Interesting tidbits: 1848 – The American Association for the Advancement of Science is created. The AAAS is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the betterment of all humanity. It is the worlds largest and most prestigious general scientific society, and is the publisher of the well-known scientific journal Science. 1893 – Charles Duryea and his brother road-tested the first American-made gasoline-powered automobile. The Duryeas motor wagon was a used horse drawn buggy that the brothers had purchased for $70 and into which they had installed a 4 HP, single cylinder gasoline engine. The car (buggy) had a friction transmission, spray carburetor and low tension ignition. Frank Duryea test drove it again on November 10 — this time past their garage at 47 Taylor Street in Springfield. The next day it was reported by The Republican newspaper with great fanfare. This particular car was put into storage in 1894 and stayed there until 1920, when it was rescued by a former Duryea engineer Inglis M. Uppercu and presented to the United States National Museum. 1911 – White Star Lines RMS Olympic collides with British warship HMS Hawke. The Olympic, along with the Brittanic, was one of the RMS Titanics sister ships. After the Olympic was retired and dismantled, secions of the interior were preserved. They provide an example of that the interior of the Titanic looked like before it sank. Todays birthday crew: 1844 – William H. Illingworth, English photographer who accompanied both Captain James L. Fisks 1866 expedition to the Montana Territory and Lt. Colonel George Custers 1874 U.S. military expedition into the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory. Probably due to his experience on the fourth Fisk expedition, Illingworth was selected as photographer to Custers 1874 military expedition by then-Captain William Ludlow. Ludlow was the Chief Engineer of the Department of Dakota, and was in charge of mapping and scientific data collection for the expedition. He provided Illingworth necessary equipment, rations and supplies, and added Illingworth to the civilian payroll as a teamster, with a salary of $30 per month. In return, Illingworth was expected to provide six sets of his exposed plates to the US Army. Illingworth and the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment departed for the Black Hills on 2 July 1874 from Fort Abraham Lincoln on the west bank of the Missouri River, seven miles south of what is now Mandan, North Dakota, and returned 30 August 1874. While on the expedition, Illingworth produced about 70 glass plates – 60 of them were landscapes of the Black Hills and portraits of members of the 7th Cavalry. Most of his images are considered to be very well composed from both a technical and artistic perspective. Captain Ludlow was pleased by Illingworths work, but after the conclusion of the expedition Illingworth did not provide Ludlow with six sets of plates as promised, instead providing one partial set. In his preliminary report on the expedition published in the 14 September 1874 issue of the New York Tribune, Ludlow wrote, the photographer secured negatives for about sixty views, a set of which will accompany the report. Illingworth said that he did not have the time or money to produce the remaining sets of plates, but Ludlow soon discovered that the St. Paul photographic firm Huffington and Winne was offering complete sets of Illingworths images of the expedition for sale. Ludlow sued Illingworth for embezzlement. When Illingworth escaped conviction on a legal technicality, Ludlow requested that the War Department press charges. The matter was eventually dropped, and the negatives remained in Illingworths possession until his death. Many of the plates are still in existance. 1920 – Jay Ward, American creator and producer of animated TV cartoon shows. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, Peabody and Sherman, Hoppity Hooper, George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken. His company, Jay Ward Productions, designed the trademark characters for the Capn Crunch, Quisp, and Quake breakfast cereals and it made TV commercials for those products. Ward produced the nonanimated series Fractured Flickers that featured comedy redubbing of silent films. In a running-joke tribute to Ward, many of his cartoon characters had the middle initial J., presumably standing for Jay (although this was never stated explicitly). The cartoonist Matt Groening later gave the middle initial J. to many of his characters as a tribute to Jay Ward. Ward fought many heated battles over content with the network and sponsor, but had little fear of censorship or lawsuits. The Kirward Derby, a bowler hat that made everyone stupid and Bullwinkle a genius, was named (as a spoonerism) for Durward Kirby, sidekick of the 1950s and 1960s TV host Garry Moore and the co-host of Alan Funts Candid Camera. When CBS tried to sue, Ward quipped, We need the publicity. This was often a punchline in gags. An eccentric and proud of it, Ward was known for pulling an unusual publicity stunt that coincided with a national crisis. Ward bought an island in Minnesota near his home and dubbed it Moosylvania, based upon the home of his most famous TV character Bullwinkle. He and publicist Howard Brandy crossed the country in a van, gathering signatures on a petition for statehood for Moosylvania. They then visited Washington, D.C., and attempted to gain an audience with President John F. Kennedy. They arrived at the White House during the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis and were escorted off the grounds at gunpoint. 1935 – Keith Roberts, English science fiction author. He began publishing with two stories in the September 1964 issue of Science Fantasy magazine, Anita (the first of a series of stories featuring a teenage modern witch and her eccentric granny) and Escapism. His second novel, Pavane, which is a collection of linked stories, may be his most famous work: an alternate history novel in which the Roman Catholic Church takes control of England following the assassination of Queen Elizabeth I. 1947 – Steve Gerber, American comic book writer best known as co-creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other notable works include Man-Thing, Omega the Unknown, Marvel Spotlight: Son of Satan, The Defenders, Marvel Presents: Guardians of the Galaxy, and Daredevil. Gerber was known for including lengthy text pages in the midst of comic book stories, such as in Man-Thing, Howard the Duck, Son of Satan, Defenders, Nevada, and his graphic novel, Stewart the Rat. Gerber was posthumously inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2010. 1948 – George R. R. Martin, American author of fantasy, horror, and science fiction prose, as well as being a screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his international bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for Game of Thrones. Martin serves as the series co-executive producer, while also scripting one of each seasons 10 episodes. Martin was selected by Time magazine as one of the 2011 Time 100, a list of the most influential people in the world. 1953 - Siân Thomas, Welsh actress who appeared in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as Amelia Bones. Happy birthday guys!
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 10:19:37 +0000
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