October 16, 1950: C.S. Lewis Begins His "Chronicles of Narnia"

October 16, 1950: C.S. Lewis publishes The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, beginning his Chronicles of Narnia series.

Clive Staples Lewis was born on November 29, 1898 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He taught at Oxford University, where he became close friends with his colleague J.R.R. Tolkien, to whom The Screwtape Letters was dedicated. In 1937, Tolkein published The Hobbit, establishing himself as a prominent fantasy writer, and would write sequels in the 1950s, which became the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Tolkien was a Catholic. Lewis had been raised in largely-Catholic, but Protestant-controlled, Ireland as an atheist, but Tolkien's influence led him to Christianity. Except it was to the Protestant Church of England, so, from a certain point of view, Tolkien's efforts backfired somewhat.

Lewis' writings would be heavy with Christian imagery, including his own 1950s fantasy stories that would be collected under the title The Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis empathized with children who were suffering under the wartime conditions in Britain, and imagined a world where they could be heroes instead of victims. He described the origin of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in an essay entitled "It All Began with a Picture":

The Lion all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself: "Let's try to make a story about it."

Narnia is a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals. It narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the Narnian world. In order of publication, the books are:

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, published in 1950.

2. Prince Caspian, 1951.

3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 1952.

4. The Silver Chair, 1953.

5. The Horse and His Boy, 1954.

6. The Magician's Nephew, 1955.

7. The Last Battle, 1956.

Except in The Horse and His Boy, the protagonists are all children from the real world who are magically transported to Narnia, where they are sometimes called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil. In the 1st, Aslan, the region's true king, wants to free the land from the White Witch, who has turned it into a land "where it is always Winter, but never Christmas." For this, he enlists the help of the Pevensie children: Peter, 13 when the story begins in 1940, our time; Susan, 12; Edmund, 10; and Lucy, 8.

The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magician's Nephew to its eventual destruction in The Last Battle -- 2,500 years later from Narnia's perspective, but only 49 years later from Earth's. Spoiler Alert for a book over 60 years old: It's not as bad as it sounds, because Lewis' faith led him to write of Aslan leading his followers into the afterlife.

C.S. Lewis died on the same day as another renowned British writer, Aldous Huxley. Hardly anybody noticed, because that day was November 22, 1963, the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Tolkien lived another 10 years.

The 1st 3 books in the series were made into live-action, CGI-aided films in 2005, 2008 and 2010, respectively. Liam Neeson -- from Ballymena, about 30 miles from Lewis' Strandtown neighborhood of Belfast -- provided the voice of Aslan.

Neeson made his film debut in 1978, in Pilgrim's Progress, playing Jesus. In the 2010 version of Clash of the Titans, he played Zeus, king of the Greek Gods. And on a 2017 episode of The Orville, he played Captain Jahavus Dorahl, the descendants of whose crew had long since forgotten he was a mortal man, and worshipped him. So he has played a god in 4 different religions. I don't know if that's a record, but it's got to be at least close to one.

The joke continues: He played Qui-Gon Jinn, so he trained Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader; and Ra's al-Ghul, so he trained Batman. He played Sir Gawain, who fought at the side of King Arthur. As Michael Collins, he liberated his country. As Oskar Schindler, he saved 1,000 Jews from the Holocaust. He's also played Rob Roy, Jean Valjean, Douglas MacArthur, Philip Marlowe and Mark "Deep Throat" Felt. He also punches wolves. So why, as in the film Taken, would anyone try to kidnap a member of his family?

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October 16, 1950 was a Monday. The baseball season had ended 9 days earlier, with the New York Yankees completing a 4-game sweep of the World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies. The NBA season began 2 weeks later. The NHL season was underway, but no games were scheduled. And football was in midweek. There would be no Monday Night Football for another 20 years. Therefore, there were no scores on this historic day.

However, this was also the day that Walter O'Malley won -- at a price that he was stunned that he would have to pay -- his power struggle with Branch Rickey over the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. I have a separate entry for that event.

May 3, 1921: The Partition of Ireland

Map showing "Ireland's Four Courts"

May 3, 1921: The United Kingdom passes the Government of Ireland Act, creating the province of Northern Ireland, separate from what is then called the Irish Free State.

Of the traditional "Ireland's Four Courts," Ulster, with its 6 Counties of Antrim (including the capital of Belfast), Down, Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Derry, became Northern Ireland. The other three remained part of Ireland proper:

* Leinster: Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois (pronounced "Leesh"), Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.

* Munster: Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford. And:

* Connaught: Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo.

This partition of Ireland intended both territories to remain within the UK, and contained provisions for their eventual reunification. The smaller Northern Ireland was duly created with a devolved government (Home Rule), and remained part of the UK. The larger Southern Ireland was not recognized by most of its citizens, who instead recognized the self-declared 32-county Irish Republic.

Sent to London to negotiate peace terms, Michael Collins was offered a treaty that would establish the Irish Free State -- with an Oath of Allegiance to the Crown. The British Crown, held by King George V. In other words, this "Free State" would have another nation's head of state as its own -- just like Canada, Australia, and a few other "independent nations."

Collins accepted this compromise, calling it "the freedom to achieve freedom." Some in the Provisional Government did not, and the end of the Irish War of Independence led to the beginning of the Irish Civil War. This led to Collins' assassination on August 22, 1922.

On January 7, 1922, Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratified the Anglo-Irish Treaty by a vote of 64–57 at Leinster House in Dublin.

On December 6, 1922, the Partition was complete. At that time, the territory of Southern Ireland left the UK,  and became the Irish Free State, now known as the Republic of Ireland.

Up until that moment, the British Empire had been at its greatest extent, ruling over one-quarter of the world's land, and over one-quarter of the world's people. That would never be the case again: Over the next 60 years, while some of the Empire would become part of the British Commonwealth, most of it would carry out its own "Brexit," and the old saying, "The Sun never sets on the British Empire," would no longer be true.

Today, the population of Northern Ireland is a little under 2 million, slightly more Protestant than Catholic; while that of the vast-majority-Catholic Republic is just under 5 million. The UK's recent "Brexit" deal has essentially reestablished a border between them.

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May 3, 1921 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Babe Ruth went 0-for-4, but catcher Wally Schang went 4-for-4. Bill Percy allowed 10 hits, but kept the shutout, outpitching future Yankee Herb Pennock.

* The New York Giants beat the Boston Braves, 7-2 at the Polo Grounds.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known while Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931) beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3 at Ebbets Field. Brooklyn trailed 3-2 going to the bottom of the 9th, but a single by Zack Wheat and a triple by Ed Konetchy won the game.

* The Washington Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Joe Judge tripled home 2 runs in the top of the 10th inning.

* And the the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 13-1 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Ty Cobb went 1-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Luzerne "Lu" Blue went 2-for-4 with 5 RBIs. For the White Sox, Eddie Collins went 1-for-4.

April 10, 1998: The Good Friday Agreement

David Trimble (left) and John Hume

April 10, 1998: The Good Friday Agreement, a.k.a. the Belfast Agreement, is signed, ending "The Troubles," which had plagued Northern Ireland for about 30 years.

The agreement acknowledged that the majority of the people of Northern Ireland wished to remain a part of the United Kingdom, but also that a substantial section of the people of Northern Ireland, and the majority of the people of the island of Ireland, wished to bring about a united Ireland. Both sides agreed, for the first time, that both wishes were legitimate.

A governmental system was set up, and the 2 main belligerent groups -- the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), representing Catholics, and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), representing Protestants, agreed to lay down their weapons, and participate in the government. One group, the Protestant Ulster Defence Assocation (UDA), was notable in its refusal.

Signing the agreement were the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair; the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam; the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of the Republic of Ireland, Bertie Ahearn; and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the ROI, David Andrews.

For negotiating the agreement, John Hume, Leader of the ROI's Social Democratic and Labour Party, and David Trimble, Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and subsequently First Minister of Northern Ireland, shared the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize.

Peace is a precious commodity, but it doesn't solve everything. Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, may no longer be a city of paramilitary extrajudicial killings and terrorist bombings, each responding to the other. But it remains a city overseen by the British government, and subject to the national Conservative Party's backward policies, and the British class system, which has never truly gone away. 

As recently as 2011, singer Rihanna, a subject of the United Kingdom until her native Barbados declared itself a republic on 2021, had a Number 1 hit with a song whose video was filmed in Belfast. The title refrain sings, "We found love in a hopeless place."

John Hume died on August 3, 2020. As of April 10, 2022, David Trimble is still alive. (UPDATE: Trimble died on July 25, 2022.)

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April 10, 1998 was, of course, a Friday. A full slate of Major League Baseball games was played, including the wildest home opener in Pinstriped history:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 17-13 at Yankee Stadium. The A's scored 5 runs in the 2nd inning, and 8 runs in the 5th to lead 13-12, and still lost the game. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-5 for the A's, but had no RBIs or stolen bases. For the Yankees, Tino Martinez went 3-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBIs. David Cone started, but didn't get out of the 5th inning. Mike Buddie blew the lead, but still ended up as the winning pitcher. He would win only 4 more games in the major leagues.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 13-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Brant Brown and Henry Rodriguez hit home runs for the Cubs. Sammy Sosa did not, but would hit 66 for them that season.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-7 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 1-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Lieberthal singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 9th, as Curt Schilling outpitched Greg Maddux.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Florida Marlins, 4-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The team then known as the Cleveland Indians beat the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, 8-5 at the ballpark then known as Jacobs Field. (Current names: Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Angels, Progressive Field.) Jim Thome hit a 3-run home run to win the game in the bottom of the 10th.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 3-0 at the new Comiskey Park in Chicago. (It's now named Rate Field.) Mike Sirotka and Matt Karchner combined on a 5-hit shutout.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-4 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 at what was then named The Ballpark at Arlington, in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. (It's now named Choctaw Stadium.)

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Colorado Rockies, 18-7 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-4 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 7-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. John Mabry hit a home run for the Cardinals. Mark McGwire did not, but would go on to hit a record 70 for them that season. The Giants hit no home runs. Three years later, Barry Bonds would break McGwire's record with 73 of them.

The NFL was out of season. But there were 8 games played in the NBA:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic, 82-80 in overtime at the FleetCenter. (It's now named the TD Garden.)

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Charlotte Hornets, 99-87 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* The Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors, 111-105 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. (It's now named the Scotiabank Arena.)

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-102 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Allen Iverson scored 43 for the Sixers, but the T-Wolves got 29 from Sam Mitchell, 28 from Stephon Marbury, and 26 from Kevin Garnett.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 99-84 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 126-109 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. 

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-105 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Antonio McDyess scored 37 points.

* And the Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings, 97-85 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento. (It is now named the Sleep Train Arena.)

Only 1 game was played in the NHL that day: The Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo. (It is now named the KeyBank Center.)