Today In History

There are days when my curiosity just cannot be contained and I have to go snooping. This morning I decided to see what happened today in history. The History Place is one of my favorite Internet sites and here's what I found:

• In 1666 on this date, the first experimental blood transfusion took place in England, utilizing two dogs. (Wonder if they were trying to save them, or one, or just experimenting?)
• In 1889, newspaper reporter Nellie Bly (pen name for Elizabeth Cochrane) set out from New York to beat the record of Jules Verne's imaginary hero Phileas Fogg, who traveled around the world in 80 days. (Have you read that book?) Bly returned 72 days later to a tumultuous welcome in New York. (Talk about fast!)
• On this day steamboat developer Robert Fulton (1765-1815) was born in rural Pennsylvania. (Had some relatives in Pennsylvania at one time.)
• And this is the day that French painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) was born in Paris. He pioneered the impressionist style in his landscapes including the Haystacks, Poplars, and Rouen Cathedral series. (Impressive impressionist!)
• Today was the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru (most everybody just called him Nehru), who was born in Allahabad, India (1889-1964). He spent over 20 years working with Mahatma Gandhi (most everybody just called him Gandhi; funny, but no one calls George W. Bush just Bush). Following independence in 1947, Nehru became India's first prime minister, serving until his death in 1964.
• American composer Aaron Copland (1900-1990) was born on this day in Brooklyn, New York. He created a quintessential American music style in his ballets, film scores, and orchestral works including Fanfare for the Common Man, Rodeo, and Appalachian Spring (all my favorites!) for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. His film score for The Heiress won an Oscar.

So, there you are. . .important dates, important people, important events. All at the website www.historyplace.com where there's even more interesting news. Check it out on one of the library's 20 Dell computers which are available for public use. Just takes a library card to get online.