1869
Mahatma Gandhi (advocate of non-violent resistance to fight tyranny) born in Porbandar, Gujarat, India.

1872
On this day, Phineas Fogg wagers twenty thousand pounds he can "tour of the world in eighty days".
Thus setting the parameter of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days.

1879
American poet Wallace Stevens born in Reading, Pennsylvania.
He said, "A poet looks at the world the way a man looks at a woman."

The Emperor of Ice-Cream.

Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.
Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

Take from the dresser of deal,
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face.
If her horny feet protrude, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.
Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

1890

Groucho Marx born New York City.

1904
Novelist Graham Greene (The Quiet American) born in Hertfordshire, England.

1914
Rocket engineer chemist, inventor, businessman, writer, socialite, and Thelemite occultist John Whiteside Parsons born in Los Angeles.

1949
Photographer Annie Leibovitz born in Waterbury, Connecticut.

1950
Peanuts cartoon strip appeared for the first time.

1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents premeres on CBS TV.

1959
The Twilight Zone debuted on CBS TV.
Each episode began with this very familiar introduction:

There is a fifth dimension
Beyond that which is known to man.
It is a dimension as vast as space
And as timeless as infinity.
It is the middle ground between light and shadow,
Between science and superstition,
And it lies between the pit of man's fear
And the summit of his knowledge.
This is the dimension of imagination.
It is an area which we call
The twilight zone.

1967
Country singer Gillian Welch born in New York City.

Today from Chamber's Book of Days