by James D. Irwin
On This Day…
1558— France takes Calais from England, swiftly becomes air balloon landing site.
1610— Galileo discovers four of Jupiter’s moons— Ganymede, Callista, Io, and Europa.
1785— Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jefferies travel from England to France in a gas balloon, landing in Calais. It is thought to be the first recorded booze cruise in history.
1797— The modern Italian flag is first used. It is thought that the green represents hope, the red representes charity, and the white is a proud reminder that it is never too early to surrender.
1935— The Franco-Italian Agreement is signed, which gave Italy several strips of disputed land in support for Italian support should Hitler invade. The French would later come to regret this.
1959— The US recognises the Cuban government led by Fidel Castro, and immediately spends the next several decades trying to bring it down.
1999— Everyone but Bill Clinton draws their breath as his impeachment trail begins.
Born today…
1502— Pope Gregory XIII, creator of the Gregorian Calendar.
1951— Helen Worth, serial target of conmen and killers as Coronation Street’s Gail Platt.
1964— Nicolas Cage, the world’s finest thespian.
1967— Nick Clegg, [this joke has been censored for legal reasons]
Died today…
1943— Nikola Tesla, sceintific genius, mad scientist, friend of Mark Twain.
Splendid Fred Magazine 