El Segundo, CA was so named because it was the site of the second Standard Oil refinery on the west coast.
The breakup of AT&T in 1982 involved the largest monopoly since Standard Oil in 1911, resulting in creation of seven independent Regional Bell Operating Companies, becoming known as “baby bells.” In response to public opinion concerns over service interruptions and quality of product, AT&T produced commercials featuring Andy Griffith to calm people down.
Of the seven “Baby Bells” formed in the breakup of AT&T in 1982:
- Four (Ameritech, BellSouth, Pacific Telesis, and Southwestern Bell) have, through mergers, become part of AT&T once again
- Two (Bell Atlantic and NYNEX) have, through mergers, evolved into what is now Verizon
- One (US West) was acquired by Qwest, and now operates under the name Lumen Technologies
1982 was the first full year of the administration of Ronald W. Reagan, President of the United States. Reagan, a Republican of California, was the first President since James Monroe to be elected in a year ending in zero and to then complete his entire term in office (Monroe was elected in 1820; Reagan, in 1980). This broke what had long been known as the Curse of Tippecanoe.
Although Ronald Reagan was governor of California before he became President, he was born in Illinois in 1911 and didn’t move to California until 1937. The only President who was born in California was Richard Nixon, who was born in the township of Yorba Linda in 1913. The only other President who was born west of the Rocky Mountains was Barak Obama, who was born in Hawaii in 1961.
Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, who led the United States and the Confederate States during the Civil War, were born within a hundred miles of each other in Kentucky. Each rose to political prominence in a different state, however - Lincoln in Illinois, and Davis in Mississippi.
I think it’s a bit of a stretch to include FDR in this category: he was first elected in 1932 and re-elected for a fourth consecutive term in 1944, thus breaking the curse. I can see the argument that, because of being elected in 1940 he was doomed to die in office, but it’s a flimsy argument.
EDIT: Look at me, arguing over the validity of curses. You win, Internet. [shakes fist]
Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the 15th state on June 1, 1792, nicknamed “the Bluegrass State” because of a species of green grass found in many of its pastures. Before achieving statehood it was known as the Kentucky County of Virginia. The etymology of the name is uncertain, although a strong case can be made from the Algonquian language of “Kenta Aki”, meaning “Land of Our Fathers.”
Kentucky State University has the largest pawpaw research planting. It was done in an effort to develop pawpaw as a cash crop.
In play:
Kentucky is one of four of the United States styling themselves “commonwealths.” The others are Pennsylvania, Virginia and Massachusetts.
In addition to the commonwealth states, there are also two US territories included as commonwealths: Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. Globally, there are currently three nations that have the official title of “commonwealth”: Australia, The Bahamas, and Dominica.
The Bahamas, which officially gained independence in 1973, were named by Christopher Columbus, who described them as islands of the “baja mar” (shallow sea).
In play: Except most scholars believe the name Bahamas comes from the indigenous language Lucayan describing the main island.
The Lucayans were an indigenous people living in The Bahamas when Columbus first arrived. Subsequent encounters between Spanish and Lucayans resulted in capture and enslavement of the native population, mainly to the Spanish island Hispaniola, to be used as slave labor. By 1520 the population was completely eradicated.
Columbus, Ohio, the capital of the Buckeye State, was first established as Franklinton in 1797. Today it is, with a population of over 905,000, the third-most-populous state capital in the United States, behind Phoenix, Arizona (1.6 million) and Austin, Texas (961,000).
The five largest U.S. public universities, based on enrollment for the 2021-22 academic year at their primary campuses, are Texas A&M University (College Station, TX), the University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL), Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ), The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH), and the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL).
Avery Brooks, an actor perhaps best known for Spenser: For Hire, A Man Called Hawk and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, accepted an appointment in 1976 as an associate professor of theater arts at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
Rutgers University is the state university of New Jersey. Founded in 1766, it is the country’s 8th-oldest institution of higher learning. Originally called Queen’s College, it was renamed in 1825 in honor of benefactor and Revolutionary War hero Colonel Henry Rutgers.
Queens is the largest of New York City’s Five Boroughs. If it were a separate city, it would rank fifth in population of the US (after NYC, LA, Chicago, and Houston). Queens was presumably named after Catharine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess married to King Charles II of England.
Although Queen Catherine did not introduce tea-drinking into English society, she is believed to have popularized it. She was unable to produce an heir for her husband, King Charles II, after suffering three miscarriages. She then had to put up with the King’s serial adultery and many mistresses, one of whom he appointed as a lady-in-waiting to her.
At 73, Charles III is the oldest living monarch to assume the throne of the UK. The previous oldest regent was William IV, at 64 years of age in 1830.