It's My Birthday

Today’s my birthday. I’m no longer in my 20’s. I’ve hit the big 3-0. My kids say I’m old. I can tell you that I don’t feel old. I feel much like I did yesterday when I was still in my 20’s. I’ve never made a big deal out of my birthday. It’s just another day of the year. I get to add another number to my age, but other than that it’s not any different than any other day. If you know me, then you know I’m a big fan of history. I’ve been interested in history since my days in high school and that’s carried on since then. So I did a bit of research and found out some stuff that’s occurred in the past on the day of my birth and I thought I’d share it with you.

My most favorite point in history, aside from the time of Jesus and his life has been the American Civil War. It’s without a doubt one of the biggest turning points in our history and one I’ve looked back at over the years and my viewpoint has changed from time to time. I’m fascinated with the reasons we went to war then and the things that occurred during that time. On this day in 1863 the SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000. Amazingly exactly 102 years later the wreck of this famous ship was discovered by a teenager and archaeologist E. Lee Spence. The wreck is said to be valued at over $50,000,000 dollars today.

Pluto was photographed for the first time in 1915. At the time it is not recognized as a planet and the poor hunk of rock in space has gone through turmoil throughout it’s years. It has been, but no longer is, classified as a planet.

This past week I’ve talked to people about how much I hate daylight savings time and think it’s pointless in today’s world. At one time it might have been useful, but I don’t feel that way now. But back in 1918 the U.S. Congress established the time zones for the United States and approved the creation of Daylight Saving Time.

Gambling was legalized in Nevada on this day in 1931.

People who know me also know my fascination with World War II. I’m a bit of a military history buff. This date has had some significance to the history of that most famous of wars. Two notorious Nazi leaders were born on this day. Albert Speer, Hitler’s chief architect, was born in 1905. He’s most famously known as the Nazi who said sorry for the crimes of the Nazi regime at the Nuremburg Trials and in his memoirs. The other, Adolf Eichmann, was born in 1906. This man was considered the architect of the Holocaust that resulted in the deaths of millions of Jewish people, as well as millions of others. He was captured by the Israeli Mossad in 1960 and hanged for his crimes in 1962.

Other dates during World War II were on this date in 1941. The Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of the Army Air Corp were activated. This was a huge moment in the nation for men of color. Towards the end of World War II Nazi forces began the occupation of Hungary in 1944. One of the events that signaled the end of the war in Europe was on this date in 1945 when Hitler issued his “Nero Decree” All industry, military installations, shops, as well as all transport and communications facilities in Germany were ordered to be destroyed.

Another big event in history for our nation’s men of colored occurred in 1966 when Texas Western became the first college basketball team to win the Final Four with an all-black starting lineup.

There were also some very famous people born on the same day I was. Here is a list of a few of them.

1590 – William Bradford, Pilgrim and First Governor of the Plymouth Colony (d. 1657)

1734 – Thomas McKean, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1817)

1848 – Wyatt Earp, American policeman and gunfighter (d. 1929)

1947 – Glenn Close, American actress
1955 – Bruce Willis, American actor
1958 – Andy Reid, NFL Head Coach (Philadelphia Eagles)



Along with birth comes death and there were also a few famous people who died on the day I was born.

1721 – Pope Clement XI (b. 1649)
1783 – Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1713)
1950 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (b. 1875)
2008 – Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English science fiction author and inventor (b. 1917)

So there you have it. A bit of history to go along with this day that marks another page in my future. It’s been an interesting, exciting 30 years and I look forward to many more to come.