Happy Birthday to Me, June 29

So who was born on my birthday? I've always thought it was a less than spectacular group:

George Washington Goethals (1858-1928), chief engineer and later governor of the Panama Canal

William Borah (1865-1940), US Senator from Idaho, prominent Republican Progressive leader

Slim Pickens (1919-1983), cowboy actor

There are assorted other athletes (Harmon Killebrew and Pepper Johnson), actors (Fred Grandy and Gary Busey).

What happened of note on June 29? A lot of bad things, by the looks:

Shakespeare's Globe Theater burned down, the Townshend Act was levied on the American Colonies, the US purchased some Mexican desert property in the Gadsden Purchase (nice Franklin Pierce reference there), and the Second Balkan War began.

Pope Pius XI was pretty busy on June 29, issuing two papal encyclicals, one on the dangers of movies (you tell 'em!), one on "Catholic Action in Italy," and yet another on St. Thomas Aquinas.

It is also the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.