March 14 Fun Facts, Trivia and HistoryTable of Contents |
March 14 History Highlights |
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Casey Jones – American Folk Hero |
John Luther “Casey” Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) was born in Missouri, and the future folk hero moved with his family as a boy to Cayce, Kentucky, the town from which he got his nickname. As a teen, he began working for the railroads and later moved to Jackson, Tennessee. On April 29, 1900, Jones, then an engineer for the Illinois Central Railroad, arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, having driven a train there from Canton, Mississippi. In Memphis, he found out the engineer scheduled to make the return run that night was sick, so Jones volunteered to take his place. When he pulled out of the Memphis station in the early hours of April 30, the train was running late so he hurried to make up for the lost time. As the train rounded a curve near Vaughan, Mississippi, it collided with another train on the tracks, but not before Jones told his fireman to jump to safety. Jones remained on board, to try to slow the train and save his passengers, and Casey Jones was the only person to die in the accident. |
March 14 is… |
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March 14 Birthday Quotes |
“Excellence isn’t an act, it’s a habit.” “Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent people ignore.” “A man’s body may grow old, but inside his spirit can still be as young and as restless as ever.” “Genius is making complex ideas simple, not making simple ideas complex.” “In high school, I was the class comedian as opposed to the class clown. The difference is the class clown is the guy who drops his pants at the football game, the class comedian is the guy who talked him into it.” “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” |
March 14 Birthdays |
1863 – Casey Jones, American engineer (died in 1900) 1879 – Albert Einstein, German-American physicist, engineer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died in 1955) 1912 – Les Brown, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (died in 2001) 1914 – Lee Petty, American race car driver (died in 2000) 1920 – Hank Ketcham, American author and cartoonist, created Dennis the Menace (died in 2001) 1922 – Les Baxter, American pianist and composer (died in 1996) 1933 – Michael Caine, English actor and author 1933 – Quincy Jones, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer 1948 – Billy Crystal, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter 1950 – Rick Dees, radio host 1979 – Chris Klein, American actor 2008 – Abby Ryder Fortson, American actress |
March 14 History |
44 BC – Casca and Cassius decided that Mark Antony should stay alive during the Caesar assassination the next day. 1794 – Eli Whitney was issued a US Patent (#X0072) for his cotton gin. 1839 – Sir John Herschel referred to ‘photography’- his new word – in a lecture to the Royal Society 1899 – Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was issued a US Patent (#621,195) for the invention of his “Navigable Balloon,” the rigid airship, known as the Zeppelin. 1900 – The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing United States currency on the gold standard. No country uses it today (2016). 1936 – The first all-sound film version of Show Boat opened at Radio City Music Hall. 1947 – The US signed a 99-year lease on naval bases in the Philippines. 1950 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation instituted the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list (List) 1958 – The Recording Industry Association of America awarded the first Gold Record (500,000 sold) to Perry Como for Catch A Falling Star. 1975 – Broadway Show – Same Time, Next Year (Play) March 14, 1975 March 14, 19** Birthday (fictional) Selena Kyle, Catwoman, DC Comics 1987 – #1 Hit March 14, 1987 – March 20, 1987: Huey Lewis and the News – Jacob’s Ladder 1998 – #1 Hit March 14, 1998 – April 3, 1998: Will Smith – Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It 2011 – Aflac Insurance fired Gilbert Gottfried, the voice of the Aflac Spokesduck, for an offensive online tweet about the Japan earthquake. |
Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts |
A group of Mice is called a Mischief. Relativity: the library is 15 minutes from my house, but closes in 10 minutes. For me then, the library is already closed, even though it is still open. The first Legend of Zelda game was released on February 21st, 1986. In Scotland, along with the Loch Ness Monster, we supposedly have a lesser-known monster in Loch Morar called Morag. The little hole at one end of a grape is its belly button. “Well, you can’t please everybody.” – Jiminy Cricket “You cannot write unless you write much.” – W. Somerset Maugham Singer Tracy Chapman was first drawn to the guitar by the TV show “Hee Haw”. A group of Emus is called a Mob. Colonel Harland Sanders cooked the first batch of Kentucky Fried Chicken at Sanders Cafe in Corbin, Kentucky. When one door closes another door opens, and now we don’t know where the cat is. |
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