Born on this day
Sunday, January 3, 1892. : J.R.R.Tolkien, author of ‘Lord of the Rings’, is born.
J.R.R.Tolkien was born John Ronald Reuel Tolkien on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. At age three, Tolkien and his family travelled to England for an extended family visit, but his father died in South Africa before he was able to join the family. Tolkien’s mother then chose to stay in England, supported by her family. Tolkien is best known for his novels ‘The Hobbit’ (1937) and the classic trilogy ‘The Lord of the Rings’ (published 1954-56), encompassing ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, ‘The Two Towers’ and ‘The Return of the King’.
Tolkien was a man of vast learning and intellect: he attended King Edward’s School, Birmingham and Oxford University; he worked as reader in English language at Leeds from 1920 to 1925, as professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford from 1925 to 1945, and of English Language and Literature, also at Oxford, from 1945 to 1959. He was an eminently distinguished lexicographer and an expert in Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse. He was a strongly committed Catholic, and admitted in letters that his faith had a profound effect on his writings. He belonged to a literary discussion group called the Inklings, through which he enjoyed a close friendship with author C.S.Lewis. Tolkien died of natural causes on 2 September 1973.
Born on this day
Sunday, January 3, 1909. : World-class pianist and entertainer, Victor Borge, is born.
Victor Borge was born Børge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 3 January 1909. He was recognised early as being something of a child prodigy on the piano, and was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Music Conservatory in 1918. His classical piano debut was in 1926 at the Danish concert-hall ‘Odd Fellow Palæet’. After enjoying a few years as a serious classical pianist, he developed a comedy act which incorporated his prodigious talent. He started touring extensively in Europe where, as a Jew, he was outspoken with his anti-Nazi jokes. This led to Adolf Hitler placing Børge on his list of enemies of Germany. The Nazi occupation of Denmark during WWII forced Børge to escape to Finland, from where he travelled to America on the SS American Legion, the last passenger ship to make it out of Europe prior to the war. He arrived in America on 28 August 1940.
Although Børge did not speak any English, he soon adapted his jokes to the American audience, and took the name of Victor Borge. He performed for the first time in Bing Crosby’s radio show in 1941, and in 1942 was pronounced the “Best New Radio Performer of the Year”. In 1948 he became an American citizen, and had his own show, “Comedy in Music”, at The Golden Theatre in New York 1953-56. Over the years, Borge played with some of the world’s most renowned orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and London Philharmonic. He was invited to conduct the Danish Royal Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1992. Borge continued to perform his comedy routine until shortly before his death on 23 December 2000.
Australian History
Monday, January 3, 1870. : Western Australia adopts its first state flag.
The colony of Western Australia was established in 1829, when Captain Charles Fremantle was sent to take formal possession of the remainder of New Holland which had not already been claimed for Britain under the territory of New South Wales. Early in May 1829, Captain Fremantle raised the Union Jack on the south head of the Swan River, claiming the territory for Britain. The colony of Western Australia was officially proclaimed in June 1829.
The first flag of Western Australia was adopted on 3 January 1870. Almost identical to the current flag, it was based on the defaced British Blue Ensign, and featured the state badge. The badge consisted of a gold disc with a native Black Swan, after which the Swan River was named. The only difference between the first state flag and the current flag, adopted in 1953, is that the swan originally faced the opposite direction towards the fly, rather than towards the hoist. The change was made to conform with official guidelines that animals on flags must face the hoist, so when carried on a pole, the animal faces the direction of the flag bearer.
Australian History
Thursday, January 3, 1907. : A young Charles Kingsford-Smith becomes the first person to be rescued using a new Australian invention, the surf lifesaving reel.
Until 1902, a Manly Council by-law (Sydney) prohibited swimming in the ocean during daylight hours. When local newspaper proprietor Henry Gocher defied the law three times, and was arrested, it drew attention to the situation. Gocher continued to campaign for the right to swim during the day, with the result that Manly Council issued a new by-law permitting bathing in daylight hours, but with the requirement for neck-to-knee swimwear for anyone over 8 years old. This was the beginning of Australia’s love affair with surfing and other water sports, and led to the formation of the world’s first lifesaving clubs.
The Bronte Beach Surf Club in Sydney was formed in 1903. Early rescue equipment consisted of nothing more than a simple pole in the sand with a coiled rope attached. In 1906, Lyster Ormsby of the Bondi Surf Bathers Lifesaving Club modelled a better design he felt could be implemented, using a cotton reel and bobby pins. Ormsby’s design intended for a lifesaver wearing a belt with a rope attached to reach a distressed swimmer, and be pulled back to the beach by his fellow lifesavers.
A full-scale working model taken from the original design was built by Sgt John Bond of Victoria Barracks in Paddington. Later, this was improved upon by Sydney coachbuilder G H Olding. The first surf lifesaving reel is believed to have been demonstrated in December 1906 at Bondi Beach. Local legend states that the first rescue using the device occurred on 3 January 1907. The one rescued was an eight-year-old boy by the name of Charlie Kingsford-Smith, who later became one of Australia’s most famous aviators.
World History
Monday, January 3, 1521. : German theologian and Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther, is excommunicated from the Roman Catholic church.
Martin Luther was a German theologian and Augustinian monk whose teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of the Protestant churches in general, and the Lutheran church in particular. Luther openly questioned the teachings of the Roman Catholic church, in particular, the nature of penance, the authority of the pope and the usefulness of indulgences. The Reformation of the church began on 31 October 1517, with Luther’s act of posting his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The document contained an attack on papal abuses and the sale of indulgences by church officials.
Controversy raged over the posting of the 95 Theses. Ultimately, on 3 January 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the Roman Catholic church for his attacks on the wealth and corruption of the papacy, and his belief that salvation would be granted on the basis of faith alone rather than by works. That same year, Luther was summoned before the Diet of Worms. The Diet was a general assembly of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire that occurred in Worms, Germany, from January to May in 1521. When an edict of the Diet called for Luther’s seizure, his friends took him for safekeeping to Wartburg, the castle of Elector Frederick III of Saxony. Here, Luther continued to write his prolific theological works, which greatly influenced the direction of the Protestant Reformation movement.
World History
Tuesday, January 3, 1888. : The drinking straw is patented.
The drinking straw is a common sight everywhere in modern society, and even the cause of a great deal of litter. The straw has a long history, going back to the Sumerians, an ancient Mesopotamian civilisation, who used natural materials to form a cylindrical shape so they could drink beer, thus avoiding the sediments resulting from the fermentation process. The modern drinking straw was patented on 3 January 1888 by Marvin Chester Stone.
Stone was an employee at a paper cigarette holder factory in Washington DC. At the time, straws used for drinking liquids were made from rye-grass, and tended to give drinks a grassy flavour. Using a fine piece of paper from the cigarette holder factory, Stone rolled it around a pencil then coated it in wax to prevent it becoming waterlogged. The success of his simple invention led to him applying immediately for a patent. The product was so well received that, by 1890, his factory was producing more straws than cigarette holders. Manufacture of the drinking straw was improved in 1906 with the invention of the first device to machine-wind straws, replacing the hand-winding process.
Straws are now highly versatile, having come a long way since Stone’s initial invention. They are made of various materials, come in a variety of colours and sizes, and can even be bent into shapes.