Junipero Serra (1713-1784)
“A priest in the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church, Junipero Serra was a driving force in the Spanish conquest and colonization of what is now the state of California.” (PBS – THE WEST)
Zachary Taylor (1784-1850)
Northerners and Southerners disputed sharply whether the territories wrested from Mexico should be opened to slavery, and some Southerners even threatened secession. Standing firm, Zachary Taylor was prepared to hold the Union together by armed force rather than by compromise.
Born in Virginia in 1784, he was taken as an infant to Kentucky and raised on a plantation. He was a career officer in the Army, but his talk was most often of cotton raising. His home was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he owned a plantation in Mississippi.
But Taylor did not defend slavery or southern sectionalism; 40 years in the Army made him a strong nationalist.
(The White House)
Taylor’s early death probably delayed New Mexico’s entry into the Union by 62 years. It’s also interesting to compare this Virginian career Army officer’s thinking about the Union to another’s, that is, Robert E. Lee.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
Rosa La Rouge – À Montrouge (1886-87). Click to view larger version.
Scott Joplin (1868-1917)
The great Ragtime composer left no sound recordings, but he did make several piano rolls. It’s interesting to hear his tempo.
Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)
“Many people think that if they were only in some other place, or had some other job, they would be happy. Well, that is doubtful. So get as much happiness out of what you are doing as you can and don’t put off being happy until some future date.”
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”
That’s one heck of a great birthday. So here’s what I’d like to know. You do this pretty much every day, right? What’s your absolute favorite day, in terms of the density of truly fascinating people, admirable people, etc.?
I do the birthdays every day because two or three of my loyal readers tell me they like them and I am always desperate for validation for blogging. It’s also an easy hook for writing a few — and I hope occasionally interesting and amusing — words.
But it’s a great question, John. My favorite date is July 4, 1826, because I’ve been fascinated for as long as I can remember that Jefferson and Adams died that same day, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, perhaps history’s greatest document.
No other date jumps out at me as special due to some critical mass of celebrity/historical figure births. But I will keep the question in mind.
Today, by the way, is also the 84th anniversary of the Colorado River Compact.
November 24th does stand out though:
Pachelbel
Spinoza
The guy credited with inventing rugby.
Carlo Collodi, the author of Pinochio.
Bat Masterson
Lucky Luciano
Joe Medwick
Teddy Wilson
John Lindsay
Paul Tagliabue
and Ted Bundy