Birthdays: Copernicus is 1542, Luigi Boccherini, Smokey Robinson, Andre Breton, Lee Marvin, Sir Cedric Hardwicke. Karen Silkwood, Paul Terry, Frank Tashlin, Paul Krause, Merl Oberon, Amy Tam, John Frankenheimer, Ray Winstone is 66, Jeff Daniels is 68, Benicio Del Toro is 57
1736- Georg Frederich Handel’s oratorio Alexander’s Feast premiered at Covent Garden.
1847- “ARE YOU FROM CALIFORNIA OR ARE YOU FROM HEAVEN?” The Donner Party found at last. The wagon train of settlers had been trapped in the High Sierra mountains of California near Lake Truckee in blizzard conditions with no food since last October 31st. Half the settlers were dead and the rest subsisting on cannibalizing the dead for food. This day a survivor named John Reed who got to safety returned with a rescue party from Sutter’s Fort. Of the 89 original settlers only 45 made it out alive. One opened a restaurant.
1878- Thomas Edison patented the phonograph.
1913- Crackerjacks start putting toy prizes in every box. Legend has it the name Crackerjack for the caramel corn was named for the reaction of Teddy Roosevelt trying it for the first time- These caramel-corns are Crackerjack!
1942- PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT signed Executive Order# 9066- The JAPANESE INTERNMENT ACT- All along the Pacific Coast first and second generation Japanese-Americans were uprooted from their homes and property and with what only they could carry were shipped off to camps in the desert. Many never got restitution for their lost property.
Although the F.B.I. kept tabs on German and Italian agents in U.S. and pro-Fascist groups like the American Bund flourished in the 30’s, nothing like what happened to Japanese Americans occurred to them. Less than 10,000 Germans were rounded up as compared to over 100,000 Japanese-Americans. Canada and Mexico also interned some of their Japanese immigrant population. Few Japanese-Americans were interned in Hawaii however, because it would have seriously depleted the population.
1944- Writer John Steinbeck asked that his name be taken off of the credits for the Alfred Hitchcock film version of “Lifeboat”. “In view of the fact that my script for the picture was distorted in production.” He didn’t much like the Grapes of Wrath screenplay either.
1951- Poet philosopher Andre Gide died in Paris. Several things were quoted as his last words, my favorite is " Before you quote me, please make sure I'm conscious."
1960- Bill Keane's "Family Circus" cartoon strip debuts.
1963- The book The Feminine Mystique was published. Betty Freidan’s analysis of contemporary women’s issues is considered the first shot of the modern Women’s Movement.
1964- Peter Sellers married actress Brit Ekland. His huffing amyl nitrate as a sexual stimulant probably contributed to a series of early heart attacks he had. They divorced in 1968.
1968- “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…” Mister Roger’s Neighborhood debuted on National Education Television, later called PBS. Ordained Presbyterian minister Fred Rogers had been doing children’s shows similar in Pittsburgh and Canada since the 50’s, but today was the start of his national show. It would run unchanged for thirty-five years.
1995- Sexy actress Pamela Anderson married sexy rocker Tommy Lee. On their honeymoon on Lake Powell they shot an explicit sex tape that was leaked onto the internet, becoming the first viral video. By 2000, one sixth of everything viewed on the world-wide web was about Pamela Anderson.
1990- ILM VFX designer John Knoll and his brother Tom created a surfacing and paint system for home computer use. Adobe bought it, and this day released it as Photoshop.
No comments:
Post a Comment