April Fourth is kind of a big day in world history. I mean, look at all the important birthdays that fall on this day: baseball greats Tris Speaker and Gil Hodges; Poet Laureate Maya Angelou; newsman John Cameron Swayze (who hosted the first-ever television coverage of the presidential National Conventions in 1948); directors Eric Rohmer and Andrei Tarkovsky; actors Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Perkins (which makes watching Psycho part of the ritual of the day), Chloris Leachman, Hugo Weaving, and Heath Ledger; 80s hair-band dude Mick Mars (don’t laugh—he was actually a very talented guitarist); and legendary bluesman Muddy Waters. Also celebrating birthdays of a sort today are the City of Los Angeles (incorporated 4/4/1850) and Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
Martin Luther King Jr. died on this day, which is always the big news each year. So did Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick the Great. The layout of the American flag that we use (13 stripes representing the original colonies, and one star for each state, which meant twenty stars at the time) was formalized on this day. The U.S. Senate declared war on the Central Powers in WWI. The treaty that formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was signed on this day. Hungary was liberated from the Nazis on this day, as was Addis Ababa (one of the coolest city names ever). Martin Luther (the original) was ordained a priest on 4/4/1507. 180 years later, also on this day, James II of England would formally declare freedom of worship in England. The Rhodes Scholarship was founded. “Dixie,” the marching song of the Confederate Army, was first played publicly. Sir Francis Drake landed safely after circumnavigating the globe. Ugly old Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia was opened on this day, but it has since been demolished, and I doubt anyone misses it. The World Trade Center was opened, too, a fact which is not as much fun as it used to be.
April 4th is kind of a big day in the continuing battle for equality in this country. The first female mayor in American history (Susanna Salter) took office in some Kansas backwater. The first Hispanic mayor also took office on this day (Henry Cisneros in San Antonio). And Sally Ride became the first woman in space.
In sports, well, Hank Aaron hit his 714th home run, but this time of year is for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Because of the way the schedule works, frequently either the Final or the semifinals are played on this day, so there’s been a lot of great basketball on April 4th over the years; the most notable moment is probably North Carolina State’s miraculous last-second victory over Houston, 4/4/1983.
Sticking with basketball history: Allan Houston, the slender, cerebral ballplayer who would star for the University of Tennessee and the Detroit Pistons before becoming one of the game’s best shooters (an incredible .402 career average on 3-pointers) while manning the 2-guard spot for my beloved New York Knicks and leading them into the Finals in 1999, was born on April 4th, 1971 in Louisville, Kentucky. And, many miles east of Louisville, at the Medical College of Virginia, I was born at about the same time. So, happy birthday to Allan Houston and to everyone else named above, and happy birthday to me, as well.
Martin Luther King Jr. died on this day, which is always the big news each year. So did Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick the Great. The layout of the American flag that we use (13 stripes representing the original colonies, and one star for each state, which meant twenty stars at the time) was formalized on this day. The U.S. Senate declared war on the Central Powers in WWI. The treaty that formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was signed on this day. Hungary was liberated from the Nazis on this day, as was Addis Ababa (one of the coolest city names ever). Martin Luther (the original) was ordained a priest on 4/4/1507. 180 years later, also on this day, James II of England would formally declare freedom of worship in England. The Rhodes Scholarship was founded. “Dixie,” the marching song of the Confederate Army, was first played publicly. Sir Francis Drake landed safely after circumnavigating the globe. Ugly old Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia was opened on this day, but it has since been demolished, and I doubt anyone misses it. The World Trade Center was opened, too, a fact which is not as much fun as it used to be.
April 4th is kind of a big day in the continuing battle for equality in this country. The first female mayor in American history (Susanna Salter) took office in some Kansas backwater. The first Hispanic mayor also took office on this day (Henry Cisneros in San Antonio). And Sally Ride became the first woman in space.
In sports, well, Hank Aaron hit his 714th home run, but this time of year is for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Because of the way the schedule works, frequently either the Final or the semifinals are played on this day, so there’s been a lot of great basketball on April 4th over the years; the most notable moment is probably North Carolina State’s miraculous last-second victory over Houston, 4/4/1983.
Sticking with basketball history: Allan Houston, the slender, cerebral ballplayer who would star for the University of Tennessee and the Detroit Pistons before becoming one of the game’s best shooters (an incredible .402 career average on 3-pointers) while manning the 2-guard spot for my beloved New York Knicks and leading them into the Finals in 1999, was born on April 4th, 1971 in Louisville, Kentucky. And, many miles east of Louisville, at the Medical College of Virginia, I was born at about the same time. So, happy birthday to Allan Houston and to everyone else named above, and happy birthday to me, as well.
