August 17 is day 230 of the Gregorian Calendar year, Prickle-Prickle, Bureaucracy 10, 3186 YOLD (Discordian) And let us not forget 13.0.7.13.16 mlc (the Mayan Long Count)
Today we honor Le Chat Noir (I'm just gonna crib from the wiki here) Le Chat Noir ...was a nineteenth-century entertainment establishment, in the bohemian Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard de Rochechouart by the impresario Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 not long after Salis' death. Le Chat Noir is thought to be the first modern cabaret:[1] a nightclub where the patrons sat at tables and drank alcoholic beverages while being entertained by a variety show on stage. The acts were introduced by a master of ceremonies who interacted with well-known patrons at the tables. Its imitators have included cabarets from St. Petersburg (Stray Dog Café) to Barcelona (Els Quatre Gats) to London's Cave of the Golden Calf. Perhaps best known now by its iconic Théophile Steinlen poster art, in its heyday it was a bustling nightclub that was part artist salon, part rowdy music hall. From 1882 to 1895 the cabaret published a weekly magazine with the same name, featuring literary writings, news from the cabaret and Montmartre, poetry, and political satire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Chat_Noir Roanoke colony On August 17, 1585, some colonists landed in what became North Ameica and tried to establish a colony on Roanoke Island, offshore of present day North Carolina. They failed and bailed but contributed greatly to Merkin/USA mythology. Because there was money in said colony for Sir Walter Raleigh, who was absent and perhaps in the can, he saw to it that there was a follow-up attempt. It too failed, and vanished utterly from the face of the earth, but not before leaving us Virginia Dare. Sometimes heralded as the "first white child born" in North America, usually by white supremacists, she was real, born on Roanoke in 1587 shortly after the colonists landed, and vanished along with them. She was, at least the first child of English descent born in the Carolinas, but why quibble. Then again, why not. The first "white child" known to have been born in North America was Snorri Thorfinnsson aka Snorri Gudrídsson (patronym and matronym, mom outlived dad (no surprise)) born in Vinland between 1005 and 1013. Next up, from the far north we swerve to Saint Augustine, Florida, where Martín de Argüelles, Jr., was born in 1566 in the oldest continuously occupied town/city in what is now the continental US. (A the son of a Hidalgo, he is also the first known "nobility" born here, since St. Augustine was still Spain at the time). One cannot help but wonder if the good Sir Walter advised potential volunteers for the second attempt that the first one failed, in part, because of "poor relation with the indigenous population" or somesuch, or at least advised them to try not to piss off the indians?
On this day in history:
1585 – A first group of colonists sent by Sir Walter Raleigh landed in the New World to create Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island 1597 – Robert Devereux, and Sir Walter Raleigh set sail on an expedition to the Azores. 1717 – The month-long Siege of Belgrade ended with Prince Eugene of Savoy's Austrian troops capturing the city from the Ottoman Empire. 1784 – Luigi Boccherini received a pay rise of 12000 reals from his employer 1807 – Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat left NYC for Albany, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world. 1836 – British parliament accepted registration of births, marriages and deaths 1862 – The Dakota War of 1862 began 1896 – Bridget Driscoll became the first recorded pedestrian killed by a car in the UK 1907 – Pike Place Market, in Seattle, opened. 1908 – Fantasmagorie, the first animated cartoon, was shown in Paris, France. 1945 – Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed the independence of Indonesia, igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire. 1945 – The novella Animal Farm by George Orwell was first published. 1947 – The border between the Dominions of India and Pakistan, was revealed. 1977 – The icebreaker Arktika becames the first surface ship to reach the North Pole. 1978 – Double Eagle II becames first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean
Born this day in:
“We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, for though others may free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is our only ruler; sovereign.” ~~Marcus Garvey
1578 – Francesco Albani, painter 1887 – Marcus Garvey, journalist and activist, founded Black Star Line 1890 – Harry Hopkins, politician and diplomat, 1900 – Pauline A. Young, teacher, historian, aviator and activist 1909 – Larry Clinton, trumpet player and bandleader 1911 – Mikhail Botvinnik, player and engineer 1918 – Ike Quebec, saxophonist and pianist 1919 – Georgia Gibbs, singer 1920 – Lida Moser, photographer and author 1927 – Sam Butera, saxophonist and bandleader 1929 – Francis Gary Powers, spyplane pilot 1932 – V. S. Naipaul, novelist and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate 1932 – Duke Pearson, pianist and composer 1933 – Mark Dinning, pop singer 1934 – João Donato, pianist and composer 1936 – Margaret Heafield Hamilton, computer scientist, systems engineer, and business owner. 1939 – Luther Allison, blues guitarist and singer 1943 – Dave "Snaker" Ray, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1947 – Gary Talley, guitarist (The Box Tops), singer, songwriter, and author 1949 – Sue Draheim, fiddler and composer 1949 – Sib Hashian, rock drummer (Boston) 1951 – Richard Hunt, Muppet performer ( 1953 – Kevin Rowland, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1954 – Eric Johnson, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1955 – Colin Moulding, singer, songwriter, and bassist 1958 – Belinda Carlisle, singer and songwriter 1960 – Stephan Eicher, singer and songwriter 1962 – Gilby Clarke, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1964 – Colin James, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1964 – Maria McKee, singer and songwriter 1965 – Steve Gorman, drummer 1969 – Donnie Wahlberg, singer, songwriter, actor and producer
Died this day in:
The greatest and noblest pleasure which we have in this world is to discover new truths, and the next is to shake off old prejudices. ~~Frederick the Great
1786 – Frederick the Great, flautist, composer, and king 1966 – Ken Miles, race car driver and engineer 1973 – Paul Williams, singer and choreographer 1983 – Ira Gershwin, songwriter 1987 – Gary Chester, drummer and educator 1990 – Pearl Bailey, actress and singer
Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: Marcus Garvey Day (Jamaica) Balloon Airmail Day National #2 Pencil Day National Thrift Shop Day National Vanilla Custard Day National Meaning of "Is" Day National Black Cat Appreciation Day
Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies ;-)