Elliott “Bump” Wills was a major league baseball player, who played second base for the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is the son of Maury Wills, who was a star shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1960s.
The Brooklyn Dodgers’ home was Ebbets Field, from 1913 until 1957, when they relocated to Los Angeles. The Dodgers would win the 1955 World Series, defeating the New York Yankees in Game 7, 2-0. Johnny Podres of the Dodgers would become the first World Series MVP for pitching a shutout.
Woodrow Wilson, Democrat of New Jersey, began the first year of his Presidency when he was sworn in by Chief Justice Edward D. White on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 1913.
Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower were former generals. However, a significantly large number of American Presidents never served in the military in any capacity.
To date, the number of sitting presidents who served in the military is 31, but 15 presidents never served: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, served one term in Congress, from March 4 of 1847 through March 3 of 1849. 3 days after leaving Congress, Lincoln argued a case before the Supreme Court of the United States. The case was Lewis v. Lewis, which was about the statute of limitations in relation to a contested land deed.
At the time, the Court met in the basement of the capitol building, so Lincoln had to only walk downstairs from his former day job. Representing the defense, Lincoln argued that the statute of limitations had expired, so the plaintiff could not collect damages. Although Lincoln’s arguments were praised for their accuracy and thoroughness, the Court ruled against his client, with the majority opinion written by Chief Justice Roger Taney.
12 years later, Taney would administer the oath of office of the presidency to Lincoln.
Famous people with the surname Lewis include Dawnn Lewis, Jerry Lewis, and C.S. Lewis.
The Inklings were an informal literary group at Oxford University, centered around professors and authors J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, which existed during the 1930s and 1940s. Members of the group met regularly to discuss literature, philosophy, and culture; members often read their writings out loud to the group. They typically met twice a week: Tuesday mornings in a back room at the Eagle and Child Pub, and Thursday evenings in Lewis’ rooms at Magdalen College.
Although true eagles are only of the subfamily Aquilinae, the term is commonly used for large raptors in the family Accipitridae. In this way, it is similar to the term “bug” because true bugs are in the order Hemiptera but the term is commonly applied to insects in general.
(Not in play) Wouldn’t assuming the title “Commander-in-Chief” upon being sworn in qualify you as serving in the military? You can factually state that those presidents did not serve prior to being sworn in.
I think it is a key bit of American democracy that the commander-in-chief is always a civilian. And if you were in the military that you would have to resign to serve as President because of it.
Still in play
Although true eagles are only of the subfamily Aquilinae, the term is commonly used for large raptors in the family Accipitridae. In this way, it is similar to the term “bug” because true bugs are in the order Hemiptera but the term is commonly applied to insects in general.
The ladybug is not a bug. It’s a beetle.
This makes sense.
(In play)
The Beatles were renamed “The Beat Brothers” while in Germany because the name “Beatles” sounded too close to “piedel”, a German slang for penis or peeing.
Piedel can also be a surname, like for Polish basketball player Kinga Piedel, and for volleyball player Anna Piedel and MMA fighter Damian Piędel.
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter plane was widely used by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II and also, ironically, in its Avia S-199 derivative, by the embryonic Israeli air force in the early days of the new nation.
Interesting trivia!
The engine of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 is (was) a V-12 with a supercharger. It also had fuel injection, which prevented the engine from cutting out during negative-g maneuvers, unlike the carbureted Allied fighters. A Bf 109 pilot could push over into a dive that an RAF Spitfire or Hurricane pilot could not follow without losing vital moments of engine power.
One interesting aspect of the V-12 is that it was mounted upside down. Inverted mounting provided better visibility, lower center of gravity, and improved maintenance access.
The Seattle Supersonics won their only NBA Championship in 1979.
The Sacramento Kings won their one and only NBA Championship in 1951 when they were the Rochester Royals. They beat the New York Knicks 4–3.
The NBA was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA), and the name was changed in 1949 to the National Basketball Association, when the league merged with the National Basketball League. There were 11 teams in the 1946-1947 season, of which three are still active today: Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and the Philadelphia Warriors. The Warriors moved to San Francisco prior to the 1962 season, and are now the Golden State Warriors.
Several world cities are sometimes called golden or city of gold, because of their architecture, connection with gold mining, or wealth, including Prague, Jerusalem, Johannesburg and Dubai.
In 1989, the country of Czechoslovakia, which had been a Communist member of the Eastern Bloc, under influence of the USSR, became a democratic nation through the Velvet Revolution. Three years later, at the end of 1992, the country was peacefully dissolved by its parliament, dividing into two nations: the Czech Republic (a.k.a. Czechia), with its capital in Prague, and the Slovak Republic (a.k.a. Slovakia), with its capital in Bratislava.