Daily Chat 04/07/09

Chinese and Arab astronomers observed a supernova in the sky in 1054 that lit up the night sky for days. The remnants of that supernova are today known as the Crab Nebula. In 1837, the Grand Junction Railway opened between Birmingham and Liverpool. It was the world's first long-distance railway. In 1838, the Iowa Territory was formed and in 1987, Klaus Barbie was convicted of crimes against humanity. Celebrating birthdays today: Eva Marie Saint, Gina Lollobrigida, Bill Withers, Kirk Pengilly, Koko the signing gorilla, and Malia Obama. Today is the day of the Earth's aphelion. Oh, and in 1776, a bunch of jerkwads in Philadelphia ruined any chance I ever had of getting residency in Britain as a citizen of a Commonwealth nation.

Daily Chat 03/07/09

On this day in 987, Hugh Capet was crowned King of France. The Great Auk became extinct in 1844, when a trio of Icelandic men killed the last nesting pair and smashed the egg they'd been incubating. Arseholes. And in 1996, the Stone of Scone was returned to Scotland. Celebrating birthdays: Ken Russell, Tom Stoppard, Julie Burchill, Vince Clark, Tom Cruise and Yeardley Smith. It's Independence Day in Belarus.

Daily Chat 02/07/09

The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on this day in 1644. Charles Guiteau shot President James Garfield in 1881. Garfield died of his wounds in September. In 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Frank Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean and in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race. Celebrating birthdays today: Imelda Marcos and Lindsay Lohan. Sounds like a party, doesn't it? The Palio di Provenzano is run today in Siena and 2009 is officially half over at noon.

Daily Chat 01/07/09

The Battle of Gettysburg began on this day in 1863. The British North America Act established the Canadian Confederation in 1867, with John MacDonald becoming Canada's first Prime Minister. The Sony Walkman was introduced in 1979. The Scottish Parliament was officially opened in 1999. And the Oresund Bridge was opened to traffic in 2000. Celebrating birthdays today: Leslie Caron, Jean Marsh, Deborah Harry, Fred Schneider, Pamela Anderson, Patrick Kluivert and Ruud van Nistelrooy. In addition to being Canada Day, it is Independence Day in Burundi and Rwanda, Republic Day in Ghana and Somalia, and Emancipation Day in the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname.