The Daily Chronicle
SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2013
On This Date
1812 - U.S. merchant ships were
being harassed by the English
navy. President Madison had tried
without success to rebuff the
British through fiscal measures.
And so on this day in 1812,
Madison asked Congress to
declare war on Great Britain. The
war officially ended with the
Treaty of Ghent in 1814.
1967 - The Beatles released their
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club
Band album. It is considered one
of the most influential albums in
the history of popular music.
Daily Trivia
Around 1883, Art “Foxy” Irwin, a
Canadian shortstop playing for
Boston, broke two fingers while
fielding a ball barehanded. He
padded a large buckskin glove,
put it on, and continued to play.
Soon, many players began using
the “Irwin Glove.”
Happy Birthday!
Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)
was working in a munitions
factory during World War II when
a visiting photographer snapped
her picture. It made
the cover of Yank
magazine (picture
shown above) and
began her career as
a model and
actress. She was praised for her
comedic ability in such films as
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and
The Seven Year Itch, and she
became one of Hollywood’s most
popular performers.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 1, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
SUNDAY, JUNE 2, 2013
On This Date
455 - The Vandals, a Germanic
tribe, entered Rome and plundered
the city for two weeks. This led to
the coinage of “vandalism,”
meaning senseless destruction.
1865 - The American Civil War
ended. The last to surrender,
forces under Confederate General
Edmund Kirby Smith did so in
Galveston, Texas.
1933 - The first swimming pool to
be built inside the White House
was completed. President
Roosevelt, who suffered from
polio, swam to help strengthen his
upper body.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
Actor Jerry Mathers served in the
military during the Vietnam War.
In 1969,
the Associated Press and United
Press International distributed
incorrect reports of his death
when a similarly named
soldier was killed.
Happy Birthday!
Jerry Mathers, born in 1948, is
probably best known for his role
in the television sitcom series
Leave It to Beaver
(1957-1963), in
which he starred as
Theodore “Beaver”
Cleaver in a
somewhat ideal
family. The show became a
favorite among families and
continues to be aired on television
to this day. In 2007, Mathers
made his Broadway debut with a
starring role as Wilbur Turnblad in
the Tony Award-winning musical
Hairspray.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 2, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2013
On This Date
1889 - The first long-distance
electric power transmission line in
the United States was completed
and ran 14 miles between a
generator at Willamette Falls and
downtown Portland, Oregon.
1916 - The United States
Congress established the Reserve
Officers Training Corps (ROTC)
in colleges and universities. The
program produces officers for all
branches of the military except the
Coast Guard.
1972 - Sally Jan Priesand was
ordained as the first woman rabbi
in the United States. She became
assistant rabbi at the Stephen Wise
Free Synagogue in New York
City.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
Popcorn saved many movie
houses during the great
depression. In the 1930s, the best
comment was, “Find a good place
to sell popcorn and build a
movie theatre there.”
Happy Birthday!
Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999)
gained fame as the lead singer and
songwriter for The Impressions
and then pursued a
successful solo
career. He was
among the first
African-American
R&B composers
who injected social commentary
into their work. He is best known
for his 1972 album Super Fly. In
1990, Mayfield was paralyzed
from the neck down after stage
lighting equipment fell on him at
an outdoor concert.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 3, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
On This Date
1827 - The first cricket match
between Oxford University and
Cambridge University was
played. The result was a tie. At the
time, they were the only
universities in England.
1944 - A U.S. Navy task force
captured the German submarine
U-505 in the South Atlantic. It
was towed to Bermuda in secret,
and its codebooks and other secret
materials assisted Allied codebreaking operations. Today, the
U-505 is a permanent exhibit at
the Chicago Museum of Science
and Industry.
Daily Trivia
David Sarnoff received
the Titanic’s distress signal and
saved hundreds of passengers.
He later became the head of
the NBC radio network.
Happy Birthday!
King George III (1738-1820)
was King of Great Britain from
1760 until his death in 1820. His
sixty-year reign was marked by a
series of military conflicts,
including the American
Revolution and
various wars
against France,
which concluded
with the defeat of
Napoleon at
Waterloo in 1815.
During the later part of his life,
George III suffered from recurrent
mental illness. By 1810, his
mental illness was deemed
permanent and his official duties
were carried out by his son.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 4, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013
On This Date
1956 - Elvis Presley sang his new
hit single, “Hound Dog,” on The
Milton Berle Show and
scandalized viewers with his
suggestive hip movements. In the
public outcry that followed, other
variety show hosts, including Ed
Sullivan, denounced his
performance. Sullivan swore he
would never invite Presley on his
own show, but that autumn, Elvis
did appear on The Ed Sullivan
Show. Cameras recorded him only
from the waist up.
1968 - Senator Robert Kennedy
was assassinated on the night he
won the California Democratic
primary.
Daily Trivia
A horse focuses its eye by
changing the angle of its head, not
by changing the shape of the lens
of the eye, as humans do.
Happy Birthday!
Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a
Scottish philosopher and
economist who
wrote The
We a l t h o f
Nations, which
is considered
the first modern
work
of
economics. He argued that the
free market, while appearing
chaotic and unrestrained, is
actually guided to produce the
right amount and variety of goods
by a so-called invisible hand of
competition.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 5, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013
On This Date
1942 - In the Battle of Midway,
U.S. Navy dive
bombers sank
four Japanese
aircraft carriers
and one cruiser.
It is considered the most
important naval battle in the
Pacific Campaign.
1944 - The largest amphibious
military operation in history
began: Operation Overlord, code
named D-Day, the Allied invasion
of Normandy, France. Although
opposition was intense in areas,
casualties on the first day were
fewer than expected.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
When the D-Day forces landed,
Hitler was asleep. None of his
generals would risk ordering reenforcements without his
permission, and no one dared to
wake him. Crucial hours were
lost, allowing the Allies to win
control of the beaches.
Happy Birthday!
Nathan Hale (1755-1776) was an
officer in the
Continental
Army during the
A m e r i c a n
Revolutionary
Wa r. H a l e i s
most famous for
his service as a
spy. He volunteered for an
intelligence-gathering mission,
and was caught and executed.
Today, Hale is considered an
American hero, and a large statue
of him stands outside the
headquarters of the Central
Intelligence Agency in
Washington, DC.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 6, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 2013
On This Date
1866 - Chief Seattle died in a
village of his people. Seattle was a
chief of the Duwamish and
Suquamish tribes who lived
around what today is called Puget
Sound. Euro-Americans moving
into the area were treated well by
Chief Seattle and, in response, the
settlers named their tiny new
settlement in his honor.
1929 - Vatican City gained
independence from Italy and
became a sovereign state. At
approximately 110 acres and with
a population of around 900, it is
the smallest state in the world by
both population and area.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
While many believe
Hydrox cookies are
an Oreo knock-off,
Hydrox actually
came first—in
1908, four years
before the Oreo.
Happy Birthday!
Tom Jones, born in 1940, is a
Welsh singer-songwriter known
for his powerful voice and
exuberant live act,
which included
wearing tight pants
or trousers and
billowing shirts.
His hits include
“It’s Not Unusual,”
“Thunderball,” “Green, Green
Grass of Home,” “Delilah,”
“What’s New Pussycat?” and
“She’s a Lady.” Jones has
remained married to his wife
Melinda for over 55 years. The
couple lives in Los Angeles.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 7, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
On This Date
632 - In Medina, located in
present-day Saudi Arabia,
Muhammad, one of the most
influential political and religious
leaders in history, died in the arms
of his third and favorite wife,
Aisha. Muhammad regarded
himself as the last prophet of the
Judaic-Christian tradition, and his
revelations formed the foundation
for the Qur’an.
1941 - Whirlaway won the
Belmont Stakes and the Triple
Crown. He was subsequently
elected the Eclipse Award for
Horse of the Year in 1941 and
1942.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
The term “skid road” began
in Seattle when loggers built
wood skids to transport cut logs
from the top of Yesler Way down
to the waterfront and was the
dividing line between the
“respectable” downtown and the
“seedy” area to the south.
Happy Birthday!
Alexis Smith (1921-1993) was a
Canadian-born stage, film, and
television actress. During the
1940s, she appeared alongside
some of the most popular male
stars of the day, including Errol
Flynn, Cary
Grant, and
Humphrey
Bogart. She
appeared on the
cover of the
May
3,
1971,issue of
Time with the announcement that
she would be in the Broadway
production of Stephen Sondheim's
Follies. In 1972, she won the
Tony Award for Best Actress in a
Musical for her performance.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 8, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2013
On This Date
1934 - Donald Duck made his
film debut in The Wise Little Hen.
Voice actor Clarence Nash
performed Donald’s voice, one of
the most identifiable in all of
animation.
1954 - Joseph Welch, special
counsel for the U.S. Army,
confronted Senator Joseph
McCarthy during hearings on
whether communism had
infiltrated the U.S. Army. This
marked the first time that the
senator’s tactics of attacking the
character or patriotism of his
political opponents were
challenged.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
There is a subtle change in color
in the Washington Monument
about one-quarter of the way up ,
because a lack of donations
caused construction to be halted
for a period of 25 years.
Happy Birthday!
Cole Porter (1891-1964) was a
composer and songwriter. His
works include the
musical comedies
Kiss Me, Kate
(based
on
Shakespeare’s The
Ta m i n g o f t h e
Shrew), Fifty
Million Frenchmen, and Anything
Goes, as well as songs like “Night
and Day,” and “I’ve Got You
Under My Skin.” He was noted
for his sophisticated lyrics, clever
rhymes, and complex forms.
Irving Berlin used to refer to
“Begin the Beguine” as “that
long, long song.”
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 9, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013
On This Date
1909 - The Morse code
emergency signal “SOS” was first
used in earnest by the steamship
SS Slavonia, which was sinking in
the Azores. Thanks to a quick
response to the emergency signal,
all passengers were rescued.
1943 - Hungarian Laszlo Biro
patented the ballpoint pen, which
he had been developing since the
1930s. At the time, he was living
in Argentina, where he had gone
to escape the Nazis. In many
languages, the word for ballpoint
pen is biro.
• • • • • •
Hot Stuff
Each two-ounce bottle of
Tabasco sauce contains at
least 720 drops. The fiery
sauce is produced by the
McIlhenny Company,
which was founded in
1868 at Avery Island,
Louisiana.
Happy Birthday!
Maurice Sendak (1928-2012)
was a writer and
illustrator of
children’s
literature who is
best known for
his book Where
the Wild Things
Are, published
in 1963. A
feature-length film of Where the
Wild Things Are was released in
2009 and directed by Spike Jonze.
Sendak’s other accomplishments
include designing sets for many
operas and ballets.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 10, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2013
On This Date
1509 - King Henry VIII of
England married Catherine of
Aragón, the first of
his six wives. When
Catherine failed to
produce a son,
Henry divorced her
against the will of
the Catholic Church,
thus initiating the Protestant
Reformation in England.
1770 - British explorer James
Cook became the first European
to discover the Great Barrier Reef,
off the northeastern coast of
Australia.
1959 - The first Hovercraft was
launched off England’s southern
coast.
• • • • • •
A Ditty to Remember
The various fates of King
Henry VIII’s wives: Divorced,
beheaded, died, divorced,
beheaded, survived.
Happy Birthday!
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
was a German composer of the
late Romantic era who began
writing his first music at age six.
He is particularly noted for his
tone poems
and operas.
He was also a
n o t e d
c o n d u c t o r.
His 1896
composition
Also sprach
Zarathustra
(“Thus Spoke Zarathustra”) is
well known today for its use in
Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A
Space Odyssey.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 11, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013
On This Date
1897 - After five years of hard
work, Karl Elsener patented what
later became known as the Swiss
army knife, a multi-functional
tool. Victorinox, the company
Elsener founded, is still producing
knives and in 2006 produced the
Giant, with 85 tools and 110
different functions.
1935 - Ella Fitzgerald made her
first recordings for Brunswick
Records. The tunes were “Love
and Kisses” and “I’ll Chase the
Blues Away.”
1979 - The Gossamer Albatross
became the first human-powered
airplane to fly over the English
Channel.
Did You Know?
Genuine ivory does not only come
from elephants. It can come from
the tusks of a boar or a walrus.
Happy Birthday!
George H. W. Bush, born in
1924, served as the 41st President
of the United States (1989-1993).
As president, he
a u t h o r i z e d
Operation Desert
Storm, which in
February 1991
drove Saddam
H u s s e i n ’s I r a q i
forces out of Kuwait. The former
president continues to make many
public appearances. In 2005, he
and former president Bill Clinton
set aside their political differences
to jointly encourage aid for
victims of Hurricane Katrina and
the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 12, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2013
On This Date
323 BC - Alexander the Great, the
young Macedonian general, died
at the age of 33. He fell ill
following a prolonged drinking
bout. He and his armies had built
an empire stretching from the
eastern Mediterranean to India.
Alexander never lost a battle and
within his empire he introduced
political and economic ideas
based on early Greek models.
1955 - A Mercedes-Benz sports
car crashed into the a crowd of
spectators killing 83 people at the
Le Mans (France) auto race. It is
the worst accident in motorsport
history.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
In 1892, Emile Berlinger
developed the master disc, from
which several copies of a record
could be made on vulcanized
rubber. Before then, singers had
to repeat a song for each
copy of a recording.
Happy Birthday!
Paul Edward Lynde
(1926-1982), a comedian and
actor, was well known for his
roles as Uncle Arthur on
Bewitched; and
befuddled father in
Bye Bye Birdie. He
was also the center
square on the
classic game show
Hollywood Squares
from 1968 to 1981. Lynde also did
extensive voice work on animated
cartoons, particularly those of
Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Lynde’s trademark voice is still
popular among impressionists.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 13, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013
Today is...Flag Day!
On This Date
1775 - The U.S. Army was
founded with the authorization of
ten companies of riflemen by a
resolution of the Continental
Congress.
1881 - John McTammany, Jr. of
Cambridge, Massachusetts
patented the player piano, which
he described as a “mechanism for
automatic playing of organs using
narrow sheets of perforated
flexible paper which governed the
notes to be played.”
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
The body has about 70,000 miles
of blood vessels. The heart pumps
blood through this labyrinth and
back again once every minute.
Happy Birthday!
Burl Ives (1909-1995) was a
successful folk
singer, author,
and actor. Carl
S a n d b u r g
described him as
“the mightiest
ballad singer born
in any century.”
He won the Best Supporting Actor
Oscar for The Big Country in
1958. His song “A Holly Jolly
Christmas” remains a popular
tune during the Christmas season.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 14, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2013
On This Date
1775 - George Washington
became Commander in Chief of
the Continental Army.
1859 - In Washington state, a pig
owned by the Hudson Bay
Company broke into an American
squatter’s potato patch. It nearly
triggered a British-American war
over ownership of one of the San
Juan Islands.
1878 - A multiple camera rig was
built to settle a bet on whether all
four legs of a horse leave the
ground during full gallop. The
pictures were “projected” in a
zoetrope and proved once and for
all that all four legs do leave the
ground at the same time.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
The “countdown” (counting
down from 10 for an event such
as New Year’s Day) was first
used in a 1929 German silent
film called Frau im Mond
(“Woman in the Moon”).
Happy Birthday!
Helen Hunt, born in 1963, is an
actress and director who starred in
the television sitcom Mad About
You for seven
years and in the
movies As
Good As It
Gets, Twister,
C a s t Aw a y,
W h a t Wo m e n
Want, and Pay
It Forward. She won an Academy
Award and a Golden Globe award
for her role in As Good As It Gets
(1997). She made her directorial
debut in 2007 with Then She
Found Me.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 15, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2013
On This Date
1884 - The first roller coaster in
the U.S. began operation at Coney
Island. It was known as a gravity
switchback railway, and the track
was 600 feet long.
1909 - Glenn Curtiss sold his first
airplane for $5,000 to the New
York Aeronautical Society. It was
initially called Gold Bug because
of the golden tint of the varnished
fabric but later officially became
known as the Golden Flyer.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
In the 1700s, European
women achieved a pale
complexion by eating Arsenic
Complexion Wafers, actually
made with the poison. The
wafers made the skin fashionably
pale by destroying red blood cells.
Happy Birthday!
Stan Laurel (1890-1965) was the
first half of the comedy double-act
Laurel and Hardy. In their
trademark derby
hats, the skinny
Laurel and the
rotund Oliver
Hardy could turn
any situation into
hilarious chaos.
Together, they
made a huge
body of films, such as Duck Soup,
Slipping Wives, and With Love
and Hisses.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 16, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013
On This Date
1579 - English seaman Francis
Drake anchored in a harbor just
north of present-day San
Francisco and claimed the
territory for Queen Elizabeth I. He
remained there for a month while
making preparations for his
westward crossing of the Pacific
Ocean.
1876 - Oglala Sioux and
Cheyenne warriors led by Crazy
Horse fought U.S. troops to a
draw at the Battle of Rosebud
Creek. Crazy Horse and his forces
went on to join Sitting Bull and
defeat General Custer and his men
just eight days later at Little Big
Horn.
1928 - Amelia Earhart became the
first woman to successfully fly
across the Atlantic Ocean.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
Houseflies hum in
the key of F.
Happy Birthday!
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) is
one of the most influential
composers of 20thcentury music. In
addition to his
compositions, he
also achieved fame
as a pianist and a
conductor. His The
Rite of Spring
provoked a riot when it premiered
in Paris in 1913 and marked him
as being a true innovator. Aside
from music, Stravinsky displayed
an inexhaustible desire to explore
and learn about art and literature.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 17, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2013
On This Date
1815 - Forces commanded by
England’s Duke of Wellington and
Prussia’s Gebhard Leberecht von
Blücher defeated Napoleon
Bonaparte’s Grande Armée at the
Battle of Waterloo, which ended
25 years of warfare.
1940 - Winston Churchill made
his famous “This was their finest
hour” speech to the House of
Commons.
1983 - Dr. Sally Ride, who has a
PhD degree in physics, became
America’s first woman in space
with the launch of Space Shuttle
Challenger. Since then, she has
written five books on space,
aimed at children with the goal of
encouraging them to study
science.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
In 4000 BC Egypt, men
and women wore glitter eye
shadow made from the
crushed shells of beetles.
Happy Birthday!
Paul McCartney, the man who
wrote “When I’m Sixty- Four,”
turns 71 today. McCartney first
came to prominence as a member
of The Beatles. Recognized as one
of the top musical
icons of the 20th
century, he is also
an advocate for
animal rights,
vegetarianism, and
music education.
McCartney has many hobbies,
including painting, writing, and
poetry. He is also a devotee of
meditation and an avid soccer fan.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 18, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013
On This Date
1905 - Pittsburgh showman Harry
Davis opened the world’s first
nickelodeon, showing a silent film
called The Great Train Robbery.
The storefront theater could hold
96 people and charged only five
cents. Nickelodeons soon spread
across the country, typically
featuring live vaudeville acts as
well as short films.
1941 - Cheerios whole grain oat
cereal was invented to provide a
more convenient and better tasting
alternative to cooked oatmeal. It
was first called Cheerioats, but
the name was changed to Cheerios
in 1945.
1977 - The Trans-Alaska Pipeline
began carrying oil from the Arctic
Ocean to Prince William Sound.
• • • • • •
Daily Quiz
Milk chocolate was developed
by Daniel Peter in the 1870s
using condensed milk.
Happy Birthday!
Earl Douglas Haig (1861-1928)
became Field
Marshal in
command of
English forces
during World
War I. He was
criticized for the
heavy casualties
suffered by the
British, but somewhat redeemed
himself by organizing the final
offensive in 1918.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 19, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013
On This Date
1782 - Congress adopted The
Great Seal of the United States.
The seal consists of an eagle, an
olive branch, and 13 arrows - one
for each of the original 13
colonies.
1863 - Unhappy with Virginia’s
secession from the United States
in 1861, Union loyalists in the
mountainous western region of
Virginia formed their own
government and became West
Virginia.
1963 - The United States and the
Soviet Union made a hot line
agreement. It was a way to
establish emergency
communications between the two
superpowers during the Cold War.
The system was tested but never
used.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
The Pilgrims brought the
European honey bee to
the new world.
Happy Birthday!
Actress Olympia Dukakis, born
in 1931, won an Oscar for Best
Supporting
Actress for her
performance in
Moonstruck in
1987. She has
also starred in
other popular
films, such as
Steel Magnolias
(1989) and Mr. Holland’s Opus
(1995). More recently, she starred
in and produced the 2011 film
Montana Amazon. Dukakis has
been married to actor Louis
Zorich since 1962. They have
three children.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 20, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2013
Summer Begins
Today!
On This Date
1920 - Hundreds of admirers
mobbed actors Mary Pickford and
Douglas Fairbanks, who were
arriving in London on their
honeymoon. Fairbanks was
routinely cast as a swashbuckling
hero, and with her trademark
blond curls, Pickford was a fan
favorite.
1942 - A Japanese submarine
surfaced near the Columbia River
in Oregon and fired at nearby Fort
Stevens, one of only a handful of
attacks on the U.S. mainland.
• • • • • •
Daily Quiz
Q: When were the first televised
presidential candidate debates?
A: In September/October of
1960, all four of Senator John F.
Kennedy and Vice President
Richard Nixon’s debates
aired on television.
Happy Birthday!
Jane Russell (1921-2011) gained
fame in the
1943 movie
The Outlaw and
became a
popular pin-up
girl during
World War II.
She appeared in
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
opposite Marilyn Monroe. The
film was well received and
showed her as a talented actress.
She was married three times, and
during the 1950s she adopted
three children.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 21, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2013
On This Date
1937 - Joe Louis knocked out
James J. Braddock in a boxing
match in Chicago, Illinois. The
bout lasted eight rounds, and
Louis was announced the world
heavyweight champion.
1942 - The Germans launched
Operation Barbarossa, code name
for the invasion of Russia. Despite
initial success, the Germans soon
found themselves fighting a war
of attrition on the Eastern Front
that they could not win.
1944 - President Roosevelt signed
the G.I. Bill of Rights. Its benefits
included free college or
vocational education and lowinterest loans to buy homes and
start businesses.
• • • • • •
Did You Know?
Louis Cartier popularized the
wrist watch when he designed one
in 1904 for a pioneer aviator,
Alberto Santos-Dumont.
Happy Birthday!
Meryl Streep, born in 1949, has
received 17 Academy Award
nominations, more than any other
actor or actress in
the history of the
awards. From the
1980s to the
present day, Meryl
has been regarded
as one of the best in her field. In
2008, she starred in the hit
musical Mamma Mia! and in
2011, she played Margaret
Thatcher in the critically
acclaimed movie The Iron Lady.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 22, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2013
On This Date
1868 - Christopher L. Sholes
patented the first practical
typewriter. He sold the rights to
his typewriter to the E. Remington
and Sons in 1872 for $12,000. He
continued to work on new
developments, and in 1873 he
invented the QWERTY keyboard
to reduce jams.
1931 - Aviators Wiley Post and
Harold Gatty took off from New
York on the first flight around the
world in a single-engine plane.
1961 - The Antarctic Treaty took
effect. It pledged the twelve
signatory nations to nonpolitical
scientific investigation of the
continent and banned any military
activity.
• • • • • •
Did You Know?
Bananas have almost no
fat or sodium. The word banana
comes from banan, the Arabic
word for finger. A cluster of
bananas is called a hand.
Happy Birthday!
Bob Fosse (1927-1987) was a
musical theater choreographer and
director, as well as a film director.
He won an unprecedented eight
Tony Awards for choreography, as
well as one for direction. He was
nominated for
an Academy
Aw a r d f o u r
times, winning
for his direction
of Cabaret.
Some of his
other credits
include The Pajama Game (1957),
Damn Yankees (1958), Sweet
Charity (1969), and All That Jazz
(1979).
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 23, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2013
On This Date
1916 - Mary Pickford signed the
first seven-figure Hollywood deal.
Pickford would get $250,000 per
film with a guaranteed minimum
of $10,000 a week against half of
the profits, including bonuses and
the right of approval of all
creative aspects of her films. Not
a bad deal for the former
vaudeville and stage actress who
once appeared on Broadway with
Cecil B. DeMille in The Warrens
of Virginia for a measly $25 a
week.
1947 - Kenneth Arnold, a pilot,
reported seeing objects he
described as “saucers” flying near
Mount Rainier in Washington
state. This was widely reported in
newspapers and gave rise to the
popular term “flying saucers.”
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
Months that begin on Sunday will
have a Friday the 13th.
Happy Birthday!
E.I. du Pont (1771-1834) was a
French-born chemist and
industrialist who
immigrated to the
United States in
1799 to escape the
excesses of the
French Revolution.
He used his
expertise in chemistry to open a
gunpowder company during a
time when the quality of
American-made gunpowder was
very poor. His descendants, the
DuPont family, were one of
America’s richest and most
prominent families in the 19th and
20th centuries.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 24, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2013
On This Date
1876 - In Montana, General
Custer and his men made their last
stand against Lakota-Northern
Cheyenne warriors led by Chiefs
Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.
1947 - The Diary of a Young Girl
(better known as The Diary of
Anne Frank) was published.
1975 - Mozambique, a country in
southeastern Africa, gained its
independence when Samora
Machel was sworn in as president,
ending 477 years of Portuguese
rule.
1993 - In Ottawa, Kim Campbell
was sworn in as Canada’s 19th
prime minister, becoming the first
woman to hold the country’s
highest office.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
Grace Hopper is the person
who came up with the term
“computer bug” when she found a
moth in a room-sized computer
back in the 1940s.
Happy Birthday!
June Lockhart, born in 1925, is
an actress who at the age of 18
won a Tony for Outstanding
Performance by a
Newcomer for her
Broadway debut in
For Love or Money.
She is probably best
known for playing the
mother on Lassie (1958-1964).
She then played Dr. Maureen
Robinson in the 1965-68 hit
television series Lost in Space.
She also appeared on television as
Dr. Janet Craig on Petticoat
Junction. Her daughter, Anne
Lockhart, is also an actress.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 25, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2013
On This Date
1870 - In Atlantic City, NJ, the
world’s first boardwalk was
completed along a portion of the
beach to help hotel owners keep
sand out of their lobbies.
1945 - Delegates from 50 nations
signed the United Nations Charter,
establishing the world body in an
effort to save “succeeding
generations from the scourge of
war.”
1963 - In a speech considered to
be one of his best, and a notable
m o m e n t o f t h e C o l d Wa r,
President Kennedy famously
declared to the West German
people, “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“I
am a Berliner”).
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
Beavers are vegetarians. They
eat the bark of hardwood trees,
leaves, and aquatic and shore
plants. They do not eat fish,
as is widely believed.
Happy Birthday!
William Lear (1902-1978) was
elected into the National
Inventor’s Hall of
Fame in 1993. He
designed the first
practical car radio
(which launched
the Motorola Co.),
the eight-track
tape player, and the autopilot
system used in airplanes. He is
probably best remembered for
designing and manufacturing the
Lear Jet, the first mass-produced
business jet.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 26, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013
On This Date
1787 - Edward Gibbon completed
the sixth and final volume of The
History of the Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire. Gibbon’s
accurate use of primary sources
set an example for future
historians.
1857 - Scientific American
magazine warned that whale oil,
used for lighting, would soon run
out due to over-hunting.
1884 - Lawrence Corcoran
pitched his third no-hit baseball
game, leading Chicago to a 6-0
win over Providence. Corcoran set
a baseball record for no-hitters for
the feat.
Daily Trivia
The Rufous is the only species of
hummingbird to nest in Alaska.
The birds migrate 2,000 miles to
Mexico each winter and then back
to Alaska in the spring.
Happy Birthday!
Bob Keeshan (1927-2004) is
remembered
for his TV
children’s
p r o g r a m
C a p t a i n
Kangaroo,
which ran from
1955 to 1984. He began working
as a receptionist in NBC’s Radio
Manhattan office. This led to
small roles on The Howdy Doody
Show and Triple B Ranch. The
rest is history.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 27, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2013
On This Date
1914 - The Fifth Avenue Coach
Company of New York introduced
the first bus with crosswise seats.
Prior to this, all buses had been
equipped with longitudinal
seating. Crosswise seats allowed
passengers to face forward, giving
them a better view of the world.
1939 - Equipped with a fleet of
six large long-range Boeing 314
flying boats, Pan American
Airways debuted the first regular
trans-Atlantic air service, flying
from New York to Lisbon,
Portugal, and Marseilles, France.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
Randolph Caldecott was a
British painter and illustrator of
children’s books. Since 1938, the
American Library Association
has given the Caldecott Medal
to the illustrator of the best
U.S. children’s picture
book of the year.
Happy Birthday!
Mel Brooks, born in 1926, is an
American actor, writer, director,
and theatrical producer best
known as a
creator of broad
film farces and
parodies. Some
of his most
famous films
include Blazing
Saddles, The
Producers, and
Young Frankenstein. He was
married to the actress Anne
Bancroft from 1964 until her
death in 2005. They met in
rehearsal for The Perry Como
Show in 1961.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 28, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 2013
On This Date
1613 - The Globe Theater, where
most of Shakespeare’s plays
debuted, burned down. The Globe
was a round, wooden, open-air
structure with a stage at one end
and covered balconies for the
gentry. The galleries could seat
about 1,000 people. Another 2,000
“groundlings” could stand on the
ground around the stage.
1776 - Mission San Francisco de
Asís was founded. It was carefully
restored in the 1990s and is the
oldest surviving structure in San
Francisco. The Mission is still an
active church.
1916 - A Boeing aircraft flew for
the first time.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
Portrait artist James
Whistler decided to paint his
mother when the person who had
scheduled an appointment with
him failed to show.
Happy Birthday!
Louis Lindley, Jr. (1919-1983),
better known as Slim Pickens,
began his career as a rodeo clown.
He was told that working in the
rodeo would be “slim
pickings” (very
little money),
which gave him
his stage name. He
transitioned to
playing both
villains and comic
sidekicks in western movies.
However, his most famous role
was B-52 pilot Major T. J. “King”
Kong in Dr. Strangelove, which
ended with Pickens riding an Hbomb down to destruction.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 29, 2013
The Daily Chronicle
SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 2013
On This Date
1859 - French acrobat Charles
Blondin, known as the Little
Wonder, crossed the gorge below
Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He
repeated this feat several times in
the coming months with different
theatric variations: blindfolded,
t r u n d l i n g a w h e e l b a r r o w,
backflipping, carrying a man on
his back, and sitting down
midway while he cooked an
omelet.
1936 - Margaret Mitchell’s only
novel, Gone with the Wind, was
published. She spent 10 years
writing and researching the
antebellum South and the Civil
War in order to produce Gone
with the Wind. The book was
made into an Oscar-winning
movie in 1939 and became one of
the bestselling novels of all time,
selling some 25 million copies.
• • • • • •
Daily Trivia
Pearls will dissolve in
vinegar over time.
Happy Birthday!
Lena Horne (1917-2010) was a
singer and actress
who appeared in a
number of MGM
musicals during
the 1940s, most
notably Cabin in
the Sky. In the
mid-1950s, she left Hollywood to
focus on her nightclub career and
appearances on television variety
shows. In 1981, she received a
Special Tony Award for her onewoman show, Lena Horne: The
Lady and Her Music.
ActivityConnection.com - The Daily Chronicles (US) - June 30, 2013