9 October

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 9 October:

1. Born on this date in 1940 was John Lennon, singer, songwriter, one of The Beatles. In his solo career, Lennon wrote and recorded many songs such as Give Peace a Chance and Imagine. He caused controversy by saying, "We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first — rock and roll or Christianity." His son, Sean Ono Lennon, was born on this date in 1975.
2. Staying with John Lennon, on the anniversary of his birth in 2007, The Imagine Peace Tower was officially unveiled in Kollafjorour Bay near Reykjavik, Iceland. The memorial to John Lennon from his widow, Yoko Ono, consists of a tall "tower of light", projected from a white stone monument which has the words "Imagine Peace" carved into it in 24 languages.
3. In 1930, death row inmate Wiliam Kogut committed suicide in San Quentin prison by assembling a pipe bomb from nitrate-rich red spots torn from his Playing cards. He placed them inside an iron pipe from his bed. He put the bomb on his heater and his head next to it, and waited. 
4. The first Luddite riots occurred in Manchester on this date in 1779. Luddites opposed the use of machinery to spin thread, a job previously done by people. The word Luddite is still used to indicate those in opposition to technology.
5.  In 1867, the Russians formally transferred Alaska to the United States. The US bought Alaska for $7.6 million... or about $13 a square mile.
6.  In 1989, the official Soviet news agency Tass reported that an unidentified flying object, complete with three tall aliens, had visited a park in the city of Voronezh.
7.  Clement Ader of France actually was the first person to fly an aeroplane, which he did on this date in 1890; but his steam-powered plane only rose a few inches off the ground. It was not a sustained flight like the Wright Brothers achieved later.
8.  In 1999, boxing's first sanctioned battle of the sexes took place as Margaret MacGregor defeated Loi Chow by winning all four rounds in a promotion held in Seattle. 
9. In 1799. the British frigate HMS Lutine sank off the Dutch coast with the loss of all on board and half a million pounds worth of cargo, making today one of the blackest days ever for Lloyds of London. Eventually the ship’s rudder and bell were salvaged. The rudder was made into a chair for the Chairman of Lloyds and the Lutine Bell is still rung whenever there is a disaster.
10.  In 1996, the waterway code in Venice was amended so that gondoliers were allowed to serenade their customers during the day as well as in the evenings.

I write Fiction, too.

There is a whole new universe of superheroes to discover in my novels. The Ultraheroes Universe includes at least one alternative dimension, good guys, bad guys, secrets, romance and more.

For more information visit My Books Page

For even more information visit My website