On This Day

Paul finally decided to make an appearance...a few days late and 40+ hours labour & a C-section later. All are well - Mum (Sue), Nan (Christine) & Baby (Paul) - but tired.

Paul is, a handsome wee chap (its obviously genetic), hiccups a bit (also genetic), is 3.5 kg (they didn't know the pounds and ounces)...sorry re. pics...he moved about a bit and I didn't want to use the flash...try to imagine the three photos together as an action shot!

Here's some other good stuff that happened today (March 24th) in history:

1379 - The Gelderse war ended.

1550 - France and England signed the Peace of Boulogne.

1721 - In Germany, Johann Sebastian Bach published the Six Brandenburg Concertos.

1743 - George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Messiah" had its premiere, in London.

1792 - Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major, also known as the "Surprise Symphony," was performed publicly for the first time, in London.

1806 - Explorers Lewis and Clark, having reached the Pacific coast, began their journey back east.

1828 - The Philadelphia & Columbia Railway was authorized as the first state owned railway.

1837 - Canada gave black people the right to vote

1883 - The first telephone call between New York and Chicago took place.

1898 - The first automobile was sold.

1900 - Mayor Van Wyck of New York broke the ground for the New York subway tunnel that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.

1903 - The Wright brothers obtained an airplane patent.

1904 - Vice Adm. Tojo sank seven Russian ships as the Japanese strengthened their blockade of Port Arthur.

1905 - In Crete, a group led by Eleutherios Venizelos claimed independence from Turkey.

1906 - The "Census of the British Empire" revealed that England ruled 1/5 of the world.

1911 - In Denmark, penal code reform abolished corporal punishment.

1920 - The first U.S. coast guard air station was established at Morehead City, NC.

1924 - Greece became a republic.

1932 - Belle Baker hosted a radio variety show from a moving train. It was the first radio broadcast from a train.

1934 - U.S. President Roosevelt signed a bill granting future independence to the Philippines.

1938 - The U.S. asked that all powers help refugees fleeing from the Nazis.

1955 - Tennessee Williams' play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" debuted on Broadway.

1960 - A U.S. appeals court ruled that the novel, "Lady Chatterly’s Lover", was not obscene and could be sent through the mail.

1965 - It was the first date of the Rolling Stones anniversary tour.

1981 - "Nightline" with Ted Koppel premiered.

1985 - Thousands demonstrated in Madrid against the NATO presence in Spain.

1991 - The African nation of Benin held its first presidential elections in about 30 years.

1993 - In Israel, Ezer Weizman, an advocate of peace with neighboring Arab nations, was elected President.

1995 - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a welfare reform package that made the most changes in social programs since the New Deal.

1998 - The movie "Titanic" won 11 Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best song, to tie the record set by 1959's "Ben-Hur." (The record was tied again by "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" in 2003.)

1997 - The Australian parliament overturned the world's first and only euthanasia law.

2006 - In Spain, the Basque separatist group ETA announced a permanent cease-fire