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:
1690 – The colony of Massachusetts issued the first paper money in America. The currency was used to pay soldiers that were fighting in the war against Quebec.
1809 – The territory of Illinois was created by the 10th United States Congress.
1815 – The world’s first commercial cheese factory was established in Switzerland.
1838 – The Michigan Central Railroad began service. It took V.I.P.’s from Detroit to Ypsilanti. The cars and engine were hauled back to Detroit by horses after the engine broke down.
1862 – Thomas Edison printed the “Weekly Herald” and distributed it to train passengers traveling between Port Huron and Detroit, MI. It was the first time a newspaper had been printed on a train.
1870 – The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing voting rights to citizens regardless of race.
1913 – The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. It authorized the power to impose and collect a federal income tax.
1927 – The Federal Radio Commission is created by President Calvin Coolidge.
1956 – Highway speed limits of 65 mph during the day and 55 mph at night went into effect in Michigan. Prior to this time, motorists could determine their own speed that they felt was safe and reasonable.
1959 – Musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, and pilot Roger Peterson died when their plane crashed near Clear Lake, IA.
1977 – The airing of the eighth and final night of the television mini-series based on Alex Haley’s “Roots” scored the highest ratings ever for a single TV program.
1983 – The Sony and Philips corporations announce the development of the compact disc.
1984 – John Buster and the research team at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center announced the first embryo transfer, from one woman to another resulting in a live birth.
1984 – Challenger 4 was launched as the tenth Space Shuttle mission (STS-41-B).
1993 – Gloria Estefan received the 1,974th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1995 – Astronaut Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle as mission STS-63 got underway from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
1998 – Novelist Tom Clancy was one of the investors who agreed to buy the Minnesota Vikings for more than $200 million, which was a record price for an NFL team.
2004 – Traces of the poison Ricin were found in Senate majority leader Bill Frist’s office.
2009 – Eric Holder was sworn in as attorney general. He was the first African-American to hold the post.
2015 – The British House of Commons voted to approve letting scientist create babies from the DNA of three people.
2019 – Tom Brady and the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta, GA. It was the Pat’s sixth championship.
2020 – The United States declared a Public Health Emergency due to COVID-19.
2023 – A freight train containing vinyl chloride and other hazardous materials derails and burns in East Palestine, OH, releasing hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air and contaminating the Ohio River.
BIRTHDAYS:
Fran Tarkenton – 86 years old (1940) – Football player and sportscaster
Dory Funk – 85 years old (1941) – Jr. , American wrestler and trainer
Blythe Danner – 83 years old (1943) – Actress
Bob Griese – 81 years old (1945) – Football player and sportscaster
Morgan Fairchild – 76 years old (1950) – Actress
Nathan Lane – 70 years old (1956) – Actor and comedian
Lee Ranaldo – 70 years old (1956) – Musician and songwriter
Eric Lander – 69 years old (1957) – Mathematician, geneticist, and academic
Joe F. Edwards – 68 years old (1958) – Jr. , American commander, pilot, and astronaut
Greg Mankiw – 68 years old (1958) – Economist and academic
Thomas Calabro – 67 years old (1959) – Actor
Marty Jannetty – 66 years old (1960) – Wrestler
Michele Greene – 64 years old (1962) – Actress, singer, and author
Maura Tierney – 61 years old (1965) – Actress and producer
Vlade Divac – 58 years old (1968) – Serbian-American basketball player and sportscaster
Elisa Donovan – 55 years old (1971) – Actress
Ayanna Pressley – 52 years old (1974) – Politician
Tim Heidecker – 50 years old (1976) – Actor, comedian, and musician
Maitland Ward – 49 years old (1977) – Actress and model
Becky Bayless – 44 years old (1982) – Wrestler
Bridget Regan – 44 years old (1982) – Actress
Elizabeth Holmes – 42 years old (1984) – Fraudster, founder of Theranos
Matthew Moy – 42 years old (1984) – Actor
Sean Kingston – 36 years old (1990) – American-Jamaican singer-songwriter
James White – 34 years old (1992) – Football player
Tyler Huntley – 28 years old (1998) – Football player
Isaiah Roby – 28 years old (1998) – Basketball player
Tre Mann – 25 years old (2001) – Basketball player
Scoot Henderson – 22 years old (2004) – Basketball player
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.
