 | 1-31 Gee’s Bend Today: Messages From the Alabama Black Belt Region will be on exhibit at Hanson Gallery. The collection features artists from this 13 county region, named for it’s rich, black soil and includes narrative quilts, metal sculpture, mixed media folklore, photography, apparel and more. Through September 21. 865.584.6097 or hansongallery.com
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| Maria Mitchell, the first professional female astronomer in the United States, was born on this day in 1818. Mitchell was raised in a Quaker community, which was one of the few groups that felt women should have equal educational opportunities as men. She had the notable discovery that sunspots are “whirling vertical cavities” and not, as thought at the time, clouds. |
 | Life is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming.” Myrna Loy would have been 103 today. She used her fame in the 1930s-40s to champion the rights of black actors and to give them dignity onscreen, rather than the stereotypes they often played at the time. |
 | Grab your sister or a great friend and celebrate Sisters’ Day. Rejoice in your sisterhood.
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| Martha Stewart’s birthday is today. Bake a cake entirely out of the flour you hand-milled from your personal wheat crop and decorate it with homemade buttercream frosting and fruit from your organic orchard to celebrate. |
 | Bring a bag lunch to the Tennessee Theatre for Mighty Musical Monday, a free concert, from 12pm-1pm. Come hear the sounds of house organist Bill Snyder and the Mighty Wurlitzer, the theatre’s restored pipe organ. tennesseetheatre.com or 865.684.1200. |
| Today is the 52nd birthday of Meg Whitman, former President and CEO of eBay. Since resigning from eBay in March 2008, she is considering a run for Governor of California in 2010. |
 | Dame Miriam Rothschild, a leading entomologist and zoologist, was born on this day in 1908. Scientifically, she was a foremost expert on fleas and was the first person to figure out the biology of how fleas jump. Socially, she campaigned for the legalization of homosexuality in the U.K. in the 1960s and was a vegetarian—she refused to wear any form of leather or fur. |
 | Lucille Ball’s birthday is today…she clashed with CBS execs after they tried not to let her have a pregnancy storyline in her show. They finally caved, but still wouldn’t allow her to say “pregnant.” Throughout the episode, they had to refer to her as “expecting” instead. |
| Grandma Moses was born 148 years ago today. She started painting in her 70s after arthritis made it difficult for her to continue her art of embroidery. She went on to become one of America’s most popular folk artists and lived to the age of 101. |
 | Get your pen and paper out for the Gap Writer’s Group hosted by the Knoxville Writers’ Guild. Sylvia Lynch, Sylvia Woods, Denton Loving, Donna McClanahan and other members of the monthly writers group will share their work and ideas to establish a successful writing community. 7pm at Laurel Theatre. $1 donations requested. knoxvillewritersguild.org |
 | Gladiator Games, a reality-sporting event will challenge the area's best all around athletes. From 7am -1pm at West Hills Park and West Hills YMCA, teams of 2, 3 or 4 persons can participate in golf, swimming, football, baseball, basketball, running, obstacle course & weightlifting. Proceeds support Knoxville Leadership Foundation programs. 865.524.2774or klf.org |
| Janie Porter Barrett was born on this day in 1865. She founded the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls, a rehabilitation center for troubled girls which was centered on self-reliance and self-discipline. It became a model for other similar schools and was extremely successful—the majority of students found jobs and had families after leaving the facility. It became integrated in 1965 and still exists today under the name of the Barrett Learning Center. |
 | Mary Gove Nichols was born 198 years ago, today. She traveled the country speaking about women’s health and anatomy, but was scorned by many of her time for her belief in “free love” instead of marriage, which Nichols considered to be the “annihilation of women.” She believed that health, freedom and sexual liberation were all linked was an outspoken advocate for all three. |
 | Today would have been the 91st birthday of Gladys Bentley, a Harlem Renaissance blues singer. Openly lesbian during her early career (she dressed in tuxedos and top hats with a drag queen chorus line singing back-up and flirted with female patrons), during the McCarthy era, she put on dresses, married a man and claimed that taking female hormones had “cured” her, in order to avoid being put on trial. |
 | Left-hander’s Day is today. Approximately 7-10% of the population is left-handed, and left-handed females are rarer than males. Joan of Arc, Queen Victoria, Eudora Welty, Greta Garbo and Ruth Bader Ginsberg are some of these unique, southpawed females. |
 | Letitia Elizabeth Landon (often known as L.E.L.), a poet, was born on this day in 1802. While her poetry has not withstood the test of time, she was respected by her contemporaries for paving the way for other female writers. Christina G. Rossetti and Elizabeth Barrett Browning were just a few of her literary admirers who wrote tributes to her. |
 | Julia Child, former assistant in the OSS’s Secret Intelligence division and celebrity chef and author, would have been 96 today. Her legendary persona and accessible recipes made her a pop culture icon. |
 | “1964 The Tribute” takes the stage again at the Tennessee Theatre to pay tribute to the Beatles. The band will perform the group’s greatest hits. Doors open at 7 p.m. Call (865) 656-4444 for tickets or tennesseetheatre.com |
| Bring a roaring appetite to The Knoxville Zoo’s annual Feast with the Beasts. Sample food and beverages from local restaurants and vendors and kick back with live music. Bid on silent auction items such as artwork, gift certificates and gift baskets. knoxville-zoo.org/feast.htm. |
| Madonna turns 50 today. From “Like a Virgin” to “4 Minutes,” she manages to push the envelope on the issue of sexuality and proves to be an enormous influence to society (Kabbalah, anyone?) while putting out an endless stream of shake-your-booty tunes. |
 | “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” Mae West, stage and screen actress, who pushed the social limits on female sexuality, was born on this day in 1893. |
 | Coco Chanel, the revolutionary designer who liberated women from centuries of corsets with simple, menswear inspired fashions, was born 125 years ago today. “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” |
 | The Oak Ridge Playhouse presents Wait Until Dark, a unique and thrilling tale about one woman’s fight for survival. orplayhouse.com |
 | Gather for the opening of the East Tennessee History Museum from 10am-5pm. Hosted by the East TN Historical Society, re-enactors, regional historical organizations, children's events, music and storytelling will all be apart of this momentus occasion. 865.215.8823or east-tennessee-history.org. |
 | Today is also the 73rd birthday of Geraldine Ferraro, the first and only (so far) female Vice Presidential candidate for a major political party. In 1984 Walter Mondale selected her as his running mate in the campaign against Ronald Reagan. She went on to serve as a U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Commission of Human Rights under President Clinton’s administration, and also worked on Hillary Clinton’s campaign. |
| Today is Women’s Equality Day or Susan B. Anthony Day—it’s the 88th anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment to the Constitution, allowing women the right to vote. |
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