Orville Wright and his elder brother, Wilbur Wright, were the inventors of the world’s first successful airplane and are considered the “fathers of modern aviation.” The Wright brothers successfully conducted the first free, controlled flight of a power-driven airplane on December 17, 1903. Orville was the more mischievous of the two brothers and was also a champion bicyclist. Orville’s adventurous nature and drive to succeed combined with his brother Wilbur’s research skills to achieve what is considered by many to be the greatest, most influential accomplishment of the 20th century. Orville was born on this day in 1871 in Dayton, Ohio.
Note: Wilbur and Orville Wright resided in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in their youth.
Gary Larson is an American cartoonist. He is the creator of The Far Side, a surreal single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to over 900 newspapers for 15 years. The series ended with Larson’s retirement on January 1, 1995. His 23 books of collected cartoons have combined sales of more than 45 million copies. In an open letter, Larson famously asked his fans not to distribute his cartoons (which he called his “kids”) illegally on the Internet. He was born on this day in 1950.
I have depicted 8-bit Gary Larson as the red-haired fat kid from his The Far Side cartoons, though Larson is neither overweight nor has red hair. The Fat Kid was one of the many unnamed stock characters that regularly appeared in Larson’s comic, perhaps most famously in the Midvale School for the Gifted strip. When I was in junior high school in the early 1990s, I expressed my appreciation of The Far Side by making a pretty great (if I do say so myself) papier-mâché head of the Fat Kid for a Mardi Gras art project.
Alfred Hitchcock was an English film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939 and became a U.S. citizen in 1955. He directed more than 50 feature films in a career spanning six decades, including Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959) and Psycho (1960). Many of Hitchcock’s films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring voyeuristic depictions of violence, murder and crime. He is widely regarded as one of cinema’s most significant artists. Hitchcock was born on this day in 1899.
Herbert Hoover was the 31st President of the United States (1929-1933). Born in Iowa, Hoover was an experienced engineer who had made a small fortune in mining. He was the first of two Presidents to redistribute their salaries (JFK was the other; he donated all his paychecks to charity). When the Wall Street Crash of 1929 struck less than eight months after Hoover took office, he tried to combat the ensuing Great Depression with government-enforced efforts, public works projects such as the Hoover Dam, tariffs and tax increases. These initiatives did not produce economic recovery during his term, but served as the groundwork for various policies incorporated by Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman brought Hoover back to help make the federal bureaucracy more efficient through the Hoover Commission. Hoover was born on this day in 1874.
Aldous Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. He is best known for his novels, including Brave New World (1932), and a wide-ranging output of essays, including The Doors of Perception (1954). Huxley was a humanist, pacifist and satirist. He spent the later part of his life in Los Angeles and became interested in spiritual subjects such as parapsychology and philosophical mysticism, in particular Vivekanda’s Neo-Vedanta and Universalism. Huxley is also well known for his advocacy and consumption of psychedelic drugs. He was born on this day in 1894.
Hugo Chávez was the President of Venezuela from 1999 until his death on March 5, 2013. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which he led until his death. Following his own political ideology of Bolivarianism (named after Simón Bolívar), Chávez focused on implementing socialist reforms, including a new constitution, increased government funding of health care and education, and significant reductions in poverty.
Note: Shortly after Hugo Chávez’s death last week after a two-year battle with cancer, it was announced that he will be embalmed and put on display “for eternity,” much like the posthumous treatment of Communist leaders Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Ho Chi Minh.
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor who did most of his work as an expatriate in the United Kingdom. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Many of Kubrick’s films broke new ground in cinematography. His masterpieces include the science-fiction 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the dystopian A Clockwork Orange (1971) and the psychological horror The Shining (1980). Kubrick died on this day in 1999 at the age of 70.
Walter Payton was a National Football League (NFL) player known as “Sweetness.” He played running back for the Chicago Bears for 13 seasons. Payton won two MVP awards as well as Super Bowl XX (1985). He once held the league’s record for most career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, yards from scrimmage, all-purpose yards and many other categories. He died in 1999 at age 45 from a rare liver disease.
Ray Bradbury was one of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers. He is best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his science fiction short story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951). Many of Bradbury’s works have been adapted into television shows or films. He was born on this day in 1920 and died on June 5, 2012.
Slobodan Milošević was the President of Serbia from 1989-1997 and President of Yugoslavia from 1997-2000. His presidency was marked by the breakup of Yugoslavia and the subsequent Yugoslav Wars. In the midst of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Milošević was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the wars in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. He was born on this day in 1941 and died in prison in 2006.
Mae West was a controversial American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades. Known for her bawdy double entendres, she made a name for herself in burlesque and vaudeville, and on the stage in New York, before moving to Hollywood in 1932. The American Film Institute named West 15th among the greatest female stars of all time. She was born on this day in 1893.
Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter, a six-time Olympic gold medalist and an electric personality. He is the world record record holder in the 100 meters (9.58 seconds) and the 200 meters (19.19 seconds). Bolt is the fastest man of all time, exceeding 24 miles per hour during sprints. He won the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100 meter relay at both the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics.
It would be fun to see Bolt set world records in the 400 meters and the long jump, if he’s willing to train for those events before he passes his prime. He surely has the freakish natural talent required.
Emiliano Zapata was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South. Followers of Zapata were known as Zapatistas. After his murder in 1919, Zapata became a martyr who remains revered today. He was born on this day in 1879.
Martha Stewart is an American business magnate, bestselling author, magazine publisher and TV personality. She is the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine and star of the syndicated talk show Martha. Starting in 2004, Stewart served a five-month prison sentence following ImClone insider trading convictions, but her media empire simply cannot be destroyed. She was born on this day in 1941.
Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and influential political leader. He played a key role in Hispanic-Spanish America’s successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. In Latin America, Bolívar is regarded as a hero, visionary, revolutionary and liberator. He led Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia to independence, and helped lay the foundations for democratic ideology in much of Latin America. He was born on this day in 1783.
Roger Federer is a Swiss tennis player who has won a men’s record 16 Grand Slam singles titles, between 2003 and 2011. He has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam tournament finals, including a men’s record ten in a row, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals from 2005 through 2010. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #6 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon.
Pete Sampras is an American former tennis player who won 14 Grand Slam singles titles between 1990 and 2002. He was the year-end world No. 1 for six consecutive years (1993-1998), a record for the Open Era. His seven Wimbledon singles championships are also an Open Era record. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #5 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon.
Mats Wilander is a Swedish former tennis player who won seven Grand Slam singles titles from 1982 through 1988. He won three of the four Grand Slam singles events in 1988 and finished that year ranked No. 1 in the world. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #1 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon.
Evonne Goolagong is a former tennis player who won seven Grand Slam singles titles and seven Grand Slam doubles titles during her career in the 1970s and early 1980s. As a child of an Aboriginal Australian family, she faced widespread discrimination in rural Australia during her youth. She’s one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #3 of 5 for French Open week.
Wilt Chamberlain is a former NBA player with the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. He played the center position from 1959-1973 and is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Chamberlain is the only player to score 100 points in a single NBA game or average more than 40 and 50 points in a season.
Note: This is 8-bit character #6 of the 13 greatest NBA players of all time.
Gary Larson – No. 657
Gary Larson is an American cartoonist. He is the creator of The Far Side, a surreal single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to over 900 newspapers for 15 years. The series ended with Larson’s retirement on January 1, 1995. His 23 books of collected cartoons have combined sales of more than 45 million copies. In an open letter, Larson famously asked his fans not to distribute his cartoons (which he called his “kids”) illegally on the Internet. He was born on this day in 1950.
I have depicted 8-bit Gary Larson as the red-haired fat kid from his The Far Side cartoons, though Larson is neither overweight nor has red hair. The Fat Kid was one of the many unnamed stock characters that regularly appeared in Larson’s comic, perhaps most famously in the Midvale School for the Gifted strip. When I was in junior high school in the early 1990s, I expressed my appreciation of The Far Side by making a pretty great (if I do say so myself) papier-mâché head of the Fat Kid for a Mardi Gras art project.