Sunday Open Thread: May 20 is Emancipation Day in Fla and Independence Day in Cuba

The NAACP has declared this to be Josephine Baker Day and it is also Setting Orange, Discord 67, 3184 YOLD (for you Discordians out there)

World History this day

1497 – John Cabot sailed west out of Bristol looking sharp as a pistol 1498 – Vasco da Gama arrived at Kozhikode, India and exclaimed Oh Calcutta! 1520 – Cortes' troops trecherously committed the massacre at the festival of Toxcatl 1570 – Abraham Ortelius issued the first "modern" atlas. 1631 – The Holy Roman Empire's troops slaughtered almost the entire population of Magdeburg 1802 – Napoleon reinstated slavery in the French colonies shouting Liberte' and all that 1883 – Krakatoa began to erupt, but Jimmy Buffet wasn't born yet 1902 – Cuba gained independence from the US 1927 – The UK recognized the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud via the Treaty of Jeddah 2002 – Portugal recognized The independence of East Timor

US History this day

1862 – Lincoln signed the Homestead Act 1902 – Cuba gained independence from the US 1949 – The predecessor to the National Security Agency was created, freedom wept 1985 – Radio Marti began bombarding Cuba with political propaganda 1996 – The Supremes Court slapped down a Colorado law prohibiting laws protecting the rights of GLBT persons (Romer v. Evans)

Science & Technology this day

1875 – 17 countries signed the Metre Convention creating the International System of Units. 1891 – The first public display of Edison's kinetoscope. 1956 – The US detonated an H-Bomb over Bikini Atoll 1964 – Discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation 1983 – First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus

The Arts this day

1609 – Thomas Thorpe was the first to publish Shakespeare's sonnets

Misc. this day

0325 – The First Council of Nicaea was opened 1932 – Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland for Ireland.

Birthdays of Note this day

1537 – Hieronymus Fabricius, anatomist 1743 – Toussaint Louverture, revolutionary 1759 – William Thornton, architect who designed the US Capitol 1772 – Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet, inventor ** 1799 – Honore' de Balzac, novelist and playwright 1806 – John Stuart Mill, economist, civil servant, and philosopher 1825 – Antoinette Brown Blackwell, a protestant minister 1830 – Hector Malot, author 1882 – Sigrid Undset, author 1883 – Faisal I of Iraq, leader of the Arab Revolt, used and shafted by the British 1895 – R. J. Mitchell, engineer who designed the Supermarine Spitfire 1931 – Louis Smith, trumpeter 1940 – Shorty Long, singer, songwriter and producer 1944 – Joe Cocker, singer and songwriter 1946 – Cher, singer, songwriter, producer, and actress 1958 – Jane Wiedlin, A singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress 1959 – Susan Cowsill, ya think maybe a Cowsill?

** He "invented" the Congreve Rocket, based directly on pre-existing Mysore weaponry

Deaths of Note this day

1506 -- Christopher Columbus, explorer, colonizer, slaver, tyrant 1896 -- Clara Schumann, pianist and composer 1909 -- Ernest Hogan, actor and composer 1956 -- Max Beerbohm, essayist, parodist, and caricaturist 1964 -- Rudy Lewis, singer 1998 -- Robert Normann, guitarist, does a cool flat foot floogie 2000 -- Jean-Pierre Rampal, flautist 2012 -- Robin Gibb, singer, songwriter, keyboard player, and producer 2013 -- Ray Manzarek, singer, songwriter, keyboard player, and producer 2015 -- Bob Belden, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and producer

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So now some music

Josephine Baker

John Cabot  

Krakatoa  

Shorty Long  

Joe Cocker  

Cher  

Clara Schumann  

Ernest Hogan  

Rudy Lewis  

Robert Normann

Jean-Pierre Rampal  

Robin Gibb  

Ray Manzarek  

Bob Belden  

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Photo: Thad Zajdowicz's photo of Aztec Josephine Baker by Alexander Calder ca. 1929 from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

It's an open thread, so do your thing

Crossposted from http://caucus99percent.com