January 19

Scott Winters, Realtor

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:

1825 – Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett of New York City patented a canning process to preserve salmon, oysters and lobsters.

1841 – The State of Michigan’s first farm magazine, the “Western Farmer”, was published. The first issue had 8 pages and 100 readers.

1861 – Georgia joined South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in seceding from the United States.

1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, began operation in Roselle, NJ.

1907 – The first film reviews appeared in “Variety” magazine.

1915 – George Claude, of Paris, France, patented the neon discharge tube for use in advertising signs.

1935 – Coopers Inc. began selling the world’s first briefs.

1937 – Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record. He flew from Los Angeles, CA, to New York, NY, in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

1949 – The salary of the President of the United States was increased from $75,000 to $100,000 with an additional $50,000 expense allowance for each year in office.

1952 – The National Football League (NFL) bought the franchise of the New York Yankees from Ted Collins. The franchise was then awarded to a group in Dallas on January 24.

1953 – 71.7 percent of all televisions in the U.S. were tuned into CBS, as Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball), of “I Love Lucy,” delivered a baby boy.

1955 – President Dwight Eisenhower allowed a filmed news conference to be used on television (and in movie newsreels) for the first time.

1957 – Philadelphia comedian, Ernie Kovacs, did a half-hour TV show without saying a single word of dialogue.

1963 – The Bluegrass duo Flatt and Scruggs topped Billboard’s country chart with “The Ballad of Jed Clampett,” the theme song from “The Beverly Hillbillies”.

1977 – Snow fell in Miami, FL. This was the only time in the history of the city that snow had fallen. It also fell in the Bahamas.

1977 – President Gerald Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D’Aquino (the “Tokyo Rose”).

1978 – The last Volkswagon Beetle made in Germany leaves the VW plan in Emden. Beetle production continued in Latin America until 2003.

1979 – Former U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell was released on parole after serving 19 months at a federal prison in Alabama.

1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, was announced.

1986 – The first IBM PC computer virus was released.

1988 – The CBS documentary/news magazine television show “48 Hours” debuted.

1989 – Michigan Governor James Blanchard banned corporal punishment in public schools

1990 – The movie “Tremors”, starring Kevin Bacon, made its premiere in theaters.

1993 – IBM announced a loss of $4.97 billion for 1992. It was the largest single-year loss in U.S. corporate history.

1994 – The Animals, The Band, Duane Eddy, The Grateful Dead, Elton John, John Lennon, Bob Marley and Rod Stewart are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1996 – First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury looking into the Whitewater real estate investment venture.

1997 – The cooking TV show “Emeril Live” debuted on the Food Network.

1999 – The Supreme Court refused to hear a 1998 lawsuit brought by ticket buyers against TicketMaster, claiming that the firm engaged in anti-competitive behavior and price-fixing with promoters.

1999 – RIM released their first Blackberry. It was a two-way pager that could receive email. It was named after it’s keyboard’s likeness to the fruit.

2000 – In New York’s Time Square, the first WWF restaurant opened.

2006 – The New Horizons probe was launched by NASA on the first mission to investigate Pluto.

2011 – Jennifer Lopez made her debut as a judge on TV’s “American Idol”. She joined fellow newcomer Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and holdover Randy Jackson.

2013 – In Scottsdale, AZ, the original Batmobile for the TV series “Batman” sold at auction for $4.6 million. It was the first of six Batmobiles produced for the show.

 

BIRTHDAYS:

Tippi Hedren – 94 years old (1930) – Actress (“The Birds”, “Marnie”)

Robert MacNeil – 93 years old (1931) – Television anchor (PBS’ “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report”)

Richard Lester – 92 years old (1932) – TV and movie director (“A Hard Day’s Night”, “Help!”, “Superman” II and III, “The Three Musketeers”)

Michael Crawford – 82 years old (1942) – Actor (“The Phantom of the Opera”)

Shelley Fabares – 80 years old (1944) – Actress, singer (TV’s “The Donna Reed Show”, movies “Girl Happy”, “Spinout”, “Clambake”, “Brian’s Song”)

Laurie London – 80 years old (1944) – Singer (“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”)

Dolly Parton – 78 years old (1946) – Singer, actress (“Joyful Noise”, “Steel Magnolias”, “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”, “9 to 5”)

Ann Compton – 77 years old (1947) – News reporter

Paula Deen – 77 years old (1947) – Restaurant owner, celebrity chef and TV cooking show host

Dewey Bunnell – 72 years old (1952) – Singer, guitarist (America)

Desi Arnaz Jr. – 71 years old (1953) – Actor (Born the same night as “Lucy Ricardo” delivered her child on TV. TV’s “Here’s Lucy”)

Katy Sagal – 70 years old (1954) – Actress (TV’s “Married With Children”, “Eight Simple Rules”, “Lost”, “Sons of Anarchy”)

Al Joyner – 64 years old (1960) – Olympic gold medalist in 1984 in the triple jump

Paul McCrane – 63 years old (1961) – Actor (“Fame”, “RoboCop”, TV’s “ER”)

William Ragsdale – 63 years old (1961) – Actor (“Fright Night”, TV’s “Herman’s Head”)

Shawn Wayans – 53 years old (1971) – Actor (“White Chicks”, “Scary Movie”, “Scary Movie 2”, “Don’t Be a Menace”, TV’s “The Wayans Brothers”, “In Living Color”)

Drea de Matteo – 52 years old (1972) – Actress (TV’s “Desperate Housewives”, “Joey”, “The Sopranos”)

Frank Caliendo – 50 years old (1974) – Comedian (TV’s “Mad TV”, “Frank TV”, “Fox NFL Sunday”)

Bitsie Tulloch – 43 years old (1981) – Actress (TV’s “Grimm”, movie “The Artist”)

Jodie Sweetin – 42 years old (1982) – Actress (TV’s “Full House”, “Fuller House”)

Logan Lerman – 32 years old (1992) – Actor (“Perks of Being a Wallflower”, “The Three Musketeers”, “The Number 23″, 3:10 to Yuma”)

 

TODAY IS:

Artist as Outlaw Day

Brew a Potion Day

Get to Know Your Customers Day

Good Memory Day

National Popcorn Day

National Tin Can Day

Women’s Healthy Weight Day

World Quark Day

 

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.

My goal is to keep you informed and/or entertained on a regular basis. Maybe you'll learn something new, or just get that much needed laugh. My topics will include a wide range of subjects....from what's going on in the world, to places I've been, things I've seen, or even just a fun video that I've found online. Check back often to see what I've posted.

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