Saturday, March 25, 2017

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: The Day Your Grandfather Was Born

It's time for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, and this week Randy Seaver has a mission that does sound like lots of fun:

(1) What day of the week was your grandfather born (either one)? Tell us how you found out.

(2) What has happened in recorded history on your grandfather's birth date (day and month)? Tell us how you found out, and list five events.


(3) What famous people have been born on your grandfather's birth date?  Tell us how you found out, and list five of them.

(4) Put your responses in your own blog post, in a comment on this blog post, or in a status or comment on Facebook.


Considering that it was only last year that I finally confirmed my paternal grandfather's birth date, I figured I had to pick him for this challenge.

(1) My paternal grandfather, Bertram Lynn Sellers, was born April 6, 1903.  According to TimeAndDate.com, that date was a Monday.  (I'm not sure how "fair of face" my grandfather was, though.)

(2) Historical events that happened on April 6 during my grandfather's lifetime:

• In 1909, Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reached the North Pole.
• In 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, officially entering World War I.
• In 1947, the first Tony Awards were presented.
• In 1957, Aristotle Onassis bought Hellenic National Airlines and founded Olympic Airlines (on which I have flown).
• In 1973, Major League Baseball's American League began using the designated hitter (a travesty).

(3) Famous people who were born on April 6 during my grandfather's lifetime:

• 1903, Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player and manager (born in Massachusetts on the same day my grandfather was born in New Jersey)
• 1931, Ivan Dixon, American actor, director, and producer
• 1926, Sergio Franchi, Italian singer and actor
• 1937, Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947, John Ratzenberger, American actor and director

I found the information for (2) and (3) on Wikipedia.  It was hard to keep each list to only five!

(4) This is the blog post!

6 comments:

  1. You had much more going on on April 6. I even used both grandfathers - May 3 and May 24 - but they were both boring days, both for events and famous people.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess it depends on what and who you recognize. I just looked at both dates and found a lot of interesting events and people whose names I knew.

      Delete
  2. I answered the questions for both of my grandpas, too. My maternal grandpa, 12 May 1910, was more difficult to find interesting things for than my paternal grandpa, 27 October 1918.

    The thing that stood out to me in your events is: "In 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, officially entering World War I." My maternal grandma was 4 days old when this war was declared. My daddy was 4 days old when Pearl Harbor was bombed. How scary to have a newborn in those days, for so many reasons.

    Merle Haggard is the only name in your list (aside from your grandpa's name!) that I immediately recognized. I grew up listening to his music. :)

    I enjoyed your post. Have a blessed day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think war is scarier when you have young chidren because you're afraid for them as well as for yourself.

      I grew up listening to Merle Haggard also. For the other names, does it help if I say Kinchloe on "Hogan's Heroes" (Ivan Dixon) and Cliff on "Cheers" (John Ratzenberger)?

      Delete
  3. April 6 will be here soon. Nice job on your post! I enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I have a post planned about my grandfather for his birthday.

      Delete

All comments on this blog will be previewed by the author to prevent spammers and unkind visitors to the site. The blog is open to everyone, particularly those interested in family history and genealogy.