The present is rough for many in different ways and as I write this a week prior I’m hopeful for some slivers of good news happening amid what’s going on. So, I take comfort in looking back at this day in history to see what other events, big and small, shaped the world wherein people lived and survived to another day.

Back in 43 BC, we saw the assassination of Julius Caesar, more formally known as the Battle of Forum Gallorum

In 1191, 85-year old Giacinto Bobo becomes Pope Coelestinus III

1434 saw the foundation stone of Cathedral St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes, France laid

1828 had Noah Webster register the copyright for publication of the first American dictionary

1841 gets historic with Edgar Allan Poe publishing his first detective story with “Murders in Rue Morgue”

1865 saw US President Abraham Lincoln shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington

1902 had J. C. Penney opens his first store, The Golden Rule Store, in Kemmerer, Wyoming

1912 was significant with the Titanic hitting the iceberg at 11:40 pm.

Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 with space dog Laika aboard burns up during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere in 1958.

1960 saw the beginning of excellence with the Motown being incorporated.

1st Space Shuttle, Columbia 1, returns to Earth in 1981!

1983 saw US President Reagan sign $165 billion Social Security rescue

In 2003, the Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%

We got birthdays, too! If today is your birthday, you share it with Rod Steiger (1925), Loretta Lynn (1932), Julie Christie (1941), Pete Rose (1941),  Peter Capaldi (1958), Adrien Brody (1973), and Sarah Michelle Gellar (1977).

Be excellent to each other and remember that the McSquirrell rule is always in effect! And if it gets problematic out there, grab ahold of a mod at avocadomods@gmail.com.