July 9 and 10, in Past Years

July 9, 2015

Here’s what has happened on July 9 and 10, in past years. What? Huh? Sadly, I caught of major dose of writer’s block, and I just can’t kick it. TBT—it means “truth be told” to me, not throwback Thursday—I think this might be fun. Let me know.

On July 10, 1040, Lady Godiva rode her horse, bare-ass naked, to protest some tax or something. Having put forward this information, I disclaim any direct knowledge about what happened, or that it happened on July 10. That said, naked on a horse worked better in July than January, north of the equator. (Here from Peter and Gordon is Lady Godiva, which has nothing other than a naked lady to do with the historical event.)

On July 9, 1795, James Swan paid off the national debt. How much? $2,000,000 or so, an amount that an inflation calculator values at about $27.5 million today. And out national debt today? About $17 trillion.

On July 9, 1868, Frances Cardozo, an African American, became South Carolina’s Secretary of State and the first African American statewide office holder in the United States. Secretary Cardozo was a distant relative of New York Court of Appeals Justice and Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Nathan Cardozo—the second Jew on the U.S. Supreme Court—and his granddaughter was Paul Robeson’s wife. And, by the way, on this very day, 147 years after Secretary Cardozo was elected, Governor Nikki—I’m a fan, one day only—Haley signed a bill removing the Confederate flag from the capitol grounds.

On July 9, 1948, at the age of 42 and two days, Satchel Paige pitched two scoreless innings for the Cleveland Indians, against the St. Louis Browns. Go Satchmo!

On July 10, 1985, The Coca-Cola Company brought back its classic formulation. Here’s New Coke: One of Marketing’s Biggest Blunders Turns 25, by Abbey Klassen for Advertising Age on April 23, 2010, sharing the story of the eff-up.

On July 9, 1997, the Nevada Athletic Commission rescinded Mike Tyson’s boxing license, for biting Evander Holyfield’s ears—yes, both of them—in a fight on June 28, 1997. Never fear, though, for the license was restored in October 1998.

On July 10, 1999, Boris Yeltsin took the oath of office as the first president of Russia. The man was a drunk and more. Still, 16 years later, would you rather have President Yeltsin or the current president, Vladimir Putin. Yes, President George W. Bush looked into his eyes and saw his soul, but in testimony today General Joe Dunford, nominated to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “If you want to talk about a nation that could pose an existential threat to the United States, you’d have to point to Russia.”

As many readers know, the last 175 or so Monday nights of my life have been spent at a bar playing trivia. I like to think MRW rises slighter higher than Sky Bar Trivia, but reader-writers know, when the block bites, anything can happen.

 

 

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