October 6

Scott Winters October 6, 2023 1 Comment

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:

1723 – Benjamin Franklin arrived in Philadelphia at the age of 17.

1848 – The steamboat SS California left the New York Harbor to set sail for San Francisco, CA via Cape Horn. The trip took 4 months and 21 days. The steamboat arrived in San Francisco on February 28, 1849.

1866 – The Reno Brothers pulled the first train robbery in America near Seymour, IN. The got away with $10,000.

1872 – Fredrick Wurzburg opened Wurzburg Dry Goods, which later became Wurzburg’s Department Store in downtown Grand Rapids, MI.

1880 – The National League kicked the Cincinnati Reds out for selling beer.

1889 – Thomas Edison showed his first motion picture.

1927 – The first prominent “talkie” movie, “The Jazz Singer”, premiered.

1945 – Billy Sianis and his pet billy goat were ejected from Wrigley Field during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series.

1960 – The movie “Spartacus”, starring Kirk Douglas in the title role, premiered in theaters.

1961 – President John F. Kennedy urged American families to build or buy bomb shelters to protect themselves in the event of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union.

1972 – Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore was officially dedicated.

1975 – The Detroit Lions played their first Football game in their new home — the Pontiac Silverdome. (They would play their final game there on January 6, 2002.) The Silverdome was demolished in the Winter of 2017.

1979 – Pope John Paul II became the first pontiff to visit the White House.

1991 – Elizabeth Taylor married Larry Fortensky. The ceremony was held at Michael Jackson’s estate near Los Angeles, CA. It was Taylor’s 8th marriage and Fortensky’s 3rd.

1992 – Ross Perot appeared in his first paid broadcast on CBS-TV after entering the U.S. Presidential race.

1995 – 51 Pegasi was discovered to be the second major star, apart from the Sun, to have a planet orbiting around it.

1998 – Matthew Shepard, a college student in Wyoming, was beaten to death for being gay.

1998 – The band Alabama received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2004 – The Syfy network TV series “Ghost Hunters” premiered. It ran until October 26, 2016.

2007 – Jason Lewis completed the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe.

2010 – Instagram was officially launched. Two years later it was purchased by Facebook for $1 billion.

2015 – Rock Band 4 was released for Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

2018 – The United States Senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Associate Justice.

BIRTHDAYS:

Britt Ekland – 82 years old (1942) – Actress (“The Wicker Man”, “The Man With the Golden Gun”, “The Night They Raided Minsky’s”)

Thomas McClary – 75 years old (1949) – Guitarist (The Commodores)

Kevin Cronin – 73 years old (1951) – Singer, guitarist (REO Speedwagon)

David Hidalgo – 70 years old (1954) – Musician (Los Lobos)

Tony Dungy – 69 years old (1955) – NFL Coach, TV Personality (Indianapolis Colts 2002-2008, TV’s “Sunday Night Football”). Born in Jackson, MI.

Elisabeth Shue – 61 years old (1963) – Actress (“Leaving Las Vegas”, “Piranha 3D”, “Hide and Seek”, “Hollow Man”, “The Saint”, “Cocktail”, “Adventures in Babysitting”, “The Karate Kid”, “Back to the Future” 2 & 3)

Matthew Sweet – 60 years old (1964) – Musician

Amy Jo Johnson – 54 years old (1970) – Actress (“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”, “Felicity”, “The Division”, “Flashpoint”)

Jeremy Sisto – 50 years old (1974) – Actor (TV’s “Suburgatory”, “Six Feet Under”, “Law & Order”)

Olivia Thirlby – 38 years old (1986) – Actress (“Juno”, “Dredd”, “The Darkest Hour”)

Rhyon Brown – 32 years old (1992) – Actress (TV’s “Lincoln Heights”)