One of the most beautiful exhibits in The New-York Historical Society’s collections is its many Tiffany lamps, over a hundred of them. Louis Comfort Tiffany was born in New York City, the eldest son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, the founder of the luxury retail and jewelry firm Tiffany and Co. His workshops in New York City produced exceptional stained glass artworks, many of which were designed by his assistants Clara Driscoll and Alice Gouvy.
Clara Driscoll, head of the Tiffany Studios Women’s Glass Cutting Department (the “Tiffany Girls”), was identified in 2007 by Rutgers professor Martin Eidelberg as being the master designer behind the most creative and valuable leaded glass lamps produced by Tiffany Studios.
Rutgers University, which is the State University of New Jersey, was originally chartered as Queen’s College on November 10, 1766. The college was renamed Rutgers College in 1825 in honor of Colonel Henry Rutgers, whose $5,000 bond donation to the school allowed it to reopen after years of financial difficulty.
Rutgers University is referred to as “the birthplace of college football” because the first intercollegiate football game was held on College Field on the Rutgers campus between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1869. Rutgers won the game, 6 to 4. The first intercollegiate competition in Ultimate Frisbee (now called “Ultimate”) was held between students from Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1972, to mark the one hundred third anniversary of the first intercollegiate football game. Rutgers won 29–27.
Although the first inter-collegiate game, the Rutgers-Princeton match used a set of rules modelled on English Association Football rules (i.e. - soccer).
The first game that is believed to have led to modern North American football was played a few years later, between McGill College and Harvard, over two days. The first game, played by Harvard rules, was similar to that played by Rutgers. The second game, played by McGill rules, was modelled on rugby rules, including a “try”. The McGill innovation was that making a “try” (touching the ball down on the ground past the goal line) was itself a score, while in rugby rules at that time, the try simply entitled the team to try to kick a goal. The Harvard team was excited by this innovation and began to use it in their games, from whence it spread to other colleges, such as Princeton.
The McGill version of the “try” is the origin of the “touchdown” score in North American football.
A Lincoln Highway Marker in McGill, Nevada marks the old cross-country highway route for one of the earliest transcontinental highways. McGill is in the eastern-central part of the state, and currently highway US-93 runs north-south through the town and is designated by the marker.
The marker is noted at wayMarking.com – Lincoln Highway Marker - McGill, NV (Orig) - Lincoln Highway Markers on Waymarking.com
The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL play at the Percival McGill football stadium. They formerly played at the 1976 Montreal Olympics stadium, but the rents were too high (there’s a reason it’s nickname is the “Big Owe”). Moving to the McGill stadium, smaller but cheaper, put them in the black.
The first LA Rams quarterback (or any city for the Rams, including STL, Anaheim, and Cleveland) to ever play in the Super Bowl was Vince Ferragamo. Ferragamo played in Super Bowl XIV and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-19. He later moved to the CFL and played for the Montreal Alouettes.
Salvatore Ferragamo was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo. His scientific and creative approach to shoes spawned many innovations such as the wedge heel and cage heel. Film stars and celebrities continue to patronize his company, which has evolved into an international empire spanning the world.
Vince Ferragamo was one of two former University of Nebraska football players on the Rams’ roster for Super Bowl XIV. Former Nebraska players have appeared on a roster in 41 of the 53 Super Bowls, including the last 26 in a row.
However, I still refuse to root for the Huskers.
Louis XIV of France was only 5ft 4in tall. He supplemented his height by 4 inches with high heels, often elaborately decorated with depictions of battle scenes.
Louis XIV was 76 when he died. Both his son, Louis the Grand Dauphin, and his grandson, Louis the Petit Dauphin, had predeceased him, so he was succeeded by his great-grandson, named (of course), Louis, XV of that name.
Playing off of 76…
There are towns named Seventy-Six Township, Iowa, and Seventy Six, Kentucky, and Seventy-Six, Missouri. Actually, in Iowa, there are two Seventy-Six Townships, one in Muscatine County and one in Washington County.
Seventy-Six Township, in Muscatine County, Iowa, takes its name from its designation as “township 76 north of range 3 west”.
Seventy-Six Township, in Washington County, Iowa, takes its name from the congressional township of which it forms a part.
Seventy Six, Kentucky was named after nearby Seventy Six Falls, but Wikipedia then says that Seventy Six Falls may have been named for the nearby community of Seventy Six, Kentucky. Hmmm…
The name of Seventy-Six, Missouri has several theories as to where it came from.
Interestingly, there are several places in the US named after a number, including:
[ul]
[li]Six, West Virginia[/li][li]Sixes, Georgia[/li][li]Sixes, Oregon, along the Sixes River[/li][li]Eight, West Virginia (no longer; it closed down during the Great Depression)[/li][li]Twentysix, Kentucky[/li][li]Twentynine Palms, California[/li][li]Fifty-Six, Arkansas[/li][li]Sixty Six, South Carolina[/li][li]Eighty Four, Pennsylvania[/li][li]Eighty Eight, Kentucky (which is 45 miles west of Seventy Six, Kentucky; gMap Google Maps)[/li][li]Ninety Six, South Carolina[/li][li]Hundred, West Virginia (230 miles NNE of Six, West Virginia; gMap Google Maps)[/li][li]Thousand Oaks, California[/li][/ul]
(Comment: I’ve done a little traveling, have been to all 50 states, and have only been to Twentynine Palms, California and to Thousand Oaks, California. As for the others, I’ve never even heard of them.)
Journeyman baseball pitcher Bill Voiselle is the only major leaguer to wear the name of his hometown on his jersey. The Giants, Braves, and Cubs starter hailed from Ninety Six, South Carolina - the origins of the name are unknown.
The state east of the Mississippi that produces and ships the most peaches… isn’t Georgia. It’s South Carolina.
SS Savannah was an American hybrid sailing ship/sidewheel steamer built in 1818. She is notable for being the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, transiting mainly under sail power from May to June 1819. She left Savannah, Georgia on May 22nd and reached Liverpool, England on June 20th. Not a commerical success due to the space needed for the steam engine and coal, she was converted back to a sail-only ship in 1820. Another American-owned steamship would not repeat her trip until 1847, almost 30 years later.
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close, while the GMC Savana is a full size van from General Motors.
The NS Savannah is the only nuclear-powered civilian ship ever built in the U.S. In service just from 1962-72, she is now moored in Baltimore and may ultimately be turned into a museum ship.
Famous MLB baseball players Babe Ruth, Cal Ripken, Jr., Billy Ripken, Lefty Grove, Frank “Home Run” Baker, and Harold Baines were all born in Baltimore.
There were two English kings named Harold.
Harold I was the son of King Cnut, the Danish king of the English. He took the throne on Cnut’s death, although his brother Harthacnut also claimed it. Harold died after a short reign and was buried in the proto-Westminster Abbey. Harthacnut, in a show of brotherly love, had the body exhumed, the head cut off, and the body thrown into a fen near the Thames. Local Danish fisherman apparently found the body and re-buried it.
Harold II was the son of Earl Godwin. Although not of royal descent, on the death of Edward the Confessor, he was elected to the throne. He died at the Battle of Hastings, when William of Normandy seized England.
The pastry known as ‘Danish’ did not actually originate in Denmark. According to Wikipedia, the origin of the Danish pastry is thought to be due to a strike amongst bakery workers in Denmark in 1850. The strike caused bakery owners to hire workers from abroad, among them several Austrian bakers, who brought along new baking traditions and pastry recipes. One of the baking techniques that the Austrian bakers brought with them was the Viennese ‘lamination’ technique. The Danes called the pastry technique ‘wienerbrød’ (Vienna bread) and that name is still in use in Northern Europe today.
The Danube river, the second-longest in Europe, passes through 10 countries, more than any other river in the world. It passes through 4 capital cities: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade.