6.11.2006

On being 30

At age 30:
Mark Twain published his first short story, "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog."


Danish novelist Hans Christian Andersen published his book of fairy tales.

Nat Turner led a slave rebellion.

U.S. mariner Moses Rogers made the first ocean steamboat voyage.

Donald Trump persuaded bankers to lend him $80 million so he could buy the Commodore Hotel.

Samuel Morse's assistant, Alfred Lewis Vail, devised Morse code.

Physicist Armand H. L. Fizeau measured the speed of light.

Dr. Narinder Kapany invented fiber optics and designed a glass gastroscope which can be snaked down the throat for a detailed view of the stomach.

Hank Williams overdosed on drugs and alcohol.

Bill Gates was the first person ever to become a billionaire by age 30.

Earl Vickers started the Dollar Project, in which dollar bills were rubber-stamped as being lost, with a reward offered for their safe return.

So, I guess you could say that I'm doing better than Hank Williams, but not as well as Bill Gates or Donald Trump.

No comments: