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:
1714 – The typewriter was patented.
1782 – The Bank of North America opened in Philadelphia, PA. It was the first commercial bank in the United States.
1789 – Americans voted for the electors that would choose George Washington to be the first President of the United States.
1887 – The Grand Rapids Hand Screw Company was incorporated. They manufactured wood clamps for the furniture industry.
1887 – Thomas Stevens completed the first worldwide bicycle trip. He started his trip in April 1884. Stevens and his bike traveled 13,500 miles. It took him almost 3 years.
1894 – W.K. Dickson received a patent for motion picture film.
1904 – The distress signal “CQD” was established. Two years later “SOS” became the radio distress signal because it was quicker to send by wireless radio.
1926 – George Burns and Gracie Allen were married.
1927 – Transatlantic telephone service began between New York, NY and London, England, with 31 calls made the first day.
1927 – The Harlem Globetrotters played their first game, in Hinkley, IL.
1929 – The comic strip “Buck Rogers 2429 A.D.” debuted in newspapers around the U.S. The title was later changed to “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.”
1949 – The announcement of the first photograph of genes was shown at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA.
1950 – Chevrolet introduced its first automatic transmission – the “Powerglyde”. They sold 300,000 the first year.
1953 – President Harry Truman announced the development of the hydrogen bomb.
1954 – The Duoscopic TV receiver was unveiled. The TV set allowed the watching of two different shows at the same time.
1965 – On the television show “My Three Sons”, William Frawley made his last appearance as “Bub”, Fred MacMurray’s father-in-law and grandfather-housekeeper-nanny for the boys. The 78 year old Frawley was ailing and was written out of the show. The next week, “Charlie” (played by William Demarest) arrived to step into his shoes.
1968 – The cost of a first class stamp was raised to 6 cents.
1968 – Surveyor 7, the last spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, FL.
1970 – Max Yasgur was sued for $35,000 in property damages by neighboring farmers. It was Yasgur’s property on which the August 1969 Woodstock Festival was held.
1980 – President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that authorized $1.5 billion in loans for the bailout of the Chrysler Corporation.
1982 – The TV show “Fame” premiered on NBC with Debbie Allen in an expanded role from the 1980 film it was based on.
1990 – The Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed to the public. The accelerated rate of “leaning” raised fears for the safety of its visitors.
1998 – Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky signed an affidavit denying that she had an affair with President Bill Clinton.
1999 – President Bill Clinton went on trial before the Senate. It was only the second time in U.S. history that an impeached President had gone to trial. Clinton was later acquitted of perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
2002 – Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates introduced a new device code named Mira. The device was tablet-like and was a cross between a handheld computer and a TV remote control.
2023 – The longest U.S. House of Representatives speaker election since the December 1859-February 1860 U.S. speaker election concluded and Kevin McCarthy was elected 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
2025 – A series of wildfires ravaged the Greater Los Angeles area, resulting in at least 16 deaths and 13,401 structures destroyed.
BIRTHDAYS:
Terry Moore – 97 years old (1929) – Actress
Lou Graham – 88 years old (1938) – Golfer
Jann Wenner – 80 years old (1946) – Publisher, co-founded Rolling Stone
Kenny Loggins – 78 years old (1948) – Singer-songwriter
Erin Gray – 76 years old (1950) – Actress and model
Robert Longo – 73 years old (1953) – Painter and sculptor
David Caruso – 70 years old (1956) – Actor
Nicholson Baker – 69 years old (1957) – Novelist and essayist
Katie Couric – 69 years old (1957) – Television journalist, anchor, and author
Kathy Valentine – 67 years old (1959) – Bass player and songwriter
David Marciano – 66 years old (1960) – Actor
Loretta Sanchez – 66 years old (1960) – Politician
John Thune – 65 years old (1961) – Lawyer and politician
Ron Rivera – 64 years old (1962) – Football player and coach
Hallie Todd – 64 years old (1962) – Actress
Rand Paul – 63 years old (1963) – Politician and physician
Nicolas Cage – 62 years old (1964) – Actor
Five for Fighting – 61 years old (1965) – Singer-songwriter and pianist
Rex Lee – 57 years old (1969) – Actor
Doug E. Doug – 56 years old (1970) – Actor
Kevin Rahm – 55 years old (1971) – Actor
Jeremy Renner – 55 years old (1971) – Actor
Donald Brashear – 54 years old (1972) – American-Canadian ice hockey player and mixed martial artist
Reggie Austin – 47 years old (1979) – Actor
Aloe Blacc – 47 years old (1979) – Musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, businessman and philanthropist
Marquis Daniels – 45 years old (1981) – Basketball player
Lauren Cohan – 44 years old (1982) – American-English actress
Brett Dalton – 43 years old (1983) – Actor
Cappie Pondexter – 43 years old (1983) – Basketball player
Robert Ri'chard – 43 years old (1983) – Actor
Jon Lester – 42 years old (1984) – Baseball player
Lyndsy Fonseca – 39 years old (1987) – Actress
Haley Bennett – 38 years old (1988) – Actress and singer
Liam Aiken – 36 years old (1990) – Actor
Camryn Grimes – 36 years old (1990) – Actress
Tucker Barnhart – 35 years old (1991) – Baseball player
Jarnell Stokes – 32 years old (1994) – Basketball player
Jordan Bell – 31 years old (1995) – Basketball player
Alex Nedeljkovic – 30 years old (1996) – Ice hockey player
Lamar Jackson – 29 years old (1997) – Football player
Marcus Scribner – 26 years old (2000) – Actor
Ryan Dunn – 23 years old (2003) – Basketball player
Sofia Wylie – 22 years old (2004) – Actress, singer, and dancer
Blue Ivy Carter – 14 years old (2012) – Singer and actress
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.
