590 Rome, Popular Culture: Pope Gregory ordered that Catholics say ‘God bless you’ when a person sneezes. It was to ward off the plague. This is the pope of the chant.
1857 Washington D.C., Education: Philanthropists Amos Kendall and Edward Gallaudet along with others founded the Gallaudet College for deaf mutes. It remains the only educational institution in the United States devoted exclusively to such students. It now includes a high school as well as a university.
1905 Boston, Education: The first Esperanto club in the United States was founded with the hope of uniting mankind through a common language. At the time there was much enthusiasm for the project among the educated elites until the enthusiasts realised it meant they had to do it, too, and not just berate others for not doing it.
1923 Sponsor Lord Carnarvon along with archeologist Howard Carter opened the door to King Tutankhamun’s burial chamber which had lain undisturbed for more than 3000 years. There in was the gold death mask which we have seen.
1937 Wilmington, Delaware, Science: William Carothers patented nylon for E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. It was a miracle fabric that soon led to cheap and durable clothing in a way never before. Making ladies’ stockings out of nylon at the time introduced it to the public at a time when silk for stockings was expensive and associated with Japan, whose aggression in China had antagonised many consumers in the United States.
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