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:
1620 – Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower saw land at Cape Cod, MA.
1906 – Theodore Roosevelt was the first sitting President to make an official trip outside the country. He did so to inspect progress of the Panama Canal.
1911 – George Claude of Paris, France, applied for a patent on neon advertising signs.
1913 – The Great Lakes Storm of 1913 was the most destructive natural disaster to ever hit the lakes, destroying 19 ships and killing more than 250 people.
1953 – The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a 1922 ruling that major league baseball did not come within the scope of federal antitrust laws.
1960 – Robert McNamara was named president of Ford Motor Company. He becomes the first non-Ford to serve in that position. A month later, he resigned to join the administration of newly elected President John F. Kennedy.
1961 – Major Robert White flew an X-15 rocket plane at a world record speed of 4,093 mph.
1961 – The Professional Golfer’s Association (PGA) eliminated its “caucasians only” rule.
1965 – At 5:27 pm ET, the great Northeast blackout occurred as several states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours. The power outage left 30 million residents without power.
1967 – The first issue of “Rolling Stone” magazine was published in San Francisco, CA. John Lennon was on the cover.
1967 – A Saturn V rocket carrying an unmanned Apollo spacecraft blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a successful test flight.
1970 – The children’s television show “Sesame Street” debuted in Grand Rapids, MI on WZZM TV 13. At the time, there was no PBS television station broadcasting in the Grand Rapids area.
1982 – Sugar Ray Leonard retired from boxing. In 1984 Leonard came out of retirement to fight one more time before becoming a boxing commentator for NBC.
1984 – Moviegoers were introduced to Freddy Krueger when “A Nightmare on Elm Street” opened in theaters.
1984 – A bronze statue titled “Three Servicemen,” by Frederick Hart, was unveiled at the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.
1988 – The movie “Child’s Play” premiered in theaters. A year later, in 1989, the movie “Child’s Play 2” debuted in theaters.
1989 – Fall of the Berlin Wall: East Germany opened checkpoints in the Berlin Wall, allowing its citizens to travel to West Berlin
1997 – Barry Sanders, of the Detroit Lions, became the first player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in nine straight seasons. In the same game Sanders passed former Dallas Cowboy Tony Dorsett for third place on the all-time rushing list.
1998 – Rick James was hospitalized after he suffered a stroke when a blood vessel ruptured in his neck during a show the week before in Denver, CO.
1998 – A federal judge in New York, NY approved the richest antitrust settlement in U.S. history. A leading brokerage firm was ordered to pay $1.03 billion to investors who had sued over price-rigging of Nasdaq stocks.
2004 – The video game “Halo 2” was released.
2004 – First Lady Laura Bush officially reopened Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to pedestrians.
2005 – Aretha Franklin, Muhammad Ali, Carol Burnett and Andy Griffith receive Presidential Medals of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, from President Bush in a White House ceremony.
2013 – The U.S. Navy christened their newest aircraft carrier named after the only President to come from Michigan, the USS Gerald R. Ford.
2016 – Donald Trump was declared the winner of the Presidential Election.
2023 – U.S. surgeons at NYU Langone Health announced the world’s first whole eye transplant.
BIRTHDAYS:
Ti-Grace Atkinson – 87 years old (1938) – Author and critic
Paul Cameron – 86 years old (1939) – Psychologist and academic
Robert David Hall – 78 years old (1947) – Actor, singer, and pianist
Joe Bouchard – 77 years old (1948) – Bass player and songwriter
Lou Ferrigno – 74 years old (1951) – Bodybuilder and actor
Sherrod Brown – 73 years old (1952) – Academic and politician
Jim Riggleman – 73 years old (1952) – Baseball player, coach, and manager
Sarah Franklin – 65 years old (1960) – American-English anthropologist and academic
Demetra Plakas – 65 years old (1960) – Drummer
Anthony Bowie – 62 years old (1963) – Basketball player
Robert Duncan McNeill – 61 years old (1964) – Actor, director, and producer
Ryan Murphy – 60 years old (1965) – Television writer, producer, and director
Sandra Denton – 56 years old (1969) – Jamaican-American rapper and actress
Roxanne Shanté – 56 years old (1969) – Rapper
Allison Wolfe – 56 years old (1969) – Singer-songwriter
Nelson Diebel – 55 years old (1970) – Swimmer and coach
Domino – 55 years old (1970) – DJ and producer
Bill Guerin – 55 years old (1970) – Ice hockey player, coach, and executive
Chris Jericho – 55 years old (1970) – American-Canadian wrestler
Scarface – 55 years old (1970) – Rapper and producer
Susan Tedeschi – 55 years old (1970) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
David Duval – 54 years old (1971) – Golfer and sportscaster
Eric Dane – 53 years old (1972) – Actor
Corin Tucker – 53 years old (1972) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Nick Lachey – 52 years old (1973) – Singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
Sisqó – 47 years old (1978) – Singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
Dave Bush – 46 years old (1979) – Baseball player
Adam Dunn – 46 years old (1979) – Baseball player
Vanessa Lachey – 45 years old (1980) – Filipino-American television host and actress
Boaz Myhill – 43 years old (1982) – American-Welsh footballer
Ted Potter Jr. – 42 years old (1983) – Golfer
French Montana – 41 years old (1984) – Moroccan-American rapper
Nikki Blonsky – 37 years old (1988) – Actress, singer, and dancer
Lio Tipton – 37 years old (1988) – Actor and model
Lyrica Okano – 31 years old (1994) – Actress
Daniel Naroditsky – 30 years old (1995) – Chess grandmaster
TODAY IS:
- Go to an Art Museum Day:
- National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day: Picture the crispiest, juiciest, most delicious bite you've ever taken - that's what you'll get with this mouth-watering sandwich!
- Carl Sagan Day: A unique mind, Carl Sagan offered the world a variety of new discoveries in science as well as new ways to think about the world.
- World Freedom Day: Commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain on World Freedom Day and call for liberty everywhere through protest and political activism.
- British Pudding Day:
- National Louisiana Day:
- World Orphans Day: Take care of parentless children by raising awareness of their plight, organizing a fundraiser or sponsoring a child on World Orphans Day.
- Microtia Awareness Day:
- Brian Holland Legacy Day:
- National Scrapple Day: A humble regional dish, made from resourceful and sustainable traditions, reflects the rich history and culinary heritage of a community.
- Celebrate Social Media Kindness Day:
- World Adoption Day:
- Chaos Never Dies Day: Unleash your inner spontaneous adventurer and savor every joyful second of this incredible ride called life. Embrace the now and let the good times roll!
- Geriatric Tooth Fairy Day:
- Eleven09 Day:
- Rad Tech Week:
- National Book Award Week:
- National Split Pea Soup Week: Savoring a comforting blend of legumes, slow-cooked to perfection, offering warmth and nourishment during the cold season.
- National Recycling Week:
- Anti-Bullying Week:
- Nurse Practitioner Week:
- Perioperative Nurse Week:
- Dear Santa Letter Week:
- Sugar Awareness Week:
- Human-Animal Relationship Awareness Week: From our furry companions to majestic wildlife, our connection with the animal kingdom is a bond that goes beyond words.
- National Young Readers Week: Fostering young minds' love for stories and expanding horizons through the magic of books; opening doors to imagination.
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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.

