February 2nd

Born this day in 1650, Nell Gwyn, an actress and mistress to an British king. "Pretty-witty Nell",began her career age 14 at the London Bridges Street Theatre as an "orange girl". Orange girls sold oranges and other sweets to the audience. And as in the case of Nell, caught the eye of leading actor, Charles Hart, who trained Nell for the stage. That said, Nell Gwyn kept herself on the stage. Known for her beauty and her wit, a leading lady in the making and the new style of Restoration plays- they were made for each other. Her first play All Mistaken. Gwyn played opposite Charles Hart and a star was born. April 1668 is the year Nell met King Charles. By 1668, their relationship was known publicly. They had two sons. The oldest son named Charles the King made Earl of Burford,and later Duke of St. Albans.
Their younger son died at age 8 at school in Paris.

On this day in 1901, the Female Army Nurse Corps established as a permanent organization.

February 1st

On this day in 1902 Empress Tzu-hsi of China forbids the binding of women's feet. Sadly, in 1911 the law was revoked. Why do women suffer for fashion.....sadly in this case in history, foot binding was forced on young girls around the ages of 4 to 7.

Born this day in 1878, Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway. Caraway began her career in politics as the wife of Senator Thaddeus Carawy of Arkansas who served from 1920 until 1931. When he suddenly died. Govenor Parnell appointed Hattie Caraway to complete her husband's term. But, then Caraway surprised everyone when she announced she would run for another term and in doing so Caraway was..."the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate, the first woman to preside over the Senate, the first to chair a Senate committee, and the first to preside over a Senate hearing. She served from 1932 to 1945 and was a strong supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's economic recovery legislation during the Great Depression."
I include this because of it's importance even today.
May 25, 1938, Caraway stated, “My philosophy of legislation, and really on life, is to be broad-minded enough to consider human relationships and the well-being of all the people as worthy of consideration, to realize that all human beings are entitled to earn, so far as possible, their daily bread, and to try to prevent the exploitation of the underprivileged."

On this day in 1892, Mrs. William Astor invited 400 guests to a grand ball at her lovely mansion and from that day forward there have been...the 400 social elite.

January 31th

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAROL CHANNING!! 90 years young today! Born this day in 1921 Carol Channing has been a working actor for 70 years! No For An Answer stage 1941 was her first show. Ten years later Channing landed the role that made her a star in the musical,Gentleman Prefer Blonde's as Lorelei Lee, and the signature song, Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend Channing went on to create another great role Dolly Levi in the musical, Hello Dolly. Channing has also worked in film and television and was nominated for an Academy Award Best Supporting Actress in the film, Thoroughly Modern Millie and she won Golden Globe. Channing also won three Tony Awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
Carol Channning is currently married to her junior high school sweetheart, Harry Kullijian , together they promote arts education with the Dr. Carol Channing and Harry Kullijian Foundation.

"My mother said, 'Carol, would you like to help me distribute Christian Science Monitors backstage at the live theatres in San Francisco?' And I said, 'All right, I'll help you.' I don't know how old I was. I must have been little. We went through the stage door alley (for the Curran Theatre), and I couldn't get the stage door open. My mother came and opened it very well. Anyway, my mother went to put the Monitors where they were supposed to go for the actors and the crew and the musicians, and she left me alone. And I stood there and realized – I'll never forget it because it came over me so strongly – that this is a temple. This is a cathedral. It's a mosque. It's a mother church. This is for people who have gotten a glimpse of creation and all they do is recreate it. I stood there and wanted to kiss the floorboards."


Born this day in 1902, stage and film legend Tallulah Bankhead. Began her life in Huntsville, Alabama, her mother died shortly after her birth and her father and grandfather were the movers and shakers in the Democratic Party. Mr. Bankhead was in the House of Representatives,and the Speaker of the House from 1936 to 1940.
Bankhead began her career at age 15 and at this time she won a beauty contest. Using this as a basis to talk her Father into allowing her to go to New York City for a try at a stage career. Tallulah got her wish! Little success in the Big Apple, she moved to London and there in the Westend (London's Broadway) theatres, a star was born. This said what really was Bankhead's calling card in life, was her life! Larger than life, Bankhead was outrageous, and known for anything from her drug abuse to removing her clothing while in conversation. Throwing parties that went on for days and then Tallulah's wit which is still quoted today. Said to have inspired the Disney character Cruela DeVille in 101 Dalmations, she called everyone, "Dahling". It is thought that her best film role was, Lifeboat(1944) directed by ALfred Hitchcock. Talullah Bankhead was known for her very unusual voice(very deep) and her very unusual mind and wit. Here are a few of her great quotes.
"My father warned me about men and booze but he never said anything about women and cocaine.”
"Television could perform a great service in mass education, but there's no indication its sponsors have anything like this on their minds."
"If you really want to help the American theater, don't be an actress, dahling. Be an audience."

It is very interesting that both these female actors born the same day 19 years apart have very dististive voices.

January 30th

On this day in 1901, a group of women attacked twelve saloons in downtown Kansas City. Kansas. Carry Nation lead this rampage against bars and saloons selling alcohol "that is killing the men and women of the community." As part of the temperance movement Nation used vandalism to get her point across. Mrs. Nation was a large woman who described herself as "a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what He doesn't like." At first, Nation would walk into a saloon and sing hymns and pray. Then, Nation believed God put a rock in her hand. So Nation now would walk into a business serving alcohol singing hymns and throwing large rocks at the bottles of liquor. And then at the advice of her husband, Nation used a hatchet which became her calling card "Hatchation". Which she believes improved her cause for temperance. WIth the added hatchet in hand and the Bible in the other hand, Carry Nation was arrested over 30 times for marching into the saloons announcing she was there to save the drunkards lives! The news of Carry Nation's work became widely known. And to fund her work and bail money, Carry Nation sold souvenirs hatchets, booked lecture tours and ran a biweekly newsletter, The Smasher's Mail and the newspaper, The Hatchet

January 29th

Born this day in 1835, Sarah Chauncey Woolsey, author of children's literature, her pen name was Susan Coolidge. She wrote 31 books and 5 book series. Her most famous series was, What Katy Did

Born this day in 1881, Alice Evans,a scientist that advocated for pasteurizing raw milk. Evans herself suffered from brucellois a chronic aliment also known as "Bang's disease, Crimean fever, Gibraltar fever, Malta fever, Maltese fever, Mediterranean fever, rock fever, or undulant fever." A worldwide common disease contracted by drinking raw milk, touching, eating meat from the animals carrying the bacteria. For years Evans shared her discovery and was ignored and scorned by the science community because she was a woman! When her scientific work was finally taken seriously, this disease fell into obscurity. Changing the health and welling being of millions of lives. And yes, Alice Evans was honored and respected for her life's work.