On this date

1888 — The poem “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer was first published in the San Francisco Daily Examiner. 1916 — President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Defense Act of 1916, which, among other things, created the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. 1924 — Author Franz Kafka, 40, died near Vienna. 1937 — Edward, The Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the British throne, married Wallis Simpson in a private ceremony in Monts, France. 1948 — The 200-inch reflecting Hale Telescope at the Palomar Mountain Observatory in California was dedicated. 1955 — Convicted murderer Barbara Graham, 31, was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison in California, as were Jack Santo and Emmett Perkins, for the 1953 slaying of Mabel Monahan. 1963 — Pope John XXIII died at age 81; he was succeeded by Pope Paul VI. 1965 — Astronaut Edward H. White became the first American to “walk” in space during the flight of Gemini 4. 1977 — The United States and Cuba agreed to set up diplomatic interests sections in each other’s countries; Cuba also announced the immediate release of 10 Americans jailed on drug charges. 1982 — Israel’s ambassador to Britain, Shlomo Argov, was shot and critically wounded outside a London hotel. The assassination attempt was followed by Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. 1989 — Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died. 1992 — Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton appeared on “The Arsenio Hall Show,” where he played “Heartbreak Hotel” on the saxophone.

Thought for today ‘Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.’ Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)