Interesting tidbits: 1835 – The New York Sun perpetrated the Great Moon Hoax. The Great Moon Hoax refers to a series of six articles that were published in The Sun, a New York newspaper, beginning on August 25, 1835, about the supposed discovery of life and civilization on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel, the great astronomer. The story was advertised as reprinted from The Edinburgh Courant. The first in a series of six was published four days later. The articles described fantastic animals on the Moon, including bison, goats, unicorns, bipedal tail-less beavers and bat-like winged humanoids who built temples. There were trees, oceans, and beaches. These discoveries were supposedly made with an immense telescope of an entirely new principle. The author of the narrative was ostensibly Dr. Andrew Grant, the travelling companion and amanuensis of Sir John Herschel, but Grant was fictitious. Eventually, the authors announced that the observations had been terminated by the destruction of the telescope, by means of the Sun causing the lens to act as a burning glass, setting fire to the observatory. Authorship of the article has been attributed to Richard Adams Locke, a Cambridge-educated reporter who, in August 1835, was working for The Sun. Locke never publicly admitted to being the author, while rumours persisted that others were involved. Assuming that Richard A. Locke was the author, his intentions were probably to create a sensational story which would increase sales of The Sun, and to ridicule some of the more extravagant astronomical theories that had recently been published. For instance, in 1824, Franz von Paula Gruithuisen, professor of Astronomy at Munich University, had published a paper titled Discovery of Many Distinct Traces of Lunar Inhabitants, Especially of One of Their Colossal Buildings. Gruithuisen claimed to have observed various shades of color on the lunar surface, which he correlated with climate and vegetation zones. He also observed lines and geometrical shapes, which he felt indicated the existence of walls, roads, fortifications, and cities. However, a more direct object of Lockes satire was certainly Rev. Thomas Dick, who was known as The Christian Philosopher after the title of his first book. Dick had computed that the Solar System contained 21,891,974,404,480 inhabitants. In fact, the Moon alone, by his count, would contain 4,200,000,000 inhabitants. His writings were enormously popular in the United States, his fans including intellectual luminaries such as Ralph Waldo Emerson. Herschel was initially amused by the hoax, noting that his own real observations could never be as exciting. He became annoyed later when he had to answer questions from people who believed the hoax was serious. In 1846, Edgar Allen Poe wrote a biographical sketch of Locke as part of his series The Literati of New York City which appeared in Godeys Ladys Book. 1875 – Captain Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, traveling from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in less than 22 hours. Whilst serving as second mate on the Cunard Line ship Russia, travelling from New York to Liverpool, he attempted to rescue a man overboard by diving into the sea in the mid-Atlantic. The man was never found, but Webbs daring won him an award of £100 and the Stanhope Medal, and made him a hero of the British press. In the summer of 1863, while at home, he rescued his 12 year old brother Thomas from drowning in the Severn near Ironbridge. In 1873 Webb was serving as captain of the steamship Emerald when he read an account of the failed attempt by J.B. Johnson to swim the English Channel. He became inspired to try himself, and left his job to begin training in the cold waters of the Thames and the English Channel. On 12 August 1875 he made his first cross-Channel swimming attempt, but strong winds and poor sea conditions forced him to abandon the swim. On 24 August 1875 he began a second swim by diving in from the Admiralty Pier at Dover. Backed by three escort boats and smeared in porpoise oil, he set off into the ebb tide at a steady breaststroke. Despite stings from jellyfish and strong currents off Cap Gris Nez which prevented him reaching the shore for five hours, finally, after 21 hours and 45 minutes, he landed near Calais. His zig-zag course across the Channel was over 39 miles / 64 km long. His final stunt was to be a dangerous swim through the Whirlpool Rapids on the Niagara River below Niagara Falls, a feat many observers considered suicidal. Although Webb failed in an attempt at raising interest in funding the event, on 24 July 1883 he jumped into the river from a small boat located near the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge and began his swim. Accounts of the time indicate that in all likelihood Webb successfully survived the first part of the swim, but died in the section of the river located near the entrance to the whirlpool. 1939 - The Wizard of Oz movie was released. Todays birthday crew: 1909 – Michael Rennie, British actor perhaps best known for his starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Klaatu barada nikto. 1913 – Walt Kelly, American animator and cartoonist best known for the comic strip Pogo. He began his animation career in 1936 at Walt Disney Studios, contributing to Pinocchio and Fantasia. Kelly resigned in 1941 at the age of 28 to work at Dell Comics, where he created Pogo, which eventually became his platform for political and philosophical commentary. His most famous line from Pogo is, We have met the enemy and he is us. 1930 – Bruce Allpress, New Zealand actor whose most known role is Aldor, archer of Rohan that shot the first uruk-hai from their army in the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. 1930 – Sean Connery, Scottish actor and producer best known for portraying James Bond in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. He also appeared in the Name of the Rose, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Highlander, Murder on the Orient Express, Dragonheart, and The Rock, among other films. 1947 – Michael Kaluta, American comic book writer and artist best known for his acclaimed 1970s adaptation of the pulp magazine hero, The Shadow with writer Dennis ONeil. Kalutas early work included a 3-page adventure story, The Battle of Shiraz, in Charlton Comics Flash Gordon, issue #6 and an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughss Venus novels for DC. Kalutas influences and style are drawn from pulp illustrations of the 1930s and the turn of the century poster work of Alphonse Mucha - his signature motif is elaborate decorative panel designs. He co-created Eve, a horror comics host character turned into a supporting character in The Sandman. Kaluta was one of the four comic book artists/fine illustrator/painters (the others being Jeff Jones, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Bernie Wrightson) who formed the artists commune The Studio in a loft in Manhattans Chelsea district from 1975 to 1979. Aside from many comic books and covers Kaluta has done a wide variety of book illustrations. 1992 – Angelica Mandy, English actress best known for her role in the Harry Potter films as Gabrielle Delacour. Mandy appeared in the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and reappeared in the seventh film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Happy birthday guys!
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 10:15:12 +0000
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