Look up your birthday in Wikipedia. Pick 4 events, 3 births, 2 deaths, and 1 holiday.
Events:
- 1595 - Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.
- 1626 - Peter Minuit buys Manhattan. (In exchange for trade goods valued at 60 guilders, or about $24. Can we have it back, and make New York New Amsterdam again? I'll PayPal the 24 bucks...;-)
- 1883 - The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction. (We'll rename it to how it should be called: de Breukelen Brug...;-)
- 1992 - The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.
And decidedly unhappy about:
- 1943 - Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Births:
- 15 BC - Julius Caesar Germanicus, Roman commander (d. 19)
- 1819 - Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1901)
- 1941 - Bob Dylan, American singer and songwriter
- 1963 - Michael Chabon, American author (OK: so I smuggled in a fourth. Couldn't resist.)
- 1543 - Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer (b. 1473)
- 1974 - Duke Ellington, American composer and musician (b. 1899)
Holiday:
Canada: Victoria Day, on this date if it falls on a Monday or the Monday before it. In Quebec, it is known as National Patriotes Day (Journée nationale des patriotes).Note: way back when I always wondered why Geddy Lee sang "on the 24th of May" on Lakeside Park from the Caress of Steel album (and it's not exactly his favourite song). But eventually I found out why.
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