| Pres. George Washington 15th Pres of US (1st Pres under current Constitut'n.) British surrendered to Amer. Colonies Oct 19, 1781, but Washington wasn't inaugurated till April 30, 1789. 1774-1789, 14 different elected presidents: Peyton Randolph - Former attorney of Virgina for Britain's King George. Henry Middleton - One of wealthiest planters in South. John Hancock - The man & his signature. Henry Laurens - Only Pres held as POW by foreign power, unless John McCain gets elected in future. John Jay - Among other things, later became 1st Chief Justice of Supreme Court. Samuel Huntington - Mastered study of law without going to school. Thomas McKean - 50 yr political career, held almost every elected position imaginable John Hanson - Firmly against US Constitution. Elias Boudinot - Foreign affairs expert. Thomas Mifflin - Signed official treaty with Great Britain to end Revolutionary War. Richard Henry Lee - Great uncle of Robert E. Lee. 1st Pres to firmly oppose slavery. Nathaniel Gorham - Believed that within 100 yrs, US would be many different countries broken up by regions. Arthur St. Clair - Only President born /bred on foreign soil. Cyrus Griffin - Served till Washington inaugurated. Pres. Atchison, 1849, shortest president term William Harrison (1773 - 1841) died in office after 32 days. Just before Taylor took oath Mar. 5, 1849, Atchison held office of Pres. 24 hrs (about 10 min.) Departing Pres. Polk's term expired noon Sun., Mar. 4, 1849. Taylor, devout Episcopalian, refused to be sworn in Sun.; inauguration postponed a day. Taylor & VP-elect Fillmore couldn't legally hold office till sworn in. Under Constitution, Pres. Senate Pro Tem Atchison took office in absence of qualified Pres. or VP. Some historians argue that because Atchison's term also expired, no Pres. till Atchison renewed oath during inauguration; legally became Pres. till Taylor took oath about 10 min. later. Pres. Garfield President James Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other. Alexander Graham Bell tried to save Pres. Garfield's life with his new listening device to detect location of bullet. Worked on others, not Garfield 'cause was on coil spring mattress. Had they moved him to floor or another bed, could have located bullet, maybe saved him. Pres. Harrison admits N & S Dakota About to sign proclamations as 39th, 40th states. Inside identical newspapers; shuffled; just enough of document exposed to sign. Shuffled again 'fore documents removed. No one will ever know which was 39th, 4Oth. Pres. Zachary Taylor Never registered to vote; didn't vote in own elect'n. Pres. Lincoln, Booth Booth played numerous times at Ford's Theater where he later shot Lincoln. Lincoln admired his performances; passed message backstage asking if he could meet Booth, an outspoken supporter of the South, who declined. Booth knew the theater layout, was friendly with stagehands, which probably helped him get past security. Mary Lincoln Mary Todd Lincoln, wife Pres. Lincoln, tried for insanity by son Robert; said she suffered phobias/hallucinat'ns. Found to be insane, then attempted suicide. After a few yrs in sanitarium, well enough to go home. Insanity verdict reversed. Brothers in Confed. Army, so she was accused of being spy for South. 3 Stooges Of 6 men who made up 3 Stooges, 3 were real brothers--Moe, Curly, Shemp. Litle Ricky Very 1st Little Ricky on I Love Lucy was doll wrapped in blanket. 6-mo-old twins, Ronald, Richard Simmons, next shared the part. Twins Michael, Joseph Mayer, 3-yr-old Ricky. Last Richard Keith, real name: Keith Thibodeaux. Mel Blanc, carrots Mel Blanc (Man of 1,000 Voices) did Bugs Bunny voice. Was severely allergic to carrots. Crunching carrot sounds different than crunching other things, so bit carrots when needed, spit them out. Cleopatra When we say "Cleopatra" it's Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemys--family from Macedonia, ruled Egypt 150 yrs. Henri Matisse's "Le Bateau" painting Hung in NY's Museum of Modern Art 47 days 'fore someone noticed it was upside down. Tecumseh Tecumseh's Curse 1st placed on Harrison who slaughtered Shawnee at Tippecanoe. Tecumseh, considered a prophet by his people, pronounced that every President elected in yr wth "0" would die. Harrison died 1 mo. after elect'n. Lincoln (1860), Garfield (1880), McKinley (1900), Harding (1920), F. Roosevelt (1940), Kennedy (1960), all died in office. Regan (1980) came close. 1st to reach N Pole Peary, Henson, 4 Inuits 4-6-1909. Cook claimed reached it yr before. 1911 Congress vindicated Peary's claim. Henson, 2 Inuit guides reached it 1st; Peary 45 min later, confirmed location. Caesar salad Named after chef who created it: Caesar Gardini, not Julius Caesar; 1st made in Caesar's Place Restaurant, Mexico. Cesarean section Julius Caesar not delivered by c-sect'n." Julius' mom, Aurelia, lived to hear of son's Britain invas'n. Back then, procedure performed only when mother was dead or dying to save the child. Word likely derived from Latin verb "caedare," "to cut." Fig Newton food Named for Newton, MA, not Issac Newton. Other Mark Twains Samuel Clemens wasn't only writer to use pen-name "Mark Twain." Used several yrs earlier by Isiah Sellers. Both were Mississippi River pilots where Mark Twain was common technical term. Galileo--Earth not center of universe Observed through telescope that moons of Jupiter passed in front of Jupiter. If Earth center of everything in universe, as was believed, those moons couldn't orbit planet other than Earth. Wrong Way Corrigan Emulated Lindbergh's flight wthout careful planning. Decided to fly solo nonstop, NY to CA. Flew east; main compass didn't work; followed wrong needle end of backup compass. Foggy; flew 26 hrs 'fore realized mistake--was in Ireland. Fleming's chance discovery of penicillin Left experimental bacteria cultures by open window, became contaminated by mold blown in; noticed no germs grew near mold. To find out what stopped germs, kind of mold: grew more mold & experimented. Acted against anthrax, diphtheria wthout side effects. Beatles' other band names Before '60 Beatles were: Quarrymen; Johnny and the Moondogs; Moonshiners; Long John & the Silver Beatles. Hitler Married his lifelong mistress, Eva Braun, Apr. 30, 1945--eve of their joint suicide. |
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| This page revised 5-1-03 |