Almanac - Wednesday March 27, 2024

Effa Manley, co-owner and manager with husband Abe of the Negro League baseball team the Brooklyn Eagles (1935-46), was born today in 1897. She supported integration with the NAACP, worked hard to get Negro League players included in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Julia Alvarez, a Dominican-American poet, novelist, and essayist, was born today in 1950. Her first novel How the García Girls Lost Their Accents was highly acclaimed for its portrayal of the integration of Latina immigrants into the U.S. mainstream.

Pamela Gordon became Bermuda's first woman prime minister today in 1997.

Mariah Carey, winner of multiple Grammy Awards, was born today in 1970.

Sarah Vaughan, world renown jazz singer and pianist known as the “Divine One,” was born today in 1924.

1824 – Virginia Minor, American women's suffrage activist (d. 1894) In 1875, She tried to carry a lawsuit to the Supreme Court arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote.

1862 – Jelena Dimitrijević, Serbian short story writer, novelist, poet, traveller, social worker, feminist and polyglot (d. 1945)

1868 – Patty Hill, American songwriter and educator (d. 1946) best known for co-writing, with her sister Mildred Hill, the tune which later became popular as "Happy Birthday to You".

1924 – Margaret K. Butler, American mathematician and pioneering computer programmer (d. 2013)

On this day in Women’s History….

1912 – First Lady Helen Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, plant two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the origin of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

1915 – Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant who worked as a cook for affluent families, and the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States, is put in quarantine for the second time, where she would remain for the rest of her life. She was made infamous in American folklore as Typhoid Mary.

Also on this day in history….

1866 – President of the United States of America Andrew Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1866. His veto is overridden by Congress and the bill passes into law on April 9.

1964 – The Good Friday earthquake, the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes Southcentral Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage.

1975 – Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.

1976 – The first section of the Washington Metro opens to the public.

1981 – The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours.

1990 – The United States begins broadcasting anti-Castro propaganda to Cuba on TV Martí.

1998 – The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for erectile dysfunction, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States.

Today’s birthdays include…

1724 – Jane Colden, American botanist and author (d. 1766)

1824 – Virginia Minor, American women's suffrage activist (d. 1894)

1862 – Jelena Dimitrijević, Serbian short story writer, novelist, poet, traveller, social worker, feminist and polyglot (d. 1945)

1863 – Henry Royce, English engineer and businessman, founded Rolls-Royce Limited (d. 1933)

1868 – Patty Hill, American songwriter and educator (d. 1946) best known for co-writing, with her sister Mildred Hill, the tune which later became popular as "Happy Birthday to You".

1878 – Kathleen Scott, British sculptor (d. 1947)

1883 – Marie Under, Estonian author and poet (d. 1980)

1899 – Gloria Swanson, American actress and producer (d. 1983)

1901–present

1903 – Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet and playwright (d. 1950)

1905 – Leroy Carr, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1935)

1905 – Elsie MacGill, Canadian-American author and engineer (d. 1980)

1906 – Pee Wee Russell, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 1969)

1909 – Ben Webster, American saxophonist (d. 1973)

1911 – Veronika Tushnova, Russian poet and physician (d. 1965)

1915 – Robert Lockwood, Jr., American guitarist (d. 2006)

1917 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th United States Secretary of State (d. 2002)

1924 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (d. 1990)

1924 – Margaret K. Butler, American mathematician and computer programmer (d. 2013)

1926 – Frank O'Hara, American writer (d. 1966)

1927 – Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (d. 2007)

1929 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (d. 1988)

1941 – Liese Prokop, Austrian pentathlete and politician, Austrian Minister of the Interior (d. 2006)

1950 – Maria Ewing, American soprano (d. 2022)

1952 – Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Austrian skier

1952 – Maria Schneider, French actress (d. 2011)

1955 – Susan Neiman, American-German philosopher and author

1963 – Quentin Tarantino, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor

1963 – Xuxa, Brazilian actress, singer, businesswoman and television presenter

1967 – Talisa Soto, American actress

1968 – Irina Belova, Russian heptathlete

1969 – Pauley Perrette, American actress

1969 – Mariah Carey, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

1970 – Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (d. 2001)

1970 – Elizabeth Mitchell, American actress

1975 – Fergie, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress

1980 – Michaela Paštiková, Czech tennis player

1981 – Hilda Kibet, Kenyan runner

1983 – Yuliya Golubchikova, Russian pole vaulter

1987 – Polina Gagarina, Russian singer-songwriter

1987 – Buster Posey, American baseball player

1988 – Brenda Song, American actress

2002 – Daria Snigur, Ukrainian tennis player