28 April 2017 Interesting tidbits:
28 April 2017
Interesting tidbits:
585 - War between Lydia and Media was ended by a solar eclipse that scared both sides.
1253 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.
1503 – The Battle of Cerignola was fought. It is noted as the first battle in history won by small arms fire using gunpowder.
1686 - First volume of Isaac Newton's "Principia" was published.
1789 – Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors were set adrift and the rebel crew under Fltecher Christian returned to Tahiti briefly and then set sail for Pitcairn Island.
1902 - Using the ISO 8601 standard Year Zero definition for the Gregorian calendar preceded by the Julian calendar, the one billionth minute since the start of January 1, Year Zero occured at 10:40 AM on this date.
1910 – Frenchman Louis Paulhan won the 1910 London to Manchester air race, the first long-distance aeroplane race in England.
1914 - WH Carrier patented air conditioner.
1919 - First jump with Army Air Corp (rip-cord) type parachute by Les Irvin.
1937 - First animated cartoon electric sign displayed (NYC).
1937 - First commercial flight across Pacific, Pan Am.
1947 – Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to prove that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia. DNA evidence now tells us that it was the reverse, Polynesians settled in South America.
2001 - Millionaire Dennis Tito becomes the world's first space tourist.
Today's birthday crew:
1876 – Nicola Romeo, Italian automobile engineer and entrepreneur (Alfa Romeo).
1900 – Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer (Oort cloud).
1906 – Kurt Gödel, Austrian mathematician.
1908 – Oskar Schindler, Austro-Hungarian industrialist (Schindler's list).
1911 – Lee Falk, American writer, best known as the creator of the comic strips The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician. At the height of their popularity, these strips attracted over 100 million readers every day.
1914 – Philip E. High, English science fiction author. High made his name initially in the 1950s with a series of short stories for various magazines. He was voted "top discovery" in the Nebula readers' poll for 1956.
1916 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian industrialist and automobile manufacturer, created Lamborghini.
1924 – Dick Ayers, American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s. He worked on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and as the signature penciler of Marvel's World War II comic Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. Ayers was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2007.
1926 – Harper Lee, American author (To Kill a Mockingbird).
1928 – Eugene M. Shoemaker, American scientist (Comet Shoemaker-Levy).
1930 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (Morticia Addams).
1948 – Terry Pratchett, English author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is known for the Discworld series of about 40 volumes.
1949 – Indian Larry, American motorcycle builder, stunt rider, and biker.
1950 – Jay Leno, American comedian and talk show host.
1952 – Mary McDonnell, American actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles as Stands-With-A-Fist in Dances with Wolves. McDonnell is known for her performances as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, the First Lady in Independence Day, and a starring role in Donnie Darko as the title character's mother.
1960 – Steven Blum, American voice actor of anime and video games known for his distinctive deep voice. Among his credits include the voice of Spike Spiegel in the anime show Cowboy Bebop and Mugen in Samurai Champloo. He voiced Roger Smith from The Big O, Orochimaru and Zabuza in the Naruto anime, X-Men's Wolverine in numerous games, as well as in the animated series Wolverine and the X-Men, the animated movie Hulk Vs, The Super Hero Squad Show and Marvel Anime: X-Men. He also provided the video game voice of Jack Cayman, the main character of MadWorld, Tank Dempsey, the comic relief of Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops zombie modes, Professor Galvez in Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, and Grayson Hunt, the main protagonist of Bulletstorm and Gorim, Oghren, and First Enchanter Irving in Dragon Age: Origins. On June 5, 2012 he was awarded a Guinness World Record for being the most prolific video game voice actor, having 261 credited appearances. Additionally, Blum worked as a writer in English adaptations of Naruto, Digimon: Digital Monsters and MegaMan NT Warrior.
1973 – Jorge Garcia, American actor (Lost).
1981 – Jessica Alba, American actress.
Happy birthday guys!