- On this day in 1889. The modern pizza is invented. The first time the word ‘pizza’ was noted was in the year 997, in Medieval Latin. Bakers in Naples used the flat bread as a tool to gauge the temperature of an oven, and it was not intended to be eaten. The modern pizza is believed to have been invented on the 19th June 1889. Raffaele Esposito was a chef in Naples who wished to honour Queen Margherita of Savoy. He used the pizza flat bread base and topped it with a combination of fresh tomato, mozzarella cheese, olive oil and basil. Naming it after the Queen, Esposito created the very first “Pizza Margherita”, selecting the topping to represent the colours of the flag of Italy. Thank You Raffaele Esposito!
- On this day in 1978. Garfield, the sardonic comic strip cat, debuts in print. Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis, featuring Garfield, Odie the dog, and their owner Jon Arbucke. Garfield is named after creator Jim Davis’s grandfather, James Garfield Davis, who was named after former US president James Garfield. Garfield is well known for his love of lasagna and eating in general, his sarcasm, and how he torments Odie in ways which sometimes backfire.
- On this day in 1910. The first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington.
- On this day in 1942. Norma Jeane Mortenson (Marilyn Monroe) and her 21 year old neighbour Jimmy Dougherty were married. They were divorced in June of 1946.
- On this day in 1988. Over 3000 East Germans gathered at the Berlin Wall to hear Michael Jackson. He was performing a concert on the other side of the wall in West Berlin.
Please feel free to add your piece of history (something personal or general history).
Margherita of Savoy, Queen of Italy Italiano (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Garfield (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Add Your Piece of History 
oh to have a real Margherita pizza right about now…sigh………yummmmmm
Mmmmmmm making me hungry!
On this day in 1945, my dad was born. 🙂
Happy Birthday to your Dad! Thank you so much for adding your piece of history!
It’s hard to imagine pizzas as before the sixties. They just seem so contemporary! I’m trying to imagine men in suits and bowler hats and women in long white dresses eating pizza.
I know it’s hard to imagine! I wonder if they ate the pizza with knifes and forks or with their hands!
Haha, that’s a good question!
This has to be the best day ever in terms of historic events. Pizza and Garfield!
What more can you ask for!