fraud / And no untruth//
The most important things about Onam are the onakkodi, the new dress worn on this day and ona sadhya, a feast which is quite elaborate. During Onam, people create a multi-colored floral decoration on the ground in the front of their home called a pookkalam. Young children are often entrusted with the task of gathering and laying out the flowers in elaborate patterns.
The Vallamkali (the snake boat race) is another event that is synonymous with Onam. Well-known races include the Aranmula Boat Race and the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. About 100 oarsmen row huge and graceful snake boats and men and women come from far and near to watch the snake boats skim through the water.
This festival is also important because of its secular character. Whatever might be the origin of Onam, today it is celebrated with equal fervour by the Hindus, Muslims and Christians, and hence it cannot be regarded as a Hindu festival in strict sense.
Dates: September 15, 2005; September 5, 2006; August 27, 2007; September 12, 2008; September 2, 2009
Find an error or dead link?
Like to make a suggestion, or just say "G'day"?
Meet me at Corrigenda
|
Highly recommended:
 Breaking The Da Vinci Code
To support this
project
Astro pic of the day
Photo of the day
|
Athena, (Phoenician Onga) also transliterated as Athene, the Greek goddess of wisdom, strategy, and war associated by the Romans with their Etruscan goddess Minerva, was attended by an owl, carried the goatskin shield (called the Aegis) given to her from her father, Zeus she was born fully armed from his forehead and was accompanied by the goddess of victory, Nike. Athena is an armed warrior goddess, never a child, always a virgin, (parthenos). The Parthenon at Athens, Greece is her most famous shrine. She never had a consort or lover. According to Herodotus Athena was a Berber goddess originally. The city of Pallas Athena Athena was fond
of building towns. It came to pass one day that she said to the
people of a fishing village, "Raise me a temple on the hill and I
will be your protector forever." This they did, until the god of
the sea, Poseidon,
called out that as he was the only one who had watched the town
being built, he should have the honour of naming it, or else he
would unleash such tempests that would engulf the whole world. However, Pallas Athene
(Athena) answered him: "If this place is destroyed, it will not
belong to either of us. Let each of us give a gift to the citizens,
and let them decide." Poseidon struck
the sea with his trident, and a fine horse galloped out from the
waves, at which sight the people marvelled. Then Pallas touched a
blade of grass, upon which action an olive tree grew up suddenly. The people cried
out blessings on the olive tree, because it would provide food and
oil for lamps. "More precious than the horse is the olive!" they
cried. Thus the new town was named Athens, in
honour of the wise goddess.
See also
Panathenaea, ancient Athens, in honour of Athena (c. Aug 8 - 17)
Greater Eleusinian Mysteries, ancient Greece (Sep 10 - 19) Sixth
day: the procession to Eleusis
began at the Kerameikos in Athens. The very important Holy Night
of the Mysteries followed, in which the queen of the underworld was
summoned. Hippolytus (Refutatio, V8, 39) writes "The
Athenians when initiating (people) into the Eleusinian [Mysteries]
show to those who have been made epopts the mighty and wonderful and
most perfect mystery for an epopt there a mown ear of corn
in silence" (the ear of grain representing Demeter).
Feast day of St John , the dwarf, anchoret of Scete Feast day of St Joseph Abibos Feast day of St Katherine of Genoa, widow Feast day of St Nicetas Feast day of St Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows (Latin: mater dolorosa, the sorrowed mother) is a title given in the Roman Catholic Church to Mary, mother of Jesus. She is the patron saint of Slovakia, the state of Mississippi, and Mola di Bari, Italy. Mary's Seven Sorrows
The first altar to the mater dolorosa was set up in 1221 at the monastery of Sch๖nau. The veneration of Our Lady of Sorrows on 15 September was initiated in 1239 by the Servite order in Florence, Italy. It was made universal by Pope Pius VII in 1814. Another feast, established in the seventeenth century and made universal in 1727, was originally celebrated on the last Friday before Palm Sunday, but in 1913 Pope Pius X set the date on September 15. In iconography, Our Lady of Sorrows is represented as the Virgin Mary wounded by seven swords in her heart. Source: Wikipedia Titles of Mary Liturgical Calendar Feast day of the Seven Sorrows of Virgin Maria, Slovakia Feast day of St Paolo Manna Ginger
Festival, at Daijin Shrine, Tokyo, Japan (Sep 11 - 21) Begin
fattening fowls for Michaelmas
feasts (Sep
29) Celebration of Gahambar Paitishahem, for Paitishahem the Corn-giver, Zoroastrian (Sep 12 - 16) Commemoration of the Battle of Britain, United KingdomCommemorated on the day of the last massive Luftwaffe attack in 1940. Third Monday of
September, Respect
for the Aged Day, Japan Independence Day from Spain (1821) for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, celebrated everywhere with marches from schoolchildren. The first day of school, Bulgaria
On which day of the week were you born? Find out here
Perhaps we should deck the halls with boughs of spring flowers, because an English astronomer suggested that Jesus might have been born on September 15, 7 BCE. Dr David Hughes,
of Sheffield University, argued that September 15 is the real Christmas for the
following reasons: In the Gospel of St Luke we read that Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem because "... there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one in his own city" (Luke 2:1,2). Such a decree occurred about 8 BCE. King Herod (Herod the Great) was so infuriated that a rival had been born (the 'King of the Jews') that he ordered the massacre of all baby boys in Israel, but Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt. They stayed there for two years until Herod's death, said to have closely followed a lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipses occurred in 4 BCE and 1 BCE. The distinctive astronomical phenomenon that happened between 8 BCE and 1 BCE, that could be equated with the Star of Bethlehem, is the conjunction of the giant planet Jupiter with Saturn in the constellation of Pisces (considered the Zodiacal sign of the Jews). This began on May 27, 7 BCE and continued for some months long enough for the three wise men (astrologers) to follow the phenomenon cross country. On September 15, the Magi (three wise men) would have seen a striking phenomenon, the conjoined rising of this celestial light on the eastern horizon, at sunset. If Dr Hughes is right, the Magi would have
arrived at the inn at Bethlehem with their presents for the Christ
child, on the day the star stopped over that town December 1,
7 BCE.
Another guess: September
29, 5 BCE What day was Jesus
born? When was Jesus Born? The
UnMuseum: Bethlehem's Star September
11, 3 BCE? March 1, 7 BCE, at 1:21
a.m.? (good day for a birthday!) September
14, 5 BCE? In what
year was Jesus born? Was Jesus
Born on the 25th of December? Was Jesus Born at the Church of
the Nativity? Revealing the Star of Bethlehem Star of Bethlehem bibliography
973 Al-Biruni (d. 1048), mathematician 1254 Marco Polo (d. January 8, 1324), Venetian trader and explorer who, together with his father and uncle, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China (which he called Cathay) and visited the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kubilai Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan). As a prisoner of war of the Genoese, he had dictated to a fellow inmate, Rustichello of Pisa, a book of memoirs called Travels, which may be fact or fiction. 1613 Fran็ois, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, French writer (Reflexions ou sentences et maximes morales) 1649 Titus Oates, English priest who stirred up anti-Catholic sentiments in 1678 by inventing a 'Popish plot' to kill King Charles II. He was later sentenced for his crimes, and his total punishment was reported to have been the staggering number of 2,256 lashes, applied with a six-thonged whip. William III released Oates in 1689, and he received a pension.
1789 James Fenimore Cooper (d. 1851),
American author (Leatherstocking
Tales; The Last of
the Mohicans) 1857 William Taft (William Howard Taft; d. 1930), USA Supreme Court Justice and 27th President of the United States 1876 Bruno Walter (d. 1962), conductor 1879 Joseph Lyons (d. 1939), tenth Prime Minister of Australia 1889 Robert Benchley (d. 1945), American humourist, newspaper columnist, film actor, and drama literary editor, grandfather of Peter Benchley (b. 1940), author of Jaws 1890 Agatha Christie (d. 1976),
British crime writer 1890 Claude McKay (b. May 22, 1948), Jamaican-born writer and communist. His novel, Home to Harlem (1928), became the most popular novel written by an American black at the time. His poem 'If We Must Die' was used by |
