(PCM) On this day in 1779, Peter Mark Roget, the father of the modern thesaurus, was delivered, produced, came into being, born. After a long career as a physician, scientist and tinkerer (he also invented a slide rule), Roget retired from medicine and dedicated his time to cataloging, assembling, gathering, composing, and compiling a dictionary of synonyms.
First published in 1852, Roget’s Thesaurus (from the Greek thēsauros, meaning storehouse, treasury or treasure) is still …
(PCM) A.A. Milne (Alan Alexander) was born on January 18, 1882 in London. He attended Cambridge University to study mathematics but soon found that his true passion was writing. After graduating from Cambridge, Milne began his writing career working for Punch Magazine. He married Daphne” de Sélincourt in 1903. He was writing for Punch when World War One broke out in 1914. Milne enlisted even though by nature he was a pacifist.
After the war …
January 18 in Pop Culture History
1644 – “In this year one James Everell, a sober, discreet man, and two others, saw a great light in the night at Muddy River. When it stood still, it flamed up, and was about three yards square; when it ran, it was contracted into the figure of a swine: it ran as swift as an arrow towards Charlton, and so up and down about two or three hours. …
January 17 in Pop Culture History
1706 – Ben Franklin ‘The First American’ was born.
1773 – Captain James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to sail below the Antarctic Circle.
1929 – Popeye made his 1st appearance, in comic strip ‘Thimble Theater’
1929 – From the Mount Wilson Observatory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Edwin Hubble showed that the universe was expanding.
1946 – The United Nations Security Council held its 1st meeting…
Sci Fi Newspaper strips had been around long before Superman would make his first appearance as a newspaper comic strip on January 16, 1939. His first appearance was in the April, 1938 issue of Action Comics, just nine months earlier. Although he was the first comic book hero, there were more other-wordly heroes before him.
Buck Rogers would be the first Sci Fi comic strip, having his adventures in the year 2419. He made his …
January 16 in Pop Culture History
1362 – St. Marcellus Flood or Grote Mandrenke (Great Drowning of Men), Netherlands
1547 – Ivan the Terrible crowned himself 1st Tsar of Moscow.
1581 – The English Parliament outlawed Roman Catholicism.
1605 – The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes was published in Madrid, Spain.
1776 – The U.S. Continental Congress approved the enlistment …
January 15 in Pop Culture History
It’s National Hat Day, because in 1797, the 1st top hat was worn, by John Etherington in London.
There are 350 days left until next year. (unless it is 2020 or 2024)
1759 – The British Museum, in Bloomsbury, London, the world’s oldest public national museum, opened to the public.
1861 – The Steam elevator was patented by Elisha Otis.
1863 – Wood pulp paper was first used in …
January 14 in Pop Culture History
1690 – The Clarinet was invented in Nurnberg, Germany
1794 – Elizabeth Hog Bennett became the first woman in the US to successfully give birth to a child by a Cesarean section. Her husband, Dr. Jesse Bennett performed the operation.
1878 – U.S. Supreme Court rules that race separation on trains was unconstitutional
1914 – Henry Ford opened his assembly-line Model-T factory
1950 – #1 Hit January 14, 1950 …
January 13 in Pop Culture History
1854 – US patent (#11062) for an accordion was issued to Anthony Faas of Philadelphia, Pa.
1863 – Thomas Crapper invented the portable toilet.
1888 – National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, D.C.
1930 – Disney’s ‘Mickey Mouse’ newspaper strip first appeared.
1906 – The 1st radio set advertised (Telimco for $7.50 in Scientific American)
1962 – #1 Hit January 13, 1962 – January 26, 1962: Chubby Checker…
January 12 in Pop Culture History
“I became operational at the H.A.L. plant in Urbana, Illinois on the 12th of January 1992. My instructor was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song. If you’d like to hear it I can sing it for you.”
-Hal 5000, in 2001: A Space Odyssey
1888 – Schoolhouse Blizzard, USA
1906 – Dow Jones closed over 100 (100.26) for the 1st time.
1926 – Original Sam …
January 11 in Pop Culture History
1693 (Earthquake) Sicily, Italy
1908 – The Grand Canyon National Monument was created.
1922 – Leonard Thompson (1908-35) was the first person to receive an injection of insulin as a treatment for diabetes.
1927 – Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announced the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California.
1949 – It snowed in Los Angeles for …
January 10 in Pop Culture History
1776 – “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine was published.
1863 – London’s Metropolitan, the world’s first underground passenger railway, opened.
1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil. It is now part of ExxonMobil.
1899 – The US patent (#617592) was issued for an “Electric Device,” invented by David Misell, which was manufactured as the first tubular “Flash Light” by Conrad Hubert at his American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing …
