Today's Puzzle
When is a door not a door?
What Happened On
Family Watching TV, 1950s
Family Watching TV, 1950s
First Regularly-Scheduled U.S. TV Broadcasts
May 11, 1928
By General Electric station WGY of Schenectady, New York. Programs were broadcast Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Christmas Banned in Massachusetts
May 11, 1659
Celebration of the Christmas holiday is made illegal in Massachusetts. The Puritans associated such celebrations with paganism and idolatry. Violators were fined. This remained in effect until 1681.
Columbus' Fourth Voyage
May 11, 1502
The explorer Christopher Columbus sets sail on his fourth voyage to the "New World." He was searching for a westward passage to the Indian Ocean mainland. It was on this trip in 1504 that Columbus frightened the natives into thinking he made the Moon go out by correctly predicting a lunar eclipse.
Obsessed Letterman Fan
May 11, 1992
Margaret Ray is arrested for the 7th time after trespassing on David Letterman's property. She had previously been arrested for breaking into his home, sleeping in his bedroom, and stealing his Porsche.
First Woman to Head an FBI Field Office
May 11, 1992
Burdena Pasenelli is selected to head the field office in Anchorage, Alaska.
Youngest Jockey to Win the Kentucky Derby
May 11, 1892
15-year-old Alonzo "Lonnie" Clayton rides Azra to victory in the Kentucky Derby. Source: The Great Black Jockeys
Civil War
May 11, 1862
The Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia is blown up by her commander to prevent capture by Union forces. It had participated in the Battle of the Ironclads.
Minnesota
May 11, 1858
Minnesota becomes the 32nd U.S. state.
Mary Dyer being led to the gallows in Boston
Mary Dyer being led to the gallows in Boston
Religious Freedom
May 11, 1682
Massachusetts repeals its law requiring capital punishment for Quakers reentering the territory after banishment. Mary Dyer was hanged in 1660 for violating this law.
Quakers are a Protestant Christian denomination that began in 1650s England.
U.S. Presidents Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon were Quakers.
Birthdays
First Newborn to Receive Gene Therapy
Andrew Gobea
Born May 11, 1993
American medical first. He was the first newborn to receive gene therapy, which he was given four days after his birth. His genes were altered to correct ADA enzyme deficiency - an inherited condition known as "bubble boy" disease which makes them unable to fight off most types of infections. Blood was removed from his mother's placenta and umbilical cord immediately after birth, to acquire stem cells.
After treatment, his stem cells produced T cells (white blood cells) that were able to make ADA enzymes using the ADA gene.
At four years old, he needed additional treatment. Hopefully, he will be able to avoid the current standard treatment of regular injections of white blood cells, costing over $100,000 a year.
First Woman to Break the Sound Barrier
Jacqueline Cochran (Bessie Lee Pittman)
Born May 11, 1906 d. 1980
American aviator. She was the first civilian awarded the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal; the first woman to break the sound barrier (1953); the first woman to break Mach 2 (1960); the first woman to pilot a bomber across the North Atlantic (1941); the first woman inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame; the first pilot to make an instrument landing; the first woman President of the Federation Aeronautique lnt'l (58-61); and the first pilot to fly above 20,000 feet with an oxygen mask; the first woman to compete in the famous Bendix Trophy Transcontinental Race across the U.S. (1934) and was the first woman to win it (1938). The Associated Press named her "Woman of the Year in Business" for her cosmetics business (1953, 1954). Source Jackie Cochran: An Autobiography.
Salvador Dali
Born May 11, 1904 d. 1989
Spanish artist. Artwork: The Persistence of Memory (1931). Quote: "A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others."
Berlin at age 18
Berlin at age 18
Irving Berlin (Israel Beilin)
Born May 11, 1888 d. 1989
American songwriter. Music: God Bless America (1938) and White Christmas (1942). Recordings of White Christmas have sold over 100,000,000 copies. Berlin wrote White Christmas, even though he was Jewish.
Chang and Eng Bunker
Born May 11, 1811 d. 1874
Siamese-born American twins joined at the chest. They are they source of the term "Siamese Twins." They toured Europe and the U.S., eventually settling in North Carolina where they married two sisters, who bore them 22 children. "Chang" and "Eng" is Thai for "Left" and "Right."
Won Gold with Injured Leg
Shun Fujimoto
Born May 11, 1950
Japanese gymnast. Shun Fujimoto continued to compete in the 1976 Olympic gymnastics events after severely injuring his right knee during his floor exercise. Fujimoto said that he did not want to let his team down by revealing his injury. His completing and scoring a 9.5 and 9.7 on the side horse and rings event enabled the team to win gold, defeating the team from the Soviet Union by a narrow margin. The dismount from the rings routine from eight feet above ground aggravated his already serious knee injury, dislocating his broken kneecap and tearing ligaments in his right leg. Doctors ordered him to withdraw from further competition or risk permanent disability.
In 2017, Fujimoto was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
See also George Eyser, the one-legged gymnast who won 6 Olympic medals in a single day.
Robert Jarvik
Born May 11, 1946
American surgeon. He performed the first successful implant of a permanent artificial heart (1982) into Dr. Barney Clark.
Doug McClure
Born May 11, 1935 d. 1995
American actor. TV: The Virginian (Trampas).
Mort Sahl
Born May 11, 1927 d. 2021
Canadian-born American comedian, specializing in political and social satire.
Denver Pyle
Born May 11, 1920 d. 1997
American actor. TV: The Dukes of Hazzard (Uncle Jesse) and The Doris Day Show (1968-70, Buck Webb - Doris Day's Father).
Foster Brooks
Born May 11, 1912 d. 2001
American comic, "The Lovable Lush." TV: The drunk on Dean Martin's celebrity roasts. Quote: "I never drew a sober breath from Friday night to Monday. Eight years ago, I quit. A fellow made me a $10 bet I couldn't quit, and I haven't had a drink since. At the time I needed the $10." - Interview with the Los Angeles Times in 1972.
The King of Chutzpah
Phil Silvers (Philip Silversmith)
Born May 11, 1911 d. 1985
American Emmy-winning comic actor. "The King of Chutzpah". Film: Top Banana (1954) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). TV: The Phil Silvers Show (1955-59, MSgt. Ernest G. Bilko, Emmy).
Alma Gluck
Born May 11, 1884 d. 1938
Romanian-born American singer. Music: Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (1915), the first single recording to sell 1,000,000 copies.
Charles Warren Fairbanks
Born May 11, 1852 d. 1918
American politician. 26th U.S. Vice-President (1905-09, under President Theodore Roosevelt), U.S. Senator (1897-1905, Indiana).
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach
Born May 11, 1752 d. 1840
German naturalist and physiologist. He originated the science of natural anthropology and proposed the division of humans into the five species: Caucasian, Mongolian, Malay, American, and African/Ethiopian.
Deaths
Douglas Adams
Died May 11, 2001 b. 1952
British author. Writings: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1980). The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy began in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy. It was then developed into five books, a television series, several stage plays, comics, a computer game, and a 2005 feature film. Don't panic and bring a towel.
Creator of Dick Tracy
Chester Gould
Died May 11, 1985 b. 1900
American cartoonist. Creator of Dick Tracy (1931).
Norman Lloyd (Norman Perlmutter)
Died May 11, 2021 b. 1914
American actor. Film: Saboteur (1942, the man who fell from the Statue of Liberty in the climax) and Dead Poet's Society (1989, Headmaster Gale Nolan). TV: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (co-producer), St. Elsewhere (terminally ill Dr. Auschlander).
With a career that started in 1923 and spanned over 90 years, he worked in theater, radio, television, and film. Lloyd's final film, Trainwreck, was released in 2015, after he turned 100.
Jerry Stiller (Gerald Isaac Stiller)
Died May 11, 2020 b. 1927
American comedian, actor. Half of the comedy team Stiller & Meara with his wife Anne Meara. TV: Seinfeld (1993-98, Frank Castanza) and The King of Queens (1998-2007, Arthur).
Peggy Lipton (Margaret Ann Lipton)
Died May 11, 2019 b. 1946
American actress. TV: The Mod Squad (1969-73, Julie Barnes) and Twin Peaks (1990-91, Norma Jennings). She was married to music producer Quincy Jones (1974-90).
Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett
Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett
Frankie Thomas
Died May 11, 2006 b. 1921
American actor. He played the title role in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950-55).
The series is one of only six shows to appear on all four TV networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, DuMont). The others series were The Arthur Murray Party; Down You Go; The Ernie Kovacs Show; Pantomime Quiz; and The Original Amateur Hour.
Floyd Patterson
Died May 11, 2006 b. 1935
American heavyweight hall of fame boxing champion (1956-59, 1960-62). He was the youngest boxer up to that time to win the world heavyweight title (21 years old) and then first to regain the title. He won gold in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Quote: "They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most."
Photo Credit: Leigh Wiener
Photo Credit: Leigh Wiener
Leigh Wiener
Died May 11, 1993 b. 1929
American photographer. He is the only person to have photographed Marilyn Monroe living, at the scene of her death, and at the morgue. His work appears in the National Portrait Gallery. He died from radiation poisoning received while photographing atomic tests for Life magazine.
Bob Marley (Robert Nesta Marley)
Died May 11, 1981 b. 1945
Jamaican reggae singer. Music: I Shot The Sheriff (1972), Roots, Rock, Reggae (1976), and Jamming (1977).
In 1977, Marley was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma under the nail of his right big toe. Marley rejected his doctors' advice to have his toe amputated, citing his religious beliefs and instead had the nail and nail bed removed. Unfortunately, the cancer spread throughout his body and he died of the disease in 1981 at the age of 36.
Lester Flatt
Died May 11, 1979 b. 1914
American bluegrass singer, with Earl Scruggs. Music: Foggy Mountain Breakdown (1948), and the theme for TV show The Beverly Hillbillies.
Lex Barker (Alexander Crichlow Barker)
Died May 11, 1973 b. 1919
American actor. Film: played Tarzan in five of the movies between 1949 and 1953.
Henry Martyn Robert
Died May 11, 1923 b. 1837
American army engineer and author of Robert's Rules of Order (1876).
Inventor of the Blueprint
Sir John Herschel
Died May 11, 1871 b. 1792
English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, experimental photographer. He invented the blueprint (1842), which allowed for the rapid, and accurate, production of an unlimited number of copies of technical drawings.
John Trumbull
Died May 11, 1831 b. 1750
American poet. He was a political satirist during the American Revolution, with his epic satirical piece M'Fingal.
Robert Treat Paine
Died May 11, 1814 b. 1731
American politician, signer of the Declaration of Independence.