Daily Almanac for Saturday, July 8, 2023

By Kim McGuire

On this date in 1986, Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as president of Austria amidst allegations of his involvement in Nazi war crimes. Here is Kurt Waldheim during a press conference at the United Nations Headquarters in 1981. By Bernard Gotfryd, Public Domain, https commons.wikimedia.org

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Kurt Josef Waldheim (German: [ˈkʰʊɐ̯t ˈvalthaɪm] 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and president of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for the latter office in the 1986 election, the revelation of his service in Greece and Yugoslavia, and participation in Nazi atrocities, as an intelligence officer in Nazi Germany‘s Wehrmacht during World War II, raised international controversy.

Austria Flag

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Question of the Day

I’m tired of replanting vegetables every year. What are the best perennial vegetables I can grow?

Start with asparagus, horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, lovage, and rhubarb, and you may have a bountiful harvest for up to 20 years without having to replant them.

Advice of the Day

Rambler roses will bloom all summer if the old flower clusters are snipped regularly.

Home Hint of the Day

Here’s an alternative to the awkward job of mixing a full gallon of oil-based paint all at once. First pour the thinner liquid at the top of the can into an empty can. Stir the remaining sediment well, then slowly add back the liquid while you continue stirring.

Word of the Day

October

From the Latin word octo, “eight,” because this had been the eighth month of the early Roman calendar.

Puzzle of the Day

My first is female; my second the same; my whole is much dreaded; pray what is its name?(What’s the word? Each clue is a syllable!)

Ma-lady

Died

  • King Edgar of England – 
  • Percy Bysshe Shelley (poet) – 
  • Luther Martin (one of the Founding Fathers of the United States) – 
  • Walter Kittredge (musician) – 
  • Grace Coolidge (U.S. First Lady) – 
  • June Allyson (actress) – 
  • Betty Ford (U.S. First Lady) – 
  • Ernest Borgnine (actor) – 

Born

  • Jean de la Fontaine (poet) – 
  • Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (founder of the Zeppelin airship company) – 
  • John D. Rockefeller (industrialist) – 
  • Richard Aldington (poet) – 
  • David E. Lilienthal (government official) – 
  • Philip Johnson (architect) – 
  • Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (politician) – 
  • Walter Francis Kerr (drama critic) – 
  • Faye Emerson (actress) – 
  • John David Dingell, Jr. (politician) – 
  • Elisabeth Kubler Ross (psychiatrist) – 
  • Shirley Ann Grau (author) – 
  • Marty Feldman (actor) – 
  • Phil Gramm (politician) – 
  • Cynthia Kathleen Gregory (American ballerina) – 
  • Wolfgang Puck (chef) – 
  • Anjelica Huston (actress) – 
  • Jack Lambert (football player) – 
  • Kevin Bacon (actor) – 
  • Toby Keith (country musician) – 
  • Billy Crudup (actor) – 
  • Beck (musician) – 
  • Milo Ventimiglia (actor) – 
  • Sophia Bush (actress) – 

Events

  • Declaration of Independence proclaimed in Philadelphia– 
  • First public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania– 
  • Vermont became first American colony to abolish slavery– 
  • Francis Maria Barrere received the first American passport– 
  • According to some sources, the Liberty Bell in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, cracked again as it was being rung during the funeral of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court– 
  • Congress authorized trademark registration– 
  • The last bare-knuckles heavyweight championship boxing match was staged between John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain. Kilrain was defeated after 75 rounds– 
  • The first issue of the Wall Street Journal was published– 
  • The first Ziegfeld Follies, New York City– 
  • Sieur de Monts National Monument established (later named Acadia National Park), Maine– 
  • Group of Seven artist Tom Thomson last seen alive, Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario– 
  • Paris celebrated its 2,000th birthday– 
  • Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as president of Austria amidst allegations of his involvement in Nazi war crimes– 
  • Around 8:30 a.m., Josh the dromedary, from Lempster, N.H., became the first camel to reach the 6,288-foot summit of Mt. Washington, after walking for more than five hours up the 7.6-mile Auto Road.Accompanying the 4-year-old camel were handlers Chris Butler and Jennifer Bollay, two horses (Kidd and Riah), and an Irish wolfhound. They set off from the base of the Rockpile just after 3 a.m. in rain and fog, calm winds, and temperatures around 43 degrees. After reaching the summit, mild-mannered Josh spent several hours posing for pictures with visitors before going back down. In addition to traveling to New Hampshire’s highest point, Josh has also visited the state’s lowest point, Hampton Beach.– 
  • NASA launched its last space shuttle, Cape Canaveral, Florida– 

Weather

  • Waltham, Massachusetts, was hit by a frost– 
  • Scottsbluff, Nebraska, reported eight consecutive days with temperatures of 100 degrees F– 
  • A record high temperature for this date of 91 degrees F at Fairbanks, Alaska– 

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