July 7 - Happy Birthday, Sir!

Happy Birthday, Sir!

(9/25/11)

Family Birthdays

Bill 'Sir' Schurr^*

Cousin Chris Ryan

This Day In History

1456

A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death.

1575

Raid of the Redeswire, the last major battle between England and Scotland.

1863

United States begins its first military draft; exemptions cost $300.

1911

The United States, Great Britain, Japan, and Russia sign the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 banning open-water seal hunting, the first international treaty to address wildlife preservation issues.

1928

Sliced bread is sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri.

1930

Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of the Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam).

1946

Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American to be canonized.

1952

SS United States passes Bishop's Rock on her maiden voyage, breaking the transatlantic speed record to become the fastest passenger ship in the world.

1981

U.S. President Ronald Reagan appoints Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States.

1985

Boris Becker becomes the youngest player ever to win Wimbledon at age 17

Famous Birthdays

1752

Joseph Marie Jacquard, French inventor (d. 1834)

1833

Félicien Rops, Belgian artist, and printmaker in etching and aquatint (d. 1898)

1860

Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer (d. 1911)

1887

Marc Chagall, Russian painter (d. 1985)

1899

George Cukor, American director (d. 1983)

1906

Satchel Paige, American baseball player (d. 1982)

1907

Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer (d. 1988)

1911

Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian composer (d. 2007)

1919

Jon Pertwee, English actor (d. 1996)

1933

David McCullough, American historian and author

1940

Ringo Starr, English drummer and singer (The Beatles)

1946

Joe Spano, American actor
1968
Jorja Fox, American actress
1970
Robia LaMorte, American actress and dancer
1972
Kirsten Vangsness, American actress
1980
Michelle Kwan, American figure skater

* - Let that be a lesson to you. If someone asks you what you want your grandchildren to call you, and you say "Sir," you may be stuck with it for another thirty-odd years.