On This Day January 14th

 OTD

January 14th is the Fourteenth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 351 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

1639 – The "Fundamental Orders," the first written constitution that created a government, was adopted in Connecticut.

1784 – American Revolutionary War: Ratification Day, United States - Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain.

1899 – RMS Oceanic (1899) is launched. She is the largest ship afloat since Brunel's SS Great Eastern.

1900 – Giacomo Puccini's Tosca opens in Rome.

1907 – An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000 people.

1911 – Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition makes landfall on the eastern edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.

1939 – Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.

1952 – NBC's long-running morning news program Today debuts with host Dave Garroway.

1973 – Elvis Presley's concert Aloha from Hawaii was broadcast live via satellite and set the record as the most-watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in television history.

2004 – The national flag of the Republic of Georgia, the so-called "five cross flag," is restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years.

 

Birthdays

83 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (d. 30 BCE)

1507 – Luca Longhi, Italian painter (d. 1580)

1684 – Johann Matthias Hase, German mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer (d. 1742)

1741 – Benedict Arnold, American-British general (d. 1801)

1824 – Vladimir Stasov, Russian critic (d. 1906)

1861 – Mehmed VI, Ottoman sultan (d. 1926)

1875 – Albert Schweitzer, French-German physician and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)

1892 – George Wilson, English footballer (d. 1961)

1905 – Sterling Holloway, American actor (d. 1992)

1930 – Johnny Grande, American pianist and accordion player (d. 2006)

1948 – T Bone Burnett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer.

1949 – Lawrence Kasdan was an American director, producer, and screenwriter.

 1967 – Zakk Wylde, American guitarist, and singer.

1968 – LL Cool J, American rapper and actor.

 

Holiday Spotlight

Feast of the Ass - (Celebrates all the donkeys of the Bible)

  This feast may be a Christian adaptation of the pagan feast, Cervulus, incorporating the Nativity story’s donkey. It was first held in the 1000s and celebrated various Bible stories. Additionally, it had a pseudo-Augustinian influence credited to the ‘Sermo contra Judaeos.’

 It became less popular after the Catholic Church publicly condemned the celebration in the second half of the 15th century. The Feast of Fools was also charged during this period. Both feasts were thought to be improper, albeit the Feast of Fools was regarded as far more than the Feast of the Ass.

 The Feast of the Ass honors all the Bible’s donkeys, particularly the one thought to have transported Jesus and his family to Egypt following his birth. The family was escaping Herod the Great’s assassination of young boys at the time. The donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday is another biblical account of a donkey. A donkey is also said to have been present in the manger where Jesus was born.

 A girl would ride a donkey through a town to a church on the day. As she rode through the streets, people would sing a song about her carrying a baby or being pregnant herself.

 Once the donkey reached the church, it was given food and water and stood near the altar for the service. The crowd would bray back to the priest, and the priest would occasionally bray. The Feast of the Ass was especially rowdy in the city of Beauvais in northern France.

 

Other Include

Cesarean Section Day

International Kite Day

National Dress Up Your Pet Day

National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day

National Sunday Supper Day

Organize Your Home Day

Orthodox New Year

Ratification Day

Take a Missionary to Lunch Day

World Logic Day

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In This Day December 3rd

  O.T.D December 3rd is the three hundred thirty-third day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 33 days remain until the end of the year. Events 1775—American Revolutionary War: The USS Alfred becomes the first vessel to fly the Grand Union Flag (the precursor to the Stars and Stripes); John Paul Jones hoists the flag. 1800 – United States presidential election: The Electoral College casts votes for president and vice president that result in a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. 1854 – Battle of the Eureka Stockade: More than 20 gold miners at Ballarat, Victoria, are killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licenses. 1898 – The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club defeats an all-star collection of early football players 16–0 in the first all-star game for professional American football. 1904 – Charles Dillon Perrine discovers the Jovian moon Himalia at California's Lick Observatory. 1910 – Georges Claude first demonstrates modern neon lighting at the Paris Moto...
Read more

The Lightning Mind of Benjamin Franklin: Innovator, Statesman, and Sage

Image
   Benjamin Franklin, one of the most extraordinary figures in American history, was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts. His life spanned an era of remarkable change and progress, and Franklin himself was a driving force behind much of this transformation.  Franklin's thirst for knowledge was evident from a young age. Born into a modest family, he had limited formal education but compensated for this with an insatiable curiosity and a passion for self-learning. His early exposure to books and learning, mainly through his apprenticeship at his brother's printing shop, laid the foundation for his lifelong pursuit of knowledge.  Regarding Franklin's IQ, it's important to note that the concept of IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and IQ tests were not developed during Franklin's lifetime. Thus, it's impossible to accurately state his IQ. However, his broad range of achievements and intellectual pursuits indicate high intelligence and creativity.  Franklin e...
Read more

On This Day January 13th

 OTD January 13th is the Thirteenth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 352 days remain until the end of the year.   Events 27 BC – Octavian transfers the state to the Roman Senate's and the people's free disposal. He receives Spain, Gaul, and Syria as his province for ten years. 532 – The Nika riots break out during the racing season at the Hippodrome in Constantinople because of discontent with the rule of Emperor Justinian 1815 – War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Mary’s, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state. 1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C. 1910 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the operas Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci is sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. 1920 – The Reichstag Bloodbath of January 13, 1920, the bloodiest demonstration in German history. 1966 – Robert C. Weaver became the f...
Read more