Birthdays: Roman Emperor Domitian, Bob Kane the creator of Batman, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek- the founder of Microbiology, Moss Hart, Merrian Cooper, Jiles Perry Richardson better known as the Big Bopper, F. Murray Abrahams is 85, Enkwase Mfume, Y.A. Tittle, Sara Josepha Hale 1788- who wrote the poem "Mary Had a Little Lamb", animator Preston Blair, Kevin Kline is 76
3018 BCT- Frodo the Hobbit awoke safely in Lord Elrond’s palace in Rivendell, after escaping The Ring Wraiths.
1861-The Last Pony Express ride. The idea was romantic, but a financial dud and only operated about two years before being replaced by stagecoach, rail and telegraph.
1901- Anne Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and live to talk about it. She attempted the stunt for a cash prize she used to get a loan to buy a ranch in Texas.
1902- Author Arthur Conan-Doyle was knighted by King Edward VII. He received the honor not for his literary accomplishments but for his volunteer service as a doctor during the just concluded Boer War. It was also said the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was one of the few books King Edward ever managed to read from cover to cover.
1907- President Teddy Roosevelt called for a grand conference of government and business leaders to discuss a strategy for the conservation of America’s natural resources. For the first time, Conservation was made an issue of national policy. “ I have seen the last fluttering of bird species that once blackened the skies...”
1936- The first appearance in the Thimble Theater comic of Popeye’s father Poopdeck Pappy.
1937- At Piping Springs NY, composer Cole Porter suffered a spill while horseback riding that broke both his legs. Even after 26 operations he never regained their full use. One leg was amputated in 1958. He died in 1964 at age 73 of kidney failure.
1938- The Fair Labor Standards Act established the 40 hour workweek as the law of the land. The 40 hour week, that thing few of us see nowadays.
1946- KUSC, Southern California’s classical music station, started up.
1947- Walt Disney testified to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC) as a friendly witness. He accused leaders of the Cartoonists Guild and the League of Women Voters –which he mistakenly called the League of Women Shoppers, as being infiltrated by Communists "Seeking to subvert the Spirit of Mickey Mouse”.
1956- Cartoonist Jules Feiffer had been working for Terrytoons writing Tom Terrific. This day he began moonlighting a simple one panel strip for The Village Voice. It became an institution that ran for decades, until 1997.
1959- The TV program Playboy’s Penthouse premiered. Hugh Hefner hosted a variety show designed to look like a cocktail party in a swinging bachelor’s pad. It was a success despite many stations in the South refusing to show it. That was because they dared to have black celebrities like Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and Nat King Cole laughing and partying alongside white ones like Tony Bennett and Lennie Bruce.
1962- UPA’s Gay Puree, animated film starring Judy Garland and Robert Goulet, and directed by Abe Levitow.
1969- Godfather Producer Robert Evans married young actress Ali McGraw.
1975- The musical play A Chorus Line opened.
1994- Disney TV series Gargoyles premiered.
2003- Walt Disney’s Brother Bear, directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker opened in wide release.
2008- Oprah Winfrey hosted an internationally famous talk show. She promoted literacy and called herself, “The Queen of Reading.” This day she declared her new favorite thing in the world to be the Kindle from Amazon. This plug helped launch the era of e-books.
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