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:
1807 – Former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr was arrested in Wakefield, AL. He was later tried and acquitted on charges of treason.
1846 – The formal transfer of government between Texas and the United States took place. Texas had officially become a state on December 29, 1845.
1856 – Professor Hamilton L. Smith patented the tintype camera.
1859 – Daniel E. Sickles, a New York Congressman, was acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity. It was the first time this defense was successfully used in the United States.
1875 – The first ice cream soda was reportedly created by a Detroit druggist named Fred Sanders. He added ice cream to a flavored carbonated beverage to create the popular treat.
1878 – Thomas Edison patented a music player he called the phonograph.
1881 – Kansas became the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
1912 – Cracker Jack began putting surprise prizes in every box.
1945 – During World War II, about 30,000 U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima.
1968 – Fred Rogers first invited a national television audience into his neighborhood when “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” debuted on TV.
1972 – Sammy Davis Jr. made his legendary guest appearance on TV’s “All in the Family”, where he left his briefcase in a cab driven by Archie Bunker.
1981 – The Ford Motor Company announced its loss of $1.5 billion.
1985 – Mickey Mouse was welcomed to China as part of the 30th anniversary of Disneyland. The touring mouse played 30 cities in 30 days.
1985 – William Schroeder became the first artificial-heart patient to leave the confines of the hospital.
1985 – Cherry Coke was introduced by the Coca-Cola Company.
1986 – The Soviet Union launched the Mir space station.
1987 – A controversial, anti-smoking public service announcement aired for the first time on television. Yul Brynner made it clear in the ad that he would have died from cigarette smoking before ad aired. He filmed the ad shortly before dying of lung cancer.
1997 – Miles Davis received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1999 – The movie “Office Space” premiered in theaters.
1999 – Dennis Franz received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2001 – President George Bush dedicated the Oklahoma City Museum, which displays mementos from the Timothy McVeigh terrorist bomb explosion of April 19th, 1995.
2002 – NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft began using its thermal emission imaging system to map Mars.
2004 – Former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was charged with fraud, insider trading and other crimes in connection with the energy trader’s collapse. Skilling was later convicted and sentenced to more than 24 years in prison.
2005 – The USS Jimmy Carter was commissioned at Groton, CT. It was the last of the Seawolf class of attack submarines.
2008 – Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency. His brother Raul was later named as his successor.
2010 – Tiger Woods delivers a televised speech from the PGA Tour’s Florida headquarters admitting he’d been unfaithful to wife Elin Nordegren.
BIRTHDAYS:
Joseph P. Kerwin – 94 years old (1932) – Captain, physician, and astronaut
Frederick Seidel – 90 years old (1936) – Poet
Smokey Robinson – 86 years old (1940) – Singer-songwriter and producer
David Gross – 85 years old (1941) – Physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Paul Krause – 84 years old (1942) – Football player and politician
Homer Hickam – 83 years old (1943) – Author and engineer
Les Hinton – 82 years old (1944) – English-American journalist and businessman
Mark Andes – 78 years old (1948) – Singer-songwriter and bass player
William Messner-Loebs – 77 years old (1949) – Author and illustrator
Amy Tan – 74 years old (1952) – Novelist, essayist, and short story writer
Michael Gira – 72 years old (1954) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Jeff Daniels – 71 years old (1955) – Actor and playwright
Peter Holsapple – 70 years old (1956) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Roderick MacKinnon – 70 years old (1956) – Biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Dave Stewart – 69 years old (1957) – Baseball player, coach, and executive
Leslie David Baker – 68 years old (1958) – Actor
Roger Goodell – 67 years old (1959) – Businessman, 6th National Football League Commissioner
Jessica Tuck – 63 years old (1963) – Actress
Doug Aldrich – 62 years old (1964) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Jennifer Doudna – 62 years old (1964) – Biochemist
Jonathan Lethem – 62 years old (1964) – Novelist, essayist, and short story writer
Jon Fishman – 61 years old (1965) – Drummer
Clark Hunt – 61 years old (1965) – Businessman
Leroy – 61 years old (1965) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Justine Bateman – 60 years old (1966) – Actress and producer
Burton C. Bell – 57 years old (1969) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Bellamy Young – 56 years old (1970) – Actress
Jeff Kinney – 55 years old (1971) – Author and illustrator
Francine Fournier – 54 years old (1972) – Wrestler and manager
Sunset Thomas – 54 years old (1972) – Pornographic actress
Eric Lange – 53 years old (1973) – Actor
Daewon Song – 51 years old (1975) – South Korean-American skateboarder, co-founded Almost Skateboards
Andrew Ross Sorkin – 49 years old (1977) – Journalist and author
Immortal Technique – 48 years old (1978) – Peruvian-American rapper
Steve Cherundolo – 47 years old (1979) – Soccer player and manager
Dwight Freeney – 46 years old (1980) – Football player
Mike Miller – 46 years old (1980) – Basketball player
Beth Ditto – 45 years old (1981) – Singer
Ryan Whitney – 43 years old (1983) – Ice hockey player
Jawad Williams – 43 years old (1983) – Basketball player
Chris Richardson – 42 years old (1984) – Singer-songwriter
Haylie Duff – 41 years old (1985) – Actress and singer
Arielle Kebbel – 41 years old (1985) – Actress and model
Josh Reddick – 39 years old (1987) – Baseball player
Seth Morrison – 38 years old (1988) – Guitarist
Trevor Bayne – 35 years old (1991) – Race car driver
Camille Kostek – 34 years old (1992) – Model
Cody Parkey – 34 years old (1992) – Football player
Victoria Justice – 33 years old (1993) – Actress and singer
D. J. Wilson – 30 years old (1996) – Basketball player
Chappell Roan – 28 years old (1998) – Singer and songwriter
David Mazouz – 25 years old (2001) – Actor
TODAY IS:
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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.
