Almanac - Monday March 18, 2024

Frances Luella Welsing (née Cress; March 18, 1935 – January 2, 2016) was an American psychiatrist and well-known proponent of The Cress Theory of Color Confrontation and Racism (White Supremacy), Her 1970 essay, The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism (White Supremacy), offered her interpretation of what she described as the origins of white supremacy culture.

She was also the author of The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors (1991).

Bonnie Blaira speed skater, and five time Olympic gold medalist, was born today in 1964.

Unita Blackwell, an American civil rights activist and the first black woman mayor elected in Mississippi, was born in Lula, Mississippi, today in 1933.

Dana Elaine Owens (known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah) is an American rapper, songwriter, singer, actress, and producer. She was born today in 1970. She has long been considered one of hip-hop's pioneer feminists.

Also on this day in history….

1673 – English lord John Berkeley sold his half of New Jersey to the Quakers

1766 – American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act.

1834 – Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union.

1848 – The premiere of Fry's Leonora in Philadelphia is the first known performance of an grand opera by an American composer.

1871 – Declaration of the Paris Commune; President of the French Republic, Adolphe Thiers, orders the evacuation of Paris.

1874 – The Hawaiian Kingdom signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trade rights.

1899 – Phoebe, a satellite of Saturn, becomes the first to be discovered with photographs, taken in August 1898, by William Henry Pickering.

1922 – In India, Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience, of which he serves only two.

1938 – Mexico creates Pemex by expropriating all foreign-owned oil reserves and facilities.

1944 – Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupts, killing 26 people, causing thousands to flee their homes, and destroying dozens of Allied bombers.

1965 – Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.

1968 – Gold standard: The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency.

1990 – Germans in the German Democratic Republic vote in the first democratic elections in the former communist dictatorship.

2014 – The parliaments of Russia and Crimea sign an accession treaty.

…and today’s birthdays also include….

1495 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France (d. 1533)

1634 – Madame de La Fayette, French author (d. 1693)

1782 – John C. Calhoun, American lawyer and politician, 7th Vice President of the United States (d. 1850)

1789 – Charlotte Elliott, English poet, hymn writer, editor (d. 1871)

1800 – Harriet Smithson, Irish actress, the first wife and muse of Hector Berlioz (d. 1854)

1837 – Grover Cleveland, American lawyer and politician, 22nd and 24th President of the United States (d. 1908)

1844 – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer and academic (d. 1908)

1845 – Kicking Bear, Native American tribal leader (d. 1904)

1869 – Neville Chamberlain, English businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1940)

1870 – Agnes Sime Baxter, Canadian mathematician (d. 1917)

1877 – Edgar Cayce, American mystic and psychic (d. 1945)

1886 – Edward Everett Horton, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1970)

1893 – Wilfred Owen, English soldier and poet (d. 1918)

1899 – Marjorie Abbatt, English toy-maker and businesswoman (d. 1991)

1909 – Ernest Gallo, American businessman, co-founded the E & J Gallo Winery (d. 2007)

1922 – Suzanne Perlman, Hungarian-Dutch visual artist (d. 2020)

1927 – George Plimpton, American journalist and actor (d. 2003)

1927 – Lillian Vernon, German-American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded the Lillian Vernon Company (d. 2015)

1928 – Fidel V. Ramos, Filipino general and politician, 12th President of the Philippines (d. 2022)

1932 – John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 2009)

1933 – Unita Blackwell, American civil rights activist and politician (d. 2019)

1934 – Charley Pride, American country music singer and musician (d. 2020)

1935 – Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (d. 2016)

1936 – F. W. de Klerk, South African lawyer and politician, former State President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2021)

1938 – Carl Gottlieb, American actor and screenwriter

1941 – Wilson Pickett, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)

1942 – Kathleen Collins, American filmmaker and playwright (d. 1988)

1945 – Michael Reagan, American journalist and radio host

1945 – Susan Tyrrell, American actress (d. 2012)

1950 – Linda Partridge, English geneticist and academic

1951– Ben Cohen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Ben and Jerry's

1951 – Bill Frisell, American guitarist and composer

1951 Tret Fure, American contemporary folk singer-songwriter, and audio engineer, born in Iowa

1952 – Will Durst, American journalist and actor

1956 – Deborah Jeane Palfrey, American madam (d. 2008)

1959 – Irene Cara, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2022)

1962 – James McMurtry, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor

1963 – Vanessa L. Williams, American model, actress, and singer

1964 – Bonnie Blair, American speed skater

1964 – Isabel Noronha, Mozambican film director

1970 – Katy Gallagher, Australian politician

1970 – Queen Latifah, American rapper, producer, and actress

1972 – Reince Priebus, American lawyer and politician

1978 – Brooke Hanson, Australian swimmer

1980 – Sophia Myles, English actress

1981 – Tora Berger, Norwegian biathlete

1985 – Ana Beatriz, Brazilian race car driver

1994 – Kris Dunn, American basketball player

1995 – Irina Bara, Romanian tennis player

1995 – Julia Goldani Telles, American actress and dancer

1997 – Ciara Bravo, American actress

Almanac - Monday March 18, 2024

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