10 th October

1813 Giuseppe Verdi was born.

1865 John Hyatts patented the billiard ball.

1886 The tuxedo was born.

1955 David Lee Roth was born.

Some of you may not know that the original tuxedo jacket was midnight blue—not jet black. And you probably don’t know that this formal attire was named after an actual place. Back in 1886, on this date, an autumn ball was held at a very elite retreat known as Tuxedo Park, New York. Some of the male guests wore a new type of dinner jacket. Unlike some garments that have been named after their first wearer, the garment eventually took its nickname from this elegant setting.

Today is Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday. In 1813, this operatic composer was born in Le Roncole, Italy. Even if you are unfamiliar with the opera Aida, you have to be impressed by this composer’s lyrical name alone. But would you be equally amused by his name’s English translation? Somehow, a Joseph Green opera doesn’t sound quite the same.

Today is the day inventor John Hyatts patented the billiard ball in 1865. A few of us have felt we’ve been standing behind one of Mr. Hyatts’ inventions for sometime now. But incidentally, today is also singer David Lee Roth’s birthday. And honor of that event we should follow the lyrics of one of his hits and “go ahead and jump.”