Also, on this day in 1901 Andre Tchelistcheff born (died April 5, 1994). Tchelistcheff was a Russian-born U.S. enologist, was a pivotal figure in the revitalization of the California wine industry following Prohibition (1919-33) and used his Paris training in viticulture and wine making to pioneer such techniques as cold fermentation and the use of American oak barrels for aging. He was also an authority on the types of soil suitable for growing various grape varieties. Known as the “dean of American winemakers”
In 1909 Leo Hendrik Baekeland was issued a patent for ‘Bakelite,’ the first plastic that did not soften when heated. Those black plastic knobs on stoves, and distributor caps for car engines are examples.
In 1926 The Electrolux Servel Corp. received the first U.S. patent for a household refrigerator cooled by a sealed gas refrigerant.
In 1942 Harry Chapin was born (died July 16, 1981). American singer-songwriter (‘Taxi,’ ‘Cat’s in the Cradle,’ etc.). A dedicated humanitarian, a co-founder of the organization World Hunger Year in 1975 and influential in President Jimmy Carter’s establishment of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977. Chapin was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1987 for his humanitarian work.
My Mirepoix 