Sunday Open Thread: February 4 is Rosa Parks Day, but only in CA and MO

Feb 4 is also World Cancer Day.

World History this day

0960 -- The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song started the Song Dynasty 1703 -- Forty-Six of the Forty-seven Ronin committed seppuku 1794 -- The French First Republic's legislature abolished slavery 1945 -- The Yalta Conference began 1948 -- Ceylon became independent (within the Commonwealth) 1961 -- The Angolan War of Independence started 1969 -- Arafat became chairman of the PLO

US History this day

1789 -- George Washington was elected President 1801 -- Chief Justice John Marshall was sworn in 1846 -- The first Mormon pioneers left Nauvoo, Illinois 1861 -- The Confederate States of America was formed 1899 -- The Battle of Manila began the Philippine--American War 1999 -- Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by NYC's finest because they could, and they walked ***

*** The perps (Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon and Kenneth Boss) subsequently claimed that they thought that he was a previous year's rape suspect or a lookoout or something. Suspicion of having committed rape and being a lookout are both punishable by summary execution in NYC, but only for members of certain ethnic groups. This also applies to suspicion of being a previous suspect and suspicion of being maybe some kind of lookout or somehing, again, depending upon ethnicity.

Science & Technology this day

1967 -- Lunar Orbiter 3 was launched to scope out possible landing sites on the moon 2004 -- Facebook was founded

The Arts this day

Misc. this day

1555 -- Bloody Mary's first victim, John Rogers, was burned at the stake

Birthdays of Note this day

1676 -- Giacomo Facco, violinist and composer 1875 -- Ludwig Prandtl, physicist and engineer 1881 -- Fernand Leger, painter and sculptor 1902 -- Charles Lindbergh, pilot and explorer 1906 -- Clyde Tombaugh, astronomer who discovered Pluto 1913 -- Rosa Parks, civil rights activist 1921 -- Betty Friedan, author and feminist 1921 -- Lotfi Zadeh, mathematician and computer scientist, founder of fuzzy logic 1929 -- Paul Burlison, rockabilly guitarist 1941 -- John Steel, drummer 1944 -- Florence LaRue, singer from the 5th dimension 1948 -- Alice Cooper, singer and songwriter 1951 -- Phil Ehart, drummer and songwriter 1962 -- Clint Black, guitarist, singer and songwriter 1977 -- Gavin DeGraw, singer and songwriter

Deaths of Note this day

1894 -- Adolphe Sax, instrument maker, invented the saxophone (you know its coming) 1928 -- Hendrik Lorentz, physicist 1968 -- Neal Cassady, novelist and poet 1974 -- Satyendra Nath Bose, physicist 1975 -- Louis Jordan, singer, songwriter and saxophonist 1983 -- Karen Carpenter, singer 1987 -- Liberace, singer, songwriter and pianist 2006 -- Betty Friedan, author and activist 2007 -- Barbara McNair, singer and actress 2013 -- Donald Byrd, trumpet player 2013 -- Reg Presley, singer and songwriter

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So now some music

Angola War

Amadou Diallo  

Rosa Parks  

Paul Burlison

John Steel  

Florence LaRue  

Alice Cooper  

Phil Ehart  

Adolphe Sax  

Louis Jordan  

Karen Carpenter  

Barbara McNair  

Donald Byrd

Reg Presley  

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Photo: by Tullio Saba; BE031622 (Rosa Parks riding the bus 12/21/1956 after the Supremes ruled)

It's an open thread, so do your thing

Crossposted from http://caucus99percent.com