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:
1881 – President Chester A. Arthur was sworn in, the morning after becoming President upon James A. Garfield’s death.
1893 – Charles Duryea and his brother road-test the first American-made gasoline powered automobile.
1903 – The first western movie, Kit Carson, opened throughout the U.S. The film was only 21 minutes long.
1921 – Radio station KDKA, in Pittsburgh, PA, started a daily radio newscast. It was one of the first in the U.S.
1946 – The first Cannes Film Festival was held in France. The original festival was delayed for seven years due to World War II.
1962 – James Meredith, a black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Governor Ross R. Barnett. Meredith was later admitted.
1967 – The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) was launched. It remained in service until November 27, 2008.
1969 – John Lennon left The Beatles.
1973 – In the Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome, Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs.
1976 – The TV show “The Captain & Tennille” premiered on ABC. Jackie Gleason, Penny Marshall and “Welcome Back Kotter’s” Gabe Kaplan, Ron Palillo and Lawrewnce Hilton-Jacobs were guests on the first episode.
1977 – The Fonz jumped a shark on TV’s “Happy Days”.
1982 – The National Football League (NFL) players began a 57 day strike.
1984 – TV’s “The Cosby Show”, starring Bill Cosby as “Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable,” debuted on NBC.
1995 – AT&T announced that it would be splitting into three companies. The three companies were AT&T, Lucent Technologies, and NCR Corp.
1995 – The U.S. House of Representatives voted to drop the national speed limit. This allowed the states to decide their own speed limits.
1998 – After playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games over 16 seasons, Cal Ripken, of the Baltimore Orioles, sat out a game against the New York Yankees.
1999 – The TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” debuted.
2001 – In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, President George W. Bush declared a “War on Terror”.
2011 – The United States military ended its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time.
2013 – Apple released the iPhone 5s.
2021– A first edition of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel “Frankenstein” sold for $1.17 million, setting new world record for a printed work by a woman.
BIRTHDAYS:
Dale Chihuly – 84 years old (1941) – Sculptor and educator
Pete Coors – 79 years old (1946) – Businessman and politician
George R. R. Martin – 77 years old (1948) – Novelist and short story writer
Chuck Panozzo – 77 years old (1948) – Bass player
Anthony Denison – 76 years old (1949) – Actor
Debbi Morgan – 74 years old (1951) – Actress
Greg Valentine – 74 years old (1951) – Wrestler
Steve Tom – 72 years old (1953) – Actor
Henry Samueli – 71 years old (1954) – Businessman, co-founded Broadcom Corporation
Betsy Brantley – 70 years old (1955) – Actress
Jennifer Tour Chayes – 69 years old (1956) – Mathematician and computer scientist
Gary Cole – 69 years old (1956) – Actor
Steve Coleman – 69 years old (1956) – Saxophonist, composer, and bandleader
Arn Anderson – 67 years old (1958) – Wrestler and trainer
Joseph Alessi – 66 years old (1959) – Trombonist and educator
Deborah Roberts – 65 years old (1960) – Journalist
Lisa Bloom – 64 years old (1961) – Lawyer and journalist
Randy Bradbury – 61 years old (1964) – Bass player
Roger Anderson – 58 years old (1967) – Wrestler
Martin Harrison – 58 years old (1967) – Football player
Kristen Johnston – 58 years old (1967) – Actress
Gunnar Nelson – 58 years old (1967) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Matthew Nelson – 58 years old (1967) – Singer-songwriter and bass player
Ben Shepherd – 56 years old (1969) – Musician and songwriter
N'Bushe Wright – 55 years old (1970) – Actress and dancer
Ronald McKinnon – 52 years old (1973) – Football player
Moon Bloodgood – 50 years old (1975) – Actress
Joel Gertner – 50 years old (1975) – Wrestling announcer
Jason Robinson – 50 years old (1975) – Saxophonist and composer
Jon Bernthal – 49 years old (1976) – Actor
Ainsley Earhardt – 49 years old (1976) – Political commentator
The-Dream – 48 years old (1977) – Singer, songwriter, and producer
Chris Mooney – 48 years old (1977) – Journalist and academic
Jason Bay – 47 years old (1978) – Canadian-American baseball player
Héctor Camacho Jr. – 47 years old (1978) – Puerto Rican-American boxer
Dante Hall – 47 years old (1978) – Football player
Charlie Weber – 47 years old (1978) – Actor
Crystle Stewart – 46 years old (1979) – Actress and beauty queen
Yung Joc – 45 years old (1980) – Rapper
Jordan Tata – 44 years old (1981) – Baseball player
Jason Bacashihua – 43 years old (1982) – Ice hockey player
Brian Fortuna – 43 years old (1982) – Dancer and choreographer
Ian Desmond – 40 years old (1985) – Baseball player
Aldis Hodge – 39 years old (1986) – Actor
A. J. Ramos – 39 years old (1986) – Baseball player
Jack Lawless – 38 years old (1987) – Drummer
Coby Fleener – 37 years old (1988) – Football player
Ken Giles – 35 years old (1990) – Baseball player
Carlos Hyde – 35 years old (1990) – Football player
Phillip Phillips – 35 years old (1990) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Kyle Anderson – 32 years old (1993) – American-Chinese basketball player
Sammi Hanratty – 30 years old (1995) – Actress
Trevon Diggs – 27 years old (1998) – Football player
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.
