Today's Trivia and What Happened on May 11

Today's Puzzle

Today's Puzzle

When is a door not a door?

When it is ajar.

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Quote: We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know. - Wystan Hugh Auden

Quote: We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know. - Wystan Hugh Auden Close Large View

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What Happened On

Family Watching TV, 1950s Family Watching TV, 1950s

Family Watching TV, 1950s Family Watching TV, 1950s
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First Regularly-Scheduled U.S. TV Broadcasts

May 11, 1928

By General Electric station WGY of Schenectady, New York. Programs were broadcast Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

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Christmas Banned in Massachusetts

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Christmas Banned in Massachusetts

May 11, 1659

Celebration of the Christmas holiday is made illegal in Massachusetts. The Puritans associated such celebrations with paganism and idolatry. Violators were fined. This remained in effect until 1681.

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Columbus' Fourth Voyage

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Columbus' Fourth Voyage

May 11, 1502

The explorer Christopher Columbus sets sail on his fourth voyage to the "New World." He was searching for a westward passage to the Indian Ocean mainland. It was on this trip in 1504 that Columbus frightened the natives into thinking he made the Moon go out by correctly predicting a lunar eclipse.

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Obsessed Letterman Fan

May 11, 1992

Margaret Ray is arrested for the 7th time after trespassing on David Letterman's property. She had previously been arrested for breaking into his home, sleeping in his bedroom, and stealing his Porsche.

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First Woman to Head an FBI Field Office

May 11, 1992

Burdena Pasenelli is selected to head the field office in Anchorage, Alaska.

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Youngest Jockey to Win the Kentucky Derby

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Youngest Jockey to Win the Kentucky Derby

May 11, 1892

15-year-old Alonzo "Lonnie" Clayton rides Azra to victory in the Kentucky Derby. Source: The Great Black Jockeys

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Civil War

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Civil War

May 11, 1862

The Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia is blown up by her commander to prevent capture by Union forces. It had participated in the Battle of the Ironclads.

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Minnesota

May 11, 1858

Minnesota becomes the 32nd state.

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Mary Dyer being led to the gallows in Boston Mary Dyer being led to the gallows in Boston

Mary Dyer being led to the gallows in Boston Mary Dyer being led to the gallows in Boston
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Religious Freedom

May 11, 1682

Massachusetts repeals its law requiring capital punishment for Quakers reentering the territory after banishment. Mary Dyer was hanged in 1660 for violating this law.
Quakers are a Protestant Christian denomination that began in 1650s England.

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Birthdays

Andrew Gobea

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First Newborn to Receive Gene Therapy

Andrew Gobea

Born May 11, 1993

American medical first. He was the first newborn to receive gene therapy, which he was given four days after his birth. His genes were altered to correct ADA enzyme deficiency - an inherited condition known as "bubble boy" disease which makes them unable to fight off most types of infections. Blood was removed from his mother's placenta and umbilical cord immediately after birth, to acquire stem cells.
After treatment, his stem cells produced T cells (white blood cells) that were able to make ADA enzymes using the ADA gene.
At four years old, he needed additional treatment. Hopefully, he will be able to avoid the current standard treatment of regular injections of white blood cells, costing over $100,000 a year.

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Jacqueline Cochran

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First Woman to Break the Sound Barrier

Jacqueline Cochran (Bessie Lee Pittman)

Born May 11, 1906 d. 1980

American aviator. She was the first civilian awarded the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal; the first woman to break the sound barrier (1953); the first woman to break Mach 2 (1960); the first woman to pilot a bomber across the North Atlantic (1941); the first woman inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame; the first pilot to make an instrument landing; the first woman President of the Federation Aeronautique lnt'l (58-61); and the first pilot to fly above 20,000 feet with an oxygen mask; the first woman to compete in the famous Bendix Trophy Transcontinental Race across the U.S. (1934) and was the first woman to win it (1938). The Associated Press named her "Woman of the Year in Business" for her cosmetics business (1953, 1954). Source Jackie Cochran: An Autobiography.

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Salvador Dali

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Salvador Dali

Born May 11, 1904 d. 1989

Spanish artist. Artwork: The Persistence of Memory (1931). Quote: "A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others."

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Berlin at age 18 Berlin at age 18

Berlin at age 18 Berlin at age 18
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Irving Berlin (Israel Beilin)

Born May 11, 1888 d. 1989

American songwriter. Music: God Bless America (1938) and White Christmas (1942). Recordings of White Christmas have sold over 100,000,000 copies. Berlin wrote White Christmas, even though he was Jewish.

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Chang and Eng Bunker

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Chang and Eng Bunker

Born May 11, 1811 d. 1874

Siamese-born American twins joined at the chest. They are they source of the term "Siamese Twins." They toured Europe and the U.S., eventually settling in North Carolina where they married two sisters, who bore them 22 children. "Chang" and "Eng" is Thai for "Left" and "Right."

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Won Gold with Injured Leg

Shun Fujimoto

Born May 11, 1950

Japanese gymnast. Shun Fujimoto continued to compete in the 1976 Olympic gymnastics events after severely injuring his right knee during his floor exercise. Fujimoto said that he did not want to let his team down by revealing his injury. His completing and scoring a 9.5 and 9.7 on the side horse and rings event enabled the team to win gold, defeating the team from the Soviet Union by a narrow margin. The dismount from the rings routine from eight feet above ground aggravated his already serious knee injury, dislocating his broken kneecap and tearing ligaments in his right leg. Doctors ordered him to withdraw from further competition or risk permanent disability.
In 2017, Fujimoto was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
See also George Eyser, the one-legged gymnast who won 6 Olympic medals in a single day.

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Robert Jarvik

Born May 11, 1946

American surgeon. He performed the first successful implant of a permanent artificial heart (1982) into Dr. Barney Clark.

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Doug McClure

Born May 11, 1935 d. 1995

American actor. TV: The Virginian (Trampas).

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Mort Sahl

Born May 11, 1927 d. 2021

Canadian-born American comedian, specializing in political and social satire.

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Denver Pyle

Born May 11, 1920 d. 1997

American actor. TV: The Dukes of Hazzard (Uncle Jesse) and The Doris Day Show (1968-70, Buck Webb - Doris Day's Father).

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Foster Brooks

Born May 11, 1912 d. 2001

American comic, "The Lovable Lush." TV: The drunk on Dean Martin's celebrity roasts. Quote: "I never drew a sober breath from Friday night to Monday. Eight years ago, I quit. A fellow made me a $10 bet I couldn't quit, and I haven't had a drink since. At the time I needed the $10." - Interview with the Los Angeles Times in 1972.

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Phil Silvers

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The King of Chutzpah

Phil Silvers (Philip Silversmith)

Born May 11, 1911 d. 1985

American Emmy-winning comic actor. "The King of Chutzpah". Film: Top Banana (1954) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). TV: The Phil Silvers Show (1955-59, MSgt. Ernest G. Bilko, Emmy).

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Alma Gluck

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Alma Gluck

Born May 11, 1884 d. 1938

Romanian-born American singer. Music: Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (1915), the first single recording to sell 1,000,000 copies.

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Charles Warren Fairbanks

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Charles Warren Fairbanks

Born May 11, 1852 d. 1918

American politician. 26th U.S. Vice-President (1905-09, under President Theodore Roosevelt), U.S. Senator (1897-1905, Indiana).

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Johann Friedrich Blumenbach

Born May 11, 1752 d. 1840

German naturalist and physiologist. He originated the science of natural anthropology and proposed the division of humans into the five species: Caucasian, Mongolian, Malay, American, and African/Ethiopian.

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Deaths

Douglas Adams

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Douglas Adams

Died May 11, 2001 b. 1952

British author. Writings: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1980). The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy began in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy. It was then developed into five books, a television series, several stage plays, comics, a computer game, and a 2005 feature film. Don't panic and bring a towel.

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Chester Gould

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Creator of Dick Tracy

Chester Gould

Died May 11, 1985 b. 1900

American cartoonist. Creator of Dick Tracy (1931).

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Norman Lloyd

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Norman Lloyd (Norman Perlmutter)

Died May 11, 2021 b. 1914

American actor. Film: Saboteur (1942, the man who fell from the Statue of Liberty in the climax) and Dead Poet's Society (1989, Headmaster Gale Nolan). TV: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (co-producer), St. Elsewhere (terminally ill Dr. Auschlander).
With a career that started in 1923 and spanned over 90 years, he worked in theater, radio, television, and film. Lloyd's final film, Trainwreck, was released in 2015, after he turned 100.

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Jerry Stiller

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Jerry Stiller (Gerald Isaac Stiller)

Died May 11, 2020 b. 1927

American comedian, actor. Half of the comedy team Stiller & Meara with his wife Anne Meara. TV: Seinfeld (1993-98, Frank Castanza) and The King of Queens (1998-2007, Arthur).

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Peggy Lipton

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Peggy Lipton (Margaret Ann Lipton)

Died May 11, 2019 b. 1946

American actress. TV: The Mod Squad (1969-73, Julie Barnes) and Twin Peaks (1990-91, Norma Jennings). She was married to music producer Quincy Jones (1974-90).

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Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett go to Video for Frankie Thomas
Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett

Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett
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Frankie Thomas

Died May 11, 2006 b. 1921

American actor. He played the title role in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950-55).
The series is one of only six shows to appear on all four TV networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, DuMont). The others series were The Arthur Murray Party; Down You Go; The Ernie Kovacs Show; Pantomime Quiz; and The Original Amateur Hour.

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Floyd Patterson

Died May 11, 2006 b. 1935

American heavyweight hall of fame boxing champion (1956-59, 1960-62). He was the youngest boxer up to that time to win the world heavyweight title (21 years old) and then first to regain the title. He won gold in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Quote: "They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most."

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Leigh Wiener Photo Credit: Leigh Wiener

Leigh Wiener Photo Credit: Leigh Wiener
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Leigh Wiener

Died May 11, 1993 b. 1929

American photographer. He is the only person to have photographed Marilyn Monroe living, at the scene of her death, and at the morgue. His work appears in the National Portrait Gallery. He died from radiation poisoning received while photographing atomic tests for Life magazine.

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Bob Marley

Died May 11, 1981 b. 1945

Jamaican reggae singer. Music: I Shot The Sheriff (1972), Roots, Rock, Reggae (1976), and Jamming (1977).

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Lester Flatt

Died May 11, 1979 b. 1914

American bluegrass singer, with Earl Scruggs. Music: Foggy Mountain Breakdown (1948), and the theme for TV show The Beverly Hillbillies.

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Lex Barker (Alexander Crichlow Barker)

Died May 11, 1973 b. 1919

American actor. Film: played Tarzan in five of the movies between 1949 and 1953.

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Henry Martyn Robert

Died May 11, 1923 b. 1837

American army engineer and author of Robert's Rules of Order (1876).

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Sir John Herschel

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Inventor of the Blueprint

Sir John Herschel

Died May 11, 1871 b. 1792

English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, experimental photographer. He invented the blueprint (1842), which allowed for the rapid, and accurate, production of an unlimited number of copies of technical drawings.

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John Trumbull

Died May 11, 1831 b. 1750

American poet. He was a political satirist during the American Revolution, with his epic satirical piece M'Fingal.

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Robert Treat Paine

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Robert Treat Paine

Died May 11, 1814 b. 1731

American politician, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

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