by James D. Irwin
These things happened on this day…
1857— World’s oldest football club, Sheffield F.C, formed; played by their own rules for a number of years, losing one game by two goals and four touchdowns to nil. Even less successful playing by FA rules.
1901— Annie Edson Taylor becomes first person to go over Niagara Falls in barrel, smashes glass ceiling in process.
1926— Harry Houdini’s last performance, after suffering from a nasty death-related incident
1929— New York Stock Market crashes, sending the United States into a decade long Depression. Fortunately upon recovery steps were taken to make sure this would never be allowed to happen again.
2008— World stock markets crash.
It’s birthday wishes to…
1632— Antoine van Leeuwenhoek, microbiologist, inventor of first microscope.
1838— Annie Edson Taylor, still the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
1855— James S. Sherman, American General, tank namesake.
1933— Both of the Kray Twins, British gangsters who finally got their comeuppance when portrayed on film by the far less vicious Kemp brothers.
1975— Juan Pablo Angel, overrated Colombian footballer so bad he became underrated within two seasons.
1985— Wayne Rooney, most famous for his shocking decision to have a hair transplant and stay ginger than go bald.
And good riddance to…
1537— Jane Seymour, Live and Let Die Bond girl, and one of only two of Henry VIII’s wives not to be divorced or beheaded (Catherine Parr outlived Henry, but died shortly after marrying Jane Seymour’s brother).
1922— George Cadbury, chocolate manufacturer with less ‘pizazz’ than Willy Wonka.
1991— George Rodenberry, most famous for creating Star Trek. Not responsible for Walter Keonig’s acting ability.
2001— Wolf Rudiger Hess, German ne-Nazi who was, perhaps surprising, the son of Nazi war criminal Rudolf. Apparently he harboured some ‘bitterness towards his father’s imprisonment.’*
2005— Rosa Parks, famously sat on ‘wrong’ side of a bus, kick starting the Civil Rights movement in the United States.
*Wilfully ignoring the fact it was Rudolf Hess’s own stupid fault for crash landing a plane on a Scottish farm, claiming to be ‘Hauptmann Alfred Horn’ with ‘an important message for the Duke of Hamilton. A local farmer informed the Home Guard, who came and took Hess away. One of the worst war criminals in history ended up being captured by Dad’s Army.
Splendid Fred Magazine 