January 15, 1987 – Star of stage and screen, Ray Bolger died of cancer on this day at the age of 83. He is most remembered as the Scarecrow in 1939′s The Wizard of Oz. At the time of his death, he was the movie’s last surviving main cast member.
Bolger’s comic timing and loose and limber dance style is on display in this clip from The Harvey Girls (1946).
January 14, 1872 – A Skye Terrier named Bobby died on this day in Edinburgh, Scotland. The dog is famous for having spent the last 14 years of his life holding vigil at the grave of his beloved master…or so the story goes.
Statue of Greyfriars Bobby. Photo by Michael Reeve.
Legend has it that Bobby belonged to a nightwatchman named John Gray. The two went everywhere together, so when Gray fell ill and died of tuberculosis, the devoted dog refused to leave his master’s side and set up permanent residence at his grave.
About 10 years into the vigil, some local residents complained that the stray dog should be destroyed, but others rallied to his defence.
Sir William Chambers, head of Scotland’s Society for the Prevention off Cruelty to Animals, stepped up and paid the fees required to make Bobby street legal. He then became the responsibility of the Edinburgh City Council.
When the dog died at the ripe (and hard-to-believe) age of 16, a statue was erected in his memory.
The truth is that Bobby was a big publicity stunt. It turns out that Bobby was actually a stray dog that had become a nuisance at the local hospital. Somehow he wound up getting tossed into the graveyard where the curator took a liking to him and started feeding him.
Stories began to circulate about a loyal dog that refused to leave his master’s grave and tourists began to stop by for visits. An article in a local paper increased the traffic significantly and soon the story of Bobby was a big boon for nearby businesses.
The economy was so invested in Bobby that when the dog eventually died, a new, younger Skye Terrier took his place and kept up appearances.
In the end the message of Bobby is much greater and impactful than the truth. He’s inspired countless visitors as a symbol of unyielding loyalty, and if the local pub makes some money in the process, cheers to that.
January 9, 1857 – At 8:20 on this morning a massive earthquake struck California and ripped a 225-mile crack in the San Andreas Fault.
Article from The Los Angeles Star about the Fort Tejon Earthquake.
After over a minute of violent shaking the fault had slipped by as much as 30 feet in some areas. The magnitude of the quake is estimated at around 8.0 and it was felt from Marysville in the north to San Diego in the south.
The impacted region was mostly uninhabited, but there were at least two fatalities. A woman near Fort Tejon was crushed to death as her adobe crumbled on top of her. An old man near Los Angeles was the only other confirmed victim.
The town that bore the brunt of the damage was Fort Tejon where many buildings were destroyed, even though it was many miles from the epicenter.
If the same earthquake were to happen today, it would probably cause about $150 billion in damages.
