Today is the day that Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, renowned French painter (think Moulin Rouge) was born in 1864.

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Scott Joplin, American entertainer/composer was born on this date in 1868.

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Today in 1941 the American Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote in his "Secular Journal": ‘Spiritual dryness is an acute experience of longing therefore of love.”

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In 1950, one of my favorite musicals, "Guys and Dolls," based on the writings of Damon Runyon and featuring songs by Frank Loesser, opened on Broadway. Below is one of my favorite songs from the film version of the musical – Nicely Nicely “Rockin’ the Boat.”

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On this day in 1963, Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy, in a scene captured on live television.

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