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:
1813 – The first U.S. raw cotton-to-cloth mill was founded in Waltham, MA.
1836 – In San Antonio, TX, the siege of the Alamo began.
1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington, DC to take his office after an assassination attempt in Baltimore, MD.
1861 – Texas became the 7th state to secede from the Union.
1870 – The state of Mississippi was readmitted to the Union.
1882 – Village of St. Ignace, MI was incorporated. It is Michigan’s second oldest continuous settlement.
1883 – Alabama became the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law.
1886 – Charles M. Hall invented aluminum.
1896 – Leo Hirshfield introduced the Tootsie Roll.
1904 – The United States acquired control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million.
1905 – The Rotary Club (the world’s first service club) was founded in Chicago, IL, by Attorney Paul Harris and three others.
1910 – In Philadelphia, PA, the first radio contest was held.
1915 – Nevada began enforcing convenient divorce law.
1927 – President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission which began assigning frequencies, hours of operation and power allocations for radio broadcasters. On July 1, 1934 the name was changed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
1940 – Walt Disney’s animated movie “Pinocchio” was released.
1941 – Plutonium was first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
1945 – The 28th Regiment of the Fifth Marine Division of the U.S. Marines reached the top of Mount Surabachi. A photograph of these Marines raising the American flag was taken.
1954 – The first mass vaccination of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh, PA.
1963 – The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. It prohibited poll taxes in Federal elections.
1964 – The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the third consecutive week. The segment was taped on the afternoon of February 9th. They performed “Twist and Shout,” “Please Please Me” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
1968 – Wilt Chamberlain, of the Philadelphia 76ers, became the first player to score 25,000 career points in the NBA.
1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army demanded $4 million more for the release of Patty Hearst. Hearst was kidnapped on February 4th.
1980 – Eric Heiden won all five speed skating gold medals at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics.
1985 – The TV show “Gimme a Break” was broadcast live before a studio audience. It was the first TV sitcom to be seen live since the 1950’s.
1991 – President George H.W. Bush announced that the allied ground offensive against Iraqi forces had begun.
1993 – Gary Coleman won a $1,280,000 lawsuit against his parents.
1994 – The ground breaking ceremony for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV occurred.
1995 – The Dow Jones Industrial closed above 4,000 for the first time at 4,003.33.
1997 – NBC aired the movie “Schindler’s List”. It was completely uncensored.
1997 – In Scotland, scientists announced they had cloned an adult mammal — a lamb named Dolly.
2000 – Robby Knievel made a successful motorcycle jump of 200 feet over an oncoming train.
2005 – The New York, NY, city medical examiner’s office announced that it had exhausted all efforts to identify the remains of the people killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, due to the limits of DNA technology. About 1,600 people had been identified leaving more than 1,100 unidentified.
2006 – The iTunes Music Store reached 15 million videos sold.
2021 – Tiger Woods crashed his car driving south of Los Angeles, CA, injuring both his legs.
BIRTHDAYS:
Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones – 73 years old (1951) – Football player, boxer
Patricia Richardson – 73 years old (1951) – Actress (Played Jill Taylor on TV’s “Home Improvement”)
Brad Whitford – 72 years old (1952) – Guitarist (Aerosmith)
Howard Jones – 69 years old (1955) – Singer
Michael Wilton – 62 years old (1962) – Guitarist (Queensryche)
John Norum – 60 years old (1964) – Guitarist (Europe)
Kristin Davis – 59 years old (1965) – Actress (“Sex and the City”, TV’s “Melrose Place”)
Marc Price – 56 years old (1968) – Actor, comedian (Skippy on TV’s “Family Ties”)
Daymond John – 55 years old (1969) – Businessman, TV Personality (TV’s “Shark Tank”)
Aziz Ansari – 41 years old (1983)- Comedian, actor (TV’s “Parks and Recreation”, “Master of None”)
Emily Blunt – 41 years old (1983) – Actress (“The Devil Wears Prada”, “The Adjustment Bureau”, “Looper”, “The Five-Year Engagement”)
Dakota Fanning – 30 years old (1994) – Actress (“The Twilight Saga” series, “The Runaways”, “Push”, “Hounddog”, “Charlotte’s Web”, “Dreamer”, “War of the Worlds”, “The Cat in the Hat”, “Uptown Girls”)
TODAY IS:
International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day
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.
