Sunday, May 28, 2006

 

Spotlight: In a birth celebrated around the world, the Dionne quintuplets were born on this date in 1934. The first quints known to survive infancy, the five identical Dionne sisters were born in Ontario, Canada. They were removed from their parents' home and put in the custody of Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe and three other guardians; after a long court battle, the girls were returned to their father's home in 1943. Only Annette and Cecile are alive today. Emilie died in 1954, Marie in 1970 and Yvonne in 2001.

Quote: "I don't believe the accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings. Gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at." – Maya Angelou

Today in History:

• Tortilla Flat: John Steinbeck's novel published (1935)
• animals in space: monkeys Able and Baker become the first to be recovered safely after flight (1959)
• Mengistu: Ethiopia's military regime overthrown (1991)

Today's Birthdays:

• Walker Percy: American existentialist author (1916-1990)
• Rudy Giuliani: former mayor of New York City (62)
• Jesse Bradford: actor, Bring It On (27)

Word of the Day:  ovum: the female reproductive cell, the egg; in multiple identical births, one ovum is fertilized, with the resulting zygote splitting into more than one embryo.   (© )