July 23 - Best Seat

Best Seat in the House

Overheard

[On the Northway]
M: Elanor, what do you see out your window?
E: Trees... trees... trees... trees... trees... trees... trees... trees...
D: Well, this is going to take a while.

This Day In History

1632

Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France.

1829

In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.

1903

The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.

1926

Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.

1962

Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program.

1972

The United States launch Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.

1983

Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.

1995

Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered; it will become visible to the naked eye nearly a year later.

Famous Birthdays

1734

Antonio Sacchini, Italian opera composer (d. 1786)

1773

Sir Thomas Brisbane, Scottish astronomer, soldier and governor of New South Wales (d. 1860)

1856

Arthur Bird, American composer (d. 1923)

1888

Raymond Chandler, American novelist (d. 1959)

1895

Aileen Pringle, American actress (d. 1989)

1909

John William Finn, American WWII Medal of Honor recieptant (d. 2010)

1914

Virgil Finlay, American pulp fantasy, science fiction and horror illustrator (d. 1971)

1918

Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player (d. 1999)

1928

Vera Rubin, American astronomer

1936

Anthony Kennedy, American Supreme Court Justice

1947

Gardner Dozois, American science fiction writer and editor

1952

Janis Siegel, singer (The Manhattan Transfer)
1967
Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor
1970
Charisma Carpenter, American actress
1971
Alison Krauss, American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler