1606 At Whitehall London King Lear was performed at the court of King James I. It had been written in the previous twelve months. I have seen it performed many times. Most productions mangle the politics by omitting scenes and lines that indicate Lear had a plan, and only when it was foiled and he lost control of the situation did he become erratic.
1919 The Boston Red Sox committed original sin by selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, and suffered ever after. Only expiated in 2004; saw it, did not believe it. Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee had predicted it would a hundred years but he meant 2019. He missed by fifteen years. That’s close enough for a junk baller. In any event it was the hundredth World Series so he numerology was right.
1931 George Gershwin’s musical, “Of Thee I Sing,” opened in New York City. It became the first American musical to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Daughter Julie sang in this at the Sydney Opera House.
1945 The first Sydney to Hobart yacht race occurred. In the first instance it was a sailing club with nine craft, but it soon became a competition ‘to make it more interesting’. It has been a boon to Hobart’s tourist business. The spectacle on Sydney Harbour is a sight to see. At Hobart the survivors are usually a bedraggled lot which does not look so good.
1982 Time magazine made the Personal Computer its ‘Man of the Year.’ The first time a person was not name for this distinction. Started to use my first one in the office about 1988 when I rolled one recently delivered from the hallway into my office. That was the method by which resources were allocated in those days.
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