June 11, 1996: “Bridget Jones’ Diary” Is Published

Renee Zellweger in the 1st film

June 11, 1996: Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding is published. Like Armistead Maupin in San Francisco 20 years earlier, the Londoner had turned a recurring newspaper column into a literary franchise, and eventually a cinematic one (although Maupin's Tales of the City series has been TV-movies only).

The book is an updating of Pride and Prejudice, published by Jane Austen in 1813. It has inspired sequels and, so far, 3 films. It gets funnier when you realize that Colin Firth starred in films based on both the original and this one.

In a 20th Anniversary article for The Guardian in 2021, Rebecca Nicholson called the film based on the 1st novel "a gloriously messy ode to imperfection."

Many English women were mad that Texas native Renee Zellweger played their English heroine. I guess they forgot that England’s Vivien Leigh played the American South's "heroine" Scarlett O'Hara.

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June 11, 1996 was a Tuesday. Football was out of season. The night before, the Colorado Avalanche completed a 4-game sweep of the Stanley Cup Finals, beating the Florida Panthers. The NBA Finals were between Games 3 and 4, and the Chicago Bulls went on to beat the Seattle SuperSonics in 6 games.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-4 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher. Tino Martinez and Mariano Duncan hit home runs. Wade Boggs went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Rookie Derek Jeter went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Shea Stadium. Tony Graffanino hit a sacrifice fly to score Chipper Jones with the winning run in the top of the 13th inning. Todd Hundley hit 2 home runs in support of Bobby Jones.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Florida Marlins, 3-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Oakland Athletics, 6-5 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Manny Ramirez hit a sacrifice fly to score Albert Belle with the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 12-9 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Cal Ripken Jr. went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 3 RBIs.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-2 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins, 18-8 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-6 with 2 RBIs. Alex Rodriguez went 4-for-6 with an RBI. Paul Molitor, a Hall-of-Famer-in-waiting from nearby St. Paul, went 1-for-3 for the Twins.

* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 11-9 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers, 14-4 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros, 7-5 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 4-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-5 with a solo home run.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-2 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 2-for-4 against his former team.