Although the custom of setting aside a day to honor mothers has ancient roots, our observance of Mother’s Day originated in 1907 with the efforts of a devoted daughter, Anna M. Jarvis of Philadelphia, who conceived the idea of an annual nationwide celebration. The public and the press quickly embraced the idea, and villages, towns, cities, and states soon began unofficial Mother’s Day observances. On May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May Mother’s Day, and within a few years, the idea gained worldwide prominence. The day is now characterized by gift giving, sending greeting cards and flowers, and giving mother a “day off” by taking the family out to eat.
Today's Calendar
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Question of the Day
I am an actuary. Often people ask me about the origin of the word. Do you have an answer?
According to the dictionary, an actuary is a statistician who computes insurance risks and premiums. It comes from the Latin actuarius, “secretary of accounts,” and acta, “records.”
Advice of the Day
Keep a few bay leaves in grain and flour canisters to repel bugs.
Home Hint of the Day
Blackflies bite most fiercely under cover — up sleeves and trouser legs. To discourage them, wear rubber bands over clothing at these openings.
Word of the Day
Crumpet
A kind of large, thin muffin or cake, light and spongy, and cooked on a griddle or spider.
Puzzle of the Day
What part of a fish is heaviest?
Its scales.
Born
- Florence Nightingale (nurse) –
- Katharine Hepburn (actress) –
- Yogi Berra (baseball player) –
- George Carlin (comedian; first to host Saturday Night Live) –
- Emilio Estevez (actor) –
- Tony Hawk (skateboarder) –
- Kim Fields (actress) –
- Emily VanCamp (actress) –
- Malcolm David Kelley (actor) –
- Sawyer and Sullivan Sweeten (actors who played Geoffrey and Michael Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond) –
Died
- John Cadbury (chocolate manufacturer) –
- Winnie (the bear Christopher Robin Milne named his toy bear after) –
- Robert Reed (actor) –
- Adam Petty (race car driver) –
- Perry Como (singer) –
- Emanuel Gluck (Yankee Stadium’s longest-working vendor; wore badge No. 1) –
Events
- The oldest university in Poland, Jagiellonian University, was founded–
- Manitoba Act passed, approving Manitoba to become a Canadian province–
- Charles Sherrill first demonstrated a crouching start for sprinters–
- Adler Planetarium, first in U.S., opened–
- Manitoba’s flag officially adopted–
- Montreal was chosen as the site for the 1976 Summer Olympics–
- U.S. Commerce Department announced hurricanes would no longer be named solely after women–
- Susie Maroney swam from Cuba to Florida in 24.5 hours–
- The discovery of what is likely the Library of Alexandria was announced–
- American sprinter Justin Gatlin, Olympic champion, broke the 100-meter world record with a time of 9.76 seconds at the Qatar Grand Prix in Doha, Qatar. Previous record was 9.77 seconds by Jamaica’s Asafa Powell on June 14, 2005, in Athens, Greece.–
- 7.8-magnitude earthquake, Sichuan province, China–
- A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal less than 3 weeks after a 7.8-magnitude quake–
Weather
- Massive tornado struck Xenia, Ohio–
- The Colorado Rockies were struck by a late-season storm that dropped 46 inches of snow on Coal Creek Canyon, near Boulder–
- Ice out, Lake Winnipesaukee, NH–