Category: Today’s Birthday

Costello was an American comedian who, along with Bud Abbott, formed the comedic duo of Abbott and Costello. From 1931 to 1957, Costello played a bumbling, cheery dimwit alongside Abbott’s “straight man” in various stage, radio, and TV routines, the most famous of which was their “Who’s on First?” skit. Regarded as the archetypal team of burlesque comedy, the pair starred in movies such as Buck Privates and Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein. Why did the two eventually part ways? Discuss

Pyle was an American illustrator and writer who specialized in tales of chivalry and adventure for children. He rewrote and realistically illustrated classic tales about figures like Robin Hood and King Arthur, adapting the stories to suit a younger audience. In 1900, he founded an art school, and many of his students went on to become famous illustrators themselves. Today, he is considered the father of American illustration. Which noted Post-Impressionist painter was an admirer of Pyle’s work? Discuss

Nicknamed “Mama Africa,” Makeba was a Grammy Award-winning singer and activist. In 1963, after she testified against apartheid before the UN, South Africa revoked her citizenship and right to return to the country. She settled in the US, where her musical career flourished, then moved to Guinea after being criticized for marrying a Black Panther. She remained in exile for 30 years, finally returning to her homeland in 1990 at the end of apartheid. Why did she spend six months in jail as a baby? Discuss

Pullman was a successful American industrialist and the inventor of the railroad sleeping car. In 1893, he built a company town for his workers in Illinois, and it was showcased in the World’s Fair as a grand social experiment. The next year, the town of Pullman was the scene of a violent workers’ strike that nearly halted US rail traffic. When Pullman died in 1897, he had to be buried in a massive steel-and-concrete vault to keep activists from disinterring his body. What happened to his town? Discuss

An American chemist, Pauling was the first person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes: one for chemistry in 1954 and one for peace in 1962. He was one of the first to study molecular structure using quantum mechanics, and he made discoveries in biochemistry and medicine. In the 1950s, he became concerned about nuclear weapons testing and radioactive fallout and wrote an appeal—signed by thousands of scientists—to halt such tests. What publication called his peace prize “A Weird Insult from Norway”? Discuss

Black was a US Supreme Court Justice for 34 years. A prominent supporter of the New Deal, he was also in the majority that struck down mandatory school prayer and guaranteed the availability of legal counsel to suspected criminals. He was known for an absolutist belief in the Bill of Rights, and his last major opinion supported the right of The New York Times to publish the Pentagon Papers, which revealed improper government conduct. To what secret society did Black once belong? Discuss

A shoemaker’s son, Marlowe attended Cambridge University and then became an actor and dramatist in London. His plays, such as Dr. Faustus and The Jew of Malta, often center on a heroic personality ruined by his own ambition. Most critics hold that the poetic beauty of his language elevates his plays’ violence to high art, and many believe that he influenced Shakespeare’s work. At 29, he was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl, possibly due to his involvement in what covert activity? Discuss

Riggs began playing tennis at the age of 11, won Wimbledon when he was 21, and became one of the top-rated male tennis players of the 1940s. He retired in the early 1950s and was largely forgotten until 1973, when he proclaimed men superior to women in athletics and came out of retirement to challenge two of the top female tennis players in the world. After beating Margaret Court, he played Billie Jean King in one of the most famous tennis events of all time, “The Battle of the Sexes.” Who won? Discuss

Wagner was an American baseball player who led the National League in batting eight times. He entered the majors in 1897, and played for Pittsburgh most of his career. Though massively built, he was agile, leading his league in stolen bases five times and scoring almost 1,800 runs. He retired in 1917 but returned to coach the Pirates for almost two decades. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936. Fans called him “The Flying Dutchman” for his speed, but he had another nickname. What was it? Discuss

Jaspers was a German philosopher and psychopathologist often identified as an exponent of existentialism, although he rejected this classification. In his magnum opus, Philosophy, he argued that the aim of philosophy is practical and that its purpose is the fulfillment of human existence. He believed illumination is achieved through the experience of “limit situations” like conflict, guilt, and suffering, which define the human condition. What forced him to give up his teaching career? Discuss