175 years ago today, the American writer Henry David Thoreau embarked on a two-year experiment in simple living at Walden near Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau built a small cabin (10 x 14 feet) on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson in…
40 years ago today, the comedy film Airplane! premiered. Written and directed by David and Jerry Zucker, along with Jim Abrahams, it won Golden Globe nominations and starred Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, and Peter Graves. A perfect parody…
25 years ago today, the NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis kicked off a new era in international space cooperation by achieving the first docking with the Russian space station Mir. Beyond the Mir docking, the mission of Atlantis flight STS-71 included…
75 years ago today, the inspirational United Nations Charter was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco, a document that began with the following: “We the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of…
Happy Birthday to Carly Simon, who turns 75 today. The singer–songwriter-musician rose to fame in the 1970s and pumped out a string of both original hits—Anticipation, You Belong To Me, Haven’t Got Time for the Pain, The Right Thing to…
140 years ago today, Canadians heard the first performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem. Originally called “Chant national,” it was written in Québec City by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier (words in French) and composed by…
80 years ago today, the American athlete Wilma Rudolph was born prematurely at 4.5 pounds (2.0 kg). Despite a polio virus, infantile paralysis, and wearing a metal brace that twisted her leg for years, the Tennessee sprinter became the fastest…
80 years ago today, Charles de Gaulle, galvanized the Free French Forces in one of the most important speeches of the 20th century. Known as L’Appel du 18 Juin (The Appeal of 18 June), it is often considered to be…
40 years ago today, The Blues Brothers with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd premiered in Chicago, where they shot the film. The comedy duo portrays Jake and Elwood Blues, brothers and paroled convicts who have set out on “a mission…
231 years ago today, whiskey was distilled from corn maize for the first time by the clergyman Rev. Elijah Craig. The liquor was called Bourbon because the reverend lived in Bourbon County, Kentucky. (1789) MORE Good News on this Day:…
