Saturday in the Whippet City brings flurries, and a high of twenty-eight. 10h 56m of sunlight and 11h 53m of daylight await us.
On this day in 1954, not so long ago really, results confirm the effectiveness of Jonas Salk’s vaccination for polio. The news appeared in the New York Times a few weeks later:
New Orleans, March 11 — The latest tests on children with the anti-polio vaccine have revealed that the vaccine provides the body with lasting defensive powers against the three types of viruses causing the disease, it was reported tonight.
This was described as the long-sought answer to a vital question, making it practically certain not only that the vaccine will produce effective immunity against all three types of polio but also that the immunity will be of the lasting type, possibly for the individual’s lifetime.
On this day in 1846, a malted-milk magnate is born:
1846 – William Horlick Born
On this date William Horlick was born in Ruardean, Gloucestershire, England. A noted food manufacturer and philanthopist, Horlick arrived in the U.S. in 1869 and settled in Racine. In 1872 he moved to Chicago with his brother and began to manufacture food products. In 1876 his company moved to Racine where he began to experiment with creating a dried milk product.In 1887 he trademarked Malted Milk. In 1889 he opened a company branch in New York City and another in England the following year. He constructed additional plants in Racine in 1902 and 1905. The company name was changed to Horlick’s Malted Milk Co. in 1906.
This success enabled Horlick to achieve a widespread reputation as a philanthropist in Racine. He also helped fund the first Byrd expedition to the South Pole and the Amundsen expedition to the North Pole. After his death in 1936, control of the company passed to his son, Ander James Horlick. [Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography, SHSW 1960, pg. 177]
Google-a-Day asks about film: “What kind of parent does a dad describe himself as in the 2012 Academy Award-nominated movie set in Hawaii?”