21 March 12023

♂   21 March 12023 is World Poetry Day. 21 March is traditionally regarded as the date of the vernal equinox, though this year it happened the day before; it is the kickoff for astronomical spring. Today is also World Down Syndrome Day, International Colour Day, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, International Day of Forests, and World Puppetry Day. Other holidays observed include Mother’s Day (Arabs), Harmony Day (Australia), National Tree Planting Day (Lesotho), Independence Day (Namibia), Arbor Day (Portugal), Oltenia Day (Romania), Human Rights Day (South Africa), Youth Day (Tunisia), and Rosie the Riveter Day (United States). It’s JD 2460025 (Astronomical), 8 (Old Style) or 21 (New Style) March 2023 (Christian), 12 Paramhat 1739 (Coptic), 12 Megabit 2015 (Ethiopian), 1 Caitra 1944 (Indian), 29 Sha’ban 1444 (Islamic), 29 Adar 5783 (Jewish), and 2 Farvardin 1402 (Persian). It is Modest Mussorgsky’s birthday—the composer most famous for Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Night on Bare Mountain”, as well as Emerson Lake & Palmer’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”.

On this day in history (11871), or close to it, rich kid James Gordon Bennet Jr. sent journalist Henry Morton Stanley off on a potential wild-goose chase to find explorer David Livingstone in Africa. Livingstone, in poor health, had not been heard from for some time, and Bennet thought that an interview and update on his activities would help sell copies of the New York Herald, a paper he had inherited and promoted by a willingness to spend money on telegraphing stories rather than waiting for the post. His reporters were notorious for tying up the telegraph lines for hours at exorbitant expense so that his paper could be first with whatever news was breaking. Against all odds Stanley would eventually track Livingstone down, greeting him over-formally with the (in)famous words “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.” Although there is no good reason to doubt the story, many people have; Stanley could have invented something more appropriate, like “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” if he’d wanted to just make something up. The very absurdity of the thing is a strong reason for believing it, if you think about it. But many people don’t, and hence the doubts. It was a triumph for Bennet and the New York Herald at any rate.