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Pip Wilson

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Today is

All without the Fiord was quiet
But within it storm and riot,
Such as on his Viking cruises
   Raud the Strong was wont to ride.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - '82); 'Raud the Strong'. September 21 is the day of remembrance for the pagan martyr, Raud the Strong

Then the king ordered Raud to be brought before him, and offered him baptism. "And," says the king, "I will not take thy property from thee, but rather be thy friend, if thou wilt make thyself worthy to be so." Raud exclaimed with all his might against the proposal, saying he would never believe in Christ, and making his scoff of God. Then the king was wroth, and said Raud should die the worst of deaths. And the king ordered him to be bound to a beam of wood, with his face uppermost, and a round pin of wood set between his teeth to force his mouth open. Then the king ordered an adder to be stuck into the mouth of him; but the serpent would not go into his mouth, but shrunk back when Raud breathed against it. Now the king ordered a hollow branch of an angelica root to be stuck into Raud's mouth; others say the king put his horn into his mouth, and forced the serpent to go in by holding a red-hot iron before the opening. So the serpent crept into the mouth of Raud and down his throat, and gnawed its way out of his side; and thus Raud perished.
Snorri Sturlson (1178 - 1241) on the torture and martyrdom of Raud the Strong; Heimskringla The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway

Twenty-four hours: to give relief workers a safe interlude for the provision of vital services; to offer mediators a building block towards a wider truce; to allow all those engaged in conflict to reconsider the wisdom of further violence.
Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General; September 21 is International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace is always a special occasion, but this one is even more so – for this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Peace Bell, which we ring every year on this day.
Kofi Annan, September 21, 2004

St Matthee shut up the bee.
English traditional saying (as cold approaches, the bees don't get out and about as much)

St Matthew brings on the cold dew.
English traditional saying

St Matthew get candlestick new,
St Matthi [Matthias, Feb 24] lay candlestick by.
English traditional saying

St Matthew, get candle new
St Matthew brings the cold rain and dew.
English traditional saying

Matthew's Day, bright and clear,
Brings good wine in the next year.
English traditional saying

His great unfortunateness was in his greatest blessing; for of four sons which he had by his Queen Eleanor, three of them died in his own lifetime, who were worthy to have outlived him; and the fourth outlived him, who was worthy never to have been born.
Sir Richard Baker, in reference to Edward I in A Chronicle of the Kings of England, making a strong indictment against Edward II, who was murdered on September 21, 1327

During this period from 1827 to 1830, Joseph Smith abandoned the company of his former money-digging associates, but continued to use for religious purposes the brown seer stone he had previously employed in the treasure quest. His most intensive and productive use of the seer stone was in the translation of the Book of Mormon. But he also dictated several revelations to his associates through the stone.
D Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, Signature Books, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 1987, p. 143. Joseph Smith, Jr claimed that the angel Moroni gave him a record of gold plates, September 21, 1827.   Source

God bless you all. I feel myself again.
Last words of Sir Walter Scott, Scottish poet and novelist, died on September 21, 1832; to his family

A time will come when a politician who has wilfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own. 
HG Wells, English social activist and writer, born on September 21, 1866

That Anarchist world, I admit, is our dream; we do believe – well, I, at any rate, believe this present world, this planet, will some day bear a race beyond our most exalted and temerarious dreams, a race begotten of our wills and the substance of our bodies, a race, so I have said it, 'who will stand upon the earth as one stands upon a footstool, and laugh and reach out their hands amidst the stars,' but the way to that is through education and discipline and law. Socialism is the preparation for that higher Anarchism; painfully, laboriously we mean to destroy false ideas of property and self, eliminate unjust laws and poisonous and hateful suggestions and prejudices, create a system of social right-dealing and a tradition of right-feeling and action. Socialism is the schoolroom of true and noble Anarchism, wherein by training and restraint we shall make free men.
HG Wells; New Worlds for Old (1908)

I remember very well the first Fabian Society meeting we attended at Essex Hall. The platform seemed to be full of bearded men: Aylmer Maude, William Sanders, Sidney Webb and Bernard Shaw. I said to my brother, "Have we got to grow a beard to join this show?" HG Wells was on the platform, speaking with a little piping voice; he was very unimpressive.
Clement Attlee, British Prime Minister 1945 - 1951; As It Happened (1954)

I had rather be called a journalist than an artist, that is the essence of it.
HG Wells; to American author Henry James in 1915

I can't – in my present state anyhow – bank on religion. God has no thighs and no life. When one calls to him in the silence of the night he doesn't turn over and say, "What is the trouble, Dear?"
HG Wells; in a letter to Rebecca West, with whom he was having a love affair

No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment.
HG Wells

There was no aloofness or coldness in approaching him, no barriers to break down as with most Englishmen; his twinkling eyes were like those of a mischievous boy.
Margaret Sanger, American feminist, on her former lover, HG Wells

More quotes by or about HG Wells

I am an old scholar, better-looking now than when I was young. That's what sitting on your ass does to your face. 
Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer/songwriter, born on September 21, 1934

The last refuge of the insomniac is a sense of superiority to the sleeping world. 
Leonard Cohen

In dreams the truth is learned that all good works are done in the absence of a caress. 
Leonard Cohen

To every people the land is given on condition. Perceived or not, there is a Covenant, beyond the constitution, beyond sovereign guarantee, beyond the nation's sweetest dreams of itself.
Leonard Cohen

Seven to eleven is a huge chunk of life, full of dulling and forgetting. It is fabled that we slowly lose the gift of speech with animals, that birds no longer visit our windowsills to converse. As our eyes grow accustomed to sight they armor themselves against wonder.
Leonard Cohen

A woman watches her body uneasily, as though it were an unreliable ally in the battle for love. 
Leonard Cohen 

Act the way you'd like to be and soon you'll be the way you act. 
Leonard Cohen 

Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash. 
Leonard Cohen

The term clinical depression finds its way into too many conversations these days. One has a sense that a catastrophe has occurred in the psychic landscape. 
Leonard Cohen

There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in. 
Leonard Cohen

Children show scars like medals. Lovers use them as secrets to reveal. A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh. 
Leonard Cohen

I don't consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin. 
Leonard Cohen

Let judges secretly despair of justice: their verdicts will be more acute. Let generals secretly despair of triumph; killing will be defamed. Let priests secretly despair of faith: their compassion will be true. 
Leonard Cohen

September 21 is the 264^th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (265^th in leap years), with 101 days remaining.
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International Day of Peace
School children in a 'Peace Dove' campaign write messages of peace in Uzbek, Russian, English and Dari on peace doves (UN)

UN International Day of Peace

"The General Assembly, in resolution 55/282 (PDF), of 7 September 2001, decided that, beginning in 2002, the International Day of Peace should be observed on 21 September each year. The Assembly declared that the Day be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day. It invited all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, regional and non-governmental organizations and individuals to commemorate the Day in an appropriate manner, including through education and public awareness, and to cooperate with the United Nations in establishing a global ceasefire."

On International Day of Peace spread the message of peace. International Day Of Peace Cards

Peace One Day

"Peace One Day is committed to the development of an annual intercultural commemorative event for the UN International Day of Peace, a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, 'Peace One Day – The Celebration'.

"All sectors of society are being asked to honour and celebrate the Day on the 21^st September. The vision of the Day extends far beyond the cessation of violent conflict and represents an opportunity for individuals to join in a moment of global unity.."

Source

internationaldayofpeace.org/    Work a Day for Peace    International Day of Peace Vigil    Peace One Day homepage

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Click stars for Universe today Cafe Diem! Our store Highly recommended: Folklore of World Holidays by Margaret Read MacDonald Sun Goddess African Folklore The Secret Language of Birthdays Live with Passion! Anthony Robbins Reading Lolita in Tehran Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations Life in a Medieval Village   To support this project Search by keywords for books, music, computers, software, home and family products and much more.     Search for posters An Inconvenient Truth By Al Gore; DVD & book When Corporations Rule the World The Big Buy - Tom Delay's Stolen Congress The Corporation Highly recommended DVD Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America By Bruce Shapiro Remotely Controlled: How Television Is Damaging Our Lives and What We Can Do About It What Would Jefferson Do? By Thom Hartmann How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World Feminism Without Borders Commercializat of Intimate Life By Arlie Russell Hochschild Pagan Christianity The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set By CS Lewis Hello Laziness! By Corrine Maier For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire By James Yee 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 Stolen Harvest By Vandana Shiva Medieval Celebrations Women's Activism and Globalization The Atlas of Holy Places and Sacred Sites Imperial Crusades The HG Wells Reader: A Complete Anthology from Science Fiction to Social Satire The Complete War of The Worlds The Last War: A World Set Free The First HG Wells Omnibus The Spinster and the Prophet: HG Wells, Florence Deeks, and the Case of the Plagiarized Text Shadow Lovers: The Last Affairs of HG Wells Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist Chuck Reducks: Drawing from the Fun Side of Life Essential Leonard Cohen   Ten New Songs   The Songs of Leonard Cohen   The Best of Leonard Cohen Aborigine Dreaming The Medieval Cookbook The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe Internet Sacred Text Archive CD-ROM The New Book of Goddesses & Heroines The Spiral Dance By Starhawk 20th Anniversary Edition Eats, Shoots & Leaves Uluru The Murray Bookchin Reader Environmental Activism Astro pic of the day American Folklore Permaculture Daily Everything A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend, and Folklore The Edible Asian Garden More books, calendars, T-shirts, mugs, music, posters, etc at   Cafe Diem! Celtic Daily Prayer Hidden Agendas Poor Richard's Almanack By Benjamin Franklin Photo of the day Mother Earth Spirituality Wheel of the Year The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable The Survival of the Pagan Gods Mormon America Beyond Mormonism Out of Mormonism Mormonism Unmasked Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA and the Mormon Church

Purple Ribbons to Show You're Pagan Day (Neopagan festival of Mabon) "Show you are a Pagan by wearing a Purple Ribbon in your hair or pinning it to your shirt or hat. Tie a purple ribbon to your car antenna! On Sept. 21st to 22nd, Pagans of all persuasions are being encouraged to 'come out' to each other publicly by wearing a purple ribbon. This is an easy and discreet effort to offer each other encouragement by letting everyone know who else is Pagan – but no one will know what these purple ribbons are all about if we don't pass the word along! Show solidarity and Pagan Pride by making it public and telling your Pagan friends and family so they can do the same." Source: Earth, Moon and Sky   Feast of the Divine Life, ancient Egypt (?) According to Nigel Pennick (The Pagan Book of Days, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, USA, 1992, 108), today is dedicated to the threefold goddess - the Mother (creator), the Daughter (renewer), and the Dark Mother (the absolute). It's an epagomenal day, added to the calendar to complete a 365-day year.  The Egyptians, according to some sources, such as the generally reliable but now defunct Roman Calendar website, called today the Feast of the Divine Life. However, this commemoration actually seems to your almanackist (at least in its triune characteristics) to be based on the Lux Madriana Calendar – the entry for September 21 in the Juno Covella Calendar (site no longer available) at the Fellowship of Isis, says: "This central festival of the Mysteries of Life Cycle celebrates the essence of life, the abundant outpouring of the Spirit, Who creates and sustains all that is. It is a festival devoted to the Divine Trinity, upon whom all existence is entirely dependent; to the Mother, creator of all things in their pure and perfect Essences; to the Daughter, Whose sacrifice poured life anew into the fallen and disintegrating world; and most especially to the Dark Mother, Absolute Deity, the unknown, unknowable Ground of all Being, Whose very nature is life itself. "'The celebration of the festival includes the decoration of shrine and altar with the fruits of the season. The apple, representing the golden apples of Avala, the western paradise, is the central symbol of the feast. Apples, cyder and seedcake are the traditional festival foods'." On the dating of Egyptian festivals and rites Bahá'í World Peace Day Egyptian day (dies egypticus, dies ægypticus or dies mala), unlucky day in Medieval Europe. ("But, notwithstanding, I will trust the Lord" was the associated saying.) Feast day of St Francis Jaccard Feast day of St Gerulph Feast day of St Hieu Feast day of St Imbert Feast day of St Iphigenia Feast day of St Isaac Feast day of St James Honoré Chastán Feast day of St Lo, or Laudus, Bishop of Coutances   Feast day of St Matthew the Apostle, Apostle of Ethiopia  (Ciliated passion-flower [Fringed passion-flower; Stinking Passion Flower; Wild Maracuja; Running Pop], Passiflora ciliata or Passiflora foetida, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.) Matthew also called Levi, was a son of Alphaeus and lived at Capernaum on Lake Genesareth (the Sea of Galilee). By profession he was a 'publican' or tax-gatherer before his conversion, and thus hated by many of his contemporaries, who were surprised to see Jesus Christ with a traitor. Jesus explained, however, that he had come "not to call the just, but sinners". He is patron of accountants, bankers, financial officers, security guards, stock brokers, and, naturally, tax collectors. His symbol is a hatchet or halberd, because he was martyred at Nadabar (Naddayer), Ethiopia, with a halberd. Other traditions say that Matthew was martyred in Hierapolis of Parthia. On this day the Lord Mayor and dignitaries of London attended a divine service at Christ Church, Newgate Street; thence to Christ's Hospital where two orations were delivered, one in Latin and the other in English, by the two senior scholars of the grammar school. Then an elegant dinner was held for all. St Matthew's Day is a weather marker associated with the grape harvest, as mentioned in traditional English sayings (see quotes above). "Matthew's Gospel is given pride of place in the canon of the New Testament, and was written to convince Jewish readers that their anticipated Messiah had come in the person of Jesus. He preached among the Jews for 15 years; his audiences may have included the Jewish enclave in Ethiopia, and places in the East."   Source Feast day of St Maura of Troyes, virgin Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days   When is the (northern) Autumn Equinox? In astronomy, the Autumnal Equinox signals the beginning of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere: the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward; the equinox occurs around September 22 - 24, varying slightly each year according to the 400-year cycle of leap years in the Gregorian Calendar. In the Book of Days we have arbitrarily placed it at September 22. The Spring Equinox is at March 20.   Day of Remembrance for Raud the Strong, magician martyr of Norway The torture and martyrdom of the Norse landowner and sorceror, Raud the Strong, by King Olaf I of Norway (Olav Tryggvason), is commemorated on the eve of the Autumnal Equinox. He was tortured by having a snake and heated metal pipe forced down his throat, and died rather than deny the old Norse religion. Raud's home had been in Godey on Salten Fjord; Olaf christened the whole fjord then went on his way, taking Raud's dragon-ship – the largest and most magnificent in the land – with him. Pennick, op cit, et al (Some sources, such as this, put this commemoration at September 9, due to historical changes in dating with the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, which occurred in Norway on March 1, 1700. This source says January 9.) Ginger Festival, at Daijin Shrine, Tokyo, Japan (Sep 11 - 21) Autumn Equinox festival at Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico (Sep 17 - 26) Mala Gospojina, Nativity of the Virgin Mary (Orthodox), Bosnia-Herzegovina   Unlucky 21 An important number in the life of King Louis XVI of France. "When Louis XVI of France was a child, an astrologer warned him to always be on his guard on the 21st day of every month. The advice terrified the young child, and always stuck with him. He refused to travel, conduct business, or even entertain on the 21st. "In spite of, (or maybe even because of ...) his caution, he had larger issues to contend with on the 21st of one particular month. It was on June 21st [1791], that Louis and his queen were arrested at Varennes as they tried to escape the revolution. On September 21st of the following year [1792], France abolished the institution of royalty and declared itself a republic. And on January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was executed."    Source Clypping Ceremony, Painswick, England "Every September an ancient ceremony takes place in Painswick's St Mary's churchyard. The Clypping Ceremony involves local people joining hands round the church to form an unbroken chain, then singing the Clypping Hymn as part of an open-air service. "This custom, which literally embraces the Church and the faith it stands for, dates back to 1321 and originally formed a part of the annual village fair."   Source Thanksgiving Day (Philippines) St Michael's Day, Papua-New Guinea Feast of San Gennaro, New York, USA (c. Sep 11 - 22) World Gratitude Day Hispanic Heritage Month, USA Dog Week (Sep 21 - 27) Oktoberfest (Sep 20 - Oct 5) Mumia Awareness Week (Sep 19 - 25) Independence Day, Malta (1964) Independence Day, Belize (1981) Referendum Day, or Independence Day, Armenia (1991) Festival of Nyamuzinda, Bashi, Zaire God of famine and epidemics.   Source: The Daily Bleed Feast of Kuodor-Gup, Selkup, Siberia God of Riches.  Source: The Daily Bleed Eleven Days of Global Unity (Sep 11 - 21 annually)       On which day of the week were you born? Find out here 1328 Hongwu Emperor of China (d. 1398) 1411 Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (d. 1460), claimant to the English throne 1415 Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1493) 1428 Jingtai Emperor of China (d. 1457)   1452 Girolamo Savonarola (Jerome or Hieronymous Savonarola; d. May 23, 1498), Dominican priest and, briefly, ruler of Florence, known for religious reformation, anti-Renaissance preaching and his book burning and destruction of art. A Dominican preacher of Florence, Savonarola believed he received divine instructions and carried them out. It was said that he had frequent conversations with God, and the devils that infested his convent trembled at his sight. Savonarola was eloquent, and famed throughout Italy. He denounced the luxury of the Florentines, resisted the despotism of the Medici family and condemned the clergy and papal court. Ironically, Lorenzo de Medici, the previous ruler of Florence and patron of many Renaissance artists, was both a target of Savonarola's preaching and his patron. Following the overthrow of the Medici in 1494, Savonarola set up a democratic republic, one of its first acts of which was to make sodomy, previously punishable by a fine, into a capital offence. Bonfire of the Vanities In 1497, he ordered the notorious Bonfire of the Vanities, sending boys from door to door collecting items associated with moral 'laxity' – mirrors, cosmetics, 'lewd' pictures, pagan or allegedly pagan books, gaming tables, fine dresses, and the works of 'immoral' poets – and burnt them all in a large pile in the Piazza della Signoria of Florence. Fine Florentine Renaissance artwork was lost in Savanarola's bonfires, including paintings by Sandro Botticelli. The Franciscans were rivals to the Dominicans, and it was only a matter of course for a Franciscan to proclaim one of his tracts heretical. This was probably just desserts for the man who had written, "It would be good for religion if many books that seem useful were destroyed", and "The only good thing that we owe to Plato and Aristotle is that they brought forward many arguments which we can use against the heretics." A Dominican offered to walk through a fire unhurt, on behalf of the truth of his brother Savonarola. A Franciscan offered to do the same, in opposition. The magistrates made a fire ready; Savonarola said his champion should carry the consecrated host (bread of the mass) with him. The Franciscans argued against it. As the argument transpired, the flames cooled, losing him support among the Florentines. His enemies dragged him to prison; the odious Pope Alexander VI had him, his champion, and another monk strangled then burned, in the name of the Prince of Peace.   1705 Dick Turpin (baptized on this day; hanged April 7, 1739), legendary English bandit, murderer and the most famous historical highwayman of Britain Highwaymen, bushrangers, pirates, gangsters, etc in the Book of Days 1756 John MacAdam (d. 1836), Scottish engineer, father of macadamized road surfacing 1840 Murad V (d. 1904), Ottoman sultan 1842 Abd-ul-Hamid II (d. 1918), Ottoman sultan 1849 Maurice Barrymore (b. Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blyth; March 26, 1905) stage name of the Indian-born English patriarch of the Anglo-American Barrymore acting family 1849 Sir Edmund Gosse, English poet 1866 HG Wells (Herbert George Wells; d. August 13, 1946), English progressive social activist and writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The Island of Dr Moreau and The Time Machine. Wells also wrote a number of utopian novels, one of which was The Shape of Things to Come (1933) which he later adapted for the 1936 Sir Alexander Korda film, Things to Come. Some of his books led Fabian Society leaders George Bernard Shaw, Beatrice Webb and Sidney Webb to invite him to join the society, an invitation he accepted. Wells had numerous love affairs, his lovers including American contraception activist Margaret Sanger (1879 - 1966) and American feminist author Rebecca West (1892 - 1983). He called his political views socialist (in New Worlds for Old he extolled anarchism – see quote at head of page), and with his fondness for Utopia, he was at first quite sympathetic to Lenin and Trotsky's attempts at reconstructing the Russian economy, as his account of a visit (Russia in the Shadows, 1920) shows. However, he grew disillusioned at the doctrinal rigidity of the Bolsheviks, and after meeting Stalin (whom he had admired, attracting the criticism of Shaw), lost any faith he had in Marxism-Leninism. On January 19, 1939, while in Australia, Wells gave to the audience of ABC Radio a talk called 'Utopias', in which he said: "All scientific workers are Utopians after the school of Francis Bacon. That is why I am here in Australia talking to you. I came here to learn what I could from the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, which has just been meeting at Canberra. All the men and women in that Association, I warn you, are Utopians, and they believe their Utopia is real. They believe that this world of ours can only be put in order and kept in order by the perpetual refreshment of scientific thought. They believe as firmly as any human beings have ever believed, that swords can be beaten into plough-shares and spears into pruning-hooks, that nation need not lift up its hand against nation, nor should they learn war any more." "The World Set Free is a novel published in 1914 by H. G. Wells. is noteworthy for its depiction of what he referred to as 'atomic bombs' physicist Leo Szilard read the book in 1932, conceived of the idea of nuclear chain reaction in 1933, and filed for patents on it in 1934." [sic]  Source "In the autumn of 1913, at the age of 19, [Rebecca] West started her turbulent love affair with H.G. Wells, although she had called him in an article from 1912 'the old maid among novelists'. Wells called her 'Panther', and her pet name for him was 'Jaguar'. Their son, Anthony West, was born in 1914; his middle name was 'Panther'."   Source Wells's love life    Read Wells online    More on Wells    More HG Wells bibliography including his utopian and socialist books HG Wells by JD Beresford (Gutenberg open-source e-biography) HG Wells at Wikisource    Works by HG Wells at Project Gutenberg Another profile of him    A more detailed look at his life and work HG Wells at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Little Wars & Floor Games Introduction to the 1995 edition of Wells' gaming books. History and impact of The War Of The Worlds Early progressives in the Book of Days     1873 Papa Jack Laine (d. 1966), jazz musician 1874 Gustav Holst (d. 1934), British composer (Orchestral suite: The Planets) 1902 Sir Allen Lane, English founder of Penguin Books 1906 Aristotle Onassis (d. 1975), shipping tycoon 1909 Kwame Nkrumah (d. April 27, 1972), anti-colonial, anti-neo-colonial, and anti-imperialist African leader from Ghana   1912 Chuck Jones (d. February 22, 2002), American artist and director of animated films, best known for those he directed for Warner Brothers. He directed many of the classic short cartoons starring Bugs Bunny and the other WB characters, including the memorable What's Opera, Doc? and Duck Amuck. He is also remembered for made-for TV shows such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the live-action/animated feature The Phantom Tollbooth. Jones won three Academy Awards for his animated films and a fourth Oscar for lifetime achievement. Hollywood mourns cartoon legend    Comix, comics and cartoons in the Book of Days More at Wikipedia    More at IMDB     1919 Fazlur Rahman (d. 1988), scholar 1920 Jay Ward (d. 1988), animator 1926 Don Dunstan AC QC (d. February 6, 1999), Australian politician, Premier of South Australia between June 1, 1967 and April 17, 1968 and then subsequently between June 2, 1970 and February 15, 1979. He is remembered as one of the main leaders in the Australian Labor Party during the 1970s and played a significant role in rekindling the party's political success. His wearing of pink hot pants in the House is also well remembered by many Australians. 1931 Larry Hagman, American actor (Dallas) 1934 Leonard Cohen, Canadian poet, songwriter and singer ('Suzanne'; 'Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye') 1935 Henry Gibson, the poetry-reading actor/comedian on the 1960s TV hit Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In 1939 Rory Storm (b. Alan Caldwell, September 21; d. September 28, 1972), the leader of Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, a Liverpool band who were contemporaries of The Beatles in the late 1950s and early 1960s; Ringo Starr was the drummer for The Hurricanes before joining The Beatles in 1962 1944 Fannie Flagg, actress, novelist 1945 Jerry Bruckheimer, film and television producer 1946 Moritz Leuenberger, member of the Swiss Federal Council 1947 Stephen King, American horror writer 1947 Marsha Norman, playwright 1950 Bill Murray, American comic actor 1950 Charles Clarke, British politician 1957 Kevin Rudd, 26th prime minister of Australia and leader of the federal Australian Labor Party (ALP) 1957 Ethan Coen, film director 1959 Dave Coulier, actor 1960 David James Elliott, actor 1961 Nancy Travis, actress 1962 Rob Morrow, actor 1963 King Mohammed VI of Morocco 1966 Kiefer Sutherland, actor 1967 Faith Hill, country singer 1968 Ricki Lake, actress, talk show hostess 1971 Luke Wilson, actor 1980 Kareena Kapoor, Bollywood actress   Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section Send a free e-card greeting for today's celebrations to a loved one Do you forget birthdays and anniversaries? Schedule your cards to be sent during the coming year. Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards Flower Week [ Sep 19 - 25 ] Birthdays Chocolate Day [ Sep 23 ] International Day Of Peace [ Sep 21 ] Varies Full Moon Day Varies Friday the 13th Varies Buddhist e-cards Varies Christian e-cards Varies Hindu e-cards Varies Muslim e-cards Varies Pagan e-cards Varies Peace e-cards Varies Friendship e-cards Varies Onam Varies Chinese Moon Festival Varies Rosh Hashanah Varies Navratri Varies Women's Friendship Day   September 20 Student Day 21 International Day Of Peace 22 Ice Cream Cone Day 22 Autumnal Equinox / Spring Equinox 22 American Business Women's Day 22 Native American Day 23 Chocolate Day 23 Fishing Day 23 Autumnal Equinox (Japan) 23 Neptune Day 23 Apple Harvest Festival (Wisconsin) 24 Kiss Day 24 Good Neighbor Day 24 Innergize Day 24 World Heart Day 25 Family Day 25 New Horizons Day 25 One Hit Wonder Day 26 International Tool Day 28 Strawberry Cream Pie Day 28 St Wenceslas Feast Day 29 All Angels Day 29 Pumpkin Day 29 Coffee Day 29 Goose Day 29 Michaelmas Day 29 Pumpkin Day 29 All Angels Day 29 Coffee Day 30 Ask A Stupid Question Day October 1 World Vegetarian Day 1 Independence Day (Nigeria) 1 Pumpkin Day 1 International Day Of Older Persons 1 National Day (China) 2 Name Your Car Day 2 Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday 2 World Farm Animals Day 4 Taco Day 4 World Animal Day 4 Golf Lovers Day 4 International Toot Your Flute Day 4 St Francis Day 5 Long Walk Day 5 World Teacher's Day 6 Biscuit Day 6 Soap Opera Day 6 German-American Day 6 Physician Assistant Day 7 Send A Smile Day 7 Bathtub Day 7 Frappe Day 8 Tube Top Day   ... 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   19 BCE The death of Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro), Latin poet (Eclogues; The Aeneid) in the port of Brindisii (Brundisium) upon his return from Greece, having removed from his last will an earlier request that The Aeneid be burned upon his death.   Virgil: larger than life Many fables were told about this Roman poet whose persona grew to mythological proportions by the time of the Middle Ages. His birth was announced by an earthquake in Rome, and he grew to be skilled in the magical arts, or so it is said.  Virgil made a lamp that lit every street in Rome; he was said to have founded the city of Naples upon eggs, as a magical charm for protection. On one of Naples's gateways he erected two statues: one had a happy face, the other a deformed and miserable one. If one was to enter the town near the happy statue, that person would prosper; if near the sad statue, the person would have a contrary fate. On another gate he erected a statue of a fly, the presence of which kept out flies from Naples for eight years. He built baths that cured all ills, and surrounded his house with a stream of air that served as a wall. Virgil also constructed a bridge of brass which took him anywhere he pleased. A beautiful woman whom he courted told him to come to her castle tower by night. She would let down a basket on a rope for him to ascend; but she left him dangling halfway up the tower wall. When the Emperor of Rome was troubled by rumours of rebellion, he called on the poet, who made for him a statue representing each of the provinces, and one representing Rome. The former all turned their backs on the latter, and rang bells, thus warning the emperor of the coming rebellion. More at the Virgil page in the Scriptorium "In the year 19 B.C. the Emperor Augustus was visiting Athens, and consulted with Master Vergilius, who was also there. Because of the Emperor's need for Necromancer's aid, the two departed for Rome, but Vergilius became ill and died at Brundisium a.d. XII Kal. Oct. [Sept. 20] [sic – PW], when he was 51 years old. But the Master had directed that his Bones and Ashes be taken to Neapolis and placed in a Tomb, which he had already prepared there (for he knew when his life would end). His Tomb is between the first and second mile markers from Neapolis on the Via Puteolana [road to Puteoli]. "The Tomb was in the shape of a small temple, in the center of which the jar [orca] containing his Bones was supported by white marble columns. By the Poet's direction, the jar had been inscribed: Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc Parthenope, cecini pascua, rura, duces. Mantua bore me, Calabria siezed me, now Parthenope holds me; I sang of flocks, fields, generals." Source: From The Secret History of Virgil by Alexander Neckam, said to be based on a history by Gaius Asinius Pollio; from a manuscript in the Old Royal Library in the British Museum. Edited and translated by Joannes Opsopoeus Brettanus, 1996 454 With his own hands, Roman Emperor Valentinian III assassinated Flavius Aetius in his own throne room. 1327 England's King Edward II (b. 1284) was murdered in the dungeons of Berkeley Castle, allegedly by a red hot poker being shoved in his rectum, at the bidding of his estranged and ambitious wife, Queen Isabella of France, whom the hapless homosexual had married on January 25, 1308. However, it should be noted that this gruesome account is uncorroborated by any contemporary source and no-one writing in the fourteenth century knew exactly what had happened to Edward II. The closest chronicler to the scene in time and distance, Adam Murimuth, stated that it was "popularly rumoured' that he had been suffocated". "On April 3 he was secretly removed from Kenilworth and entrusted to the custody of two dependents of Mortimer. After various wanderings he was imprisoned at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire. Every indignity was inflicted upon him, and he was systematically ill-treated in the hope that he would die of disease. When his strong constitution seemed likely to prevail he was secretly put to death on September 21. The popular legend is that his murder was by a red-hot poker thrust up his anus, considered by his captors as an appropriate punishment for his homosexuality, which would show no outward signs of violence. It was announced that he had died a natural death, and he was buried in St Peter's Abbey at Gloucester, now the cathedral, where his son afterwards erected a magnificent tomb. "An alternative version of events, which has received little attention from historians, suggests that the body buried at Gloucester is not that of King Edward, but that he was allowed to escape to the Continent and survived many more years."   Source: Wikipedia Abbey body identified as gay lover of Edward II    More 1529 The Austrians drove Suleiman I ('the Magnificent', sultan of the Ottoman Empire) and his Turkish forces from the gates of Vienna. According to legend, Viennese bakers made the first croissants (crescent-shaped rolls) mimicking the crescent moon of the Muslim standard. 1558 Death of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. 1741 A fall of "angel's hair"- an unknown fluffy substance - fell on Selborne, England, then became gelatinous, then evaporated away altogether. Similar experiences have happened in Japan [October 1, 679 and September 27, 1477, qv].  1745 Battle of Prestonpans: The Hanoverian army under the command of John Cope was defeated, in ten minutes, by the Jacobite forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. 1780 Benedict Arnold gave the British the plans to West Point. 1792 French National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy. 1796 Death of François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French General (b. 1769). 1832 Death of Sir Walter Scott (b. 1771), Scottish historical novelist, folklorist and poet. 1851 Australia: The first Victorian gold mining licence was issued. 1860 In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeated Chinese troops at the Battle of Baliqiao. 1896 British forces under Horatio Kitchener took Dongola in the Sudan. 1897 The 'Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus' letter was published in the New York Sun. 1897 Death of Wilhelm Wattenbach, German historian. 1898 The Empress Dowager Cixi seized power and ended the Hundred Days' Reform in China. 1903 The first western movie opened in the US – Kit Carson (21 minutes long). 1904 Death of Chief Joseph, Nez Perce leader. 1915 A local farmer bought Stonehenge with its surrounding fields for £6,600. 1921 An Ammonium nitrate explosion at chemical storage facility in Oppau, Germany killed 561. 1937 JRR Tolkien published The Hobbit. 1940 Australia: Despite a hefty swing to Labor, Robert Menzies (1894 - 1978), leader of the UAP (United Australia Party) was elected Prime Minister of Australia. 1942 The B-29 Superfortress made its debut. 1944 As he promised, General Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines and attacked the Japanese near Manila. 1950 George Marshall was sworn in as the 3rd Secretary of Defense of United States. 1964 Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom.   1968 Mexico City, Mexico: In a bloody prelude to the Tlatelolco massacre of October 2 this year, in which 200 - 300 students were massacred by the police, cops raided the Tlatelolco district of the city and battled with students and other residents. A baby girl and at least three students were killed and many hundreds arrested during this battle. The Mexican students wanted to exploit the attention focused on Mexico City for the 1968 Olympic Games. Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, however, was determined to stop the demonstrations. "As battles between youth and security forces became more and more pitched – and as supporting the movement became more risky – more sections of the masses stepped in to join them. This happened most especially in the Tlatelolco complex, a huge, mainly middle-class project which also housed many workers and poor families in its rooftop flats. One press report estimated that 12,000 residents participated in the movement on the side of the students. "On September 21, 1,000 police attacked Voca (Vocational) 7, a high school within Tlatelolco. Students held them off in a fierce battle in which police set fire to two buildings, fired round after round of gunfire into the school, and launched clouds of tear gas into apartments. "Tlatelolco housewives spent that night boiling water to throw out the windows onto soldiers or hunting for rags, bottles, and fuel to make molotov cocktails for the students. Children lined the roofs aiming rocks and sticks on the uniforms below. Hundreds of youth from Vocas in surrounding poor barrios broke through the police cordon by blowing up police cars. Newspapers reported that 'gangster youth' from Tepito also joined with the student fighters. Even after calling in reinforcements from the army, the security forces were often driven back. They finally gave up at 2 a.m. "A baby girl and at least three students were killed and many hundreds arrested during this battle. Twenty granaderos (antiriot police) were injured. Four more were shot – one fatally – by an army lieutenant who saw them beating his mother."   Source   1972 Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos issued Proclamation No 1081, placing the entire country under martial law. 1975 Australia: Thirteen miners were killed in a gas explosion in the Kianga mine, Moura, Queensland. 1976 Members of the avant-garde Czech rock band, Plastic People of the Universe, went on trial in Prague. The trial had a number of important long-term repercussions in Czech history. Among these was the interest it generated in a young Czech playwright (and Frank Zappa and Lou Reed/Velvet Underground fan) named Vaclav Havel. The trial went on to spawn a protest movement and a 'Velvet Revolution' that eventually brought down the Communist government, and Havel went on to be the new democratic republic's first head of state. "Six months later, the trial of the Plastic People and the other arrested artists began. The majority of the Plastic People were released due to international protests. However, four musicians including Vratislav Brabenec and Ivan Jirous from the Plastics, as well as Pavel Zajicek from the Plastics' sister band DG 307, and singer Svatopluk Karasek, were held for disturbing the peace. "On that day, September 21, 1976, as the four defendants sat handcuffed in the dock, rock and roll went on trial. It was the hippies versus the Communist state ... "Among the supporters was avant-garde playwright Vaclav Havel who had met Jirous a week earlier and had been impressed with the man and his philosophy. Havel left the trial feeling disgusted with the world and resolved to make a difference."   Source 1981 Belize was granted full independence from the United Kingdom. 1984 Brunei gained admission to the United Nations. 1986 Hunter S Thompson claimed he remained sober on this day. Ah, lives there a man with soul so dead, who never to himself hath said As he hunched and rolled in his comfortable bed: To hell with the rent ... I'll drink instead! Hunter S Thompson, The Proud Highway 1989 Tennessee, USA: A court awarded divorcee Mary Sue Davis a court temporary custody of seven frozen embryos. Her former husband, who had fertilised the eggs, protested that he did not want to become a father against his will, but the court ruled in the favour of the potential mother. 1989 Hurricane Hugo left widespread destruction in South Carolina and Georgia, USA. 1993 Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspended parliament and scrapped the then-functioning constitution, thus triggering the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993.   1995 The milk miracle of New Delhi, India.  It spread worldwide and finished in 24 hours as suddenly as it had started. It has been called "the best-documented paranormal phenomenon of modern times". In this alleged miracle, statues of the Hindu elephant god, Ganesh, accepted offerings of milk from tens of millions of worshippers in thousands of temples. There is a similar 'miracle' (though in an opposite direction) recorded of a statuette of 'Ashtart (a major northwest Semitic goddess cognate of Ishtar) from Tutugi (Galera) near Granada in Spain dating to the 6th or 7th Century BCE. In this miracle, 'Ashtart sat on a throne flanked by sphinxes holding a bowl beneath her pierced breasts. A hollow in the statue would have been filled with milk through the head and gentle heating would have melted wax plugging the holes, producing an apparent miracle. From Wikipedia: Before dawn, a Hindu worshipper at a temple in south New Delhi made an offering of milk to a statue of Lord Ganesha. When a spoonful of milk from the bowl was held up to the trunk of the statue, the liquid was seen to disappear, apparently taken in by the idol. Word of the event spread quickly, and by mid-morning it was found that statues of the entire Hindu pantheon in temples all over North India were taking in milk, with the family of Shiva (Parvati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya) apparently the "thirstiest". By noon the news had spread beyond India, and Hindu temples in Britain, Canada, Dubai, and Nepal among other countries had successfully replicated the phenomenon, and the World Hindu Council (an Indian Hindu organisation) had announced that a miracle was occurring. The apparent miracle had a significant effect on the areas around major temples; vehicle and pedestrian traffic in New Delhi was dense enough to create a gridlock lasting until late in the evening. Many stores in areas with significant Hindu communities saw a massive jump in sales of milk, with one Gateway store in England selling over 25,000 pints of milk, and overall milk sales in New Delhi jumped over 30%. Many minor temples struggled to deal with the vast increase in numbers, and queues spilled out into the streets." "It all began on September 21st when an otherwise ordinary man in New Delhi dreamt that Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God of Wisdom, craved a little milk. Upon awakening, he rushed in the dark before dawn to the nearest temple, where a skeptical priest allowed him to proffer a spoonful of milk to the small stone image. Both watched in astonishment as it disappeared, magically consumed by the God. "What followed is unprecedented in modern Hindu history. Within hours news had spread like a brush fire across India that Ganesha was accepting milk offerings. Tens of millions of people of all ages flocked to the nation's temples. The unworldly happening brought worldly New Delhi to a standstill, and its vast stocks of milk – more than a million liters – sold out within hours. Just as suddenly as it started in India, it stopped in just 24 hours."   Source (with video) The Hindu Almanac    More on the Hindu milk miracle   1999 Taiwan experienced an earthquake with the magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter Scale. 2001 Deep Space 1 flew within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly. 2003 The Galileo mission was terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, where it was crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes. 2004 The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War and the Maoist Communist Centre of India merged to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist).     Tomorrow: Autumn Equinox    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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