Today's Puzzle
Who was the smallest professional basketball player in a male dominated league?
Note: She is the smallest, but tied for the shortest. Muggsy Bogues of the NBA was also 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m), but weighed 135 lb (61 kg) making him bigger.
What Happened On
First Woman to Play Professional Basketball
November 27, 1968
Penny Ann Early becomes the first woman to play professional basketball. She had earned her jockey's license, making her the first female jockey. However, male jockeys refused to race with her in an attempt to block her from competing. In response, the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association signed her to their team, even though she had no basketball experience. She played for one play.
At 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) and 112 pounds (50.8 kg), she was also the smallest player in a male dominated professional basketball league.
Note: She is the smallest, but tied for the shortest. Muggsy Bogues of the NBA was also 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m), but weighed 135 lb (61 kg) making him bigger.
Also sprach Zarathustra
November 27, 1896
Richard Strauss' masterpiece is first performed (Frankfurt, Germany). The initial fanfare, titled "Sunrise", was used in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
Baldwin of Boulogne entering Edessa in 1098 (Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury 1840)
Baldwin of Boulogne entering Edessa in 1098 (Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury 1840)
First Crusade
November 27, 1095
During the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II gave an impassioned sermon to a large audience of French nobles and clergy where he spoke about a new kind of war, an armed pilgrimage, and of rewards in heaven, where remission of sins was offered to any who might die in the undertaking. The goals of the crusade included repelling invading Turks from Anatolia, the Christian re-conquest of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and the freeing of the Eastern Christians from Muslim rule.
The crusade would last until 1099.
First Extra-Solar Atmosphere
November 27, 2001
The Hubble Space Telescope detects sodium in the atmosphere of the planet HD 209458 b, the first planetary atmosphere outside our solar system to be measured. It is about 150 light-years from Earth.
Austria's Hofburg Palace Fire
November 27, 1992
Austria's Hofburg Palace catches on fire with damage estimated at $90,000,000.
The Dinah Shore Show
November 27, 1951
The Dinah Shore Show variety program debuts on NBC, starring Dinah Shore (1951-57).
Shore won a total of 10 Emmy awards, more than any other performer.
At eighteen months old, she developed polio. The disease left her with a deformed foot and limp.
She was the first Jewish cheerleader at Vanderbilt University.
First British Women Police Officers
November 27, 1914
Mary Allen and E.F. Harburn begin patrolling in Grantham, Linclonshire.
First White Man to Cross the Mohave Desert
November 27, 1826
American explorer Jedediah Smith arrives in San Diego. He and his crew had set out from the Great Salt Lake, Utah in August.
First Jewish Settlement in America
November 27, 1755
Joseph Salvador establishes the first American Jewish settlement in South Carolina.
Birthdays
Caroline Kennedy (Caroline Bouvier Kennedy)
Born November 27, 1957
American author, attorney, diplomat, and U.S. Ambassador to Japan (2013-17) and U.S. Ambassador to Australia (2022‑). She is the last surviving child of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy.
Jimi Hendrix (James Marshall Hendrix)
Born November 27, 1942 d. 1970
American singer. Hendrix created one of rock's most iconic moments by setting his guitar on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival (1967) and was the highest paid act at Woodstock (1969).
In 1961, after multiple offenses of riding in a stolen car, he was given the option of prison or military service and joined the Army, where he was awarded the prestigious Screaming Eagles patch. Forming a band called the Casuals, he began playing at base clubs. However, he soon began neglecting his duties and after sleeping while on duty and failing to report for bed checks, he was deemed unfit for military service and given a "discharge under honorable conditions".
Hendrix died from choking on his own vomit while intoxicated with barbiturates. His girlfriend later revealed that Hendrix had taken nine of her prescribed Vesparax sleeping tablets, 18 times the recommended dosage.
Music: Purple Haze (1967), All Along the Watchtower (1968), and Foxy Lady (1968).
Bruce Lee (Lee Jun-fan)
Born November 27, 1940 d. 1973
Chinese-American martial arts expert, actor. Considered one of the most influential martial artists of all time, he founded the martial arts style Jeet Kune Do (1967, The Way of the Intercepting Fist).
In May 1973, Lee collapsed, suffering from seizures and headaches and was diagnosed with cerebral edema. In July, he took the painkiller Equagesic for a headache and then took a nap. Later when friends were unable to wake him, a doctor was called, but he was unable to revive him. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead on arrival at the age of 32. The autopsy showed that his brain was severely swollen. The swelling was believed due to a reaction to the Equagesic. Others speculate that the muscle relaxers Lee was taking for a back injury also contributed to the medication reaction. It has also been speculated that over-exertion and heat stroke may have also contributed to his death. Lee had his underarm sweat glands removed in late 1972, and had been practicing in hot temperatures on both May 10th and July 20th, which may have exacerbated his edema.
Film: Fists of Fury (1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973). TV: The Green Hornet (1966-67, Kato).
Buffalo Bob Smith (Robert Emil Schmidt)
Born November 27, 1917 d. 1998
American entertainer. TV: Howdy Doody (1947-60, host).
Drafter of the Declaration of Independence
Robert R. Livingston
Born November 27, 1746 d. 1813
American patriot, member of the Continental Congress. He was a member of the "Committee of Five" that drafted the Declaration of Independence, along with Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Roger Sherman. He administered the oath of office to George Washington in 1789.
In 1798 he secured a monopoly for steam navigation in New York State and in 1801 was appointed minister to France, where he met Robert Fulton and began funding Fulton's steamboat development.
Kelly Bundy
Born November 27, 1972
character on the TV show Married… With Children played by Christina Applegate.
Erik Menéndez
Born November 27, 1970
American murderer. In 1989, he and his brother, Lyle Menéndez, committed the shotgun murders of their wealthy parents in their Los Angeles home. After highly-publicized trials, they are both serving life sentences.
Michael (d. 2018) and James Lanier
Born November 27, 1969
American giants. World's tallest identical twins, 7 ft. 6 in. (228.6cm).
Source: Guinness Book of World Records
Robin Givens
Born November 27, 1964
American actress and ex-wife of Mike Tyson. TV: Head of the Class (Darlene).
Fisher Stevens (Stephen Fisher)
Born November 27, 1963
American actor. TV: Key West (star).
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Bill Nye (William Sanford Nye)
Born November 27, 1955
American actor, science educator. TV: PBS children's Emmy-winning science show Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993-98, host) and the Netflix series Bill Nye Saves the World (2017‑).
Barbara Anderson
Born November 27, 1945
American Emmy-winning actress. TV: Ironside (Eve Whitfield).
Eddie Rabbitt (Edward Thomas Rabbitt)
Born November 27, 1941 d. 1998
American singer, songwriter. Music: Every Which Way But Loose (1978, #1) and I Love a Rainy Night (1980, #1).
Benigno Aquino Jr.
Born November 27, 1932 d. 1983
Philippine politician, dissident. He was assassinated at the Manila airport upon returning to the Philippines.
Charles Austin Beard
Born November 27, 1874 d. 1948
American historian, known for his economic interpretation of history, co-author with his wife of The Rise of American Civilization (1927).
Chaim Weizmann
Born November 27, 1874 d. 1952
Israeli statesman, biochemist. He was instrumental in the Balfour Declaration (1917), which established support for a national home for Jews in Palestine and served as Israel's first president (1948-52).
Sir Charles Scott Sherrington
Born November 27, 1857 d. 1952
English physiologist. He shared the 1932 Nobel Prize in medicine with Edgar Adrian for their work on the functions of neurons.
Elizabeth "Long Liz" Stride
Born November 27, 1843 d. 1888
English crime victim. She is the third known victim of Jack the Ripper. She was not mutilated like the other victims. It is believed the Ripper was interrupted during this crime, as he went on to murder and mutilate another woman an hour later.
Anders Celsius
Born November 27, 1701 d. 1744
Swedish astronomer. Inventor of the Celsius (centigrade) thermometer (1742).
Deaths
First Computer Programmer
Ada Lovelace (Augusta Ada King-Noel, Countess of Lovelace)
Died November 27, 1852 b. 1815
English mathematician and the first computer programmer (1842). She is chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's (the father of computers) mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. Her notes on the engine include an algorithm to calculate Bernoulli numbers. This is recognized as the first algorithm intended to be carried out by a machine, making her the first computer programmer.
Eddie Mekka
Died November 27, 2021 b. 1952
American actor. TV: Laverne & Shirley (1976-83, Carmine Ragusa).
Adolfo (Adolfo F. Sardina)
Died November 27, 2021 b. 1933
Cuban-born American award-winning fashion designer.
Director of Altered States
Ken Russell
Died November 27, 2011 b. 1927
British director. Film: Women In Love (1969), The Music Lover (1971), and Altered States (1979).
John Carradine (Richmond Reed Carradine)
Died November 27, 1988 b. 1906
American actor.
Ross McWhirter
Died November 27, 1975 b. 1925
British writer, political activist, co-founder, with his twin brother Norris McWhirter, of Guinness Book of Records (1954). He was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) after offering a £50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for several bombings in England that were publicly claimed by the IRA.
Eugene O'Neill (Eugene Gladstone O'Neill)
Died November 27, 1953 b. 1888
American Nobel-Pulitzer-winning playwright. O'Neill is also the only playwright to win four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. He was also Time magazine's 1924 Man of the Year.
Writings: The Iceman Cometh (1946) and Long Day's Journey into Night (1956, published posthumously).
Jonah LeRoy "Doane" Robinson
Died November 27, 1946 b. 1856
American historian, South Dakota's state historian. He conceived the idea for Mount Rushmore in order to attract tourism to South Dakota (1923). He also helped design South Dakota's state flag.
Baby Face Nelson (George Nelson)
Died November 27, 1934 b. 1908
American criminal, member of John Dillinger's gang.
Clement Studebaker
Died November 27, 1901 b. 1831
American carriage manufacturer. He and his brothers founded H & C Studebaker Company, which built Conestoga wagons and carriages. The Studebaker company didn't begin making their famous automobiles until 1904, several years after his death.
John Dunlap
Died November 27, 1812 b. 1747
American printer, publisher. He and David C. Claypoole published the first successful daily newspaper in U.S., the Pennsylvania Packet & General Advertiser (Sept 21, 1784). He also printed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus)
Died November 27, 8 B.C. b. 65 B.C.
Roman poet. He was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian).
The Latin aphorism "Carpe diem" meaning seize the day is from book 1 of his work Odes (23 BC).
Quote: "Nothing's beautiful from every point of view."
Quote: "Your own safety is at stake when your neighbor's wall is ablaze."
Quote: "The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes."