NOT EVERYONE KNOWS THIS

By John Chaput

John Chaput, born and raised in Montreal, eventually morphed into a Westerner. A retired writer and editor. he occupies much of his time as president of the Regina Little Theatre.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY KATE JOHANSEN

JUNE 17, 1631

Mumtaz Mahal, second wife and chief consort of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, dies at the age of 38. Shah Jahan – ruler of an empire encompassing much of present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan – is so grief-stricken that he has a grand mausoleum built that takes 22 years to complete. This, of course, is the Taj Mahal, perhaps the grandest tomb ever constructed. Not everyone knows this, but Taj Mahal translates as “crown of the palace.” Shah Jahan’s wife was born Arjumand Banu but he renamed her Mumtaz Mahal, “exalted one of the palace.” Not everyone knows this, either: The cause of her death was a hemorrhage incurred after being in labour for 30 hours while delivering the last of their 14 children, half of whom died at birth or in infancy. So the Taj Mahal is constructed of approximately equal amounts of marble and guilt. (This item sponsored by Plato Your Strength, the selfhelp course grounded in Greek philosophy.)

JUNE 9, 1672

Peter the Great, destined to be the most illustrious of all Russian tsars, is born. Ascending to the throne shortly before his 10th birthday, Peter’s 42-year reign will concentrate on bringing his country out of its deep-rooted feudalism and catching up to Western scientific, industrial and cultural progress. Not everyone knows this, but among Peter’s reforms in this regard is a beard tax that he initiates in 1698 to bring Russia in step with prevailing European fashion. Many of those who prefer long whiskers do so for religious or traditional reasons; regardless of motivations, those who keep their beards have to carry a token to indicate they have paid the tax. Those who don’t are subject to being publicly and forcibly shaved. Luckily for those enforcing the decree, masks are not a common accessory. The decree is kept in force until 1772. (Brought to you by Chai Kovsky, tea blends imported from Russia’s Swan Lake region.)

JUNE 22, 1813

Laura Secord walks some 20 miles to inform Commander James FitzGibbon of her discovery of an imminent American attack on FitzGibbon’s troops near St. Davids, Ontario. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the British withstand the attack and the entire American force of more than 500 men are made casualties or taken prisoner. Not everyone knows this, but Secord – who was 37 at the time – received scant recognition for her exploit in her lifetime. FitzGibbon did not mention her role, ostensibly to protect her from reprisals, until long after the War of 1812 was finished. She lived a meagre existence until her death in 1868 at the age of 93. The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), hearing of her deed on a royal visit in 1860, granted Secord a gift of 100 pounds, and in the ensuing decades her notoriety grew. In 1913, a century after her derring-do, a confectioner named his new brand of chocolates after her and Laura Secord’s name has endured ever since.

JUNE 3, 1906

Legendary cabaret performer Josephine Baker is born in St. Louis, Missouri. She will rocket to European fame in 1927 for her singing, dancing, and revealing costumes while performing in Paris. Baker could not duplicate her success in her home country and renounced her American citizenship in 1937. During the Second World War she used her fame to hobnob with Axis dignitaries as a spy and relay the information she garnered to Free French authorities, actions for which she would receive numerous decorations and full military honours at her funeral in 1975. Not everyone knows this, but Baker adopted and raised 12 children of varying races from 10 different countries and raised each according to their religion at birth. Although her fame in Europe was undiminished right through her final days, she never achieved such celebrity in America despite several performing tours – although she did, on one trip in the 1950s, manage to get denied reservations at 36 different hotels because of her race.

JUNE 9, 1960

Actor Michael J. Fox begins life in Edmonton. Not everyone knows this, but Fox’s middle name is ... come on, give it a guess ... we’ll wait ... no, not John ... or Joseph or Jason or James ... OK, it’s Andrew. He had already established himself as teenage actor “Michael Fox” in Canada but when he moved to Los Angeles, he found that the Screen Actors Guild already had an actor by that name in its ranks. Among the reasons the younger Fox didn’t use his own initial was that, being Canadian, he thought it sounded too much like Michael “Eh” Fox. In fact, he chose the initial J as a tribute to actor Michael J. Pollard (best known for the movie Bonnie and Clyde and the Star Trek episode “Miri”), who at 5-foot-6 was actually two inches taller than Michael J. (or A.) Fox. (This segment sponsored by Our Hummin’ Native Land, the collection of Canadian songs where you can fake the lyrics all you want.)

JUNE 27, 2002

John Entwistle, bass guitarist of The Who, passes away. We could say “sadly,” but when a 57-yearold guy with heart disease is smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and snorting cocaine, what can you expect? Fortunately, Entwistle leaves a legacy of great performances, like his inexhaustible work on Won’t Get Fooled Again and the catchy intro to Happy Jack, but his signature moment is his solo after the first chorus of My Generation, which took forever to record. Nicknamed both “Ox” and “Thunderfingers,” Entwistle broke his strings on take after take until he switched to another bass and simplified the arrangement. Entwistle was a savvy performer who pioneered the use of sophisticated amplifying equipment so he could hear his own playing over Keith Moon’s drumming. And not everyone knows this, but early in The Who’s history, the band decided their lead singer needed more emphasis, so Entwistle dyed his own light brown hair a jet black to let Roger Daltrey’s curly blonde locks stand out.