Calendar of Ideas

Nov 29, 1948. This popular children’s show featured puppets created and handled by Burr Tillstrom and was equally popular with adults. Fran Allison was the only human on the show. Tillstroms lively and eclectic cast of characters, called the Kuklapolitans, included the bald, high-voiced Kukla, the big-toothed Oliver J. Dragon (Ollie), Fletcher Rabbit,Cecil Bill, Beulah the Witch, Colonel Crackie, Madame Ooglepuss and Dolores Dragon. Most shows were performed without scripts.

Nov 29, 1729. Americas first official record keeper. Chosen secretary of the First Continental Congress Sept 5, 1774, Thomson recorded proceedings for 15 years and delivered his journals together with tens of thousands of records to the federal government in 1789. Born at Ireland, he died Aug 16, 1824.

It was Thomson who notified George Washington of his election as president.

Image: Joseph Wright (1756-1793) [1] – Extracted from PDF version of Creating the Great Seal poster, part of a U.S. Diplomacy Center (State Department) exhibition on the 225th anniversary of the Great Seal. Direct PDF URL [3] (18MB) Courtesy of the Harriton Association, Bryn Mawr, PA, located via Wikipedia.org.

Nov 29, 1832. American author, born at Philadelphia, PA. Died at Boston, MA, Mar 6, 1888. Her most famous novel is Little Women, the classic story of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy.

Image public domain via wikipedia.org.

The use of computers and the concern for security increase daily. This annual observance, which began in 1988, reminds people to protect their computers, programs and data at home and at work. More than 1,500 companies participate worldwide.

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com user “methodshop.”

Nov 30, 1929. As influential host of televisions American Bandstand from 1957 to 1987, Dick Clark helped to promote and codify rock and roll and black rhythm and blues to mainstream audiences as those sounds wound their way into the country’s psyche.

Richard Wagstaff Clark was born at Bronxville, NY. After early stops in New York radio he moved to Philadelphia, PA, where he became the host of a local music show called Bandstand. The show went national in 1957, and soon Clark was talking to every teenager in America. His easygoing style and youthful, clean-cut look became a constant in American popular culture. As the entrepreneur of a successful television production company and as the host of innumerable music shows, awards ceremonies and prime-time specials, Clark became the engaging emcee to four decades of entertainment culture. Americas Oldest Teenager died Apr 18, 2012, at Santa Monica, CA.

Image: Public Domain via Wikipedia.org

Feast day of the apostle and martyr Andrew, who died about AD 60. Patron saint of Scotland.

Image by Artus Wolffort – Web Gallery of Art

Nov 30, 1835. Celebrated American author, whose books include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Prince and the Pauper. Born at Florida, MO, Twain is quoted as saying, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it.” He did. Twain died at Redding, CT, Apr 21, 1910 (just one day after Halley’s Comet perihelion).

Image by Mathew Brady –  Public Domain, courtesy of the United States Library of Congress‘s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cwpbh.04761.

Nov 30, 1931. Americas favorite all-purpose cookbook was self-published on this date by Irma Rombauer (1877 1962). Rombauer was a comforting voice for cooks during the Depression, and the book grew into an institution. The first commercial edition of the book appeared in 1936, and it offered a revolutionary action format (chronologically ordered ingredients followed by instructions) now commonplace in cookbooks. The numerous editions overseen by Rombauer and later her daughter and grandson sold more than 14 million copies.

See http://www.thejoykitchen.com/ for more information.

Image Courtesy of Pixabay user Wow_Pho.

Nov 30, 1874. Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, British statesman and the first man to be made an honorary citizen of the United States (by an act of Congress, Apr 9, 1963), was born at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England. Died Jan 24, 1965, at London, England. Dedicated to Britain andtotal victory over Germany, Churchill as minister of defense and prime minister was a strong leader during WWII. A stirring public speaker, Churchill said upon becoming prime minister in 1940, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

Image public domain, Yousuf Karsh photographer, 1941.

Dec 1, 1891. James Naismith was a teacher of physical education at the International YMCA Training School at Springfield, MA. To create an indoor sport that could be played during the winter months, he nailed up peach baskets at opposite ends of the gym and gave students soccer balls to toss into them. Thus was born the game of basketball.

Dec 1, 1941. The Director of Civilian Defense, former New York Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, signed a formal order creating the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), a US Air Force Auxiliary. The CAP has a three-part mission: to provide an aerospace education program, a CAP cadet program and an emergency services program.

On the first day of each month, the genealogy community is urged to back up their genealogy data and all computer data.

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com, CC0.

Dec 1, 1955. Anniversary of the arrest of Rosa Parks, at Montgomery, AL, for refusing to give up her seat and move to the back of a municipal bus. Her arrest triggered a yearlong boycott of the city bus system and led to legal actions that ended racial segregation on municipal buses throughout the southern US. The event has been called the birth of the modern civil rights movement. Rosa McCauley Parks was born at Tuskegee, AL, Feb 4, 1913.

Image: Public Domain via  wikipedia.org

In 1988, the World Health Organization designated the first of December as World AIDS Day, a day to remember those lost to the AIDS pandemic.

Dec 2, 1982. Barney C. Clark, 61, became the first recipient of a permanent artificial heart. The operation was performed at the University of Utah Medical Center at Salt Lake City. Near death at the time of the operation, Clark survived almost 112 days after the implantation. He died Mar 23, 1983.

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com user AndCan, CC0.

Dec 2, 1859. Abolitionist leader who is remembered for his raid on the US Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Brown was hanged for treason at Charles Town, WV.

Dec 2, 1923. Soprano born Maria Anna Sofia Cecilia Kalogeropoulos to Greek immigrant parents at New York, NY. One of the most prominent artists of the 20th century, La Divina led the postwar revival of bel canto operas. A dramatic persona on and off stage, Callas epitomized the diva in popular culture. To me, the art of music is magnificent, and I cannot bear to see it treated in a shabby way, she once stated. Callas died at Paris, France, Sept 16, 1977.

Dec 2, 1823. President James Monroe, in his annual message toCongress, enunciated the doctrine that bears his name and that was long hailed as a statement of US policy: In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have never taken any part. . . . We shouldconsider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety.

Dec 2, 1901. American King Camp Gillette designed the first razor with disposable blades. Up until this time, men shaved with a straight-edge razor that they sharpened on a leather strap.

Dec 3, 1927. The embodiment of easy listening as both a genre and way of life, Andy Williams made a career out of smooth balladry and clean-cut entertainment. Born at Wall Lake, IA, Williams sang with his brothers the Williams Brothers before going it alone and issuing a string of hits in the 1960s. His signature song was the Henry Mancini Johnny Mercer composition Moon River. Williams also hosted a popular Emmy Award winning television variety show from 1962 to 1971, and was well known for his Christmas specials and holiday music showcases. Later in life, Williams had his own theater in the entertainment mecca of Branson, MO. He died thereSept 25, 2012.

Dec 3, 1984. At Bhopal, India, a leak of deadly gas (methyl isocyanate) at a Union Carbide Corp plant killed more than 4,000 persons and injured more than 200,000 in the worlds worst industrial accident.

Celebrated the first Saturday in December, Chester Greenwood Day honors the inventor of the ear muff!

Dec 3, 1967. Dr. Christiaan Barnard, a South African surgeon, performed the worlds first successful heart transplantation at Cape Town, South Africa.

On 3 December 1818, Illinois was admitted as the 21st state in the Union.

Dec 4, 1981. This nighttime serial was set in California wine country and originally focused on Angela Channing’s determined efforts to gain control of the Falcon Crest vineyard and winery; later in the nine-year run the emphasis turned to crime. Famous actors who were a part of the cast at one time or another include Jane Wyman, Lorenzo Lamas, Cliff Robertson, Lana Turner, Gina Lollobrigida, Parker Stevenson, Anne Archer, Apollonia, Cesar Romero, Morgan Fairchild, Ken Olin and Mary Ann Mobley. In the season finale, Angela received Falcon Crest and everyone was happy.