Today in History (January 19th)

There are 346 days left in the year.

0570: Birthdays: Mohammed [The Prophet] Islamic founder (Koran).

1419: The French city of Rouen surrendered to Henry V in the Hundred Years War between England and France, completing Henry’s conquest of Normandy.

1547: Deaths: Henry Howard Earl of Surrey/Army Commander/Poet, beheaded at the age of 29.

1576: Deaths: Hans Sachs Cobbler/Poet/Composer, inspiration for Wagner’s ‘Die Meistersinger’, at the age of 81.

1629: Deaths: Abbas I Shah of Persia (1588-1629), died at the age of 57.

1729: Deaths: William Congreve English Dramatist (Love for Love), died at the age of 58.

1736: Birthdays: James Watt, Scotland, Engineer/Inventor (Steam Engine).

1746: Bonnie Prince Charlie’s troops occupied Stirling.

1749: Birthdays: Isaiah Thomas United States, Printer/Editor/Publisher/Historian.

1793: French King Louis XVI sentenced to death.

1806: Britain occupied Cape of Good Hope.

1807: Birthdays: Robert E. Lee, Stratford, Virginia, Commander in Chief of Confederate forces during the Civil War.

1809: Birthdays: Edgar Allan Poe Boston, Massachusetts, Writer/Author/Poet (Pit and the Pendulum).

1813: Birthdays: Henry Bessemer, English metallurgist.

1825: Ezra Daggett and nephew Thomas Kensett of New York City patented a canning process of food storage in tin cans to preserve salmon, oysters and lobsters.

1829: Johann von Goethe’s ‘Faust, Part 1,’ premiered.

1833: Deaths: Louis-J-Ferdinand Herold French Composer (Zampa), died at the age of 41.

1839: Birthdays: Paul Cezanne, France, Post-Impressionist Painter (Bathers).

1840: Antarctica was discovered by Charles Wilkes expedition.

1853: Napoleon III married Eugenie de Montijo, Giuseppi Verdi’s opera ‘Il Trovatore,’ premiered in Rome, Italy.

1861: The state of Georgia became the fifth state to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy.

1884: Jules Massenet’s opera ‘Manon,’ premiered in Paris, France.

1903: The first regular transatlantic radio broadcast between the United States and England occurred, New bicycle race ‘Tour de France’ announced.

1904: Birthdays: James Winston Watts Surgical Developer (Frontal Lobotomy).

1910: The National Institute of Arts and Letters was incorporated by an Act of Congress.

1913: Birthdays: Rudolf Minnesota Fats Wanderone, Billiards player.

1914: Birthdays: Lester Flatt Country Musician (Flatt and Scruggs).

1915: George Claude, of Paris, France, patented the neon tube advertising sign. First German Zeppelin attack over Great Britain, 4 dead.

1917: Silvertown Essex’s ammunition factory exploded; 300 dead. Birthdays: John Raitt, Bonnie Raitt’s Father/Singer/Actor (Pajama Game, Carousel).

1918; A system for making color motion pictures, invented by Dr Herbert Kalmus, was used in the film ‘The Gulf Between,’ and was copyrighted. Birthdays: John H. Johnson, Magazine founder (Ebony).

1920: The U.S. Senate voted against the country joining the League of Nations. Birthdays: Javier Perez de Cuellar, former U.N. Secretary-General.

1923: Birthdays: Jean Stapleton, Actress (All in the Family).

1926: Birthdays: Fritz Weaver, Actor.

1927: British government decided to send troops to China.

1929: Acadia National Park, Maine established.

1930: Birthdays: Tippi Hedren, actor.

1931: Birthdays: Robert MacNeil, Newscaster/Journalist/Former PBS Newsman.

1933: Birthdays: Richard Lester Movie/Film Director (A Hard Day’s Night).

1935: Birthdays: Tippi Hedren, Actress (The Birds).

1937: Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker and Cy Young were elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame in the second year of voting. Millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles, California to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

1938: The Spanish Nationalist air force bombed Barcelona and Valencia, killing 700 civilians and wounding hundreds more. General Motors (GM) began mass production of diesel engines.

1939: Birthdays: Phil Everly, Singer/Musician (The Everly Brothers).

1939: Ernest Hausen of Wisconsin set chicken-plucking record-4.4 sec.

1941: Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians’ pitcher, signed a $30,000 contract on this date, becoming the highest paid pitcher in baseball history for the time.

1942: Japanese forces invaded Burma. Birthdays: Michael Crawford, British Singer/Actor (Phantom of the Opera).

1943: Birthdays: Janis Joplin, Singer.

1944: The federal government relinquished control of the nation’s railroads following settlement of a wage dispute. Birthdays: Shelley Fabares, Actress (Coach); Richard [Erskine Frere] Leakey Nairobi, Kenya, anthropologist; Dan Reeves National Football League Coach.

1946: Birthdays: Dolly Rebecca Parton, Sevierville, Tennessee, Country Singer (Dolly, 9 to 5).

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1949: The salary of the President of the United States was increased from $75,000 to $100,000 with an additional $50,000 expense allowance added for each year in office. Today, the President makes $200,000 a year. Birthdays: Robert Palmer Singer.

1951: Birthdays: Harry McGilberry Singer (Temptations).

1952: The PGA Tournament Committee voted to allow black golfers to compete in golf tournaments. The National Football League bought the franchise of the New York Yankees. To make nice with the New York Giants for having another team in their territory, the National Football League permitted the Giants to choose five players from the Yankee roster. One of the five was Tom Landry, who played for the Giants for six years. During that time, the National Football League sent the Yankee club winging its way to Dallas and eventual obscurity when, in 1960, the Dallas expansion team hired Tom Landry as head coach and became the Dallas Cowboys.

1953: Sixty-eight percent of all television sets in the United States were tuned to ‘I Love Lucy’ on CBS television as Lucille Ball’s character Lucy Ricardo gave birth to a baby boy – the same day Ball gave birth to her son, Desi Arnaz Junior. The audience for the program was larger than that watching the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower the following day. Birthdays: Desi Arnaz Junior, Singer/Actor (The Mambo Kings).

1955: President Dwight D. Eisenhower allowed a filmed news conference to be used on television (and in movie newsreels) for the first time. The 33-minute conference was cut to 28 1/2 minutes to fit television formats. ‘Scrabble’ made its debut on the board game market. Birthdays: Sir Simon Rattle England, Orchestra Conductor (Berlin Philharmonic). Chart Toppers: Mr. Sandman The Chordettes; Make Yourself Comfortable Sarah Vaughan; Loose Talk Carl Smith; Hearts of Stone The Fontane Sisters.

1956: Birthdays: Katey Sagal, Actress.

1957: Presidential inaugurals are always quite a show: Pat Boone sang at President Eisenhower’s inaugural ball. Comedian Ernie Kovacs became a major star when he was able to pull off the challenge of doing a half-hour television show without saying a single word of dialogue. Birthdays: Ottis [O. J.] Anderson National Football League running back; Mickey Virtue Reggae Musician (UB40).

1961: First episode for ‘Dick Van Dyke Show’ was filmed. Birthdays: William Ragsdale, Actor; Paul McCrane, Actor.

1963: Chart Toppers: The Ballad of Jed Clampett Flatt and Scruggs; Tell Him The Exciters; Hotel Happiness Brook Benton; Go Away Little Girl Steve Lawrence.

1966: Robert Montgomery, actor-producer and White House advisor on Presidential telecasts, testified on this date to the FCC that the reports of quiz-show fixing and payola were widespread within the broadcasting industry long before the charges were made public. Neil Simon’s, Coleman’s and Fields’ musical ‘Sweet Charity,’ premiered. Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Nehru, was elected India’s third prime minister. Birthdays: Stefan Edberg Tennis Player.

1969: Birthdays: Trey Lorenz Singer.

1970: The soundtrack of the film ‘Easy Rider’ – the movie that made a star of Peter Fonda – became a gold record. It was the first pop-culture, film soundtrack to earn the gold award, President Nixon nominated G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court. Carswell was never approved because of controversy over his past racial views.

1971: Ruby Keeler made her comeback in the play, ‘No, No Nanette,’ which opened at the 46th Street Theatre in New York City, New York. Keeler played the role of Sue Smith in the revival of the 1925 hit musical. The show played on for 861 performances. Beatles’ ‘Helter Skelter’ was played at Charles Manson trial. Birthdays: Shawn Wayans Actor; John Wozniak Rock Singer/Musician (Marcy Playground). Chart Toppers: Rose Garden Lynn Anderson; My Sweet Lord/Isn’t It a Pity George Harrison; Lonely Days Bee Gees; Knock Three Times Dawn.

1972: Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra, and Early Wynn elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame; at age 37. Koufax was the youngest player ever elected.

1974: Notre Dame ended UCLA’s 88-game winning streak at South Bend, Ind. The Fighting Irish posted a 71-70 basketball win over the Bruins of the University of California at Los Angeles, California. Birthdays: Frank Caliendo, comedian.

1975: China published a new constitution that adopted the precepts and policies of Mao Zedong. Deaths: Thomas Hart Benson United States Artist, died at the age of 85.

1976: The Beatles turned down an offer of $30 million to play together again on the same stage. Rock promoter Bill Sargent still doesn’t understand why the group turned down his generous offer.

1977: Presidential inaugurals are always quite a show: Jimmy Carter’s presidential inaugural festivities included a concert featuring Aretha Franklin, Linda Ronstadt and Loretta Lynn. John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul Simon and Gregg Allman were in the audience. In one of his last acts of office, President Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D’Aquino, an American who had been convicted of treason for her World War II Japanese propaganda broadcasts as Tokyo Rose. Snowfall was recorded in Miami and the Bahamas. It was the first recorded snowfall in Miami.

1979: Former Attorney General John N. Mitchell was released on parole after serving 19 months at a federal prison in Alabama. Chart Toppers: Too Much Heaven Bee Gees; My Life Billy Joel; Le Freak Chic; Lady Lay Down John Conlee.

1980: Deaths: William O. Douglas United States Supreme Court (1939-75) died at the age of 81; Richard Franko Goldman Composer, died at the age of 69.

1981: The United States and Iran signed an agreement paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months. Presidential inaugurals are always quite a show: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Charlie Pride joined Donny and Marie Osmond among the entertainers at Ronald Reagan’s inauguration.

1982: Birthdays: Jodie Sweetin, Actress.

1983: Klaus Barbie, notorious SS chief of Lyon in Nazi-occupied France, was arrested in Bolivia.

1985: Lee Iacocca’s book ‘Iacocca’ was the New York Times’ best-selling hard cover book of 1984. It wasn’t topped in sales until the arrival of Rush Limbaugh’s first tome in the early ’90s. Chart Toppers: Born In The USA Bruce Springsteen.

1987: The University of Iowa achieved basketball’s #1 ranking for the first time in its history. The 16-0 Hawkeyes team replaced the Runnin’ Rebels of the University of Nevada Las Vegas at the top of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Chart Toppers: What Am I Gonna Do About You Reba McEntire; Shake You Down Gregory Abbott; Open Your Heart Madonna; C’est La Vie Robbie Nevil.

1989: President Reagan pardoned George Steinbrenner for illegal funds for Nixon.

1990: Deaths: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Indian Guru, died at the age of 58; Arthur J. Goldberg Former Supreme Court justice/Labor Secretary/United States ambassador to the United Nations, found dead in his Washington, District of Columbia, apartment at the age of 81.

1991: Eastern Airlines shut down operation.

1992: International Business Machines (IBM) announced a nearly $5B loss for 1992. In Florida, the 64-year-old award-winning playwright Edward Albee was arrested on a Key Biscayne beach for indecent exposure. Charges were later dropped when it was determined that Albee had removed his swimming trunks only to rinse out the sand that was in them, and had not done anything vulgar or immoral. ‘City of Angels’ closed at Virginia Theater in New York City, New York, after 878 performances.

1993: Presidential inaugurals are always quite a show: A rare public concert by Barbra Streisand and a reunion by Fleetwood Mac highlighted a Bill Clinton pre-inaugural bash in suburban Washington, District of Columbia. Israel recognized the PLO as no longer criminal.

1994: Jeff Gillooly, the former husband of ice skating vixen Tonya Harding, was arrested and charged with conspiracy in the attack two weeks earlier on skater Nancy Kerrigan. The attack had left an injured Kerrigan unable to compete in the United States skating championships, which Harding won. Both women were named to the United States Olympic figure skating team — Kerrigan brought home a silver medal, but Harding could do no better than eighth place.

1995: Russian troops regained control of the presidential palace in Grozny, the capital of the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

1996: The National Hockey League (NHL) approved the move of the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix.

1997: Deaths: James Dickey Poet/Novelist, died at the age of 73. He was best known for his first novel, ‘Deliverance,’ which was made into a motion picture.

1998: Deaths: Carl Perkins Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, A sharecropper’s son who learned music on a guitar fashioned from a cigar box and broomstick, died at the age of 65 in Jackson, Tennessee, of complications resulting from a series of strokes. Perkins was a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and wrote the definitive anthem of 50’s cool, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, which helped lift Elvis Presley to stardom.

1999: President Clinton delivered his State of the Union address, in which he proposed to protect Social Security with huge budget surpluses and announced the government would sue the tobacco industry for smokers’ health-care costs. Hours earlier, at the president’s impeachment trial in the Senate. White House Counsel Charles Ruff opened the defense with ringing statements of Clinton’s innocence. Judge Lawrence Mira, who warned Motley Crue Drummer Tommy Lee eight months earlier that a slip-up could send him to prison for three years, set a hearing date after learning through news reports that Lee was allegedly drinking recently with bandmates in Florida. Lee was scheduled to go to court February 4 to answer allegations that he used alcohol, a violation of his probation for spousal abuse that could land him in prison. Lee served about four months in jail after he pleaded no contest to kicking his estranged wife, former ‘Baywatch’ star Pamela Anderson Lee, while she held their son, Dylan, in February 1998.

2001: U.S. President Bill Clinton announced he had made a deal with the independent prosecutor that would prevent him from being indicted after he left office.

2005: The Southeast Asian tsunami death toll was raised to 220,000, including more than 166,000 killed in Indonesia.

2006: Monitors for the Dec. 15 Iraq parliamentary elections validated the vote despite reports of irregularities.

2007; Former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, the only member of Congress to plead guilty in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Ney was released after 17 months.

2008: U.S. President George W. Bush said that although the economy was growing, the rate of growth has slowed and there’s a risk of a downturn. He called it a challenging period for our economy.

2009; Iranian intelligence officials said their forces had dismantled a U.S.-backed spy network involving several nations aimed at toppling the country’s Islamic regime.

2010: Republican Scott Brown, a little-known former state senator, scored a major political upset by winning a special Massachusetts election over a heavily favored Democrat to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Democratic legend Ted Kennedy. Brown was defeated by Elizabeth Warren in the 2012 general election. U.S. soldiers arrived by helicopter in Port-au-Prince to provide security and humanitarian aid in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

2011: Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to repeal healthcare reform legislation enacted during the last Congress. The Senate, however, blocked the proposal.

2012: A major online protest against anti-Web piracy measures caused House and Senate lawmakers to pull back two proposals for further study. Several national websites suspended service for 24 hours to show opposition to measures some critics saw as potential censorship.

2013: Five people were wounded in accidental shootings at gun shows in North Carolina, Indiana and Ohio.

2014: For the second time in three days, grenades were tossed at anti-government protesters in Bangkok. At least one person was killed and dozens injured. Tens of thousands of people were involved in the protests.


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