Hideki Tōjō was the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 1941 to 1944. He was also a general of the Imperial Japanese Army and leader of the para-fascist Taisei Yokusankai. As Prime Minister, he was directly responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to the war between Japan and the United States. After the end of the war, Tōjō was arrested, sentenced to death for Japanese war crimes and hanged in 1948.
An Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited as a key figure in the creation of Fascism. Mussolini became the 40th Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and remained in power until he was replaced in 1943 during World War II. In 1945, Mussolini attempted to escape to Switzerland, but was captured, executed and taken to Milan for public viewing.
A British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer and an artist. He is the only British prime minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was the first person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States. He died on this day in 1965.
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo is the archetype of the Renaissance Man.
The name of the mummy of a warrior and ruler found in Sipán, an archaeological site in northern Peru, in 1987. The Lord of Sipán tomb is a Moche culture site and important archaeological discovery because the main tomb was found intact and untouched by thieves. The Moche Empire’s refinement of art and technology rivaled the Maya Empire.
A plump, jolly figure in North American culture that emerged in the 1820s. He reflects an amalgamation of the Dutch Sinterklaas, the English Father Christmas and Christmas gift-bringers in other traditions. The contemporary Santa Claus was modeled after historic 4th-century saint and gift-giver Saint Nicholas (AKA Saint Nick), a Greek from Asia Minor.
Note: Merry Christmas from Kris Kringle!
A fictional character created by Dr. Seuss. He appeared as the main protagonist in the 1957 children’s book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and the 1966 TV special. The devious, anti-holiday spirit of the character led to the usage of term “Grinch” to describe a person opposed to Christmastime celebrations. He is an icon of the winter holidays.
A sprite-like character with roots in Viking lore. Jack is a variant of Old Man Winter and is held responsible for frosty weather, autumn colors and fern-like patterns on cold windows. Though unconnected to Christianity, he is sometimes hijacked for modern secular Christmas entertainment, such as Frosty’s Winter Wonderland, a 1976 Rankin/Bass production.
Welcome to the winter solstice (the original reason for this holiday season). Today is the shortest day of year.
Yukon Cornelius is a character from the stop-motion children’s Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, produced by Rankin/Bass in 1964. He is an eccentric arctic prospector who leads the audience to believe that he’s searching for either gold or silver, but is actually seeking peppermint.
Hermey is a character from the stop-motion children’s Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, produced by Rankin/Bass in 1964. Hermey the Misfit Elf prefers studying dentistry to making toys, making him a social outcast among the other elves.
This character is based on “Frosty the Snowman” – a popular song first recorded by Gene Autry in 1950. The most famous version of Frosty is the animated children’s Christmas special Frosty the Snowman, produced by Rankin/Bass in 1969. Frosty comes to life and says “Happy Birthday!” when a magical top hat is placed on his head.
Walt Disney is an American film producer, animator, entrepreneur and international icon, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. He co-founded The Walt Disney Company, which has become one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. He died on this day in 1966.
Snow Miser is a character from the stop-motion children’s Christmas special The Year Without a Santa Claus, produced by Rankin/Bass in 1974. The icicle-covered Snow Miser controls Earth’s cold weather and possesses the supernatural power to freeze objects at will. His arch-nemesis is his stepbrother Heat Miser, and their mother is Mother Nature.
Since the Miser Brothers are identified as stepbrothers, did Mother Nature adopt one or both of them? Or, if she is the biological mother of both (making them half-brothers), then how promiscuous was she? I figure Snow Miser’s father has to be either Father Winter or Jack Frost. And I can’t think of a likelier paternal option for Heat Miser than the Devil; Mother Nature might be more hardcore than we thought if she’s into sex that kinky. In 2008, Warner Bros. exacted some Rankin/Bass revisionism with A Miser Brothers’ Christmas by portraying the naughty Miser Brothers as fraternal twins who have a malevolent brother North Wind.
Rocket J. Squirrel is the cartoon flying squirrel protagonist of the 1959-1964 animated television series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, produced by Jay Ward. Rocky is the brains of the “moose and squirrel” duo, though he often appears just as naïve and gullible as Bullwinkle. When he flies, he is accompanied by a jet engine sound effect.
P.S. “And now, here’s something we hope you’ll really like!”
An English leader of the Pilgrim settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. He served as governor for over 30 years after John Carver died. His journal (1620-1647) was published as Of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford is credited as the first civil authority to designate what popular American culture now views as Thanksgiving in the United States.
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!
A cartoon character owned by American Greetings (which also owns the Care Bears franchise). Originally created in 1977 for use in greeting cards, Strawberry Shortcake and her friends have been licensed for dolls, toys, posters, an animated TV series and other products. During the 1980s, this franchise was a huge fad for young girls throughout the U.S.
I reject the pubescent, sexualized makeover of Strawberry Shortcake that was introduced in 2008. Also, in celebration of my 271st character: Did you know that 271 is the smallest prime P where P-1 and P+1 are divisible by cubes?
The cartoon frog mascot of Honey Smacks breakfast cereal. This excessively sweetened puffed wheat cereal was introduced in 1953 as Sugar Smacks. Kellogg’s renamed the product Honey Smacks in the 1980s, then Smacks, then back to Honey Smacks. There have been various mascots over the years. Dig ‘Em Frog first appeared in 1972.
The cartoon leprechaun mascot of Lucky Charms breakfast cereal. This General Mills product first appeared in stores in 1964. The cereal consists of sugar-coated, toasted oat-based pieces and multicolored marshmallow bits in various shapes. “They’re magically delicious!” he exclaims in an Irish accent.
The fortune teller from Zoltar Speaks, the magical fortune-telling machine in Big. For the 1988 romantic comedy film, the one-of-a-kind machine was placed at Rye Playland, an amusement park located in Rye, New York. Tom Hanks stars as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish to be “big” and is then aged to adulthood overnight.
Today is Election Day in the U.S. Want to make a wish?
Louis Pasteur – No. 306
A French chemist and microbiologist remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. He created the first vaccines for rabies and anthrax and is best known for inventing a method to stop milk and wine from causing sickness, a process now known as pasteurization. He was born on this day in 1822.
When I was a kid, a memorable book for me was The Value of Believing in Yourself: The Story of Louis Pasteur (1977) by Spencer Johnson. I refuse to believe that Louis Pasteur did not look like a bizzaro Uncle Sam.