An American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the “Capones,” was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early 1920s to 1931. Capone was convicted of tax evasion and spent years in Alcatraz.
A fictional British artificial intelligence, known for his wit and stuttering, distorted, electronically sampled voice. The character, portrayed by Matt Frewer, was featured in a music video TV show, a British cyberpunk film, a television drama series and commercials. In 1986, he was the spokesman for the New Coke advertising campaign (after the return of Coke Classic).
The 32nd President of the United States (1933-1945) and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the U.S. during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. FDR was the only American president elected to more than two terms. Despite being bound to a wheelchair, the extent of his paralytic illness was kept from public view.
The principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States. He was an influential Founding Father, and an exponent of Jeffersonian democracy. On behalf of the United States, he acquired the Louisiana Territory (which included 15 current U.S. states and two Canadian provinces) from Napoleon in 1803.
A fictional character created by Ben Edlund in 1986 as a newsletter mascot for a chain of Boston-area comic book stores. He is an absurdist spoof of comic book superheroes. The character later spun off into an independent comic book series in 1988, and gained mainstream popularity through an animated TV series on Fox in 1994.
A retired American boxer. Iron Mike is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. He also spent years in prison for rape, bit off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a fight, declared bankruptcy and is generally nuts. He is slowly fading into Bolivian.
An African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH. He was born on this day in 1941.
An American author and poet best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. Poe is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. On October 3, 1849, he was found on the streets of Baltimore delirious and wearing clothes that were not his own. Poe is thought by some to have been the victim of cooping before his mysterious death. He died on this day at age 40.
Note: According to a 1906 article from The New York Times, Poe parted his hair on the right. Many photos seem to show the opposite, but that’s because the image is reversed in most daguerreotypes (the photographic process of the mid-1800s). Just saying.
An American entrepreneur and inventor. He was co-founder, chairman and former CEO of Apple. In the late 1970s, Jobs and company developed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. In the 2000s, he led Apple’s return to profitability with the iMac, iTunes Store, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Jobs also held leadership roles at Pixar and Disney.
In memoriam: Steve Jobs passed away yesterday, on October 5, 2011. Rest in peace.
The handsome hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published in 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Flash Gordon and his companions travel to the planet Mongo, which is ruled by the evil Ming the Merciless.
The main character in Simon’s Book, a 1983 children’s picture book by Henrik Drescher. In the story, a young boy stops drawing and goes to bed, leaving Simon stranded on the page with a huge monster. Simon flees from the monster with the aid of some drawing pens and a bottle of ink. I loved this book as a kid.
The main character in The Giving Tree, a 1964 children’s book written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. This book has become one of Silverstein’s best known titles and has been translated into more than 30 languages. It’s one of my most loved childhood books. Watch The Giving Tree movie from 1973, narrated and scored by Silverstein.
The King of All Wild Things and main character of Where the Wild Things Are, a 1963 children’s picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak. The book has been adapted into an animated short, an opera, and, in 2009, a live-action feature film adaptation directed by Spike Jonze. Possibly my very favorite childhood book.
The lovable protagonist in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. Good ol’ Charlie Brown made his first appearance in 1950 and failed at almost everything he did until Schulz’s death in 2000. Cursed with self-doubt, insecurities and frequent bad luck, Charlie is often taken advantage of by his peers.
Watching A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) is an annual holiday tradition. Dance!
A diminutive Mexican luchador in Capcom’s Saturday Night Slam Masters, a 1993 professional wrestling arcade game. This masked Mexican wrestler amazes crowds with his high-flying speed and techniques. Also known as El Stinger, he is based on real-life Mexican wrestler Lizmark, who’s very popular in Japan.
A video game character created by Capcom. Ken, an American karate master, is a main character of the Street Fighter series and has appeared in all games in the franchise. In the original 1987 game, best friends and rivals Ken and Ryu were the only two playable characters.
A fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Iron Man is otherwise known as Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer. Stark suffers a severe chest injury during a kidnapping in which his captors attempt to force him to build a weapon of mass destruction. He instead creates a powered suit of armor to save his life and escape.
A Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers (1963-1981). Marley remains the most widely known and revered performer of reggae music, and is credited with helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience.
The Bob Marley is my favorite American Dream Pizza combo. Toppings: Jamaican jerk chicken, mushrooms, black olives and red onions.
Sitting Bull – No. 228
A Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to U.S. government policies. Known for his role in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, he briefly toured with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. In 1890, he was killed by Indian agency police during an attempt to arrest him for supporting the Ghost Dance movement.
Since 1990, citizens in South Dakota have been celebrating Native American Day instead of Columbus Day. This makes me happy. Screw Columbus anyway. Even though Columbus was a wretched human being and wrong about everything, he was lucky enough to survive his catastrophic miscalculations and find uncharted land before his crews starved to death.