Wednesday, April 11, 2018

This Date in History - April 11

Wilkommen, bienvenue, creepy.

491:  FLAVIUS ANASTASIUS BECOMES BYZANTINE EMPEROR, WITH THE NAME OF ANASTASIUS I.

Dropping the Flavius part.  Smart move.

1079:  BISHOP STANISLAUS OF KRAKOW IS EXECUTED BY ORDER OF BOLESLAW II OF POLAND.

As opposed to Coleslaw IV of Germany.

1241:  BATU KHAN DEFEATS BELA IV OF HUNGARY AT THE BATTLE OF MUHI.

Years later, Boris Karloff would defeat Bela Lugosi in some horror movie produced by Universal.

1689:  WILLIAM III AND MARY II ARE CROWNED AS JOINT SOVEREIGNS OF BRITAIN.

So when do these two crazy kids tie the knot and open up their own college?

1727:  PREMIERE OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH'S ST. MATTHEW PASSION AT THE ST. THOMAS CHURCH, LEIPZIG.

Why not some church named after St. Matthew?

1775:  THE LAST EXECUTION FOR WITCHCRAFT IN GERMANY TAKES PLACE.

Endora got out of Berlin just in time.

1814:  THE TREATY OF FONTAINEBLEAU ENDS THE WAR OF THE SIXTH COALITION AGAINST NAPOLEON BONAPARTE AND FORCES HIM TO ABDICATE UNCONDITIONALLY FOR THE FIRST TIME.

For the first time?  What are the Vegas odds for how many times he has to do it again?

1868:  FORMER SHOGUN TOKUGAWA YOSHINOBU SURRENDERS EDO CASTLE TO IMPERIAL FORCES, MARKING THE END OF THE TOKUHGAWA SHOGUNATE.

Tokugawa Yoshinobu later pitches in relief for the Seattle Mariners.

1881:  SPELMAN COLLEGE IS FOUNDED IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA AS THE ATLANTA BAPTIST FEMALE SEMINARY, AN INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN.

If this place was named after Cardinal Spellman, these chicks needs to run through Spell Check one more time.  Or is that Spel Check?

1890:  JOSEPH "ELEPHANT MAN" MERRICK DIES.

I'm not an animal.  I'm a human being.  No, wait, I'm dead.

1894:  GERMAN ARCHITECT CONSTANTIN LIPSIUS DIES.

I have no clue who this is, but my sixth grade academics teacher was named Miss Lipsius.

1926:  BOTANIST LUTHER BURBANK DIES.

Beautiful downtown....

1928:  ETHEL KENNEDY IS BORN.

And immediately went into labor.

1931:  ACTOR JOHNNY SHEFFIELD IS BORN.

Tarzan's "Boy!"

1932:  ACTOR JOEL GREY IS BORN.

He did Cabaret.  And he did a revival of Cabaret.  And then he did an album of songs from Cabaret.  And then he did the movie version of Cabaret.  You think he was a one-trick pony?

1939:  ACTRESS LOUISE LASSER IS BORN.

Mary Hartman!!  Mary Hartman!!!!

1945:  DURING WORLD WAR II, AMERICAN FORCES LIBERATE THE BUCHENWALD CONCENTRATION CAMP.

And so the downfall begins...

1951:  PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN RELIEVES GENERAL OF THE ARMY DOUGLAS MACARTHUR OF OVERALL COMMAND IN KOREA.

You shall return??  Oh, yeah????

1961:  THE TRIAL OF ADOLF EICHMANN BEGINS IN JERUSALEM.

Here's one I wish they did on Judge Judy.

1968:  PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON SIGNS THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1968, PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION IN THE SALE, RENTAL, AND FINANCING OF HOUSING.

The very, very first seeds of the housing meltdown in 2008.

1970:  APOLLO 13 IS LAUNCHED.

Yeah, but not for long.

1970:  ACTRESS CATHY O'DONNELL DIES.

She played Ben-Hur's sister.  I guess the leprosy got her.

1979:  UGANDAN DICTATOR IDI AMIN IS DEPOSED.

Is that short for Idith?

1983:  ACTRESS DOLORES DEL RIO DIES.

Adios.

1993:  450 PRISONERS RIOT AT THE SOUTHERN OHIO CORRECTIONAL FACILITY AND CONTINUED TO DO SO FOR TEN DAYS, CITING GRIEVANCES RELATED TO PRISON CONDITIONS, AS WELL AS THE FORCED VACCINATION OF NATION OF ISLAM PRISONERS AGAINST THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.

But the Muslims there were allowed to get contraception?

1999:  CARTOON VOICE JEAN VANDER PYL DIES.

Wilma!!!!!

2006:  IRANIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD ANNOUNCES THAT IRAN HAS SUCCESSFULLY ENRICHED URANIUM.

"I'm a dinner jacket."

2006:  SINGER JUNE POINTER DIES.

Now it's the Pointer Duo.

2007:  AUTHOR KURT VONNEGUT JR. DIES.

Now it's the "Slaughterhouse Six."

2013:  COMIC JONATHAN WINTERS DIES.

Brilliant.

2017:  ROCK MUSICIAN J. GEILS DIES.

J RIP.

Dinner last night:

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