September 23, 2020
Day 267 of 366

 

September 23rd is the 267th day of the year. It is Kyrgyz Language Day in Kyrgyzstan

 

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Checkers/Dogs in Politics Day, National Great American Pot Pie Day, National Snack Stick Day, National Teal Talk Day, and Innergize Day (typically observed on the day after the Autumn Equinox).

 

Historical items of note:

• In 1642, the first commencement exercises occurred at Harvard College.
• In 1846, astronomers Urbain Le Verrier, John Couch Adams, and Johann Gottfried Galle collaborated on the discovery of Neptune.
• In 1889, Nintendo Koppai – later known as Nintendo Company, Limited – was founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce and market the playing card game Hanafuda.
• Also in 1889, journalist and publisher Walter Lippmann was born. He co-founded The New Republic.
• In 1911, pilot Earle Ovington made the first official airmail delivery in America under the authority of the United States Post Office Department.
• In 1913, Roland Garros of France became the first to fly in an airplane across the Mediterranean. His route was from St. Raphael, France to Bizerte, Tunisia.
• In 1930, singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor Ray Charles was born.
• In 1949, singer-songwriter and guitarist Bruce Springsteen was born.
• In 1956, author, actor, and screenwriter Peter David was born.
• In 1957, actress Rosalind Chao was born.
• In 1959, actor, singer, and voice artist Jason Alexander was born.
• In 1961, astronaut William C. McCool was born.
• In 1962, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts opened in New York City.
• Also in 1962, The Jetsons premiered. It was ABC’s first color television series.
• In 1977, Cheryl Ladd replaced Farrah Fawcett on Charlie’s Angels.
• In 1978, actor Anthony Mackie was born.
• In 1985, comedian Hasan Minhaj was born.
• In 2002, the first public version of the web browser Mozilla Firefox was released. It was known as “Phoenix 0.1”.

 

September 23rd is Celebrate Bisexuality Day.

Also known as Bisexual Pride Day, Bi Visibility Day, CBD, Bisexual Pride and Bi Visibility Day, and Bisexuality+ Day, it is a call to recognize and celebrate bisexual history, bisexual community and culture, and all the bisexual people in our lives.

The idea was born when the oldest national bisexuality organization in the United States, BiNet USA, was founded in 1990. Originally called the North American Multicultural Bisexual Network (NAMBN), it had its first meeting at the first National Bisexual Conference in America in San Francisco in 1990. More than 450 people attended from 20 states and 5 countries, and the mayor of San Francisco sent a proclamation “commending the bisexual rights community for its leadership in the cause of social justice.” June 23, 1990, was declared Bisexual Pride Day.

Many individuals and organizations include the “+” sign in the celebration to include the broader bi+ community of people who prefer to use terms to describe their sexual orientation such as pansexual, polysexual, omnisexual, fluid, or queer.

On September 18, 2012, Berkeley, California became the first American city to officially proclaim a day recognizing bisexuals. In 2013, on Celebrate Bisexuality Day, the White House held a closed-door meeting with almost 30 bisexual advocates to discuss issues of specific importance to community. It was the first bi-specific event ever hosted by any Presidential administration.

 

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

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