A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
1793 – “The American Minerva” was published for the first time. It was the first daily newspaper in New York City and was founded by Noah Webster.
1803 – The 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by Congress. With the amendment Electors were directed to vote for a President and for a Vice-President rather than for two choices for President.
1851 – The first YMCA in North America was established in Montreal.
1879 – Thomas Edison organized the Edison Ore Milling Company.
1884 – Levant M. Richardson received a patent for the ball-bearing roller skate.
1907 – Christmas Seals went on sale for the first time, in the Wilmington, DE, post office.
1926 – The United States Golf Association legalized the use of steel-shafted golf clubs.
1914 – The Edison Phonograph Works was destroyed by fire.
1935 – The Detroit Lions won their first NFL Championship by beating the New York Giants 26-7.
1940 – The Longines Watch Company signed the first FM radio advertising contract with experimental station W2XOR in New York, NY.
1960 – Sperry Rand Corporation unveiled a new computer known as “Univac 1107.”
1962 – The Petrified Forest National Park was established in Arizona.
1965 – The first Peanuts TV special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, aired for the first time on CBS. It was the first television special based on the “Peanuts” comic strip.
1965 – A fireball was seen from Michigan to Pennsylvania. Witnesses reported something crashing in the woods near Pittsburgh, PA. In 2005 NASA admitted that they examined the object.
1968 – Douglas Engelbart debuted the computer mouse, hypertext, and the bit-mapped graphical user interface using the oN-Line System (NLS).
1972 – The #1 song in the United States was “I Am Woman“, by Helen Reddy.
1975 – President Gerald R. Ford signed a $2.3 billion seasonal loan authorization to prevent New York, NY, from having to default.
1978 – The first game of the Women’s Pro Basketball League was played between the Chicago Hustle and the Milwaukee Does.
1979 – The eradication of the smallpox virus was certified, making smallpox the first and to date only human disease driven to extinction.
1983 – The movie “Scarface”, starring Al Pacino, debuted in theaters.
1984 – The Jacksons played their last show together in Los Angeles, CA.
1988 – The movie “Twins”, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, premiered in theaters.
1990 – The first American hostages to be released by Iran began arriving in back in the United States.
1992 – Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation.
1993 – The U.S. Air Force destroyed the first of 500 Minuteman II missile silos that were marked for elimination under an arms control treaty.
1993 – Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor completed repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope.
1994 – President Bill Clinton fired Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders after learning she has told a conference that masturbation should be discussed in school as part of human sexuality.
2002 – United Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after losing $4 billion in the previous two years. It was the sixth largest bankruptcy filing.
2005 – The movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, based on a series of novels by C. S. Lewis, premiered in theaters.
2008 – The Governor of Illinois, Rob Blagojevich, was arrested by federal officials for crimes including attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barak Obama’s being elected President.
2008 – NBC announced that Jay Leno would stay with the network, to host a weekday prime time show in 2009.
2013 – AMR Corporation and US Airways Group completed a merger to become the American Airlines Group, Inc.
BIRTHDAYS:
Dame Judi Dench – 89 years old (1934) – Actress (“Mrs. Brown”, “Shakespeare in Love”, “Philomena”, “Notes on a Scandal”, “Mrs. Henderson Presents”, “Iris and Chocolat”, James Bond films)
Beau Bridges – 82 years old (1941) – Actor (“The Descendants”, “Max Payne”, “The Fabulous Baker Boys”, “Heart Like a Wheel”, “Norma Rae”, TV’s “The Millers”, “Stargate SG1”, “The Agency”, “Ensign O’Toole”)
Michael Nouri – 78 years old (1945) – Actor (“Flashdance”, TV’s “NCIS”)
Michael Dorn – 71 years old (1952) – Actor (“Star Trek” movies, “Shadow Hours”, “Lessons for an Assassin”, “Santa Clause” movies)
John Malkovich – 70 years old (1953) – Actor (“Places in the Heart”, “In the Line of Fire”, “Burn After Reading”, Changeling”, “Ripley’s Game”, “Being John Malkovich”, “Con Air”, “Dangerous Liaisons”, “The Sheltering Sky”, “Empire of the Sun”, “The Killing Fields”)
Donny Osmond – 66 years old (1957) – Singer, TV personality (The Osmonds, “Donny & Marie”)
Mario Cantone – 64 years old (1959) – Actor, Comedian (TV’s “Chappelle’s Show”, “Sex and the City”)
Joe Lando – 62 years old (1961) – Actor (TV’s “One Life to Live”, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”)
Felicity Huffman – 61 years old (1962) – Actress (TV’s “Desperate Housewives”, movie “Transamerica”)
Brian Bell – 55 years old (1968) – Rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist, occasional lead vocalist (Weezer)
Allison Smith – 54 years old (1969) – Actress (TV’s “The West Wing”, “Kate & Allie”)
Kara DioGuardi – 53 years old (1970) – Record executive, TV personality (TV’s “American Idol”)
Tré Cool – 51 years old (1972) – Drummer (Green Day)
Jesse Metcalfe – 45 years old (1978) – Actor (“John Tucker Must Die”, TV’s “Chase”, “Desperate Housewives”, “Dallas”)
Simon Helberg – 43 years old (1980) – Actor (Plays Howard on TV’s “The Big Bang Theory”)
TODAY IS:
International Anti-Corruption Day
International Day of Veterinary Medicine
For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
