Today is Monday September 20th.

Joyce Bauer gets one year older today. She was born on this date in 1928 in New York. We know her better as Dr. Joyce Brothers. She made her television debut not with wisdom of relationships and child rearing. No, she made her debut by memorizing . . yes, memorizing a book filled with knowledge of the sport of boxing and then using that knowledge to win over $130,000 on a game show called “The $64,000 Question”. She really knew nothing about boxing, but she is blessed with the gift of a photographic memory and she had the need for money to help raise her family. That was in the late 1950’s before she had become well known. In fact, it was her success on the game show that helped her to become a household name.

Also, actress Sophia Loren has another candle on her birthday cake today! She has appeared in nearly 100 feature films. Her career has spanned over 6 decades.

This is also the date on which the great Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach was born in the year 1917. He passed away on October 28, 2006.

It was on this date in 1946 that the very first Cannes (pronounced CAN) Film Festival premiered. The original premier was delayed in 1939 due to World War II.

And finally. . . .

Our story today starts way back in the year 1519. That is when Ferdinand Magellan began his famous journey. It was the very first circumnavigation of the globe. He was an expatriot of Portugal, sailing for Spain. His journey started with 237 sailors and 5 ships. His trip began by going south and then west from Spain and then along the east coast of South America. He then rounded the southern tip of the continent and ventured on across the Pacific Ocean toward southeast Asia.

After months of fighting various dangers such as Portugese ships, scurvy, hunger, the natives, shipwrecks, mutiny and of course the weather and rough seas, Magellans crew would arrive at the Philippines. Magellan and his men would convert many of the natives to Christianity. However, this effort proved to be fatal.

Although many of the natives were indeed converted to Christianity, one particular tribal chief had other ideas. The chief ordered his warriors to attack Magellan and his sailors. Nearly all ofthe explorers would successfully retreat back to their ships. . . except for one. Magellan would die that day in the waters just off shore of the island as he was retreating.

A man named Juan Sebastion Del Cano would then take the helm in place of their dead leader. At this point, 47 sailors and 2 ships were all that was left of the original flotilla. What was left of his crew and his ships would continue on their trek across the globe. Before the crew could make their way around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, only one ship would remain, The Victoria. As their supplies and physical health were both running low, the Victoria was forced to stop at the Cape Verde Islands to get more supplies.

During this time, those islands were under Portugese control. The Portugese wanted no part of a Spanish ship docking at one of their ports. Nearly all of the men who made it to shore were captured that day. Those who escaped managed to get back on board their ship, but without their much-needed supplies. With barely enough men to sail the ship, they set sail with no plans to stop until they finally reached Spanish soilonce again!

When they landed on the shores of Spain on September 8th, 1522 all that was left of the original 5 ships and 237 sailors was one battered ship and 18 hungry, barely-surviving men. It was nearly three years aftertheir trip began.

Although Ferdinand Magellan did not actually complete the journey for which he is most famous, he still holds his place in the record books as the first man to sail around the globe on the high seas. There is a catch though. It took him two separate trips to do it. In one of his earlier journeys, he traveled to the Philippines by way of the more conventional route, south around Africa and then eastward. His final journey would take him the other way around the globe, westward to the Philippines, where he would die. That fateful, yet famous trip began on this date, September 20th, in the year 1519.

And those are just a few of thethings that have ocurred on this day in history.