Nat’l Mentoring Month Day 7 of 2008 358 days left in this year

HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY —

WEB SURF SPOT OF THE WEEK — Think Green Hawaii
WEB VIDEO OF THE WEEK — Uncle Jay Explains 2008
NETCAST OF THE WEEK — Slate’s Podcasts
GOOD DEED SITE OF THE WEEK — Maui Food Bank

YESTERDAY: 1.2-Megawatt Lanai Solar Farm is Dedicated. The island is now home to the state’s largest single-site solar farm, La Ola Solar Farm, built on 10 acres former pineapple land. A project of Castle & Cooke Hawai’i and SunPower Corp, it can supply up to one-third of Lanai’s peak electrical needs. More >

January 7, 1873: William Lunalilo is elected King of Hawaii by the legislature after overwhelmingly winning the popular vote. It was actually a part of the Kingdom’s constitution that if a ruler died without naming an heir (in this case King Kamehameha V had died) then the legislature would have to appoint a king. Much like our election system today, any “high chief” could announce his candidacy, run for office of King, and be elected supreme ruler of all Hawaii. Lunalilo, unlike his more conservative opponent, David Kalakaua, wanted to reform the Hawaiian government and amend the constitution to make it more democratic.

He ruled only until 1874, a little over a year, before he died of tuberculosis at the age of 39, leaving his estate to needy Hawaiians. Some believe he was poisoned due to his efforts to reform the Hawaiian government. Because Lunalilo’s popularity was so great, and because he became king through a democratic process, he became known as “The People’s King.” Upon Lunalilo’s death, David Kalakaua gained the throne, becoming the last monarch to rule Hawaii.

EVENTS ON THIS DAY

• 1610: In a letter, Galileo first describes his recent celestial observations using his 20x spyglass
• 1714: The typewriter is patented (but built years later)
• 1784: The first U.S. seed business is established by David Landreth (Philadelphia)
• 1785: The first balloon flight is made across the English Channel (Blanchard & Jeffries)
• 1789: George Washington is elected president in the first U.S. national election
• 1822: The first printing in Hawaii
• 1896: Fanny Farmer publishes her first cookbook
• 1914: The first steamboat passes through the Panama Canal
• 1949: The first photograph of genes is announced in Los Angeles
• 1959: The United States recognizes Fidel Castro’s Cuban government
• 1968: The Surveyor 7 spaceprobe lands on the Moon
• 1971: DDT pesticide use is banned in the U.S.
• 1972: Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William H. Rehnquist are sworn in to the Supreme Court
• 1979: Mass murderer Pol Pot overthrown in Cambodia
  
• 1999: President Clinton’s impeachment trial begins in the Senate
• 2000: The 17th Karmapa, a 14-year-old Tibetan Buddhist leader, flees Chinese-ruled Tibet for India
• 2006: Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, facing corruption charges, steps down as House majority leader. (He resigned from Congress in June 2006.)
  

BORN ON THIS DAY

• 1800: Millard Filmore, 13th U.S. president
• 1925: Gerald Durrell, zoologist/writer
• 1942: Paul Revere, rock musician
• 1943: Leona Williams, singer/songwriter
• 1947: Jann Wenner, publisher
  
• 1948: Kenny Loggins, singer/musician
• 1949: Marshall Chapman, rock singer/songwriter
• 1952: Erin Gray,  actress
• 1955: Sandra Bernhard,  actress/comedienne
• 1957: Katie Couric, television newscaster
• 1958: David Caruso, actor
• 1958: Donna Rice, model
• 1964: Nicolas Cage, actor

DIED ON THIS DAY

• 1986: Juan Rulfo writer, dies
• 1988: Trevor Howard UK actor (Ryan’s Daughter), dies of bronchitis at 71
• 1989: Hirohito Japan`s emperor (1922-89), dies of duodenal cancer at 87 after 62-year reign
• 1990: Bronislau “Bronko” Nagurski football hall of famer, dies at 81
• 1992: Richard Hunt puppeteer/actor (Muppet Movie), dies of AIDS at 40
• 1994: Lynn Blessing vibes Player, dies at 65
• 1994: Phoumi Vongvichit President of Laos (1986-91), dies
• 1995: William Larry White Grayson comedian, dies at 71
• 1996: Robley D Evans nuclear physicist, dies at 88
• 1996: Seton Howard Frederick Lloyd archaeologist, dies at 93