Good News in History, May 2

60 years ago today, Shishapangma was summited for the first time as the last of Mother Earth’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters to be climbed by mankind. It is both the 14th highest mountain in the world and the 14th eight thousander to be climbed, by a Chinese expedition led by Xu Jing (许竞). READ a bit more about this little-known peak… (1964)

Shishapangma is located in south-central Tibet, five kilometers from the border with Nepal. It and Nanga Parbat are the only eight-thousanders entirely within Chinese and Pakistan territory respectively.

On April 30th, 1981, an all-female, all-Japanese expedition reached Shishapangma’s peak led by Junko Tabei, the first woman to ever summit Everest, and the first woman to complete the Seven Summits, i.e. the tallest mountain on every continent.

MORE Good News on this Day:

• The first science fiction film was released, A Trip To The Moon (1902)
• Arthur Miller won a Pulitzer Prize for Death of a Salesman (1949)
• The Beatles recorded the new George Harrison song Something in 36 takes, with Billy Preston on piano, for the Abbey Road LP (1969)
• Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in Wall (Part II) was banned in South Africa, showing its potential to influence people (1980) 
  
• President Bill Clinton announced that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military (2000)
  
• 1,876 guitarists gathered in Wroclaw, Poland to play Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Hey Joe’ and set a new Guinness World Record by gathering in the city’s market square to play in the biggest guitar ensemble in recorded history (2007)
• The opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest for years, was sworn in to Myanmar’s parliament (2012)

Happy 77th Birthday to the great modern inventor, Sir James Dyson, who founded Dyson Ltd. and invented the cyclonic separation technology that created the next generation of vacuum cleaners. As a child however, Dyson excelled above all his classmates at long-distance running, to which he attributes his determination. In 2002 he set up the James Dyson Foundation, and the James Dyson Award, which supercharges engineering and technology students to be bold and make mistakes.

Launching his career with the bagless vacuum cleaner, and supported by his wife’s salary as an art teacher, Dyson couldn’t find any manufactuer to crank out his “G-Force” cleaner in 1983. He had to take it to the Japanese market and sell it through catalog sales at a price of £2,000. But it was a hit, and won him the 1991 International Design Fair Prize in Japan.

Even still, returning to Britain left him once again without major backing, so he launched his own firm, Dyson Ltd.

Interviewed by Fast Company (May 2007), Dyson asserted the importance of failure in one’s life, “I made 5,127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5,126 failures. But I learned from each one. That’s how I came up with a solution. So I don’t mind failure. I’ve always thought that schoolchildren should be marked by the number of failures they’ve had. The child who tries strange things and experiences lots of failures to get there is probably more creative.” (1947)

88 years ago today, the classical symphony for children, Peter and the Wolf premiered in Moscow. With both music and text by Sergei Prokofiev, this musical piece has for decades cultivated musical tastes in children, even those in the first years of school. Check out Peter and the Wolf on Amazon.com… (1936)

And, 12 years ago today, Barcelona defeated Málaga 4–1 at their home stadium of the Camp Nou. A certain Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick and took his season tally to 68 goals in all competitions, passing Gerd Müller’s record of 67 goals in the 1972–73 season. That was the breaking of the largest number of goals scored in a single European season across all competitions, which Messi would extend by season’s end to 73. (2012)

Happy 52nd Birthday to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the actor, producer, and former WWF wrestler regarded as one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time. After following in his father Rocky Johnson’s footsteps to become the youngest WWF Champion, a 10-time world champion, and Triple Crown champion, he left the sport in 2004, to pursue an acting career.

His films, like the Fast & Furious series, San Andreas, and several Jumanji movies, have grossed over $10.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the world’s highest-grossing and highest-paid actors.

More recently, Johnson produced and starred in the successful HBO comedy-drama Ballers (2015–2019), wherein he played a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career as a financial manager of other NFL players. His new NBC comedy series Young Rock is an autobiographical look at his early years, and moral lessons learned traveling with his dad and other pro wrestlers like Andre the Giant, and his college football days.

In 2020, his first daughter Simone announced she was entering the WWE, making her the first fourth-generation pro wrestler. And, don’t be surprised if The Rock runs for president—he has said, “If that’s what the people want, I would do it.” He is famous for repeated inspirational Instagram posts of his wristwatch reading a very early hour in the morning, with a caption suggesting he’s about to go lift weights.

Johnson’s 2000, autobiography The Rock Says, became a New York Times bestseller, and in recognition of his service to the Samoan people (he is a descendant of Samoan chiefs on his mother’s side) Johnson had the noble title of Seiuli bestowed upon him in 2004. WATCH a new candid interview about Young Rock, his childhood, and his family life… (1972)

On this day 104 years ago, the first baseball game was played in the Negro National League. In Indianapolis, the home team, the ABCs, beat the Chicago American Giants in the new league that was initially composed of eight teams including the Chicago Giants, the Cuban Stars, Dayton Marcos, Detroit Stars, St. Louis Giants, and the great Kansas City Monarchs.

A former pitcher by the name of Andrew “Rube” Foster was named the league president and he controlled every aspect of the league. 11 years later, the famed pitcher Satchel Paige made his first appearance—notable for his longevity, playing until age 47, and attracting record crowds wherever he played. Josh Gibson, his catcher, was an athlete consider by baseball historians to be among the very best power hitters and catchers in the history of any league—including Major League Baseball. (1920)

Happy 49th Birthday to David Beckham, the star midfielder who became the first British soccer player to compete in 100 Champions League matches as well as the first to win league titles in four countries. He led Manchester United to six Premier League titles before moving to Real Madrid and the Los Angeles Galaxy, and, finally, retirement. (1975)

Happy 72nd Birthday to Christine Baranski, the award-winning Broadway, TV, and film star known for her beloved roles in The Bird Cage, Mama Mia, and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Her 2017 project was a sequel to the acclaimed TV courtroom drama, The Good Wife–a streaming series from CBS called, The Good Fight. (1952)

And, 15 years ago today, Bob Dylan signed up to take a minibus tour to John Lennon’s childhood home in Liverpool, England. He attended the historic site with 14 other Beatles tourists to examine photos and documents at the home where Lennon grew up with his aunt Mimi and Uncle George. Making a visit during a stop on his European tour, the 67-year-old Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning musician paid £16 for the public tour to the 1940s house in Woolton and remained unrecognized. A spokeswoman for the National Trust who operates the property said Dylan appeared to enjoy himself. “He could have booked a private tour but he was happy to go on the bus with everyone else.” (2009)

And 117 years ago today, Take Me Out to the Ball Game was registered for a U.S. copyright. Written by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer, who had never attended a baseball game prior to writing the song, the iconic chorus became the unofficial anthem of Major League Baseball across stadiums throughout North America. (1908)

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don’t care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don’t win, it’s a shame.
For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,
At the old ball game.

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