Tag: US president

Sheelah’s Day

Shamrock
Wikipedia

Sheelah’s Day is celebrated on 18 March the day after Saint Patrick’s Day and is observed in the Irish diaspora in Australia and Canada. No Sheelah’s included here today but all of the following are about people born on 18 March.

  1. Born 1980. Actress who links the following roles: Penelope (in 2004), Isolde (2006), Erika (2003 and 2006), Darcy (2014) and Freya (2008). Who is she?
    • Rose Keegan
    • Sophia Myles
    • Lucy Russell
    Grover Cleveland
    Wikipedia
  2. Born 1837, Grover Cleveland, served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Where was he born?
    • Amherst, New Hampshire
    • Brighton, New York
    • Caldwell, New Jersey
  3. Anthem for Doomed Youth was written by a war poet born this day in 1893. Who was he?
    • Rupert Brook
    • Wilfred Owen
    • Siegfried Sassoon
  4. Who is Dana Elaine Owens, born 18 March 1970, a musician and actress, better known as?
    • Lauryn Hill
    • Missy Elliott
    • Queen Latifah
  5. Born today in 1869, this British prime minister returned from Germany with a “piece of paper” promising to “have brought you back peace — but a peace I hope with honour.” Who was he?
    • Stanley Baldwin
    • Neville Chamberlain
    • Winston Churchill

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

Interments to Independence: Navigating Anarchy’s Introduction—Answers


The body of former President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft lies in repose in the United States Capitol rotunda.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Taft_funeral_LCCN2016820348.jpg
  1. William Howard Taft—Taft lay in state at the United States Capitol rotunda. On 11 March, he became the first president and first member of the Supreme Court to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. James Earle Fraser sculpted his grave marker out of Stony Creek granite.
    Ned Ludd
    Wikipedia
  2. Someone’s name—Ned Ludd, allegedly a weaver from near Leicester in England, is famously linked to the destruction of knitting frames in 1779. This act, reportedly due to being whipped or taunted, is first mentioned in The Nottingham Review on 20 December 1811, though its truth is unverified. John Blackner’s 1811 book offers a different account of a lad named “Ludlam,” who, instructed by his father to “square his needles,” destroyed them with a hammer. The story spread, and whenever frames were sabotaged, people humorously attributed it to “Ned Ludd,” contributing to the legend of the Luddites.
  3. 1959—In the 1950s, Hawaiʻi’s political landscape shifted as descendants of immigrant labourers, U.S. citizens, broke the plantation owners’ power by voting against the Hawaiʻi Republican Party, supported by plantation owners, and for the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi. This shift led to Democratic dominance in territorial and state politics for over 40 years. Residents campaigned for statehood to gain full congressional and Electoral College representation. Initially, Hawaiʻi was expected to be a Republican stronghold, prompting its admission alongside Alaska, a Democratic stronghold. However, by 2017, Hawaiʻi generally voted Democratic, while Alaska typically voted Republican, contrary to initial predictions.
  4. Penicillin—Penicillin, discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming from the Penicillium mold, was found to inhibit bacterial growth, specifically Staphylococcus aureus. Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain later isolated and purified it, making it therapeutically available by 1941. Naturally occurring penicillins, like penicillin G and V, differ in acid stability and administration methods. Semisynthetic versions offer enhanced properties. Penicillins operate by disrupting bacterial cell wall synthesis, targeting actively replicating bacteria without harming human cells. Bacterial resistance led to penicillinase-resistant variants, though challenges like MRSA persist. Side effects include hypersensitivity reactions, ranging from mild rashes to rare, severe anaphylactic shock.
    Flag of Lithuania.
    Wikipedia
  5. Lithuania—On 11 March 1990, Lithuania’s Supreme Council declared independence, becoming the first Soviet-occupied state to do so. In response, the Soviets imposed a 74-day economic blockade on 20 April 1990, causing shortages of essential goods. Despite the blockade, Lithuania maintained its independence declaration. Tensions escalated in January 1991 when a coup attempt was made using Soviet forces, but it failed due to strong public resistance, resulting in 14 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The Medininkai Massacre occurred on 31 July 1991, with 7 border guards killed. Lithuania was admitted to the United Nations on 17 September 1991.

Interments to Independence: Navigating Anarchy’s Introduction

Arlington National Cemetery east entrance
Wikipedia

Sorry that this is a few hours later today, hope you enjoy.

  1. Who, on 11 March, became the first US president to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia?
    • Ulysses S. Grant
    • William Howard Taft
    • John F. Kennedy
  2. Today in 1811, in Nottingham, England textile workers broke machinery that was taking their jobs in what was the first major Luddite riot. The term “Luddite” derives from…
    • Someone’s name
    • The riot’s location
    • The machinery’s manufacturer
  3. Hawaii was admitted into the union as the 50th US state, on 11 March in…
    • 1941
    • 1950
    • 1959
  4. In 1928, Alexander Fleming, a Scottish bacteriologist who died today in 1955, discovered…
    • Penicillin
    • Aspirin
    • Codeine
  5. The first Soviet republic to declare its independence from the USSR did so today in 1990. Which of these was it?
    • Latvia
    • Estonia
    • Lithuania

Good luck! The answers will be posted later today or tomorrow.

Fiddler’s Bridge Rings—Answers

Here are the answers to the questions posed earlier today plus some additional information.

A portrait in oils in the Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna is generally believed to be of Vivaldi.
Image Wikipedia
  1. Venice, Republic of Venice (now Italy)—Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678–1741) was a pivotal Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era, known for his innovative contributions to orchestration, violin technique and the concerto form. Born in Venice, he was ordained a priest in 1703, earning the nickname Il Prete Rosso—the red priest. Vivaldi worked at the Ospedale della Pietà, composing numerous concertos, sacred works, and over fifty operas, including the famous The Four Seasons. Despite initial success, his popularity declined in the 1730s. He moved to Vienna in 1740, seeking royal support, but died in poverty. His works were rediscovered in the 1920s, reviving interest in his music.
    Forth Bridge pier off Inchgarvie Island. The Forth Road Bridge can be seen in the background.
    Image Wikipedia
  2. Edinburgh—The Forth Bridge, a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth (Estuary of the River Forth) in Scotland, was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker in the late 1880s and opened on 4 March 1890. Initially criticised for its aesthetics, it is now a symbol of Scotland and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located 9 miles west of Edinburgh, it carries the Edinburgh–Aberdeen line, is 8,094 feet (2467 m) long and features three 1,348 ft (411 m) cantilevers and two 351 ft (107 m) suspended spans, with a total clear span of 1,699 ft (518 m). Constructed with 58,000 tons of steel at a cost of £3,000,000 (£493,000,000 in 2025). Recent research by the Queensferry Historian Group has discovered that 78 men died during the construction of the bridge.
    A plaque honoring Perkins at Boston’s Logan Airport.
    Image Wikipedia
  3. Franklin D. Roosevelt—Frances Perkins was appointed Secretary of Labor on 4 March 1933. Born on 10 April 1880, in Boston she was a pioneering American workers-rights advocate and the first woman in the U.S. cabinet, serving as Secretary of Labour from 1933 to 1945 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A key figure in the New Deal coalition, she focused on labour issues and social security policy, developing the Social Security Act in 1935. Perkins championed reforms like the minimum wage, maximum workweek, and child labour restrictions. Educated at Mount Holyoke College, Wharton School, and Columbia University, she passed away on 14 May 1965, in New York.
    Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon during a Beatles performance for Dutch television, 1964.
    Image Wikipedia
  4. John Lennon, Beatles—In 1966, during a controversial interview, John Lennon of the Beatles made a bold statement that would spark widespread debate and backlash around the world. Lennon asserted that the band had become “more popular than Jesus”. This comment was part of a larger discussion about the changing role of religion and the cultural influence of rock music, particularly among the youth of the 1960s. The remark was initially unnoticed in the UK but gained significant attention in the United States, leading to protests and record burnings by those who viewed the statement as blasphemous. Despite the uproar, the Beatles continued to dominate the music scene and influence the cultural landscape, solidifying their legacy as one of the most iconic bands in history.
  5. Voyager 1—Voyager 1, launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, is a pioneering interplanetary probe that visited Jupiter and Saturn, becoming the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space. Part of a twin mission with Voyager 2, it utilised a rare planetary alignment for a multiplanet tour. Voyager 1 discovered Jupiter’s ring and volcanic activity on Io, and revealed Saturn’s ring structures. It carries a gold-plated phonograph record with Earth’s images and sounds. By 2012, it entered interstellar space and is now the most distant human-made object. It is expected to operate until 2030.
Distance from Earth screenshot, 12:42 4 March 2025*
Image JPL NASA Voyager

*Voyager Live information can be viewed at JPL NASA Voyager.

Fiddler’s Bridge Rings

Image Wikipedia

Here are some questions based on this day in history.

  1. Antonio Vivaldi, composer and virtuoso violinist was born on 4 March 1678. Where was he born?
    • Vigo, Kingdom of Galicia (now Spain)
    • Vienna, Austria
    • Venice, Republic of Venice (now Italy) 
  2. What Scottish city is located about nine miles east of the bridge, which opened this day in 1890, pictured above? 
    • Aberdeen
    • Dundee
    • Edinburgh
    Frances Perkins
    Image Wikipedia
  3. Frances Perkins was the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet in the United States. Which president appointed her as the fourth US Secretary of Labor?
    • Calvin Coolidge
    • Herbert Hoover
    • Franklin D. Roosevelt 
  4. On 4 March 1966, it was claimed during an interview that we are ‘more popular than Jesus’. Who made this claim?
    • John Lennon of the Beatles
    • Cass Elliot of the Mamas & the Papas
    • Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones
  5. On this day in 1979 the first photograph of the rings of Jupiter (below) was sent back to Earth by what spacecraft?
    • Voyager 1
    • Galileo
    • Pioneer 11
Jupiter.
Image Wikipedia

Good luck! The answers will be posted later today.

One of the Big Four—Answer

Woodrow Wilson. 
Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States and played a significant role in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, which led to the Treaty of Versailles. Wilson was an advocate for the League of Nations, although the United States never joined it. He passed away on 3 February 1924.

From left to right, Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Great Britain), Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (Italy), Premier Georges Clemenceau (France), President Woodrow Wilson (USA)
[Image by Edward N. Jackson (US Army Signal Corps) via Wikipedia]