Happy 80th Birthday to Jimmy Page, the brilliant guitarist, songwriter, and producer whose groundbreaking band Led Zeppelin released its first album 51 years ago this week. A complicated man, his guitar playing reflected his broad imagination, and seems to fit with the portrait of a man married and divorced 3 times, owner of multiple historic English manor houses, who grew up listening to blues guitarists with an enduring interest in the occult. WATCH a scene from It Might Get Loud… (1944)
In the great guitar player documentary It Might Get Loud, Jimmy plays the 1958 record ‘Rumble’ by Link Wray, which had a major influence on his blues music of the 60s and 70s, particularly in Led Zeppelin’s single, Whole Lotta Love.
MORE Good News on this Date:
- Daguerreotype photography was unveiled by the French Academy of Sciences (1839)
- The United Nations headquarters officially opened in New York City (1951)
- Apple Computer introduced iTunes, the digital music software, at the MacWorld Expo (2001)
- The Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan marked the end of a 21-year civil war that killed or displaced millions of people. (2005) Related: Famous Drummers Beat for Peace in Sudan
- The iPhone was unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs (2007)
32 years ago today, one of the most rapidly expanding fields of astronomy was born when scientists Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail announced findings that confirmed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the existence of extrasolar planets—now referred to as “exoplanets.” Hypothesized as existing by Giordano Bruno back in the 16th century, the news was described by national astronomers as “the greatest discovery by a Polish astronomer since Copernicus,” and Nature Magazine ranked Wolszczan as the author of “one of the 15 fundamental discoveries of astronomy.”
He found two exoplanets which were around 3 and 3.5 times the mass of Earth, orbiting a neutron star, or pulsar, spinning as fast as a blender around 2,300 light years away. Perhaps borrowing from the notably frightening body Polish fables, the pulsar was named “lich”, and the two planets “draugr” and “poltergeist”, all of which are undead monsters.
Wolszczan et al. used the pulsar detection method to make the discovery. Observing the small dips in light coming from a bright, rapidly spinning neutron star, Wolszczan reasoned that the dimming of light could only be possible if large bodies, in this case, 3-times the mass of the Earth, were passing in front of it. The consistency in the timing of the dips would suggest an orbiting body as wall, and the mathematics took care of the details.
Today, exoplanet science is one of the most popular fields for new astronomers, and more than four thousand exoplanets have been discovered to date—some of which present exciting targets in the search for extraterrestrial life, including some that likely have oceans. One of the new James Webb Space Telescope’s infrared cameras is specialized for seeking out exoplanets hidden nearby. (1992)
121 years ago today, Wind Cave National Park was established by Congress as the 6th U.S. National Park. It was the first cave to receive government protection of any kind in the modern era. The cave is recognized as the densest cave system in the world, with the greatest passage volume per cubic mile. Wind Cave is the seventh longest cave in the world, with 154.2 miles (248.16 km) of explored cave passageways (as of 2021), and the third longest cave in the United States.
The Lakota (Sioux), an indigenous people who live in the Black Hills region of South Dakota, spoke of a hole that blew air, a place they consider sacred as the site where they first emerged from the underworld where they had lived before the demiurge creation of the world.
Above ground, the park protects vast areas of mixed-grass prairie, a rapidly diminishing North American ecosystem that hosts a stunning diversity of life. The Wind Cave bison herd is one of only 4 self-sustaining and genetically pure, free-roaming bison herds in the country.
For those interested in mineralogy, a type of formation called ‘boxwork,’ was first noted in Wind Cave. These calcite fins were once cracks filling gypsum and anhydrite. The released sulfuric acid weakened the bedrock, allowing it to weather faster than the calcite. The resultant intersecting fins form open chambers and protrude from the surrounding bedrock by amounts ranging from 0.6 to 1.2 m. Lower levels of the cave have boxworks mixed with frostwork and cave popcorn. Helictite bushes were also first discovered in Wind Cave. Moonmilk is found on many surfaces, while calcite rafts are found in the lower levels of the cave system. (1903)
And, on this day in 1768, on a stage in London, the first ever modern-day circus was produced. Philip Astley put on the show to feature his genius for trick riding—and the equestrian master rode in a circle that day, rather than in a straight line as his rivals did.
His dreams came true, to open a riding school by day, and, afterward conduct shows of acrobatic riding skill, called Astley’s Amphitheatre. He added music, prancing dogs, and eventually hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers, and a clown to fill in the pauses between horse acts. He performed his stunts in a ring 42 feet in diameter, which is the size used by circuses ever since. This first performance took place in an open field at what is now the Waterloo area of London, behind the present site of St John’s Church. When he expanded, he moved to fenced premises just south of Westminster Bridge.
Happy 56th Birthday to singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and winemaker Dave Matthews. Born in Johannesburg, he formed the Dave Matthews Band in Charlottesville, Virginia, a jam band that owns the distinction of selling more tickets in the decade during 2000-2010—and earning more money—than any other act in North America.
The band’s 2012 album, Away from the World, made them the only group to have six consecutive studio albums debut at number one on the Billboard charts. In 1999, Matthews purchased ten acres of land in Virginia and planted grapes on the property. He now produces wines under the names Blenheim Vineyards and Dreaming Tree Wines, with bottle labels he drew himself. (1967)
Happy Birthday to singer-songwriter and activist, Joan Baez who turns 83 years old today. Each of her first three contemporary albums—Joan Baez (1960), Joan Baez, Vol. 2, and Joan Baez in Concert from 1962—achieved gold record status and stayed on the album charts for years.
She saw Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking about civil rights and nonviolence, and the two became friends and walked arm-in-arm in protest. Her performance of We Shall Overcome at the 1963 March on Washington forever linked her to that Pete Seeger anthem. Fluent in Spanish, her 1975 hit, Diamonds & Rust, was written about her former lover, Bob Dylan.
Baez was instrumental in founding the USA branch of Amnesty International in the 1970s, and later founded her own human-rights group, Humanitas International, to target oppression wherever it occurs.
Since retiring from touring in 2019, the musician has turned to painting and you can join a live-streaming debut of her new solo art exhibit of portraits featuring “people making the world a better place.” In her Woodside, California backyard, she has a tree house in which she spends time meditating, writing, and being close to nature. WATCH her kitchen performance of Forever Young for all the heroes of the 2020 pandemic… (1941)
CHECK OUT: Fans Late for a Concert Help a Stranded Cyclist Dave Matthews, Star of the Show
Also, Happy Birthday to the actor J. K. Simmons, who turns 69 today. Named Jonathan when he was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, he played a doctor on TV’s Law & Order, and a police chief in The Closer, but his most acclaimed role was on the big screen in 2014 portraying a music teacher in Whiplash.
His powerful performance as the strict and belittling instructor earned him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, Critics’ Choice Award and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. WATCH the riveting 2:00 trailer and check out more of his work…. (1955)
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