Richard M. Nixon held four Federal offices during his lifetime: member of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senator, Vice President and President.
At age 70, Joe Biden is now the sixth-oldest serving US Vice President.
The top five:
- Alben William Barkley (VP under Truman). Served from age 71-75.
- Charles Curtis (VP under Hoover). Served from age 69-73.
- George Clinton (VP under Jefferson & Madison). Served from age 65-72. Died in office.
- John Nance Garner (VP under FDR). Served from age 64-72.
- Elbridge Thomas Gerry (VP under Madison). Served from age 68-70. Died in office.
Upon completion of his second term, Biden will, at 74, be the second-oldest serving Vice-President after Barkley.
In 1985, Neil Simon re-wrote The Odd Couple for an all-female cast. Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar became Olive Madison and Florence Ungar, and they played Trivial Pursuit instead of poker.
George Washington (Whiskey Rebellion), James Madison (War of 1812) and Abraham Lincoln (Civil War) are the only three Presidents to personally exercise command over troops in the field while in office.
The Smithsonian is named for an Englishman who never set foot on American soil. James Smithson was an English scientist who died in 1829. He left his fortune of more than US$500,000 “to the United States of America, to found at Washington, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.”
While with the Minnesota Twins, Mike Smithson led the American League in games started by a pitcher in both the 1984 season and 1985.
Former San Francisco Giants outfielder Dan Gladden won a World Series Championship with the 1987 Minnesota Twins.
Former San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Randy Moffitt was the little brother of tennis star Billie Jean King.
Former San Francisco Giants star pitcher Juan Marichal won more games during the decade of the 1960s than any other major league pitcher, but may be most famous for an incident related to the long-running Giants-Dodgers feud. On 22 August 1965, Marichal, as batter, freaked when Dodger catcher John Roseboro almost nicked him twice with return throws, knocked Roseboro to the ground and hit him on the head with his bat. Roseboro received a large gash that required 14 stitches.
In 1957, John Roseboro succeeded Roy Campanella as the Dodgers’s full-time catcher after Campy’s car accident left him paralyzed.
Roy Rogers’ horse, Trigger, appeared as the horse Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) rode in *The Adventures of Robin Hood *first.
Phantly Roy Bean, Jr. had a varied career including one stint when he operated a combined saloon/courtroom: Jurors were required to buy drinks during recesses. He named one of his saloons after Lillie Langtry (née Emilie Charlotte Le Breton), an actress who was lover of, among others, the future King Edward VII.
Cape Breton Island, part of Nova Scotia, is connected to the mainland by the Canso Causeway. It was the site of the 1497 landing of John Cabot, the first European to set foot in Canada. It later became the site of the Fortress of Louisbourg, whose capture in 1745 was the primary American victory in the War of the Austrian Succession.
40,000 interlocking basalt columns make up Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Irish folk lore says they were put there by the giant Finn McCool, but they’re actually the result of volcanic activity.
Paavo Nurmi, “The Flying Finn,” was Finland’s greatest summer Olympic athlete, winning 12 medals, nine of them gold.
The 1933 double eagle (United States 20-dollar gold coin) is a coin which currently holds the record for the highest price paid at auction for a single U.S. coin. It was purchased for US$7.59 million.
SFC Schwartz
Bald eagles can fly to an altitude of 10,000 feet. During level flight, they can achieve speeds of about 30 to 35 mph.
Sy Sperling has long claimed that Jimi Hendrix was
- Bald, and
- The first celebrity client of Hair Club for Men
Jimi Jamison, a long-haired white guy from Memphis, is the longtime lead singer for Survivor, best known for their Rocky III soundtrack hit “Eye of the Tiger”.
In 1842, a British army of about 4500 troops and an additional 12,000 civilian support workers who were part of an invasion force were forced to retreat from Kabul in Afghanistan after a native uprising. Harassed during the retreat, only a single British survivor, Surgeon William Brydon, made it back to India. When asked where the army was, Brydon replied, “I am the army.”