On this day in history.

[J. A.]

Today is Sir James Paul McCartney's birthday. He was born on June 18, 1952 in Liverpool, England.

Paul McCartney - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[scifan57]

Today is Sir James Paul McCartney's birthday. He was born on June 18, 1952 in Liverpool, England.
View attachment 72470
Paul McCartney - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Happy Birthday, Paul!

BTW, he's used the guitar in that photo since his earliest days with the Beatles. He had it with him in his Regina concert in 2013.

 

[J. A.]

June 19, 1623:
Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, inventor, physicist and writer was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

Blaise Pascal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[J. A.]

June 20, 1990:
David H. Levy and Henry Holt discover the asteroid 5261 Eureka. It was the first Mars trojan (sharing the orbit of planet Mars around the Sun) that was found. It's orbit is stable, and it has a natural satellite.
5261 Eureka - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[scifan57]

June 20, 1975;

Jaws is released, going on to become the highest grossing motion picture ever released until Star Wars is released 2 years later. Jaws (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[giradman]

June 20, 1975;

Jaws is released, going on to become the highest grossing motion picture ever released until Star Wars is released 2 years later. Jaws (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Last year, I replaced my Jaws DVD w/ a fabulous BD (cover art & ratings shown below - Link) - the restored soundtrack is worth the price.

Years ago while in Los Angeles w/ Susan and our son, we toured a bunch of places, including Universal Studios - took the Jaws Ride (last pic below) - not sure this is still available, but was fun at the time? Dave
.

 

[giradman]

West Virginia Enters the Union Today in 1863!

In the middle of the American Civil War, the western counties of Virginia decided to secede from their 'mother' state and became West Virginia, which was admitted to the Union today in 1863 - a little history below; also, for numerous pics and discussions of the 'Mountain State', take a look at my travelogue put together two years ago. Dave

During the Civil War, West Virginia is admitted into the Union as the 35th U.S. state, or the 24th state if the secession of the 11 Southern states were taken into account. The same day, Arthur Boreman was inaugurated as West Virginia’s first state governor.

Settlement of the western lands of Virginia came gradually in the 18th century as settlers slowly made their way across the natural Allegheny Plateau barrier. The region became increasingly important to the Virginia state government at Richmond in the 19th century, but the prevalence of small farms and absence of slavery began to estrange it from the east. Because slaves were counted in allotting representation, wealthy eastern planters dominated the Virginia legislature, and demands by western Virginians for lower taxes and infrastructure development were not met (Source).

 

[scifan57]

Last year, I replaced my Jaws DVD w/ a fabulous BD (cover art & ratings shown below - Link) - the restored soundtrack is worth the price.

Years ago while in Los Angeles w/ Susan and our son, we toured a bunch of places, including Universal Studios - took the Jaws Ride (last pic below) - not sure this is still available, but was fun at the time? Dave
.
View attachment 72518 View attachment 72519 View attachment 72520

I took that same tour of Universal Studios when I was there in 1984.

 

[giradman]

Robert Mondavi Winery - 50th Anniversary!

Today, I received my July 31, 2016 issue of the Wine Spectator w/ the cover art dedicated to Robert Mondavi (1913-2008), who after having been thrown out of the Krug Winery in Napa Valley by his family started his eponymous winery in Oakville which opened in 1966 - his personality, his wines, and his energy were revolutionary in bringing world-wide attention to California wines, especially those of Napa Valley - he deserves the acknowledgment.

In the late 1960s, I was just getting interested in wine and met Susan in '68 - some of the first wines that I bought and shared w/ her were made by the 'new' Mondavi Winery - one that I particularly liked was their Fume Blanc, a clever play on French wine districts - this is a Sauvignon Blanc (a grape found in the upper Loire Valley & also in Bordeaux) - in the Loire Valley, the most famous sites for this grape are Sancerre & Puilly Fume; SO, what Robert did was put the two words together, i.e. Fume & Blanc to come up w/ a commercial name that sounded COOL! To this day, Sauvignon Blancs from California are often labeled w/ either name. BUT, for wine lovers here, an important personality in the California wine industry and its history. Dave
.

 

[J. A.]

June 21, 1914:
Bertha Felicitas Sophie Freifrau von Suttner died in Vienna, Austria. She was a Czech-Austrian pacifist and wrote novels.

Bertha von Suttner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[J. A.]

June 21, 1874:
Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ångström, one of the founders of spectroscopy, died in Uppsala, Sweden.

Anders Jonas Ångström - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[scifan57]

June 21, 1788;

The United States Constitution is ratified. United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[J. A.]

June 22, 2015:
Composer and conductor James Roy Horner died in California, USA, in a crash of his aircraft.

James Horner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[scifan57]

June 22, 2015:
Composer and conductor James Roy Horner died in California, USA, in a crash of his aircraft.
View attachment 72546
James Horner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He's been missed by everyone who appreciates excellence in film music. I've enjoyed the many movies he scored, such as Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan and Titanic.

 

[J. A.]

June 23, 1912:
Alan Mathison Turing, British mathematician and computer scientist, was born in London, England.

Alan Turing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia