We’ve been hearing a lot about the more popular Presidents this holiday weekend. But for some reason, nobody’s mentioned Franklin Pierce. Let’s change that by revisiting David Holzel’s piece on the man they called Young Hickory of the Granite Hills, which originally ran last year.

1. He is America’s most obscure president
One in a series of forgettable mid-19th-century presidents, Pierce, who served from 1853-1857, is arguably the most forgettable. Thirteenth president Millard Fillmore is generally regarded as Americas least-known president. That is a distinction Franklin Pierce lacks, making him even more obscure than Fillmore.

2. He may not have hit that woman with his carriage
Pierce was denied renomination by the Democratic Party in 1856 (the only elected president to have been rejected so out of hand). After being given the heave-ho, he has widely been quoted as telling a friend, There is nothing left to do but get drunk.

While many of us in the same position would stop at the nearest tavern for a session of Beer Pong, the story sounds apocryphal. Presidential historian Paul Boller repeats the quotation in his recent book, Presidential Diversions (Harcourt, 2007). When I asked him about it, he said Pierce must have been joking.

Pierce unquestionably drank heavily during certain periods of his life, and alcoholism contributed to or caused his death. But he didnt make a habit of announcing it.

Another story — that Pierce ran over an elderly woman with his carriage — is almost certainly false, according to historian Peter Wallner, whose Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union (Plaidswede) was published this year.

The fact that there are no newspaper stories about the accident and it wasn’t mentioned in any correspondence convinced me that it probably didn’t happen, Wallner told me.

3. He took on the mob. Or at least a mob.
As a staunch Democrat and believer in following the strict meaning of the Constitution, Pierce was an outspoken critic of the Civil War as prosecuted by Republican Abraham Lincoln, whose approach to constitutional freedoms was more free form. After Lincoln was assassinated, a group of citizens in Pierces hometown of Concord, N.H., gathered on the street to express their grief and to confront neighbors who were not displaying the flag in that moment of national tragedy.

Eventually some 200-400 Concordians reached Pierces house and, as Wallner recounts in Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union, demanded to know where the former president was keeping his flag.

It is not necessary for me to show my devotion for the stars and stripes Pierce replied testily, and then reiterated his patriotic bona fides by recalling his ancestors participation in the Revolution and the War of 1812, and his own 35-year service to New Hampshire and the nation.

Whether he swayed the crowd with his oratory, or just wore them down, the mob gave Pierce three cheers and dispersed without burning his house down.

4. He was a better ex-president
Like Jimmy Carter, Pierce was a better ex-president than president, if for no other reason than he no longer was in office. He spent much of his time tending to his wife, Jane, who was dying slowly of tuberculosis. The couple spent the winter of 1857-58 in the Portuguese islands of Madeira, where they studied French in anticipation of a tour of the continent.

Their European travels during 1858-59 took them to Switzerland and Italy, Paris and London. Once back in the USA, Pierce busied himself by purchasing various pieces of property in his home state of New Hampshire.

He also kept up a steady stream of political correspondence and, before he and Jane left to spend the winter of 1859-60 in the Bahamas, Pierce wrote to his former secretary of war, Jefferson Davis, urging him to be the Democratic Partys standard bearer in 1860, according to Wallner. Jane Pierce died on Dec. 2, 1863, at age 57.

5. He perfected the comb-over (!?)
Pierce had some of the finest hair of any U.S. president. One witness described it approvingly as a mass of curly black hair combed on a deep slant over his wide forehead. And that was after viewing Pierces body in state after his death in 1869.

Yet that mass of curls may have been an act of misdirection away from the truth that deep slant hinted at. In an 1862 photograph, Pierces hair in profile appears to exist on two levels above, the hair combed on a deep slant, and below, a small patch at the front and center of his wide forehead.

Pierces hair unquestionably is a subject for future historians to wrestle with.

Writer David Holzel is largely to blame for The Franklin Pierce Pages and The Jewish Angle. He lives outside Washington, D.C.

Rumors are swirling about a possible comeback for the recently retired Brett Favre. But would the Packers be interested in his services? And if Green Bay decided not to welcome Favre’s return, would the future Hall of Famer consider signing with another team, like the quarterback-challenged Minnesota Vikings or Chicago Bears?

He wouldn’t be the first superstar to end his career wearing a super-strange jersey. Namath, O.J., Yogi, Hakeem, The Babedo you recall where each legend finished up?

Take the Quiz: Surprise Endings: Where Players Would Up

When it comes to offbeat political figures, California’s history is remarkably richand we’re not talking about The Governator. While these candidates’ philosophies range from obtuse to downright crazy, their campaigns may have caused voters to wonder what the real difference is between politicians and performance artists.

Emperor Norton

The self-proclaimed “His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Protector of Mexico” was born around 1819 in England. While many thought he was a homeless nutcase, Norton was actually celebrated and revered by many of San Francisco’s citizens over a twenty-one-year period.

He issued a decree to formally dissolve the United States Congress, and later summoned the U.S. Armed Forces “to proceed with a suitable force and clear the Halls of Congress.” Years later, he tried to abolish the Democratic and Republican Parties, and declared that anyone who uttered the word “Frisco” would be guilty of a High Misdemeanor and pay a $25 fine.

The Emperor spent most of his time walking around town dressed in full regalia and sword, inspecting cable cars and making sure the community’s affairs were in order. He gained such notoriety and influence that he issued his own currency, which was accepted as legal tender by local businesses. After Norton’s death in 1880, a reported 10,000 people turned up at his funeral.

Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra, born Eric Boucher in Boulder, Colorado, is best known as the lead singer of San Francisco’s volatile punk pioneers, The Dead Kennedys. Singing into a microphone to make people upset wasn’t enough for him, so he made a serious bid for Mayor of San Francisco in 1979.

His platform included an asymmetrical mix of items, ranging from the comical (requiring businessmen to wear clownsuits during business hours, erecting statues of Dan Whitewho’d assassinated the mayor in 1978all over the city) to serious proposals to improve the community (banning cars from the city limits and advocating public transportation, legalizing squatting in vacant buildings, requiring the public election of police officers). On one occasion, he showed up at Diane Feinstein’s house with a leaf blower to “clean up the city,” and was even bold enough to wear a pirate suit in his publicity photo.

Biafra finished fourth, and in the end, had this to say: “For those of them who have seen my candidacy as
a publicity stunt or a joke, they should keep in mind that it is no more of a joke, and no less of a joke, than anyone else they care to name.”

Steve Rocco

On November 2, 2004, a mysterious character won a place on the Orange Unified School District Board of Trustees. He rarely leaves his house and refuses interviews. He will not allow himself to be fingerprinted for district records. He shows up at meetings in a costume consisting of either black or camouflage clothing, a knit cap, and sunglasses. He has self-published his own book of conspiracy theories, and has made speeches regarding something called, “The Partnership,” a secretive entity that is trying to assassinate him. As of April 2008, The Board has gone so far as to vote to silence the presentation of his theories at meetings. And some even believe Rocco is none other than comedian Andy Kaufman.

On the night of September 13, 1814, Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer and amateur poet, accompanied American Prisoner Exchange Agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner to negotiate a prisoner release with several officers of the British Navy. During the negotiations, Key and Skinner learned of the British intention to attack the city of Baltimore, as well as strength and positions of British forces. They were held captive for the duration of the battle and witnessed the bombardment of Baltimores Fort McHenry. Inspired by the American victory and the sight of the American flag flying high in the morning, Key wrote a poem titled The Defence of Fort McHenry.

Upon his return to Baltimore, Key gave the poem to his brother-in-law, who noted that the words fit melody to the popular drinking song, The Anacreontic Song. Keys brother-in-law took the poem to a printer, who made broadside copies of it. A few days later, the Baltimore Patriot and The American printed the poem with the note Tune: Anacreon in Heaven. Later, the Carr Music Store in Baltimore published the words and music together as The Star-Spangled Banner.

The song gained popularity over the course of the nineteenth century and was often played at public events like parades and Independence Day celebrations (and, on occasion, sporting events). In 1889, the Secretary of the Navy ordered it the official tune to be played during the raising of the flag. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that it be played at all military ceremonies and other appropriate occasions, making it something of an unofficial national anthem.

After Americas entrance into World War I, Major League Baseball games often featured patriotic rituals, such as players marching in formation during pregame military drills and bands playing patriotic songs. During the seventh-inning stretch of game one of the 1918 World Series, the band erupted into The Star-Spangled Banner. The Cubs and Red Sox players faced the centerfield flag pole and stood at attention. The crowd, already on their feet, began to sing along and applauded at the end of the song.

Given the positive reaction, the band played the song during the next two games, and when the Series moved to Boston, the Red Sox owner brought in a band and had the song played before the start of each remaining contest. After the war (and after the song was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution in 1931), the song continued to be played, but only on special occasions like opening day, national holidays and World Series games.

During World War II, baseball games again became venues for large-scale displays of patriotism, and technological advances in public address systems allowed songs to be played without a band. “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played before games throughout the course of the war, and by the time the war was over, the pregame singing of the national anthem had become cemented as a baseball ritual, after which it spread to other sports.

This question was asked semi-rhetorically by the guy sitting next to me in the waiting room of the animal hospital while we watched the NBA Finals and waited for our pets to be healed. I hope his dog, Maverick, is ok. If youve got a burning question that youd like to see answered here, shoot me an email at flossymatt (at) gmail.com. Twitter users can also make nice with me and ask me questions there. Be sure to give me your name and location (and a link, if you want) so I can give you a little shout out.

Of course we know that July 4 is Independence Day in the U.S. But lots of other things have happened on that date as well. Here are just a few:

10 Other Things That Happened on July 4

1. 1636 The city of Providence, Rhode Island was formed.
2. 1826 Second U.S. President John Adams and third U.S. President Thomas Jefferson both die. They had a love-hate relationship, and Adams’ last words were supposedly, “Thomas Jefferson survives”, not knowing that Jefferson had passed away a few hours earlier. Exactly five years later, fifth U.S. President James Monroe dies.
3. 1845 - Near Concord, Mass., Henry David Thoreau starts his two-year living experiment at Walden Pond.
4. 1862 Little Alice Liddell sits down to listen to a story told by Lewis Carroll… it would later become, of course, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It was published exactly three years later July 4, 1865.
5. 1918 - Twin sisters Esther Pauline and Pauline Esther Friedman are born AKA Ann Landers and Dear Abby.
6. 1930 George Steinbrenner is born (and presumably fired the doctor immediately).
7. 1939 Lou Gehrig gives his famous retirement speech at Yankee Stadium after being diagnosed with ALS. He tells the crowd that he considers himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
8. 1968 The Zodiac Killer takes his first victims (that we know of) at Lake Herman Road in California.
9. 1971 Koko, the sign-language gorilla is born.
10. 1995 Bob Ross dies, and all over the world, Happy Little Trees are a little less happy.