Tectonic Theater Project
On 6 October 1998 Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die tied to a fence in the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. He died 6 days later. His torture and murder became a watershed historical moment in America that highlighted many of the fault lines in our culture.
A month after the murder the members of Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie and conducted interviews with the people of the town. From these interviews they wrote the play "The Laramie Project". The piece has been seen by more than 30 million people around the country.
Matthew Ferguson (footballer)
Matthew Ferguson (c. 1873 in Bellshill, Scotland – 1902) was a Scottish footballer who played for Sunderland as a central defender. He made his debut for Sunderland against Bury on 1 September 1896 in a 1–0 defeat at Newcastle Road. In 1902, Ferguson won an English Football League Championship with Sunderland though, the same year, he died and ultimately missed out on international caps for his country, Scotland. Through his time at Sunderland, spanning from 1896 to 1902 he made 167 league appearances, scoring 5 goals. Ferguson died in the close season of 1902, aged 26, just weeks after Sunderland clinched the 1901-02 League championship. His career highpoint was the league title win, but he was perhaps best remembered for keeping goal in a friendly against Tottenham on January 2, 1900 - after Sunderland goalkeeper Ted Doig injured his wrist the day before. A large attendance at his funeral proved his popularity.