Happy 60th Birthday to Viola Davis, the award-winning actress who rose out of abject poverty in South Carolina to attend Juilliard. Her magnificent 2011 performance in The Help, playing a maid in the 1960s, earned her an Oscar nomination.

After she won an Academy Award (for Fences), an Emmy, and a Tony Award (twice), she became the first black actress to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. WATCH clips of her top ten performances… (1965)

The Emmy was awarded for the TV drama series How to Get Away with Murder and in 2018 she earned a BAFTA nomination for starring in the heist film Widows. 

MORE Good News on this Day:

• The Eiger in the Bernese Alps was ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren, who climbed the West face (1858)
• The city of Florence was liberated from Nazi occupation by Canadian and British troops in Italy (1944)
• Chad declared its independence (1960)
• The last U.S. ground combat unit departed South Vietnam (1972)

932 years ago today, the foundation stone of the Durham Cathedral was laid by Bishop William of St. Calais. Within the first generation of the Norman control of England, many impressive stone structures were raised, both castles and cathedrals owing to their Christian faith from France. The site at which the cathedral was built replaced an existing church that housed the remains of St. Cuthbert, which had been constructed in the 9th century by monks fleeing the Viking violence at Lindisfarne, the seat of the Diocese.

Bishop William of St. Calais demolished the old Saxon church. The monks who had arrived there from Lindisfarne continued at their own expense to build the monastic buildings while the bishop took responsibility for completing the building of the cathedral. Stone for the new buildings was cut from the cliffs below the walls and moved up using winches.

William died just 3 years after the project started. Work proceeded on the nave, the walls of which were finished by 1128, and the high vault by 1135. The chapter house was built between 1133 and 1140.

In 1228 Richard le Poore, Bishop of Salisbury, was translated to Durham, having just rebuilt Salisbury Cathedral in the Gothic style. At that moment the eastern end of Durham Cathedral was in urgent need of repair and the proposed eastern extension had failed. Le Poore employed the architect Richard Farnham to design a new eastern terminal for the building. In 1250, the original roof of the cathedral was replaced by a vault which is still in place.

The towers also date from the early 13th century, but the central tower was damaged by lightning and replaced in two stages in the 15th century, the master masons being Thomas Barton and John Bell.

Much of the structure seen today was built by the Normans, demonstrating their excellence as masons, and for that reason too it’s listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (1093)

Also, on this day in the year 3,114 BCE, the incredibly sophisticated “Long Count” calendar of the Mayan and other Mesoamerican people began, which is supposed by archeologists to be the supposed creation date when “Raised-Up-Sky-Lord” built ground at “Lying-Down-Sky,” and “First-Three-Stone-Place.” Without clever explanation or prior knowledge, the Long Count is difficult to explain, but essentially the units of time are almost all counted in sets of twenty rather than ten (10 years in a decade, 10 decades in a century, 10 centuries per millennium) like the Gregorian calendar.

Misinterpretation of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar was the basis for a popular belief that a cataclysm would take place on December 21, 2012. December 21, 2012 was simply the day that the calendar went to the next “bʼakʼtun,” or group of 394 years, at Long Count 13.0.0.0.0. The date of the start of the next b’ak’tun (Long Count 14.0.0.0.0) is March 26, 2407. The date of the start of the next piktun (a complete series of 20 bʼakʼtuns), at Long Count 1.0.0.0.0.0, is October 13, 4772.

Indeed the Mayan calendar accounts for cycling far longer than anyone might have imagined practical, and it remains to be seen if there are cosmological changes associated with the larger time units of Piktun (7,885 solar years) or Kalabtun (157,704 solar years) or even Kʼinchiltun (3,154,071 solar years). 

106 years ago today, the Green Bay Packers were founded by George Calhoun and Curly Lambeau. They named the team after the sponsor, Indian Packing Company. Serving Wisconsin as the state team in the National Football League. They are the only nonprofit, community-owned major league professional sports team based in the United States, while also holding the NFL franchise record for league wins.

The Packers have won 13 league championships, the most in NFL history, with nine pre-Super Bowl NFL titles and four Super Bowl victories. The team has enjoyed several periods of success dating back as early as the 1920s.

The first coach, player, and founder of the team was Earl “Curly” Lambeau, for whom the Packer’s home stadium is named in honor (Lambaeu Field), and who’s credited with inventing pass patterns.

The arrival of Ron Hutson, the pioneering receiver (on offense) and safety (on defense),  established the Packers as a dominant force in the NFL—and the franchise won champions in 1936, ’39, and ’44. His was the first jersey number ever retired by the Packers.

Following Curly Lambeau’s departure, the team slipped into a long period of mismanagement and failure. Then, throughout the 1960s, newly-appointed head coach Vince Lombardi led the team to five championships, including back-to-back Super Bowl wins in the first two editions of the trophy.

Beginning in the 1996 season, the Packers won the championship again, spearheaded by quarterback Brett Favre who would become a Packers legend, and whose number 4 jersey was also retired.

In much of the 21st century, the Packers continue to be a dominant force, and in 2010, the Packers added a 13th championship to the franchise—driven on by their new quarterback Aaron Rodgers, one of the finest to ever play the position. Rodgers holds the all-time NFL record for pass completion percentage, as well as the franchise record for touch down passes at almost 500. (1919)

And, 69 years ago today, Elvis Presley released his first double-sided mega-hit record. With Don’t Be Cruel on one side and Hound Dog on the other, the singles went to No.1 and No.2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, where they stayed at the top for 11 weeks—and set a record that would not be broken for 36 years.

With a combined 55 weeks in the Top 100, not even The Beatles, had a double-sided hit that could challenge the cumulative chart performance of this 45-rpm record.

Hound Dog was named No.19 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time—and is one of the best-selling singles of all time. LISTEN to the hits… (1956)

And, on this day 116 years ago, Leo Fender, the inventor of the Telecaster electric guitar—the first mass-produced electric guitar—was born.

His 1954 Fender Stratocaster (pictured, left) became one of the world’s most iconic electric guitars and the Precision Bass (right) set the standard for electric bass guitars. (1909–1991)

Also, on this day in 1929, Babe Ruth became the first baseball player to hit 500 career home runs. Playing in Cleveland, Ohio, a local boy got $20 and an autograph from The Bambino himself for returning the ball that was catapulted out of League Park onto Lexington Ave.

‘The Sultan of Swat’ went on to set many baseball records with his legendary power, including most home runs, with a career tally of 714—a record that stood for 44 years.

And, Happy 42nc Birthday to Chris Hemsworth, the Australian actor best known for playing the superhero Thor in the Marvel Avengers film series. He also starred in Men in Black International. WATCH a compilation of Chris’s funniest moments… (1983)

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