That's Historical!
Each week we will discuss interesting facts in our history that occurred the same day we are on the air. Celebrity birthdays, crazy inventions or American history are but a glimpse of what this segment will reveal.
JANUARY 4, 2003
Birthdays...
1809 Louis Braille Coupvray France, developer (reading system for blind)
1813 Sir Isaac Pitman inventor (shorthand)
1947 J Danforth Quayle (Senator-R-IN, 44th Vice President 1989-1993)
1957 Patty Loveless [Ramey], Pikeville KY, singer (Blue Side of Town)
1960 Michael Stipe US rock vocalist (REM-Losing My Religion, Stand)
1966 Deana Carter country singer (Strawberry Wine)
On this day...
1863 4 wheeled roller skates patented by James Plimpton of NY
1885 Dr W W Grant of Iowa, performs 1st appendectomy (on Mary Gartside, 22)
1887
Thomas Stevens is 1st man to bicycle around the world (San Francisco-San
Francisco); 21,700km
1893 US President Harrison grants amnesty to Mormon polygamy
1896 Following Mormon abandonment of polygamy, Utah admitted as 45th state
1904 Supreme Court rules Puerto Ricans cannot be denied admission to US
1936 Billboard magazine publishes its 1st music hit parade
1954 Elvis Presley records a 10 minute demo in Nashville
1961 Longest recorded strike ends-33 years-Danish barbers' assistants
1968 Leo Fender sells Fender Guitars for $13 million
JANUARY 18, 2003
Birthdays...
1779 Peter Roget thesaurus fame/inventor (slide rule, pocket chessboard)
1782 Daniel Webster Salisbury NH, orator/politician/lawyer
1813 Joseph Farwell Glidden inventor (1st commercial usable barbed wire)
1882 Alan Alexander Milne English author (Winnie-the-Pooh)
1892 Oliver Hardy Harlem GA, comedy team member (Laurel & Hardy)
1904 Cary Grant England, actor (Arsenic & Old Lace, North by Northwest)
1933 Ray Dolby sound expert/inventor (Dolby noise limiting system)
1941 Tom Bailey rock vocalist (Thompson Twins-Doctor Doctor)
1950 John Hughes director (Breakfast Club, 16 Candles, Weird Science)
1955 Kevin Costner Los Angeles CA, actor (Fandango, Silverado, Bull Durham)
1956 Mark Collie Waynesboro TN, country singer (Another Old Soldier)
On this day...
1644 Perplexed Pilgrims in Boston reported America's 1st UFO sighting
1733 1st polar bear exhibited in America (Boston)
1896 1st demonstration of an x-ray machine in the US, New York City NY
1911 1st shipboard landing of a plane (Tanforan Park to USS Pennsylvania)
1943 Presliced bread sale banned to reduce bakery demand for metal parts
1951 1st use of lie detector in Netherlands
1964 Beatles 1st appearance in Billboard Chart (I Want to Hold Your Hand-#35)
1964 Plans for the World Trade Center announced (New York City NY)
1974 "The $6 Million Man" starring Lee Majors premieres on ABC TV
1975 "The Jeffersons" spin-off from "All in the Family" premieres on CBS
1980
Pink Floyd's "The Wall" hits #1
1980 Studio 54 owners Steve Rubell & Ian Schrager sentenced to 3½
years in prison for tax evasion & fined $20,000
1996
Baseball owners unanimously approve interleague play in 1997
1996 Lisa Marie Presley filed for divorce from Michael Jackson in
NY
JANUARY 25, 2003
1741 Benedict Arnold General /traitor (US revolution)
1973 Elvis Presley Jr alleged son of Elvis Presley
1947 Al Capone Chicago gangster, dies of syphilis at 48
1858 Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" 1st played, at wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Victoria, to crown prince of Prussia
1870 Soda fountain patented by Gustavus Dows
1915 Transcontinental telephone service inaugurated (New York to San Francisco
1945 Grand Rapids MI becomes 1st US city to fluoridate its water
1945 Dan Topping, Del Webb & Larry MacPhail purchase New York Yankees for $2.8 million
1950 73ºF (23ºC) highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in January
1951 First Tape-Recorded News Conference On this day in 1951, President Harry S. Truman gave the first tape-recorded presidential press conference at the White House.
1959 1st transcontinental commercial jet flight (American) (Los Angeles to New York for $301)
1961 1st live, nationally televised Presidential news conference (JFK)
1961 Walt Disney's "101 Dalmations" released
1961
Military coup in El Salvador
1964 Beatles 1st US #1, "I Want to Hold your Hand" (Cashbox)
1970 Robert Altman's "M*AS*H" premieres
1971 Charles Manson & 3 women followers convicted of Tate-LaBianca murders
1980 Paul McCartney is released from Tokyo jail & deported
1981 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived back in US
1985 "We are the World" is recorded
1988 George Harrison releases "When We Was Fab"
1989 Yank owner George Steinbrenner meets with Pope John Paul II
1993 Puerto Rico adds English as its 2nd official language
1994 Accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, Michael Jackson settles a civil lawsuit out of court
FEBRUARY 1, 2003
1901 Clark Gable Cadiz OH, actor (Gone With the Wind)
1937 Don Everly Brownie KY, singer (Everly Brothers-Wake Up Little Susie)
1938 Sherman Hemsley Philadelphia PA, actor (All in the Family, Jeffersons, Amen)
1952 Rick James [James Johnson], rock/soul/funk vocalist (Super Freak)
1967 Laura E Dern Los Angeles CA, actress (Blue Velvet, Mask, Smooth Talk)
1968 Lisa Marie Presley Keough Jackson Memphis TN, (Elvis' daughter)
1971 Pauley Shore Hollywood, comedian (Totally Pauly, Encino Man)
1991 James G MacDonald cartoon voice (Mickey Mouse), dies at 84
1788 1st US steamboat patent issued, by Georgia to Briggs & Longstreet
1790 Supreme Court convenes for the 1st time (New York NY)
1893 Thomas Edison completes worlds 1st movie studio (West Orange NJ)
1898 1st auto insurance policy in US issued, by Travelers Insurance Company Just two years after Henry Ford unveiled his four horsepower automobile, the Travelers Insurance Company sold the first auto insurance policy. The Hartford, CT-based insurance concern issued the policy to Dr. Truman Martin of Buffalo, NY, who paid $11.25 for $5,000 worth of liability coverage.
1906 1st federal penitentiary building completed, Leavenworth KS
1920 1st commercial armored car introduced (St Paul MN)
1949 RCA releases 1st single record ever (45 rpm)
1954 1st TV soap opera "Secret Storm" premieres
1958 1st US satellite (Explorer I) launched
1958 Elvis' last recording session before enlisting Elvis Presley records his last single, "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck," before joining the army. Elvis had topped the charts eight times since April 1956, when "Heartbreak Hotel" hit No. 1. Drafted in 1958, Elvis enlisted in the army in March that year and served until 1960. When he joined the army, his monthly salary dropped from $100,000 to $78. Fortunately, his manager had already recorded enough material to keep Elvis singles on the charts during most of The King's army service.
1965 Peter Jennings, 26, becomes anchor of ABC's nightly news
1972 1st scientific hand-held calculator (HP-35) introduced ($395)
1977 Hillsdale High School defeats Person High School 2-0 in basketball
1981 French government accord sends 60 Mirage fighter jets to Iraq
1982 "Late Night With David Letterman" debuts on NBC-TV
1793 France declares war on England & Netherlands
1861 Dike breaks in Gelderland Netherlands
1953 Flooding in Netherlands, kills 1,835
1984 China & Netherlands regain diplomatic relations
1810 1st insurance company managed by blacks (American Insurance Company of Philadelphia)
1865 13th amendment approved (Abolishment of slavery). (National Freedom Day)
1865 JS Rock, 1st black lawyer to practice in Supreme Court, admitted to bar
1871 Jefferson Long of Georgia is 1st black to make an official speech in House of Representatives
1957 1st black pilot (PH Young) on a US scheduled passenger airline
1960 4 students stage 1st civil rights sit-in, at Greensboro NC Woolworth
1965 Martin Luther King Jr & 700 demonstrators arrested in Selma AL
1978 Harriet Tubman is 1st black woman honored on a US postage stamp
FEBRUARY 8, 2003
1925 Jack Lemmon Boston MA, actor (Days of Wine & Roses, Missing)
1931 James Dean Marion IN, stage/film actor (Giant, Rebel Without a Cause)
1940 Nick Nolte Omaha NB, actor (Under Fire, Lorenzo's Oil, Teachers, 48 Hours, North Dallas 40)
1940 Ted Koppel Lancashire England, newscaster (ABC Nightline)
1948 Dan Seals McCamey TX,
1955 John Grisham writer (Client, Firm, Pelican Brief)
1961 Vince Neil [Wharton] California, rock vocalist (Mötley Crüe-Girls Girls Girls)
1994 Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee charge with possession of loaded firearm
1994 Jack Nicholson uses a golf club to attack a car
1966 Gary Coleman Zion IL, actor (Arnold-Diff'rent Strokes)
1924 Gee John US mobster (1st executed in gas chamber-Nevada), dies
1526 Heavy storm strikes Dutch coast, many die
1889 Flood ravages Dutch coast
1693
William & Mary college is 2nd college chartered in US
1735 1st opera in US, "Flora", opens in Charleston SC
1883 Louis Waterman begins experiments to invent the fountain pen
1910 Boy Scouts of America incorporated & chartered (William D Boyce-Chicago)
1928 Scottish inventor J Blaird demonstrates color-TV
1935 1st NFL draft; Jay Berwanger of University of Chicago is 1st pick (by Eagles); He never plays in the NFL
1962 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1963 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1967 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1979 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1974
Soap opera "The Secret Storm" ends a 20 year run
1974 "Good Times" debuts on CBS TV
1986 5' 7" Spud Webb of Atlanta Hawks wins NBA Slam Dunk Competition
1992 "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred peaks at #1
China : Chinese New Year-The Year of the Ox (1997/4695)