April 27 is day 139 of the Gregorian Calendar year, Pungenday, Discord 65, 3186 YOLD (Discordian) And let us not forget 13.0.7.9.5 by the Mayan Long Count
On May 18, 1896, the US Supreme Court decided the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, holding that statutes requiring blacks and whites to use separate (but putatively equal) facilities and accommodations were not a violation of the Constitution. This is still the law of the land. Plessy, and the separate but equal doctrine it dealt with has never been explicitly overruled. Brown v. Board of Education, for example, held that the separate but equal violates the Constitution in the specific context of public education and public schools..For example, it was widely advocated, even by "Constitutional Scholars" up to and including President Barak Obama that it would be perfectly legal to provide some "in all but name" separate but equal legal recognition of "domestic partnerships" for homosexuals. Nobody stood up to declaim that Plessy has been overturned, because it hasn't.
On this day in history:
332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announced free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.Socialism! 1096 – Around 800 Jews were massacred in Worms, during the First Crusade, but it was Holy Work 1499 – Alonso de Ojeda set sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela. 1593 – Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy led to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe. This is an example of how competition improves products and benefits us all 1652 – Rhode Island passed the first law in English-speaking North America making slavery illegal. 1756 – The Seven Years' War began when Great Britain declared war on France, totally altering the balance of power. This global conflict is known in the US as "The French and Indian Wars". 1896 – The United States Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that the "separate but equal" doctrine is constitutional. 1917 – The Selective Service Act of 1917 was passed, giving the US President the power of conscription. 1926 – Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappeared in Venice, California. She was, however, later found 1933 – FDR signed an act creating the TVA. It took them until just the other day to start outsourcing their jobs. 1953 – Jackie Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier. 1974 – India successfully detonated its first nuclear weapon, becoming the sixth nation to do so. 1980 – Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage. 1990 – In France, a modified TGV train achieved a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).
Born this day in:
“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”`Omar Khayyam
1048 – Omar Khayyám, mathematician, astronomer, poet and big fan of joi de vivre 1822 – Mathew Brady, photographer and journalist 1850 – Oliver Heaviside, engineer, mathematician, and physicist 1855 – Francis Bellamy, minister and author, taker of pledges 1872 – Bertrand Russell, mathematician, historian, philosopher, and activist. Nobel Prize laureate 1883 – Walter Gropius, architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building 1891 – Rudolf Carnap, philosopher and academic 1892 – Ezio Pinza, actor and singer 1895 – Augusto César Sandino, rebel leader 1902 – Meredith Willson, playwright and composer 1904 – Shunryu Suzuki, monk and educator 1907 – Irene Hunt, author and educator 1911 – Big Joe Turner, blues/R&B singer 1912 – Perry Como, singer and television host 1919 – Margot Fonteyn, ballerina 1922 – Kai Winding, trombonist and composer ( 1931 – Don Martin, cartoonist 1936 – Leon Ashley, singer and songwriter 1944 – Albert Hammond, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1948 – Joe Bonsall, country/gospel singer 1949 – Rick Wakeman, progressive rock keyboardist and songwriter (Yes) 1950 – Mark Mothersbaugh, singer-songwriter and painter 1951 – Richard Clapton, singer,songwriter, and guitarist 1951 – Paul Da Vinci, singer and songwriter 1952 – George Strait, singer, guitarist and producer 1954 – Wreckless Eric, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1958 – Toyah Willcox, singer, songwriter, producer, and actress 1961 – Russell Senior, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1966 – Michael Tait, singer, songwriter, and producer 1969 – Martika, singer, songwriter, producer, and actress 1970 – Billy Howerdel, guitarist, songwriter, and producer 1970 – Javier Cárdenas, singer, television and radio presenter 1975 – Jem, singer, songwriter, and producer 1975 – Jack Johnson, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
Died this day in: 1675 – Jacques Marquette, missionary and explorer 1721 – Maria Barbara Carillo, victim of the Spanish Inquisition, just another dirty heretic who got what she deserved 1781 – Túpac Amaru II, rebel leader 1799 – Pierre Beaumarchais, playwright and publisher 1909 – Isaac Albéniz, pianist and composer 1911 – Gustav Mahler, composer and conductor 1955 – Mary McLeod Bethune, educator and activist 1973 – Jeannette Rankin, social worker and politician 1980 – Ian Curtis, singer-songwriter 1981 – William Saroyan, novelist, playwright, and short story writer 1999 – Augustus Pablo, singer, keyboard player, and producer 2004 – Elvin Jones, drummer and bandleader 2012 – Peter Jones, drummer and songwriter 2017 – Chris Cornell, singer
Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: International Museum Day World AIDS Vaccine Day
Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies ;-)
“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature made them.” -Bertrand Russell-
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