August 16. Today is Joe Miller's Joke Day.

Who was Joe Miller? I'm glad you didn't ask. Joe Miller was an English actor, who was born sometime in 1684 and who first appeared in the cast of Sir Robert Howard's Committee at Drury Lane in 1709 as Teague. In "vacation periods" between working at Drury Lane, he performed for William Pinkethman's company. He frequented the "Black Jack" tavern on Portsmouth Street in London, which was a favourite of the Drury Lane players. Allegedly he was very serious in the bar and this led to an in-joke whereby all his companions ascribed all new jokes to him. After Miller's death, John Mottley brought out a book called Joe Miller's Jests (1739), published under the pseudonym of Elijah Jenkins Esq. at the price of one shilling. This was a collection of contemporary and ancient coarse witticisms, only three of which are told of Miller. This first edition was a thin pamphlet of 247 numbered jokes. This ran to three editions in its first year. It should be noted that joke books of this format were common even before this date. It was common practice to learn one or two jokes for use at parties. Owing to the quality of the jokes in Mottley's book, their number increasing with each of the many subsequent editions, any time-worn jest came to be called "a Joe Miller", a Joe-Millerism, or simply a Millerism.

Joke 99 states:
A Lady's Age happening to be questioned, she affirmed she was but Forty, and called upon a Gentleman that was in Company for his Opinion; Cousin, said she, do you believe I am in the Right, when I say I am but Forty? I ought not to dispute it, Madam, reply'd he, for I have heard you say so these ten Years.

Joke 234 speaks of:
A famous teacher of Arithmetick, who had long been married without being able to get his Wife with Child. One said to her ‘Madam, your Husband is an excellent Arithmetician’. ‘Yes, replies she, only he can't multiply.'

Joe Miller was referred to in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843), by the character Scrooge, who remarks "Joe Miller never made such a joke as sending the turkey to Bob's will be!"

Joe Miller was referred to in James Joyce's "Ulysses" (1922) in the limerick that Lenehan whispers during the Aeolus episode to Stephen Dedalus, the last line of which is "I can't see the Joe Miller. Can you?".

Joe Miller was also referred to in Daffy Dilly (1948), a Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Daffy Duck as a novelty gag salesman operating on the sidewalk of a large city, selling things like flower squirters, a Joe Miller joke book, a rib-tickler, a cheap chicken inspector badge and a 200-volt electric hand buzzer, even shocking himself with the latter in the process ("It's... shocking...").

Miller died on 15 August 1738. The day after - 16 August - is now celebrated annually as Joe Miller's Joke Day, and has since become National Tell a Joke Day