Good morning.
Whitewater’s work week ends with mostly sunny skies and a high of forty-seven.
A major film-series opening:
On this day in 2001, the British author J.K. Rowling’s star creation–bespectacled boy wizard Harry Potter–makes his big-screen debut in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which opens in movie theaters across the United States. Based on the mega-best-selling fantasy novel of the same name, the film, which starred Daniel Radcliffe in the title role, went on to become one of the highest-grossing movies in history.
The first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, debuted in Great Britain in 1997 and was released in the United States the following year under the name Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Children and adults alike were captivated by the story of Harry, his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, their adventures at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Harry’s struggles against his main enemy, the evil Lord Voldemort….
The first Harry Potter film was directed by the American filmmaker Chris Columbus, whose previous credits included Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire. Prior to being selected to play Harry, Daniel Radcliffe, who was born July 23, 1989, in London, had appeared in a BBC production of David Copperfield as well as the 2001 film The Tailor of Panama, which starred Pierce Brosnan. British actors Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were chosen for the roles of Harry’s friends Ron and Hermione. A roster of celebrated actors took supporting roles in the film and its various sequels, including Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Richard Harris and Gary Oldman.
In Wisconsin history on this date, from 1896:
1896 – First Rural Free Delivery Route Established
On this date the first Rural Free Delivery route in Wisconsin was established at Sun Prairie. Rural Free Delivery routes were free government mail delivery services in rural areas. [Source: The Wisconsin Mosaic]
From Google’s daily puzzle, a science question: “What lake in Africa is only two kilometers longer than The Schrodinger Basin?”