CEBU, Philippines – In 1932, superdog Rin Tin Tin died at age 14 in the arms of his master, Lee Duncan, attended by neighbor Jean Harlow. Nicknamed "the mortgage" because his films had been the salvation of Warner Brothers in the 1920s, his name came from the good-luck dolls carried by French soldiers in World War I. Duncan had found the dog as a puppy, along with four other pups and their half-starved mother, in a shell-hole beside an abandoned German dog station in Lorraine, France, on September 15, 1918. In his Hollywood days, Rin Tin Tin was insured for $100,000, had his own valet, chef, limousine, and chauffeur - and earned much of his living by racing up walls aided by hidden cleats and jumping through windowpanes made of translucent candy!
.In 1921, tragedy struck Franklin Delano Roosevelt when, after fighting a forest fire, he took a dip in the icy water of Fundy Bay. He came out without the glow he expected, and was soon complaining of aches in his legs. The first doctor to attend to him made a wrong diagnosis and advised vigorous massage, which, as it turned out, was worse than useless - for the 39-year-old future president had poliomyelitis, and within two days he was paralyzed from the waist down. He afterwards said that "if you spent two years in bed trying to wiggle your toes, then anything else seems easy."
- from Today's the Day! By Jeremy Beadle
In Christian history -
. In 1933, Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT) got its tarts at the Day of Prayer for the Tribes of Latin America in Keswick, New Jersey. Founders W. Cameron Townsend and Leonard L. Legters incorporated WBT in 1942, and it has since grown into one of the largest interdenominational missionary agencies in the world.
- from This Day in Christian History By William D. Blake
In the Philippines -
. In 1898, Lorenzo Martinez Tañada, the longest-serving senator in Philippine history, was born in Gumaca, Quezon. He served as a Philippine senator for 24 years. Tañada, often called as the "grand old man of the Philippine politics," dedicated his life to the untiring struggle for nationalism, independence and sovereignty in the country. Notably, he was at the forefront of several battles that shaped the history of the nation, including the fight against the Marcos dictatorship and the dismantling of Subic Naval base in 1991, which was the last American military installation in the Philippines. He earned his college diploma and law degrees from the University of the Philippines and proceeded with his masteral degree at Harvard University. He also got his doctorate for Civil Law from the University of Santo Tomas. On his birthday in 1986, Tañada received the Philippine Legion of Honor, the country's highest award, from President Corazon Aquino for opposing the presence of American troops in the country. Lorenzo married Expedita Zaballero Ebarle in 1927 with whom he had 9 children. He died on August 9, 1992 at the age of 93.
- www.kahimyang.info
In Cebu -
.In 1858, a Bishop's decree confirmed the establishment of Daan Bantayan as a parish. Its patroness is Santa Rosa de Santa Maria.
. In 1903, Florentino Rallos was suspended as municipal president of Cebu. The vice-president (vice-mayor), Filemon Sotto, took over but he, too, was suspended for disobedience on Dec. 23, 1903.
- from Cebuano Studies Center, University of San Carlos