TODAY IN HISTORY (March 30):
1727 - In England, Charles Hitchin, who was a regular at several molly houses, was turned in by a remorseful partner from the previous evening. He would be found guilty of attempted sodomy and fined 20 pounds, sentenced to six months in prison, and forced to stand in the pillory.
1858 - Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania patented the writing device we call the pencil.
1867 - Alaska was purchased from Russia for two-cents an acre.
1964 - The original "Jeopardy!" debuts on NBC.
1977 - "Rich Girl" (Daryl Hall & John Oates) and "Dancing Queen" (Abba) are #1 and #2 on the music charts.
1981 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by a would-be assassin.
1981 - In Toronto the trial begins for the alleged keepers of Barracks steam bath begins. Includes gay activist George Hislop and four others. Charges arose from raid December 9, 1978.
1985 - Ed Davis, former Los Angeles Chief of Police, publicly blasted anti-gay politicians as a "bunch of maladjusted jerks" and refused pressure from evangelical groups to refuse donations from gay organizations. He closed a letter to the American Coalition for Family Values writing "I ask you to take a few minutes to read two short documents with which you may not be familiar-The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights." He confused glb activists with his statements - he had formerly been one of the chief political enemies of gay rights in California.
1992 - Debra Chasnoff thanked her lover of twelve years after receiving an Academy Award for her documentary short film Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons, and Our Environment.
1992 - Jodie Foster and a host of others win Oscars for "Silence of the Lambs."
1994 - Furniture chain IKEA became the first company to air a television commercial in the US which featured a gay male couple.
2004 - Prudential Financial was accused of discrimination after refusing to provide benefits to the legally married spouse of lesbian retiree.
2004 - The FBI and Colorado's Joint Terrorism Task Force investigates a hate mail campaign targeting gays in the Denver area.
Born on this day (a good day for musicians):
1853 - Vincent van Gogh
1930 - Peter Marshall ("Hollywood Squares"), birth name: Pierre LaCock. Seriously.
1937 - Warren Beatty
1940 - Astrud Gilberto, bossa nova singer
1945 - Eric Clapton
1957 - Paul Reiser
1964 - Tracy Chapman
1964 - Ian Ziering ("90210")
1968 - Celine Dion
1979 - Norah Jones
Two things: First, I LOVE these historical posts. They are always so interesting. Second, what's a "molly house"?
Posted by: MT | March 30, 2006 at 08:28 AM
1867 - Alaska was purchased from Russia for two-cents an acre.
Damn we're bastards.
Posted by: PatrickP | March 30, 2006 at 10:13 AM
Oh, Patrick.
Posted by: LikeOMGFab | March 30, 2006 at 10:56 AM
I am a major fan of blues music(check the username). Clapton now alternates between one album of schmaltzy adult-contemporary, then one album of blues covers and originals. Two years ago, he cut an album of Robert Johnson covers. This is one of the most played albums on my MP3 player. Another all blues album he cut in 1989, I believe, named 'From the Cradle' is right up there with it. I am still in awe of him and his (blues and rock) music, and he is the same age as my parents. Thanks for including Clapton in your list of today's B-days, Mal.
Posted by: blewsdawg | March 30, 2006 at 05:29 PM
Molly House=basically a whorehouse where men could have sex with other men.
Posted by: just me | March 30, 2006 at 07:11 PM
It`s sounds strange for me to announce celebration.
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