On this Day... October 15

CEBU, Philippines - • In 1948, the clumsiest U.S. president married a Bloomer – Betty Bloomer, a fashion buyer, ex-model, and dancer, who’d just divorced her first husband. Gerry Ford had been dating her for a year; he’d proposed seven or eight months earlier, but had put off the wedding till now so that her past wouldn’t jeopardize his chances in the primaries of his first congressional election. At the wedding, Ford wore one brown shoe and one black one. Afterwards, he took his bride to a football game, before a one-night honeymoon in a Detroit hotel. She said later, “I wish I’d married a plumber.”

• In 1839, Queen Victoria proposed to Prince Albert when the two royal 20-year-olds were sitting in her chambers. Victoria, who wasn’t sure at first, now thought him beautiful. She loved his “delicate mustachioes,” “slight whiskers,” “broad shoulders,” and “exquisite nose,” and had summoned him for the express purpose of popping the question. “It was a nervous thing to do,” she wrote, “But Albert could not propose to the queen of England. He would never have presumed to take such a liberty!”

— from Today’s the Day! By Jeremy Beadle

In Christian history

• In 1932, Gladys Aylward sailed from Liverpool, England, for Asia in an effort to bring the gospel to China. In 1958 her biography, “The Small Woman,” was made into an award-winning film: “Inn of the Sixth Happiness.”

— from This Day in Christian History

By William D. Blake

In the Philippines

• In 1866, Manuel Artigas, a biographer, bibliographer, historian and journalist, was born in Barrio Panalaron, Tacloban, Leyte. When his father died, Artigas moved to Manila, pursued his studies and worked in several colonial government agencies. While working in the government, he pursued his interest in journalism. He wrote for the “Diario de Manila” and later for “El Amigo del Pueblo.” In 1891, his first book, “Manual del Empleados,” was published. In 1892, he was publisher and editor of the bi-monthly local government review, “El Faro Administrativo.” In 1894, he published “El Municipio Filipino 2 Volumes” and “Diccionario Tecnico-historico de la Administracion de Filipinas.” Artigas setup his own printing press on Calle San Jose in Intramuros. He bought the press that used to print the “Periodical El Eco del Sur” in Camarines. At the height of the revolution in early 1897, Artigas sold the press and evacuated his family to Spain. He returned to the country in 1902, resumed his works in journalism, and joined political groups. He was editor-in-chief of “El Grito del Pueblo” published by Pascual Poblete and, in 1905, joined “La Democracia” for a short while. Artigas served as general secretary of the Nacionalista Party and the Asociacion de Maquinistas Navales y Terrestres de Filipinas.  In 1907, he was appointed assistant librarian in the Philippine Section of the American Circulating Library. Through his initiative, Act No. 1849 creating the Philippine Public Library was passed by the Philippine Assembly. As acting chief and later director of the Philippine Library, he was able to increase the Filipiniana collection that became one of the most complete collections in Philippine studies.

— www.kahimyang.info

• In 2013, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the island of Bohol with a depth of 20.0 kilometers. It was centered about 20 miles below the town of Sagbayan. Immediately, it was reported that the death toll was at least 93, including people in Cebu.  The following day, the death toll had risen to 144, with 291 people injured.

— from Wikipedia.com

In Cebu

• Fiesta of Talisay, Cebu

• In 1566, the vessel “San Geronimo” struggled into the Cebu harbor after a difficult voyage from Mexico. The ship brought aid for the fledging Spanish settlement in Cebu.

• In 1888, the Hospital de San Jose, an institution administered by the Sisters of Charity, was inaugurated.

— from Cebuano Studies Center, University of San Carlos