September 29

1547: Miguel de Cervantes born. His masterwork, Don Quixote, (published in two parts: 1605 and 1615) is considered by some: “A founding work of Western literature, . . . often labeled ‘the first modern novel’ and is sometimes considered the best literary work ever written.” Wikipedia

1829: Britain’s “bobbies” made their first public appearance. Greater London’s Metropolitan Police force was established by an act of Parliament at the request of Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel, after whom they were nicknamed. The force later became known as Scotland Yard, the site of their first headquarters.

1916: American oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller becomes the world’s first billionaire. Now, he would be far from alone. According to a Forbes.com article in March of 2019, there are:

“2,153 billionaires, 55 fewer than a year ago. Of those, a record 994, or 46%, are poorer (relatively speaking) than they were last year. In total, the ultra-rich are worth $8.7 trillion, down $400 billion from 2018. Altogether 11% of last year’s list members, or 247 people, dropped out of the ranks, the most since 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis.”

1954: Willie Mays made his famous over-the-shoulder catch during Game One of the World Series

september 8: an interesting birthday pairing

1932: Patsy Cline, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1963)

1979: Pink, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

september achievements

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1916: In a bid to prove that women were capable of serving as military dispatch riders, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren arrive in Los Angeles, completing a 60-day, 5,500 mile cross-country trip on motorcycles.

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1981: The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

authors with september birthdays: a sampling 

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1828: Leo Tolstoy; War and Peace (published 1869)

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1862: O. Henry; “Gift of the Magi” (published 1905)
1885: D.H. Lawrence; Sons and Lovers (published 1913)

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1943: Michael Ondaatje; The English Patient (published 1992)

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1916: Roald Dahl; James and the Giant Peach (published 1961)

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1934: Kate Millet; Sexual Politics (published 1970)
1950: John Steptoe; Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters (published 1987)

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1823: Francis Parkman; The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life (published 1847)

1950: Henry Louis Gates Jr.; Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow (published 2019)

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1883: William Carlos Williams; Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems (published 1962)
1935: Ken Kesey; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (published 1962)

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1911: William Golding; Lord of the Flies (published 1954)

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1878: Upton Sinclair; The Jungle (published 1906)

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1866: H.G. Wells; The War of the Worlds (published 1898)

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1897: F. Scott Fitzgerald; The Great Gatsby (published 1925)

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1896: William Faulkner; The Sound and the Fury (published 1929)

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1888: T.S. Eliot; Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (published 1939)

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1924: Truman Capote; In Cold Blood (published in 1965)

artists with september birthdays slide show

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feature image: Jeanet S. Dreskin, Edge of Autumn

sampling of what I’ve been listening to this month