the last known Tasmanian wolf, Benjamin, died in Hobart Zoo, though there may be survivors in the wild (1936)

the first competition began, as a two-day beauty contest, in Atlantic City, New Jersey (1921)

C-D-E, E-D-C, C-D-E-D-C. These are often the first notes that a beginning pianist learns to play. A common rite of childhood includes piano lessons in the living room, learning to play an easy version of Für Elise, Bach exercises, Mozart sonatas. Benmont Tench, Michael Feinstein and Arthur Ferrante — all celebrating birthdays today — have made their living from “tickling the ivories.” Rock pianist Tench, 55, is the keyboardist and one of the original members of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Feinstein, 52, made his name as the archivist and one of the premier interpreters of the music of Ira and George Gershwin. Ferrante, 87, partnered with Louis Teicher to become one of the 20th century’s most popular piano duos. And Sonny Rollins, who turns 78 today, is known now for his amazing tenor sax; but he started out his musical career like so many others… on the piano.

Palestinian terrorists of the Black September group murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the Summer Olympics (1972)

Jack Kerouac’s stream-of-consciousness novel, considered a defining work of the Beat Generation, was published (1957)

Beards. They come long and short, bushy and trimmed. They have been dictated by fashion, religion and politics. In ancient Egypt, a beard was a sign of power and privilege and false beards were worn by queens, as well as kings. Over the centuries, facial hair went in and out of fashion. While beards were left to grow exceedingly long in 15th-century Europe, by the 17th century they had lost favor in the west. On this date in 1698, Peter the Great began to show official opposition to facial hair on Russian men in a process that eventually ended in a tax being levied on beards. All men except priests and peasants paid a yearly tax of one hundred rubles; commoners paid one kopek each.