On October 12, 1999, the proclaimed 6,000,000,000 billionth living human in the world was born. They now claim it’s 8.1B, but I don’t know why we would believe the people that claim to know such things. Anyway, you can check out the live population calendar here. <Hard Eye Roll>
If you don’t want to celebrate the dystopian anniversary of “Six Billion Day,” especially since it’s the entire narrative anchor for normalizing global population reduction, you can celebrate National Gumbo Day or National Savings Day!
Better yet, let’s all celebrate National FreeThought Day:
Finally, the Children's rhyme "Three Blind Mice" was published on this day in 1609, in London in a book edited by and possibly written by Thomas Ravenscroft. My freethought on this story is to ponder whether there is actually any difference between Three Blind Mice and Hot Crossed Buns. Thoughts?
On This Day
1285: 180 Jews Refuse Baptism in Munich. They are Set on Fire.
Hitting death and destruction first again, to get it out of the way, and there were some disturbing fires on October 12. According to Jewish Virtual Library:
“In the second half of the 13th century Munich appears to have had a sizable Jewish community; the Jews lived in their own quarter and possessed a synagogue, a ritual bath, and a hospital. On October 12, 1285, in the wake of a blood libel, 180 Jews who had sought refuge in the synagogue were burnt to death; the names of 68 of the victims are listed in the Nuremberg Memorbuch, which dates from 1296. The Jews obtained permission to rebuild the synagogue in 1287, but for several centuries they remained few in number and suffered from various restrictions, which from time to time were further exacerbated (e.g., in 1315 and 1347).”
A fire with less historical significance but greater loss of life was the Cloquet Fire in California in 1918, in which 453 people died. From the Duluth News Tribune:
“Known as the Cloquet Fire, the blaze was ignited by train's sparks near Brookston on Oct. 10, 1918. By Oct. 12, the fire had destroyed Cloquet and reached townships north of Duluth, as well as the Woodland, Lakeside and Lester Park neighborhoods of Duluth. In the end, 1,500 square miles were scorched, more than 11,000 houses and barns were destroyed and up to 52,000 people were affected - either injured or displaced.”
There were a couple big storms, including the Indianola Hurricane in Texas when the storm and storm surge killed 250, and the 1962 Columbus Day Storm that claimed the lives of 46 people and caused $230M in damages. The latter storm hit the pacific northwest of the US and Canada.
Additional devastation occurred October 12 throughout the years:
1972: 46 sailors injured in race riot on American aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk
1980: 7 stabbed at Blood, Sweat & Tears concert in Los Angeles
1984: 5 killed in IRA bombing at the Grand Hotel in Brighton
1994: 66 killed when Iranian Fokker F28 explodes near Tehran
2013: 15 killed in Vietnam fireworks factory explosions
2013: 50 killed after a truck veers off of a cliff in Peru
2017: 57 die in plague outbreak in Madagascar
2018: 60 al-Shabab militants killed in US air strike in central Somalia
1518: Pontifical Ambassador Interrogates Martin Luther
With the watered down western church these days, it’s easy to forget how much power the church once had in society.
Martin Luther’s reformation forever changed that dynamic, and on this day in 1518, he was being interrogated for his views. From Britannica:
“In Cajetan’s view the key issues were Luther’s denial that the church is empowered to distribute as indulgences the infinite ‘treasury of merits’ accumulated by Christ on the cross—on this point Luther directly contradicted the papal bull Unigenitus Dei Filius (1343; “Only Begotten Son of God”) of Clement VI—and Luther’s insistence that faith is indispensable for justification. After three days of discussion (October 12–14), Cajetan advised Luther that further conversations were useless unless he was willing to recant. Luther immediately fled Augsburg and returned to Wittenberg, where he issued an appeal for a general council of the church to hear his case.”
On the same day 431 years later in 1931, the Christ the Redeemer statue opened in Rio de Janeiro, standing 98 ft on top of Mount Corcovado. This statue was built by engineer Heitor da Silva Costa. In February of this year, it was struck by lightning.
1901: Theodore Roosevelt Renamed the "Executive Mansion" as "The White House
That’s right, folks, the White House became the White House on this day in 1901 and 122 years later it’s housing squatters. I find it interesting that just 32 years later in 1933, Alcatraz unofficially became a federal prison. Can we open that bad boy back up?
Also in 1933, Gangster George Francis Barnes, aka Machine Gun Kelly, was sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping a wealthy oil magnate.
1915: Ford Motor Company’s 1,000,000 Automobile
One million automobiles by 1915! That is the accomplishment that Henry Ford achieved on this day at the River Rouge plant in Detroit, Michigan.
There were other innovative achievements on October 12 as well, such as USS Holland, first modern submarine to be commissioned by the US Navy in 1900, and the first commercial flight between California and Antarctica in 1957. I wonder what they saw in Antarctica?
This was also the day that the first iron lung was used in 1928 at Boston’s Children Hospital.
Wait, they tried this thing out on kids first? Yes. From Science Museum:
“Imagine the terror of not being able to breathe because your lung muscles are paralysed. You're gasping for air as the medical team slides you into something that looks like a coffin on legs. They seal you in up to your neck and a strange 'whooshing' sound starts somewhere in the room. Then, relief! Your lungs pull in fresh air and you find you're breathing again. The coffin-like cabinet respirator—better known as the 'iron lung'—was the state-of-the-art in life support technology in the first half of the 20th century. The first iron lung was used at Boston Children's Hospital to save the life of an eight-year-old girl with polio in 1928.”
1944 "Columbus Day Riot"
This was a mostly – or entirely – peaceful riot, as I can’t find any reports of deaths or injuries, but on this day in 1944, 30,000 squealing girls descended on NYC's Times Square to see Frank Sinatra's at Paramount Theatre – a theater with a capacity of 3,500. From the Guardian:
“The New Republic editor Bruce Bliven called it ‘a phenomenon of mass hysteria that is only seen two or three times in a century. You need to go back not merely to Lindbergh [Charles Lindbergh’s first flight] and Valentino to understand it, but to the dance madness that overtook some German villages in the middle ages, or to the Children’s Crusade.’ What was new was the power that one singer held, heralded by mass screaming, and the advent of the teenager as a social ideal. Sinatra was the first modern pop star.”
Also on this day in 1987, George Harrison released “Got My Mind Set On You," and in 1996, Farm Aid IX was held in Columbia, South Carolina. I wish Farm Aid had saved the family farms. They’re struggling now. From Farm Aid’s website:
“Each year, Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price host a Farm Aid festival to bring together a wide variety of artists, farmers and fans for one mission: keeping family farmers on the land. Farm Aid is an all-day festival that brings together incredible music, good food and hands-on activities to get folks in touch with the roots of our food. Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised more than $70 million to help family farmers thrive all over the country while inspiring millions of people to take part in the Good Food Movement.”
Hey, October 12 is also National Farmers Day! Thanks, Farmers!
1973: Nixon nominates Gerald Ford to replace Spiro Agnew as Vice President
A couple days ago, we talked about the resignation of Spiro Agnew, and today in 1973 Nixon appointed his replacement: Gerald Ford. Ford would go on to become the 38th President of the United States.
The same day the same year, Israel launched their counter offensive in southern Syria in the Yom Kippur War. The Yom Kippur War is also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, and the Fourth Arab–Israeli War.
Three years later in 1976, over in China, Hua Guo-feng succeeded Mao Zedong as Chairman of Communist Party.
It’s US Presidential debate season as well. More than a decade earlier in 1960, JFK and Richard Nixon had their third presidential debate and, in 1988, George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis had their second presidential debate.
1985: International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War Receives Nobel Prize
Remember yesterday, when we talked about Albert Einstein warning FDR about the nuclear threat, and FDR moving ahead? Well, on October 12 in 1985, the International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War was awarded the Nobel Prize for “promoting competent information on the catastrophic consequences of atomic warfare.”
From the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates:
“The organization was founded in 1980 by American and Soviet physicians determined to react to the Cold War realities in the world divided into two militarized camps poised on the brink of nuclear war. They decided that their common interest in survival was more powerful than the ideological divisions between them and realized that their obligation as physicians included a common commitment to the prevention of nuclear conflicts.”
On that same day in the same year – maybe later that afternoon – the US performed a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site. I guess we can see the AI Dilemma guys awarded in the next 2-3 years?
2019: High Fashion Died when California Banned Fur
California became the first state to ban the new production and consumption of fur in 2019. I’m told by my fashionista friends that “vintage fur” is still okay, and I am going to take that to mean anything before 2019.
Three years before fur became illegal, other than just immoral – slippery slope, anyone? – in 2016, James Charles (17) became the first male face of make-up label CoverGirl. He was 17 at the time.
Finally, a year ago in 2022, Alex Jones was ordered to pay $965 million to families of those killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Birthdays
1875: Aleister Crowley (British Occultist)
1935: Luciano Pavarotti (Italian Tenor)
1955: Jane Siberry (Canadian Musician)
1968: Hugh Jackman (Actor)
1970: Kirk Cameron (Actor)
1975: Marion Jones (Disgraced Cheater)
1977: Bode Miller (Olympic Gold Medalist)
1992: Josh Hutcherson (Actor)
Death Days
1576: Maximilian II (Holy Roman Emperor)
1590: Kano Eitoku (Japanese Painter)
1870: Robert E. Lee (Confederate General)
1944: Regina Jonas (First Woman Rabbi)
1978: Nancy Spungen (Sid Vicious Girlfriend)
1997: John Denver (Musician)
1999: Wilt Chamberlain (NBA All Star)
On This Day is published Monday through Friday. Watch the Today’s History podcast weekdays at 12PM ET! Don’t forget to visit bootlegproducts.com and use coupon code ASHE1776!
Did you hear me mention your John Denver story today? ❤️
John Denver died on Oct. 12. 🥹😢