September 27th is an Auspicious Day.
In 1540, the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) were made official on this day. Almost two hundred years later, the Consitution of the United States of America was delivered for ratification from the states. Mexico gained its independence from Spain nearly fifty years later, and the enigma of the Rosetta Stone was solved by Jean-François Champollion in 1822.
The Old 97–made famous in folk song, most notably by Johnny Cash on his Live at San Quentin album–had its wreck on this date. Thirty two years later, in 1937, Einstein published a paper that changed the way the world understood energy and mass.
On this day in 1937, the last Belinese Tiger was killed. The following year, the Queen Elizabeth (now in the port of Long Beach) set sail from Glasgow. In 1964, the Warren Comission released its report, claiming the Masonic King of America was murdered by a single gunman… a claim that almost nobody believes anymore. Four years later, the musical Hair was released… not only ushering the hippie movement into the mainstream, but also celebrating the birthday of one of the musical’s biggest (no kidding) stars… Meat Loaf (also born on September 27th).
In 1995, on this day, the US Government released the re-design of the $100 bill, complete with a large, offset portrait of one of America’s most famous Freemasons, Benjamin Franklin. Two years later, the Mars Pathfinder lost its path and communication with Earth. The following year, the most used website in the world–Google–is launched on the same date. Then, in what many consider the last year of the century, in 1999, the last professional baseball game is held in Tiger Stadium in Detroit Michigan. The end of an era.
Samuel Adams (best known for beer and revolutions) and the magician Harry Blackstone, Sr. were both born on September 27th. Meanwhile, Pope Innocent XII–the man responsible for the murder of millions of cats in Europe–died on this day. Likewise, on September 27th, 1986, Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a bus accident.
For the Etheopian Orthodox Church, this is a holy day, commemorating the finding of the true cross. (Finding #287372.) The king of Jordan and the leader of the PLO’s Yasser Arafat agree a ceasefire at a summit of Arab leaders in Cairo, Egypt, and “the Fastest Man Alive” Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal.
September 27th is also my father’s birthday. He will be 59.
And in 2006, on September 27th, I will be raised to the degree of Master Mason.