Gday...

1773  -             Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, the man after whom the Australian city of Brisbane is named, is born.

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane was born in Scotland on 23 July 1773. He was educated in astronomy and mathematics at the University of Edinburgh. From 1793 to 1814 he served in the army throughout the world, including Flanders, the West Indies, Spain and Canada, rising to the rank of brigadier general.

In 1821 he was appointed Governor of New South Wales. During his tenure as Governor of New South Wales (1821-25), he built an astronomical observatory at Parramatta and worked to develop the Brisbane Catalogue of 7,385 stars. Also while Governor, Brisbane encouraged the development of the agricultural industry in the colony, supported by land reclamation, exploration, and immigration, and he called for greater accountability of settlers with land grants to best utilise their land, and to take on convicts as assistants. His administration had a positive effect on the morality of the colony, as the number of persons convicted at the criminal court fell from 208 in 1822 to 100 in 1824. This enabled NSW to be transformed from a dependent convict outpost into a free, self-supporting colony.

The name of the city of Brisbane, now the capital of the state of Queensland, was derived from the Brisbane River. The Brisbane River was named in December 1823 by John Oxley, Surveyor-General and explorer, in honour of Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane.

1903  -             The Ford motor company sells its first ever car.

Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, was born on 30 July 1863 in Michigan, USA. In 1896 Ford invented the Quadricycle, the first "horseless carriage" that he produced. Its popularity helped fund and launch Ford's business, and the new Ford Motor Company was established seven years later in Detroit, Michigan, and incorporated on 16 June 1903. A month later, on 23 July 1903, Dr. Ernst Pfenning of Chicago, Illinois became the first owner of a Ford Model A. The Ford Model A was also known as the 'Fordmobile', and featured a twin-cylinder internal combustion engine. It was Ford's first attempt to develop a reliable, inexpensive car for the average American market.  

1904  -             Charles E Menches of St Louis, Missouri invents the ice cream cone.

There is some contention about who really invented the first ice cream cone. One of the stories credits the invention to Charles E Menches, an ice cream seller in St. Louis, Missouri. At the time, ice cream was always served in dishes. The story goes that, whilst selling ice cream at the St Louis World's Fair (the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition), he ran out of dishes. Nearby, Ernest Hamwi was selling a Middle eastern treat called Zalabia, a crispy, wafer that was sold with syrup. Always the entrepreneur, Menches conceived the idea of rolling up the wafers, and filling the cone with two scoops of ice cream. Thus, Menches is credited with introducing the concept of the ice cream cone.

1939  -             Indian spiritual and political leader, Mahatma Gandhi, writes a letter to Hitler, imploring him to prevent another world war.

Mahatma Gandhi was born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, India. Gandhi was a peace-loving man who initially trained as a barrister in England, but was unsuccessful in pursuing a career in law once he returned to India. After accepting a post to Natal, South Africa, Gandhi experienced frequent humiliation and oppression commonly directed at Indians in South Africa. This caused him to then spend two decades fighting for the rights of immigrants in South Africa.

After WWI broke out, Gandhi returned to India. Following the end of the Great War, Gandhi actively - but peacefully - fought for India's independence from Great Britain, and suffered greatly for his stand. However, one of his least-known actions was the letter he wrote to German leader Adolf Hitler on 23 July 1939. At this time, Germany was advancing through Europe, and had already invaded Czechoslovakia. Gandhi sought to stop the horrors he foresaw with the advent of another world war. The letter read, in part:

"It is quite clear that you are today the one person in the world who can prevent a war which may reduce humanity to the savage state. Must you pay that price for an object however worthy it may appear to you to be? Will you listen to the appeal of one who has deliberately shunned the method of war not without considerable success?"

For whatever reasons, the letter never reached Hitler. Historians doubt that, if it had, it would have made any difference to Hitler. 

1962  -             Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser becomes the first woman to swim 100m freestyle in under one minute.

Dawn Fraser was born on 4 September 1937 in Balmain, New South Wales. She was fifteen years old when coach Harry Gallagher noted her exceptional swimming talent and took her under his wing, preparing her for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

Fraser was the first female swimmer to win Gold in three consecutive Olympic Games, doing so in 1956, 1960 and 1964. Her career spanned some fifteen years, during which she broke and held 41 World records, and remained undefeated in the 100 metres freestyle. Between 1956 and 1964, Fraser broke the womens world record for the 100 metre freestyle nine successive times. On 23 July 1962, Fraser became the first woman to swim the 100m freestyle in less than one minute.

In 1999, Fraser was awarded World Athlete of the Century at the World Sport Awards in Vienna. In the same year, she was also inducted into the Australian Sports Hall of Fame when she was awarded Athlete of the Century.

Cheers - John