Harvey Milk (1930-78) was the first openly homosexual candidate to be elected to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors. An advocate of gay rights and urban issues, Milk was elected in 1977, representing the Castro district. He was assassinated, with Mayor George Moscone, by a former supervisor on November 27, 1978.
The first of the four Nixon-Kennedy debates was held on September 26, 1960, in Chicago. Howard K. Smith was the moderator. The panel included Robert Fleming (ABC), Stuart Novins (CBS), Sander Vanocur (NBC), and Charles Warren (Mutual Radio).
The alternative title to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was The Modern Prometheus.
The Fugitive’s name (“The Fugitive,” ABC, 1963-67) was Dr. Richard Kimble, played by David Janssen.
Martin Scorsese played an irate passenger in Travis Bickle’s (Robert De-Niro’s) cab in Taxi Driver (1976). He was irate because his wife is having an affair.
Plastics are only one kind of polymer, a substance composed of very large chain-like molecules that consist of smaller, repeating chemical units. Natural polymers include proteins, cellulose, diamonds, and quartz. Besides plastics, man-made ones include concrete, glass, and paper.
Props or scenery such as barroom tables and walls that are constructed to break easily during action sequences are called breakaways.
Critics Carl and Mark Van Doren related were brothers. Both were members of the faculty of Columbia University, Carl from 1911 to 1930, Mark from 1920 to 1959.
Jim Crow was a black stage character invented by minstrel star Thomas Rice in the decades before the Civil War. The name came to be applied to the segregationist laws that kept blacks separate from whites beginning in the 1870s. The Supreme Court declared Jim Crow laws unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education in … Read more
The white supremacy movement called the Ku Klux Klan has had at least three major incarnations: the first during Reconstruction (1860s-1870s), the second before and after World War I (1915-1920s; final disbandment in 1944), and the third since World War II (1946—present).
At about 11:20 A.M. (CST), on November 24, 1963, the twenty-four-year-old Oswald was shot by Dallas nightclub operator Jack Ruby (formerly Rubenstein). Lee Harvey Oswald was shot while he was being transferred from jail to an armored truck. He was killed by one shot of a .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver.
Ted Turner owns Cable News Network (CNN), Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), Turner Network Television (TNT), and CNN Headline News. As of 1989, they accounted for 31 percent of basic cable viewing.
“The Brazilian Bombshell”, Carmen Miranda, was born in Marco de Canavezes, Portugal, in 1909. She died in 1955.
Clint Eastwood’s first screen appearance was as a lab assistant in Revenge of the Creature (1955). His second appearance was as “Jonesy” in Francis in the Navy (1955).
The mixture of Russian with American and British slang in A Clockwork Orange is called “Nadsat.”
Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone starred in two movies, Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). The two also acted together in The Dawn Patrol (1938).
Hazel Motes founded the Church Without Christ in Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood, “where the blind don’t see and the lame don’t walk and what’s dead stays that way.” A charlatan named Onnie Jay Holy started a rival sect, the Holy Church of Christ Without Christ.
From 1906 to 1960 the Xerox Corporation was known as the Haloid Company, headquartered in New York. In 1961 it became the Xerox Corporation.
The observance of May Day as a workers’ holiday began in 1890 in Europe. It celebrates the support of laborers’ demands for an eight-hour working day in the United States. The Soviet Union made it a national holiday, and it is observed as such in Socialist and Communist countries.
The winning home run was hit in the bottom of the ninth at the New York Polo Grounds by the Giants’ third baseman Bobby Thomson, in the 1951 National League playoffs between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. With two men on base, Thomson’s home run changed the score from Dodgers 4, Giants … Read more
The National Baseball Hall of Fame was dedicated in 1939 at Cooperstown, New York, to honor the centennial of the alleged invention of baseball by Army officer Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown in 1839. However, it was later proven that Doubleday was not even at Cooperstown in 1839 (he was a cadet at West Point) and … Read more
The independent political party the Mugwumps was comprised of Republicans who wanted to band together to demonstrate support for the Democratic candidate for the 1884 election, Grover Cleveland. They remained active in presidential politics through 1892. The word mugwump was a slang term for “kingpin.”
This classified history of American involvement in Vietnam called the Pentagon Papers first began to run in the New York Times on June 13, 1971. Despite legal challenges from the White House, the Supreme Court permitted the Times and the Washington Post to continue publishing the documents. Leaked by former Pentagon employee Daniel Ells-berg, the … Read more
The title of O. Henry’s short story collection The Four Million refers to two things: it represents the population of New York City at the time, and it is an answer to Ward McAllister, who said “there are only about 400 people in New York society.” The collection contains the 1902 story, “The Gift of … Read more
Chamois is a soft, warm leather and is the skin of the Alpine animal of the same name. More often, however, it is specially treated sheepskin.
In 1914, Glenn Curtis fought the Wright brothers for patent rights on the airplane. The U.S. court decided in favor of the Wright brothers.
Maya Angelou played Nyo Boto in the TV mini-series “Roots” (ABC, 1977).
The practice, which takes place before the home team comes to bat, became popular in 1860 because the number seven is considered lucky.
The Cannes Film Festival was established in 1939. Winners of its Golden Palm (for Best Film) have included Marty (1955), La Dolce Vita (1960), M*A*S*H (1970), and The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978).
Mary McCarthy’s 1963 novel The Group concerns eight women students at Vassar. Their names are: Dottie, Helena, Kay, Lakey, Libby, Pokey, Polly, and Priss.
A 27-year New York City study found that the following five breeds, in order of biting averages, are the worst offenders: 1. German police dog 2. Chow 3. Poodle 4. Italian bulldog 5. Fox terrier
Connecticut. Which state is known as the Blue Hen State? Delaware. Which state is known as the Gopher State? Minnesota. Which state is known as the Beaver State? Oregon.
“News on the March.” was the newsreel that recaps Kane’s life in Citizen Kane.
The Island of Lost Souls (1933) was the first movie with the line “The natives are restless tonight”. It is said by Charles Laughton.
The ending was the brainstorm of the director originally assigned to the film, Robert Florey (later replaced by James Whale). Florey’s apartment was located over a Van De Kamp Bakery, whose trademark was a windmill.
The Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
Chanel Number 5 got its name not because it was the fifth formulation of the perfume mixture. Coco Chanel considered five a lucky number, and when she introduced the perfume in 1921, she did so on the fifth day of May, the fifth month. She called the fragrance Chanel N°5.
In James Thurber’s short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, mild-mannered Walter Mitty imagines that he is a Navy hydroplane commander flying through a howling storm.
The Battle of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on December 29, 1890, was the last major battle between U.S. troops and Native Americans. Twenty-nine U.S. soldiers and nearly 200 Sioux men, women, and children were killed.
Dow Chemical originally concentrated its Saran Wrap commercials on “Today” in the early 1950s. Dave Garroway would hold up a piece of the wrap to demonstrate how clear it was.
The wall that ran through Berlin was 26.5 miles long. The Berlin Wall was put up on the night of August 12-13, 1961. Its function as a barrier between East and West Germany ended on November 9, 1989, when the East German government declared an end to restrictions on emigration and travel to the West.
The love song “Dear Mr. Gable, You Made Me Love You” from one MGM star to another appeared in Broadway Melody of 1938.
The first personal ad might well have been a matrimonial advertisement that appeared in a British publication called the Collection for the Improvement of Husbandry and Trade on July 19, 1695. The ad read: A Gentleman about 30 Years of Age, that says he has a Very Good Estate, would willingly Match Himself to some … Read more
Katharine Hepburn played Jo March, the eldest of the little women in Little Women (1933).
Zeus’s parents were both Titans, children of Uranus (Sky) and Gaea (Earth). Zeus’s mother was Rhea; his father was Cronus. Fearing that one of his sons would overthrow him, Cronus swallowed his five other children, but Rhea rescued Zeus and had him raised in secrecy in a cave. Eventually Zeus tricked Cronus into vomiting up … Read more
Nine Barbara Stanwyck films have lady or ladies in the title. They are: Ladies of Leisure (1930), Ladies They Talk About (1933), Gambling Lady (1934), A Lost Lady (1934), The Lady Eve (1941), The Great Man’s Lady (1942), Lady of Burlesque (1943), The Lady Gambles (1949), and To Please a Lady (1950).
A Yavapai from Arizona, Carlos Montezuma (1865-1923) was a physician who became a prominent advocate for Native Americans. In his newsletter Wassaja and elsewhere, he spoke out for Indian rights. He helped to found the Society of American Indians in 1911.
Finnegan in Finnegans Wake is an Irish hod carrier who dies after a fall. At his wake, he is momentarily returned to life at the mention of the word “whiskey.” The name also refers to legendary Irish hero Finn MacCool, who is supposed to “wake again” someday to save Ireland.
Jack Nicholson’s first job in the movies was as an office boy in MGM’s cartoon department.
Charlton Heston’s son, Fraser played the infant Moses in The Ten Commandments.
Five people have held the post of secretary-general. With their countries of origin and terms of office, they are: Trygve Lie, Norway (1946-1952) Dag HarnmarskjOld, Sweden (1953-1961) U Thant, Burma (1961-1971) Kurt Waldheim, Austria (1972-1981) Javier Perez de Cuellar, Peru (1982–present)
New York socialite Samuel Ward McAllister created the term in 1892, when he planned a party to be held in Mrs. William Astor’s ballroom. Since the ballroom held only 400 people, McAllister limited the invitations to those he decided were the inner elite of New York society.
Albany-born Daniel Quinn, the protagonist of Quinn’s Book, is the grandfather of Danny Quinn of Ironweed (1983). Ironweed is part of the Albany Cycle, which also includes Legs (1975), Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game (1978), and Very Old Bones (1992).
Fleeing from Holland in the early 1900s, a Dutch officer’s wife named Margaretha Geertruida Zelle changed her name to Mata Hari. At first she became a licentious dancer and later the most notorious spy of World War I. Arrested in her Paris hotel in February 1917, she was shot by a firing squad on October … Read more
In the United States, all swine weighing under 180 pounds are pigs; those over that weight are hogs. In Britain, there is no difference: The term pig refers to all domestic swine.
The “Today” show premiered on January 14, 1952, on NBC, broadcasting from New York. The host was Dave Garroway. Garroway’s sign-off line was “Peace.”
Jill Ireland played Spock’s love interest Leila on the “Star Trek” (NBC, 1966-69) episode called “This Side of Paradise”.
Grace Kelly made eleven movies before becoming Princess of Monaco, beginning with a bit part in Fourteen Hours (1951) and ending with High Society (1956). Born in Philadelphia, Kelly (1928-82) married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956.
Thorstein Veblen coined the term “conspicuous consumption” in The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). Veblen used the term to excoriate Americans who spent lavishly in trying to impress others with their wealth.
Woody Allen said, “This year I’m a star, but what will I be next year, a black hole.”
Formally conceived to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America, the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago also served to establish Chicago as a cosmopolitan international urban center. To plan the Exposition, several of the nation’s top urban planners were recruited, including Daniel Burnham and Frederick law Olmsted. Founder of Poetry magazine Harriet … Read more
No, one dog year is actually five to six years in human terms. The average life expectancy of a dog is 12 to 14 years. However, most dogs mature sexually within six to nine months so in that sense there is no strict correspondence to human years.
Wilkins Micawber, the schemer in David Copperfield (1861), is said to be based on Charles Dickens’s own father. Wilkins Micawber, the schemer in David Copperfield (1861), is said to be based on Charles Dickens’s own father.
The first all-Federal housing project in America was an eleven-block, low-rent housing project called Tech-wood, in Atlanta, Georgia. Built in 1936 by the Public Works Administration, it cost $2,875,000. The project offered 22 brick and concrete apartments for families with annual incomes under $1,800.
Only Audrey Meadows, who played Alice Kramden, received residuals from the endless reruns of “The Honeymooners” (CBS, 1955-56). Her manager negotiated for TV residual rights before most people took them seriously.
The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated in 1910 in Washington, D.C., by painter and illustrator Daniel Carter Beard. Known as “Uncle Dan,” Beard based the organization on the British group founded in 1908 by Sir Robert Baden-Powell. Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts organization in Savannah, Georgia, in 1912.
Pope, a Pueblo medicine man, planned the Indian revolt against the Spanish in New Mexico in 1680. The Pueblos and Apaches took over Santa Fe, drove out or killed Spanish settlers, and forced the Spanish to abandon New Mexico. The Spanish recaptured Santa Fe in 1693; the revolt was not entirely crushed until 1698.
The 1981 Oscar telecast was delayed for one day because on March 30, the day of the telecast, President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.
El Greco signed his paintings as Domenikos Theotokopoulos, his real name. The artist (c. 1541-1614) wrote the name in Greek characters, sometimes followed by Kres for “Cretan”, his national origin.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) said the line. The remark fits.
Many tribes besides the Sioux speak Siouan languages. These include the Biloxi of Mississippi, the Winnebagos of Wisconsin, the Osages of Missouri, and the Omahas of Iowa and Nebraska.
Not until the 23rd Amendment was ratified in 1961, were the residents of Washington, D.C., allowed to vote in presidential elections.
Johnny Carson took over NBC’s “Tonight Show” (NBC, 1954) in 1962. He left the show in May 1992. When did he introduce Carnac the Magnificent? Aunt Blabby? Art Fern? In 1964, 1964, and 1971 respectively.
The College Board first administered the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in June 1926. More than 8,000 applicants took the test, most of them applicants to elite colleges such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. The test, intended to help predict subsequent academic performance, was modeled on intelligence tests administered by the U.S. Army in World War … Read more
The illustrations of fashionable, modern women of the 1890s were named for the artist who drew them for popular magazines, Charles Dana Gibson. Gibson’s drawings helped to establish a new standard of American beauty at the turn of the 19th century.
Cecily and Gwendolyn Pigeon, played by Monica Evans and Carole Shelley, respectively, were the Pigeon Sisters on “The Odd Couple” (ABC, 1970-75).
Sometimes. What makes them decide to do so is uncertain.
A human embryo has its first heartbeat at the age of three weeks, when the heart of the embryo looks like a tube. As it begins to beat, it starts the blood circulating through the few blood vessels that have formed around it.
Cassius Clay announced that he had changed his name to Muhammad Ali in February 1964, after defeating Sonny Liston and becoming heavyweight champion. Some time earlier, Ali had secretly joined the Nation of Islam, led by Elijah Muhammad.
In Dostoyevsky’s 1880 novel, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov has four sons: Dmitri, Ivan, Alyosha, and Smerdyakov, a bastard. Dmitri is the son accused of killing his father.
Rambo II did not preced Rambo III (1988). There were three Rambo movies in the 1980s, all starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, but none was called Rambo II. The three films were: First Blood (1982); Rambo: First Blood, Part II (1985); and Rambo III (1988).
The Black Hand was the name for groups of extortionists who preyed upon Italian immigrants in the United States from about 1890 to 1920. It was active in cities such as Chicago, Kansas City, New Orleans, and New York. The Mafia, an older and more complex criminal organization, originated in Sicily in the nineteenth and … Read more
James Joyce and Nora Barnacle probably had their first date on June 16, 1904, Bloomsday, the day on which Ulysses (1922) is set. She was then a chambermaid at Finn’s Hotel, Dublin.
Edward Stratemeyer created Nancy Drew, under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The prolific author died in 1930.
The names of Hope and Michael Steadman’s children on “thirtysomething” were Grendel, Janie, and Leo, respectively.
Despite rumors that the slightest nibble on the Christmas flower poinsettias will result in death, poinsettias are not poisonous to humans. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission determined in 1975 that the toxicity of poinsettias is a myth, though the flower is a nonfood substance and, if eaten, could cause some discomfort.
Twentieth-century American physicist John Archibald Wheeler (b. 1911) coined the term black hole to describe a collapsed star whose gravitational field is so intense that not even light can escape from it.
In 1990, the U.S. zoos with highest attendance were: 1. Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois 2. San Diego Zoo, California 3. National Zoo, Washington, D.C. 4. Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida 5. St. Louis Zoo, Missouri
The Biltmore Hotel in New York City threw out newlyweds F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre, following their wedding on April 3, 1920. The management asked them to leave because of their unseemly behavior.
