Alice Bridget Brown (died 1940)

In 1834, on July 15th, the Spanish Inquisition - which began in the 15th century - was abolished by the royal decree of Isabella II. The last known person to be hung by the Inquisition was Cayetano Ripoll - in 1826 - who was a school teacher. He was accused of teaching "deist principles" - which posits that God does not interfere directly with the world.

In 1853, on March 4th, Franklin Pierce became the 14th President of the United States. His son had been killed in a train accident that also involved Pierce and his wife on January 6 - the only of 3 sons to survive until then. Due to the resultant depression and his unpopular policies, he was not re-nominated for President and served only one term.

In 1870, on October 6th, Rome became the capital of the unified states of the Italian Peninsula - the newly created Kingdom of Italy.

In 1928, Mickie Mouse was born! He first appeared in Disney's Steamboat Willie, along with Minnie. Although they were in two previous shorts, this was the first to be distributed. Steamboat Willie took advantage of the new technology and was a "talkie" - music was coordinated with the animation. It became the most popular cartoon of its day.

In 1940, in the year of Alice Bridget Brown's passing, in July, Billboard published its first Music Popularity Chart. Top recordings of the year were Tommy Dorsey's "I'll Never Smile Again" (vocal Frank Sinatra) - 12 weeks at the top, Bing Crosby's "Only Forever" - 9 weeks at the top, and Artie Shaw's "Frenesi" - 12 weeks at the top.