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New York Dolls performing in 1973

New York Dolls is the debut album by the American hard rock band New York Dolls (pictured). It was released in 1973 by Mercury Records. In the years leading up to the album, the Dolls had developed a local fanbase by playing regularly in lower Manhattan after forming in 1971. Most music producers and record companies were reluctant to work with them because of their onstage cross-dressing and blatant vulgarity. The album – a mix of carefree rock and roll, influences from Brill Building pop, and campy sensibilities – explores themes of urban youth, teen alienation, adolescent romance, and authenticity, as rendered in lead singer David Johansen's colloquial and ambiguous lyrics. New York Dolls was met with widespread critical acclaim but sold poorly and polarized listeners. Despite its commercial failure, New York Dolls was an influential precursor to the 1970s punk rock movement. It has been named in various publications as one of the best debut records in rock music. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Najmuddin of Gotzo (left) and Uzun-Hajji

... that although Uzun-Hajji and Najmuddin of Gotzo (both pictured) were originally political allies, they later fought on opposing sides of the Russian Civil War?
... that rebel fighters pursued their fleeing enemies during the Battle of Kembogo because they wanted new boots?
... that Abdul Ahad Azad is recognised for laying the foundations of literary criticism in Kashmiri literature?
... that Episode 7921 of Neighbours featured Australia's first televised fictional same-sex wedding since the country voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage?
... that the 2024 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony featured dancing Phryges?
... that Albert Bumgardner's design for an architectural press office was highly publicized in the architectural press?
... that the song "You Liked This (Okay, Computer!)" features the former text-to-speech voice of TikTok?
... that drivers "dodge[d] track blemishes" more than each other during the first race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway?
... that football coach Dim Montero was considered such a great recruiter that it was said he "could pick up a rock and find an outstanding football prospect"?

In the news

James A. Robinson

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson (pictured) for their studies of global inequality.
The comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is visible in the western sky after sunset.
The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded to South Korean poet and novelist Han Kang.

On this day

October 16

Margaret Sanger

1813 – The Sixth Coalition attacked French forces led by Napoleon in the Battle of Leipzig, the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, with over 500,000 troops involved.
1834 – Most of the Palace of Westminster in London was destroyed in a fire caused by the burning of wooden tally sticks.
1916 – Margaret Sanger (pictured) established the United States' first family planning clinic in Brooklyn, New York.
1943 – The Holocaust: The Gestapo conducted a raid on the Roman Ghetto, capturing 1,259 members of the Jewish community, most of whom were sent to Auschwitz.
2013 – In Laos's deadliest air accident, Lao Airlines Flight 301 crashed into the Mekong River, resulting in the deaths of all 49 people aboard.

Pedro González de Lara (d. 1130)
Angela Lansbury (b. 1925)
Linda November (b. 1944)
Naomi Osaka (b. 1997)

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Today's featured picture

Oscar Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After completing his education in Ireland and the UK, Wilde became associated with the philosophy of aestheticism and then settled in London. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, including plays, poems and lectures, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s, with works including Salome (1891), An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). He also wrote his sole novel The Picture of Dorian Gray around this time. At the height of his fame and success, Wilde prosecuted the Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency with men; he was convicted and jailed from 1895 to 1897. After his release, he spent his last three years impoverished and in exile in France before his death from meningitis. His last works included De Profundis (published posthumously in 1905), a letter discussing his spiritual journey through his trials, and The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a poem about the harsh rhythms of prison life.

Photograph credit: Napoleon Sarony; restored by Adam Cuerden

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