Note: The calendar is also a page index. Select a date or other item of interest for more information.

The daily notes for this month are from the The History Channel's Home Page. If you like these notes, you'll love looking at the other notes and birthdays they have recorded for every day of the year.

3 -- Election Day

11 -- Veteran's Day

26 -- Thanksgiving

1 November -- This is "Goalie" Day!

For as long as ice hockey has been played - 1855 in North America, 16th century in the Netherlands - goalies have been getting their faces smashed by flying hockey pucks.

On this day, in 1959, Jacques Plante had had enough! The goalie for the Montreal Canadiens had been hit again and had to have seven more stitches added to his face. This time, however, he returned to the ice wearing a plastic face mask. Plante had made it out of fiberglass and resin. His design was so popular, that goalies throughout the National Hockey League followed suit.

The plastic, face mask is now standard issue. Thanks to Jacques Plante, goalies have more teeth and we hardly ever know what they really look like.

Word Of The Day: Spate (spayt) n. A massive outpouring; a rush or flood. A spate of invective rushed from the prisoner's lips

The world's largest and widest plane ever built - a wingspan of 319 feet, 11 inches - made its only flight this day in 1947. Its pilot, owner, and designer, Howard Hughes, flew the huge wooden plane over Long Beach Harbor, California, at an altitude of 70 feet. The flight lasted just one minute.

Hughes named the plane "Hercules"; but it was referred to by most as the "Spruce Goose". The $25 million, 200-ton, plywood behemoth was more like a boat than a plane. Actually a seaplane, it contributed to warplane research over the next decade.

The "Spruce Goose" is now a museum attraction, displayed near the Queen Mary, still in Long Beach.

Word Of The Day: Raucous (RAH kuhs) adj. Loud, rowdy, shrill. This peaceful protest could turn into a raucous riot.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 43.41 points on this day in 1982, marking the greatest single day gain in the history of the New York Stock Exchange.

Most of us are pretty happy to see any of the Dow Jones averages rise without ever giving any thought to how this financial gamble got started.

In 1897, Dow Jones & Company, a financial publishing firm began to publish an average of the common stock prices of twelve industrial companies - it was simply a daily total of the prices of these stocks divided by 12. Over the years, this system of averaging has become a little more complicated - taking into account the distortion of averages caused by stock splitting, etc.

Computation was expanded to hourly averaging and to include 30 industrial firms. There are now four kinds of averages: the industrial; transportation averages (20 transportation companies); utility averages (15 utilities); and an overall average of all of the above.

That's how Dow Jones averages got started. And now, for the latest Dow Jones average ...

Word Of The Day: Inadvertent (in uhd VUR tuhnt) adj. Not attentive; heedless. Such an inadvertent remark was inexcusable

Whether you're a Republican, a Democrat, Libertarian or other, or are not even a voter in the United States, you will probably find it interesting to note that this day seems to be a lucky one for U.S. presidential nominees of the Republican Party.

It all began back in 1924 when Calvin Coolidge was elected to the top office of the United States. The election was held on November 4. Calvin Coolidge was already in the office of president having to complete Warren G. Harding's term (Harding died in office). This time, and on this day, he was voted into office by the people of the United States. He served another four years.

History repeated itself in 1952. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in World War II, was running against Democrat Adlai Stevenson. Once again, Election Day was on November 4, and Ike won - the first Republican presidential victory in 24 years. Eisenhower became the 34th U.S. President.

1980 was a good year for Republicans all around. Most of those Republicans running for seats in the U.S. Senate were victors, winning a majority of the seats. And Ronald Reagan won in his race against the incumbent, Jimmy Carter. Mr. Reagan was elected President of the United States on this day in 1980.

It was Election Day and it was November 4.

The moral of this story is that if you're a Republican running for president of the U.S., make sure you do it in a year when Election Day falls on this date.

Word Of The Day: Sedulous (SEJ uh luhs) adj. Diligent, industrious. Did you find the natives sedulous, or were they lazy?

The American Football League was formed on this day in 1959. Eight teams joined together to form the new league.

The original AFL (now AFC) cities in the order of the 1960 finish: (Eastern Division) Houston, New York Titans (now Jets,) Buffalo, Boston (now New England), (Western Division) Los Angeles Chargers (now San Diego), Dallas Texans, Oakland and Denver.

The National Football League (NFL) was a reorganization of the American Professional Football Association which had been around since 1920. It took the title of NFL on June 24, 1922. Since that time, the NFL has swallowed up several start-up leagues; but not so with the American Football League.

The rival leagues had been at war for over six years before they came to an agreement on June 4, 1966 to merge. The first Super Bowl game, an AFL-NFL championship game was played in January 1967, three years before the official merger (the 1970 football season).

And the battle continues.

Word Of The Day: Substantiate (suhb STAN shee ayt) v. To prove true using evidence; confirm. It won't be difficult to substantiate the experiment.

Meet the longest running series on network television: "Meet the Press". The NBC public affairs program had its start back in 1945 when Martha Rountree and Lawrence Spivak created it as a radio promotion for the "American Mercury Magazine". Two years later, originating from NBC's Washington, D.C. studios, "Meet the Press" came to network TV.

It was on this day in 1947 that the program was first seen in the local Washington, D.C. market. Two weeks later, two stations on the network were added to the Thursday night show.

Martha Rountree served as the original moderator until 1953; then NBC newscaster, Ned Brooks took over in 1953. Regular panelist, Spivak, served as moderator for ten years beginning in 1965. From 1975 to 1984, Bill Monroe, also a regular panelist, took over the moderator seat. He was replaced by Marvin Kalb, then Chris Wallace in 1987 and Garrick Utley in 1988. Tim Russert has been the moderator since the end of 1991.

Although "Meet the Press" has changed time slots many times, including moving to Sunday afternoons in 1965, it has always maintained the same format. Simply stated, the moderator hosts a panel of reporters as they question a leading public figure. Virtually every major political figure in the United States plus many foreign dignitaries have faced the journalists' incisive questions. On the show's 28th anniversary, U.S. President Gerald Ford faced the panel. It was the first time an incumbent president had agreed to "Meet the Press".

Word Of The Day: Sultry (SUL tree) adj. Oppressively hot and moist; torrid, inflamed. The first-ever football game was played on a sultry day in August.

The mighty elephant, trumpeter of the jungle and circus entertainer - lumbering, powerful fieldworker and mode of transportation - became a symbol of the Republican Party this day.

Now we know that the elephant is the mascot of the Crimson Tide, the football team of The University of Alabama; a symbolism that has never been satisfactorily explained (too many versions). But how was it that an animal who uses its nose to feed and wash itself and can form a circle with others of its kind by attaching trunks to tails, became a symbol of the Grand Old Party (G.O.P.), a political party of the United States?

Well, in 1874, Thomas Nast, a political cartoonist for "Harper's Weekly", created a satirical drawing of an elephant about to fall into a giant hole. The elephant represented the Republican party and was in reference to Ulysses S. Grant's possible bid for a third term. Grant was a Republican. The symbol stuck and has been used ever since to represent the G.O.P. both in political cartoons and by the party itself.

Roll G.O.P.? Somehow, roll Tide has a better ring...

Word Of The Day: Volition (vo LISH uhn) n. Will-power; choice. You will leave of your own volition or you will be removed by force.

Superman could see through walls with his X-ray vision; and so could Ray Milland, in his title role, "X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes". He played an unstable scientist.

Wilhelm Roentgen (Rñntgen), a scientist, but hardly unstable, took the first X-ray pictures on this day in 1895. It wasn't his eyes he was using, but his brain. He had been experimenting with electricity but failed to turn off the machine. The device he was working with overheated and emitted rays. After a number of hours of head-scratching, writing equations and much hypothesis, Roentgen came upon the scientific principle that would allow him to take X-ray pictures. Other X-rays had been observed before this; but Roentgen was the only one to have performed repeated experiments - proving that his machine worked.

Roentgen may have been a clever scientist; but he had no business savvy. He never patented his X-ray machine and never received any money for it.

Tell that to your dentist or doctor when you get the bill for your X-rays.

Word Of The Day: Glib (glib) adj. Smooth of speech. Salesmen surrounded him offering up their glib pitches.

On this day in 1938, 24-year-old Mary Martin made her Broadway stage debut in the musical comedy "Leave It to Me". She brought down the house as she sang "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". And the critics raved about New York's bright new star.

The following year brought Martin a top ten hit with the same song. Martin suddenly found herself singing duets with Bing Crosby, starring on Broadway in "One Touch of Venus" in 1943, "Lute Song" in '46, touring in "Annie Get Your Gun" and then taking on what would become her immortal role; that of Nellie in "South Pacific". South Pacific was one of Broadway's biggest hits and the cast album was one of the first of its kind - also a big seller. Then came Mary's stage and TV performances as Peter Pan. This would become her signature role - a memorable moment as the petite actress flew through the air with Tinkerbell and fought the dangerous Captain Hook.

Broadway called to Mary Martin again in 1959 for "The Sound of Music" and once more in 1966 for "I Do, I Do".

Back in 1951, Mary Martin recorded a duet with a young man who was also destined for instant and long-term stardom. The song they sang together was "Get Out Those Old Records". The twenty-year-old was her son, Larry Hagman. Maybe you know him as J.R. Ewing. This is one man that Mary Martin didn't want to wash out of her hair!

Word Of The Day: Germane (juhr MAYN) adj. Helpful, relevant, pertinent. That evidence is germaine to solving the case.

On this day in 1871, Henry Stanley found the missing Scotsman, David Livingstone. Through a promotion sponsored by "The New York Herald", Stanley, and several companions, set out looking for Livingstone some eight months earlier. (Stanley's fellow explorers died before this day.)

Livingstone, an explorer and missionary had been missing for two years. No white man had seen him in six years. Stanley's search for Dr. Livingstone ended at Ujiji, Africa.

He greeted the doctor, not with, "Are you all right?" or "I'm so glad I found you," but with these famous words:

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume."

Word Of The Day: Envisage (en VIZ ij) v. To imagine; picture in the mind. I envisage a corporation composed of three separate divisions.

This is Armistice Day or Remembrance Day or Veterans Day or Victory Day or WW I Memorial Day. The name of this special day may be different in different places throughout many nations; but its significance is the same.

It was on this day at 11 a.m. in 1918, that World War I ceased. The Allied and Central Powers signed an armistice agreement at 5 a.m. in Marshal Foch's railway car in the Forest of Compiegne, France.

'Til this day, many still bow their heads in remembrance at the 11th hour of this the 11th day of the 11th month.

Word Of The Day: Mortify (MOR tuh fai) v. To embarrass, humiliate. My own fears of swimming have mortified me for years.

Whether you're doing steps, low-impact aerobics or a pli», where would you be without the latest design in leotards?

The original leotard design was a skintight, one-piece garment with the lower portion resembling tights. On this day in 1859, the designer of the leotard, Jules Leotard, made his first public appearance as the world's first flying trapeze artist.

Just 21 years old, Jules had been practicing since he was a little boy. He would swing from a trapeze hanging over the swimming pool in his father's gymnasium. The years of practice paid off ... first as the daring young man on the flying trapeze ... and second as the designer of the leotard, still worn by acrobats, dancers and exercise enthusiasts throughout the world.

Lunge, up, over, down, tap...

Word Of The Day: Gaunt (gahnt) adj. Haggard; thin or bony. The old woman's gaunt, hungry appearance saddened me.

That great romancer of the silver screen, Rudolph Valentino, starred in "The Sheik", released on this day in 1921. "The Sheik" firmly established ValentinoÌs popular reputation as the Great Lover, and his last film, the comical, "Son of the Sheik" (1926) sealed that title.

But the actor never thought of himself as a conqueror of women - nor as a great actor. He found the Sheik films rather silly. RudyÌs wife, Natacha Rambova responded to her husbandÌs screen image: "My husband is a great lover of home life." However, the publication of ValentinoÌs volume of poetry, "Day Dreams" in 1923, further fueled the publicÌs imagination and drove fans into bookstores with a vengeance.

Valentino had plans to make more serious films, beginning with an ambitious version of "El Cid" to be called "The Hooded Falcon". In town for the premiere of "Son of the Sheik", he collapsed in New York on August 15, 1926. Valentino died eight days later from peritonitis, before he could begin to work on films that would make the public forget his sheikly shenanigans.

So the grandiose romantic persona persists, and we remember Rudolph Valentino as the Great Lover, "The Sheik".

Remember, too, these great films from Valentino:

"The Conquering Power" (1921), "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (1921), "Beyond the Rocks" (1922), "Blood and Sand" (1922), "The Young Rajah" (1922), "Monsieur Beaucaire" (1924), "A Sainted Devil" (1924), "The Eagle" (1925), "Cobra" (1925)

Word Of The Day: Riposte (ri POST) n. A retaliatory maneuver; a retort. Taken aback by his scathing riposte, I stood there, speechless.

"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago -- never mind how long precisely -- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world..."

Thus begins Herman Melville's book, "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale", which was first published in New York City by Harpoon & Brothers on this day in 1851. (Sorry. We meant Harper & Brothers.)

Here's what the critics were/are saying:

"What a book [Moby-Dick] Melville has written! It gives me an idea of much greater power than his preceding ones." --Nathaniel Hawthorne, in a letter to Evert Duyckinck, December 1, 1851

"Of all the extraordinary books from the pen of Herman Melville this is out and out the most extraordinary. Who would have looked for philosophy in whales, or for poetry in blubber. Yet few books which professedly deal in metaphysics, or claim the parentage of the muses, contain as much true philosophy and as much genuine poetry as the tale of the Pequod's whaling expedition.... To give anything like an outline of the narrative woven together from materials seemingly so uncouth, with a power of thought and force of diction suited to the huge dimensions of its subject, is wholly impossible...." --London John Bull, October 25 1851

"It's not just about some looney whaling captain bent on revenge against some white whale, even though that aspect is quite fun. It's also about man's relation to his god. Ahab had presumably ignored God's calling to become a preacher, so God struck back at Ahab through the pasteboard mask of Moby-Dick, much like he did with Jonah. Ahab, though, didn't submit like Jonah did. Instead he took offense. In seeking revenge against Moby-Dick, Ahab is rebelling against God. Ahab would "strike the sun if it insulted" him, and he sums up his obsession with Moby-Dick when he says: "If man will strike, strike through the mask!" Ahab is an eloquent speaker, and some of his most memorable speeches were even stolen by Ricardo Mantalban's character in 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'." --Ron Logan, Bellevue, Washington website publisher, on his website: http://www.cochin.com/cochin/ron/Moby-Dick.html

Herman Melville died at home, of a heart attack, shortly after midnight on September 28, 1891, at the age of 72. At the time, he had been almost totally forgotten by all but a small group of admirers in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Word Of The Day: Imperious (im PIR ee uhs) adj. Urgent, pressing; domineering. I could tell by her imperious manner that something was wrong.

On this day in 1806, Lt. Zebulon Montgomery Pike sighted a mountain peak that now bears his name. What? All right, who's the clod who said, "Zebulon Peak?" Those in the know, of course, realize that we speak of Pike's Peak.

The massive, towering (elevation 14,110 feet) behemoth had been called "The Long One" by Ute Indians. Its name was changed to honor the young army lieutenant. Lt. Pike was leading a survey party into the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase when he spotted the snowcapped peak off in the distance.

"Pike's Peak or Bust!" was the familiar slogan of many a wagon-train settler traveling west in the 1800s. Visitors to the Pikes's Peak region continue to be captivated, inspired, and enthralled by Colorado's most famous mountain.

Word Of The Day: Perpetuate (puhr PECH yoo ayt) v. To cause to continue. They want to perpetuate the myth that only big businesses have high profits.

'Tennessee' Ernie Ford drove to the top spot on the record charts on this day in 1955. "Sixteen Tons", where he owed his "soul to the company store...", became the fastest selling record in history, jumping to #1 in just 3 weeks. The tune, on Capitol Records, stayed at #1 for eight weeks.

Ernie (bless his little pea-pickin' heart) Ford is known for other classics, including: "Mule Train" (1949), "The Shotgun Boogie" (1950), "The Cry of the Wild Goose" (1950), "I'll Never be Free" (w/Kay Starr - 1950), "Mr. and Mississippi" (1951) and "The Ballad of Davy Crockett (1955).

Ford was also famous for his many religious albums, his NBC-TV show (1956 - 1961) and his many other television appearances. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1960.

But, we remember him most fondly for that 1955 smash about work, work, work: "You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt..."

Word Of The Day: Iota (ai O tuh) n. A very small amount. Don't give an inch, not one iota!

Over the years, a lot of squabbling has gone on over a 100-mile (160 kilometers) ditch called the Suez Canal. Formally opened on this day in 1869, the canal connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas, eliminating a 4000-mile trip around Africa.

The canal first belonged to France, then to Great Britain and then Egypt. Because of the single direction of the wind in the Suez area, and the narrowness of the canal, sailing ships had a hard time navigating and were eventually taken out of service in the British fleets - never to return. They were replaced by steamships. The building of the Suez Canal not only eliminated the African route, it eliminated a whole nautical tradition of sailing that had been a part of society for nearly 4800 years.

The Suez Canal has played a major wartime role. It was blockaded (by Britain) in World War I to keep enemy ships from using the waterway. Axis ships were denied use of the canal in World War II; then in 1950, because of the Arab-Israeli war, Egypt banned Israeli ships from the canal. During the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, it was blocked once again, this time by sunken ships; and didn't reopen until 1975.

Since 1956, when Egypt seized control and claimed the sovereign right to govern its use, the Suez canal has been a national treasure to the Egyptian people - earning the country millions of dollars daily.

Word Of The Day: Synergy (SIN uhr jee) n. The action of a group achieving a greater effect than that of which each individual is capable. Our relationship was built on synergy.

On this day in 1928, Walt Disney debuted his talking, animated cartoon, "Steamboat Willie" at the Colony Theatre in New York. The short film featured a character that had originally been named "Mortimer". Uncle Walt changed the name to ... M-I-C- (see you real soon) K-E-Y (Why? Because we like you) M-O-U-S-E.

"Steamboat Willie" was the first cartoon with synchronized sound. And, for those of you who don't remember, "Steamboat Willie" was in black and white. Disney's first, color cartoon wasn't released for another four years.

The star of the film has changed somewhat over the years; but Mickey Mouse is still with us -- in full living color -- in cartoons, on TV, in books and even in his own stores. What a great success story -- especially for a mouse!

Word Of The Day: Droll (drol) adj. Oddly comical or amusing. We all enjoyed the pet chicken's droll antics.

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered his "Gettysburg Address" on this day in 1863. The speech was considered so insignificant at the time that coverage was limited to the inside pages of the newspapers (page one coverage went to a speech by Edward Everett).

In July of 1863, the fields outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania erupted into one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War between the States. The Union forces held their positions against Confederate advances. The Confederates under Robert E. Lee retreated to Virginia, ending their attempt to invade the North. The battle was the turning point of the war; the Confederates were never again able to mount a campaign into the North and were on the run.

On this day, President Lincoln traveled to the site of the battle to designate it as a national cemetery. While on the train, he wrote his speech on a small piece of paper. Three minutes after he had begun to speak, Lincoln had finished what is now considered to be one of the greatest speeches in American history:

"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war - testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated - can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war.

"We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that this nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

"But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate - we cannot consecrate - we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

"It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people - by the people - for the people - shall not perish from this earth."

Word Of The Day: Vestige (VES tij) n. A trace; evidence of past existence. He's merely a vestige of his former talented self.

This is not about Robert Redford's Hubble from "The Way We Were" but Edwin Powell Hubble who was born in Marshfield, Missouri on this day in l889. We're talking about the Rhodes Scholar Hubble who studied Roman and English Law at Queens College, Oxford and then practiced law for a year in Louisville, Kentucky.

This is the same Hubble who said, "...chucked the law for astronomy, and I knew that even if I were second-rate or third-rate, it was astronomy that mattered." ... and then returned to his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Chicago for postgraduate work leading to his doctoral degree in astronomy.

Hubble worked at the Mount Wilson (California) Observatory where he proved the need for a telescope larger than the 100-inch reflector they were using at the time and assisted in the design of the 200-inch Hale telescope. "With the 200-inch," he said in a BBC broadcast in London," we may grasp what now we can scarcely brush with our fingertips."

"What do you expect to find with the 200-inch?" he was asked. Hubble's reply, "We hope to find something we hadn't expected."

Edwin Hubble's discovery and development of the concept of an expanding universe has been described as the "most spectacular astronomical discovery of the twentieth century". As a tribute to him, the Hubble Space Telescope bears his name. That telescope, with its 240-centimeter mirror, has allowed us to see farther into space than ever before.

Word Of The Day: Sophistry (SAHF uh stree) n. False reasoning, clever but misleading argument. Their sophistry convinced me to go along with them.

Here's one event that you can participate in without it costing you a dime or even one red cent. It's easy, and it's good for everyone. What could possibly be so wonderful? World Hello Day, that's what.

This friendly annual event began on this day in 1972 and has grown enormously since. People in over 177 countries have participated and the heads of state of 114 countries have given their approval.

Now here's what you do to participate: you just say, "hello" to ten people on this day. Greet them warmly and with a smile. And you can say, "hello" in any language.

The reason: World Hello Day will put us all one step further in the attempt to advance world peace through personal communication.

Word Of The Day: Harbinger (HAHR bin juhr) n. A forerunner; advance notice. Her huge vocabulary was a harbinger of her prolific medical skill.

Generations recall watching CBS Television this day, in 1963 when the popular soap opera "As the World Turns" was interrupted by a flash bulletin from Dallas. No one was available to man the CBS News studio at that instant, but a voice informed the nation that President Kennedy had been gravely wounded during a motorcade through downtown Dallas.

Minutes later, the network interrupted again to bring the world the terrible news. This time, Walter Cronkite, wearing partially rolled-up, white shirt sleeves, a loosened tie and no makeup, sat with black glasses reading wire copy just handed him: "Ladies and gentleman, the President of the United States is dead." Cronkite, disbelieving the words he had just said, turned to look at a studio clock, stoically raised a hand to wipe away tears and continued with the tragic news that President Kennedy had died while undergoing emergency surgery at Parkland Hospital.

A teletype machine at NBC News in New York, connected directly to Washington, was only used during grave national emergencies, according to the late Frank McGee of NBC News. The machine was installed not long before President Kennedy's assassination and was used only once. On this fateful date in 1963, the teletype clanged a continuous series of bells - lasting far longer than the news service machines that were ringing around it. The only message the machine ever printed was "The President of the United States is dead."

Word Of The Day: Penchant (PEN chuhnt) n. A strong liking, fetish; an inclination. He had a penchant for fast cars

The first juke organ (jukebox) was placed in service on this day in 1889, in the Palais Royal Hotel in San Francisco, California. Juke, at the time, was a slang word for a house of ill repute, or a disorderly house.

The unit developed by Louis Glass contained an Edison tinfoil phonograph with four listening tubes. There was a coin slot for each tube. 5 cents bought a few minutes of music. The contraption took in $1,000 in six months!

Wow! And this was before Elvis, the Beatles, Motown and the Beach Boys, too!

Word Of The Day: Guise (gaiz) n. Manner, appearance; a false appearance. Under the guise of romance, she was able to obtain the top-secret information.

Dale Carnegie was born on this day in 1888 - in Maryville, MO. He became a pioneer in public speaking and personality development and he became famous by showing others how to become successful.

Carnegie's book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" (1936) has sold more than 15 million copies and is translated in 29 different languages. The book was popular because of Carnegie's illustrative stories and simple, well-phrased rules. For instance:

*"Believe that you will succeed, and you will." *"Learn to love, respect and enjoy other people." *"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you."

It deals sensibly with "the problem of getting along with and influencing people in ... everyday, business and social contacts."

Dale Carnegie also wrote "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" (1948), "a practical, concrete, easy-to-read, inspiring handbook on conquering work and fears".

Carnegie attended Warrensburg (MO) State Teachers College, and became a salesman for Armour and Company. Later, he taught public speaking to businessmen. And you've probably heard of the Dale Carnegie training courses, available just about everywhere.

One thing's for sure: Dale Carnegie won many friends and influenced lots of people.

Word Of The Day: Quandary (Kwahn dree) n. A state of doubt; a dilemma. I was in a quandary over the marriage proposal.

Radio actors were put out of work on this day in 1960 when CBS radio axed five serials (soap operas) from the airwaves.

We said so long to "The Second Mrs. Burton" (after 14 years), "Young Doctor Malone", "Whispering Streets" (after 8 years), "Right to Happiness" (after 21 years) and "Ma Perkins" (after 27 wonderful years.) In 1940, the high point for these serials, there were as many as 45 on the air each day!

The popularity of television and top 40 radio were the biggest contributors to the demise of drama on the radio.

Word Of The Day: Pragmatic (prag MAT ik) adj. Practical, workable, based on experience. That might be the most pragmatic solution.

It all started when nine close friends, meeting over apples and roasted potatoes in a cold and bare dormitory room at Union College, in Schenectady, New York, unknowingly put their mark on the entire future of collegiate student organizations. They didn't originate the idea of a secret Greek-letter society; Phi Beta Kappa had done that 50 years earlier ... nor the concept of a literary society; groups with names like Philomathean and Cliosophic had been around even longer. They didn't even originate formalized student social groups or college eating clubs; both having long been commonplace.

What John Hart Hunter, one of the nine, proposed on this day in 1825 was to take an informal group calling itself, The Philosophers, and formalize it using the strongest characteristics of all these existing institutions. And so, the Philosophers became Kappa Alpha Society. It was this synthesis that caught the attention of the college world and exploded into the collegiate fraternity system over the following 75 years.

The nine members were Rev. John Hart Hunter, John McGeoch, Prof. Isaac Wilbur Jackson, Dr. Thomas Hun, Orlando Meads, James Proudfit and Hon. Joseph Anthony Constant of the class of 1826, and Rev. Arthur Burtis and Joseph Law of the Class of 1827.

In the words of Arthur Burtis: "After we were domiciled in our upper chamber, in the fourth story of the south section---South College, northeast corner... we now and then beguiled the long winter evenings and entertained our friends with a few baked potatoes and salt and comforted them with apples. Jackson, Hun, Meads, Constant, and McGeoch were often the genial sharers of our simple meal, which was enlivened with mirth and wit and merry song.... It was determined to raise Hunter to an elevated seat on the woodpile, which stood in the corner of the room. When he was exalted to his high eminence, with his pipe in his mouth, he became the leader of this little band. Whereupon I suggested it would be right for us to get our light from this central luminary and that I would carry it to the others.... This band was now beginning to assume shape and form and comely order."

And so the first, social fraternity was formed in the U.S. We wonder if they had any toga parties...

Word Of The Day: Blasé (blah ZAY) adj. Bored, indifferent. This blasé young student leads an empty life.

When asked what his favorite Eddie Rabbitt song was, he waxed philosophical, "That's like asking me to choose which one of my kids is my favorite. I love "I Love A Rainy Night" and "Travelin' My Life Away", but maybe I'd pick "Suspicions". I'm really proud of that song, there's so much drama. A man in love with a woman so beautiful that he fears some other man will come and take her away, or she'll be drawn away by her own desires."

Rabbitt (an old Irish/Gaelic name) was born on this day in 1944, in Brooklyn, New York. The son of Irish immigrants, he grew up in East Orange, New Jersey. His father played fiddle and accordion and made sure Eddie learned to play the guitar. In 1968, with $1,000 in his pocket and no music business contacts, Rabbit took a Greyhound to Nashville and began writing songs.

In 1970 he struck gold when Elvis Presley recorded his "Kentucky Rain". The song went on to win Rabbitt a BMI award for both country and pop airplay. Eddie Rabbitt began to sing his own songs and landed his first recording contract in 1974. He scored hits with his second album, "Rocky Mountain Music" and crossed over to the pop charts in 1979 with the theme from the Clint Eastwood movie, "Every Which Way But Loose". The haunting single, "Suspicions" followed in 1980, winning the prestigious Robert J. Burton Award from BMI as the most performed song of the year.

Rabbitt's records have sold millions, his songs have won more than 20 BMI songwriter awards in country music and more than a dozen in pop. Ten of his songs have achieved "million air" status (more than one million radio plays each). His 17 albums have garnered 26 #1 country hits and eight top 40 pop hits. Eddie Rabbitt has also starred in several of his own TV variety specials, was a guest on countless TV programs and been featured in several national television commercials.

The father of two, Rabbitt has been a leader in humanitarian causes and, when it comes to children, he is the first to offer his assistance and "name" value ... as a celebrity spokesperson for such charitable causes as Special Olympics, Safe Kids, Easter Seals, The Muscular Dystrophy Association, and United Cerebral Palsy.

Now the next time it rains, you'll know a little more about the man who wrote the song that won't stop running around in your head.

Word Of The Day: Wreak (reek) v. To inflict; vent, express, or gratify. "Wreak destruction on the aliens!" shouted Captain Kirk.

His family had been prominent Georgia farmers transplanted to Detroit. He was a boxer and won nine out of 15 fights. After a stint in the U.S. Army, he worked for his father during the day and prowled jazz clubs by night. Other career attempts included a jazz record shop from 1953-55, and a job at a Ford factory. Finally, Berry Gordy III, born on this day in 1929, found his forte. He began writing songs.

For three years he wrote for the Golden Gloves champion he had once worked out with, Jackie Wilson. The songs he wrote for Wilson became hits and included, "Reet Petite", "That is Why (I Love You So)", "I'll be Satisfied" and "Lonely Teardrops".

In 1956, Berry with his second wife, Raynoma, formed a production company. They recorded and released hits by Marv Johnson, changed Smokey Robinson and the Matadors to Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and leased their records. Gordy owned a record label, Anna (with sisters, Anna and Gwen), writing its first hit, "Money (That's What I Want)". Then Berry started Jobete Music Publishing, Hitsville USA, International Talent Management and Motown Record Corporation. The corporation's first release was Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' "Way Over There". By 1961, their "Shop Around" was #1 on the R&B charts and also, a #2 pop hit. Gordy had moved out of the local scene. He tightly controlled Motown, and the family operation soon dominated black pop music of the '60s.

Mary Wells, the Supremes, The Jackson 5, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Temptations, the Marvelettes, the Four Tops, Stevie Wonder and many more recording stars were developed and promoted under strict Motown rules.

Some of the artists eventually rebelled against the Berry Gordy style; but the proof of his style being genius was in the success of the song: over 100 Motown singles made it into Billboard's top ten from 1961 to 1971.

Berry Gordy easily made his mark in the history of rock 'n' roll.

Word Of The Day: Solicitous (suh LIS I tuhs) adj. Concerned; attentive; eager. Solicitous youths are the most likely to be hired.

The Grammy Awards were shown on network television for the first time on this night in 1959. (It was actually the second year of the Grammy Awards.)

"Mack the Knife" won Record of the Year and Bobby Darin, who belted it out, was Best New Artist of the Year. Frank Sinatra won Album of the Year for "Come Dance with Me". Jimmy Driftwood penned the Song of the Year: "The Battle of New Orleans", which also won Country and Western Performance of the Year honors for Johnny Horton.

The Best Folk Performance of the Year went to The Kingston Trio for their "...at Large" recording. The Best Performance by a Top 40 Artist was Nat 'King' Cole's "Midnight Flyer" and the Grammy for Best Comedy Performance, Musical went to Homer & Jethro for their immortal, "The Battle of Kookamonga".

The great Duke Ellington received the 1959 Grammy for Best Performance by a Dance Band this night for his "Anatomy of a Murder" movie sound track. Ellington won another Grammy and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Science's Lifetime Achievement Award six years later.

It was only appropriate that the Grammy Awards would be shown annually on television since the 'new medium' of TV would supply much nominated music over the years and spotlight performers. Little did the Academy know what it started ... and that it would someday award Grammys for music videos as seen on MTV.

Word Of The Day: Blunt (blunt) v. To deter, disincline; desensitize; dull. I hat to blunt your enthusiasm, but your plan simply will not work.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born (prematurely) on this day in 1874. He became a British statesman, soldier, and author - and the first man to be made an honorary citizen of the United States (by an act of Congress on April 9, 1963).

A graduate of Sandhurst Military Academy, Churchill fought in India, the Sudan, and South Africa. In 1900 he was elected to the British Parliament. He was the first Lord of the Admiralty (1911-15) in World War I until discredited by the failure of the Dardanelles campaign, which he had championed.

Churchill later served in several cabinet positions in the Liberal government including Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1924 to 1929. Out of office from 1929 to 1939, Churchill issued unheeded warnings of the threat of Nazi Germany.

In 1940, seven months after the outbreak of World War II, Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as prime minister. Churchill's stirring oratory, his energy, and his refusal to make peace with Hitler were crucial to maintaining British resistance.

After the fall of France (on June 22, 1940), Germany intended to defeat the British Royal Air Force (RAF). In July, the German Luftwaffe began to bomb British airfields and ports. By September, the Luftwaffe had begun to make nightly raids on London. The RAF fought bravely but were badly outnumbered. However, they still managed to hold off the Luftwaffe. Churchill expressed his nation's gratitude to its airmen: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

After the post-war Labour party victory in 1945, Churchill became leader of the opposition. In 1951 he was again elected prime minister. Two years later he was knighted. That same year he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for "...his mastery of historical and biographical presentation and for his brilliant oratory..."

Sir Winston Churchill died in London on January 24, 1965. History has already recorded him as one of the greatest statesmen and leaders of the 20th century.

Word Of The Day: Pugnacious (puhg NAY shuhs) adj. Quarrelsome, eager to fight. Fido is an extremely pugnacious poodle.

George R. Self
E-mail me at: grself@c2i2.com

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