Today's Puzzle
A mathematician finishes his meal and writes "√(-1/64)"
What did he mean?
What Happened On
In God We Trust
July 11, 1955
The phrase "In God We Trust" becomes required by law to appear on all U.S. currency. It had first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864.
In 1956, it became the official motto of the U.S.
Burr shooting Hamilton
Burr shooting Hamilton
Vice-President Aaron Burr Kills Alexander Hamilton in Duel
July 11, 1804
U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Burr, while still Vice President, was running for governor of New York State and Hamilton campaigned against him as unworthy. Burr took offense and challenged Hamilton to a duel in which Burr shot and mortally wounded him. Hamilton died the following day. Burr was charged with murder, as dueling was illegal, but was never brought to trial.
There is much debate over the actual sequence of events during the duel. Some witness saying Hamilton intentionally wasted his first shot (it was later found to have hit the trees well above Burr's head). A common practice in duels of the day was for both parties to intentionally miss and then call the duel over, with both parties saving their honor.
Other's say Hamilton didn't fire until after he was shot - his reflexes pulling the trigger as he fell to the ground. Hamilton had written a letter beforehand stating that he did not intend to fire - but that might have been only to shine a bad light on Burr in case he lost.
Hamilton's son had died in a duel at the same location in 1801.
U.S. Marine Corps
July 11, 1798
The U.S. Marine Corps is reinstituted by Congress in preparation for war with France.
The U.S. Marine Corps began with Continental Marines of the American Revolutionary War on November 10, 1775. That date is regarded and celebrated as the date of the Marine Corps' birthday. Both the Continental Navy and Continental Marines were disbanded in 1783 after the American Revolution.
Boring through a Quaker's tongue with a hot iron
Boring through a Quaker's tongue with a hot iron
First Quakers
July 11, 1656
The first Quakers in America arrive, Ann Austin and Mary Fisher. They were imprisoned and then expelled from Boston for being Quakers. Massachusetts would later that year enact punishments for Quakers that included mutilation and eventually enacted the death penalty for being a Quaker.
Quakers, also called the Religious Society of Friends, are a Christian religious group that began in 1650s England and who are generally united in a belief in the ability of each person to experientially access "that of God in every one." They are known for their refusal to participate in war, wearing of plain dress, refusal to swear oaths, opposition to slavery, and teetotalism.
The Puritans were Protestant Christians who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices.
U.S. Presidents Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon were Quakers.
God's No Joking Matter
July 11, 1993
A Saudi newspaper editor is arrested for printing a B.C. comic strip in which the cartoon character asks "God, if you're up there, give me a sign." He is then rained on and replies "Well, we know two things. He's up there, and He's got a sense of humor." It is against the Muslim religion to question the existence of God.
Skylab Crashes to Earth
July 11, 1979
The 82-ton U.S. space station, launched in 1973, crashes to earth. About 22 tons of it were expected to survive reentry prompting much public concern. However, it landed safely over the Indian Ocean and Australia. The Shire of Esperance in Western Australia fined NASA $400 for littering.
First Person to Swim the English Channel Under Water
July 11, 1962
Fred Baldasare of the U.S. uses scuba gear to become the first person to swim the English Channel under water.
Dean Martin
July 11, 1946
The legendary singer Dean Martin records his first four songs. Two weeks later, he would team up with Jerry Lewis to form the famous comedy duo Martin and Lewis.
FCC commissioners inspect the latest in television, 1939
FCC commissioners inspect the latest in television, 1939
The Federal Communications Commission
July 11, 1934
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) begins operation. Its functions include regulating radio and television.
USS Bonita in 1909
USS Bonita in 1909
First U.S. Submarine Accident
July 11, 1910
The submarine USS Bonita (SS-15, later renamed USS C-4) accidentally rams the gunboat USS Castine below the waterline. The Castine had to be beached to prevent it from sinking. The crew of 15 was unharmed.
Electric Light
July 11, 1892
The U.S. Patent Office declares that Joseph Swan of England had invented the carbon filament incandescent lamp, a year before Thomas Edison.
Henry VIII Excommunicated
July 11, 1533
Pope Clement VII excommunicates the King of England Henry VIII from the Roman Catholic Church for remarrying after his divorce.
Birthdays
First U.S. Air Hero of World War II
Colin Purdie Kelly, Jr.
Born July 11, 1915 d. 1941
American soldier. First U.S. air hero of World War II. He died when his B-17 was shot down by the Japanese, for which he was awarded the distinguished Service Cross. His was the first American B-17 shot down in combat.
E.B. White (Elwyn Brooks White)
Born July 11, 1899 d. 1985
American Pulitzer-winning author, essayist. Writings: Stuart Little (1945) and Charlotte's Web (1952).
McGowan with Our Gang actors
McGowan with Our Gang actors
Our Gang Director
Robert F. McGowan
Born July 11, 1882 d. 1955
American film director. Directed the Our Gang comedies (1922-33). He quit directing Our Gang after he no longer wanted to deal with the hassles of stage mothers and child stars.
Photograph of John Quincy Adams taken in 1843
Photograph of John Quincy Adams taken in 1843
John Quincy Adams
Born July 11, 1767 d. 1848
American politician. 6th U.S. President (1825-29), U.S. House of Representatives (1831-48, Massachusetts), 8th United States Secretary of State (1817-25), U.S. Senator (1803-08, Massachusetts), son of the 2nd president John Adams. According to legend, Adams stored an alligator for the Marquis de Lafayette in the bathroom of the White House's East Room for several months.
His is the oldest existing photograph of a U.S. President. It was taken in 1843, after he left office.
James K. Polk was the first U.S. President of whom a photo still exists that was taken while in office (1849).
William Henry Harrison was the first U.S. president photographed while in office, posing for a photo after delivering his 1841 inaugural speech. However, that photo has been lost.
Photo Credit: Johnmaxmena
Photo Credit: Johnmaxmena
Leon Spinks
Born July 11, 1953 d. 2021
American boxer, world heavyweight champion (1978), and 1976 Olympic gold medal winner.
Tab Hunter (Arthur Andrew Kelm)
Born July 11, 1931 d. 2018
American actor. With his surfer-boy looks, he was one of the hottest teen idols of the 1950s. TV: The Tab Hunter Show (1960-61) and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1977-78, Mary's father - after plastic surgery). Film: Island of Desire (1952).
Theodore Maiman
Born July 11, 1927 d. 2007
American physicist. He developed the first working laser (1960). His laser utilized a synthetic pink ruby crystal as the lasing medium and a helical xenon flash lamp as the excitation source.
The term "laser" is an acronym for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation". A laser emits light that is coherent which allows the beam to stay narrow over long distances and to be focused to a tight spot, enabling applications such as laser cutting and laser pointers.
Dan Barry
Born July 11, 1923 d. 1997
American cartoonist. He drew the Tarzan (1947-48) and Flash Gordon (1951-90) comic strips. He also wrote and drew for the Indiana Jones comic books.
Yul Brynner (Taidje Khan)
Born July 11, 1920 d. 1985
Russian-born Oscar-Tony-winning actor. He portrayed the King of Siam in 4,625 Broadway performances of The King and I (1951-85).
In 1943 at age 22, Brynner became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He renounced his US citizenship in 1965 because he had lost his tax exemption as an American resident working abroad and would be bankrupted by his tax and penalty debts imposed by the Internal Revenue Service. He then became a Swiss citizen.
A heavy smoker since age 12, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1983, even though he had quit smoking in 1971. He would die of the disease two years later.
Rudolf Abel (Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher)
Born July 11, 1903 d. 1971
Soviet spy. He was captured by the FBI (1957) and later exchanged for American U-2 pilot Gary Powers (1962). Abel had been convicted of spying in the hollow nickel spy case, in which he transported microfilm inside a hollowed-out nickel.
Thomas Mitchell
Born July 11, 1892 d. 1962
American Oscar-Tony-Emmy-winning actor. Broadway: Hazel Flagg (1953, Tony). Film: Stagecoach (1939, Oscar) and Gone with the Wind (1939, Scarlett O'Hara's father).
John Wanamaker
Born July 11, 1838 d. 1922
American merchant, U.S. Postmaster General (1889-93). He introduced the use of mailboxes in an effort to make mail delivery more efficient (1891). Until then the mailman would knock on your door and hand deliver the mail.
Thomas Bowdler
Born July 11, 1754 d. 1825
English physician. The term "bowdlerize" - meaning self-righteous censorship - is derived from his rewrites of Shakespeare and parts of the Old Testament in which he removed all text he considered offensive.
Frederick I
Born July 11, 1657 d. 1713
first King of Prussia (1701-13).
Robert I
Born July 11, 1274 d. 1329
King of Scotland (1306-29).
Deaths
First African-American Elected Judge in the U.S.
Mifflin Wistar Gibbs
Died July 11, 1915 b. 1823
American judge. First black elected judge in the U.S. (1873, Little Rock, Arkansas). In 1858, angered by California passing discriminatory laws preventing blacks from owning property, not allowing them to give evidence against a white person in court, and requiring them to wear badges showing they had paid for the privilege to live there, he moved to British Columbia. He later moved back to the U.S.
Shelley Duvall (Shelley Alexis Duvall)
Died July 11, 2024 b. 1949
American actress. Film: The Shining (1979), Nashville (1975), 3 Women (1977), and Annie Hall (1977). TV: Faerie Tale Theater (1982-87, host, narrator).
Lady Bird Johnson (Claudia Alta Taylor)
Died July 11, 2007 b. 1912
American First Lady (1963-69), wife of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. As an infant, her nursemaid said that she was as "purty as a ladybird" and she used the name the rest of her life.
Johnson advocated for beautifying the nation's cities and highways, using the slogan "Where flowers bloom, so does hope".
Barnard Hughes (Bernard Hughes)
Died July 11, 2006 b. 1915
American Tony-Emmy-winning actor. TV: Guiding Light (Dr. Bruce Banning) and The Cavanaughs (Pop Cavanaugh).
Sir Laurence Olivier
Died July 11, 1989 b. 1907
British Oscar and Emmy-winning actor. He starred in and directed Hamlet (1948), which won five Oscars and was the first British film to win a Best Picture Oscar. He was knighted in 1947.
Ross Macdonald (Kenneth Millar)
Died July 11, 1983 b. 1915
American mystery author. Creator of the private eye Lew Archer.
Inventor of Technicolor
Herbert Thomas Kalmus
Died July 11, 1963 b. 1881
American film pioneer. Inventor of Technicolor (1912).
George Gershwin (Jacob Gershvin)
Died July 11, 1937 b. 1898
American Pulitzer-winning composer. Along with his brother Ira Gershwin. Music: Rhapsody in Blue (1923) and Of Thee I Sing (1931).
William Shippen, Jr.
Died July 11, 1808 b. 1736
American physician. He was the first systematic teacher of anatomy, surgery, and obstetrics in the United States and one of the first to use cadavers in the teaching of anatomy (1762). He gave the First anatomy lecture in America.
James Smith
Died July 11, 1806 b. circa 1719
American patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence.