September 19th in History

First living creatures ascend in a balloon! Plus, the Unabomber manifesto and the first emoticons are published. Arthur Rackham, Adam West, Brian Epstein, Mama Cass, and Twiggy are born; Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Orville Redenbacher, and Jackie Collins die. Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Yaaar!

Read More

April 3rd in History

The Pony Express begins and the first Jack the Ripper murder takes place! It's also the birthday of Boss Tweed (above), as well as Washington Irving, Marlon Brando, and Doris Day. Jesse James, Johannes Brahms, and Charles Goren died. But most importantly, on this date in history Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk' becomes king of Calakmul!

Read More

April 4th in History

Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated. Also, the first home telephone is installed and Microsoft is founded. It's the birthday of Isoroku Yamamoto, Muddy Waters, and Grumpy Cat; Gloria Swanson and Roger Ebert died.

Read More

April 4th in Science Fiction, Comics, and Games

Scrabble creator Alfred Mosher Butts; critic and early fan Roger Ebert; DC comics figures Carmine Infantino and Joe Orlando; EC artist "Ghastly" Graham Ingles; hot rod cartoonist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth; and science fiction/fantasy writers C. L. Moore, Dan Simmons, and Stanley G. Weinbaum.

Read More