By Michelle Dumas
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Gary Edward “Garrison” Keillor (/ˈkiːlər/; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion (called Garrison Keillor’s Radio Show in some international syndication), which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books, including Lake Wobegon Days and Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. Other creations include Guy Noir, a detective voiced by Keillor who appeared in A Prairie Home Companion comic skits. Keillor is also the creator of the five-minute daily radio/podcast program The Writer’s Almanac, which pairs poems of his choice with a script about important literary, historical, and scientific events that coincided with that date in history.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer’s Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer’s Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Carl Ritter (geographer) –
- Rudolf C. Ising (co-creator of Looney Tunes”“) –
- Garrison Keillor (radio host) –
- B. J. Thomas (singer) –
- Wayne Knight (actor) –
- David Duchovny (actor) –
- Charlize Theron (actress) –
Died
- Oliver Hardy (comedian & actor) –
- Mickey Leland (U.S. congressman) –
- Peter Jennings (journalist) –
Events
- La Salle’s Le Griffon, first ship to sail upper Great Lakes, entered Lake Erie–
- George Washington established the Badge of Military Merit for U.S. soldiers injured in action. It later became known as the Purple Heart–
- The United States War Department established–
- Service began at first deaf church in U.S., St. Ann’s Church for Deaf Mutes, N.Y.C.–
- Silver discovered in northern Ontario–
- Peace Bridge opened–
- U.S. satellite Explorer VI launched–
- The Don Messer Show premiered on CBC television–
- Love Canal, N.Y., was declared a disaster area–
- Record-breaking flight around world by single-engine plane completed (6 days, 7 hours, 25 minutes, 47 seconds)–
- President George Bush ordered the military buildup known as Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait earlier in the month–
- At the Summer Olympics, Katie Ledecky swam the 400m freestyle in 3:56.46, setting a world record–
Weather
- New York City had a low of only 102 degrees F by day and 82 degrees F by night, and Philadelphia reached a record high of 106 degrees F–
- The temperature in Claysville, Pennsylvania, reached 108 degrees F–
- A hailstorm severely damaged a passenger train near Pinneo, Colorado.–
- Waco, Texas, recorded a temperature of 107 degrees F–
- Marquette, Michigan, experienced a high temperature of 88 degrees F–
- The temperature plummeted to 30 degrees F in Martin, South Dakota–
- The temperature plummeted to 37 degrees F in Belcourt, North Dakota–
- The temperature plummeted to 40 degrees F in Valentine, Nebraska–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
