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:
1845 – Uniform postal rates went into effect throughout the United States. The Act of Congress was passed on March 3, 1845.
1847 – In New York, NY, the U.S. Post Office issued its first adhesive stamps. The two stamps available were a 5-cent Benjamin Franklin and a 10-cent George Washington.
1862 – Congress established the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
1863 – During the U.S. Civil War, the first day’s fighting at Gettysburg began.
1870 – The U.S. Department of Justice was formed.
1874 – The Philadelphia Zoological Society opened as the first zoo in the United States.
1879 – Charles Taze Russell published the first edition of the religious magazine “The Watchtower”.
1881 – The world’s first international telephone call was made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada and Calais, Maine, United States.
1893 – The first bicycle race track in America to be made out of wood was opened in San Francisco, CA.
1897 – Three years after the first issue of “Billboard Advertising” was published, the publication was renamed, “The Billboard”.
1903 – Start of the first Tour de France bicycle race.
1905 – The USDA Forest Service was created within the Department of Agriculture. The agency was given the mission to sustain healthy, diverse, and productive forests and grasslands for present and future generations.
1908 – S.O.S. was adopted as the international distress signal.
1909 – Thomas Edison began commercially manufacturing his new “A” type alkaline storage batteries.
1910 – Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker opened a machine shop in Baltimore, MD, making milk bottle cap machines. Six years later, they hit it big with the first portable electric drill.
1916 – Coca-Cola started using their distinctive contoured bottle to help set them apart from competitors.
1931 – United Airlines began service (as Boeing Air Transport).
1934 – The Federal Communications Commission replaced the Federal Radio Commission as the regulator of broadcasting in the United States.
1940 – In Washington, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was opened to traffic. The bridge collapsed during a wind storm on November 7, 1940.
1941 – NBC aired its first official TV commercial in New York, NY, accepting nine dollars from the Bulova Watch Company during a Dodgers-Phillies game.
1943 – The U.S. Government began automatically withholding federal income tax from paychecks.
1945 – New York established the New York State Commission Against Discrimination to prevent discrimination in employment because of race, creed or natural origin. It was the first such agency in the U.S.
1946 – President Harry Truman signed Public Law 476 that incorporated the Civil Air Patrol as a benevolent, nonprofit organization. The Civil Air Patrol was created on December 1, 1941.
1946 – The U.S. exploded a 20-kiloton atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
1948 – The price of a subway ride in New York City was increased from 5 cents to 10.
1951 – Bob Feller set a major league baseball record as he pitched his third no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians.
1956 – Elvis Presley appeared on “The Steve Allen Show.” He was told not to dance and Allen had him sing “Hound Dog” to a real basset hound wearing tails.
1961 – The first community air-raid shelter was built. The shelter in Boise, ID had a capacity of 1,000 people and family memberships sold for $100.
1963 – The U.S. Postmaster introduced the five-digit ZIP (Zoning Improvement Plan) code.
1966 – The Medicare federal insurance program went into effect.
1972 – The rock musical “Hair” ended its initial Broadway run after 1750 performances.
1976 – Queen Elizabeth made British born entertainer Bob Hope an honorary Commander of the British Empire.
1979 – The Susan B. Anthony dollar coin was introduced.
1979 – Sony introduced its first Walkman — a pocket size cassette player with headphones. It spawned an entire new generation of personal and portable audio products. It sold for $200.
1980 – “O Canada” was proclaimed the national anthem of Canada.
1980 – President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that provided for 2 acres of land near the Lincoln Memorial for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
1981 – The Supreme Court ruled that candidates for federal office had an “affirmative right” to go on national television.
1984 – The PG-13 rating was introduced by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
1987 – John Kevin Hill, at age 11, became the youngest to fly across the U.S. when he landed at National Airport in Washington, DC.
1987 – Radio station WFAN in New York, NY was launched as the world’s first all-sports radio station.
1991 – Clarence Thomas was nominated to the Supreme Court, leading to confirmation hearings that were among the most contentious in history.
1991 – Court TV began airing.
1992 – The movie “A League of their Own”, starring Tom Hanks and Madonna, opened in theaters.
1992 – Democrats nominated the Presidential ticket of Bill Clinton and Al Gore.
1998 – The movie “Armagedon”, starring Bruce Willis, debuted in theaters.
2010 – BP’s Deepwater Horizon spill overtook Ixtoc I to become the worst oceanic oil spill in U.S. recorded history.
2013 – Neptune’s moon S/2004 N 1 was discovered.
2020 – The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement replaced NAFTA
BIRTHDAYS:
Leslie Caron – 92 years old (1931) – Actress (“Lili”, “Gigi”, “An American in Paris”)
Jamie Farr – 89 years old (1934) – Actor (TV’s “M*A*S*H”, movie “The Blackboard Jungle”)
Jean Marsh – 89 years old (1934) – Actress (“Cleopatra”, “Frenzy”, “The Changeling”, “Return to Oz”, “Willow”, “Monarch”)
Wally Amos – 87 years old (1936) – Entrepreneur, actor (Created Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies)
Geneviève Bujold – 81 years old (1942) – Actress (“Coma”, “Anne of the Thousand Days”, “Choose Me”, “Earthquake”, “Obsession”, “Murder by Decree”, “Dead Ringers”)
Deborah Harry – 78 years old (1945) – Singer (Blondie, “Heart of Glass”, “Call Me”, movies “Videodrome”, “Hairspray”, “My Life Without Me”)
Daryl Anderson – 72 years old (1951) – Actor (TV’s “Lou Grant”)
Trevor Eve – 72 years old (1951) – Actor (TV’s “Shoestring”, “Waking the Dead”)
Fred Schneider – 72 years old (1951) – Singer (B-52’s)
Dan Aykroyd – 71 years old (1952) – Comedian, actor (“Driving Miss Daisy”, “Ghostbusters”, “The Blues Brothers”, “Coneheads”, “Trading Places”, “Spies Like Us”, “Sgt. Bilko”, “Dragnet”, “1941”, “Neighbors”, “Grosse Point Blank”, TV’s “Saturday Night Live”)
Alan Ruck – 67 years old (1956) – Actor (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “Bad Boys”, “Three Fugitives”, “Young Guns II”, “Speed”, “Twister”, “Kickin’ It Old Skool”, TV’s “Spin City”)
Evelyn “Champagne” King – 63 years old (1960) – Singer (“Shame”)
Carl Lewis – 62 years old (1961) – Olympic track star
Michelle Wright – 62 years old (1961) – Country singer
Andre Braugher – 61 years old (1962) – Actor (“Glory”, “Get on the Bus”, “City of Angels”, TV’s “Homicide: Life on the Street”, “Last Resort”, “Men of a Certain Age”)
Roddy Bottum – 60 years old (1963) – Keyboardist (Faith No More)
Pamela Anderson – 56 years old (1967) – Actress (TV’s “Baywatch”, “Stacked”, “Home Improvement”, movies “Blonde and Blonder”, “Barb Wire”)
Henry Simmons – 53 years old (1970) – Actor (TV’s “NYPD Blue”)
Missy Elliott – 52 years old (1971) – Rapper, actress
Liv Tyler – 46 years old (1977) – Model , Acress (“Armagedon”, “Lord of the Rings”, “The Incredible Hulk”, “The Strangers”, “Jersey Girl”, “Stealing Beauty”, TV’s “The Leftovers”)
Raini Rodriguez – 30 years old (1993) – Actress (TV’s “Austin & Ally”, movie “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”)
TODAY IS:
International Chicken Wing Day
International Day of Cooperatives
National Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day
National U.S. Postage Stamp 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.
3 Comments
Thank you. This is really cool. Not sure if you remember me? My son gave you golf lessons a few yrs ago at North kent golf course. Hope you are doing well. I listen to you every afternoon at work.
I do remember you and Ben! I hope you are doing well Marty! Thanks for listening!!