Well this one is off to a good start! First on the birthday list is Saint Augustine. That's of Hippo- he's one of the most important Christian theologians. And he was born in 354.
Second on the list is... Augustine. Aha, I hear you cry: But he's not a saint, so it's not just a repeat. Well aren't you the clever one! This time it's Augustine of Canterbury, so called because he was the very first Archbishop of Canterbury. Actually, he might be cheating to get on this list, as it seems his birthday is a bit uncertain. But we'll let him have it, since he didn't get to be a saint. But we'll keep an eye on him, and make sure his dishonesty and attempts to horn in on birthdays isn't what kept him from sainthood.
A very interesting man was born today, John Dickinson. He was a prominent lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania. He was in the forefront of the Second Continental Congress when it came to protesting against the tyranny of Parliament. However, he favored reconciliation rather than independence. So when the debate over Independence came up, he spoke eloquently against it. He also refused to sign it or vote in favor of it. When he was forced to leave Congress because of that, he resigned... and immediately joined the Pennsylvania militia. This whole story is yet another reason to watch the movie (or play) "1776". Dickinson is very well presented there, and his integrity makes him worthy of respect, even to those who disagree with some of his actions.
A couple of prominent Civil War figures popped out on this date. First was Admiral John A. Dahlgren. He commanded US naval forces in several campaigns along the Eastern seaboard during the War, and also invented the Dahlgren Gun, one of the most successful cannons of the time. He was born in 1809.
Five years later, along came "Fighting Joe" Hooker. Contrary to the common belief, he didn't leave his name to posterity to represent a certain class of woman. But he might as well have. He was brave, and did a terrific job as a Division and Corps commander. When he commanded an entire army though, with nobody directly above him... not so much. He did a great job as an administrator though, and among other things gave the Army of the Potomac their very first unit patches, which did wonders for morale and esprit de corps. So that's a good thing for him.
And in an ironic note, another person connected to the War (sort of) was born in 1833. He was a great actor, probably the greatest Shakespearean actor of 19th century America, if not the world. His name was Edwin Booth. Oh, and he had a brother named John Wilkes. He has another interesting connection to the Lincoln family: At some point (I always thought it was years after the War, but it appears that it was during the fighting), Edwin saw a man get caught between a crowd and a train that had started to move. He grabbed the man's collar, and pulled him to safety. The man recognized his savior, of course, but the man was unknown to Booth. For several months, until he got a letter from a staff officer, who told him who the man was. His name was Robert Todd Lincoln. And now you know, the rest of the story.
Hey, today is also the birthday of Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote, among other things, Treasure Island. Which I today auditioned for a role in, as it's being performed by the local theater group in February. Better get your tickets quickly, as it's selling out fast!
Did you ever watch the show "Soap" back in the day? Pretty darn funny spoof of the soap opera genre- better than anything other than "Soapdish" (perhaps). Well Richard Mulligan was on it, and was brilliant. He was also on some other show- I think it was called "Empty Nest" or something similar. Anyhow, his birthday is also today.
Ooh, if you're like a million years old, and don't want to have anything to do with any newfangled music, then you can celebrate the birthday of Mary Lou Metzger. She was/is a singer, who is best known for being on the Lawrence Welk Show. No doubt she wears dentures today, cuz good lord was that show saccharine sweet.
A way cooler person has a birthday today too. Dr. Jan Itor himself, Neil Flynn. He was funny in Scrubs- as was almost everyone- though I confess I found his shtick a little old by about Season 5. But they did a fairly good job of keeping it interesting.
Gerard Butler screamed "THIS IS SCOTLAND!" when he came out of the womb on this date. I saw him in Albuquerque once when he was filming something in town. He was sitting on a stool in a store. I found it hilarious, because he was leaning forward, and so the back of his pants had pulled out, and you could see that he was wearing "tightie whities". And mind you, this was after 300 had been out. What a dork.
And that seems like a pretty good image to leave in our collective minds as we finish. Good luck with the mind-bleach.
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