April 26

Scott Winters April 26, 2023 0 Comments

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:

1514 – Copernicus made his first observations of Saturn.

1607 – The British established an American colony at Cape Henry, VA. It was the first permanent English establishment in the Western Hemisphere.

1865 – Union cavalry troopers cornered and shot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, near Bowling Green, VA.

1906 – In Hawaii, motion pictures were shown for the first time.

1921 – Weather broadcasts were heard for the first time on radio in St. Louis, MO.

1931 – New York Yankee Lou Gehrig hit a home run but was called out for passing a runner.

1941 – The Chicago Cubs became the first baseball team to install an organ in their ballpark.

1962 – NASA’s Ranger 4 spacecraft crashed into the Moon.

1963 – The state of Michigan started to require seatbelts in all new vehicles.

1964 – The Boston Celtics won their sixth consecutive NBA title. They won two more before the streak came to an end.

1968 – Students seized the administration building at Ohio State University.

1975 – B.J. Thomas had the longest title of a number one song at the top of the “Billboard” popular music chart. The song was “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.”

1977 – Studio 54 opened in New York, NY.

1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performed the world’s first human open fetal surgery.

1983 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 1,200 for first time.

1991 – The TV show “Dinosaurs”, featuring a family of dinosaurs named Sinclair, debuted on ABC. It would run until its final episode on October 19, 1994.

1993 – It was announced that Conan O’Brien would succeed David Letterman as host of NBC’s “Late Night” show.

1986 – The world’s worst nuclear disaster to date occurred at the Chernobyl in the Soviet Union. Thirty-one people died in the incident and thousands more were exposed to radioactive material.

2000 – Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar purchased the NHL’s New York Islanders.

2002 – The Senate and House agreed on the Farm Bill. The measure, the cost of which topped $100 billion, increased subsidies to farmers and fund conservation programs.

2011 – The very first episode of TV’s “The Voice” aired on NBC.

2018 – Comedian/actor Bill Cosby was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. The guilty verdict came on the second day of jury deliberations in a Montgomery County, PA Courthouse. Each charge carried a potential sentence of ten years in prison.

2019 – Marvel Studios’ blockbuster film, “Avengers: Endgame”, was released. The film had a budget of $356 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever made. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing the previous box office record of “Avatar”.

BIRTHDAYS:

Bambi Linn – 97 years old (1926) – Dancer (“Oklahoma!”)

Carol Burnett – 90 years old (1933) – Actress, comedian (“Pete ‘n Tillie”, TV’s “The Carol Burnett Show”)

Duane Eddy – 85 years old (1938) – Musician

Giorgio Moroder – 83 years old (1940) – Record producer, songwriter, performer (credited with pioneering Italo disco and electronic dance music)

Claudine Clark – 82 years old (1941) – Singer (“Party Lights”)

Gary Wright – 80 years old (1943) – Singer (“Dream Weaver”)

Donna de Varona – 76 years old (1947) – Olympic medal swimmer

Boyd Matson – 76 years old (1947) – Television anchor (TV’s “National Geographic Explorer”, NBC’s “Weekend Today”)

Giancarlo Esposito – 65 years old (1958) – Actor, director (TV, “Revolution”, “Breaking Bad”, “South Beach”, “Homicide: Life on the Street”, movies “Bob Roberts”, “Do the Right Thing”, “School Daze”)

Roger Taylor – 63 years old (1960) – Drummer (Duran Duran)

Joan Chen – 62 years old (1961) – Actress (“The Last Emperor”, “Wild Side”, TV’s “Twin Peaks”)

Michael Damian – 61 years old (1962) – Actor, singer, producer (TV’s “The Young and the Restless”)

Debra Wilson – 61 years old (1962) – Comedienne (TV’s “MadTV”, “Uptown Comedy Jam”, “Scary Movie 4”, TV’s “The Proud Family”)

Jet Li – 60 years old (1963) – Actor (“Lethal Weapon 4,” “War”, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”, “Cradle 2 the Grave”, “Hero”, “Kiss of the Dragon”, “Romeo Must Die”)

Kevin James – 58 years old (1965) – Actor (“I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry”, “The Dilemma”, “Grown Ups”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, “Here Comes the Boom”, “Hitch”, TV’s “The King of Queens”)

Marianne Jean-Baptiste – 56 years old (1967) – Actress (“Without a Trace”, “Secrets & Lies”)

Shane Evans – 53 years old (1970) – Drummer (Collective Soul)

T-Boz – 53 years old (1970) – Singer, songwriter (TLC)

Stana Katic – 45 years old (1978) – Actress (TV’s “Castle”, “Absentia”)

Jordana Brewster – 43 years old (1980) – Actress (“The Fast and the Furious,” TV’s “As the World Turns”)

Marnette Patterson – 43 years old (1980) – Actress (TV’s “Something So Right”)

Channing Tatum – 43 years old (1980) – Actor (“Dear John”, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, “Public Enemies”, “Magic Mike”, “White House Down”, “The Vow”, “Step Up”, “Step Up 2: The Streets”, “She’s the Man”)

Jessica Lynch – 40 years old (1983) – U.S. Army soldier (First successfully rescued POW since the Vietnam War and the first ever of a woman)