Today in History: November 28

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On this day in Bahamian history in 1720, female pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny, who were members of Calico Jack Rackham’s crew, were tried and condemned to death for the same crimes that resulted in the Calico Jack and crew’s execution, ten days prior.

Read and Bonny’s executions were postponed after both informed the court they were pregnant. Bonny was eventually freed, though Read died in prison.

Nearly two centuries later, on November 28, 1879, the first telephone between Government House and the Colonial Secretary’s Office was established. E. Sargent erected the system which was inaugurated on this day.

The first official communication was “God save the Queen.”

On November 28, 1966 Miss Germany won the Miss Bahamas International Beauty Contest for a second time.

Nineteen-year-old Liz Frink of Düsseldorf won the title over her competitors from all over the world, Europe in particular.

It was described as an ingenious idea, which spurred interest in The Bahamas that regular ‘sun, sand and sea’ tourism advertising just couldn’t buy.

Miss Bahamas Sandra Jarrett competed in the contest placing third overall.

Then in world history, on this day in 1582, famed English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway.

In 1929, American businessman and musician Berry Gordy, Jr., best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, was born in Detroit, Michigan. Motown was the highest-earning African American business for decades. In 2022, Gordy was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.

1961 saw gridiron football player Ernie Davis of Syracuse University become the first African American to win the prestigious Heisman trophy.

In 1989, Queen Latifah released her debut album, All Hail the Queen. Its success helped redefine the traditionally male genre of rap. Latifah received the BET Lifetime Achievement award last year.

Finally in 2012, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first in a series of movies based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s book, had its world premiere in New Zealand.

The blockbuster series received mixed reviews, but was a financial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing film series of all time with $2.938 billion in worldwide receipts.

It was nominated for various awards and won several, although not as many as the creators original trilogy Lord of the Rings.