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February 27 Saints of the Day – Raphael of Brooklyn and Leander of Seville
On this date in 1879, Constantine Fahlberg discovered that the coal tar derivative he spilled on his hand tasted sweet. He called it saccharine, patented it, and single-handedly created thousands of...
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March 21 Saints of the Day – Thomas, Patriarch of Constantinople and...
On this day in 1970, Vinko Bogataj crashed during a ski-jumping championship in Germany; his image became the “agony of defeat guy” in the opening credits of ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Hundreds of...
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April 3 Saints of the Day – Nicetas of Medikion and Burgundafara
On this date in 1955, the American Civil Liberties Union announced it would defend Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl against obscenity charges. He hadn’t written it yet, but they knew it would be a doozy. Our...
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June 7 Saints of the Day – Daniel of Scetis and Meriadoc of Vannes
On this date in 1982, Priscilla Presley opened Graceland to the public. Authorities differ on whether she offered free tickets to Paul Simon. Daniel of Scetis (V cent.) was a monk under Arsenios the...
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June 9 Saints of the Day – David Gareji and Anna Maria Taigi
On this date in 2007, Rags to Riches became the first filly in 106 years to win the Belmont Stakes. When asked if she felt self-conscious about beating all the colts, she said, “neigh.” David Gareji...
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June 14 Saints of the Day – Elisha the Prophet and Methodius of Constantinople
On this date in 1947, an unidentified flying object (supposedly) crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico. Nobody knows what the (supposed) aliens looked like, but that sure hasn’t stopped the manufacturers...
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June 27 Saints of the Day – Sampson the Hospitable and Cyril of Alexandria
On this date in 1985, U.S. Route 66 was decommissioned. Brill Building hitmakers quickly repenned an old classic into “Get Your Kicks On Interstates 55, 44, 40, 15, 215, 10, and/or 25.” Sampson the...
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July 28 Saints of the Day – Irene of Chrysovalantou and Samson of Dol
On this date in 1896, the city of Miami, Florida, was incorporated. Thankfully, many good things also happened on that day. Irene (of) Chrysovalantou (d. 912) was born to wealthy parents (a common...
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August 30 Saints of the Day – Alexander of Constantinople and Pammachius
On this day in 1909, paleontologist Charles Doolittle Walcott discovered fossils in the Burgess Shale. The Burgess Shale is noted for its preservation of soft tissues, even though Kleenex would not be...
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September 2 Saints of the Day – John the Faster and William of Roskilde
On this day in 1752, Great Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe. To this day the trains no longer run on time. John the Faster (d. 595) was...
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September 13 Saints of the Day – The Church of the Resurrection and John...
On this day in 1743, Great Britain, Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia signed the Treaty of Worms. The worms, illiterate, signed with an “X.” The Church of the Resurrection was consecrated on this day...
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October 5 Saints of the Day – Dionysius of Alexandria and Bartholomew Longo
On this day in 1550, the city of Concepción, Chile, was founded. Exactly nine months later the neighboring city of Nacimiento was founded. Dionysius of Alexandria (d. 264) was the first pope to be...
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October 11 Saints of the Day – Zenaida & Philonilla and Pope John XXIII
On this day in 1976, President Gerald Ford approved George Washington’s posthumous appointment as General of the Armies of the United States. This would have raised Martha’s widow’s pension, if she...
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October 24 Saints of the Day – Joy of All Who Sorrow Icon and Luigi Guanella
On this day in 1901, Anna Taylor became the first woman to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, proving once and for all that foolhardiness is not limited to the male sex. The Icon of the Theotokos Joy...
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October 27 Saints of the Day – Nestor the Chronicler and Frumentius
On this day in 1651, English troops occupied Limerick, Ireland. They celebrated by writing haiku. Nestor the Chronicler (ca. 1056 – ca. 1114) was a monk in the (Near) Kievan Caves (they did let him out...
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November 6 Saints of the Day – Herman of Kazan and Illtud
On this day in 1897, Peter Pan opened at the Empire Theater in New York. I love that play. It never grows old. Archbishop Herman of Kazan (d. 1567) (aka Gherman, German, etc.) was tonsured at the...
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November 25 Saint of the Day – Peter of Alexandria
On this day in 1949, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” first appeared on the music charts. Proto-payola, or simply bad taste? Pope and Patriarch Peter of Alexandria (d. 311) may have been brought up by...
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December 27 Saints of the Day – Fabiola and Theophanes & Theodore Graptus
On this day in 1871 the world’s first cat show was held, in the Crystal Palace, London. The list of judged events had to be tweaked when the cats refused to cooperate in the dressage competition....
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