Jar of Paperclips: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I was listening to Morning Edition on my drive to work and today is Handel's 250th anniversary of death. This got me thinking about how special this week is. And I'm not just saying that! Seriously! A lot of noteworthy events have happened during this small span of time (for the purposes of this post, small span of time=4/14-4/16). Below is a run-down of some of the things I find interesting:

4/15/1452: Leonardo da Vinci is born.

4/14/1863: The Donner party sets off on their year-long Western journey. What a crazy trip that was!

4/15/1889: Thomas Hart Benton (muralist) is born. The placement of his murals in universities and the Missouri State Capitol is something I've always liked because it takes away the "museum fatigue" that I generally feel - where I have to learn/appreciate all works really quickly in a really uptight setting. More realistically art should be a part of our lives in a public space. Also, I just love the look of his work.

4/15/1892: GE is formed. This surprised me. I guess everyone else knew GE was that old?

4/14/1863 - 4/15/1863: President Lincoln is shot at Ford's Theater and dies on the morning of the 15th. I have always felt a connection to him. This fact really spooked me when we went to visit Ford's Theater and the museum as a child.

4/16/1889: Charlie Chaplin is born. I've always been more interested in his life off-camera than his films.

4/14/1912-4/15/1912: The Titanic hits an iceberg and sinks on the morning of the 15th.

4/16/1912: Catherine Scorsese is born (aka Martin's mom). I just found this interesting. In the way that Martin Scorsese during the Last Waltz years fascinates me.

4/15/1924: Rand McNally publishes his first road atlas. Look how far they've come!

4/14/1925: John Singer Sargent dies. I'm reading this book, The Gardner Heist, and though I don't necessarily care for his work, he painted portraits of/was good friends with the museum's owner, Isabella Stewart Gardner. So shout-out to John!

4/16/1927: Joseph Ratzinger (aka Joey Ratz) (aka Pope Benedict XVI) is born. Let's be honest - he's no John Paul II, but still - a birthday shared with a Pope. Fun fact: John Paul II died on my sister's birthday (4/2).

4/15/1933: Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha from Bewitched) is born. I love her!

4/15/1947: Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Did anyone see the new Mets stadium, CitiField, last night? The Mets designed the new entrance of the field to look like the old Dodger field rotunda and have named it in honor of Robinson. From what I saw, I think CitiField looks better than the new Yankee Stadium.

4/15/1952: Heloise is born. I used to read her column in the N & O. Maybe it's even still there?

4/14/1956: Videotape is first demonstrated in Chicago.

4/16/1963: MLK Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail.

4/16/1965: Martin Lawrence is born. I share my birthday with true greatness.

4/15/1967: Dara Torres is born. She was the closest Olympian I could find.

4/14/1999: A severe hailstorm in Australia becomes their most costly natural disaster (over 1.4 billion US dollars). I can't believe this wasn't given more coverage. Or maybe it was and I wasn't listening.