Good News in History, October 1

162 years ago today, the illustrious Mrs. Beeton published her Book of Household Management, a tome with everything to know about the running of a Victorian British household. In the first year of print, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management sold 60,000 copies, and has remained in print in various editions up until present day. It was used as a “very important” guide and reference for the making of Downton Abbey, and contains many recipes that are just as mouthwatering today as they ever were. READ some excerpts from Mrs. Beeton’s book… (1861)

Despite the fact that Mrs. Isabella Beeton passed away in 1865, the book expanded steadily in length, until by 1907 it reached 74 chapters and over 2000 pages. Nearly two million copies were sold by 1868. Beeton began the book when she was 21 years old, and continued to publish each chapter as a magazine article for her husband’s The Englishwomen’s Domestic Magazine. 

In the preface she wrote: I must frankly own, that if I had known, beforehand, that this book would have cost me the labour which it has, I should never have been courageous enough to commence it. What moved me, in the first instance, to attempt a work like this, was the discomfort and suffering which I had seen brought upon men and women by household mismanagement.

There’s an illustrated guide to all the appropriate tools a kitchen must be stocked with, all the worthwhile fish one should buy from a fishmonger, and all the most-liked fruits and how they should be arranged on silver platters.

In the introduction to cookery explains “the progress of mankind from barbarism to civilization”, with a mention of man “in his primitive state, [living] upon roots and the fruits of the earth”, rising to become “a hunter and a fisher”; then a “herdsman” and finally “the comfortable condition of a farmer.” It is granted that “the fruits of the earth, the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, and the fish of the sea, are still the only food of mankind… [but that] these are so prepared, improved, and dressed by skill and ingenuity, that they are the means of immeasurably extending the boundaries of human enjoyments.”

Her letters on tomatoes are particularly strange, as she emphasized thrift and economy, and like many other English of her time, had a serious distaste for foreign foods, describing mangoes tasting like turpentine and cheese as a thing to be eaten only by sedentary people.

“(The tomato’s) flavor stimulates the appetite, and is almost universally approved. The Tomato is a wholesome fruit, and digests easily. The whole plant has a disagreeable odor,  and its juice, subjected to the action of the fire, emits a vapor so powerful as to cause vertigo and vomiting.”

MORE Good News on this Day:

• John Philip Sousa, who later, invented the sousaphone, became leader of the United States Marine Corps Band (1880)
• Everything-Happens-For-a-Reason: Wiley Post had an accident that cost his left eye–but the settlement money bought him his first aircraft and he became the first pilot to fly solo around the world (1926)
• Jackie Gleason’s sitcom The Honeymooners debuted on CBS television (1955)
• Cyprus and Nigeria gained their independence from the UK in 1960; Ghana, in 1957
• Roger Maris hit his 61st home run of the season for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 60 set in 1927 (1961)
• Following the announcement of “Heeeeere’s Johnny,” Johnny Carson took the stage to host his first Tonight Show, interviewing guests Rudy Vallée, Tony Bennett, Mel Brooks, and Joan Crawford (1962)
• The Japanese Shinkansen ‘bullet’ trains began the first high-speed rail service (1964)
• The Free Speech Movement was launched on the UC Berkeley campus–info (1964)
• Happy 53rd Birthday to comedian, writer, and actor Zach Galifianakis, known for his role as the awkward brother-in-law in The Hangover (1969)
• The United States returned sovereignty of the Panama canal to Panama (1979)
• The first CD player was released by Sony for consumer use of compact discs (1982)

52 years ago today, Walt Disney World Resort opened near Orlando, Florida. Covering 39 square miles (101 km2), “The Florida Project”, as it was known inside the company, was developed by Walt Disney himself in the 1960s. After he died during the initial planning, the company, which already operated Disneyland in California, wrestled with whether to bring the project to fruition. However, Walt’s older brother, Roy, came out of retirement to make sure Walt’s biggest dream was realized.

It now consists of four theme parks: the original was the Magic Kingdom, then came Epcot, a ‘world of tomorrow’, then Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It also added two water parks, 27 themed resort hotels, a camping resort, and several golf courses—all to service its average annual attendance of more than 58 million visitors.

It was Roy who insisted the name of the entire complex be changed from Disney World to Walt Disney World, ensuring that people would remember that the project was Walt’s dream.

Walt Disney World (as well as Disneyland) is covered by an FAA-prohibited airspace zone that restricts all airspace activities without approval from the Federal government of the United States, including the usage of drones. This level of protection is otherwise only offered to American critical infrastructure like military bases, the Washington, portions of the DC Metropolitan Area, official presidential travels, and Camp David.

WATCH a video of the new fireworks display extravaganza that just premiered as celebrations get underway. (1971)

34 years ago today, thousands of East Germans received a triumphant welcome from fellow Germans after communist leaders agreed to let them flee to the West. West German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher made the dramatic announcement the day before in Prague, telling 4,000 refugees encamped at the embassy that they were being allowed to emigrate by train to the West.

In the aftermath of World War II, Germany had been split in two, with the eastern side forced to live under the heavy-handed authoritarian occupation of the Soviet Union. Germany celebrates Unity Day on Thursday, remembering the events three decades ago that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November, and the reunification of the nation the following year. (1989)

Also on this day, 133 years ago, Yosemite National Park in California became the third U.S. National Park.

President Lincoln had set aside the majestic valley, years earlier, marking the first time in human history a huge tract of land had been dedicated to public use and preservation. The more than one million square-miles of Yosemite in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are host to giant sequoia trees, towering waterfalls, and the largest granite monolith in the world, El Capitan. (1890)

Also, Happy Birthday to former President Jimmy Carter who turns 99 years old today. The 39th president of the United States from 1977–1981, is one of the few American presidents to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (for his Camp David Accords).

The author of ‘A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety,’ last month he helped build another home for Habitat for Humanity with his wife Rosalynn, once again showing that his age, and even beating cancer, hasn’t slowed him down. The couple has volunteered for the housing organization for more than 30 years, during which time, they have helped build more than 4,000 homes. (1924)

And, Happy 88th Birthday to actress, singer, and author, Julie Andrews. At age 21, she rose to prominence starring in Broadway musicals such as My Fair Lady and Camelot, but it was her film debut in Mary Poppins that won her the Academy Award for Best Actress—and her role as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music that won our hearts.

(That 55-year-old musical co-starring Christopher Plummer is still the 6th highest-grossing movie of all time when adjusted for inflation, after remaining in theaters for over a year.)

She was to be honored last year with the prestigious AFI Life Achievement Award, but the gala was postponed due to the pandemic. She is also a best-selling author publishing over 30 children’s books with her daughter. Her 2019 memoir, Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, describes a tough life of perfectionism and being on the road a lot, even as a young girl.

In 20020, she produced 18 episodes of a podcast called Julie’s Library in which she and her daughter, children’s author Emma Walton Hamilton, host story times, reading their favorite children’s books from the library. A second film sequel to The Princess Diaries is also reportedly in the works. WATCH a 2019 interview, as she looks back on her career… (1935)

RELATED: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Julie Andrews on Her 80th Birthday

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