Today we honor Le Chat Noir (I'm just gonna crib from the wiki here)

Le Chat Noir ...was a nineteenth-century entertainment establishment, in the bohemian Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard de Rochechouart by the impresario Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 not long after Salis' death.
Le Chat Noir is thought to be the first modern cabaret: a nightclub where the patrons sat at tables and drank alcoholic beverages while being entertained by a variety show on stage. The acts were introduced by a master of ceremonies who interacted with well-known patrons at the tables. Its imitators have included cabarets from St. Petersburg (Stray Dog Café) to Barcelona (Els Quatre Gats) to London's Cave of the Golden Calf.

Perhaps best known now by its iconic Théophile Steinlen poster art, in its heyday it was a bustling nightclub that was part artist salon, part rowdy music hall. From 1882 to 1895 the cabaret published a weekly magazine with the same name, featuring literary writings, news from the cabaret and Montmartre, poetry, and political satire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Chat_Noir

Roanoke colony
On August 17, 1585, some colonists landed in what became North Ameica and tried to establish a colony on Roanoke Island, offshore of present day North Carolina. They failed and bailed but contributed greatly to Merkin/USA mythology. Because there was money in said colony for Sir Walter Raleigh, who was absent and perhaps in the can, he saw to it that there was a follow-up attempt. It too failed, and vanished utterly from the face of the earth, but not before leaving us Virginia Dare. Sometimes heralded as the "first white child born" in North America, usually by white supremacists, she was real, born on Roanoke in 1587 shortly after the colonists landed, and vanished along with them. She was, at least, the first child of English descent born in the Carolinas, but why quibble. Then again, why not. The first "white child" known to have been born in North America was Snorri Thorfinnsson aka Snorri Gudrídsson (patronym and matronym, mom outlived dad (no surprise)) born in Vinland between 1005 and 1013. Next up, from the far north we swerve to Saint Augustine, Florida, where Martín de Argüelles, Jr., was born in 1566 in the oldest continuously occupied town/city in what is now the continental US. (As the son of a Hidalgo, he is also the first known "nobility" born here, since St. Augustine was still Spain at the time).

One cannot help but wonder if the good Sir Walter advised potential volunteers for the second attempt that the first one failed, in part, because of "poor relations with the indigenous population" or somesuch, or at least advised them to try not to piss off the indians?

-

On this day in history:

1585 – A first group of colonists sent by Sir Walter Raleigh landed in the New World to create Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island

1597 – Robert Devereux, and Sir Walter Raleigh set sail on an expedition to the Azores.

1717 – The month-long Siege of Belgrade ended with Prince Eugene of Savoy's Austrian troops capturing the city from the Ottoman Empire.

1784 – Luigi Boccherini received a pay rise of 12,000 reals from his employer

1807 – Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat left NYC for Albany, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

1836 – British parliament accepted registration of births, marriages and deaths

1858 – Caroline Bartlett Crane, suffragist, educator, journalist, reformer, and Unitarian minister

1862 – The Dakota War of 1862 began

1896 – Bridget Driscoll became the first recorded pedestrian killed by a car in the UK

1907 – Pike Place Market, in Seattle, opened.

1908 – Fantasmagorie, the first animated cartoon, was shown in Paris, France.

1945 – Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed the independence of Indonesia, igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire.

1945 – The novella Animal Farm by George Orwell was first published.

1947 – The border between the Dominions of India and Pakistan, was revealed.

1977 – The icebreaker Arktika became the first surface ship to reach the North Pole.

1978 – Double Eagle II became first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean

1985 – The 1985–86 Hormel strike begins in Austin, Minnesota

1998 – US President Bill Clinton admitted in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky

Some people who were born on this day:

We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, for though others may free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is our only ruler; sovereign.

~~ Marcus Garvey

1578 – Francesco Albani, painter
1887 – Marcus Garvey, journalist and activist, founded Black Star Line
1890 – Harry Hopkins, politician and diplomat,
1900 – Pauline A. Young, teacher, historian, aviator and activist
1909 – Larry Clinton, trumpet player and bandleader
1911 – Mikhail Botvinnik, player and engineer
1918 – Ike Quebec, saxophonist and pianist
1919 – Georgia Gibbs, singer
1920 – Lida Moser, photographer and author
1927 – Sam Butera, saxophonist and bandleader
1929 – Francis Gary Powers, spyplane pilot
1932 – V. S. Naipaul, novelist and essayist
1932 – Duke Pearson, pianist and composer
1933 – Mark Dinning, pop singer
1934 – João Donato, pianist and composer
1936 – Margaret Heafield Hamilton, computer scientist, systems engineer, and business owner.
1939 – Luther Allison, blues guitarist and singer
1943 – Dave "Snaker" Ray, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1947 – Gary Talley, guitarist (The Box Tops), singer, songwriter, and author
1949 – Sue Draheim, fiddler and composer
1949 – Sib Hashian, rock drummer (Boston)
1951 – Richard Hunt, Muppet performer
1953 – Kevin Rowland, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1954 – Eric Johnson, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1955 – Colin Moulding, singer, songwriter, and bassist
1958 – Belinda Carlisle, singer and songwriter
1960 – Stephan Eicher, singer and songwriter
1962 – Gilby Clarke, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1964 – Colin James, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1964 – Maria McKee, singer and songwriter
1965 – Steve Gorman, drummer
1969 – Donnie Wahlberg, singer, songwriter, actor and producer
1977 – Mike Lewis, guitarist
1980 – Lene Marlin, singer and songwriter
1988 – Natalie Sandtorv, singer and songwriter
1994 – Phoebe Bridgers, singer and songwriter
-

Some people who died on this day:

The greatest and noblest pleasure which we have in this world is to discover new truths, and the next is to shake off old prejudices.

Also

```
A mule, though he should have made ten campaigns under prince Eugene, would not have improved in his tactics. And to the shame of humanity it must be confessed that, with respect to this kind of indolent stupidity, many old officers are not superior to such a mule.
```

~~ Frederick the Great

1786 – Frederick the Great, flautist, composer, patron of the arts, military theorist, and king
1966 – Ken Miles, race car driver and engineer
1973 – Paul Williams, singer and choreographer (Temptations)
1983 – Ira Gershwin, songwriter
1987 – Gary Chester, drummer and educator
1990 – Pearl Bailey, actress and singer
2014 – Pierre Vassiliu, singer and songwriter

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Marcus Garvey Day (Jamaica)
Balloon Airmail Day
National #2 Pencil Day
National Thrift Shop Day
National Vanilla Custard Day
National Meaning of "Is" Day
National Black Cat Appreciation Day

Today's Tunes

Black Cat Appreciation Day

Larry Clinton

Ike Quebec,

Georgia Gibbs

Sam Butera

Duke Pearson

Luther Allison

Dave "Snaker" Ray

Gary Talley

Paul Williams

Ira Gershwin

Pearl Bailey

"Classic" Sam Butera
```

```

Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. What's on your mind?

Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com

Open Thread, Black Cats, Roanoke, Animal Farm, Boccherini, Larry Clinton, Sam Butera, Pearl Bailey, Paul Williams