SHARED BIRTHDAYS
December 28th . In 1934, the birthdate of this Dame, who most recently played the Dowager Countess of Grantham on Downton Abbey; and in 1954, the birthdate of this co-host of CBS This Morning and best pal to Oprah Winfrey.
Maggie Smith and Gayle King
Guam
United States
Born in Ontario, James Naismith took a job at a Massachusetts YMCA in 1891. He credits the cold winters with inspiring him to invent this vigorous indoor sport.
Basketball
It’s the unusual shape of the president’s office in the White House.
Oval
Campbell’s Soup Cans; Marilyn Diptych
Andy Warhol
August 3rd. In 1811, the birthdate of the inventor of the elevator (hint: his first name was Elisha); and in 1977, the birthdate of the most “Super Bowl-winningest” quarterback in the history of the NFL.
Elisha Otis and Tom Brady
Bermuda
United Kingdom
This Texas senator and 2016 presidential candidate was born in Canada; but since his mother was American, it is likely he was legally qualified to be president.
Ted Cruz
The first person to be married in the White House was Dolley Madison’s sister in 1812. The last person to be married in the White House was Pete Souza, the Official Chief White House photographer in 2013 under this president.
Barack Obama
Starry Night; The Potato Eaters; Self-Portrait with Bandage
Vincent Van Gogh
April 20th . In 1889, the birthdate of perhaps the most famous (and brutal) dictator of all time; and in 1941, the birthdate of a co-star of 1960’s TV’s Peyton Place and the long-time, unmarried partner of Farrah Fawcett.
Adolph Hitler and Ryan O’Neal
Crete
Greece
This landlocked Canadian province borders only one US state (Montana), and boasts the third-largest city in Canada (after Toronto and Montreal), which hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics
Alberta.
In 1958, this First Lady was indeed the first to decorate the White House for Halloween.
Mamie Eisenhower. She adorned “The People’s House” with owls and goblins.
Water Lilies; The Water Pond; Impression Sunrise
Claude Monet
June 14th. In 1864, the birthdate of the German psychiatrist and neuropathologist who first identified “presenile dementia,” the disease which is now known by his name; and in 1946, the birthdate of the 45th president of the United States.
Alois Alzheimer and Donald Trump
Easter Island
Chile
Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is located on the border of Ontario and this province.
Quebec
This White House crisis management center inspired the name of this CNN program anchored by Wolf Blitzer.
The Situation Room
Cow’s Skull; Red Poppy
Georgia O’Keefe
May 7th . In 1840, the birthdate of the Russian composer of Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and The 1812 Overture; and in 1919, the birthdate of the singer and dancer who married well and became the First Lady of Argentina in 1946.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Eva Perón
Hispaniola
Dominican Republic and Haiti
This northwesternmost territory has the smallest population of any Canadian territory or province, and shares a 750-mile long border with the US state of Alaska.
Yukon
On the day President Reagan was shot, this Secretary of State (and retired Army general) erroneously told the media “As of now, I’m in control of the White House.”
Alexander Haig
Creation of Adam; La Pieta
Michelangelo