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:
1636 – Harvard College was founded in Massachusetts. The original name was Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was the first school of higher education in America.
1793 – Eli Whitney applied for a patent for his cotton gin.
1886 – The Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland in the presence of it’s sculptor, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. She’s a big girl! The statue weighs 225 tons and is 152 feet tall. It was originally known as “Liberty Enlightening the World.”
1904 – The St. Louis Police Department became the first to use fingerprinting.
1919 – The U.S. Congress enacted the Volstead Act, also known as the National Prohibition Act, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. Prohibition began the following January but was repealed in 1933 with the passing of the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
1922 – The first coast-to-coast radio broadcast of a football game.
1929 – The first child was born in an aircraft in Miami, FL.
1929 – Black Monday, a day in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which also saw major stock market upheaval.
1936 – The Statue of Liberty was rededicated by President Theodore Roosevelt on its 50th anniversary.
1942 – The Alaska Highway (Alcan Highway) was completed through Canada to Fairbanks, AK.
1949 – President Harry Truman swore in Eugenie Moore Anderson as the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark. Anderson was the first woman to hold the post of Ambassador.
1956 – Elvis Presley received a polio vaccination on national TV. This single event was credited with raising immunization levels in the U.S. from 0.6% to over 80% in just six months.
1958 – Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was elected Pope. He took the name John XXIII.
1965 – Construction of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO, was completed. The arch is 630 feet high.
1970 – The U.S. and U.S.S.R. signed an agreement to discuss joint space efforts.
1976 – John D. Erlichman (a former aide to President Richard Nixon) entered a federal prison camp in Safford, AZ, to begin serving his sentence for Watergate-related convictions.
1996 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained a record 337.17 points (or 5%). The day before, the Dow had dropped 554.26 points (or 7%).
2001 – Families of people killed in the September 11 terrorist attack gathered in New York, NY, for a memorial service.
2001 – The movie, “Monsters, Inc.”, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, premiered in theaters. It featured the voices of John Goodman and Billy Crystal,
2009 – “This Is It”, a documentary of the rehearsals for Michael Jackson’s doomed London comeback concerts, opened in theaters. It went on to become the highest-grossing documentary of all time.
2012 – Finishing a four-game sweep to win the World Series, the San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3.
2014 – An unmanned Antares rocket carrying NASA’s Cygnus CRS Orb-3 resupply mission to the International Space Station exploded just seconds after taking off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia.
2018 – The Boston Red Sox defeated the L.A. Dodgers 4-games-to-1 to win the World Series.
BIRTHDAYS:
Virginia Held – 96 years old (1929) – Philosopher, author, and academic
Charles A. Gargano – 91 years old (1934) – Diplomat, businessman and government official
Lenny Wilkens – 88 years old (1937) – Basketball player and coach
Dave Budd – 87 years old (1938) – Basketball player
Jane Alexander – 86 years old (1939) – Actress and producer
Andy Bey – 86 years old (1939) – Singer and pianist
Susan Harris – 85 years old (1940) – Screenwriter and producer
Dennis Franz – 81 years old (1944) – Actor
Don Iverson – 80 years old (1945) – Golfer
Telma Hopkins – 77 years old (1948) – Singer and actress
Dwight Davis – 76 years old (1949) – Basketball player
Caitlyn Jenner – 76 years old (1949) – Decathlete and actress
Joe R. Lansdale – 74 years old (1951) – Martial artist and author
Annie Potts – 73 years old (1952) – Actress
Desmond Child – 72 years old (1953) – Musician, songwriter, and producer
Bill Gates – 70 years old (1955) – Businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft
Indra Nooyi – 70 years old (1955) – Indian-American businesswoman
Zach Wamp – 68 years old (1957) – Businessman and politician
Randy Wittman – 66 years old (1959) – Basketball player and coach
Landon Curt Noll – 65 years old (1960) – Computer scientist and mathematician
Daphne Zuniga – 63 years old (1962) – Actress
Lauren Holly – 62 years old (1963) – Actress
Sheryl Underwood – 62 years old (1963) – Comedian, actress, and talk show host
Jami Gertz – 60 years old (1965) – Actress
Steve Atwater – 59 years old (1966) – Football player
Chris Bauer – 59 years old (1966) – Actor
Matt Drudge – 59 years old (1966) – Blogger and activist, founded the Drudge Report
Andy Richter – 59 years old (1966) – Actor, producer, and screenwriter
Julia Roberts – 58 years old (1967) – Actress and producer
John Romero – 58 years old (1967) – Video game designer, co-founded Id Software
Chris Broussard – 57 years old (1968) – Journalist and sportscaster
Jeremy Davies – 56 years old (1969) – Actor
Ben Harper – 56 years old (1969) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Greg Eagles – 55 years old (1970) – Voice actor and producer
Terrell Davis – 53 years old (1972) – Football player and sportscaster
Brad Paisley – 53 years old (1972) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Trista Sutter – 53 years old (1972) – Reality star
Montel Vontavious Porter – 52 years old (1973) – Wrestler and actor
Braden Looper – 51 years old (1974) – Baseball player
Joaquin Phoenix – 51 years old (1974) – Actor and producer
Justin Guarini – 47 years old (1978) – Singer-songwriter and actor
Jawed Karim – 46 years old (1979) – Computer scientist
Christy Hemme – 45 years old (1980) – Wrestler and ring announcer
Nate McLouth – 44 years old (1981) – Baseball player
Jeremy Bonderman – 43 years old (1982) – Baseball player
Anthony Lerew – 43 years old (1982) – Baseball player
Jarrett Jack – 42 years old (1983) – Basketball player
Finn Wittrock – 41 years old (1984) – Actor
Troian Bellisario – 40 years old (1985) – Actress
Anthony Fantano – 40 years old (1985) – Music critic
Frank Ocean – 38 years old (1987) – Singer-songwriter
Devin Ebanks – 36 years old (1989) – Basketball player
Lexi Ainsworth – 33 years old (1992) – Actress
Andrew Harrison – 31 years old (1994) – Basketball player
Jae'Sean Tate – 30 years old (1995) – Basketball player
Jasmine Jessica Anthony – 29 years old (1996) – Actress
Jack Eichel – 29 years old (1996) – Ice hockey player
Stetson Bennett – 28 years old (1997) – Football player
Taylor Fritz – 28 years old (1997) – Tennis player
Nolan Gould – 27 years old (1998) – Actor
TODAY IS:
- International Animation Day:
- Chucks-N-Pearls Day:
- Wild Foods Day: Exploring nature's pantry, discovering wild treasures, and connecting with the earth through gathering natural sustenance.
- Plush Animal Lover’s Day:
- National Immigrants Day:
- National Internal Medicine Day:
- National Chocolate Day: With so many different varieties of this delicious treat, it can be so hard to pick a favorite. What will you choose to indulge your sweet tooth?
- Czech Independence Day:
- National First Responders Day:
- Ace Week: Raising understanding and recognition for a diverse orientation, asexual awareness fosters inclusivity and validation in society.
- Digital Parenting Week:
- Shampoo Week:
- Global Media and Information Literacy Week:
- Respiratory Care Week:
- Red Ribbon Week:
- Bat Appreciation Week:
- National Massage Therapy Awareness Week:
Powered by Days Of The Year
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.
