Also was the first person to say: "Don't make me stop this car!", "No, we're not there yet!" and "Why didn't you go when we stopped for lunch?"

you forgot one, Giac

1994 -- The New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup, the first they had won in 54 years.

Thanks -- I fixed it!

Today in History - June 15th

Today's Birthdays

1767 Rachel Jackson (Donelson Robards),U.S. First Lady (President Andrew Jackson) died Dec 22, 1828
1843 Edvard Grieg, composer (Peer Gynt Suite) died Sep 4, 1907
1910 David Rose, composer (The Stripper) died Aug 23, 1990
1914 Saul Steinberg, cartoonist (New Yorker magazine) died May 12, 1999
1932 Mario Cuomo, governor (New York)
1937 Waylon Jennings, country singer (Luckenbach Texas) died Feb 13, 2002
1941 Harry (Edward) Nilsson III, singer (Me and My Arrow) died Jan 15, 1994
1942 Lee Dorman, rock bassist (Iron Butterfly)
1943 Muff Winwood, songwriter/producer/bassist (Spencer Davis Group)
1948 Mike Holmgren, NFL head coach (Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks)
1949 Dusty (Johnnie B ) Baker, MLB outfilder/manager (Atlanta Braves, LA Dodgers, SF Giants, Oakland Athletics)
1949 Russ Hitchcock, singer (Air Supply)
1949 Jim Varney, actor (Ernest movies) died Feb 10, 2000
1949 Simon Callow, actor (Amadeus, Four Weddings and a Funeral)
1950 Noddy (Neville) Holder, guitarist/singer/songwriter (Slade)
1951 Steve Walsh, rock singer (Kansas)
1953 Rita Lee, playmate (November 1977)
1954 Jim Belushi, actor (K-9, The Principal)
1955 Julie Hagerty, actress (Airplane! series)
1958 Wade (Anthony) Boggs, MLB 3rd baseman (Boston Red Sox, NY Yankees)
1963 Helen (Elizabeth) Hunt, actress (As Good As It Gets, Mad About You)
1963 Scott Rockenfield, rock drummer (Queensryche)
1964 Courteney Cox, actress (Friends, Ace Ventura Pet Detective)
1965 Riki Rachtman, TV host (MTV's Headbanger's Ball)
1969 Ice Cube, rapper/actor (Fridays series, Barbershop series)
1970 Leah Remini, actress (The King of Queens)
1971 Jake Busey, actor (Starship Troopers, Twister, Contact)
1972 T-Bone Willy, rock trombonist (Save Ferris)
1972 Andy Pettitte, MLB pitcher (NY Yankees)
1973 Neil Patrick Harris, actor (Doogie Howser, M.D., Starship Troopers, How I Met Your Mother)
1975 Elizabeth Reaser, actress (Grey's Anatomy)
1976 Dryden Mitchell, rock singer (Alien Ant Farm)
1976 Gary Lightbody, singer/guitarist (Snow Patrol)
1979 Julia Schultz, playmate (February 1998)
1980 Cara Zavaleta, playmate (November 2004)
1980 Mary Carey, adult film actress/California gubernatorial candidate
1981 Billy Martin, rock guitarist (Good Charlotte)
1982 Haley Scarnato, singer/TV personality (American Idol)
1982 Fuzz, board member
1984 Tim Lincecum, MLB pitcher (SF Giants)
1984 tpmnyr, board member
1985 Nadine Coyle, singer (Girls Aloud)

Today's Deaths in History

1849 James Polk, 11th President of the United States, dies at 53
1965 Steve Cochran, actor (White Heat) dies at 48
1968 Wes Montgomery, jazz guitarist, dies at 45
1989 Victor French, actor (Get Smart!) dies at 54
1991 Happy Chandler, Commissioner of Major League Baseball, dies at 92
1995 John Vincent Atanasoff, inventor (first automatic electronic digital computer) dies at 91
1996 Dick Murdoch, wrestler (Texas Outlaws) dies at 48
1996 Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer (First Lady of Song) dies at 78
2003 Hume Cronyn, actor (Cocoon, *batteries not included) dies at 91

Today in History

1215 In a meadow called Ronimed, King John of England sealed the Magna Carta, the first charter of English liberties.
1667 The first human blood transfusion was administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
1752 Benjamin Franklin conducted his famous kite/key/lightning test.
1775 George Washington became Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.
1836 Arkansas officially became the 25th of the United States of America.
1844 Vulcanized rubber was patented by Charles Goodyear of New York City.
1864 Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signed an order establishing a military burial ground, which became Arlington National Cemetery.
1877 Henry Ossian Flipper became the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
1904 More than 1,000 people died when fire erupted aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York City's East River.
1909 Benjamin Shibe patented the cork-center baseball.
1911 The Tabulating Computing Recording Corporation (IBM) is incorporated.
1916 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
1923 Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig made his major league debut with the New York Yankees.
1938 John Vandermeer of Cincinnati became the first pitcher in the major leagues to toss two consecutive, no-hit, no-run games.
1955 The Eisenhower administration stages the first annual "Operation Alert" (OPAL) exercise, an attempt to assess the USA's preparations for a nuclear attack.
1956 Sixteen-year-old John Lennon of The Quarrymen met 14-year-old Paul McCartney and invited him to join the group; in a few years, the group became The Beatles.
1976 A 10-inch, mid-June rainfall in Houston, TX made it impossible for the Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates to play ball in the Astrodome; with the parking lot under water and boats the only way to get to the stadium gates, the indoor game was canceled.
1978 King Hussein of Jordan married 26-year-old American Lisa Halaby, who became Queen Noor.
1985 The Chicago Cubs, in professional baseball since 1876, celebrated their 16,000th game by losing to the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0.
1991 Long-dormant Mount Pinatubo erupted with a vengeance in the Philippines.
1992 Vice President Dan Quayle erroneously instructed a Trenton, N.J., elementary school student to spell potato as "potatoe" during a spelling bee.
1992 The United States Supreme Court rules in US vs. Alvarez-Machain that it is permissible for the US to abduct suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the US for trial, without approval from those other countries.
1994 Israel and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations.
1995 During his murder trial, O.J. Simpson struggled to don a pair of gloves that prosecutors said were worn by the killer of Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
2002 Near earth asteroid 2002 MN missed Earth by 75,000 miles, about one third the distance to the moon.
2003 A jury in Houston convicted accounting firm Arthur Andersen of obstruction of justice.
2005 The autopsy on Terri Schiavo was released, backing the contention of her husband, Michael, that she was in a persistent vegetative state.
2006 A divided Supreme Court made it easier for police to barge into homes and seize evidence without knocking or waiting.
2006 Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said he would transition from day-to-day responsibilities at the company to concentrate on the charitable work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Chart Toppers

1950
My Foolish Heart - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Eileen Wilson)
Bewitched - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Mary Lou Williams)
The Third Man Theme - Alton Karas
Why Don’t You Love Me - Hank Williams

1958
The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
Do You Want to Dance - Bobby Freeman
Yakety Yak - The Coasters
All I Have to Do is Dream - The Everly Brothers

1966
Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones
Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind? - The Lovin’ Spoonful
I Am a Rock - Simon & Garfunkel
Distant Drums - Jim Reeves

1974
Billy, Don’t Be a Hero - Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods
You Make Me Feel Brand New - The Stylistics
Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
I Don’t See Me in Your Eyes Anymore - Charlie Rich

1982
Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder
Don’t Talk to Strangers - Rick Springfield
Don’t You Want Me - The Human League
For All the Wrong Reasons - The Bellamy Brothers

1990
Hold On - Wilson Phillips
Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe
It Must Have Been Love - Roxette
Love Without End, Amen - George Strait

Quote of the Day

The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you've got it made.
Jean Giraudoux, French diplomat, dramatist, & novelist (1882 - 1944)

Today in History - June 16th

Today's Birthdays

1829 Geronimo, Apache leader, died Feb 17, 1909
1890 Stan Laurel (Arthur Stanley Jefferson), actor/comedian (Laurel & Hardy) died Feb 23, 1965
1907 Jack Albertson, actor (Chico & the Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) died Nov 25, 1981
1917 Katharine Graham, publisher (The Washington Post) died July 17, 2001
1934 Roger Neilson, NHL coach (NY Rangers) died June 21, 2003
1937 Erich Segal, writer (Love Story)
1938 Joyce Carol Oates, novelist (Smooth Talk)
1939 Billy ‘Crash’ Craddock, country singer (Sea Cruise)
1941 Lamont Dozier, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriter (Holland-Dozier Holland)
1942 Eddie Levert, singer (O’Jays)
1943 Joan Van Ark, actress (Knots Landing)
1945 Ian Matthews (McDonald), guitarist/singer (Fairport Convention)
1946 Derek Sanderson, NHL center (Boston Bruins, NY Rangers)
1950 James Smith, R&B singer (The Stylistics)
1951 Roberto Duran, boxing champion
1952 Gino Vannelli, singer/songwriter (I Just Wanna Stop)
1953 Ian Mosley, rock drummer (Marillion)
1955 Laurie Metcalf, actress (Roseanne, Uncle Buck)
1961 Steve Larmer, NHL forward (NY Rangers)
1962 Arnold Vosloo, actor (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns)
1966 Adrienne Shelly, actress/director/screenwriter (Waitress) murdered Nov 1, 2006
1970 Phil (Alfred) Mickelson, golf champion
1971 Tupac Shakur, rapper, shot and killed Sept 13, 1996
1972 John Cho, actor (American Pie, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle)
1977 Kerry Wood, MLB pitcher (Chicago Cubs)
1978 Tishara Cousino, playmate (May 1999)
1984 Rick Nash, NHL forward (Columbus Blue Jackets)
1982 Missy Peregrym, actress (Heroes)
1987 Diana DeGarmo, singer/TV personality (American Idol)

Today's Deaths in History

1925 Emmett Hardy, jazz cornetist, dies at 22
1930 Elmer Ambrose Sperry, inventor (gyrocompass) dies at 69
1939 Chick Webb, jazz drummer/big band leader, dies at 34
1959 George Reeves, actor (Superman) dies at 45
1970 Brian Piccolo, NFL running back (Chicago Bears) dies at 26
1982 James Honeyman-Scott, guitarist/songwriter (The Pretenders) dies at 25
1994 Kristen Pfaff, bass guitarist (Hole) dies at 27 of a heroin overdose
1996 Mel Allen, baseball announcer (NY Yankees) dies at 83
1996 Curt Swan, comic book artist (Superman) dies at 76

Today in History

1858 Abraham Lincoln, paraphrasing a Bible passage, argued that "a house divided against itself cannot stand" in a speech to the state Republican convention in Springfield, Ill., after he was nominated for the U.S. Senate.
1883 The New York Giants baseball team admitted all ladies free to the ballpark on the first Ladies Day.
1897 The United States signed a treaty of annexation with Hawaii.
1903 Ford Motor Company was incorporated.
1909 Glenn Hammond Curtiss sold his first airplane.
1922 Henry Berliner accomplished the first helicopter flight at College Park, MD.
1952 My Little Margie, Gale Storm (Margie Albright) and Charles Farrell (Vernon Albright), debuted on CBS-TV.
1956 "Be-Bop-A-Lula," by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps, was released on Capitol Records.
1960 Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho opens in New York.
1961 Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Soviet Union at Le Bourget airport in Paris.
1963 26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova broke the gender barrier as she blasted off in the Vostok 6 spacecraft for three days in orbit.
1964 Leonid Brezhnev became president of the USSR.
1967 The three-day Monterey International Pop Music Festival, which catapulted Jimi Hendrix, the Who and Janis Joplin to stardom, opened in northern California.
1968 Lee Trevino became the first golfer in 68 years to play all four rounds of the U.S. Open golf tournament with sub-par totals of 69, 68, 69 and 67, respectively.
1972 The New York Jazz Museum opened.
1976 A non-violent march by 15,000 students in Soweto, South Africa turned into days of rioting when police open fire on the crowd and kill 566 children.
1978 The film adaptation of Grease premiered in New York City.
1980 The Blues Brothers movie opened in Chicago, IL.
1981 The Chicago Tribune purchased the Chicago Cubs baseball team from the P.K. Wrigley Chewing Gum Company for $20.5 million.
1987 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for $5,000,000.
1987 A jury in New York acquitted Bernhard Goetz of attempted murder in the subway shooting of four young blacks he said were going to rob him; he was convicted of illegal weapons possession.
1995 Batman Forever, the third film in the Batman series, premiered.
1996 Russian voters went to the polls in their first independent presidential election; the result was a runoff between President Boris Yeltsin, the eventual winner, and Communist challenger Gennady Zyuganov.
1999 Maurice Greene set a new 100m world record at 9.79 seconds.
2000 Federal regulators approved the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE Corp., creating the nation's largest local phone company, Verizon.
2000 Israel complied with UN Security Council Resolution 425 after 22 years of it's issuance, which calls on Israel to completely withdraw from Lebanon.
2004 Rebuffing Bush administration claims, the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said no evidence existed that al-Qaida had strong ties to Saddam Hussein.

Chart Toppers

1951
Too Young - Nat King Cole
On Top of Old Smokey - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
Syncopated Clock - The Leroy Anderson Orchestra
I Want to Be with You Always - Lefty Frizzell

1959
Personality - Lloyd Price
Quiet Village - Martin Denny
Tallahassee Lassie - Freddy Cannon
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton

1967
Respect - Aretha Franklin
Him or Me - What’s It Gonna Be? - Paul Revere & The Raiders
Somebody to Love - Jefferson Airplane
It’s Such a Pretty World Today - Wynn Stewart

1975
Sister Golden Hair - America
Love Will Keep Us Together - The Captain & Tennille
I’m Not Lisa - Jessi Colter
When Will I Be Loved - Linda Ronstadt

1983
Flashdance...What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Time (Clock of the Heart) - Culture Club
My Love - Lionel Richie
Our Love is on the Faultline - Crystal Gayle

1991
Rush, Rush - Paula Abdul
Love is a Wonderful Thing - Michael Bolton
Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets) - Joe Diffie

Quote of the Day

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
Jack London, US adventurer, author, & sailor (1876 - 1916)

Word is Tribune's going to sell the Cubs after this season.

Today in History - June 17th

Today's Birthdays

1704 John Kay, inventor (flying shuttle for weaving) died in 1780
1867 John Robert Gregg, inventor (shorthand system) died Feb 23, 1948
1882 Igor (Fedorovich) Stravinsky, composer (The Firebird Suite) died Apr 6, 1971
1898 M.C. Escher, Dutch artist, dies March 27, 1972
1900 Martin Bormann, Nazi (Hitler's private secretary) died May 2, 1945
1903 Ruth Wakefield, inventor (Toll House Cookie) died Jan 10, 1977
1904 Ralph (Rexford) Bellamy, actor (War & Remembrance, The Winds of War) died Nov 29, 1991
1923 Elroy ‘Crazy Legs’ Hirsch, Pro Football Hall of Fame running back/receiver (Chicago Rockets, LA Rams) died Jan 28, 2004
1932 Peter Lupus, actor (Mission: Impossible)
1939 Dickie Doo (Gerry Granahan), singer (Dickie Doo and The Don’ts)
1943 Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House of Representatives
1943 Barry Manilow (Barry Alan Pincus), singer/songwriter (Mandy)
1951 Dave Fortier, NHL defenseman (Toronto Maple Leafs, NY Islanders, Vancouver Canucks)
1951 Joe Piscopo, comedian/actor (Saturday Night Live, Johnny Dangerously)
1952 Mike Milbury, NHL defenseman (Boston Bruins, NY Islanders)
1954 Mark Linn-Baker, actor (Perfect Strangers)
1957 Jon Gries, actor (The Big Empty, Napoleon Dynamite)
1958 Jello Biafra, punk singer/songwriter (Dead Kennedys)
1958 Bobby Farrelly, film director (There's Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, Shallow Hal)
1961 Thomas Haden Church, actor (Wings, Sideways, Spiderman 3)
1963 Greg Kinnear, actor (Sabrina, As Good As It Gets, Mystery Men, Nurse Betty)
1964 Erin Murphy, actress (Bewitched)
1965 Kami Cotler, actress (The Waltons)
1966 Jason Patric (Miller), actor (Rush, The Lost Boys)
1971 Paulina Rubio, Latina singer
1973 Krayzie Bone, rapper (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
1980 Venus Williams, tennis champion
1981 Kyle Boller, NFL quarterback (Baltimore Ravens)

Today's Deaths in History

1986 Kate Smith, singer (God Bless America) dies at 79
2002 Willie Davenport, Olympic hurdler, dies at 59
2004 Gerry McNeil, NHL goaltender (Montreal Canadiens) dies at 78
2005 Ronald Winans, gospel singer (The Winans) dies at 48
2005 Karl Mueller, rock bassist (Soul Asylum) dies at 41 of cancer
2005 Sam Loeb, comic book writer (Superman/Batman) dies at 17

Today in History

1579 Sir Francis Drake claimed a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England.
1631 Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth; her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spent more than 20 years building her tomb, the Taj Mahal.
1775 The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought at the top of Breed’s Hill.
1839 In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the Edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands.
1856 The first national convention of the Republican Party was held in Philadelphia, PA.
1866 The New York City Athletic Club was formed.
1880 John Monte Ward tossed the second perfect game in major-league history as he and Providence blanked Buffalo 5-0.
1885 The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor.
1898 The United States Navy Hospital Corps was established.
1913 Chicago Cubs George ‘Zip’ Zabel set a record for the longest appearance by a relief pitcher in a game when he came in from the bull pen with two outs in the first inning of a game at Ebbets Field in New York, and kept pitching until the 19th inning when the Cubs finally beat the Dodgers 4-3.
1928 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to successfully fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
1930 President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law.
1941 WNBT-TV, Channel 4 in New York City, was granted the first construction permit to operate a commercial TV station in the United States.
1942 The Army weekly newspaper Yank coined the term “G.I. Joe” in a comic strip drawn by Dave Breger.
1950 Dr. Richard H. Lawler performed the first kidney transplant in a 45-minute operation in Chicago, IL.
1954 Rocky Marciano successfully defended his heavyweight boxing title by defeating former champion Ezzard Charles.
1960 Ted Williams became the fourth member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
1963 The United States Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against allowing the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools.
1969 Boris Spassky became chess champion of the world.
1971 Representatives of Japan and the United States signed the Okinawa Reversion Agreement, setting out a plan where the U.S. would return control of Okinawa.
1972 Newspapers around the country, including [/i]The Washington Post,[/i] reported a burglary at the Watergate apartment and office complex.
1973 Johnny Miller won his first major golf title by defeating the field at the prestigious United States Open.
1985 Judy Norton-Taylor, who played Mary Ellen on The Waltons, saw her good-girl image tarnished as she was photographed nude for Playboy magazine.
1991 The Parliament of South Africa repealed the Population Registration Act.
1994 Following a televised low-speed highway chase and a failed attempt at suicide, O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
2005 Former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski and a second executive, Mark H. Swartz, were convicted of looting their company of more than $600 million (each was later sentenced to 8-1/3 to 25 years in prison).
2006 Officials in Chechnya reported police had killed rebel leader Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev by acting on a tip from within his network.

Chart Toppers

1944
Long Ago and Far Away - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
I’ll Be Seeing You - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Frank Sinatra)
I’ll Get By - The Harry James Orchestra (vocal: Dick Haymes)
Straighten Up and Fly Right - King Cole Trio

1952
Kiss of Fire - Georgia Gibbs
Be Anything - Eddy Howard
I’m Yours - Eddie Fisher
The Wild Side of Life - Hank Thompson

1960
Cathy’s Clown - The Everly Brothers
Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool - Connie Francis
Burning Bridges - Jack Scott
Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Locklin

1968
Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel
This Guy’s in Love with You - Herb Alpert
Mony Mony - Tommy James & The Shondells
Honey - Bobby Goldsboro

1976
Silly Love Songs - Wings
Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right) - Silver Convention
Misty Blue - Dorthy Moore
I’ll Get Over You - Crystal Gayle

1984
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
The Reflex - Duran Duran
Self Control - Laura Branigan
I Got Mexico - Eddy Raven

Quote of the Day

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
Albert Einstein, US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

Today in History - June 18th

Today's Birthdays

1886 George Mallory, explorer/mountain climber (climbed Mt. Everest “Because it is there.”) disappeared climbing Everest in 1924, body found 27,000' May 1, 1999
1904 Keye Luke, actor (Kung Fu) died Jan 12, 1991
1913 Sammy Cahn (Samuel Cohen), composer/lyricist (Bei Mir Bist Du Schon, Love and Marriage) died Jan 15, 1993
1914 E.G. (Edda/Everett Gunnar) Marshall, actor (The Defenders, Chicago Hope, Twelve Angry Men) died Aug 24, 1998
1917 Richard (Allen) Boone, actor (Have Gun Will Travel) died Jan 10, 1981
1939 Lou (Louis Clark) Brock, Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (Chicago Cubs, StL Cardinals)
1942 Roger Ebert, film critic
1942 (James) Paul McCartney, guitarist/songwriter/singer (Beatles, Wings)
1942 Carl Radle, bass guitarist (Derek & the Dominos) died May 30, 1980
1952 Carol Kane, actress (Taxi, The Princess Bride, Scrooged)
1952 Isabella Rossellini (Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini), model/actress (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Big Night)
1953 Jerome Smith, guitarist (KC & The Sunshine Band)
1956 Brian Benben, actor (The Brian Benben Show, Radioland Murders)
1960 Barbara Broccoli, film producer/daughter of James Bond film creator Albert R. Broccoli
1961 (Genevieve) Alison ‘Alf’ Moyet, singer (Yaz)
1963 Bruce Smith, NFL defensive end (Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins)
1971 Nathan Morris, R&B singer (Boyz II Men)
1973 Eddie Cibrian, actor (Sunset Beach, Beverly Hills: 90210, Saved By the Bell: the College Years, Third Watch)
1975 Martin St. Louis, NHL right wing (Tampa Bay Lightning)
1976 Alana de la Garza, actress (Law and Order)
1977 Krista Kelly, playmate (April 2004)
1980 Antonio Gates, NFL tigh end (San Diego Chargers)

Today's Deaths in History

1928 Roald Amundsen, Norwegian explorer (South Pole) dies at 53
1936 Maxim Gorky, Russian author, dies at 68
1959 Ethel Barrymore, stage actress (A Doll's House) dies at 79
1984 Alan Berg, radio talk show host (inspiration for Talk Radio) is shot and killed at 50
1986 Frances Scott Fitzgerald, daughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre, dies at 64
2000 Nancy Marchand, actress (The Sopranos) dies the day before her 72nd birthday
2002 Jack Buck, baseball announcer/father of sportscaster Joe Buck (St Louis Cardinals) dies at 77

Today in History

1621 The first duel in America reportedly took place in the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts.
1812 The United States issued a declaration of war on Great Britain, beginning the War of 1812.
1815 British and Prussian troops defeated the French under Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo in Belgium.
1861 The first American fly-casting tournament was held in Utica, NY.
1873 Suffragist Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
1923 Checker Cab put its first taxi on the streets.
1925 The first degree in landscape architecture was granted by Harvard University.
1940 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to conduct themselves so that future generations would say, "this was their finest hour."
1945 Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower received a tumultuous welcome in Washington, D.C., where he addressed a joint session of Congress.
1948 The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted the International Declaration of Human Rights.
1948 Columbia Records unveiled its new long-playing, 33-1/3 rpm phonograph record.
1961 Gunsmoke was broadcast for the last time on CBS radio.
1967 Jimi Hendrix burned his guitar on stage at the Monterey Pop Festival.
1983 Dr. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
1985 The Wimbledon tennis seeding-committee, unable to decide on a favorite, made Chris Evert Lloyd and Martina Navratilova co-number one seeds, the first time in the 63-year history of the Wimbledon Open that a first co-seeding was utilized.
1986 Don Sutton pitched his 301st career win to lead the California Angels to a 6-4 win over the Texas Rangers.
1996 Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in (following Knesset approval) as Israel’s 9th Prime Minister.
1996 Ted Kaczynski, suspected of being the Unabomber, was indicted on ten criminal counts.
1996 Richard Allen Davis was convicted in San Jose, Calif., of the 1993 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas of Petaluma.
2003 A Palestinian detonated a nail-studded bomb in a Jerusalem bus, killing 19 passengers and himself.
2004 An al-Qaida cell in Saudi Arabia beheaded American engineer Paul M. Johnson Jr., posting grisly photographs of his severed head on the Internet; hours later, Saudi security forces tracked down and killed the alleged mastermind of the kidnapping and murder.
2004 European Union leaders agreed on the first constitution for the bloc's 25 members.
2006 Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected the first female presiding bishop for the Episcopal Church, the U.S. arm of the global Anglican Communion.

Chart Toppers

1945
Sentimental Journey - The Les Brown Orchestra (vocal: Doris Day)
Dream - The Pied Pipers
Laura - The Woody Herman Orchestra
At Mail Call Today - Gene Autry

1953
Song from Moulin Rouge - The Percy Faith Orchestra
April in Portugal - The Les Baxter Orchestra
I’m Walking Behind You - Eddie Fisher
Take These Chains from My Heart - Hank Williams

1961
Moody River - Pat Boone
Quarter to Three - U.S. Bonds
Tossin’ and Turnin’ - Bobby Lewis
Hello Walls - Faron Young

1969
Get Back - The Beatles
Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet - Henry Mancini
In the Ghetto - Elvis Presley
Running Bear - Sonny James

1977
Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
Got to Give It Up (Pt. I) - Marvin Gaye
Gonna Fly Now (Theme from "Rocky") - Bill Conti
Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) - Waylon Jennings

1985
Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears
Heaven - Bryan Adams
Sussudio - Phil Collins
Country Boy - Ricky Skaggs

Quote of the Day

Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right.
H. L. Mencken, US editor (1880 - 1956)

Today in History – June 19

Today's Birthdays

1856 Elbert Hubbard, author (A Message to Garcia) died aboard the Lusitania May 7, 1915
1897 Moe Howard (Moses Horowitz), comic actor (Three Stooges) died May 4, 1975
1902 Guy (Gaetano) Lombardo, bandleader (The Royal Canadians) died Nov 5, 1977
1903 Lou (Henry Louis) Gehrig, ‘The Iron Horse,’ Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman (NY Yankees) died June 02, 1941
1910 Abe Fortas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, died Apr 5, 1982
1914 Lester Flatt, bluegrass musician (Flatt & Scruggs) died May 11, 1979
1919 Louis Jourdan (Gendre), actor (Gigi, Three Coins in the Fountain)
1928 Nancy Marchand, actress (The Sopranos) died June 18, 2000
1930 Gena Rowlands, actress (Peyton Place, Night on Earth, The Mighty)
1936 Tommy DeVito, singer (The Four Seasons)
1938 Chief Wahoo McDaniel, football player/professional wrestler, died Apr 18, 2002
1942 Spanky (Elaine) McFarlane, singer (Spanky and Our Gang)
1947 Salman Rushdie, author (The Satanic Verses)
1948 Phylicia (Allen) Rashad, actress (The Cosby Show)
1948 Nick Drake, singer/guitarist, died Nov 25, 1974
1951 Ann Wilson, singer (Heart)
1953 Larry Dunn, keyboardist (Earth, Wind & Fire)
1954 (Mary) Kathleen Turner, actress (Body Heat, Romancing the Stone, The Jewel of the Nile)
1957 Tom Bailey, singer/keyboardist (The Thompson Twins)
1962 Paula Abdul, singer (Forever Your Girl, Straight Up, Opposites Attract)
1964 Brian Vander Ark, singer/songwriter (Verve Pipe)
1967 Mia Sara, actress (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Legend)
1970 Brian Welch, rock guitarist (KoЯn)
1972 Robin Tunney, actress (The Craft, Empire Records)
1972 Poppy Montgomery, actress (Without a Trace)
1979 Quentin Jammer, NFL cornerback (San Diego Chargers)
1984 Paul Dano, actor (Little Miss Sunshine)

Today's Deaths in History

1937 J. M. Barrie, Scottish author (Peter Pan) dies at 77
1953 Julius Rosenberg, spy is executed at 35
1953 Ethel Rosenberg, spy, is executed at 37
1956 Thomas J. Watson, businessman/founder (IBM) dies at 80
1966 Ed Wynn, actor (Requiem for a Heavyweight) dies at 79
1986 Len Bias, basketball player, dies at 22 of cardiac arrhythmia caused by a cocaine overdose
1993 William Golding, English writer (Lord of the Flies) dies at 81
1997 Bobby Helms, singer (Jingle Bell Rock) dies at 63

Today in History

1586 English colonists sailed from Roanoke Island, N.C., after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in America.
1846 The first organized baseball game was played on this day. The location was Hoboken, New Jersey, as the New York Baseball Club defeated the Knickerbocker Club, 23 to 1.
1862 Congress prohibited slavery in United States territories, nullifying the Dred Scott Case.
1865 Two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in Galveston, Texas, are finally informed of their freedom.
1910 The first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington.
1911 The first motion-picture censorship board was established in Pennsylvania.
1912 The United States government adopted a new rule which established an 8-hour work day.
1934 The U.S. Congress established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
1939 Atlanta, Georgia enacted legislation that disallowed pinball machines in the city.
1939 Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis on his 36th birthday.
1946 Joe Louis tangled with Billy Conn in New York City in the first championship prizefight to be televised.
1953 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were put to death at Sing Sing, in New York, for treason.
1961 The Supreme Court struck down a provision in Maryland's constitution requiring state officeholders to profess a belief in God.
1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved after surviving an 83-day filibuster in the U.S. Senate.
1973 Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds reached the 2,000-career-hit plateau.
1973 National Hockey League record-holder Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings jumped leagues to join his sons, Mark and Marty, on the Houston Aeros of the rival World Hockey Association.
1978 Garfield the cat made his comic strip debut.
1985 Angelo Spagnolo shot an incredible 257 to win the Worst Avid Golfer’s Tournament held at Ponte Vedra, FL.
1987 The Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law requiring any public school teaching the theory of evolution to teach creationism science as well.
1999 Horror king/author Stephen King was was run down from behind by a van while walking on the shoulder of a road near his house in Maine.
2000 The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, barred officials from letting students lead stadium crowds in prayer before football games.

Chart Toppers

1946
The Gypsy - The Ink Spots
All Through the Day - Perry Como
They Say It’s Wonderful - Frank Sinatra
New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills

1954
Little Things Mean a Lot - Kitty Kallen
Three Coins in the Fountain - The Four Aces
Hernando’s Hideaway - Archie Bleyer
I Don’t Hurt Anymore - Hank Snow

1962
I Can’t Stop Loving You - Ray Charles
It Keeps Right on a-Hurtin’ - Johnny Tillotson
(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance - Gene Pitney
She Thinks I Still Care - George Jones

1970
The Long and Winding Road/For You Blue - The Beatles
Which Way You Goin’ Billy? - The Poppy Family
Get Ready - Rare Earth
Hello Darlin’ - Conway Twitty

1978
Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty
It’s a Heartache - Bonnie Tyler
Two More Bottles of Wine - Emmylou Harris

1986
On My Own - Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald
I Can’t Wait - Nu Shooz
There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) - Billy Ocean
Life’s Highway - Steve Wariner

Quote of the Day

This is like deja vu all over again.
Yogi Berra, US baseball player, coach, & manager (1925 - )

Today in History - June 20th

Today's Birthdays

1909 Errol (Leslie Thomson) Flynn, actor (Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood) died Oct 14, 1959
1924 Chet (Chester Burton) Atkins, guitarist (elected to Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973) died June 30, 2001
1924 Audie Murphy, hero/actor (most decorated GI of WWII; The Red Badge of Courage, To Hell and Back) killed in plane crash May 28, 1971
1931 Olympia Dukakis, actress (Moonstruck, Steel Magnolias)
1931 Martin Landau, actor (Ed Wood, Mission Impossible)
1931 James Tolkan, actor (Dick Tracy, Back to the Future, Serpico)
1933 Danny Aiello (Daniel Louis Aiello, Jr.), actor (Moonstruck, Do the Right Thing)
1935 Len Dawson, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Kansas City Chiefs)
1936 Billy Guy, singer (The Coasters) died Nov 5, 2002
1940 John Mahoney, actor (Frasier, Cheers, Primal Fear, The Hudsucker Proxy)
1942 Brian Wilson, bassist/singer/songwriter (The Beach Boys)
1945 (Morna) Anne Murray, singer (Love Song, Could I Have This Dance, Snowbird)
1946 Bob Vila, TV host/fixer-upper (This Old House)
1947 Candy Clark, actress (American Graffiti, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
1947 Dolores Brooks, singer (The Crystals)
1949 Lionel Richie, tenor saxophonist/songwriter/singer (Commodores, solo)
1949 Dave Thomas, comedian/actor (Strange Brew, Second City TV)
1952 John Goodman, actor (Roseanne, The Flintstones, The Babe)
1953 Alan Longmuir, bassist (Bay City Rollers)
1954 Michael Anthony, bassist (Van Halen)
1960 John Taylor, guitarist/bassist (Duran Duran)
1964 Renee Albert, actress (Big Love)
1967 Nicole (Mary) Kidman, actress (Days of Thunder, Bewitched, Batman Forever, Eyes Wide Shut)
1968 Robert Rodriguez, director (Spy Kids)
1969 Peter Paige, actor (Queer as Folk)
1971 Josh Lucas, actor (A Beautiful Mind, Glory Road)
1972 Jozef Stumpel, NHL center (Boston Bruins, LA Kings)
1973 Chino Moreno, rock singer/guitarist (Deftones)
1974 Jami Ferrell, playmate (January 1997)
1976 Carlos Lee, MLB left fielder (Houston Astros)
1978 LaVar Arrington, NFL linebacker (NY Giants)
1983 Darren Sproles, NFL running back (San Diego Chargers)
1984 Troy Smith, Heisman Trophy quarterback (Ohio State)

Today's Deaths in History

1947 Bugsy Siegel, gangster, is shot and killed at 41
1972 Howard Deering Johnson, entrepreneur (motels/restaurants) dies at 75
1978 Mark Robson, film director/producer (Valley of the Dolls) dies at 64
1996 Jim Ellison, singer/guitarist (Material Issue) dies at 32
1997 Lawrence Payton, singer (The Four Tops) dies at 59
2006 Billy Johnson, MLB 3rd baseman (NY Yankees) dies at 87

Today in History

1214 The University of Oxford received its charter.
1782 The Great Seal of the United States was adopted by Congress.
1791 King Louis XVI of France attempted to flee the country in the so-called Flight to Varennes, but was caught.
1819 The U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrived at Liverpool, United Kingdom, the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic.
1837 Princess Victoria became Queen Victoria of England, following the death of her uncle, King William IV.
1863 The National Bank of Philadelphia, PA received a charter from the U.S. Congress, the first bank to receive one.
1863 Virginia’s cessation from the Union gave birth to West Virginia, as 40 western counties of Virginia did not secede, and instead, formed their own government, officially entering the United States of America as the 35th state.
1877 Alexander Graham Bell installed world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
1893 A jury in New Bedford, Mass., found Lizzie Borden innocent of the ax murders of her father and stepmother.
1921 Alice M. Robertson of Oklahoma presided over the U.S. House of Representatives, the first woman to do so.
1943 Race-related rioting erupted in Detroit; federal troops were sent in two days later to quell the violence that left more than 30 people dead.
1947 Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was shot dead in Beverly Hills, Calif., at the order of mob associates angered over the soaring costs of his pet project, the Flamingo resort in Las Vegas.
1948 Toast of the Town premiered on CBS-TV, hosted by Ed Sullivan.
1950 Willie Mays graduated from high school and immediately signed with the New York Giants for a $6,000 bonus.
1963 The United States and the Soviet Union made a hot-line agreement as a way to establish emergency communications between the two superpowers during the Cold War (the system was tested, but never used).
1966 The U.S. Open golf tournament was broadcast from San Francisco in color for the first time.
1967 Boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted (the conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court).
1969 Guitarist Jimi Hendrix earned the biggest paycheck ever paid (to that time) for a single concert appearance, raking in $125,000 to appear for a single set at the Newport Jazz Festival.
1975 The movie Jaws was released.
1977 Oil began to flow through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).
1979 ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart was shot to death in Managua, Nicaragua, by a member of President Anastasio Somoza's national guard.
1983 The Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) universal lossless data compression algorithm was patented in the U.S.
1993 The Chicago Bulls won their third consecutive title with a 99-98 victory over the Phoenix Suns in game 6 of the NBA finals.
1994 O.J. Simpson pleaded innocent in Los Angeles to the killings of his ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
1996 Westinghouse Electric agreed to buy Infinity Broadcasting for $3.9 billion.
1997 The tobacco industry agreed to a massive settlement in exchange for relief from mounting lawsuits and legal bills.
1999 Yugoslav troops withdrew from Kosovo, and NATO declared a formal end to its 11-week bombing campaign against Yugoslavia.
2001 Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub in her family's home in Houston (she was later found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state hospital).
2001 Billy Collins was named the 11th U.S. poet laureate.
2002 The U.S. Supreme Court declared that executing mentally retarded murderers was unconstitutionally cruel.
2003 The Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) universal lossless data compression algorithm patent expired in the U.S.

Chart Toppers

1947
Peg o’ My Heart - The Harmonicats
Mam’selle - Art Lund
Linda - Buddy Clark with the Ray Noble Orchestra
It’s a Sin - Eddy Arnold

1955
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie - Somethin’ Smith & The Redheads
Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young - Faron Young

1963
Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto
You Can’t Sit Down - The Dovells
Blue on Blue - Bobby Vinton
Act Naturally - Buck Owens

1971
It’s Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King
Rainy Days and Mondays - Carpenters
Treat Her Like a Lady - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot - Jerry Reed

1979
Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
We are Family - Sister Sledge
Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
She Believes in Me - Kenny Rogers

1987
Head to Toe - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston
In Too Deep - Genesis
Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis

Quote of the Day

To be pleased with one's limits is a wretched state.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German dramatist, novelist, poet, & scientist (1749 - 1832)

Today in History - June 21st

Today's Birthdays

1731 Martha Washington (Dandridge Custis), first First Lady of the U.S., died May 22, 1802
1850 Daniel Carter Beard, founder (Boy Scouts of America) died June 11, 1941
1859 Henry Tanner, artist (one of the first black artists to be exhibited in galleries throughout the U.S.) died May 25, 1937
1902 Howie Morenz, Hockey Hall of fame forward (Montreal Canadiens, NY Rangers) died Mar 8, 1937
1905 Jean-Paul Sartre, philosopher/writer (Being and Nothingness) died Apr 15, 1980
1916 Buddy O'Connor, NHL forward (Montreal Canadiens, NY Rangers)
1921 Jane (Ernestine) Russell, actress (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Outlaw)
1925 Maureen Stapleton, actress (Reds, Cocoon: The Return) died Mar 13, 2006
1932 O.C. (Ocie Lee) Smith, singer (Little Green Apples)
1932 Lalo Schifrin, pianist/composer (Mission:Impossible theme)
1933 Bernie Kopell, actor (The Love Boat, Get Smart, Love American Style)
1938 Ron Ely (Ronald Pierce), actor (Tarzan, Doc Savage)
1940 Mariette Hartley, actress (Encino Man, Silence of the Heart)
1941 Joe Flaherty, comedian/actor (Second City TV, Happy Gilmore, Back to the Future Part 2)
1944 Ray Davies, guitarist/singer/songwriter (The Kinks)
1945 Chris Britton, guitarist (The Troggs)
1947 Meredith Baxter, actress (Family Ties, Bridget Loves Bernie)
1947 Michael Gross, actor (Family Ties, Tremors)
1947 Duane Thomas, NFL running back (Dallas Cowboys)
1947 Wade Phillips, NFL coach (Denver Broncos)
1948 Joey Molland, guitarist/keyboardist/singer (Badfinger)
1950 Joey Kramer, drums (Aerosmith)
1951 Nils Lofgren, guitarist/keyboardist/singer/songwriter (E Street Band)
1954 Robert Pastorelli, actor (Striking Distance, Be Cool, Murphy Brown) died Mar 8, 2004
1956 Rick (Richard Lee) Sutcliffe, MLB pitcher (LA Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, SL Cardinals)
1957 Berkeley Breathed, cartoonist (Bloom County, Outland, Opus)
1957 Mark Brzezicki, drummer (Big Country)
1959 Marcella Detroit, singer/songwriter (Shakespear's Sister)
1961 Kip Winger, rock guitarist (Winger)
1964 Sammi Davis-Voss, actress (The Lair of the White Worm, Hope and Glory)
1964 Doug Savant, actor (Desperate Housewives)
1965 Larry Wachowski, writer/director (Matrix movies)
1967 Jim Breuer, comedian (Saturday Night Live)
1973 Juliette Lewis, actress (Cape Fear, Natural Born Killers, From Dusk Til Dawn)
1976 Mike Einziger, rock guitarist (Incubus)
1981 Brandon Flowers, singer/keyboardist (The Killers)
1981 Yann Danis, NHL goaltender (Montreal Canadiens)
1982 Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor), Prince William of Wales

Today's Deaths in History

1908 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer (Flight of the Bumblebee) dies at 64
1964 James Chaney, American civil rights activist, is murdered at 21
1964 Andrew Goodman, American civil rights activist, is murdered at 20
1964 Michael Schwerner, American civil rights activist, is murdered at 24
1998 Al Campanis, Major League Baseball manager (LA Dodgers) dies at 81
2001 John Lee Hooker, blues guitarist/singer (Boom Boom) dies at 83
2001 Carroll O'Connor, actor (All in the Family, In the Heat of the Night) dies at 76
2003 Leon Uris, writer (Exodus) dies at 78

Today in History

1788 New Hampshire became the ninth state to enter the United States of America when it ratified the Constitution.
1834 Cyrus McCormick patented the first practical reaper for farming.
1853 The envelope folding machine was patented by Dr. Russell L. Hawes of Worcester, MA.
1859 Andrew Lanergan of Boston, MA, received the first rocket patent.
1898 Guam became a U.S. territory.
1932 After heavyweight boxer Max Schmeling lost a title fight by decision to Jack Sharkey, Schmeling's manager, Joe Jacobs, exclaimed: "We was robbed!"
1942 Ben Hogan recorded the lowest score (to that time) in a major golf tournament, shooting a 271 for 72 holes in Chicago, IL.
1942 A Japanese submarine surfaces near the Columbia River in Oregon, firing 17 shells at nearby Fort Stevens in one of only a handful of attacks by the Japanese against the U.S. mainland.
1948 Columbia Records announced that it was offering a new Vinylite long-playing record that could hold 23 minutes of music on each side.
1958 "Splish Splash," Bobby Darin’s first million-seller, was released by Atco Records.
1963 Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was chosen to succeed the late Pope John XXIII as head of the Roman Catholic Church, taking name Paul VI.
1964 Jim Bunning, a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, threw the first perfect game in the National League in 84 years, leading the Phils to a 6-0 win over the New York Mets.
1964 Three civil rights workers disappeared in Philadelphia, Miss; their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later.
1965 Gary Player won the U.S. Open golf tournament to become only the fourth winner to earn all four top pro golf titles.
1972 Billy Preston received a gold record for the instrumental hit, "Outa-Space."
1973 The Supreme Court ruled that states may ban materials found to be obscene according to local standards.
1977 Menachem Begin became Israel's sixth prime minister.
1982 A jury in Washington, D.C., found John Hinckley Jr. innocent by reason of insanity in the shootings of President Ronald Reagan and three others.
1985 Scientists announced that skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were those of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.
1989 The U.S. Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson ruled that burning the American flag as a political protest is protected by the First Amendment.
1995 Microsoft and Netscape officials met at Netscape headquarters in Mountain View, Calif; notes taken by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen indicate that Microsoft offered to buy a share of its rival if Netscape would stop making Navigator for the Windows market, and these notes would be used later in the U.S. government’s massive antitrust case against Microsoft Corp.
1997 The New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, 67-57, in the innaugural WNBA game before a sold-out crowd of 14,284 fans at the Great Western Forum.
1999 America Online announced its investment of $1.5 billion in DirecTV creator Hughes Electronics Corp.
2001 A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., indicted 13 Saudis and a Lebanese in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen.
2003 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by JK Rowling, was published worldwide
2004 Connecticut Gov. John Rowland resigned amid graft allegations and a federal investigation.
2005 Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman, was found guilty of manslaughter in the deaths of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Miss., 41 years to the day earlier.
2006 Pluto's newly discovered moons were officially christened Nix & Hydra.

Chart Toppers

1948
Nature Boy - Nat King Cole
Toolie Oolie Doolie - The Andrews Sisters
You Can’t Be True, Dear - The Ken Griffin Orchestra (vocal: Jerry Wayne)
Texarkana Baby - Eddy Arnold

1956
The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
I Almost Lost My Mind - Pat Boone
Transfusion - Nervous Norvus
Crazy Arms - Ray Price

1964
Chapel of Love - The Dixie Cups
A World Without Love - Peter & Gordon
I Get Around - The Beach Boys
Together Again - Buck Owens

1972
The Candy Man - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond
Nice to Be with You - Gallery
The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A. - Donna Fargo

1980
Funkytown - Lipps, Inc.
Coming Up - Paul McCartney & Wings
Biggest Part of Me - Ambrosia
One Day at a Time - Cristy Lane

1988
Together Forever - Rick Astley
Foolish Beat - Debbie Gibson
Dirty Diana - Michael Jackson
I Told You So - Randy Travis

Quote of the Day

It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.
Arnold Toynbee, English historian & historical philosopher (1889 - 1975)

Today in History - June 22nd

Today's Birthdays

1903 ‘King’ Carl (Owen) Hubbell, MLB pitcher (NY Giants) died Nov 21, 1988
1903 John Dillinger, bank robber, died July 22, 1934
1906 Billy (Samuel) Wilder, director (The Apartment, Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, The Seven Year Itch, Some Like it Hot) died Mar 27, 2002
1907 Anne Morrow Lindbergh, aviator/Mrs Charles Lindbergh, died Feb 7, 2001
1909 Michael Todd (Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen), producer/Mr. Elizabeth Taylor (Oklahoma!, Around the World in 80 Days) killed in plane crash Mar 22, 1958
1922 Bill Blass, fashion designer, died June 12, 2002
1936 Kris Kristofferson, songwriter/singer (Me & Bobby McGee, For the Good Times, Help Me Make It Through the Night)
1941 Ed Bradley, news correspondent (60 Minutes) died Nov 9, 2006
1944 Peter Asher, singer (Peter and Gordon)
1944 Klaus Maria Brandauer, actor (Quo Vadis, Never Say Never Again)
1947 Howard Kaylan (Kaplan), singer (The Turtles, Flo & Eddie)
1947 David Lander, actor (Laverne & Shirley)
1948 ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich, basketball (New Orleans Jazz) died Jan 5, 1988
1948 Todd Rundgren, singer/producer (Runt, Utopia)
1949 Meryl (Mary Louise) Streep, actress (Sophie’s Choice, Kramer vs. Kramer, Silkwood, Postcards from the Edge)
1949 Lindsay Wagner, actress (The Bionic Woman)
1953 Cyndi Lauper (Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper), singer (Girls Just Want to Have Fun)
1954 Freddie Prinze (Preutzel), comedian/actor (Chico and the Man) committed suicide Jan 29, 1977
1956 Green Gartside, singer (Scritti Politti)
1957 Gary Beers, bassist (INXS)
1958 Bruce Campbell, actor (The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Army of Darkness, Evil Dead series)
1960 Tracy (Jo) Pollan, actress/Mrs Michael J Fox (Family Ties)
1961 Jimmy Somerville, keyboards/singer (Communards, Bronksi Beat)
1962 Clyde 'The Glide' Drexler, basketball (Portland Trailblazers, Houston Rockets)
1964 Amy Brenneman, actress (Judging Amy, N.Y.P.D. Blue)
1964 Tom Cunningham, drummer (Wet Wet Wet)
1964 Dan Brown, author (The Da Vinci Code)
1970 Steven Page, rock singer/guitarist/songwriter (Barenaked Ladies)
1971 Kurt Warner, NFL quarterback (St Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals)
1971 Mary Lynn Rajskub, actress (24)
1973 Chris Traynor, rock guitarist (Helmet)
1973 Carson Daly, TV personality (Last Call with Carson Daly)
1974 Donald Faison, actor (Scrubs, Clueless)
1978 Champ Bailey, NFL Cornerback (Denver Broncos)
1978 Dan Wheldon, British Indy car driver
1979 Jai Rodriguez, TV personality (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy)

Today's Deaths in History

1965 David O. Selznick, film producer (Rebecca) dies at 63
1969 Judy Garland, singer/actress (The Wizard of Oz) dies at 47
1987 Fred Astaire, actor/dancer (Daddy Long Legs) dies at 88
1992 Chuck Mitchell, actor (Porky's, Proky's Revenge) dies at 64
1993 Pat Nixon, former First lady, died at 81
2002 Darryl Kile, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, dies at 33
2002 Ann Landers, Syndicated advice columnist, dies at 83
2006 Moose, dog actor, (Frasier) dies at 15

Today in History

1611 English explorer Henry Hudson, his son and several other people were set adrift in present-day Hudson Bay by mutineers.
1633 The Holy Office in Rome forced Galileo Galilei to recant his scientific view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe.
1815 Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated for the second time.
1832 J.I. Howe patented the pin machine, better known as a pinmaker.
1870 Congress created the Department of Justice.
1874 Dr. Andrew Taylor Still began the first known practice of osteopathy.
1937 Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, knocked out James J. Braddock in a boxing match in Chicago, Illinois., making him the world heavyweight boxing champion.
1938 Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling of Germany in the first round of their rematch in New York City's Yankee Stadium.
1939 The first U.S. water-ski tournament was held at Jones Beach, on Long Island, New York.
1940 France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris during World War II.
1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II.
1942 V-Mail, or Victory-Mail, which was designed to reduce cargo space taken up by mail sent to and from members of the armed services, was sent for the first time (the letters written on this special paper were opened at the post office, censored and reduced in size by photography; one roll of film contained 1,500 letters).
1944 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the GI Bill of Rights, authorizing a broad package of benefits for World War II veterans.
1945 The World War II battle for Okinawa ended; 12,520 Americans and 110,000 Japanese were killed in the 83-day campaign.
1959 Eddie Lubanski rolled 24 consecutive strikes, two back-to-back perfect games, in a bowling tournament in Miami, FL.
1963 "Fingertips - Pt 2," by Little Stevie Wonder, was released, becoming Wonder’s first number one single on August 10th.
1964 The United States Supreme Court voted that Henry Miller’s controversial book, Tropic of Cancer, could not be banned.
1970 President Richard Nixon signed a measure lowering the voting age to 18.
1977 Former Attorney General John N. Mitchell began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up.
1978 Charon, a satellite of the dwarf planet Pluto, was discovered.
1981 Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to killing rock musician John Lennon.
1989 Batman, the movie, opened in U.S. theatres.
1989 The government of Angola and the anti-Communist rebels of the UNITA movement agreed to a formal truce in their 14-year civil war.
1990 The last-place Atlanta Braves fired manager Russ Nixon and replaced him with GM Bobby Cox.
1992 The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that hate-crime laws that ban cross-burning and similar expressions of racial bias violate free-speech rights.
1998 CompUSA announced that it was buying Computer City from Tandy for $275 million.
2004 A federal judge approved a class-action sex-discrimination lawsuit representing 1.6 million female workers against Wal-Mart.

Chart Toppers

1949
Again - Gordon Jenkins
Some Enchanted Evening - Perry Como
Bali Ha’i - Perry Como
One Kiss Too Many - Eddy Arnold

1957
Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
Teddy Bear - Elvis Presley
I Like Your Kind of Love - Andy Williams
Four Walls - Jim Reeves

1965
I Can’t Help Myself - The Four Tops
Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds
For Your Love - The Yardbirds
Ribbon of Darkness - Marty Robbins

1973
My Love - Paul McCartney & Wings
Playground in My Mind - Clint Holmes
I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby - Barry White
Kids Say the Darndest Things - Tammy Wynette

1981
Stars on 45 medley - Stars on 45
Sukiyaki - A Taste of Honey
A Woman Needs Love (Just like You Do) - Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio
But You Know I Love You - Dolly Parton

1989
I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) - New Kids on the Block
Satisfied - Richard Marx
Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry
Love Out Loud - Earl Thomas Conley

Quote of the Day

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.
Miss Piggy

Today in History - June 23rd

Today's Birthdays

1894 Dr. Alfred Kinsey, sexual behavior researcher (The Kinsey Report) died Aug 25, 1956
1910 Edward P. Morgan, radio/TV reporter (ABC) died Jan 27, 1993
1925 Larry Blyden (Ivan Lawrence Blieden), actor/TV moderator (What’s My Line) died June 6, 1975
1927 Bob (Robert Louis) Fosse, director/choreographer (Cabaret, Damn Yankees) died Sep 23, 1
1929 June Carter Cash, country singer/songwriter/Mrs. Johnny Cash, died May 15, 2003
1933 Bert Convy, TV host (Win Lose or Draw, Tattletales) died July 15, 1991
1940 Stuart Sutcliffe, bassist (The Beatles) died Apr 10, 1962
1946 Ted Shackelford, actor (Knots Landing, Dallas)
1947 Bryan Brown, actor (Breaker Morant, F/X series, Cocktail)
1948 Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
1948 Myles Goodwyn, guitarist/singer (April Wine)
1955 Glenn Danzig, punk/rock singer/songwriter (The Misfits, Danzig)
1956 Randy Jackson, music producer/judge (American Idol)
1957 Frances McDormand, actress (Fargo, Almost Famous)
1962 Billy Wirth, actor (The Lost Boys)
1963 Steve Shelley, drummer (Sonic Youth)
1965 Paul Arthurs, guitarist (Oasis)
1970 Robert Brooks, NFL wide receiver (Green Bay Packers)
1971 Felix Potvin, NHL goaltender (Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks)
1972 Selma Blair, actress (In & Out, Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde)
1974 The Great Dane, board member
1975 Kevin Dyson, NFL wide receiver (Washington Redskins)
1976 Brandon Stokley, NFL wide receiver (Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos)
1977 Jason Mraz, singer/songwriter
1978 Matt Light, NFL tackle (New England Patriots)
1979 LaDainian Tomlinson, NFL running back (San Diego Chargers)

Today's Deaths in History

1992 Eric Andolsek, NFL offensive lineman, dies at 25
1995 Jonas Salk, medical researcher (Polio vaccine) dies at 80
1996 Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece, dies at 77
1997 Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, dies in a house fire at 61
1998 Maureen O'Sullivan, actress (Tarzan films) dies at 87
2005 Shana Alexander, columnist (60 minutes) dies at 79
2006 Aaron Spelling, television producer (Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat) dies at 83

Today in History

1860 Congress established the Government Printing Office.
1868 Christopher L. Sholes of Wisconsin patented his type-writer.
1888 Frederick Douglass became the first African-American nominated for US president.
1894 The International Olympic Committee was founded at the Sorbonne, Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
1917 Babe Ruth punched an umpire after he was ejected from a baseball game between Boston and Washington.
1931 Anne Bledsoe and William ‘Bill’ Henry Getty France were married; together they built NASCAR into the largest sanctioning organization of auto racing in the world.
1931 Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island in an attempt to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine plane.
1938 Marineland opened near St. Augustine, Florida.
1941 Lena Horne recorded "St. Louis Blues" for Victor Records and launched her singing career.
1945 The Imperial Japanese armed forces ended organized resistance to the U.S. armed forces in the Mabuni area on the southern tip of the main island of Okinawa.
1947 The Senate joined the House in overriding President Harry S. Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act.
1960 Cleon Turner finally found an entrance to what would become known as Crystal Onyx Cave after 30 years of searching.
1961 The Antarctic Treaty, signed by twelve nations in 1959, finally took effect.
1963 The sounds of Polynesian drums heralded the opening of the Enchanted Tiki Room, Disneyland’s first Audio-Animatronic attraction.
1967 Thurgood Marshall was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court, the first black to sit on the high court.
1967 The Senate voted to censure Democrat Thomas J. Dodd of Connecticut for using campaign money for personal uses.
1969 Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court by retiring chief Earl Warren.
1972 U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House chief of staff H. R. Haldeman were taped talking about using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into the Watergate break-ins.
1973 Dwight Eliott Stone was the last person drafted into the U.S. armed forces prior to the expiration of the Selective Service Act.
1985 A bomb planted by terrorists in Air India Flight 182 (Boeing 747) blew-up 31,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean, South of Ireland, killing all 329 aboard.
1987 Madonna became the first celebrity cover girl to grace Cosmopolitan magazine since Elizabeth Taylor in 1969.
1991 The flagship Sega video game Sonic the Hedgehog was released in the United States.
1992 John Gotti, convicted of racketeering charges, was sentenced in New York to life in prison.
1993 Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband’s penis with a butcher knife while he was sleeping.
1995 The Los Angeles Raiders announced that they were relocating to Oakland.
1996 Rusty Wallace ran out of gas just after crossing the finish line to win the Miller 400 at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI.
1999 Wayne Gretzky became the 10th and final player to have the 3-year waiting period waived by the Hockey Hall of Fame “by reason of outstanding pre-eminence and skill.”
2005 Former Ku Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the 1964 Mississippi slayings of three civil rights workers.

Chart Toppers

1950
My Foolish Heart - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Eileen Wilson)
Bewitched - The Bill Snyder Orchestra
The Old Piano Roll Blues - Hoagy Carmichael & Cass Daley
I’ll Sail My Ship Alone - Moon Mullican

1958
All I Have to Do is Dream - The Everly Brothers
The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
Hard Headed Woman - Elvis Presley
Guess Things Happen that Way - Johnny Cash

1966
Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones
Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind? - The Lovin’ Spoonful
Barefootin’ - Robert Parker
Take Good Care of Her - Sonny James

1974
Billy, Don’t Be a Hero - Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods
You Make Me Feel Brand New - The Stylistics
Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
This Time - Waylon Jennings

1982 - Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder
Don’t You Want Me - The Human League
Rosanna - Toto
Slow Hand - Conway Twitty

1990 - It Must Have Been Love - Roxette
Step By Step - New Kids on the Block
Do You Remember? - Phil Collins
Love Without End, Amen - George Strait

Quote of the Day

To repeat what others have said, requires education; to challenge it, requires brains.
Mary Pettibone Poole

Today in History - June 24th

Today's Birthdays

1842 Ambrose Bierce, author (Devil's Dictionary) died in 1914
1895 Jack (William Harrison) Dempsey, ‘The Manassa Mauler,’ world heavyweight boxing champion, died May 31, 1983
1901 Chuck Taylor, basketball player/Converse sneaker spokesperson, died June 23, 1969
1910 Irving Kaufman, judge (Taylor vs. Board of Education; Julius and Ethel Rosenberg trial) died Feb 1, 1992
1919 Al Molinaro, actor (Happy Days, Joanie Loves Chachi, The Odd Couple)
1935 Pete Hamill, journalist/editor (New York Post, New York Daily News)
1942 Mick Fleetwood, drummer (Fleetwood Mac)
1942 Michele Lee (Dusick), actress (Knots Landing, The Love Bug)
1943 Georg Stanford Brown, actor (The Rookies)
1944 Jeff Beck, rock guitarist (The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group, The Honeydrippers)
1944 Chris Wood, flautist/saxophonist (Traffic) died July 12, 1983
1945 Colin Blunstone, rock singer (The Zombies)
1945 George Pataki, former governor of New York
1945 Wayne Cashman, NHL right wing (Boston Bruins)
1946 Lt. Col. Ellison S. Onizuka, astronaut, killed when shuttle Challenger exploded Jan 28, 1986
1947 Peter Weller, actor (Screamers, RoboCop series)
1948 Patrick Moraz, keyboardist (Yes, The Moody Blues)
1949 John Illsley, bassist (Dire Straits)
1950 Nancy Allen, actress (Robocop, Blow Out, Dressed to Kill, 1941)
1956 Joe Penny, actor (Jake and the Fatman)
1958 Tommy "Tiny" Lister, actor (5th Element, Enterprise)
1959 Andy McCluskey, singer (Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark)
1960 Siedah Garrett, R&B singer/songwriter (Brand New Heavies)
1961 Curt Smith, bassist/singer (Tears for Fears)
1965 Danielle Spencer, actress (What's Happening!)
1967 Jeff Cease, guitarist (The Black Crowes)
1967 Sherry Stringfield, actress (N.Y.P.D. Blue, ER)
1967 Richard Kruspe-Bernstein, rock guitarist (Rammstein)
1969 Rich Eisen, sportscaster (ESPN)
1979 Petra Němcová, Czechoslovakian-born supermodel
1980 Minka Kelly, actress (Friday Night Lights)
1982 Hockeye 101, board member
1986 Solange Knowles, singer/Beyonce's sister

Today's Deaths in History

1908 Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States, dies at 71
1984 Clarence Campbell, NHL president, dies at 78
1987 Jackie Gleason, actor/orchestra leader (The Honeymooners) dies at 71
1993 Archie Williams, African-American athlete (1936 Berlin Olympics) dies at 78
1997 Brian Keith, actor (Family Affair) dies at 75
2005 Paul Winchell, voice actor/ventriloquist, dies at 82
2006 Patsy Ramsey, mother of JonBenét Ramsey/murder suspect, dies at 49

Today in History

1374 A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance caused people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapsed from exhaustion.
1497 John Cabot landed on North America in Newfoundland, the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings.
1509 Henry VIII was crowned king of England.
1664 The colony of New Jersey was founded.
1901 The first exhibition of Pablo Picasso's work opened.
1916 Mary Pickford signed the most lucrative movie contract to the time, getting $250,000 per film with a guaranteed minimum of $10,000 a week against half of the profits, including bonuses and the right of approval of all creative aspects of her films.
1922 The American Professional Football Association changed its name to the National Football League.
1940 TV cameras were used for the first time in a political convention as the Republicans convened in Philadelphia, PA.
1948 The Berlin Blockade began when the Soviet Union made overland travel between the West and West Berlin impossible.
1949 The movie features of Hopalong Cassidy premiered on TV.
1952 Eddie Arcaro set a thoroughbred racing record for American jockeys by winning his 3,000th horse race.
1953 18-year old Al Kaline signed with the Detroit Tigers following his graduation from high school.
1957 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
1962 The New York Yankee’s played their longest extra-inning game, beating the Detroit Tigers 9-7 in 22 innings.
1968 "Resurrection City," a shantytown constructed as part of the Poor People's March on Washington D.C., was closed down by authorities.
1971 The National Basketball Association modified its four-year eligibility rule to allow for collegiate hardship cases.
1972 Baseball’s first woman umpire, Mrs. Bernice Gera, called her first game and resigned just a few hours later.
1972 "I Am Woman," by Helen Reddy, was released by Capitol Records.
1975 An Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 crashed while attempting to land during a thunderstorm at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing 113 people.
1982 British Airways Flight 9, sometimes referred to as the Jakarta incident, flew into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.
1985 The wife of exiled Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn became a U.S. citizen.
1992 Portland, Oregon became the first city outside of New York to host the NBA draft.
1993 Yale computer science professor Dr. David Gelernter lost the sight in one eye, the hearing in one ear, and part of his right hand after receiving a mail bomb from the Unabomber.
1997 The Air Force released a report on the so-called "Roswell Incident," suggesting the alien bodies witnesses reported seeing in 1947 were actually life-sized dummies.
1998 AT&T announced that it was buying cable TV giant TCI for $31.7 billion.
2003 President Vladimir Putin arrived in London on the first state visit to Britain by a Russian leader since the 19th century.
2004 Federal investigators questioned President George W. Bush for more than an hour in connection with the news leak of a CIA operative's name.
2004 In New York, capital punishment was declared unconstitutional.

Chart Toppers

1951
Too Young - Nat King Cole
On Top of Old Smokey - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
How High the Moon - Les Paul & Mary Ford
I Want to Be with You Always - Lefty Frizzell

1959
Personality - Lloyd Price
Lonely Boy - Paul Anka
Along Came Jones - The Coasters
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton

1967
Groovin’ - The Young Rascals
She’d Rather Be with Me - The Turtles
Windy - The Association
All the Time - Jack Greene

1975
Love Will Keep Us Together - The Captain & Tennille
When Will I Be Loved - Linda Ronstadt
Wildfire - Michael Murphey
You’re My Best Friend - Don Williams

1983
Flashdance...What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Time (Clock of the Heart) - Culture Club
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
You Can’t Run from Love - Eddie Rabbitt

1991
Rush, Rush - Paula Abdul
Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
Unbelievable - EMF
The Thunder Rolls - Garth Brooks

Quote of the Day

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Novelist (1896 - 1940)

Today in History - June 25th

Today's Birthdays

1886 Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold, U.S. General (first five-star general of the U.S. Army Air Force) died Jan 15,1950
1887 George Abbott, director (Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game) died Jan 31, 1995
1903 George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair), author (Animal Farm, 1984) died Jan 21, 1950
1924 Sidney Lumet, director (Twelve Angry Men, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network)
1925 June Lockhart, actress (Lassie, Lost in Space, Petticoat Junction, The Yearling, Meet Me in St. Louis)
1939 Harold Melvin, R&B singer (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes) died in 1997
1940 Clint Warwick (Eccles), bassist (The Moody Blues) died May 15, 2004
1945 Carly Simon, singer (Anticipation, You’re So Vain, Mockingbird)
1946 Allen Lanier, guitarist/keyboards (Blue Oyster Cult)
1946 Ian McDonald, saxophonist/keyboards/guitarist (Foreigner)
1947 Jimmie "JJ" Walker, actor/comedian (Good Times, Airplane!)
1949 Phyllis George (Brown), former Miss America/TV host (The NFL Today, The CBS Morning News)
1952 Tim Finn (Te Awamutu), keyboardist/singer (Split Enz, Crowded House)
1954 David Paich, keyboardist/singer (Toto)
1961 Ricky Gervais, actor/writer (The Office)
1963 Devin DeVasquez, playmate (June 1985)
1963 Doug Gilmour, NHL forward (Toronto Maple Leafs, NJ Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres)
1963 George Michael (Yorgos Panayiotou), singer (Wham!, solo)
1966 Dikembe Mutombo, NBA center (Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, NJ Nets, NY Knicks, Houston Rockets)
1971 Angela Kinsey, actress (The Office)
1972 Carlos Delgado, MLB 1st baseman (NY Mets)
1972 Mike Kroeger, rock bassist (Nickelback)
1974 Gusstaff, board member
1974 Mario Calire, rock drummer (Wallflowers, Ozomatli)
1975 Linda Cardellini, actress (Good Burger, Scooby-Doo, Legally Blonde)
1980 Fleury9816, board member

Today's Deaths in History

1876 George Armstrong Custer, U.S. Army general, is killed at Little BIg Horn at 36
1876 Thomas Custer, brother of George A. Custer/2-time Medal of Honor winner, is killed at Little Big Horn at 31
1876 Boston Custer, brother of George A. Custer, is killed at Little Big Horn at 27
1976 Johnny Mercer, songwriter (That Old Black Magic) dies at 66
1988 Hillel Slovak, Israeli-born rock guitarist (Red Hot Chili Peppers) dies at 26
1992 Jerome Brown, NFL defenseive tackle (Philadelphia Eagles) dies at 27 in a car crash
1995 Warren E. Burger, 15th Chief Justice of the United States, dies at 87
1997 Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Oceanographer dies at 87
2003 Lester Maddox, former Georgia governor, dies at 87

Today in History

1788 The Virginia colony entered the United States of America as the 10th state.
1844 John Tyler took Julia Gardiner as his bride, becoming the first U.S. President to marry while in office.
1868 Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union.
1876 Indian Chief Crazy Horse won the two-hour Battle of the Little Bighorn, Montana, wiping out the army of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer.
1910 The U.S. Congress authorized the use of postal savings stamps.
1947 The Diary of Anne Frank was published.
1948 Joe Louis knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott to keep the world heavyweight boxing crown.
1949 Long-Haired Hare was released in theaters, starring Bugs Bunny and Giovanni Jones.
1950 War broke out on the Korean peninsula as forces from the communist North invaded the South.
1951 The first commercial color TV program, a four-hour-long show presented on CBS, was carried in New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C.
1962 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5 to 4) that prayers in public schools violated the First Amendment to the Constitution regarding the separation of church and state.
1967 The Beatles performed a new song, "All You Need Is Love," during a live international telecast.
1968 Bobby Bonds of the San Francisco Giants connected for a grand-slam home run in his first game with the Giants.
1969 The Guess Who received a gold record for their hit single, "These Eyes."
1970 The U.S. Federal Communications Commission handed down legislative ruling 35 FR 7732, making it illegal for radio stations to put telephone calls on the air without the permission of the person being called.
1980 Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese announced his retirement from professional football after 14 years.
1981 Microsoft Inc. was restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
1985 Joe Namath joined Frank Gifford and O.J. Simpson in ABC-TV’s "Monday Night Football" announcer lineup.
1985 New York Yankees officials enacted a new rule, mandating that the team’s bat boys were to wear protective helmets during all games.
1987 Pope John Paul II received Austrian President Kurt Waldheim at the Vatican, a meeting fraught with controversy because of allegations that Waldheim had hidden a Nazi past.
1990 The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of an individual, whose wishes are clearly made, to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment.
1991 The Yugoslav republics of Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence.
1993 Kim Campbell became Canada’s 19th prime minister, and its first woman prime minister.
1996 A truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.
1997 An unmanned cargo ship crashed into Russia's Mir space station, knocking out half of the station's power and rupturing a pressurized laboratory.
1998 Windows 98 was released, using the slogan, “Works better. Plays better.”
1998 The Supreme Court rejected a line-item veto law as unconstitutional.
1999 Adam Sandler’s Big Daddy debuted at theatres across the U.S.
1999 The San Antonio Spurs earned their first NBA title in their 26-year history by beating the New York Knicks 78-to-77.
2002 A federal judge in Alexandria, Va., entered an innocent plea on behalf of Zacarias Moussaoui, who was accused of conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks.
2005 Hardline Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of Iran's presidential runoff election.
2006 Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, after tunneling under the border and attacking a military post, killing two other soldiers.

Chart Toppers

1944
I’ll Be Seeing You - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Frank Sinatra)
I’ll Get By - The Harry James Orchestra (vocal: Dick Haymes)
Swinging on a Star/Going My Way - Bing Crosby
Straighten Up and Fly Right - King Cole Trio

1952
Kiss of Fire - Georgia Gibbs
I’m Yours - Don Cornell
Be Anything - Eddy Howard
The Wild Side of Life - Hank Thompson

1960
Cathy’s Clown - The Everly Brothers
Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool - Connie Francis
Swingin’ School - Bobby Rydell
Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Locklin

1968
This Guy’s in Love with You - Herb Alpert
MacArthur Park - Richard Harris
The Look of Love - Sergio Mendes & Brazil ’66
Honey - Bobby Goldsboro

1976
Silly Love Songs - Wings
Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right) - Silver Convention
Misty Blue - Dorthy Moore
El Paso City - Marty Robbins

1984
The Reflex - Duran Duran
Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
Self Control - Laura Branigan
When We Make Love - Alabama

Quote of the Day

There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.
George Santayana, US (Spanish-born) philosopher (1863 - 1952)

Today in History - June 26th

Today's Birthdays

1819 Abner Doubleday, baseball founder, died Jan 26, 1893
1892 Pearl S. Buck, Nobel Prize-winning author (The Good Earth) died Mar 6, 1973
1904 Peter Lorre (László Löwenstein), actor (The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, M) died Mar 23, 1964
1909 Colonel Tom Parker (Andreas van Kuijk), manager (Elvis Presley) died Jan 21, 1997
1910 Roy Plunkett, scientist (discovered Teflon) died May 12, 1994
1914 Babe (Mildred) Didrikson Zaharias, International Women’s Sports Hall of Famer, died Sep 27, 1956
1934 Dave Grusin, composer (On Golden Pond, Heaven Can Wait, Tootsie)
1939 Charles Robb, former Virginia governor/U.S. senator
1940 Billy Davis Jr., singer (The 5th Dimension)
1942 Larry Taylor, bassist (Canned Heat)
1953 Robert Davi, actor (Die Hard)
1955 Mick Jones, guitarist/singer (Big Audio Dynamite, The Clash)
1955 Gedde Watanabe, actor (16 Candles, ER)
1956 Chris Isaak singer/actor/songwriter (Wicked Game)
1957 Patty Smyth, rock singer (Scandal)
1960 Barbara Edwards, playmate (September 1983, PMOY 1984)
1961 Terri Nunn, singer (Berlin)
1963 Harriet Wheeler, singer (The Sundays)
1968 Shannon Sharpe, former NFL tight end/sports commentator (Denver Broncos)
1969 Colin Greenwood, bassist (Radiohead)
1970 Chris O’Donnell, actor (The Three Musketeers, Dead Poets Society, Batman & Robin)
1970 Sean Hayes, actor (Will & Grace)
1974 Derek Jeter, MLB shortstop (NY Yankees)
1974 Gretchen Wilson, country singer
1976 Ed Jovanovski, NHL defenseman (Phoenix Coyotes)
1976 Chad Pennington, NFL quarterback (NY Jets)
1980 Jason Schwartzman, actor (Rushmore, Slackers)
1980 Redlightnry24, board member
1980 Michael Vick, NFL quarterback (Atlanta Falcons)

Today's Deaths in History

1993 Roy Campanella, MLB catcher (Brooklyn Dodgers) dies at 71
1996 Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist, is shot and killed at 37
1997 Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Hawaiian singer (Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World) dies at 38
2003 Strom Thurmond, U.S. Senator, dies at 100
2003 Sir Denis Thatcher, husband of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, dies at 88

Today in History

1284 The Pied Piper exacted his revenge upon the German town of Hamelin by playing his pipe for the children of town, leading them into a hole in the hillside (they were never see again).
1819 The bicycle was patented by W.K. Clarkson, Jr. of New York City.
1870 The first section of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., was opened to the public.
1870 Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States.
1894 The American Railway Union, led by Eugene Debs, called a general strike in sympathy with Pullman workers.
1917 The first troops of the American Expeditionary Force arrived in France during World War I.
1919 The New York Daily News was first published.
1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act, which established credit unions.
1945 Fifty nations came together in San Francisco for the signing of the United Nations Charter.
1948 The Berlin Airlift began in earnest as the United States, Britain and France began ferrying supplies to the isolated western sector of Berlin after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes.
1948 William Shockley filed the original patent for the grown junction transistor, the first bipolar junction transistor.
1959 CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow interviewed actress Lee Remick, his 500th and final guest on Person to Person.
1963 President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he declared in a speech, "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner).
1964 The Beatles' A Hard Day’s Night was released by United Artists Records.
1965 "Mr. Tambourine Man," by The Byrds, reached the number one spot on the pop music charts.
1974 The Universal Product Code was scanned for the first time, to sell a package of Wrigley's chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
1975 Two FBI agents and a member of the American Indian Movement were killed in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota; Leonard Peltier was later convicted of the murders in a controversial trial.
1976 The CN Tower opened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; at 1,815 feet, 5 inches high, the tower is the world's tallest building and the tallest freestanding structure.
1977 The Yorkshire Ripper killed 16-year old shop assistant Jayne MacDonald in Leeds, changing public perception of the killer as she was the first victim who was not a prostitute.
1979 Muhammad Ali announced that he was retiring as world heavyweight boxing champion.
1981 Mrs. Virginia Campbell used coupons and rebates to buy $24,460 worth of groceries for $.67.
1985 Organist Wilbur Snapp played "Three Blind Mice" following a call by umpire Keith O’Connor in Clearwater, Florida, and was ejected.
1990 President George H.W. Bush, who had campaigned for office on a pledge of "no new taxes," conceded that tax increases would have to be included in any deficit-reduction package.
1992 Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett III resigned, accepting responsibility for a "leadership failure" that resulted in the Tailhook sex-abuse scandal.
1993 The U.S. launched a missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters in retaliation for a thwarted assassination attempt against former President George H.W. Bush in April in Kuwait.
1996 The Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women or forgo state support.
1996 Irish Journalist Veronica Guerin was shot in her car while in traffic in the outskirts of Dublin.
1998 A 50-year-old Dutch tourist in the Spanish resort of Benidorm was admitted to the hospital when the Viagra he took left him with a 36-hour erection.
1998 The Supreme Court issued a landmark sexual harassment ruling, putting employers on notice that they can be held responsible for supervisors' misconduct even if they knew nothing about it.
2000 Principal photography for Star Wars: Episode II started in Australia, where shooting would last for two months before moving on to Italy, Tunisia and Spain.
2000 Rival scientific teams completed the first rough map of the human genetic code.
2003 The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down state bans on gay sex.

Chart Toppers

1945
Sentimental Journey - The Les Brown Orchestra (vocal: Doris Day)
Dream - The Pied Pipers
Laura - The Woody Herman Orchestra
At Mail Call Today - Gene Autry

1953
Song from Moulin Rouge - The Percy Faith Orchestra
April in Portugal - The Les Baxter Orchestra
Ruby - Richard Hayman
Take These Chains from My Heart - Hank Williams

1961
Quarter to Three - U.S. Bonds
Raindrops - Dee Clark
Tossin’ and Turnin’ - Bobby Lewis
Hello Walls - Faron Young

1969
Get Back - The Beatles
Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet - Henry Mancini
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Running Bear - Sonny James

1977
Got to Give It Up (Pt. I) - Marvin Gaye
Gonna Fly Now (Theme from "Rocky") - Bill Conti
Undercover Angel - Alan O’Day
Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) - Waylon Jennings

1985
Heaven - Bryan Adams
Sussudio - Phil Collins
Raspberry Beret - Prince & The Revolution
Little Things - The Oak Ridge Boys

Quote of the Day

If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.
George Carlin, comedian (1937 - )

fyi - jeter was born same date / same town as myself and where i still currently reside. pequannock, nj ok theres your useless info ;-)

Sussudio is a personal favorite.
- Pat Bateman

Today in History - June 27th

Today's Birthdays

1859 Mildred J. Hill, teacher/composer (Happy Birthday to You) died in 1916
1880 Helen Keller, author/educator (blind/deaf) died June 1, 1968
1913 Willie Mosconi, billiards champion, died Sep 12, 1993
1920 I.A.L. Diamond, screen writer (Some Like It Hot, The Apartment) died Apr 21, 1988
1925 (Jerome) Doc Pomus, Rock and Roll Hall of fame songwriter (A Teenager in Love) died Mar 14, 1991
1926 Don (Bones) Raleigh, NHL center (New York Rangers)
1927 Bob Keeshan, children's TV host/ Clown Hall of Famer (Captain Kangaroo) died Jan 23, 2004
1930 H. Ross Perot, billionaire industrialist/philanthropist/U.S. presidential hopeful
1941 Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish film director (Three Colors) died March 13, 1996
1942 Frank Mills, pianist (Music Box Dancer)
1944 Bruce Johnston, songwriter/singer (The Beach Boys)
1949 Vera Wang, fashion designer
1951 Julia Duffy, actress (Designing Women, Newhart)
1959 Lorrie (Loretta Lynn) Morgan, country singer/songwriter
1961 Margo Timmins, folk-rock singer (Cowboy Junkies)
1966 J. J. Abrams, television writer/producer (Lost, Alias, Felicity)
1970 Jim Edmonds, MLB center fielder (St Louis Cardinals)
1975 Tobey Maguire, actor (Pleasantville, The Cider House Rules, Spider-Man)
1976 Johnny Estrada, MLB catcher (Milwaukee Brewers)
1979 Lauren Hill, playmate (February 2001)
1991 Madylin Sweeten, actress (Everybody Loves Raymond)

Today's Deaths in History

1829 James Smithson, English scientist/philanthropist (Smithsonian) dies at 64
1844 Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is shot and killed at 38
1996 Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli, film producer (James Bond films) dies at 87
2001 Jack Lemmon, actor (Some Like It Hot, The Odd Couple, The Apartment) dies at 76
2002 John Entwistle, rock bassist (The Who) dies at 57
2004 George Patton IV, Army general/son of WWII Gen. George Patton, dies at 80
2004 Darrell Russell, NHRA driver, dies in a crash at 35
2005 Shelby Foote, author/historian (Civil War) dies at 88
2005 John T. Walton, businessman/son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, dies at 58 in a plane crash
2005 Domino Harvey, English-born bounty hunter, dies at 35
2006 Ángel Maturino Reséndiz, serial killer (The Railway Killer) is executed at 46

Today in History

1787 Edward Gibbon completed The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
1847 New York and Boston were linked by telegraph wires.
1885 Chichester Bell and Charles S. Tainter applied for a patent for the gramophone.
1898 The first solo circumnavigation of the globe was completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia.
1905 Sailors started a mutiny aboard the Battleship Potemkin, denouncing the crimes of autocracy, demanding liberty and an end to war.
1942 The FBI announced the capture of eight Nazi saboteurs who had been put ashore from a submarine on New York's Long Island.
1944 American forces completed their capture of the French port of Cherbourg from the Germans three weeks after D-Day.
1949 Captain Video and His Video Rangers premiered on the Dumont Television Network.
1950 The United States decided to send troops to fight in the Korean War.
1955 The first Wide Wide World was broadcast on NBC-TV, with Dave Garroway as host.
1957 More than 500 people were killed when Hurricane Audrey slammed through coastal Louisiana and Texas.
1959 West Side Story, with music by Leonard Bernstein, closed after 732 performances on Broadway.
1964 Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman were married (they broke up 38 days later).
1966 The first broadcast of Dark Shadows was aired on ABC-TV.
1967 The world's first ATM was installed in Enfield, London.
1969 Patrons at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, clashed with police in an incident considered to be the birth of the gay rights movement.
1971 Promoter Bill Graham closed the Fillmore East concert hall in New York City.
1972 Bobby Hull signed a 10-year hockey contract for $2,500,000, as he became a player and coach of the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association.
1973 Former White House counsel John W. Dean told the Senate Watergate Committee about an "enemies list" kept by the Nixon White House.
1975 Sonny and Cher (Bono) called it quits as husband and wife.
1976 Air France Flight 139 (Tel Aviv-Athens-Paris) was hijacked en route to Paris by the PLO and redirected to Entebbe, Uganda.
1980 The National Anthem Act, making "O Canada" Canada's national anthem, was unanimously accepted by the House of Commons and the Senate.
1980 President Jimmy Carter signed legislation reviving draft registration.
1984 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that individual colleges could make their own TV package deals.
1984 The Federal Communications Commission moved to deregulate U.S. commercial TV by lifting most programming requirements and ending day-part restrictions on advertising.
1985 U.S. Route 66 ceases to be an official U.S. highway.
1988 Mike Tyson quickly retained his undisputed world heavyweight title by knocking out Michael Spinks in the first round.
1991 Slovenia, after declaring independence two days previous, is invaded by Yugoslav troops, tanks, and aircraft, starting the Ten-Day War.
1992 Michael Jackson kicked off the Dangerous Tour in Munich, Germany.
1998 During a joint news conference broadcast live in China, President Bill Clinton and President Jiang Zemin offered an uncensored airing of differences on human rights, freedom, trade and Tibet.
1999 Juli Inkster won the LPGA Championship in Wilmington, Delaware, the second woman to win the modern Grand Slam in the LPGA.
2003 More than 735,000 phone numbers were registered on the first day of a national do-not-call list aimed at blocking unwelcome solicitations from telemarketers.
2005 AMD files broad antitrust complaint against Intel Corporation in U.S. Federal District Court, alleging abuse of monopoly powers and antitrust violations.
2005 BTK serial killer Dennis Rader pleaded guilty to 10 murders that spread fear across Wichita, Kan., beginning in the 1970s (Rader later received multiple life sentences).

Chart Toppers

1946
The Gypsy - The Ink Spots
They Say It’s Wonderful - Frank Sinatra
All Through the Day - Perry Como
New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills

1954
Little Things Mean a Lot - Kitty Kallen
Three Coins in the Fountain - The Four Aces
Hernando’s Hideaway - Archie Bleyer
I Don’t Hurt Anymore - Hank Snow

1962
I Can’t Stop Loving You - Ray Charles
The Stripper - David Rose
Palisades Park - Freddy Cannon
She Thinks I Still Care - George Jones

1970
The Love You Save - The Jackson 5
Mama Told Me (Not to Come) - Three Dog Night
Ball of Confusion - The Temptations
Hello Darlin’ - Conway Twitty

1978
Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty
It’s a Heartache - Bonnie Tyler
I’ll Be True to You - The Oak Ridge Boys

1986
On My Own - Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald
There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) - Billy Ocean
Crush on You - The Jets
Mama’s Never Seen Those Eyes - The Forester Sisters

Quote of the Day

Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
Eddie Cantor, US comedian & singer (1892 - 1964)

Today in History - June 28th

Today's Birthdays

1491 Henry VIII, King of England, died Jan 28, 1547
1577 Sir Peter Rubens, artist (Elevation of the Cross) died May 30 1640
1712 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, French philosopher, died July 2, 1778
1902 Richard Rodgers, Broadway composer (Oklahoma!, State Fair, The King and I) died Dec 30, 1979
1914 Lester Flatt, country/bluegrass guitarist (Flatt and Scruggs) died May 11, 1979
1926 Mel Brooks (Kaminsky), actor/director (Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, The Producers)
1932 Pat (Noriyuki) Morita, actor (Happy Days, Karate Kid series) died Nov 24, 2005
1945 David Knights, bassist (Procol Harum)
1946 Gilda Radner, comedienne/actress (Saturday Night Live) died May 20, 1989
1948 Kathy Bates, actress (Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes, Six Feet Under)
1960 John Elway, NFL quarterback (Denver Broncos)
1966 John Cusack, actor (Bullets over Broadway, Say Anything, Grosse Pointe Blank)
1966 Mary Stuart Masterson, actress (Some Kind of Wonderful, At Close Range, Benny & Joon)
1967 Gil Bellows, actor (The Shawshank Redemption, Ally McBeal)
1969 Danielle Brisebois, actress (All in the Family)
1971 Tichina Arnold, actress (Martin, Everybody Hates Chris)
1973 Alessandro Nivola, actor (Jurassic Park III, Face/Off)
1977 Mark Stoermer, bassist (The Killers)
1979 Randy McMichael, NFL tight end (St Louis Rams)
1986 Kellie Pickler, singer/TV personality (American Idol)
19?? mhurley, board member

Today's Deaths in History

1836 James Madison, 4th President of the United States, dies at 85
1914 Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, is assassinated at 50
1914 Countess Sophie Chotek, wife of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, is assassinated at 46
1974 Frank Sutton, actor (Gomer Pyle USMC) dies at 50
1975 Rod Serling, television scriptwriter (Twilight Zone) dies at 50
1981 Terry Fox, Canadian athlete/cancer activist, dies at 22

Today in History

1838 Britain's Queen Victoria was crowned in Westminster Abbey.
1894 U.S. President Grover Cleveland signed an act of Congress, making Labor Day a federal holiday in the U.S.
1907 The Washington Nationals stole 13 bases in a single baseball game against the New York Highlanders' catcher Branch Rickey.
1914 World War I began when Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated while in what is now known as Sarajevo, Bosnia.
1919 World War I ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, exactly five years after it began.
1919 Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Wallace married future U.S. President Harry S Truman.
1937 In a poll conducted by a New York City newspaper, players for the Giants, Yankees and Dodgers said they opposed the proposed baseball players’ union.
1944 The Republican National Convention in Chicago nominated New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey for president.
1950 Seoul was captured by troops from North Korea.
1951 Amos ’n’ Andy moved from radio to CBS-TV.
1964 Malcolm X forms the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
1967 Israel declared Jerusalem reunified under its sovereignty following its capture of the Arab sector in the Six-Day War.
1976 Women entered the Air Force Academy for the first time.
1978 The United States Supreme Court, in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, bars quota systems in college admissions.
1981 Variety reported the biggest single weekend in box-office history, with moviegoers spending $56,101,095 at the box office (Superman II, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Great Muppet Caper).
1987 American League batters combined to hit a record 28 home runs in a seven-game day.
1988 Founder Berry Gordy Jr. sold Motown Records to MCA Records and Boston Ventures, an investment firm, for $61 million.
1992 A very strong earthquake shook the high desert of Southern California at 4:57 a.m.; the 7.3 earthquake was centered on the eastern side of the San Bernardino Mountains near the town of Landers.
1994 The U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) announced it would begin experimenting with a UV (ultraviolet) Index, “To enhance public awareness of the effects of overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays."
1995 Webster Hubbell, the former No. 3 official at the Justice Department, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for bilking clients of the law firm where he and Hillary Rodham Clinton were partners.
1996 The Citadel, which had fought to keep one woman from enrolling as a cadet in its all-male military academy in 1993, abruptly ended its opposition to enrolling qualified female cadets.
1997 Evander Holyfield retained his World Boxing Association heavyweight championship after Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield twice.
2000 Cuban exile Elián González was returned to Cuba following a Supreme Court order.
2000 The Supreme Court ruled the Boy Scouts can bar homosexuals from serving as troop leaders.
2001 U.S. Appeals Court overturns a lower court's order to breakup Microsoft in an antitrust case.
2001 Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic was handed over by Serbia to the U.N. war crimes tribunal.
2004 Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule.
2004 The United States resumed direct diplomatic ties with Libya after a 24-year break.
2005 Canada becomes the third country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
2005 A final design for Manhattan's Freedom Tower is formally unveiled.

Chart Toppers

1947
I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder - Eddy Howard
Peg o’ My Heart - The Harmonicats
Mam’selle - Art Lund
It’s a Sin - Eddy Arnold

1955
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
Unchained Melody - Al Hibler
Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young - Faron Young

1963
Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto
Blue on Blue - Bobby Vinton
Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer - Nat King Cole
Act Naturally - Buck Owens

1971
It’s Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King
Indian Reservation - Raiders
Treat Her Like a Lady - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot - Jerry Reed

1979
Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
The Logical Song - Supertramp
Nobody Likes Sad Songs - Ronnie Milsap

1987
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston
In Too Deep - Genesis
Alone - Heart
Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis

Quote of the Day

Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something.
Robert Heinlein, US science fiction author (1907 - 1988)

Today in History - June 29th

Today's Birthdays

1858 Col. George Washington Goethals, chief engineer (Panama Canal) died Jan 21, 1928
1861 Dr. William Mayo, physician/surgeon/founder (Mayo Clinic) died in 1939
1919 Slim Pickens (Louis Bert Lindley Jr.), actor (Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1941) died Dec 8, 1983
1936 Harmon (Clayton) ‘Killer’ Killebrew, MLB 1st baseman (Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals)
1943 Roger Ruskin Spear, saxophone/kazoo (The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band)
1943 ‘Little’ Eva Boyd, singer (The Loco-motion) died April 10, 2003
1944 Gary Busey, actor (The Buddy Holly Story, Point Break, Lethal Weapon)
1947 Larry Pleau, NHL coach/general manager (Hartford Whalers, NY Rangers)
1947 Richard Lewis, comedian/actor (Robin Hood: Men in Tights)
1948 Fred Grandy, actor/US Congressman (The Love Boat)
1948 Ian Paice, drummer (Whitesnake, Deep Purple)
1949 Dan Dierdorf, Pro Football Hall of Famer/sportscaster (ABC Monday Night Football, CBS NFL Analyst)
1953 Colin Hay, singer (Men at Work)
1953 Don Dokken, rock singer (Dokken)
1957 Maria Conchita Alonso, actress (Predator 2, The Running Man)
1960 Evelyn "Champagne" King, R&B singer
1961 Greg Hetson, punk-rock guitarist (Bad Religion, Circle Jerks)
1961 Sharon Lawrence, actress (NYPD Blue)
1962 Amanda Donohoe, actress (L.A. Law)
1964 Stedman Pearson, singer (Five Star)
1964 Kathleen Wilhoite, actress (Gilmore Girls)
1967 Melora Hardin, actress (The Office, Iron Eagle)
1967 Jeff Burton, NASCAR driver
1968 Theoren Fleury, NHL right wing (NY Rangers)
1969 Ilan Mitchell-Smith, actor (Weird Science)
1978 Nicole Scherzinger, singer (Pussycat Dolls)
1978 Sam Farrar, bassist (Phantom Planet)
1980 Martin Truex Jr, NASCAR driver
1983 Aundrea Fimbres, singer (Danity Kane)
1984 Derek Lee Rock, drummer (Suburban Legends)

Today's Deaths in History

1852 Henry Clay, U.S. Senator/orator (The Great Compromiser) dies at 75
1861 Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet (Sonnets from the Portuguese) dies at 55
1933 Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, actor (silent films) dies at 46
1960 Frank Patrick, Hockey Hall of Famer, dies at 74
1967 Jayne Mansfield, actress, dies in a car crash at 34
1969 Shorty Long, singer (Devil with the Blue Dress) dies at 29
1978 Bob Crane, actor (Hogan's Heroes) is murdered at 49
1979 Lowell George, country-rock singer (Little Feat) dies at 34
1995 Lana Turner, actress (Peyton Place) dies at 74
1999 Allan Carr, film producer (Grease) dies at 62
2002 Rosemary Clooney, singer/actress, dies at 74
2003 Katharine Hepburn, actress, dies at 96
2006 Lloyd Richards, actor/director (A Raisin in the Sun) dies on his 87th birthday

Today in History

1767 The British Parliament approved the Townshend Revenue Acts, which imposed import duties on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea shipped to America.
1860 The last stone was laid at Minot’s Ledge (Massachusetts) Lighthouse.
1897 The Chicago Cubs scored 36 runs in a ball game against Louisville, setting a record for runs scored by a team in a single game.
1901 The first edition of Editor & Publisher was issued.
1925 A patent for the frosted electric light bulb was filed by Marvin Pipkin.
1941 Joe DiMaggio got a base hit in his 41st consecutive game, passing George Sisler’s record for consecutive games with base hits set in 1922.
1946 British authorities arrested more than 2,700 Jews in Palestine in an attempt to stamp out alleged terrorism.
1951 Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, was ordained as a priest.
1955 Billy Haley and His Comets reached the top of the pop music charts with "Rock Around the Clock."
1956 The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed, officially creating the United States Interstate Highway System.
1967 Actress Jayne Mansfield, 34, and two male companions died when their car struck a trailer truck east of New Orleans.
1969 Jim Northrup of the Detroit Tigers connected for his third grand-slam home run in seven days, setting a major-league baseball record.
1972 The Supreme Court ruled the death penalty could constitute "cruel and unusual punishment."
1983 Pitcher Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych of the Detroit Tigers retired from baseball, after several unsuccessful attempts to return to the major leagues.
1984 Singer Bruce Springsteen kicked off his first U.S. tour in three years, before 17,700 fans at the Civic Center in St. Paul, MN.
1987 Vincent Van Gogh’s "Le Pont de Trinquetaille" brought in $20.6 million at an auction in London, England.
1992 A divided Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to abortion, but the justices also weakened the right as defined by the Roe v. Wade decision.
1995 For the first time, a U.S. space shuttle ("Atlantis") linked up with a Russian space station ("Mir").
1996 Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Alanis Morrissette, Ron Woods and The Who performed at the charity event for Prince Charles’ Prince’s Trust charity at London's Hyde Park.
2002 President George W. Bush transferred presidential powers to Vice President Dick Cheney for more than two hours during a routine colon screening that ended in a clean bill of health.
2002 Naval clashes between South Korea and North Korea lead to the death of four South Korean sailors and sinking of a North Korean vessel.
2004 Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks became the fourth pitcher in major league history to record 4,000 career strikeouts.
2006 The Supreme Court ruled 5-3 that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. and international law.
2007 A car bomb was found in the heart of London at Picadilly Circus.

Chart Toppers

1948
Nature Boy - Nat King
Toolie Oolie Doolie - The Andrews Sisters
Woody Woodpecker Song - The Kay Kaiser Orchestra (vocal: Gloria Wood & The Campus Kids)
Bouquet of Roses - Eddy Arnold

1956
The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
I Almost Lost My Mind - Pat Boone
Picnic - The McGuire Sisters
Crazy Arms - Ray Price

1964
A World Without Love - Peter & Gordon
I Get Around - The Beach Boys
My Boy Lollipop - Millie Small
Together Again - Buck Owens

1972
The Candy Man - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond
Outa-Space - Billy Preston
That’s Why I Love You Like I Do - Sonny James

1980
Coming Up - Paul McCartney & Wings
The Rose - Bette Midler
It’s Still Rock & Roll to Me - Billy Joel
Trying to Love Two Women - The Oak Ridge Boys

1988
Foolish Beat - Debbie Gibson
Dirty Diana - Michael Jackson
Make It Real - The Jets
He’s Back and I’m Blue - The Desert Rose Band

Quote of the Day

All human beings should try to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why.
James Thurber, US author, cartoonist, humorist, & satirist (1894 - 1961)

Today in History - June 30th

Today's Birthdays

1768 Elizabeth Monroe (Kortright), First Lady (President James Monroe) died Sep 23, 1830
1917 Lena Horne, singer (Love Me or Leave Me, Stormy Weather)
1943 Florence Ballard, singer (The Supremes) died Feb 22, 1976
1944 Glenn Shorrock, singer (The Little River Band)
1949 (Andrew) Andy Scott, guitarist (The Sweet)
1953 Hal Lindes, guitarist (Dire Straits)
1955 David Alan Grier, actor (Boomerang, Jumanji, In Living Color)
1956 Philip Adrian Wright, synthesizer (Human League)
1957 Sterling Marlin, NASCAR driver
1959 Vincent D’Onofrio, actor (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Mystic Pizza, The Cell)
1963 Rupert Graves, actor (The Madness of King George, Damage)
1963 Yngwie J. Malmsteen, rock guitarist
1966 Mike Tyson, former heavyweight boxing champion
1971 Monica Potter, actress (Patch Adams, Along Came a Spider)
1978 VerdDogg, board member
1979 Matisyahu, Hasidic Jewish Reggae Rapper
1982 Andy Knowles, rock drummer (Franz Ferdinand)
1985 Fantasia Barrino, singer/TV personality (American Idol)

Today's Deaths in History

1993 George "Spanky" McFarland, actor (Little Rascals) dies at 64
1995 Gale Gordon, actor (The Lucy Show) dies at 89
1995 Phyllis Hyman, jazz vocalist, commits suicide at 45
2001 Chet Atkins, country guitarist, dies at 77
2001 Joe Henderson, jzz saxophonist, dies at 64
2003 Buddy Hackett, comic/actor (Herbie: The Love Bug) dies at 78
2003 Robert McCloskey, children's book author/illustrator (Make Way for Ducklings) dies at 88

Today in History

1859 Frenchman Charles Blondin, aka Jean Francois Gravelet, crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
1882 Charles Guiteau was hanged in Washington, DC for the shooting death of President James Garfield.
1905 Albert Einstein published the article [/i]On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies[/i] where he introduced special relativity.
1908 A powerful, natural explosion in the Tunguska section of Central Siberia devastated a forested area some 70 miles in diameter, caused seismic shock, a firestorm followed by black rain and an illumination that could be seen for hundreds of miles.
1921 Documents were signed forming the Radio Corporation of America, better known as RCA.
1934 Adolf Hitler began his "blood purge" of political and military leaders in Germany in the Night of the Long Knives; among those killed was one-time Hitler ally Ernst Roehm, leader of the Nazi stormtroopers.
1936 Margaret Mitchell’s book Gone with the Wind was published in New York City.
1953 The first Corvette rolled off the Chevrolet assembly line in Flint, MI; it sold for $3,250.
1962 Los Angeles Dodger’s star Sandy Koufax pitched his first no-hitter in a game with the New York Mets.
1963 Pope Paul VI was crowned the 262nd head of the Roman Catholic Church.
1970 The Cincinnati Reds moved to their new $45,000,000 home at Riverfront Stadium.
1971 The 26th Amendment to the Constitution, lowering the minimum voting age to 18, was ratified as Ohio became the 38th state to approve it.
1971 Three Soviet cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 11 were found dead inside their spacecraft after it returned to Earth.
1974 The famous July 4th scene from the Steven Spielberg movie Jaws was filmed.
1975 Cher married rock star Greg Allman; she announced her divorce from Allman just days after the wedding.
1984 The Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League (USFL) played the longest game in professional history by beating the Michigan Panthers 27-21 in a game that went on for 93 minutes, 33 seconds.
1985 Yul Brynner left his role as the King of Siam after 4,600 performances in The King and I at the Broadway Theatre in New York City.
1985 Thirty-nine American hostages from a hijacked TWA jetliner were freed in Beirut after being held for 17 days.
1986 The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states could outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults.
1991 Frank Zappa performed with Hungarian musicians as Hungary celebrated the withdrawal of Soviet troops after some 46 years of occupation.
1994 The U.S. Figure Skating Association stripped Tonya Harding of the national championship and banned her from the organization for life for an attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan.
1995 Garth Brooks buried the glass master of his LP The Hits beneath his star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1997 The first book in the award-winning Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling was published.
1997 China reclaimed Hong Kong from Great Britain and the British Crown’s 156-year colonial rule came to an end.
1999 Vodafone Group Plc of the U.K. and AirTouch Communications Inc. of the U.S. announced their plan to merge.
2001 Doctors implanted a dual-purpose pacemaker in Vice President Dick Cheney's chest.
2004 The international Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn's orbit after a nearly seven year journey.
2005 Spain became the third country to legalize gay marriage.

Chart Toppers

1949
Some Enchanted Evening - Perry Como
Again - Gordon Jenkins
Bali Ha’i - Perry Como
One Kiss Too Many - Eddy Arnold

1957
Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
Teddy Bear - Elvis Presley
It’s Not for Me to Say - Johnny Mathis
Four Walls - Jim Reeves

1965
Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
Wonderful World - Herman’s Hermits
Before You Go - Buck Owens

1973
Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) - George Harrison
Will It Go Round in Circles - Billy Preston
Kodachrome - Paul Simon
Don’t Fight the Feelings of Love - Charley Pride

1981
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
A Woman Needs Love (Just like You Do) - Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio
The One that You Love - Air Supply
Blessed are the Believers - Anne Murray

1989
Satisfied - Richard Marx
Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry
Baby Don’t Forget My Number - Milli Vanilli
I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party - Roseanne Cash

Quote of the Day

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
Thomas A. Edison, US inventor (1847 - 1931)

Today in History - July 1st

Today's Birthdays

1899 Charles Laughton, actor (Mutiny on the Bounty) died Dec 15, 1962
1908 Estee Lauder, cosmetics mogul, died April 24, 2004
1916 Olivia de Havilland, actress (Gone with the Wind)
1930 Bobby Day (Byrd), singer (Rockin’ Robin) died July 27, 1990
1931 Leslie Caron, actress (Gigi, An American in Paris, Father Goose, Daddy Long Legs)
1934 Jamie Farr (Jameel Joseph Farah), actor (M*A*S*H)
1934 Sydney Pollack, director (The Firm, Out of Africa, Tootsie, Absence of Malice)
1936 Wally Amos Jr., entrepreneur (Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies)
1939 Delaney Bramlett, guitarist/singer (Delaney & Bonnie)
1941 Rod Gilbert, NHL Hall-of-Fame right wing (NY Rangers)
1945 Debbie (Deborah Ann) Harry, singer (Blondie)
1951 Fred Schneider, keyboardist/singer (Shake Society, The B-52’s)
1952 Dan Aykroyd, comedian/actor (Driving Miss Daisy, Sneakers, Saturday Night Live, Dragnet, Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers)
1956 Alan Ruck, actor (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Spin City)
1961 Princess Diana (Spencer), Princess of Wales, killed in car crash in Paris, France, August 31, 1997
1961 Carl (Frederick Carlton) Lewis, Olympic Track & Field Gold Medalist
1962 Andre Braugher, actor (The Tuskegee Airmen, Duets, Homicide: Life on the Street)
1963 Roddy Bottum, keyboards (Faith No More)
1967 Pamela Anderson, actress/model (Baywatch, Stacked)
1971 Missy Elliott, Hip-hop artist
1971 Julianne Nicholson, actress (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
1971 Steven W. Bailey, actor (Grey's Anatomy)
1972 Claire Forlani, actress (The Rock, Meet Joe Black, Mallrats, CSI: NY)
1977 Liv Tyler, model/actress (That Thing You Do!, Armageddon, Stealing Beauty, Lord of the Rings series)
1977 Jarome Iginla, NHL right wing (Calgary Flames)
1982 BleedRangerBlue, board member
1982 Hilarie Burton, actress (One Tree Hill)
1982 Carmella DeCesare, playmate/Mrs Jeff Garcia (April 2003, PMOY 2004)

Today's Deaths in History

1860 Charles Goodyear, inventor (vulcanized rubber) dies at 59
1894 Allan Pinkerton, private detective, dies at 64
1896 Harriet Beecher Stowe, author (Uncle Tom's Cabin) dies at 85
1925 Erik Satie, French composer, dies at 59
1974 Juan Perón, President of Argentina, dies at 78
1981 Rushton Moreve, bassist (Steppenwolf) dies at 33 in an automobile accident
1991 Michael Landon, actor (Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie) dies at 54
1995 Wolfman Jack, disc jockey/actor, dies at 57
1996 Margaux Hemingway, actress/model/granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, commits suicide at 42
1997 Robert Mitchum, actor (Cape Fear) dies at 79
1999 Forrest Mars Sr., candy magnate (M&M/Mars) dies at 95
1999 Sylvia Sidney, actress (Beetlejuice) dies at 88
2000 Walter Matthau, actor (The Odd Couple, The Bad News Bears, Grumpy Old Men) dies at 79
2003 Herbie Mann, jazz flautist, dies at 73
2004 Marlon Brando, actor (Streetcar Named Desire, Apocalypse Now) dies at 80
2005 Luther Vandross, R&B/soul singer, dies at 54
2005 Obie Benson, R&B/soul singer (The Four Tops) dies at 69

Today in History

1847 The first adhesive postage stamps went on sale.
1859 The first intercollegiate baseball game was played in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, with Amherst defeating Williams College 73-32.
1862 Congress established the Bureau of Internal Revenue to help pay for the Civil War.
1863 The Civil War Battle of Gettysburgh began.
1870 The United States Department of Justice formally came into existence.
1874 The first zoo in the United States opened in Philadelphia, PA.
1898 Theodore Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" waged a victorious assault on San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
1934 The Federal Communications Commission, as mandated in the "Communications Act of 1934", replaced the Federal Radio Commission as the regulator of broadcasting in the United States.
1941 Bulova Watch company sponsored the first TV commercial.
1951 Bob Feller set a baseball record as he pitched his third no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians.
1963 Mr. Zip was introduced by the United States Postal Service to help educate people to use the 5-digit ZIP (Zone Improvement Program) code.
1966 The Medicare federal insurance program went into effect.
1968 The United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and 58 other nations signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
1973 Jesus Christ Superstar closed in New York City after 720 performances on Broadway.
1979 Susan B. Anthony, an activist for the cause of women’s suffrage, was commemorated on a U.S. coin, the Susan B. Anthony Dollar.
1979 Sony introduced the Walkman.
1980 "O Canada" was proclaimed the national anthem of Canada.
1981 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that candidates for federal office had an “affirmative right” to go on national television.
1984 The PG-13 rating was introduced by the MPAA.
1991 Court TV began broadcasting.
1991 President George H.W. Bush nominated federal appeals court judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.
1995 Wolfman Jack collapsed and died of a heart attack at his home in Belvidere, in northeastern North Carolina.
2000 Vermont's civil unions law went into effect, granting gay couples most of the rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage.
2000 The Confederate flag was removed from atop South Carolina's Statehouse.
2002 Chile's Supreme Court ruled that former dictator General Augusto Pinochet was suffering from dementia and dropped all charges against him for human rights violations during his regime.
2004 Saddam Hussein made a defiant first public appearance in an Iraqi court since being captured seven months earlier, scoffing at charges of war crimes and mass killings.
2005 Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice, announced her retirement.
2007 Smoking in England was banned in all public indoor spaces.

Chart Toppers

1950
Bewitched - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Mary Lou Williams)
My Foolish Heart - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Eileen Wilson)
I Wanna Be Loved - The Andrews Sisters
Why Don’t You Love Me - Hank Williams

1958
Hard Headed Woman - Elvis Presley
Yakety Yak - The Coasters
Patricia - Perez Prado
Guess Things Happen that Way - Johnny Cash

1966
Paperback Writer - The Beatles
Strangers in the Night - Frank Sinatra
Red Rubber Ball - The Cyrkle
Take Good Care of Her - Sonny James

1974
Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
Be Thankful for What You Got - William DeVaughn
If You Love Me (Let Me Know) - Olivia Newton-John
Room Full of Roses - Mickey Gilley

1982
Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder
Don’t You Want Me - The Human League
Rosanna - Toto
Slow Hand - Conway Twitty

1990
Step By Step - New Kids on the Block
Do You Remember? - Phil Collins
I’ll Be Your Shelter - Taylor Dayne
Love Without End, Amen - George Strait

Quote of the Day

Seeing a murder on television... can help work off one's antagonisms. And if you haven't any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.
Alfred Hitchcock, British movie director (1899 - 1980)

Today in History - July 2nd

Today's Birthdays

1877 Hermann Hesse, German-born writer (Steppenwolf) died Aug 9, 1962
1905 Jean Rene Lacoste, founder (Izod Lacoste tennis clothing) died Oct 12, 1996
1908 Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice, died Jan 24, 1993
1916 Ken Curtis, actor (Mister Roberts, The Alamo) died Apr 29, 1991
1922 Dan Rowan, comedian (Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In) died Sep 22, 1987
1925 Medgar Evers, civil rights activist, died June 12, 1963
1927 Brock Peters (Fisher), actor (Soylent Green, To Kill a Mockingbird) died Aug 23, 2005
1929 Imelda Marcos, widow of exiled Philippines leader Ferdinand Marcos
1932 Dave Thomas, fast-food founder (Wendy’s) died Jan 8, 2002
1937 Polly Holliday, actress (Alice)
1937 Richard Petty, NASCAR driver
1939 Paul Williams, singer (The Temptations) died Aug 17, 1973
1939 John Sununu, former White House Chief of Sstaff
1946 Ron Silver, actor (Timecop, Romancing the Stone)
1947 Larry David, actor/writer (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld)
1951 Joe Puerta, bassist/singer (Bruce Hornsby & The Range, Ambrosia)
1952 Gene Taylor, rock pianist (The Blasters)
1952 Johnny Colla, saxophonist/guitarist (Huey Lewis & The News)
1953 Mark Hart, bassist (Crowded House, Supertramp)
1954 Pete Briquette, bassist/singer (The Boomtown Rats)
1956 Jerry Hall, actress/model/ex-Mrs Mick Jagger
1957 Bret Hart, pro wrestler/actor
1964 Jose (Capas) Canseco, MLB (Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox)
1965 Dave Parsons, rock bassist (Bush)
1966 Kathryn Erbe, actress (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
1970 Yancy Butler, actress (Law & Order, South Beach)
1974 Rocky Gray, rock drummer (Evanescence)
1976 Tomáš Vokoun, NHL goaltender (Florida Panthers)
1979 Joe Thornton, NHL center (Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks)
1983 Michelle Branch, pop/rock singer (Everywhere)
1985 Ashley Tisdale, actress (High School Musical)
1986 Lindsay Lohan, actress/substance abuser (The Love Bug)

Today's Deaths in History

1566 Nostradamus, French astrologer, dies at 62 (He didn't see that coming)
1937 Amelia Earhart, aviatrix, disappears over the Pacific at 39
1961 Ernest Hemingway, author (the Old Man and the Sea) commits suicide at 61
1964 Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, NASCAR driver, dies at 35 from complications following a May crash
1973 Betty Grable, actress/pin-up girl (WW II) dies at 57
1977 Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born writer (Lolita) dies at 78
1989 Andrei Gromyko, Soviet politician (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet) dies at 79
1991 Lee Remick, actress (The Omen) dies at 55
1993 Fred Gwynne, actor (The Munsters, My Cousin Vinny) dies at 66
1995 Krissy Taylor, model, dies at 17
1997 James Stewart, actor (Mr Smith Goes to Washington) dies at 89
1999 Mario Puzo, author (The Godfather) dies at 78
2004 John Cullen Murphy, comic strip artist (Prince Valiant) dies at 85
2005 Ernest Lehman, screenwriter (The Sound of Music) dies at 89

Today in History

1776 The Continental Congress passed a resolution that "these United Colonies are, and of right, ought to be, Free and Independent States."
1777 Vermont became the first American territory to abolish slavery.
1850 The gas mask was patented by B.J. Lane of Cambridge, MA.
1867 New York City’s first elevated railroad officially opened for business.
1881 President James A. Garfield was fatally shot by Charles J. Guiteau at the Washington railroad station; he died on Sept. 19.
1890 The U.S. Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
1921 The first prize fight offering a million-dollar gate was broadcast on radio, with Jack Dempsey knocking out George Carpentier in the fourth round of the bout in Jersey City, NJ.
1926 The U.S. Army Air Corps was created.
1932 Democrats nominated New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt for president at their convention in Chicago.
1933 Baseball great Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants hurled 18 innings of shutout ball to lead the Giants to a 1-0 win over St. Louis in the first half of a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds in New York.
1937 Aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first around-the-world flight at the equator; they were never found.
1946 CBS signed the Old Redhead, Arthur Godfrey to do a weekly nighttime radio show called "Talent Scouts."
1947 An object that the Army Air Force later said was a weather balloon crashed near Roswell, N.M. Eyewitness accounts gave rise to speculation it might have been an alien spacecraft.
1955 ABC Television premiered "The Lawrence Welk Show."
1956 Elvis Presley recorded "Hound Dog" and "Don’t Be Cruel" for his new record label home, RCA Victor.
1961 Author Ernest Hemingway, 61, shot himself to death at his home in Ketchum, Idaho.
1962 The first Wal-Mart store opened for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
1964 U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.
1976 The Supreme Court ruled the death penalty was not inherently cruel or unusual.
1982 Larry Walters used 45 helium balloons and a lawnchair to propel himself to 16,000 feet.
1983 The Police released their final album, Synchronicity, which would eventually spend 17 weeks at #1 on the U.S. album chart.
1984 Epic records shipped two million copies of the Jacksons’ album Victory were shipped to stores, the first time that such a large shipment had been initially sent to retailers.
1985 Joe Niekro earned win #200 in his career by leading the Houston Astros to a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres in the Astrodome.
1988 Michael Jackson became the first artist to have five number one singles from one album when "Dirty Diana" went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
1994 Colombian soccer player Andres Escobar was shot to death in Medellin, 10 days after accidentally scoring a goal against his own team in World Cup competition.
1998 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was released to the public as the second installment to the Harry Potter book series.
2000 Opposition candidate Vicente Fox won Mexico's presidential elections, ending the Institutional Revolutionary Party's 71-year reign.
2001 Robert Tools received the world's first self-contained artificial heart in Louisville, Ky (he lived 151 days with the device).
2002 American Steve Fossett became the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world.
2003 The International Olympic Committee selected Vancouver, British Columbia, to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.
2005 Live 8, a marathon concert designed to pressure world leaders into fighting African proverty, was held at 10 sites worldwide and broadcast around the globe on TV and the Internet.

Chart Toppers

1951
Too Young - Nat King Cole
Mister and Mississippi - Patti Page
On Top of Old Smokey - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
I Want to Be with You Always - Lefty Frizzell

1959
Personality - Lloyd Price
Lonely Boy - Paul Anka
Lipstick on Your Collar - Connie Francis
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton

1967
Windy - The Association
Little Bit o’ Soul - The Music Explosion
San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) - Scott McKenzie
All the Time - Jack Greene

1975
Love Will Keep Us Together - The Captain & Tennille
When Will I Be Loved - Linda Ronstadt
Wildfire - Michael Murphey
Tryin’ to Beat the Morning Home - T.G. Sheppard

1983
Flashdance...What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Love is on a Roll - Don Williams

1991
Rush, Rush - Paula Abdul
Unbelievable - EMF
Power of Love/Love Power - Luther Vandross
The Thunder Rolls - Garth Brooks

Quote of the Day

Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature.
Kin Hubbard, (1868 - 1930)

Today in History - July 3rd

Today's Birthdays

1878 George M. (Michael) Cohan, actor/singer/composer (Over There, Yankee Doodle Dandy) died Nov 5, 1942
1883 Franz Kafka, Czech writer (The Metamorphosis) died June 3, 1924
1906 George Sanders, actor (All About Eve, Picture of Dorian Gray) died Apr 25, 1972
1942 Michael Cole, actor (Mod Squad)
1943 Kurtwood Smith, actor (Dead Poets Society, RoboCop, That 70's Show)
1944 Walt Garrison, NFL running back (Dallas Cowboys)
1944 Jethro Pugh, NFL defensive tackle (Dallas Cowboys)
1945 Johnny Lee, country singer (Lookin’ for Love)
1947 Dave Barry, writer (Big Trouble)
1948 Paul Barrere, guitarist (Little Feat)
1949 Jan Smithers, actress (WKRP in Cincinnati)
1949 Johnnie Wilder, Jr., R&B singer (Heatwave) died May 13, 2006
1955 Neil Clark, guitarist (Lloyd Cole & the Commotions)
1956 Montel Williams, TV talk show host (The Montel Williams Show)
1957 Laura Branigan, singer (Gloria, Solitaire) died Aug 26, 2004
1959 Stephen Pearcy, rock singer (Ratt)
1961 Vince Clarke, songwriter/keyboardist (Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure)
1962 Tom Cruise (Thomas Cruise Mapother IV), actor (Mission: Impossible series, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Days of Thunder)
1962 Thomas Gibson, actor (Dharma & Greg, Eyes Wide Shut)
1962 Hunter Tylo, actress (Final Cut, Longshot)
1964 Yeardley Smith, actress (As Good As It Gets, The Simpsons, Herman's Head, Dharma & Greg)
1965 Connie Nielsen, actress (The Devil's Advocate)
1966 Moises Alou, MLB outfielder (Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros)
1969 Kevin Hearn, keyboardist (Barenaked Ladies)
1970 Teemu Selanne, ‘The Finnish Flash,’ NHL right winger (Winnipeg Jets, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, San-Jose Sharks)
1970 Shawnee Smith, actress (Summer School, Who's Harry Crumb?, Armageddon)
1973 Patrick Wilson, actor (Phantom of the Opera, Hard Candy)
1976 Andrea Barber, actress (Full House)

Today's Deaths in History

1935 André Citroën, French automobile pioneer, dies at 56
1969 Brian Jones, rock guitarist (The Rolling Stones) drowns at 27
1971 Jim Morrison, rock singer (The Doors) dies at 27
1981 Ross Martin, Polish-American actor (The Wild Wild West) dies at 61
1985 Frank Selke, Hockey Hall of Fame manager (Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens)
1986 Rudy Vallee, singer (Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries), dies at 85
1989 Jim Backus, actor (Gilligan's Island, Mr. Magoo)
1993 Curly Joe DeRita, actor/comedian (Three Stooges) dies at 83
1993 Don Drysdale, MLB pitcher (Brooklyn/LA Dodgers) dies at 56
1995 Eddie Mazur, NHL forward (Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks) dies at 65
1998 Danielle Bunten Berry, transsexual game software developer (Command HQ) dies at 49
2001 Mordecai Richler, author (The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz) dies at 70
2001 Johnny Russell, country singer/songwriter (Let's Fall to Pieces Together) dies at 61

Today in History

1608 The city of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain.
1775 George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1819 The first bank in the U.S. opened in New York City.
1863 The Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended after three days in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreated.
1871 The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company introduced the first narrow-gauge locomotive.
1884 Dow Jones published its first stock average.
1886 The New York Tribune became the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.
1890 Idaho entered the United States of America.
1922 Readers were introduced to Fruit Garden and Home magazine, now known as Better Homes and Gardens.
1930 Congress created the U.S. Veterans Administration.
1934 The first payment by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was made.
1937 Del Mar race track opened in Del Mar, California.
1939 Chic Young’s comic strip character Blondie was first heard on CBS radio.
1940 The legendary comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello debuted with their network radio show on NBC.
1945 The first civilian passenger car built since February 1942 was driven off the assembly line at the Ford Motor Company plant in Detroit, MI.
1953 Harry Belafonte was shown with actress Janet Leigh and film star Tony Curtis on the cover of Ebony magazine, the first time a black person and two Caucasians were seen together on a U.S. magazine cover.
1976 Brian Wilson rejoined The Beach Boys, who were appearing at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, CA.
1976 103 hostages were rescued by an Israeli commando unit in a raid on Entebbe airport in Uganda.
1979 President Jimmy Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
1982 Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies connected for hit #3,786, moving Rose into second place in the career-hits column of the record books.
1986 President Ronald Reagan presided over the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty.
1986 Mikhail Baryshnikov, considered by many to be the world’s greatest ballet dancer, became a U.S. citizen in ceremonies at Ellis Island, New York Harbor.
1988 U.S. President Ronald Reagan issued a statement to the world, and an apology to the Iranian people after the USS Vincennes fired upon Iran Air Flight 655, mistaking the plane for a hostile F-14 fighter plane (290 people died).
1997 In his first formal response to charges by Paula Jones of sexual harassment, President Bill Clinton denied all allegations in her lawsuit, and asked a judge to dismiss the case.
2001 Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic refused to enter a plea on war crimes charges in his first appearance before a U.N. tribunal at The Hague.
2005 A NASA space probe, Deep Impact, hit its comet target as planned in a mission to learn how the solar system formed.
2005 A national law legalizing same-sex marriage took effect in Spain.

Chart Toppers

1944
I’ll Be Seeing You - Bing Crosby
Long Ago and Far Away - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
Amor - Bing Crosby
Straighten Up and Fly Right - King Cole Trio

1952
Kiss of Fire - Georgia Gibbs
A Guy is a Guy - Doris Day
Be Anything - Eddy Howard
That Heart Belongs to Me - Webb Pierce

1960
Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool - Connie Francis
Alley-Oop - Hollywood Argyles
Because They’re Young - Duane Eddy
Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Locklin

1968
This Guy’s in Love with You - Herb Alpert
The Horse - Cliff Nobles & Co.
Angel of the Morning - Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts
D-I-V-O-R-C-E - Tammy Wynette

1976
Silly Love Songs - Wings
Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right) - Silver Convention
Misty Blue - Dorthy Moore
All These Things - Joe Stampley

1984
The Reflex - Duran Duran
Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
When Doves Cry - Prince
I Can Tell by the Way You Dance (You’re Gonna Love Me Tonight) - Vern Gosdin

Quote of the Day

Television – a medium. So called because it is neither rare nor well done.
Ernie Kovacs

Today in History - July 4th

Happy Independence Day!

Today's Birthdays

1816 Hiram Walker, grocer/distiller (Hiram Walker's Whiskey) died 12 January 1899
1826 Stephen Foster, songwriter (Oh! Susannah, Camptown Races, Old Folks at Home, Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair, Beautiful Dreamer) died Jan 13, 1864
1847 James Anthony Bailey, circus impresario (Barnum & Bailey) died April 11, 1906
1872 Calvin Coolidge, 30th U.S. President, died Jan 5, 1933
1883 Rube (Reuben Lucius) Goldberg, inventor (elaborate, involved contraptions that accomplish simple tasks) died Dec 7, 1970
1911 Mitch Miller, record company executive/producer/arranger (Sing Along with Mitch)
1918 Ann Landers (Esther Pauline Friedman), advice columnist (twin sister of Abigail Van Buren) died June 22, 2002
1918 Abigail Van Buren (Pauline Esther Friedman), "Dear Abby" advice columnist (twin sister of Ann Landers)
1920 Leona Helmsley, hotel mogul/jailbird (Helmsley Hotels)
1924 Eva Marie Saint, actress (On the Waterfront, North by Northwest)
1927 Gina Lollobrigida, sex symbol/actress (Trapeze, Solomon and Sheba)
1927 Neil (Marvin) Simon, playwright (The Odd Couple, The Goodbye Girl)
1929 Al Davis, NFL general manager (Oakland Raiders)
1930 George Steinbrenner, shipping magnate/ MLB team owner (New York Yankees)
1938 Bill Withers, songwriter/singer (Ain’t No Sunshine, Lean on Me)
1942 Floyd Little, NFL running back (Denver Broncos)
1943 Emerson Boozer, NFL running back (NY Jets)
1943 Geraldo Rivera, investigative reporter/talk show host
1943 Al ‘Blind Owl’ Wilson, guitarist/harmonica/singer (Canned Heat)
1948 Jeremy Spencer, guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
1955 John Waite, rock singer (The Babys)
1958 Kirk Pengilly, guitarist/saxophone (INXS)
1963 Matt Malley, rock bassist (Counting Crows)
1964 Mark Slaughter, rock singer/guitarist (Slaughter)
1965 Harvey Grant, NBA (Washington Bullets, Portland Trailblazers, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards)
1965 Horace Grant, NBA (Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Seattle Supersonics, LA Lakers)
1971 Brendan Donnelly, MLB pitcher (Anaheim Angels, Boston Red Sox)
1975 Tania Davis, Australian violist (Bond)
1978 Becki Newton, actress (Ugly Betty)
1984 Gina Glocksen, singer/TV personality (American Idol)

Today's Deaths in History

1826 John Adams, 2nd President of the United States, dies at 90
1826 Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States, dies at 83
1831 James Monroe, 5th President of the United States, dies at 73
1891 Hannibal Hamlin, 15th U.S. Vice President, dies at 81
1995 Eva Gabor, Hungarian actress (Green Acres) dies at 76
1997 Charles Kuralt, television journalist/author (On the Road) dies at 62
2002 Benjamin O. Davis Jr., first African-American Air Force general, dies at 89
2003 Barry White, R&B singer (Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe) dies at 58
2005 Hank Stram, NFL coach (Kansas City Chiefs) dies at 82

Today in History

1776 The Declaration of Independence was approved and published (it wasn't signed until a month later).
1802 The United States Military Academy opened at West Point.
1817 Construction on the Erie Canal began in Rome, New York.
1826 Former American Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die, fifty years to the day after the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence.
1832 The song "America" was sung in public for the first time at the Park Street Church in Boston, MA.
1838 The Iowa Territory was organized.
1845 American writer Henry David Thoreau began a two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts.
1855 The first edition of Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman, was published in Brooklyn, NY.
1865 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was published.
1881 Tuskegee Institute opened its doors to the students who built it with bricks made in their own kiln.
1884 Bullfighting was introduced in America.
1886 The first rodeo in America was held at Prescott, Arizona.
1895 "America the Beautiful," originally a poem written by Katherine Lee Bates, was first published in the Congregationalist, a church newspaper.
1910 African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocked out white boxer Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match that sparked race riots across the United States.
1939 Lou Gehrig retired from baseball in a ceremony at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
1946 After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule, the Philippines is granted full independence by the United States.
1955 The first king cobra snakes born in captivity in the United States were hatched at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
1959 With the admission of Alaska as the 49th U.S. state earlier in the year, the 49-star flag of the United States debuted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1960 Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania almost ten and a half months later.
1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act into United States law.
1970 Casey Kasem hosted radio’s American Top 40 for the first time.
1985 A crowd estimated at one million gathered in Philadelphia to celebrate the 209th anniversary of America’s independence.
1987 Martina Navratilova captured her sixth consecutive Wimbledon singles title.
1987 Klaus Barbie, the former Gestapo chief known as the "Butcher of Lyon," was convicted by a French court of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison.
1992 USS George Washington (CVN-73), a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier, was commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia.
1997 The Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, launched by NASA from the Earth in December 1996, entered the atmosphere of Mars.
2004 The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower was laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.
2006 North Korea tested four short-range missiles one medium-range missile, and a long-range Taepodong-2.

Chart Toppers

1945
Laura - The Woody Herman Orchestra
Dream - The Pied Pipers
Sentimental Journey - The Les Brown Orchestra (vocal: Doris Day)
Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima - Bob Wills

1953
Song from Moulin Rouge - The Percy Faith Orchestra
April in Portugal - The Les Baxter Orchestra
Ruby - Richard Hayman
Take These Chains from My Heart - Hank Williams

1961
Quarter to Three - U.S. Bonds
Raindrops - Dee Clark
Tossin’ and Turnin’ - Bobby Lewis
Hello Walls - Faron Young

1969
Get Back - The Beatles
Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet - Henry Mancini
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Statue of a Fool - Jack Greene

1977
Got to Give It Up (Pt. I) - Marvin Gaye
Gonna Fly Now (Theme from "Rocky") - Bill Conti
Undercover Angel - Alan O’Day
That was Yesterday - Donna Fargo

1985
Heaven - Bryan Adams
Sussudio - Phil Collins
Raspberry Beret - Prince & The Revolution
She Keeps the Home Fires Burning - Ronnie Milsap

Quote of the Day

Remember that as a teenager you are at the last stage of your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.
Fran Lebowitz, US writer and humorist (1950 - )

Today in History - July 5th

Today's Birthdays

1801 David Farragut, Civil War Union Navy Admiral (“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”) died Aug 14, 1870
1810 P. T. (Phineus Taylor) Barnum, circus impresario (Barnum & Bailey) died Apr 7, 1891
1853 Cecil John Rhodes, diamond tycoon/founder (Rhodes Scholarships at Oxford University) died Mar 26, 1902
1902 Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., diplomat (U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Viet Nam) died in 1985
1923 John McKay, College Football Hall of Fame head coach (USC) died June 10, 2001
1928 Katherine Helmond, actress (Soap, Who’s the Boss)
1928 Warren Oates, actor (Stripes, Gunsmoke, Rawhide) died Apr 3, 1982
1943 Robbie (Jamie) Robertson, composer/guitarist (The Band)
1950 Huey Lewis (Cregg), harmonica/singer (Huey Lewis and the News)
1950 Gary (Nathaniel) Matthews, MLB (San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners)
1950 Michael Monarch, guitarist (Steppenwolf)
1951 Rich (Richard Michael) ‘Goose’ Gossage, MLB pitcher (Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, NY Yankees)
1956 James Lofton, NFL wide receiver (Green Bay Packers, LA Raiders, Buffalo Bills, LA Rams, Philadelphia Eagles)
1958 Bill Watterson, cartoonist (Calvin & Hobbes)
1959 Marc Cohn, singer/songwriter (Silver Thunderbird, Walking in Memphis)
1960 Pruitt Taylor Vince, actor (Heavy, Beautiful Girls)
1963 Edie Falco, actress (The Sopranos)
1966 Kathryn Erbe, actress (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
1968 Jillian Armenante, actress (Judging Amy, Girl Interrupted)
1969 Jenji Kohan, television writer/producer (Weeds)
1973 Bengt Lagerberg, rock musician (The Cardigans)
1975 Chris Gratton, NHL center (Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Buffalo Sabres, Phoenix Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche)
1980 Jason Wade, rock guitarist/singer/songwriter (Lifehouse)
1980 Eva Green, French actress (Casino Royale)
1985 Nick O'Malley, rock musician (Arctic Monkeys)
1996 Dolly, sheep (first cloned mammal) died Feb 14, 2003

Today's Deaths in History

1925 Erik Satie, French composer (Gymnopedie) dies at 59
1983 Harry James, trumpeter/bandleader, dies at 67
1998 Sid Luckman, NFL quarterback (Chicago Bears) dies at 81
2001 Ernie K-Doe, R&B singer (Mother-In-Law) dies at 65
2002 Ted Williams, U.S. Marine fighter pilot/MLB outfielder (WWII, Korean War; Boston Red Sox) dies at 83
2004 Syreeta, R&B singer/former Mrs. Stevie Wonder (With You I'm Born Again) dies at 58
2005 James Stockdale, U.S. Navy vice admiral/Vice Presidential candidate, dies at 81
2005 Shirley Goodman, R&B singer (Let the Good Times Roll) dies at 69
2006 Kenneth Lay, American businessman (Enron) dies at 64

Today in History

1687 Isaac Newton published Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (mathematical principles of natural philosophy).
1811 Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.
1865 William Booth formed the internationally acclaimed Salvation Army in London, England.
1865 The United States Secret Service was created.
1865 The world's first maximum speed law was enacted in England.
1916 Adeline and Augusta Van Buren started on the first successful transcontinental motorcycle tour attempted by two women, leaving New York City and arriving in San Diego, CA on September 12th.
1935 The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1937 Spam, the luncheon meat, was introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
1946 The first two-piece brief swimsuit was shown in public, worn by a model at a press party.
1947 Larry Doby became the first black baseball player in the American League when he joined the lineup of the Cleveland Indians against the Chicago White Sox.
1948 My Favorite Husband, with Lucille Ball, became the gifted redhead’s first regular radio program on CBS.
1951 Dr. William Shockley announced that he had invented a working and efficient junction transistor at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ.
1954 Elvis Presley recorded "That’s All Right (Mama)" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" in his first session for Sam Phillips and Sun Records in Memphis, TN.
1969 Rod Laver became the first man to win four Wimbledon tennis titles.
1971 The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, was formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
1975 Arthur Ashe became the first African-American man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
1985 Baseball history was made when the New York Mets finally beat the Atlanta Braves (by a 16-13 score) in Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium in a game that lasted 19 innings, through two rain delays, and ran 6 hours and 10 minutes.
1989 Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service in the wake of the Iran-Contra Affair.
1989 The first episode of Seinfeld aired.
1991 Regulators in seven countries, including the U.S., shut down BCCI (Bank of Commerce and Credit International).
1994 Hootie and the Blowfish released their first LP, [/i]Cracked Rear View.[/i]
1994 The United States announced it would refuse further unrestricted immigration from Haiti.
1997 Martina Hingis, 16, became the youngest Wimbledom singles champion in 110 years as she beat Jana Novotna in the women's final.
2003 SARS was declared to be contained by the World Heath organization.

Chart Toppers

1946
They Say It’s Wonderful - Frank Sinatra
The Gypsy - The Ink Spots
All Through the Day - Perry Como
New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills

1954
Little Things Mean a Lot - Kitty Kallen
Hernando’s Hideaway - Archie Bleyer
Three Coins in the Fountain - The Four Aces
Even Tho - Webb Pierce

1962
I Can’t Stop Loving You - Ray Charles
The Stripper - David Rose
Palisades Park - Freddy Cannon
Wolverton Mountain - Claude King

1970
The Love You Save - The Jackson 5
Mama Told Me (Not to Come) - Three Dog Night
Ball of Confusion - The Temptations
He Loves Me All the Way - Tammy Wynette

1978
Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty
It’s a Heartache - Bonnie Tyler
It Only Hurts for a Little While - Margo Smith

1986
There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) - Billy Ocean
Holding Back the Years - Simply Red
Who’s Johnny - El DeBarge
Everything that Glitters (Is Not Gold) - Dan Seals

Quote of the Day

I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity.
Tom Stoppard, British dramatist & screenwriter (1937 - )

Today in History - July 6th

Today's Birthdays

1747 John Paul Jones, naval officer (captain of the Bonhomme Richard; “I have not yet begun to fight!”) died July 18, 1792
1909 Andrei Gromyko, Soviet Foreign Minister/Soviet President, died July 3, 1989
1915 LaVerne Andrews, singer (The Andrews Sisters) died May 8, 1967
1918 Sebastian Cabot, actor (Family Affair) died Aug 22, 1977
1921 Nancy Reagan (Anne Robbins-Davis), actress/former 1st Lady
1925 Merv Griffin, singer/TV host/game show developer
1925 Bill Haley (William John Clifton Haley Jr.), singer/guitarist (Bill Haley and the Comets) died Feb 9, 1981
1927 Janet Leigh (Jeanette Morrison Reames), actress (Psycho) died Oct 3, 2004
1927 Pat Paulsen, comedian/perennial U.S. Presidential candidate, died Apr 24, 1997
1931 Della Reese (Delloreese Patricia Early), singer/actress (Touched by an Angel)
1935 Dalai Lama (Lhamo Thondup), the 14th Dalai Lama (Nobel Peace Prize winner, Tibetan spiritual leader)
1937 Ned Beatty, actor (Deliverance, Superman)
1937 Gene Chandler (Eugene Dixon), singer (Duke of Earl)
1945 Rik Elswit, guitarist/singer (Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show)
1945 Burt Ward (Gervais), actor (Batman)
1946 George W. (Walker) Bush, 43rd President of the United States
1946 Fred Dryer, actor (Hunter, Death Before Dishonor)
1946 Sylvester Stallone, actor (Rocky series, Rambo series, Judge Dredd)
1948 Brad Park, NHL Hockey Hall of fame defenseman (NY Rangers)
1949 Phyllis Hyman, R&B/Jazz singer, died June 30, 1995
1950 John Byrne, comic book author/artist (X-Men, Fantastic Four)
1951 Geoffrey Rush, actor (Shine, Elizabeth, Pirates of the Caribbean series)
1952 Grant Goodeve, actor (Dynasty)
1952 Shelley Hack, actress (Charlie’s Angels)
1954 Willie Randolph, MLB manager (New York Mets)
1957 Ron Duguay, NHL center (NY Rangers)
1959 Jon Keeble, drummer (Spandau Ballet)
1961 Kimberly Foster, actress (Dallas, One Crazy Summer)
1967 Heather Nova, rock singer (Walk This World)
1975 50 Cent, rapper
1978 Tamera and Tia Mowry, actresses (Sister Sister)
1979 Nic Cester, rock singer/guitarist (Jet)
1987 Matt O'Leary, actor (Domestic Disturbance)

Today's Deaths in History

1535 Sir Thomas More, English philosopher, is executed by Henry VIII for treason at 57
1835 John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, dies at 79
1893 Guy de Maupassant, French author (Bel-Ami) dies at 42
1962 William Faulkner, author (As I Lay Dying) dies at 64
1971 Louis Armstrong, "Satchmo," jazz trumpeter/singer, dies at 69
1979 Van McCoy, producer/songwriter/musician (The Hustle) dies at 39
1994 Cameron Mitchell, actor (The High Chaparral) dies at 75
1998 Roy Rogers, actor/singer/restauranteur (King of the Cowboys) dies at 86
1999 Barry Winchell, U.S. soldier, beaten to death by a fellow soldier at 21
2003 Buddy Ebsen, actor (Beverly Hillbillies) dies at 95
2005 Evan Hunter, author (The Blackboard Jungle) dies at 78
2006 Kasey Rogers, actress (Bewitched, Strangers on a Train) dies at 80

Today in History

1535 Sir Thomas More was executed for treason by King Henry VIII after refusing to agree to Henrys' decision to separate the English church from the Roman Catholic church.
1699 Pirate Captain William Kidd was captured in Boston, MA and deported back to England.
1777 British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution.
1785 The dollar was unanimously chosen as the monetary unit for the United States.
1858 The shoe manufacturing machine was patented by Lyman Blake of Abington, MA.
1885 Louis Pasteur made history by accomplishing the first effective antirabies inoculation, on a boy bitten by an infected dog.
1887 David Kalakaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, was forced at gunpoint to sign the Bayonet Constitution, giving Americans more power in Hawaii while stripping Hawaiian citizens of their rights.
1905 The first fingerprints were exchanged by police officials in Europe and America.
1917 Arab forces led by T.E. Lawrence captured the port of Aqaba from the Turks during World War I.
1919 The British dirigible R-34 landed at Roosevelt Field, Long Island, NY, the first airship to cross the Atlantic.
1928 The Lights of New York, the first "talkie" motion picture, was shown by Warner Brothers at the New York Strand Theatre.
1933 Baseball’s best gathered together at Comiskey Park in Chicago, IL for the first All-Star Game.
1942 Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
1944 Fire broke out in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn., killing 169 people.
1947 A hidden microphone eavesdropped on unsuspecting people for the first time, as Candid Microphone hit the airwaves, hosted by Allen Funt.
1948 Frieda Hennock, appointed by President Harry Truman, became the first woman to serve as commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission.
1957 Althea Gibson won the Wimbledon women’s singles tennis title, the first African-American to do so.
1957 Teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at a church in Liverpool, England, following a performance by Lennon's band, the Quarrymen.
1974 The radio program A Prairie Home Companion makes its first live broadcast.
1981 The Dupont Company of Wilmington, DE announced an agreement to purchase Conoco, Inc. (Continental Oil Co.) for seven billion dollars, the largest corporate merger in history (to that time).
1984 Michael Jackson and his brothers started their Victory Tour in Kansas City, Missouri’s Arrowhead Stadium.
1987 It was revealed this day that the median age when men first marry had moved up to 25.5 years, with 60 percent of American men over the age of 15 married.
1989 The U.S. Army destroyed its last Pershing 1-A missiles at an ammunition plant in Karnack, Texas.
1997 The rover Sojourner rolled down a ramp from the Mars Pathfinder lander onto the Martian landscape to begin inspecting soil and rocks.
1999 U.S. Army private Barry Winchell died from baseball-bat injuries, inflicted in his sleep the previous day by a fellow soldier for his relationship with transgendered showgirl and former Navy combat medic, Calpernia Addams.
2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry chose former rival John Edwards, a North Carolina senator, to be his running mate.
2005 The International Olympic Committee announced that London will host the 2012 Summer Olympics.
2005 New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed after refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of an undercover CIA operative's name (Miller was jailed for 85 days before agreeing to testify).

Chart Toppers

1947
Peg o’ My Heart - The Harmonicats
I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder - Eddy Howard
Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba - Perry Como
It’s a Sin - Eddy Arnold

1955
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado
Learnin’ the Blues - Frank Sinatra
Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young - Faron Young

1963
Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto
Blue on Blue - Bobby Vinton
Easier Said Than Done - The Essex
Act Naturally - Buck Owens

1971
It’s Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King
Indian Reservation - Raiders
Treat Her Like a Lady - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot - Jerry Reed

1979
Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
Bad Girls - Donna Summer
Chuck E.’s in Love - Rickie Lee Jones
Amanda - Waylon Jennings

1987
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston
Alone - Heart
Shakedown - Bob Seger
That was a Close One - Earl Thomas Conley

Quote of the Day

One of the most obvious facts about grownups to a child is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child.
Randall Jarrell, US author & poet (1914 - 1965)

hey, mets, could you win for willie tonight?

Today in History - July 7th

Today's Birthdays

1860 Gustav Mahler, composer (Songs of a Traveling Journeyman) died May 18, 1911
1887 Marc Chagall, artist (Red Nude Sitting Up) died Mar 29, 1985
1899 George Cukor, director (My Fair Lady, A Star is Born, The Philadelphia Story) died Jan 24, 1983
1906 Satchel (Leroy Robert) Paige, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, KC Athletics) died June 8, 1982
1907 Robert A. Heinlein, Sci-Fi writer (Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land) died May 8, 1988
1917 Lawrence O’Brien, former head of U.S. Postal Service/National Basketball Association Commissioner, died Sep 27, 1990
1921 Ezzard Charles, International Boxing Hall of Fame heavyweight champion, died May 27, 1975
1922 Pierre Cardin, fashion designer
1927 Doc (Carl) Severinsen, trumpeter/bandleader (The Tonight Show Band)
1940 Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey), drummer (The Beatles)
1943 Joel Siegel, film critic, died June 29, 2007
1944 Warren Entner, guitarist/singer (The Grass Roots)
1946 Joe Spano, actor (Hill Street Blues, American Graffiti)
1949 Shelley Duvall, actress (Popeye, Roxanne, The Shining)
1950 David Hodo, singer (The Village People)
1955 Joey Scarbury, singer (The Greatest American Hero)
1959 Jessica Hahn, Bakker scandal figure/model (Playboy)
1960 Ralph Sampson, NBA power forward (Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets)
1963 Vonda Shepard, singer (Ally McBeal)
1965 Paula Devicq, actress (Party of Five)
1968 Jorja Fox, actress (C.S.I., ER)
1969 Joe Sakic, NHL center (Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche)
1969 Robin Weigert, actress (Deadwood)
1972 Lisa Leslie, WNBA center (LA Sparks)
1974 Patrick Lalime, NHL goaltender (Chicago Blackhawks)
1975 NYRFaithful, board member
1980 Michelle Kwan, Olympic Figure Skating Champion

Today's Deaths in History

1647 Thomas Hooker, Puritan colonist (Connecticut) dies at 61
1901 Johanna Spyri, Swiss author (Heidi) dies at 74
1930 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish writer (Sherlock Holmes) dies at 71
1973 Veronica Lake, actress/pin-up girl, dies at 50
1990 Bill Cullen, game show host (To tell the Truth) dies at 70
1993 Mia Zapata, punk singer (The Gits) is raped and murdered at 27
2000 Kenny Irwin, Jr., NASCAR driver, is killed in a crash during practice at 30
2001 Fred Neil, singer/songwriter (Candy Man) dies at 65
2006 Syd Barrett, rock singer/songwriter/guitarist (Pink Floyd) dies at 60

Today in History

1456 A retrial verdict acquitted Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death.
1754 Kings College opened in New York City.
1846 American troops occupied Monterey and Yerba Buena, beginning the United States' annexation of California.
1862 The first railroad post office was tested on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad in Missouri.
1865 Four people were hanged in Washington, D.C., after being convicted of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.
1885 G. Moore Peters of Xenia, OH patented the cartridge-loading machine.
1898 President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.
1920 A device known as the radio compass was used for the first time on a U.S. Navy airplane near Norfolk, Virginia.
1930 Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser began construction of the Boulder Dam, now known as Hoover Dam.
1937 Lou Gehrig hit a two-run home run to lead the American League over the National League 8-3 in the All-Star Game at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC.
1946 Italian-born Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized as the first American saint.
1946 Howard Hughes nearly died when his XF-11 spy plane prototype crashed in a Beverly Hills neighborhood.
1949 Jack Webb’s Dragnet was first heard on NBC radio.
1950 Jack Walsh of Trenton, NJ set a world weightlifting record of 4,235 pounds.
1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act into United States law.
1962 Jockey Bill Hartack won race number 3,000.
1980 Led Zeppelin performed its final concert.
1981 President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
1985 Boris Becker became the first unseeded player, the youngest male (at the time), and the first German to win the Wimbledon tennis singles title, at age of 17 years, 7 months.
1994 Viacom Inc. bought Paramount Communications Inc. for $10 billion.
1999 A jury in Miami held cigarette makers liable for marketing a dangerous product that causes deadly diseases (emphysema, lung cancer and other illnesses).
2003 A federal judge approved a settlement fining WorldCom $750 million for its $11 billion accounting scandal.
2004 Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay was indicted on criminal charges related to the energy company's collapse.
2005 Terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 victims and four suicide bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II.

Chart Toppers

1948
You Can’t Be True, Dear - The Ken Griffin Orchestra (vocal: Jerry Wayne)
Nature Boy - Nat King
Woody Woodpecker Song - The Kay Kaiser Orchestra (vocal: Gloria Wood & The Campus Kids)
Bouquet of Roses - Eddy Arnold

1956
The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
Born to Be with You - The Chordettes
Crazy Arms - Ray Price

1964
I Get Around - The Beach Boys
My Boy Lollipop - Millie Small
Memphis - Johnny Rivers
Together Again - Buck Owens

1972
Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond
Outa-Space - Billy Preston
Lean on Me - Bill Withers
Eleven Roses - Hank Williams, Jr.

1980
Coming Up - Paul McCartney & Wings
The Rose - Bette Midler
It’s Still Rock & Roll to Me - Billy Joel
He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones

1988
Dirty Diana - Michael Jackson
The Flame - Cheap Trick
Mercedes Boy - Pebbles
If It Don’t Come Easy - Tanya Tucker

Quote of the Day

I cannot call to mind a single instance where I have ever been irreverent, except toward the things which were sacred to other people.
Mark Twain, US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 - 1910)

Today in History - July 8th

Today's Birthdays

1838 Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, German inventor (dirigible airship) died March 8, 1917
1908 Louis (Thomas) Jordan, alto sax/singer (Is You or is You ain’t My Baby) died Feb 4, 1975
1908 Nelson (Aldrich) Rockefeller, U.S. Vice President/Governor of New York, died Jan 26, 1979
1910 Sarah (Newcomb) McClendon, journalist (White House press corps) died Jan 7, 2003
1913 Walter Kerr, Pulitzer Prize-winning drama critic, died Oct 9, 1996
1914 Billy Eckstine (William Clarence Eckstein), band leader/singer (Fools Rush In) died Mar 8, 1993
1918 Craig Stevens (Gail Shikles), actor (Peter Gunn) died May 10, 2000
1931 Roone Arledge, TV executive (ABC News) died Dec 5, 2002
1933 Marty Feldman, comedian/actor (Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie) died Dec 2, 1982
1935 Steve Lawrence (Sidney Leibowitz), singer (Go Away Little Girl)
1942 Phil Gramm, U.S. Senator (Texas)
1944 Jeffrey Tambor, actor (Meet Joe Black, Arrested Development)
1949 Wolfgang Puck, celebrity chef
1951 Anjelica Huston, actress (Prizzi’s Honor, Addams Family series, Daddy Day Care)
1958 Kevin Bacon, actor (Apollo 13, A Few Good Men, Footloose)
1961 Andy Fletcher, keyboardist (Depeche Mode)
1961 Graham Jones, guitarist (Haircut 100)
1961 Toby Keith, country singer
1962 Joan Osborne, singer/songwriter (What if God Was One of Us)
1968 Billy Crudup, actor (Almost Famous)
1968 Michael Weatherly, actor (Dark Angel)
1970 Beck, singer/songwriter (Odelay)
1973 Kathleen Robertson, actress (Beverly Hills 90210)
1974 Tami Erin, actress (Pippi Longstocking)
1975 Stephen Mason, rock guitarist (Jars of Clay)
1977 Milo Ventimiglia, actor (Heroes)
1982 Sophia Bush, actress (The Hitcher)
1985 Jamie Cook, rock guitarist (Arctic Monkeys)
1998 Jaden Smith, actor/son of Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)

Today's Deaths in History

1721 Elihu Yale, benefactor (Yale University) dies at 72
1822 Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (Prometheus Unbound) dies at 29
1957 Grace Coolidge, former First Lady (Calvin Coolidge) dies at 78
1967 Vivien Leigh, actress (Gone With the Wind) dies at 53
1991 James Franciscus, actor (Beneath the Planet of the Apes) dies at 57
1994 Kim Il-sung, North Korean dictator, dies at 82
1994 Dick Sargent, actor (Bewitched) dies at 64
1999 Pete Conrad, astronaut (Gemini, Apollo) dies at 69
2002 Ward Kimball, animator (Disney Studios) dies at 88
2006 June Allyson, actress (Little Women) dies at 88

Today in History

1693 Uniforms for police in New York City were first authorized.
1776 The Liberty Bell was rung to summon citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the reading of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress.
1795 Martin Academy in Washington, TN changed its name to Washington College, the first to be named after George Washington.
1865 C.E. Barnes of Lowell, MA patented the machine gun.
1881 The first ice cream sundae was served by druggist Edward Berner of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, who couldn’t serve flavored soda water that a customer wanted because it was the Sabbath; Mr. Berner compromised and put ice cream in a dish and poured the syrup on top.
1889 The first issue of the Wall Street Journal was published.
1907 Florenz Ziegfeld staged the first Ziegfeld Follies at the roof garden of the New York Theatre.
1932 The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its lowest level of the Great Depression, bottoming out at 41.22.
1933 NFL team the Pittsburgh Steelers was established.
1946 Actress Ava Gardner divorced bandleader Artie Shaw, not quite a year after they were married.
1947 Reports were broadcast that a UFO had crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
1950 Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea.
1953 Notre Dame announced that the next five years of its football games would be shown in theatres over closed circuit TV.
1958 The first gold record album presented by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was awarded, to the soundtrack LP for the play [/i]Oklahoma![/i]
1960 Storer Broadcasting Company purchased WINS radio in New York City for $10 million, the highest price paid for a radio station to that time.
1970 The San Francisco Giants’ Jim Ray Hart hit for the cycle and became the first National League player in 59 seasons to collect six runs batted in during a single inning.
1985 Pro Football Hall of Famer Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers announced his retirement on his 33rd birthday.
1987 Kitty Dukakis, wife of Massachusetts governor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, revealed she had been addicted to amphetamines but had sought help and was drug-free.
1987 Lt. Col. Oliver North captured center stage as the Iran-Contra hearings were televised throughout the U.S.
1997 Mayo Clinic researchers warned that the dieting-drug "fen-phen" (fenfluramine and phentermine) could cause severe heart and lung damage.
1997 NATO invited the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to join the alliance in 1999.
1999 Allen Lee Davis is executed by the state of Florida, in the last use of the electric chair for capital punishment in Florida.
2004 Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas and his son Timothy were convicted in New York of looting the cable company and deceiving investors.
2004 Enron founder and former chairman Kenneth Lay pleaded innocent to charges related to the energy company's collapse (Lay was later convicted on 10 counts, including fraud and conspiracy. He died of heart disease in July 2006 while his case was on appeal).
2006 Four more U.S. soldiers were charged with rape and murder and a fifth with dereliction of duty in the alleged rape-slaying of a young Iraqi woman and the killings of her relatives in Mahmoudiya.

Chart Toppers

1949
Some Enchanted Evening - Perry Como
Again - Gordon Jenkins
Bali Ha’i - Perry Como
One Kiss Too Many - Eddy Arnold

1957
Teddy Bear - Elvis Presley
Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
Over the Mountain; Across the Sea - Johnnie & Joe
Four Walls - Jim Reeves

1965
I Can’t Help Myself - Four Tops
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
For Your Love - The Yardbirds
Before You Go - Buck Owens

1973
Will It Go Round in Circles - Billy Preston
Kodachrome - Paul Simon
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
Why Me - Kris Kristofferson

1981
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
All Those Years Ago - George Harrison
The One that You Love - Air Supply
I was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool - Barbara Mandrell

1989
Satisfied - Richard Marx
Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry
Baby Don’t Forget My Number - Milli Vanilli
I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party - Roseanne Cash

Quote of the Day

Experience teaches slowly and at the cost of mistakes.
James A. Froude, English historian (1818 - 1894)

Today in History - July 9th

Today's Birthdays

1819 Elias Howe, inventor (lock stitch sewing machine) died Oct 3, 1867
1901 Dame Barbara Cartland, romance novelist (wrote 723 books) died May 21, 2000
1905 Clarence Campbell, former NHL President, died June 24, 1984
1927 Ed Ames, actor/singer (The Ames Brothers)
1927 Leonard ‘Red’ Kelly, Hockey Hall of Famer (Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs)
1929 Lee Hazlewood, singer/songwriter (These Boots are Made for Walkin’)
1932 Donald Rumsfeld, United States Secretary of Defense
1938 Brian Dennehy, actor (Cocoon, Presumed Innocent, First Blood)
1942 Richard Roundtree, actor (Body of Influence, Shaft)
1945 Dean R. Koontz, horror author
1945 Root Boy Slim, rock singer (Boogie 'Til You Puke) died June 8, 1993
1946 Bon (Ronald) Scott, singer (AC/DC) died Feb 19, 1980
1947 O.J. (Orenthal James) Simpson, Pro Football Hall of Fame running back/murderer
1947 Mitch Mitchell, rock drummer (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
1951 Chris Cooper, actor (American Beauty, Seabiscuit)
1952 John Tesh, composer/TV host (Entertainment Tonight)
1954 Debbie Sledge, singer (Sister Sledge)
1955 Jimmy Smits, actor (L.A. Law, N.Y.P.D. Blue, Running Scared, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith)
1956 Tom (Thomas J.) Hanks, actor (Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Apollo 13, Sleepless in Seattle, Big)
1957 Kelly McGillis, actress (Witness, The Accused, Top Gun)
1959 Marc (Peter) Almond, singer (Soft Cell)
1959 Jim Kerr, singer (Simple Minds)
1964 Courtney Love, rock singer (Hole)
1965 Frank Bello, rock bass (Anthrax)
1970 Trent Green, NFL quarterback (Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins)
1973 Kelly Holcomb, NFL quarterback (Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles)
1975 Jack White, rock singer/guitarist (The White Stripes)
1976 Dan Estrin, rock guitarist (Hoobastank)
1976 Fred Savage, actor (The Wonder Years, The Princess Bride, Little Monsters)
1978 Linda Park, actress (Star Trek: Enterprise)
1986 Kiely Williams, singer/actress (Cheetah Girls)

Today's Deaths in History

1850 Zachary Taylor, 12th President of the United States, dies at 65
1932 King C. Gillette, inventor (safety razor) dies at 77
1974 Earl Warren, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, dies at 83
1992 Eric Sevareid, TV news reporter (CBS) dies at 79
1994 Bill Mosienko, Hockey Hall of Fame right winger (Chicago Blackhawks) dies at 72
1996 Melvin Belli, celebrity attorney, dies at 88
2002 Rod Steiger, actor (In the Heat of the Night, On the Waterfront, Doctor Zhivago) dies at 77
2004 Isabel Sanford, actress (The Jeffersons, All in the Family) dies at 86
2006 Milan Williams, R&B singer (The Commodores) dies at 58

Today in History

1540 England's King Henry VIII had his 6-month-old marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, annulled.
1776 The Declaration of Independence was read aloud to Gen. George Washington's troops in New York.
1792 S.L. Mitchell of Columbia College in New York City became the first Professor of Agriculture.
1808 The leather-splitting machine was patented by Samuel Parker of Billerica, MA.
1846 By an Act of Congress, the Washington, DC area south of the Potomac River was returned to Virginia.
1847 A 10-hour work day was established for workers in the State of New Hampshire.
1868 The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing African-Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
1872 The doughnut cutter was patented by John F. Blondel of Thomaston, ME.
1878 The corncob pipe was patented by Henry Tibbe of Washington, MO.
1900 Queen Victoria gave royal assent to an act creating the Commonwealth of Australia, thus uniting separate colonies on the continent under one federal government.
1922 Johnny Weissmuller became the first to swim the 100-meters freestyle in less than a minute, in an event at Alameda, CA.
1953 The first commuter passenger service by helicopter began in New York.
1968 The first All-Star baseball game to be played indoors took place at the Astrodome in Houston, TX.
1972 Paul McCartney appeared on stage for the first time since 1966 as his group, Wings, opened at Chateauvillon in the south of France.
1977 "Undercover Angel" by songwriter Alan O’Day reached the top spot on the Billboard chart.
1984 67,596 spectators packed the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, IN, the largest crowd to watch a basketball game in the United States (to that time), as the U.S. men’s Olympic team defeated a team of players from the NBA, 97-82.
1985 Football great Joe Namath signed a five-year pact with ABC-TV to provide commentary for Monday Night Football.
1986 The Marquis Theatre, located at the corner of 46th Street and Broadway. opened; it was the first new theater on Broadway in 13 years.
1992 Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton tapped Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee to be his running mate.
1995 The Grateful Dead played their last concert, at Soldier Field in Chicago (lead guitarist Jerry Garcia died the following month).
1997 Boxer Mike Tyson was banned from the ring and fined $3 million for biting opponent Evander Holyfield's ear.
1999 Days of student protests began after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory of University of Tehran.
2000 Pete Sampras won his seventh Wimbledon singles title, tying the record for men at the All England Club.
2001 A court in Chile ruled that Gen. Augusto Pinochet could not be tried on human rights charges because of his deteriorating physical and mental health .
2002 The baseball All-Star game in Milwaukee finished in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings when both teams ran out of pitchers.
2004 A Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq that the Bush administration relied on to justify going to war.
2004 The International Court of Justice ruled that Israel's planned barrier in the West Bank barrier violated international law.
2006 122 people were killed after a Sibir Airlines Airbus A310 passenger jet carrying 200 passengers veered off the runway while landing at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia in wet conditions.

Chart Toppers

1950
Bewitched - The Bill Snyder Orchestra
My Foolish Heart - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Eileen Wilson)
I Wanna Be Loved - The Andrews Sisters
Why Don’t You Love Me - Hank Williams

1958
Hard Headed Woman - Elvis Presley
Splish Splash - Bobby Darin
Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson
Guess Things Happen that Way - Johnny Cash

1966
Paperback Writer - The Beatles
Red Rubber Ball - The Cyrkle
Hanky Panky - Tommy James & The Shondells
Think of Me - Buck Owens

1974
Rock the Boat - The Hues Corporation
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
Hollywood Swinging - Kool & The Gang
He Thinks I Still Care - Anne Murray

1982
Don’t You Want Me - The Human League
Rosanna - Toto
Hurts So Good - John Cougar
Any Day Now - Ronnie Milsap

1990
Step By Step - New Kids on the Block
She ain’t Worth It - Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown
Hold On - En Vogue
Love Without End, Amen - George Strait

Quote of the Day

The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.
George F. Will, US editor, commentator, & columnist (1941 - )

Today in History - July 10th

Today's Birthdays

1834 James (Abbott McNeill) Whistler, artist (Whistler’s Mother) died July 17, 1903
1839 Adolphus Busch, brewer (founder of Anheuser-Busch) died Oct 10, 1913
1856 Nikola Tesla, inventor/physicist/electrical engineer, died Jan 7, 1943
1915 Saul Bellow, novelist (Humboldt’s Gift) died April 5, 2005
1917 Don Herbert, science teacher/TV personality (Mr. Wizard) died June 12, 2007
1920 David Brinkley, TV journalist (The Huntley-Brinkley Report, This Week with David Brinkley) died June 11, 2003
1921 Jake LaMotta, boxer (Raging Bull)
1923 Earl Hamner Jr., writer/executive producer/narrator (The Waltons)
1926 Fred Gwynne, actor (The Munsters, Car 54 Where are You?, My Cousin Vinny) died July 2, 1993
1931 Nick Adams, actor (Mister Roberts, Hell is for Heroes) died Feb 7, 1968
1933 Jerry Herman, composer/lyricist (Hello, Dolly!, La Cage aux Folles, Mame)
1939 Lawrence Pressman, actor (The Winds of War, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Doogie Howser, M.D.)
1943 Arthur Ashe, International Tennis Hall of Famer, died Feb 6, 1993
1943 Jerry Miller, guitarist (Moby Grape)
1947 Arlo Guthrie, folk singer (The City of New Orleans, Alice’s Restaurant)
1949 Ronnie James Dio (Padavona), guitarist/singer/songwriter (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio)
1950 Greg Kihn, rock guitarist/singer (Jeopardy)
1953 Rik Emmett, rock guitarist/singer (Triumph)
1954 Neil Tennant, singer (Pet Shop Boys)
1965 Peter DiStefano, rock guitarist (Porno for Pyros)
1972 Sofía Vergara, model/actress (Big Trouble)
1976 Adrian Grenier, actor (Entourage)
1980 Thomas Ian Nicholas, actor (Radio Flyer, American Pie series)
1980 Adam Petty, NASCAR driver, died May 12, 2000
1980 Jessica Simpson, singer/actress (Dukes of Hazzard)

Today's Deaths in History

1851 Louis-Jacques Daguerre, French inventor/photographer (daguerreotype) dies at 63
1941 Jelly Roll Morton, Jazz pianist/bandleader, dies at 55
1979 Arthur Fiedler, conductor (Boston Pops) dies at 84
1989 Mel Blanc, voice actor (Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig) dies at 81

Today in History

0988 The City of Dublin was founded on the banks of the river Liffey.
1821 The United States took possession of its newly-bought territory of Florida from Spain.
1832 President Andrew Jackson vetoed legislation to re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.
1850 Millard Fillmore was inaugurated as the 13th President of the United States.
1866 Edison P. Clark of Northampton, MA patented his indelible pencil.
1890 Wyoming became the 44th state.
1900 One of the most famous trademarks in the world, ‘His Master’s Voice,’ was registered with the U.S. Patent Office as the logo of the Victor Talking Machine Company, and later, RCA Victor.
1919 President Woodrow Wilson personally delivered the Treaty of Versailles to the Senate and urged its ratification.
1920 Man o’ War defeated John P. Grier in the Dwyer Stakes, setting a world-record time of 1 minute, 49-1/5 seconds in the 1-1/8 mile event.
1925 In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called "Monkey Trial" began with John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of a Tennessee state law.
1929 The U.S. government began issuing paper money in the size we currently carry.
1934 Carl Hubbell threw three strikeouts in the first inning of the All-Star baseball game held at New York’s Polo Grounds, facing the American League’s best power hitters: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmy Fox.
1936 Billie Holiday recorded "Billie’s Blues" for Okeh Records in New York.
1940 The Battle of Britain began during World War II as Nazi forces attacked southern England by air.
1949 The first practical rectangular television picture tube was presented, measuring 12 by 16 inches and selling for $12.
1951 Sugar Ray Robinson was defeated for only the second time in 133 fights, as 7-2 underdog Randy Turpin took the middleweight crown from Robinson in a 15-round referee’s decision in London, England.
1962 The Telstar communications satellite was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, FL.
1964 The Beatles' album A Hard Day's Night was released.
1965 The Rolling Stones had their first #1 hit on the Billboard chart, "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction."
1975 Cher filed for divorce from rocker Greg Allman, just ten days after the couple had married.
1978 World News Tonight premiered on ABC.
1984 Dwight ‘Doc’ Gooden of the New York Mets became the youngest player to appear in an All-Star Game as a pitcher at 19 years, 7 months and 24 days old.
1985 The Coca-Cola Company announced that the former (regular) Coke was coming back to share shelf space with the New Coke, after a consumer furor.
1985 Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior was bombed and sunk in Auckland, New Zealand Harbor by French DGSE agents.
1991 Boris Yeltsin took the oath of office as the first elected Russian President in 1,000 years after he had resoundingly defeated the Communist Party candidate.
1992 A federal judge in Miami sentenced former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega to 40 years in prison on drug and racketeering charges.
1995 Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was freed after nearly six years of house arrest in Yangon, Myanmar.
1997 Scientists in London reported their DNA analysis findings from a Neanderthal skeleton which supported the out of Africa theory of human evolution, placing an "African Eve" at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
1998 The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas agreed to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by former priest Rudolph Kos.
1999 The U.S. women's soccer team won the World Cup at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
2005 Hurricane Dennis slammed into the Florida Panhandle, causing billions of dollars in damage.
2006 A section of ceiling in Boston's Big Dig tunnel collapsed, killing a car passenger.
2006 Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev was killed when a dynamite-laden truck in his convoy exploded.

Chart Toppers

1951
Too Young - Nat King Cole
Mister and Mississippi - Patti Page
On Top of Old Smokey - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
I Want to Be with You Always - Lefty Frizzell

1959
Lonely Boy - Paul Anka
Dream Lover - Bobby Darin
Bobby Sox to Stockings - Frankie Avalon
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton

1967
Windy - The Association
Little Bit o’ Soul - The Music Explosion
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You - Frankie Valli
All the Time - Jack Greene

1975
Love Will Keep Us Together - The Captain & Tennille
The Hustle - Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony
Listen to What the Man Said - Wings
Lizzie and the Rainman - Tanya Tucker

1983
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Never Gonna Let You Go - Sergio Mendez
Too Shy - Kajagoogoo
Highway 40 Blues - Ricky Skaggs

1991
Rush, Rush - Paula Abdul
Unbelievable - EMF
Right Here, Right Now - Jesus Jones
Don’t Rock the Jukebox - Alan Jackson

Quote of the Day

We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.
John W. Gardner (1912 - 2002)

Today in History - July 11th

Today's Birthdays

1754 Thomas Bowdler, medical doctor/literary censor (removed all words “which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family”) died Feb 24, 1825
1767 John Quincy Adams, 6th U.S. President, died Feb 23, 1848
1899 E.B. (Elwyn Brooks) White, author (Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web) died Oct 1, 1985
1915 Yul Brynner (Taidje Khan), actor (The King and I, The Ten Commandments, The Magnificent Seven) died Oct 10, 1985
1928 Carl ‘Bobo’ Olson, World Boxing Hall of Famer (middleweight) died Jan 16, 2002
1931 Tab Hunter (Arthur Gelien), singer (Young Love)
1934 Giorgio Armani, fashion designer
1947 Jeff Hanna, guitarist/singer (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
1950 Bonnie Pointer, singer (The Pointer Sisters)
1953 Leon Spinks, former world heavyweight boxing champion
1956 Sela Ward, actress (The Fugitive, Once and Again, House MD)
1957 Peter Murphy, singer (Bauhaus)
1959 Richie Sambora, rock guitarist (Bon Jovi)
1959 Suzanne Vega, singer (Luka, Tom's Diner)
1963 Lisa Rinna, model/actress (Melrose Place)
1963 Al MacInnis, NHL defenseman (St Louis Blues)
1965 Scott Shriner, rock bassist (Weezer)
1966 Debbe Dunning, actress (Home Improvement)
1966 Gred Grunberg, actor (Heroes)
1970 Justin Chambers, actor (Grey's Anatomy)
1975 Lil' Kim, rapper
1982 Chris Cooley, NFL tight end (Washington Redskins)

Today's Deaths in History

1804 Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, is shot and killed in a duel by VP Aaron Burr at 49
1937 George Gershwin, composer (Porgy & Bess) dies at 38
1983 Ross Macdonald, crime novelist (The Drowning Pool) dies at 67
1989 Sir Laurence Olivier, English stage/screen actor (The Jazz Singer, Wuthering Heights) dies at 82
1994 Savannah, adult actress, commits suicide at 23
2004 Laurance Rockefeller, conservationist/philanthropist, dies at 94
2005 Frances Langford, actress/singer (I'm in the Mood for Love) dies at 92

Today in History

1533 Pope Clement VII excommunicated England's King Henry VIII.
1735 Mathematical calculations suggest it that Pluto moved from the ninth to the eighth most distant planet from the Sun for the last time until 1979.
1798 The United States Marine Corps was re-established after being disbanded after the American Revolutionary War.
1804 Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton to death in their famous duel.
1859 A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was published.
1914 Babe Ruth debuted in the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox, making $2,900 his rookie season.
1918 Enrico Caruso joined the war (WWI) effort when he recorded "Over There," the patriotic song written by George M. Cohan.
1921 Former US President William Howard Taft was sworn in as 10th Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, becoming the only person to ever be both President and Chief Justice.
1934 The first appointments to the newly created Federal Communications Commission were made.
1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt announced he would run for a fourth term as President of the United States.
1950 Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams suffered a broken elbow during the All-Star baseball game in Chicago.
1952 The Republican National Convention, meeting in Chicago, nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower for president and Richard M. Nixon for vice president.
1955 The phrase In God We Trust is added to all US currency.
1955 The first class of 306 cadets was sworn in at Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colorado, the temporary home of the U.S. Air Force Academy.
1960 To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, was first published.
1973 Tennis stars Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs announced their forthcoming (September, 1973) "Battle of the Sexes."
1977 The Medal of Freedom was awarded posthumously to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a White House ceremony.
1979 The abandoned U.S. space station Skylab returned to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.
1985 Zippers for stitches were announced by Dr. H. Harlan Stone, who had used zippers on 28 patients whom he thought might require additional operations because of internal bleeding following initial operations.
1987 According to the United Nations, the world population crossed the 5,000,000,000 (5 billion) mark.
1985 Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros became the first major-league pitcher to earn 4,000 strikeouts in a career as he led the Astros to a 4-3 win over the New York Mets.
1987 Bo Jackson signed a $7.4 million contract to play football for the LA Raiders for five years.
1995 Full diplomatic relations were established between the United States and Vietnam.
1998 Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, a casualty of the Vietnam War, was laid to rest near his Missouri home after the positive identification of his remains, which had been enshrined at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington, Va.
1999 A U.S. Air Force cargo jet dropped off emergency medical supplies at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Center for a physician at the center who had discovered a lump in her breast.
2006 209 people were killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.
2006 Microsoft's official support of Windows 98 and Windows Me ends.

Chart Toppers

1944
I’ll Be Seeing You - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Frank Sinatra)
Long Ago and Far Away - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
I’ll Get By - The Harry James Orchestra (vocal: Dick Haymes)
Straighten Up and Fly Right - King Cole Trio

1952
Kiss of Fire - Georgia Gibbs
I’m Yours - Eddie Fisher
Delicado - The Percy Faith Orchestra
That Heart Belongs to Me - Webb Pierce

1960
Alley-Oop - Hollywood Argyles
I’m Sorry - Brenda Lee
Mule Skinner Blues - The Fendermen
Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Locklin

1968
This Guy’s in Love with You - Herb Alpert
The Horse - Cliff Nobles & Co.
Jumpin’ Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones
D-I-V-O-R-C-E - Tammy Wynette

1976
Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band
Kiss and Say Goodbye - Manhattans
I’ll Be Good to You - The Brothers Johnson
The Door is Always Open - Dave & Sugar

1984
When Doves Cry - Prince
Jump (For My Love) - Pointer Sisters
Eyes Without a Face - Billy Idol
Somebody’s Needin’ Somebody - Conway Twitty

Quote of the Day

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
Anais Nin, US (French-born) author & diarist (1903 - 1977)

Today in History - July 12th

Today's Birthdays

0100 BC Julius Caesar, Roman military/political leader, died March 15, 0044 BC
1730 Josiah Wedgwood, pottery designer/manufacturer, died Jan 3, 1795
1817 Henry David Thoreau, philosopher/writer (On Walden Pond) died May 6, 1862
1854 George Eastman, inventor (Kodak camera, flexible roll film) died Mar 14, 1932
1865 George Washington Carver, botanist/inventor (multiple uses for peanuts and sweet potatoes) died Jan 5, 1943
1895 Oscar (Greeley Clendenning) Hammerstein II, lyricist/songwriter (Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I) died Aug 23, 1960
1908 Milton Berle (Berlinger), comedian (Uncle Miltie, Mr. Television) died Mar 27, 2002
1909 ‘Curly’ Joe DeRita (Joseph Wardell), comedian (The Three Stooges) died July 3, 1993
1917 Andrew Wyeth, artist (Helga pictures, Christina’s World)
1937 Bill Cosby, comedian/actor (I Spy, Cosby Kids, The Cosby Show)
1941 Benny Parsons, NASCAR driver, died Jan 16, 2007
1943 Christine (Perfect) McVie, keyboards/singer (Fleetwood Mac)
1948 Richard Simmons, weight loss expert
1948 Jay Thomas, actor (Murphy Brown, Mork & Mindy, Mr. Holland’s Opus)
1948 Walter Egan, singer (Magnet and Steel)
1949 John Wetton, bassist/singer (Asia)
1949 Rick Hendrick, NASCAR Team Owner
1950 Eric Carr, rock drummer (Kiss), died Nov 24, 1991
1951 Brian Grazer, film producer (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Blue Crush)
1951 Cheryl Ladd (Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor), actress (Charlie's Angels)
1962 Dan Murphy, rock guitarist (Soul Asylum)
1965 Robin Wilson, singer/guitarist (Gin Blossoms)
1969 Lisa Nicole Carson, actress/schizophrenic (Ally McBeal, ER)
1971 Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic figure skater
1972 Brett Reed, rock drummer (Rancid)
1976 Tracie Spencer, R&B singer (This House)
1977 Airin Older, bassist/singer (Sugarcult)
1978 Topher Grace, actor (That 70's Show, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, Spiderman 3)
1978 Michelle Rodriguez, actress (Lost, the Fast & the Furious, Blue Crush)
1991 Erik Per Sullivan, actor (Malcom in the Middle)

Today's Deaths in History

1934 Ole Evinrude, inventor/industrialist (outboard motor) dies at 57
1944 Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., General/Medal of Honor recipient, dies at 56
1973 Lon Chaney, Jr., actor (The Wolf Man) dies at 67
1979 Minnie Riperton, soul singer (Loving you) dies at 31
1983 Chris Wood, saxophonist/keyboardist (Traffic) dies at 39
1996 John Chancellor, television journalist (NBC) dies at 69
1996 Jonathan Melvoin, touring keyboardist (The Smashing Pumpkins) dies at 34
1998 Jimmy Driftwood, folk songwriter (Battle of New Orleans) dies at 91

Today in History

1543 King Henry VIII of England married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace.
1862 The Medal of Honor was authorized by the U.S. Congress.
1912 The first foreign-made film to premiere in America, the French film Queen Elizabeth, was shown.
1931 A major-league baseball record was set as the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs combined for a total of 23 doubles.
1933 Congress passed the first federal minimum wage law in the United States (33 cents per hour).
1946 The Adventures of Sam Spade was heard on ABC radio for the first time.
1954 The Major League Baseball Players Association was organized in Cleveland, OH.
1958 "Yakety Yak," by The Coasters, became the number one song in the U.S.A., according to Billboard magazine.
1960 The first Etch-A-Sketch went on sale.
1973 A fire destroyed the entire 6th floor of the National Personnel Records Center of the United States.
1979 Disco Demolition Night was held at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois between games of a doubleheader; the near-riot that ensued caused the White Sox to forfeit the second game.
1982 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial broke all box-office records by surpassing the $100-million mark of ticket sales in the first 31 days of its opening.
1982 The last of the distinctive-looking Checker taxicabs rolled off the assembly line in Kalamazoo, MI after 60 years in production.
1984 Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale named New York Congresswoman Geraldine A. Ferraro his running mate, making her the first woman to run on a major party ticket.
1984 Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies earned his 100th strikeout of the season.
1990 Boris Yeltsin, president of the Russian republic, resigned from the Communist Party.
1993 A magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred off the shore of Hokkaidō, Japan, launching a devastating tsunami, killing 202 on the small island of Okushiri.
1994 The Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge album was released.
1994 President Bill Clinton visited the eastern sector of Berlin, the first president to do so since Harry Truman.
1998 Three young brothers who had been asleep in their beds burned to death in a sectarian attack in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland.
2001 Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant tortured in a New York City police station, agreed to an $8.7 million settlement.
2003 The USS Ronald Reagan, the first carrier named for a living president, was commissioned in Norfolk, Va.
2005 Mohammed Bouyeri, a Muslim extremist on trial in the slaying of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, unexpectedly confessed in court, saying he was driven by religious conviction (Bouyeri was convicted and sentenced to life in prison).
2005 Prince Albert II of Monaco acceded to the throne of the 700-year-old dynasty.
2006 Hezbollah guerrillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a cross-border raid; Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon in response.

Chart Toppers

1945
Dream - The Pied Pipers
The More I See You - Dick Haymes
Bell Bottom Trousers - Tony Pastor
Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima - Bob Wills

1953
Song from Moulin Rouge - The Percy Faith Orchestra
Ruby - Richard Hayman
I’m Walking Behind You - Eddie Fisher
It’s Been So Long - Webb Pierce

1961
Tossin’ and Turnin’ - Bobby Lewis
The Boll Weevil Song - Brook Benton
Every Beat of My Heart - Pips
Heartbreak U.S.A. - Kitty Wells

1969
In the Year 2525 - Zager & Evans
Spinning Wheel - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Good Morning Starshine - Oliver
Statue of a Fool - Jack Greene

1977
Undercover Angel - Alan O’Day
Da Doo Ron Ron - Shaun Cassidy
Looks like We Made It - Barry Manilow
I’ll Be Leaving Alone - Charley Pride

1985
Sussudio - Phil Collins
A View to a Kill - Duran Duran
Raspberry Beret - Prince & The Revolution
She’s a Miracle - Exile

Quote of the Day

One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.
Will Durant, US historian (1885 - 1981)

Today in History - July 13th

Today's Birthdays

1864 John Jacob Astor IV, American entrepreneur (Waldorf-Astoria Hotel) died aboard the Titanic April 15, 1912
1886 Father Edward Joseph Flanagan, Catholic priest/founder (Boys Town) died May 14, 1948
1913 Dave Garroway, TV talk-show host (Today) died July 21, 1982
1928 Bob (Robert Edward) Crane, actor (Hogan’s Heroes) murdered June 29, 1978
1935 Jack Kemp, football NFL quarterback/politician (San Diego Chargers, Buffalo Bills)
1940 Patrick Stewart, actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Excalibur, X-Men)
1942 Stephen Jo Bladd, drummer (J. Geils Band)
1942 Harrison Ford, actor (The Fugitive, Indiana Jones series, Star Wars series)
1942 Roger McGuinn, singer/guitarist (The Byrds)
1944 Erno Rubik, inventor (Rubik’s Cube)
1946 (Richard) Cheech Marin, comedian/actor (Cheech and Chong)
1951 Stellan Skarsgård, actor (Hunt for Red October, Good Will Hunting)
1951 Didi Conn, actress (Grease, Grease 2)
1954 Louise Mandrell, country singer
1954 Rick Chartraw, NHL defenseman (NY Rangers)
1956 Mark ‘The Animal’ Mendoza, bassist (Twisted Sister)
1956 Michael Spinks, International Boxing Hall of Famer
1957 Cameron Crowe, film director/screenwriter (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Almost Famous)
1961 Lawrence Donegan, bassist (Lloyd Cole & The Commotions)
1962 Tom Kenny, voice actor (Spongebob Squarepants)
1962 Gonzalo Martinez De La Cotera, rock drummer (Marcy Playground)
1966 Gerald Levert, R&B singer (Levert) died Nov 10, 2006
1969 Mark Greenway, heavy metal vocalist (Napalm Death)
1978 Sheldon Souray, NHL defenseman (Edmonton Oilers)
1982 Yadier Molina, MLB catcher (St Louis Cardinals)

Today's Deaths in History

1946 Alfred Stieglitz, photographer/married to artist Georgia O'Keefe, dies at 82
1954 Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter, dies at 47
1993 Davey Allison, NASCAR driver, dies at 32 in a helicopter crash at Talladega Super Speedway
2004 Arthur Kane, glam rock bassist (New York Dolls) dies at 55
2006 Red Buttons, comedian/actor (The Poseidon Adventure) dies at 87

Today in History

1793 French revolutionary writer Jean Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, who was executed four days later.
1812 The first pawnbroking ordinance was passed in New York City.
1832 U.S. Indian agent and explorer Henry Schoolcraft stumbled upon the source of the Mississippi River, Lake Itasca, Minnesota.
1836 John Ruggles of Thomaston, Maine received patent #1 (for a traction wheel used in locomotive steam engines) from the U.S. Patent Office under a new patent-numbering system.
1837 Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom moved into the first Buckingham Palace in London, becoming the first British monarch to live there.
1863 Rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City; about 1,000 people died over three days.
1875 David Brown of Lebanon, New Jersey patented the first cash-carrier system.
1896 Philadelpia’s Ed Delahanty became the second major-league player to hit four home runs in a single game.
1908 Women competed in modern Olympics for the first time.
1923 The Hollywood Sign was officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles; it originally read "Hollywoodland" but the four last letters were dropped after renovation in 1949.
1938 Spectators paid 25 cents to witness the first television theatre that opened in Boston, MA; the variety show with dancing and song lasted 45 minutes and was attended by 200 people.
1939 Frank Sinatra made his recording debut with the Harry James band, singing "Melancholy Mood" and "From the Bottom of My Heart."
1959 "Dedicated to the One I Love," by the Shirelles, was released.
1967 Race-related rioting broke out in Newark, N.J.; by the time the violence ended four days later, 27 people had been killed.
1972 Carroll Rosenbloom, owner of the Baltimore Colts, and Robert Irsay, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, traded NFL teams.
1973 Alexander Butterfield revealed the existence of the Nixon tapes to the special Senate committee investigating the Watergate break in.
1973 The Everly Brothers called it quits during a concert at the John Wayne Theatre in Buena Park, CA; Phil walked off the stage in the middle of the show and brother Don said, “The Everly Brothers died ten years ago.”
1977 A 25-hour blackout hit the New York City area after lightning struck upstate power lines.
1982 The first All-Star Game played outside the United States was played in Montreal, Canada.
1984 Sportscaster Howard Cosell said that he was “tired of being tied to the football mentality” and asked to be released from duties on Monday Night Football.
1985 Duran Duran took "A View to a Kill," from the James Bond movie of the same name, to the top of the record charts.
1985 Vice President George H.W. Bush became the first Vice President to become Acting President when President Ronald Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon; Bush served as Acting President for approximately eight hours.
1985 The Live Aid concert for African famine relief was held in Philly's JFK Stadium, London's Wembley Stadium and other venues and telecast world-wide.
1986 Kent Tekulve of the Philadelphia Phillies broke the National League record for relief appearances by notching his 820th performance.
1992 An appeals court in New York ruled that Jett Williams, the secret daughter of Hank Williams Senior, was entitled to share the royalties from his songs.
1994 Tonya Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, was sentenced in Portland, Ore., to two years in prison for his role in the attack on Harding's skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan.
1995 The temperature in Chicago, Illinois reached its all-time high, 106 degrees (Fahrenheit), recorded at Midway Airport.
1998 A jury in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., ruled that the Rev. Al Sharpton and two others had defamed a former prosecutor by accusing him of raping Tawana Brawley.
2003 With the blessing of U.S. administrators, Iraqis inaugurated a broadly representative governing council.
2005 Former WorldCom Inc. boss Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison for leading the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history.
2006 Israel imposed a naval blockade against Lebanon and blasted the Beirut airport and army air bases; Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into Israel.

Chart Toppers

1946
They Say It’s Wonderful - Frank Sinatra
The Gypsy - The Ink Spots
I Don’t Know Enough About You - The Mills Brothers
New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills

1954
Little Things Mean a Lot - Kitty Kallen
Hernando’s Hideaway - Archie Bleyer
The Little Shoemaker - The Gaylords
Even Tho - Webb Pierce

1962
The Stripper - David Rose
Roses are Red - Bobby Vinton
Al Di La’ - Emilio Pericoli
Wolverton Mountain - Claude King

1970
Mama Told Me (Not to Come) - Three Dog Night
Ball of Confusion - The Temptations
Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image
He Loves Me All the Way - Tammy Wynette

1978
Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty
Take a Chance on Me - Abba
I Believe in You - Mel Tillis

1986
Holding Back the Years - Simply Red
Invisible Touch - Genesis
Nasty - Janet Jackson
Hearts aren’t Made to Break (They’re Made to Love) - Lee Greenwood

Quote of the Day

It may be that the old astrologers had the truth exactly reversed, when they believed that the stars controlled the destinies of men. The time may come when men control the destinies of stars.
Arthur C. Clarke, English physicist & science fiction author (1917 - )

Today in History - July 14th

Today's Birthdays

1862 Florence Bascom, geologist (first woman geologist appointed to the U.S. Geological Survey) died June 18, 1945
1903 Irving Stone (Tennenbaum), novelist (The Agony and the Ecstasy) died in 1989
1910 William Hanna, cartoonist (Hanna-Barbera) died Mar 22, 2001
1911 Terry-Thomas (Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens), actor (It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World) died Jan 8, 1990
1912 Woody (Woodrow Wilson) Guthriem folk singer/songwriter (This Land is Your Land) died Oct 4, 1967
1913 Gerald R. Ford, 38th U.S. President, died Dec 26, 2006
1917 Douglas Edwards, TV’s first evening news anchor (CBS) died Oct 13, 1990
1918 Ingmar Bergman, director (The Seventh Seal)
1926 Harry Dean Stanton, actor (Pretty in Pink, Down Periscope)
1927 John (William) Chancellor, radio/TV newscaster (NBC) died July 12, 1996
1928 Nancy Olson, actress (Sunset Boulevard, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber)
1930 Polly Bergen (Nellie Burgin), actress/TV panelist (To Tell the Truth)
1950 Gwen Guthrie, R&B singer, died Feb 3, 1999
1952 Chris Cross, bassist/synthesizer (Ultravox)
1952 Jerry Houser, actor (Slap Shot)
1961 Jackie Earle Haley, actor (The Bad News Bears)
1966 Tanya Donelly, guitarist/singer/songwriter (Belly)
1966 Ellen Reid, singer/keyboardist (Crash Test Dummies)
1966 Matthew Fox, actor (Party of Five, Lost)
1970 Missy Gold, actress (Benson)
1975 taboo, Hip-hop singer (Black-Eyed Peas)
1975 Tim Hudson, MLB pitcher (Atlanta Braves)

Today's Deaths in History

1881 Billy the Kid, outlaw, is shot in the back by Pat Garrett at 21
1965 Adlai Stevenson, U.S. Presidential candidate, dies at 65
1984 Philippe Wynne, R&B singer (Funkadelic) dies at 43
1999 Gar Samuelson, rock drummer (Megadeath) dies at 41
2003 Tex Schramm, NFL general manager (Dallas Cowboys) dies at 83

Today in History

1789 The French Revolution began with the fall of the Bastille.
1798 The Sedition Act became United States law making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.
1868 Alvin J. Fellows of New Haven, CT patented the tape measure.
1911 For the first time, a pilot flew an airplane onto the lawn of the White House; Harry N. Atwood flew in to accept an award from President William Taft.
1914 Robert H. Goddard of Worcester, MA patented liquid rocket fuel.
1933 All German political parties except the Nazi Party were outlawed.
1943 The George Washington Carver National Monument in Joplin, Missouri, became the first United States National Monument in honor of an African-American.
1946 Dr. Benjamin Spock's Baby and Child Care was first published.
1958 The army of Iraq overthrew the monarchy.
1962 Bobby Vinton’s "Roses are Red" became the top song in the U.S.
1966 Eight women were murdered by Richard Speck in a Chicago dormitory for student nurses (Speck was convicted and died in prison in 1991).
1967 Eddie Mathews of the Houston Astros hit his 500th career home run.
1968 Hank Aaron hit his 500th career home run in Atlanta.
1969 Large denominations of United States currency ($500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills) were officially withdrawn from circulation by the Federal Reserve System due to "lack of use," leaving the $100 bill as the largest unit of circulating United States currency.
1981 The All-Star Game was postponed because of a 33-day-old baseball players strike.
1985 Baltimore defeated Oakland, 28-24, to clinch their second consecutive United States Football League championship.
1987 The second-longest game in All-Star Game history was played as the National League defeated the American League in a 2-0 shutout in 13 innings.
1992 A major fire consumed an entire city block in tourist destination Gatlinburg, Tennessee, destroying the "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" Museum and several other local businesses and attractions.
1995 The MP3 format was named.
1997 The White Stripes played their first public gig.
1997 The international war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced Dusan Tadic, a Bosnian Serb, to 20 years in prison for turning on his Muslim and Croat neighbors in a deadly campaign of terror and torture.
1999 Race-based school busing in Boston ended after 25 years.
1999 Major league baseball umpires voted to resign and not work the final month of the season.
2004 The Senate voted 50-48 against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
2006 Israel destroyed the home and office of Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, and tightened its seal on Lebanon, blasting its air and road links to the outside world.

Chart Toppers

1947
Peg o’ My Heart - The Harmonicats
I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder - Eddy Howard
Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba - Perry Como
Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) - Tex Williams

1955
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
Learnin’ the Blues - Frank Sinatra
Hard to Get - Giselle Mackenzie
A Satisfied Mind - Porter Wagoner

1963
Easier Said Than Done - The Essex
Surf City - Jan & Dean
Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport - Rolf Harris
Act Naturally - Buck Owens

1971
It’s Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King
Indian Reservation - Raiders
You’ve Got a Friend - James Taylor
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot - Jerry Reed

1979
Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
Bad Girls - Donna Summer
Chuck E.’s in Love - Rickie Lee Jones
Amanda - Waylon Jennings

1987
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston
Shakedown - Bob Seger
Songbird - Kenny G
All My Ex’s Live in Texas - George Strait

Quote of the Day

A person is always startled when he hears himself seriously called an old man for the first time.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, US author & physician (1809 - 1894)

Today in History - July 15th

Today's Birthdays

1606 Rembrandt (Van Rijn), artist (Descent from the Cross, Rape of Ganymede) died Oct 4, 1669
1779 Clement Clarke Moore, poet/author (A Visit from St. Nicholas) died July 10, 1863
1867 Maggie Lena Walker, first woman bank founder and president (St. Luke Penny Savings Bank) died Dec 15, 1934
1931 Clive Cussler, author (Raise the Titanic, Deep Six, Sahara, Cyclops)
1935 Alex (Alexander G.) Karras, football player/sportscaster/actor (Webster)
1939 Patrick Wayne, actor/John Wayne’s son (Young Guns)
1944 Jan-Michael Vincent, actor (Airwolf)
1945 Peter Lewis, guitarist/singer (Moby Grape)
1946 Linda Ronstadt, rock singer (Blue Bayou, You’re No Good, When Will I Be Loved)
1947 Peter Banks, rock guitarist (Yes)
1949 Trevor Horn, producer/bassist/singer (Buggles, Art of Noise, Seal, Yes)
1951 Jesse Ventura, professional wrestler/former Governor of Minnesota
1952 Johnny Thunders, guitarist/singer (The New York Dolls) died Apr 23, 1991
1952 Terry O'Quinn, actor (Lost)
1953 David Pack, singer (Ambrosia)
1956 Ian Curtis, singer/lyricist (Joy Division) died May 18, 1980
1956 Barry Melrose, NHL player/coach/commentator
1956 Marky Ramone, rock drummer (The Ramones)
1956 Joe Satriani, rock guitarist
1960 Kim Alexis, supermodel/actress
1960 Willie Aames, actor (Eight is Enough, Charles in Charge)
1961 Lolita Davidovich, actress (Now and Then, Leap of Faith)
1961 Forest Whitaker, actor/director (Phenomenon, The Crying game, The Last King of Scotland)
1963 Brigitte Nielsen, actress (Beverly Hills Cop 2, Cobra, Rocky 4)
1968 Eddie Griffin, comedian/actor (Undercover Brother)
1973 Brian Austin Green, actor (Beverly Hills 90210)
1977 Ray Toro, rock guitarist (My Chemical Romance)
1980 Jonathan Cheechoo, NHL right winger (San Jose Sharks)

Today's Deaths in History

1904 Anton Chekhov, Russian writer (The Seagull) dies at 44
1948 John J. "Blackjack" Pershing, U.S. General, dies at 87
1991 Bert Convy, actor/TV Host (Win Lose or Draw) dies at 57
1996 Dana Hill, actress (National Lampoon's European Vacation) dies at 32
1997 Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, shot and killed at 50
2004 Retired Air Force Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, (piloted the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki) dies at 84
2006 Robert H. Brooks, founder (Hooters) dies at 68

Today in History

1799 The Rosetta Stone was found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard.
1876 George Washington Bradley pitched the first no-hitter in baseball by leading St. Louis to a 2-0 win over Hartford.
1904 The first Buddhist temple in the United States was established in Los Angeles, CA.
1912 Jim Thorpe won the decathlon in the Olympic games in Stockholm, Sweden.
1916 William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporated Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing) in Seattle, Washington.
1922 The first duck-billed platypus arrived at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
1952 Singer Patti Page made her TV debut in a summer replacement series for Perry Como.
1965 The Mariner IV spacecraft sent back the first close-up pictures of the planet Mars.
1966 Singer Percy Sledge earned a gold record for "When a Man Loves a Woman."
1968 Commercial air travel began between the United States and the U.S.S.R. with the first plane, a Soviet Aeroflot jet, landing at Kennedy International Airport in New York.
1971 President Richard Nixon announced he would visit the People's Republic of China to seek a "normalization of relations."
1972 Elton John landed at the top spot on the Billboard album chart for the first time with Honky Chateau.
1979 President Jimmy Carter gave his famous "malaise" speech, in which he characterized the greatest threat to the country as "this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation."
1985 Baseball players voted to strike on August 6th if no contract was reached with baseball owners.
1992 Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton claimed the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in New York City.
1995 The first item was sold on Amazon.com.
1996 MSNBC, a 24-hour all-news network, made its debut on cable TV and the Internet.
1997 Fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot to death on the steps of his mansion in Miami Beach, Florida.
1999 The government acknowledged for the first time that thousands of workers were made sick while making nuclear weapons and announced a plan to compensate many of them.
2002 "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh pled guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and for the possession of explosives during the commission of a felony.
2002 A Pakistani judge convicted four Islamic militants in the kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl.
2003 AOL Time Warner disbanded Netscape Communications Corporation.
2005 Jack Nicklaus played his last hole of competitive golf during The Open Championship at Hole 18 at St Andrews, finishing with a birdie.

Chart Toppers

1948
Woody Woodpecker Song - The Kay Kaiser Orchestra (vocal: Gloria Wood & The Campus Kids)
You Can’t Be True, Dear - The Ken Griffin Orchestra (vocal: Jerry Wayne)
Little White Lies - Dick Haymes
Bouquet of Roses - Eddy Arnold

1956
The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
My Prayer - The Platters
Hound Dog/Don’t Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You - Elvis Presley

1964
I Get Around - The Beach Boys
Memphis - Johnny Rivers
Rag Doll - The 4 Seasons
My Heart Skips a Beat - Buck Owens

1972
Lean on Me - Bill Withers
Too Late to Turn Back Now - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) - Looking Glass
Made in Japan - Buck Owens

1980
Coming Up - Paul McCartney & Wings
It’s Still Rock & Roll to Me - Billy Joel
Little Jeannie - Elton John
You Win Again - Charley Pride

1988
The Flame - Cheap Trick
Mercedes Boy - Pebbles
Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Lappard
Fallin’ Again - Alabama
Quote of the Day

I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there.
Herb Caen, syndicated columnist

Today in History - July 16th

Today's Birthdays

1872 Roald Amundsen, explorer (South Pole) lost at sea while flying rescue mission to airship Italia (stranded in the arctic) June 22, 1928
1889 Shoeless Joe Jackson, professional baseball player (Black Sox Scandal) died Dec 5, 1951
1907 Orville Redenbacher, popcorn gourmet/tycoon, died Sep 19, 1995
1907 Barbara Stanwyck (Ruby Stevens), actress (Double Indemnity, The Big Valley) died Jan 20, 1990
1911 Ginger Rogers (Virginia Katherine McMath), actress/dancer (partner of Fred Astaire) died Apr 25, 1995
1924 Bess Myerson, Miss America (1945)
1932 Max (William) McGee, NFL wide receiver (Green Bay Packers)
1939 Corin Redgrave, actor (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Excalibur)
1942 Desmond Dekker (Dacris), reggae musician (Israelites) died May 25, 2006
1943 Jimmy Johnson, NFL/college coach (Miami; Dallas Cowboys)
1948 Ruben Blades, singer/songwriter/actor (Color of Night, The Two Jakes)
1952 Stewart Copeland, drummer/composer (Police)
1953 Mickey Rourke, actor (9-1/2 Weeks, Diner)
1956 Tony Kushner, playwright (Angels in America)
1958 Michael Flatley, dancer/performer (Lord of the Dance)
1963 Phoebe Cates, actress (Gremlins, Fast Times at Ridgemont High)
1968 Will Ferrell, comedian/actor (Saturday Night Live, Elf, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights)
1968 Barry Sanders, Football Hall of Fame running back (Detroit Lions)
1971 Corey (Scott) Feldman, actor (License to Drive, The ’Burbs, Lost Boys)
1971 Ed Kowalczyk, rock singer (Live)
1972 jconnelly, board member
1979 Jayma Mays, actress (Ugly Betty, Epic Movie)
1994 Mark Indelicato, actor (Ugly Betty)

Today's Deaths in History

1557 Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of Henry VIII of England, dies at 41
1882 Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady of the United States, dies at 63
1981 Harry Chapin, singer/songwriter (Cat's in the Cradle) dies in a car crash at 38
1996 John Panozzo, rock drummer (Styx)
1999 John F. Kennedy Jr., publisher, dies in a plane crash at 38
1999 Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, wife of John F. Kennedy Jr., dies in a plane crash at 33
1999 Lauren Bessette, sister-in-law of John F. Kennedy Jr., dies in a plane crash at 34
2003 Celia Cruz, Cuban "Salsa Queen," dies at 77

Today in History

1769 Father Junipero Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá, the first mission in California, which later evolved into the city of San Diego.
1790 The District of Columbia was established as the permanent seat of the United States Government.
1845 The New York Yacht Club hosted the first American boating regatta.
1912 Bradley A. Fiske patented the airplane torpedo.
1918 Russia's Czar Nicholas II, his wife and their five children were executed by the Bolsheviks.
1926 The first underwater color photographs appeared in National Geographic magazine.
1935 The first automatic parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City, OK.
1941 New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio got a hit in his 56th consecutive game.
1945 "Fat Boy," the experimental plutonium bomb, exploded at 5:30 a.m. in the first U.S. test of an atomic bomb, held in New Mexico.
1945 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Harry S. Truman and Soviet leader Josef Stalin, gather in Potsdam, Germany, to decide the future of the defeated Germany.
1950 The largest crowd in sporting history, 199,854 fans, watched the World Cup soccer finals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1951 J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye was published.
1957 Marine Maj. John Glenn set a transcontinental speed record when he flew a jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds.
1964 In accepting the Republican presidential nomination in San Francisco, Barry M. Goldwater said "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice" and "moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."
1969 Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on the first manned mission to the moon.
1970 The Pittsburgh Pirates played their first game at Three Rivers Stadium.
1973 Former White House aide Alexander P. Butterfield publicly revealed the existence of President Richard Nixon's secret taping system during the Senate Watergate hearings.
1979 Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq.
1981 After 23 years of using the name, Datsun, executives of Nissan Corporation changed the name of their cars to Nissan.
1981 Singer Harry Chapin died in a car crash in New York.
1985 The All-Star Game became the first program broadcast in stereo by a TV network.
1986 Columbia Records announced that after 28 years with the label, the contract of country star Johnny Cash would not be renewed.
1990 An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale devastated the Philippines, killing more than 1,600 people.
1994 Jupiter was hit by fragments of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet.
1999 John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister Lauren Bessette died when the single-engine plane Kennedy was piloting plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
2004 Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement by a federal judge in New York for lying about a stock sale.
2005 The sixth book in the popular Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling was released to record sales of 287,564 books per hour in its first 24 hours, making it the fastest selling book in history.

Chart Toppers

1949
Some Enchanted Evening - Perry Como
Bali Ha’i - Perry Como
Again - Gordon Jenkins
One Kiss Too Many - Eddy Arnold

1957
Teddy Bear - Elvis Presley
Searchin’/Young Blood - The Coasters
Valley of Tears/It’s You I Love - Fats Domino
Bye Bye Love - The Everly Brothers

1965
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
Wonderful World - Herman’s Hermits
Yes, I’m Ready - Barbara Mason
Before You Go - Buck Owens

1973
Will It Go Round in Circles - Billy Preston
Kodachrome - Paul Simon
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
Love is the Foundation - Loretta Lynn

1981
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
All Those Years Ago - George Harrison
The One that You Love - Air Supply
Fire & Smoke - Earl Thomas Conley

1989
Satisfied - Richard Marx
Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry
Baby Don’t Forget My Number - Milli Vanilli
I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party - Roseanne Cash

Quote of the Day

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.
Martin Luther King Jr., US civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 - 1968)

Today in History - July 17th

Today's Birthdays

1744 Elbridge Gerry, 5th Vice President of the U.S./father of gerrymandering, died Nov 23, 1814
1763 John Jacob Astor, fur tycoon (American Fur Company) died Mar 29, 1848
1889 Erle Stanley Gardner (A.A. Fair), novelist (Perry Mason) died Mar 11, 1970
1899 James Cagney (James Francis Cagney, Jr.), actor (Yankee Doodle Dandy, Mr. Roberts, White Heat) died Mar 30, 1986
1912 Art Linkletter (Arthur Gordon Kelly), TV host (House Party, Kids Say the Darnedest Things)
1917 Phyllis Diller (Driver), comedienne
1928 Vince Guaraldi, composer (Linus & Lucy) died Feb 6, 1976
1935 Diahann Carroll (Carol Diahann Johnson), actress (Dynasty)
1935 Donald Sutherland, actor (M*A*S*H, National Lampoon’s Animal House, Outbreak)
1942 Spencer Davis, rock guitarist/singer (Spencer Davis Group)
1947 Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall/wife of Britain's Prince Charles
1948 Ron Asheton, guitarist/songwriter (Iggy Pop & the Stooges)
1949 Terence ‘Geezer’ Butler, rock bassist (Black Sabbath)
1949 Mick Tucker, rock drummer (Sweet) died Feb 14, 2002
1949 Mike Vale, bassist (Tommy James and the Shondells)
1949 John Wetton, bassist/guitarist (King Crimson)
1951 Lucie Arnaz, actress/daughter of Lucille Ball (Here’s Lucy)
1952 David Hasselhoff, actor (Bay Watch, Knight Rider)
1952 Nicolette Larson, singer (Lotta Love) died Dec 16, 1997
1952 Phoebe Snow (Laub), singer (Poetry Man)
1955 P.J. (Pamela Jane) Soles, actress (Carrie, Private Benjamin, Stripes)
1956 Bryan Trottier, NHL player/coach (NY Rangers)
1960 Mark Burnett, television producer (Survivor)
1960 Robin Shou, actor (Mortal Kombat)
1963 Paul Hipp, actor (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Lethal Weapon 3)
1965 Alex Winter, actor (Lost Boys, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure)
1968 Bitty Schram, actress (A League of Their Own, Monk)
1968 Andre Royo, actor (The Wire)
1973 Eric Moulds, NFL wide receiver (Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans)
1977 Marc Savard, NHL center (NY Rangers, Boston Bruins)
1980 Ryan Miller, NHL goaltender (Buffalo Sabres)

Today's Deaths in History

1793 Charlotte Corday, French aristocrat/murderer (Jean-Paul Marat) is guillotined at 24
1918 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (and his family) is executed at 50
1959 Billie Holiday, singer (Lady in Satin) dies at 44
1961 Ty Cobb, Baseball Hall of Famer, dies of cancer at 74
1967 John Coltrane, jazz saxophonist/composer, dies at 40
1974 Dizzy Dean, MLB pitcher (St Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs) dies at 64
1996 Chas Chandler, rock bassist/producer (The Animals) dies at 57
2001 Katharine Graham, publisher (Washington Post) dies at 84
2005 Geraldine Fitzgerald, actress (Wuthering Heights) dies at 91
2006 Mickey Spillane, author (Mike Hammer series) dies at 88

Today in History

1862 National cemeteries were authorized by the U.S. government.
1866 Authorization was given to build a tunnel beneath the Chicago River; the project was completed three years later at a cost of $512,709.
1867 Harvard School of Dental Medicine was established in Boston, MA, the first dental school in the U.S.
1900 Hall of fame pitcher Christy Mathewson made his major league debut with the New York Giants.
1901 Dr. Willis Carrier installed a commerical air conditioning system at a Brooklyn, NY printing plant, the first to provide man-made control over temperature, humidity, ventilation and air quality.
1938 Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan left Floyd Bennett Field in New York, supposedly headed for Los Angeles; he landed his 1929 Curtiss Robin monoplane about 28 hours later in Ireland at Dublin's Baldonnel Airport.
1941 Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak came to an end after 56 games.
1944 Two ships laden with ammunition for the war exploded in Port Chicago, California, killing 320.
1954 The first Newport Jazz Festival was held on the grass tennis courts of the Newport Casino in Newport RI.
1954 The Brooklyn Dodgers made history as the first team with a majority of black players.
1955 Disneyland opened the gates to “The Happiest Place on Earth” in Anaheim, California.
1961 John Chancellor became the on-air host of the Today show on NBC-TV.
1968 The Beatles’ feature-length cartoon, Yellow Submarine, premiered at the London Pavilion.
1975 An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft docked with each other in orbit, marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations.
1981 Two skywalks suspended from the ceiling over the atrium lobby at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, MO collapsed, killing 114 people.
1985 The nation’s second largest banking company, Bank of America of San Francisco, CA, reported a second-quarter loss of $338 million.
1986 The largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history took place as LTV Corporation asked for court protection from more than 20,000 creditors for debt in excess of $4 billion.
1996 TWA Flight 800, carrying 230 people, including four cockpit crew members and 14 flight attendants, exploded, falling into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island, New York.
1997 The F.W. Woolworth Company closed after 117 years in business.
1998 Nicholas II of Russia and his family were buried in St. Catherine's Chapel in St. Petersburg exactly 80 years after he and his family were killed by Bolsheviks.
1998 A tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake destroyed 10 villages in Papua New Guinea, killing an estimated 3,183, leaving 2,000 more unaccounted for and thousands more homeless.
2004 California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger mockingly used the term "girlie men" during a rally as he claimed Democrats were delaying the state budget by catering to special interests.
2005 The Iraqi Special Tribunal filed its first criminal case against Saddam Hussein for a 1982 massacre of Shiites.

Chart Toppers

1950
Bewitched - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Mary Lou Williams)
My Foolish Heart - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Eileen Wilson)
Mona Lisa - Nat King Cole
Mississippi - Red Foley

1958
The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
Hard Headed Woman - Elvis Presley
Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson
Guess Things Happen that Way - Johnny Cash

1966
Hanky Panky - Tommy James & The Shondells
Wild Thing - The Troggs
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield
Think of Me - Buck Owens

1974
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
Annie’s Song - John Denver
On and On - Gladys Knight & The Pips
He Thinks I Still Care - Anne Murray

1982
Don’t You Want Me - The Human League
Rosanna - Toto
Hurts So Good - John Cougar
’Till You’re Gone - Barbara Mandrell

1990
Step By Step - New Kids on the Block
She ain’t Worth It - Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown
Hold On - En Vogue
The Dance - Garth Brooks

Quote of the Day

One man practicing sportsmanship is better than a hundred teaching it.
Knute Rockne, US (Norwegian-born) football player & coach (1888 - 1931)

Today in History - July 18th

Today's Birthdays

1811 William Makepeace Thackeray, author (Vanity Fair) died Dec 24, 1863
1867 Margaret Brown, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (Titanic survivor) died Oct 26, 1932
1895 George "Machine Gun" Kelly, gangster, died July 18, 1954
1909 Harriet Hilliard Nelson (Peggy Lou Snyder), singer/actress (The Ozzie & Harriet Show) died Oct 2, 1994
1909 Andrei Gromyko, Soviet diplomat/President, died July 2, 1989
1911 Hume Cronyn (Blake), actor (Cocoon) died June 15, 2003
1913 Red (Richard) Skelton, comedian (The Red Skelton Show) died Sep 17, 1997
1918 Nelson Mandela, South African President
1921 John Glenn Jr. astronaut/Senator (first to orbit Earth; oldest to go into space)
1929 Screamin’ Jay (Jalacy) Hawkins, R&B singer/pianist (I Put a Spell on You) died Feb 12, 2000
1931 ‘Papa Dee’ (Thomas) Allen, percussionist (War) died Aug 30, 1988
1937 Hunter S. Thompson, journalist/author (Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas) died Feb 20, 2005
1938 Paul Verhoeven, film director (Starship Troopers, Basic Instinct)
1938 Ian Stewart, pianist (Rolling Stones)
1939 Dion DiMucci, singer (Dion and the Belmonts)
1939 Brian Auger, keyboardist (Oblivion Express, Yardbirds)
1940 James Brolin (Bruderlin), actor (Hotel, Marcus Welby, M.D.)
1940 Joe (Joseph Paul) Torre, MLB manager (NY Yankees)
1941 Martha Reeves, singer (Martha and the Vandellas)
1950 Glenn Hughes, singer (The Village People-biker) died Mar 4, 2001
1950 Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur (Virgin Group)
1954 Ricky Skaggs, country musician/singer
1955 Terry Chambers, drummer (XTC)
1958 Nigel Twist, drummer (The Alarm)
1959 Audrey Landers, actress (Dallas)
1961 Elizabeth McGovern, actress (Racing with the Moon, She's Having a Baby)
1962 Jack Irons, rock drummer (Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers)
1962 John Hermann, rock keyboardist (Widespread Panic)
1967 Vin Diesel, actor (Pitch Black, The Fast & the Furious)
1975 Daron Malakian, rock guitarist (System of a Down)
1978 Tony Fagenson, rock drummer (Eve 6)
1979 Deion Branch, NFL wide receiver (Seattle Seahawks)
1979 Jared Hess, film director (Napoleon Dynamite)
1980 Kristen Bell, actress (Veronica Mars)
1980 Bobby Henderson, founder (Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster)

Today's Deaths in History

1792 John Paul Jones, American naval commander (I have not yet begun to fight!) dies at 45
1817 Jane Austen, English novelist (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice) dies at 41
1899 Horatio Alger, Jr., American writer ("dime" novels) dies at 77
1954 George "Machine Gun" Kelly, gangster, dies on his 59th birthday
1966 Bobby Fuller, rock singer/guitarist (I Fought the Law) dies at 23
1969 Mary Jo Kopechne, aide to Robert F. Kennedy, drowns at 28
2001 James Hatfield, author (Fortunate Son) dies at 43
2005 William Westmoreland, U.S. Army general (Vietnam) dies at 91
2005 Bill Hicke, NHL right wing (NY Rangers 1964-1967) dies at 67

Today in History

0064 A fire began in the merchant area of Rome and soon burned completely out of control, while Emperor Nero reportedly played his lyre and sang while watching the blaze from a safe distance.
1863 The first formal African American military unit, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, unsuccessfully assaulted Confederate-held Battery Wagner.
1872 Britain introduced the concept of voting by secret ballot.
1898 Marie and Pierre Curie announce the discovery of a new element and proposed to call it polonium.
1914 The U.S. Congress formed the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving definite status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time.
1925 Adolf Hitler published his personal manifesto Mein Kampf.
1927 Ty Cobb set a major-league baseball record by getting his 4,000th career hit.
1936 Carl Mayer, nephew of Oscar Mayer, invented the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
1940 The Democratic National Convention in Chicago nominated President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term in office.
1944 Hideki Tojo was removed as Japanese premier and war minister because of setbacks suffered by his country in World War II.
1947 President Harry S. Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act into law, which places the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tempore next in the line of succession after the United States Vice President.
1951 ‘Jersey’ Joe Walcott became the world heavyweight boxing champ by knocking out Ezzard Charles in Pittsburgh, PA.
1964 Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds connected for the only grand-slam home run of his career.
1964 The 4 Seasons reached the top spot on the record charts with "Rag Doll," the group’s fourth hit to climb to the #1 position.
1969 After a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) drove an Oldsmobile off a wooden bridge into a tide-swept pond; his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, died.
1970 Ron Hunt of the San Francisco Giants was hit by a pitch for the 119th time in his career, earning him the dubious distinction of being the most-beaned baseball player in the major leagues.
1976 Nadia Comaneci, the 14-year-old star gymnast from Romania, stunned those watching the Olympic Games by executing perfect form on the uneven parallel bars to collect a perfect score of ‘10’ from the judges.
1983 Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel began a 19-city tour beginning in Akron, OH, their first tour since the 1960's.
1984 A gunman opened fire at a McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro, Calif., killing 21 people before being shot dead by police.
1989 Actress Rebecca Schaeffer (My Sister Sam) was shot an killed by a crazed fan, prompting California to pass America's first anti-stalking law in 1990.
1992 Whitney Houston wed R&B artist/bad boy Bobby Brown.
1998 A 23-foot tidal wave killed nearly 3,000 people in Papua New Guinea.
1999 David Cone pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees, the 16th in Major League history.
2003 Basketball star Kobe Bryant was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman at a Colorado spa (the charge was later dropped because the woman did not want to go ahead with a trial).
2003 The body of British scientist David Kelly, a weapons expert at the center of a storm over British intelligence on Iraq, was found, an apparent suicide.
2005 An unrepentant Eric Rudolph was sentenced in Birmingham, Ala., to life in prison for an abortion clinic bombing that killed an off-duty police officer and maimed a nurse.

Chart Toppers

1951
Too Young - Nat King Cole
Mister and Mississippi - Patti Page
The Loveliest Night of the Year - Mario Lanza
I Wanna Play House with You - Eddy Arnold

1959
Lonely Boy - Paul Anka
Waterloo - Stonewall Jackson
Tiger - Fabian
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton

1967
Windy - The Association
Little Bit o’ Soul - The Music Explosion
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You - Frankie Valli
All the Time - Jack Greene

1975
Love Will Keep Us Together - The Captain & Tennille
The Hustle - Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony
Listen to What the Man Said - Wings
Movin’ On - Merle Haggard

1983
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
Never Gonna Let You Go - Sergio Mendez
The Closer You Get - Alabama

1991
Rush, Rush - Paula Abdul
Unbelievable - EMF
Right Here, Right Now - Jesus Jones
Don’t Rock the Jukebox - Alan Jackson

Quote of the Day

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.
Henry David Thoreau, Transcendentalist author (1817 - 1862)

Today in History - July 19th

Today's Birthdays

1814 Samuel Colt, firearms inventor (Colt Revolver) died Jan 10, 1862
1834 Edgar Degas, artist (Impressionist) died Sep 27, 1917
1860 Lizzie Borden,accused axe murderer, died June 1, 1927
1865 Charles Mayo, surgeon (Mayo Clinic & Mayo Foundation) died May 26, 1939
1922 George McGovern, U.S. Senator and 1972 presidential contender
1924 Pat Hingle, actor (Batman, The Grifters, On the Waterfront)
1935 Philip Agee, CIA agent/author (Inside the Company: CIA Diary)
1938 Richard Jordan, actor (The Hunt for Red October, Dune, Logan’s Run) died Aug 30, 1993
1944 Commander Cody, singer (Hot Rod Lincoln)
1945 George Dzundza, actor (Law & Order, Hack, Greyt's Anatomy)
1946 Alan Gorrie, bassist/singer (Average White Band)
1946 Ilie Nastase, tennis champion
1947 Bernie Leadon, guitarist (The Eagles)
1947 Brian Harold May, guitarist (Queen)
1948 Keith Godchaux, rock keyboardist (Grateful Dead)
1952 Allen Collins, guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) died Jan 23, 1990
1960 Atom Egoyan, film director (The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica)
1960 Kevin Haskins, drummer (Bauhaus)
1961 Campbell Scott, actor (Dying Young, Roger Dodger)
1962 Anthony Edwards, actor (ER, Revenge of the Nerds series, Top Gun)
1965 Stuart Scott, sportscaster (SportsCenter)
1966 Nancy Walls, comedian/actress/Mrs Steve Carell (Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show)
1968 Jim Norton, comedian/radio personality (The Opie and Anthony Show)
1973 Peter Forsberg, NHL center (Colorado Avalanche)
1981 Didz Hammond, bassist/backing vocalist (Dirty Pretty Things)

Today's Deaths in History

1543 Lady Mary Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII of England/sister of Anne Boleyn, dies at 44
1965 Syngman Rhee, first President of South Korea, dies at 90
1974 Joe Flynn, actor (McHale's Navy)
1975 Lefty Frizzell, country music singer/songwriter, dies at 47
2005 Edward Bunker, writer (No Beast So Fierce) dies at 71
2006 Jack Warden, actor (Heaven Can Wait, 12 Angry Men) dies at 85

Today in History

1553 Fifteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey was deposed as queen of England after claiming the crown for nine days; Mary, the daughter of King Henry VIII, was proclaimed queen.
1692 Five women were hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.
1909 The first unassisted triple play in major-league baseball was made by Cleveland Indians shortstop Neal Ball in a game against Boston.
1914 Boston began what was called its miracle drive as the Braves went from worst to first in the National League, winning the pennant and the World Series as well.
1926 Walter Hagen scored a 132 for 36 holes of golf at the Eastern Open tournament.
1940 Adolf Hitler made a peace offer to Britain, which Winston Churchill immediately rejected.
1941 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill launched his "V for Victory" campaign in Europe.
1943 Allied air forces raided Rome during World War II.
1946 Marilyn Monroe acted in her first screen test.
1948 Our Miss Brooks, starring Eve Arden and Gale Gordon, debuted on CBS radio.
1951 Famous thoroughbred race horse Citation retired from racing.
1960 Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants became the first pitcher to get a one-hitter in his major-league debut.
1963 Joe Walker flew a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 metres (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90; exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualified as a human spaceflight under international convention.
1966 Frank Sinatra married actress Mia Farrow.
1969 Apollo 11 and its astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, went into orbit around the moon.
1979 The Sandinista rebels overthrew the U.S.-backed government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.
1980 Billy Joel earned his first gold record with "It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me."
1980 The Moscow Summer Olympics began minus dozens of nations that were boycotting the games because of the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.
1984 Geraldine Ferraro was nominated by the Democratic Party to become the first woman from a major political party to run for the office of U.S. Vice President.
1985 Two years after its initial release, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial grossed an additional $8.8 million in its first three days in rerelease.
1985 Christa McAuliffe of New Hampshire was chosen to be the first schoolteacher to ride aboard the space shuttle (she died in the Challenger explosion in 1986).
1989 181 out of 293 passengers and crew survived the crash of a United Airlines DC-10 in Sioux City, Iowa.
1990 Baseball’s all-time hits leader Pete Rose was sentenced in Cincinnati to five months in prison and fined $50,000 for filing false income tax returns.
1993 President Bill Clinton announced the "don't ask, don't tell," which allows homosexuals to serve in the military, but only if they refrain from homosexual activity.
1994 Four 26-pound ceiling tiles fell from the roof of the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington, just hours before a scheduled Seattle Mariners game.
1996 The Centennial Olympics opened in Atlanta, Georgia.
1997 Daniel Komen of Kenya broke the 8-minute barrier for the 2-mile run while setting a new world record of 7:58.61 at the Hechtel Night of Athletics in Hechtel, Belgium.
2005 President George W. Bush announced his choice of federal appeals court judge John Roberts to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Roberts ended up succeeding Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who died in September 2005).
2006 President George W. Bush issued his first presidential veto, rejecting a bill that could have multiplied federal money for embryonic stem cell research.

Chart Toppers

1944
I’ll Be Seeing You - Bing Crosby
Long Ago and Far Away - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
Amor - Bing Crosby
Straighten Up and Fly Right - King Cole Trio

1952
I’m Yours - Eddie Fisher
Kiss of Fire - Georgia Gibbs
Walkin’ My Baby Back Home - Johnnie Ray
Are You Teasing Me - Carl Smith

1960
I’m Sorry - Brenda Lee
Only the Lonely - Roy Orbison
That’s All You Gotta Do - Brenda Lee
Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Locklin

1968
This Guy’s in Love with You - Herb Alpert
The Horse - Cliff Nobles & Co.
Jumpin’ Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones
D-I-V-O-R-C-E - Tammy Wynette

1976
Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band
Kiss and Say Goodbye - Manhattans
I’ll Be Good to You - The Brothers Johnson
Teddy Bear - Red Sovine

1984
When Doves Cry - Prince
Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
Eyes Without a Face - Billy Idol
I Don’t Want to Be a Memory - Exile

Quote of the Day

Play: Work that you enjoy doing for nothing.
Evan Esar, American Humorist (1899 - 1995)

Today in History - July 20th

Today's Birthdays

0356 BC Alexander the Great, Greek king and military leader, died June 10, 0323 BC
1822 Gregor Mendel, father of modern genetics, died in 1884
1890 Theda Bara, American actress (Carmen) died April 7, 1955
1919 Sir Edmund Hillary, explorer (first to climb Mt. Everest)
1930 Sally Ann Howes, actress (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
1938 Diana Rigg, actress (The Avengers, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service)
1938 Natalie Wood (Natasha Nikolaevna Gurdin), actress (West Side Story, Rebel without a Cause) died Nov 29, 1981
1942 Pete Hamilton, NASCAR auto racer
1943 John Lodge, guitarist/singer (Moody Blues)
1945 Kim Carnes, singer (Bette Davis Eyes)
1947 Carlos Santana, guitarist (Supernatural, Black Magic Woman)
1956 Paul Cook, rock drummer (The Sex Pistols)
1957 Donna Dixon, actress (Wayne’s World, Dr. Detroit)
1958 Mick McNeil, keyboardist (Simple Minds)
1963 Frank Whaley, actor (Field of Dreams, Swimming with Sharks)
1964 Chris Cornell, drummer/singer/songwriter (Soundgarden)
1964 Dean Winters, actor (Oz, Rescue Me)
1964 Terri Irwin, television personality/Mrs. Crocodile Hunter
1966 Stone Gossard, rock guitarist (Pearl Jam)
1967 Reed Diamond, actor (Memphis Belle, Clear & Present Danger)
1969 Josh Holloway, actor (Lost)
1971 Sandra Oh, actress (Grey's Anatomy, Sideways)
1973 Courtney Taylor-Taylor, singer (The Dandy Warhols)
1976 Andrew Stockdale, guitarist/singer (Wolfmother)
1976 Erica Hill, news anchor (CNN)
1978 Charlie Korsmo, actor (Hook, Can't Hardly Wait)
1978 Elliott Yamin, singer/TV personality (American Idol)
1978 Pavel Datsyuk, NHL center (Detroit Red Wings)
1980 Gisele Bündchen, supermodel
1980 Mike Kennerty, guitarist (The All-American Rejects)
1984 Troy Smith, Heisman-winning Quarterback (Ohio State)
1988 Julianne Hough, ballroom dancer (Dancing with the Stars)

Today's Deaths in History

1704 Peregrine White, first English child born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, dies at 83
1923 Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary, dies at 45
1926 Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinskiy, head of the Soviet secret police, dies at 48
1937 Guglielmo Marconi, Italian inventor (wireless radio) dies at 63
1973 Bruce Lee, actor/martial artist, dies at 32
1983 Frank Reynolds, news anchor (ABC News) dies at 59
1991 Earl Robinson, singer/composer (Ballad for Americans) dies at 81
1993 Vincent Foster Jr., White House deputy counsel, dies at 48
2005 James Doohan, actor (Star Trek) dies at 85

Today in History

1801 A 1,235 pound cheese ball was pressed at the farm of Elisha Brown, Jr. and later presented to President Thomas Jefferson at the White House.
1859 Brooklyn and New York played baseball at Fashion Park Race Course on Long Island, New York, for the first time, admission was charged for spectators to see a ball game.
1861 The Congress of the Confederate States began holding sessions in Richmond, Va.
1868 Legislation that ordered U.S. tax stamps to be placed on all cigarette packs was passed.
1872 The US Patent Office awarded the first patent for wireless telegraphy to Mahlon Loomis.
1881 Sioux Chief Sitting Bull led the last of his fugitive people in surrender to US troops at Fort Buford, North Dakota.
1903 The Ford Motor Company shipped its first car.
1924 Teheran, Persia came under martial law after the American vice consul, Robert Imbrie, was killed by a religious mob enraged by rumors he had poisoned a fountain and killed several people.
1940 Billboard magazine published its first listing of best-selling singles, with a grand total of 10 songs listed.
1940 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Hatch Act, limiting political activity by Federal government employees.
1942 The first members of the WAACS, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, began training at Fort Des Moines, IA.
1944 Adolf Hitler survived an assassination attempt (known as the July 20 Plot) led by German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
1946 Congress's Pearl Harbor Committee said Franklin D. Roosevelt was completely blameless for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and called for a unified command structure in the armed forces.
1947 The National Football League ruled that no professional team could sign a player who had college eligibility remaining.
1954 An armistice was signed that ended fighting in Vietnam and divided the country along the 17th parallel.
1969 With “...one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” astronaut Neil Armstrong, pilot of lunar spacecraft the "Eagle," made the first footsteps on the surface of the moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT.
1971 The Soviet Union announced it would support the People's Republic of China's admission to the United Nations.
1976 America's Viking 1 robot spacecraft landed on Mars.
1975 India expelled three reporters from The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and Newsweek because they refused to sign a pledge to abide by government censorship.
1977 The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind control experiments.
1982 The Provisional IRA detonated two bombs in Hyde Park and Regents Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty-seven people.
1984 Officials of the Miss America pageant asked Vanessa Lynn Williams to quit after Penthouse published nude photos of her.
1985 Treasure hunters began hauling off $400 million in coins and silver ingots from the wreckage of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha.
1990 Haiti asked the US to send observers to monitor its upcoming elections.
1997 Seven people were arrested after New York City police found scores of deaf Mexicans kept in slave-like conditions and forced to peddle trinkets for smugglers who had brought them to the United States.
1998 Two hundred aid workers from CARE International, Doctors Without Borders and other aid groups left Afghanistan on orders of the Taliban.
1999 After 38 years at the bottom of the Atlantic, astronaut Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule was lifted to the surface.
2000 The leaders of Salt Lake City's bid to win the 2002 Winter Olympics were indicted by a federal grand jury for bribery, fraud, and racketeering.
2004 The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution demanding that Israel tear down the barrier it was building to seal off the West Bank.
2005 Canada became the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage,

Chart Toppers

1945
Dream - The Pied Pipers
The More I See You - Dick Haymes
Sentimental Journey - The Les Brown Orchestra (vocal: Doris Day)
Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima - Bob Wills

1953
Song from Moulin Rouge - The Percy Faith Orchestra
April in Portugal - The Les Baxter Orchestra
I’m Walking Behind You - Eddie Fisher
It’s Been So Long - Webb Pierce

1961
Tossin’ and Turnin’ - Bobby Lewis
The Boll Weevil Song - Brook Benton
Yellow Bird - Arthur Lyman Group
Heartbreak U.S.A. - Kitty Wells

1969
In the Year 2525 - Zager & Evans
Spinning Wheel - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Good Morning Starshine - Oliver
I Love You More Today - Conway Twitty

1977
Da Doo Ron Ron - Shaun Cassidy
Looks like We Made It - Barry Manilow
I Just Want to Be Your Everything - Andy Gibb
It was Almost like a Song - Ronnie Milsap

1985
A View to a Kill - Duran Duran
Raspberry Beret - Prince & The Revolution
Everytime You Go Away - Paul Young
Dixie Road - Lee Greenwood

Quote of the Day

A short saying oft contains much wisdom.
Sophocles, Greek tragic dramatist (496 BC - 406 BC)

Today in History - July 21st

Today's Birthdays

1864 Frances Cleveland (Folsom), wife of 22nd U.S. President Grover Cleveland, died Oct 29, 1947
1899 Ernest (Miller) Hemingway, writer (The Old Man and the Sea, The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls) died July 2, 1961
1911 (Herbert) Marshall McLuhan, professor/writer (Understanding Media) died Dec 31, 1980
1920 Isaac Stern, concert violin impresario, died Sep 22, 2001
1924 Don Knotts, comedian/actor (The Andy Griffith Show, The Incredible Mr. Limpet) died Feb 24, 2006
1926 Norman Jewison, director (And Justice for All, Jesus Christ Superstar, Rollerball)
1938 Janet Reno, former U.S. Attorney General
1948 Cat Stevens (Stephen Demetre Georgiou) Muslim name: Yusuf Islam, singer (Wild World, Moon Shadow, Peace Train)
1948 Garry Trudeau, cartoonist (Doonesbury)
1952 Robin Williams, comic/actor (Good Will Hunting, Mork and Mindy, Good Morning Vietnam, Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poet’s Society, The Fisher King, Hook)
1955 Howie Epstein, rock bassist (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) died Feb 23, 2003
1957 Jon Lovitz, comedian/actor (Saturday Night Live, A League of Their Own, City Slickers: The Legend of Curly’s Gold)
1960 Lance Guest, actor (The Last Starfighter)
1960 Matt Mulhern, actor (Biloxi Blues, Major Dad)
1961 "Big Jim" Martin, guitarist (Faith No More)
1968 Brandi Chastain, soccer player
1969 Emerson Hart, rock singer/songwriter/guitarist (Tonic)
1972 Pete Rocha, board benefactor and all-around great guy
1973 Ali Landry, actress (Spy TV)
1978 Josh Hartnett, actor (Pearl Harbor, 40 Days and 40 Nights)
1980 C.C. Sabathia, MLB pitcher (Cleveland Indians)
1981 Blake Lewis, singer/TV personality (American Idol)

Today's Deaths in History

1796 Robert Burns, Scottish poet (Auld Lang Syne) dies at 37
1944 Claus von Stauffenberg, German colonel (tried to assassinate Hitler) is executed at 36
1967 Jimmie Foxx, MLB 1st baseman (Phillies, Cubs, Red Sox) dies at 59
1967 Basil Rathbone, English actor (Sherlock Holmes) dies at 75
1982 Dave Garroway, television host (Today) dies at 69
1998 Alan Shepard, astronaut (Project Mercury, Apollo 14) dies at 74
1998 Robert Young, actor (Father Knows Best) dies at 91
2004 Jerry Goldsmith, film score composer (The Omen) dies at 75
2005 Long John Baldry, blues musician, dies at 64

Today in History

1861 U.S. Federal troops under the leadership of Major General Irwin McDowell attacked Confederate troops led by General Beauregard in the Battle of Bull Run Creek at Manassas Junction, Virginia.
1865 In Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shot Dave Tutt dead in what is regarded as the first true western showdown.
1873 The first train robbery in America was pulled off by Jesse James and his gang when they took $3,000 from the Rock Island Express at Adair, IA.
1925 High school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution in class in Dayton, Tennessee, and fined $100.
1930 The Veterans’ Administration of the United States was established.
1931 Ted Husing was master of ceremonies for the very first CBS-TV program, which featured singer Kate Smith, composer George Gershwin and New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker.
1944 Harry S Truman accepted the Democratic party’s nomination for Vice President of the U.S.
1955 During the Geneva summit, President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented his "open skies" proposal under which the United States and the Soviet Union would trade information on each other's military facilities.
1957 Althea Gibson became the first black woman to win a major U.S. tennis title, winning the Women’s National clay-court singles competition.
1959 A U.S. District Court judge in New York City ruled that Lady Chatterley’s Lover was not a dirty book.
1960 Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka became the first woman prime minister and the first elected female national leader in the world.
1961 Capt. Virgil "Gus" Grissom became the second American to rocket into a sub-orbital pattern around the Earth, flying on the Liberty Bell 7.
1968 Arnold Palmer became the first golfer to make a million dollars in career earnings after he tied for second place at the PGA Championship.
1969 Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin blasted off from the moon aboard the lunar module.
1969 Just one day after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Duke Ellington and a portion of his band performed a 10-minute composition on ABC-TV titled "Moon Maiden."
1973 In the Lillehammer affair in Norway, Israeli Mossad agents killed a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in 1972's Munich Olympics Massacre.
1973 "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" reached the top spot on the Billboard pop-singles chart, becoming Jim Croce’s first big hit (Croce died in a plane crash two months later).
1980 Draft registration began in the United States for 19- and 20-year-old men.
1984 A factory robot in Jackson, Michigan, crushed a worker against a safety bar in the first robot-related death in the United States.
1985 Sandy Lyle became the first British golfer in 16 years to win the British Open golf title.
1987 TV personality Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight made news as she had her legs insured by Lloyd’s of London for $2 million.
1989 Former president Ronald Reagan was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in recognition of his role as George Armstrong Custer in The Santa Fe Trail and as host of TV’s Death Valley Days.
1990 Some 250,000 people celebrated at the site where the Berlin Wall once stood in East Berlin, including a benefit concert featuring an all-star cast performing Pink Floyd’s The Wall.
1990 The BBC’s Radio One apologized to listeners after Madonna repeatedly cursed during a live concert broadcast from Wembley Stadium.
1997 The fully restored USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") celebrated her 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.
2000 Special Counsel John C. Danforth concluded "with 100 percent certainty" that the federal government was innocent of wrongdoing in the siege that killed 80 members of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, in 1993.
2002 Telecommunications giant WorldCom Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection about a month after disclosing it had inflated profits by nearly $4 billion through deceptive accounting.
2005 Four terrorist bombings, occurring exactly two weeks after the similar July 7 bombings, targeted London's public transportation system (all four bombs failed to detonate and all four suspected suicide bombers escaped).

Chart Toppers

1946
The Gypsy - The Ink Spots
They Say It’s Wonderful - Frank Sinatra
Surrender - Perry Como
New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills

1954
Little Things Mean a Lot - Kitty Kallen
Sh-Boom - The Crew Cuts
Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight - The McGuire Sisters
Even Tho - Webb Pierce

1962
Roses are Red - Bobby Vinton
The Wah Watusi - The Orlons
Johnny Get Angry - Joanie Sommers
Wolverton Mountain - Claude King

1970
Mama Told Me (Not to Come) - Three Dog Night
(They Long to Be) Close to You - Carpenters
Band of Gold - Freda Payne
He Loves Me All the Way - Tammy Wynette

1978
Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty
Miss You - The Rolling Stones
Only One Love in My Life - Ronnie Milsap

1986
Invisible Touch - Genesis
Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
Nasty - Janet Jackson
Until I Met You - Judy Rodman

Quote of the Day

A lie told often enough becomes the truth.
Lenin, Russian Communist politician & revolutionary (1870 - 1924)

Republican Strategery 2000-2008:

Today in History - July 22nd

Today's Birthdays

1882 Edward Hopper, American painter (Nighthawks) died May 15, 1967
1890 Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mother of President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Senator Edward Kennedy, died Jan 22, 1995
1898 Stephen Vincent Benét, poet/author (The Devil and Daniel Webster) died Mar 13, 1943
1908 Amy Vanderbilt, author (Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette) died Dec 27, 1974
1923 Bob (Robert) Dole, U.S. Senate majority leader, 1996 GOP Presidential candidate
1928 Orson Bean (Dallas Burroughs), comedian/actor (To Tell the Truth)
1932 Oscar De La Renta, fashion designer
1934 Louise Fletcher, actress (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
1936 Tom Robbins, author (Even Cowgirls Get the Blues)
1939 Terence Stamp, actor (Superman, Young Guns, the Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert)
1940 George Clinton, singer/musician (Parliament-Funkadelic)
1940 Alex Trebek, game show host (Jeopardy)
1943 Bobby Sherman, singer/actor (Shindig, Here Come the Brides)
1944 Estelle Bennett, singer (The Ronettes)
1944 Rick Davies, keyboards/singer (Supertramp)
1944 Sparky (Albert) Lyle, MLB pitcher (NY Yankees)
1946 Danny Glover, actor (Lethal Weapon series, Silverado, Places in the Heart, Grand Canyon)
1947 Albert Brooks (Einstein), comedian/actor (Broadcast News, Lost in America)
1947 Don Henley, drummer/singer (The Eagles)
1948 S.E. Hinton, author (The Outsiders)
1955 Willem Dafoe, actor (Platoon, Mississippi Burning, Clear and Present Danger, Streets of Fire)
1960 Jon Oliva, rock singer (Savatage)
1961 Keith Sweat, R&B singer
1963 Emily Saliers, guitarist/singer (Indigo Girls)
1964 John Leguizamo, comedian/actor (The Fan, To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar)
1964 David Spade, writer/comedian/actor (Saturday Night Live, Just Shoot Me, Tommy Boy)
1968 Rhys Ifans, Welsh actor (The Replacements, Notting Hill, The Shipping News)
1970 Sergei Zubov, NHL defenseman (NY Rangers)
1972 Keyshawn Johnson, NFL wide receiver (Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers)
1974 Franka Potente, German actress (Run Lola Run, The Bourne Identity)
1983 Steven Jackson, NFL running back (St Louis Rams)

Today's Deaths in History

1932 Florenz Ziegfeld, theatrical producer (Ziegfeld Follies) dies at 65
1934 John Dillinger, bank robber, is shot by FBI agents at 31
1967 Carl Sandburg, poet/author (biography of Abraham Lincoln) dies at 89
1992 Wayne McLaren, model (Marlboro Man) dies of lung cancer at 49
2000 Eric Christmas, actor (Porky's series)
2003 Qusay Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein, killed by U.S. troops at 37
2003 Uday Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein, killed by U.S. troops at 39
2005 Eugene Record, songwriter/singer (The Chi-Lites) dies at 64

Today in History

1587 A second English colony, also fated to vanish under mysterious circumstances, was established on Roanoke Island off North Carolina.
1926 Babe Ruth, a private in the National Guard, caught a baseball that was dropped from an airplane flying at 250 feet and traveling at about 100 miles-per-hour.
1933 Aviator Wiley Post ended his first around-the-world flight.
1933 Caterina Jarboro became the first black prima donna of an opera company, performing Aida with the Chicago Opera Company at the Hippodrome in New York City.
1934 Public enemy number one, the notorious John Dillinger, was gunned down and mortally wounded by FBI agents at the Biograph Theatre in Chicago, IL.
1937 The Senate voted down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.
1942 The systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto began.
1943 American forces led by Gen. George S. Patton captured Palermo, Sicily.
1944 The Bretton Woods (New Hampshire) Conference created the International Monetary Fund.
1946 Jewish extremists blew up a wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, killing about 100 people.
1963 World Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston hung on to his boxing title by knocking out challenger Floyd Patterson in the first round of a bout in Las Vegas, NV.
1965 Till Death Us Do Part debuted on England’s BBC-TV (it was later adapted for the American TV audience as All in the Family.)
1975 Confederate General Robert E. Lee had his U.S. citizenship restored by the U.S. Congress.
1977 Tony Orlando announced his retirement from show business.
1979 Frenchman Bernard Hinault won the Tour de France in 103 hours, 6 minutes and 50 seconds.
1981 Turkish extremist Mehmet Ali Agca was sentenced in Rome to life in prison for shooting Pope John Paul II.
1985 Bruce Springsteen became the hottest ticket in the rock concert biz as 70,000 Cleveland fans lined up (in less than three hours) to grab tickets.
1990 Greg LeMond won his third Tour de France.
1991 Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested after the remains of 11 men and boys were found in his Milwaukee apartment.
1992 Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escaped from his luxury prison near Medellin.
1994 O.J. Simpson pleaded “absolutely, 100 percent not guilty” to charges he murdered his ex-wife, Nicole and restaurant worker, Ronald Goldman; and the case was assigned to Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito in Los Angeles.
1995 Susan Smith was convicted by a jury in Union, S.C., of first-degree murder for drowning her two sons.
1998 U.S. President Bill Clinton signed a bill designed to mold the IRS into a friendlier, fairer tax collector.
1999 The first version of MSN Messenger was released by Microsoft.
2002 Factory worker Alejandro Avila was charged with murder and kidnapping in the abduction and slaying of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion of Stanton, Calif.
2003 Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attacked a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, along with Mustapha Hussein, Qusay's 14-year old son, and a bodyguard.
2003 Months after her prisoner-of-war ordeal, Pvt. 1st Class Jessica Lynch returned home to a hero's welcome in Elizabeth, W.Va.
2004 The Sept. 11 commission issued a report saying America's leaders failed to grasp the gravity of terrorist threats before the 9/11 attacks.
2005 Jean Charles de Menezes was killed by police as the hunt began for the London Bombers.
2006 Israeli tanks, bulldozers and armored personnel carriers knocked down a fence and barreled over the Lebanese border as forces seized the village of Maroun al-Ras from the Hezbollah guerrilla group.

Chart Toppers

1947
Peg o’ My Heart - The Harmonicats
I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder - Eddy Howard
Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba - Perry Como
Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) - Tex Williams

1955
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
Honey-Babe - Art Mooney
The House of Blue Lights - Chuck Miller
I Don’t Care - Webb Pierce

1963
Surf City - Jan & Dean
So Much in Love - The Tymes
Memphis - Lonnie Mack
Act Naturally - Buck Owens

1971
It’s Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King
You’ve Got a Friend - James Taylor
Don’t Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot - Jerry Reed

1979
Bad Girls - Donna Summer
Good Times - Chic
Makin’ It - David Naughton
Shadows in the Moonlight - Anne Murray

1987
Alone - Heart
Shakedown - Bob Seger
Don’t Disturb This Groove - The System
I Know Where I’m Going - The Judds

Quote of the Day

I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale.
Marie Curie, French (Polish-born) chemist & physicist (1867 - 1934)

Today in History - July 23rd

Today's Birthdays

1894 Arthur Treacher (Veary), actor/fast-food chain founder (Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips) died Dec 14, 1975
1898 Red Dutton, Hockey Hall of Famer (NY Americans) died Mar 15, 1987
1915 Vincent Sardi, Jr., restaurateur (Sardi’s Restaurant, New York, NY) died in 2007
1918 Pee Wee (Harold) Reese, Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop (Brooklyn Dodgers) died Aug 14, 1999
1921 Calvert DeForest, actor (Larry ‘Bud’ Melman) died March 19, 2007
1933 Bert Convy, TV host (Win, Lose or Draw, Tattletales) died July 15, 1991
1935 Cleveland Duncan, R&B singer (Penguins)
1936 Don (Donald Scott) Drysdale, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (Brooklyn Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers) died July 3,1993
1938 Ronny Cox, actor (Total Recall, RoboCop, Beverly Hills Cop series, Taps)
1940 Don Imus, radio talk show host (Imus in the Morning)
1945 Dino Danelli, drummer (The Young Rascals, The Rascals)
1946 Andy Mackay, saxophonist/woodwinds (Roxy Music)
1947 David Essex (Cook), singer (Rock On)
1947 Larry Manetti, actor (Magnum P.I.)
1950 Belinda Montgomery, actress (Doogie Howser, M.D.)
1950 Blair Thornton, guitarist (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
1951 Edie McClurg, actress (WKRP in Cincinnati, Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
1961 Martin Gore, keyboardist/singer (Depeche Mode)
1961 Woody Harrelson, actor (Cheers, White Men Can’t Jump, Natural Born Killers)
1962 Eriq La Salle, actor (ER, Coming to America)
1965 Slash, rock guitarist (Guns 'n' Roses)
1967 Philip Seymour Hoffman, actor (Twister, Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Almost Famous, Capote)
1968 Stephanie Seymour, supermodel
1968 Nick Menza, rock drummer (Megadeth)
1970 Charisma Carpenter, actress (Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
1971 Alison Krauss, bluegrass/country singer
1971 Chad Gracey, rock drummer (Live)
1972 Marlon Wayans, writer/actor (Scary Movie series)
1973 Nomar Garciaparra, MLB 3rd baseman (Los Angeles Dodgers)
1973 Francis Healy, singer/songwriter (Travis)
1973 Omar Epps, actor (House MD)
1974 Stephanie March, actress (Law & Order: SVU)
1974 Terry Glenn, NFL wide receiver (Dallas Cowboys)
1974 Kathryn Hahn, actress (Crossing Jordan)
1980 Michelle Williams, R&B singer (Destiny's Child)
1981 Steve Jocz, rock drummer (Sum 41)
1989 Daniel Radcliffe, actor (Harry Potter series)

Today's Deaths in History

1875 Isaac Singer, inventor/entrepreneur (sewing machines) dies at 63
1885 Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States, dies at 63
1923 Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary, dies at 45
1930 Glenn Curtiss, aviation pioneer (Curtiss Aircraft) dies at 52
1966 Montgomery Clift, actor (A Place in the Sun, From Here to Eternity) dies at 45
1971 Van Heflin, actor (Shane) dies at 60
1973 Eddie Rickenbacker, pilot (WW I ace, Medal of Honor recipient) dies at 82
1980 Keith Godchaux, pianist (Grateful Dead) dies at 32
1982 Vic Morrow, actor (Combat, Twilight Zone: The Movie) dies at 53
1993 James R. Jordan, Sr., father of Michael Jordan, is killed at 56 in a carjacking
2001 Eudora Welty, writer (Death of a Traveling Salesman) dies at 92
2005 Ted Greene, jazz guitarist/teacher, dies at 58

Today in History

1715 The first lighthouse in America was authorized for construction at Little Brewster Island, Massachusetts.
1827 The first swimming school in the U.S. opened in Boston, MA.
1829 The first typewriter was patented by William Burt of Mt. Vernon, MI.
1903 Ford Motor Company sold its first car, to Dr. Ernst Pfenning of Chicago.
1904 By some accounts, the ice cream cone was invented by Charles E. Menches during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis.
1926 Fox Film bought the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
1938 The first federal game preserve, some 2,000 acres of land located in Utah, was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
1942 The Treblinka extermination camp was opened.
1945 French Marshal Henri Petain, who had headed the Vichy government during World War II, went on trial, charged with treason.
1945 The first passenger train observation car was placed in service by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.
1952 Egyptian military officers, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, overthrew King Farouk I.
1962 The Telstar communications satellite sent the first live TV broadcast to Europe.
1966 Frank Sinatra hit the top of the pop album chart with his "Strangers in the Night."
1972 Eddie Merckx of Belgium won his fourth consecutive Tour de France bicycling competition.
1982 Actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie when a helicopter spins out of control.
1984 Miss America, Vanessa Williams, turned in her crown after it was discovered that she had posed nude for Penthousemagazine.
1986 Britain's Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London.
1987 Billy Williams, Catfish Hunter and Ray Dandridge were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
1995 Comet Hale-Bopp was discovered and was visibly seen with a naked eye nearly a year later.
1997 Police found the body of Andrew Cunanan, the suspected killer of designer Gianni Versace and others, on a houseboat in Miami Beach, Fla., an apparent suicide.
2000 Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to complete a career Grand Slam when he won the British Open at age 24.
2003 Massachusetts' attorney general issued a report saying clergy members and others in the Boston Archdiocese probably sexually abused more than 1,000 people over six decades.

Chart Toppers

1948
You Can’t Be True, Dear - The Ken Griffin Orchestra (vocal: Jerry Wayne)
Woody Woodpecker Song - The Kay Kaiser Orchestra (vocal: Gloria Wood & The Campus Kids)
It’s Magic - Doris Day
Bouquet of Roses - Eddy Arnold

1956
The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
Hound Dog/Don’t Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
Whatever Will Be Will Be (Que Sera Sera) - Doris Day
I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash

1964
Rag Doll - The 4 Seasons
Can’t You See that She’s Mine - The Dave Clark Five
The Girl from Ipanema - Stan Getz/Astrud Gilberto
Dang Me - Roger Miller

1972
Lean on Me - Bill Withers
Too Late to Turn Back Now - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilber O’Sullivan
It’s Gonna Take a Little Bit Longer - Charley Pride

1980
It’s Still Rock & Roll to Me - Billy Joel
Little Jeannie - Elton John
Cupid/I’ve Loved You for a Long Time - Spinners
True Love Ways - Mickey Gilley

1988
Hold on to the Nights - Richard Marx
Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Lappard
New Sensation - INXS
Set ’Em Up Joe - Vern Gosdin

Quote of the Day

Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.
Leonardo da Vinci, Italian engineer, painter, & sculptor (1452 - 1519)

Today in History - July 24th

Today's Birthdays

1802 Alexandre Dumas (La Pailleterie), playwright/novelist (The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers) died Dec 5, 1870
1898 Amelia Earhart, aviator (first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, first woman to fly solo from Hawaii to California) disappeared July 2, 1937 over the Pacific
1920 Bella Abzug (Stavitsky), feminist/attorney/U.S. Congresswoman, died Mar 31, 1998
1936 Mark Goddard, actor (Lost in Space)
1936 Ruth Buzzi, comedienne/actress (Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In)
1940 Dan Hedaya, actor (Clueless)
1942 Heinz Burt, bassist (The Tornados) died Apr 7, 2000
1942 Chris Sarandon, actor (The Princess Bride, Child’s Play)
1946 Gallagher, comedian
1947 Robert Hays, actor (Airplane! series)
1949 Michael Richards, comedian/actor (Seinfeld, UHF)
1951 Lynda Carter, actress (Wonder Woman)
1951 Lynval Golding, guitarist (The Specials, Fun Boy Three)
1952 Gus Van Sant, film director (Psycho remake, Good Will Hunting)
1953 Steve Grogan, NFL quarterback (New England Patriots)
1963 Karl Malone, NBA (Utah Jazz)
1963 Paul Geary, rock drummer (Extreme)
1964 Barry Bonds, MLB outfielder/juicer (Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants)
1965 Kadeem Hardison, actor (A Different World, Renaissance Man)
1968 Laura Leighton (Miller), actress (Melrose Place)
1968 Kristin Chenoweth, actress (West Wing, Bewitched)
1969 Jennifer Lopez, dancer/singer/actress (In Living Color, Selena, Angel Eyes, Monster-In-Law)
1970 Stephanie Adams, playmate (November 1992)
1975 Eric Szmanda, actor (CSI: Crime Scene Investigations)
1975 Jamie Langenbrunner, NHL wing (New Jersey Devils)
1979 Rose Byrne, Australian actress (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones)
1981 Summer Glau, actress (Firefly, Serenity)
1982 Elisabeth Moss, actress (The West Wing)
1982 Anna Paquin, actress (X-Men series, The Piano, Almost Famous)
1983 FishSmF, board member
1985 Patrice Bergeron, NHL center (Boston Bruins)
1987 Mara Wilson, actress (Miracle on 34th Street, Matilda)
1990 Daveigh Chase, actress (Lilo & Stitch, The Ring)
1998 Bindi Irwin, animal activist/daughter of the late Steve Irwin

Today's Deaths in History

1862 Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States, dies at 79
1965 Constance Bennett, actress (Topper) dies at 60
1980 Peter Sellers, British comedian/actor (The Pink Panther, Being There) dies at 54
1997 William J. Brennan, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, dies at 91

Today in History

1701 Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded a trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which later became the city of Detroit.
1847 Richard M. Hoe of New York City patented the rotary-type printing press.
1847 After 17 months of travel, Brigham Young led 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City.
1849 Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. presented its first Doctor of Music Degree, to Professor John Casper Henry Dielman.
1866 Tennessee became the first state to be readmitted to the Union following the Civil War.
1929 President Herbert Hoover proclaimed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which renounced war as an instrument of foreign policy.
1937 The state of Alabama dropped charges against five black men accused of raping two white women in the Scottsboro case.
1938 Clarinet virtuoso and big band leader Artie Shaw recorded his now-classic, "Begin the Beguine," for Bluebird Records in New York City.
1956 After a decade together as the country’s most popular comedy team, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis called it quits after their last show at the Copacabana nightclub in New York City.
1959 During a visit to the Soviet Union, Vice President Richard M. Nixon got into a discussion at a U.S. exhibition with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that was dubbed the "kitchen debate."
1969 Hoyt Wilhelm, of the Chicago White Sox, set a major-league baseball record by pitching in the 907th game of his career.
1969 The Apollo 11 astronauts, two of whom had become the first men to set foot on the moon, splashed down safely in the Pacific.
1974 The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes; they ordered him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor.
1978 Billy Martin was fired, for the first of three times, as the manager of the New York Yankees.
1979 Carl Yastrzemski hit his 400th career home run off of the Oakland A's Mike Morgan at Fenway Park.
1979 A Miami jury convicted Ted Bundy of first-degree murder in the slayings of Florida State University sorority sisters Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy.
1983 Kansas City Royals slugger George Brett slammed a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Royals a 5-4 lead over New York; Yankee skipper Billy Martin protested Brett's bat (Pine Tar Incident).
1984 After 14 years and four Super Bowl championships with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Terry Bradshaw retired from the National Football League.
1987 91-year old Hulda Crooks climbed Mt. Fuji to become the oldest person to climb Japan’s highest peak.
1990 Iraq massed tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks along its border with Kuwait.
1998 Saving Private Ryan opened in theaters across the U.S.
1998 Russell Eugene Weston Jr. burst into the United States Capitol and opened fire, killing two police officers (he was later ruled incompetent to stand trial).
2001 The city of Detroit, Michigan celebrated its 300th anniversary with a historical reenactment of city founder Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac landing on the shores of the Detroit River.
2002 James Traficant was expelled from the House of Representatives on a vote of 420 to 1 (convicted of bribery, racketeering, etc).
2005 Lance Armstrong won his seventh consecutive Tour de France.

Chart Toppers

1949
Some Enchanted Evening - Perry Como
Bali Ha’i - Perry Como
Again - Gordon Jenkins
One Kiss Too Many - Eddy Arnold

1957
Teddy Bear - Elvis Presley
Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
It’s Not for Me to Say - Johnny Mathis
Bye Bye Love - The Everly Brothers

1965
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
I’m Henry VIII, I Am - Herman’s Hermits
What’s New Pussycat? - Tom Jones
Before You Go - Buck Owens

1973
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
Yesterday Once More - Carpenters
Shambala - Three Dog Night
Love is the Foundation - Loretta Lynn

1981
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
All Those Years Ago - George Harrison
The One that You Love - Air Supply
Feels So Right - Alabama

1989
Toy Soldiers - Martika
Express Yourself - Madonna
Batdance - Prince
What’s Going on in Your World - George Strait

Quote of the Day

Do what you love, love what you do, leave the world a better place and don't pick your nose.
Jeff Mallett, cartoonist (Frazz)

Today in History - July 25th

Today's Birthdays

1775 Anna Harrison (Symmes), wife of 9th U.S. President Benjamin Harrison, died Feb 25, 1864
1870 Maxfield Parrish, illustrator (Mother Goose in Prose) died March 30, 1966
1894 Walter (Andrew) Brennan, actor (The Real McCoys) died Sep 21, 1974
1923 Estelle Getty, actress (Golden Girls, Mannequin)
1935 Barbara Harris, actress (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
1941 Manuel Charlton, guitarist/singer (Nazareth)
1944 Jim McCarty, drummer (Renaissance, The Yardbirds)
1951 Verdine White, bassist/singer (Earth Wind & Fire)
1954 Walter Payton, Pro Football Hall of Fame running back (Chicago Bears) died Nov 1, 1999
1955 Iman, model/actress/Mrs. David Bowie
1958 Thurston Moore, singer/songwriter/guitarist (Sonic Youth)
1965 Illeana Douglas, actress (To Die for, Grace of My Heart, Chasing Amy, Happy Texas)
1966 Maureen Herman, bassist (Babes in Toyland)
1967 Matt LeBlanc, actor (Friends, Lost in Space, Charlie’s Angels, Joey)
1973 Michael C. Williams, actor (The Blair Witch Project)
1976 Tera Patrick, adult film actress/model
1978 Louise Brown, world's first test tube baby
1982 Brad Renfro, actor (The Client)
1987 Michael Welch, actor (Joan of Arcadia)

Today's Deaths in History

1834 Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet (Rime of the Ancient Mariner) dies at 61
1843 Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and inventor (waterproof fabrics) dies at 76
1934 François Coty, French perfume manufacturer, dies at 60
1982 Hal Foster, cartoonist (Prince Valiant) dies at 89
1984 Bryan Hextall, NHL Hall of Fame left wing (NY Rangers) dies at 71
1986 Vincente Minnelli, film director/Liza's father (Gigi) dies at 83
1988 Judith Barsi, actress (The Land Before Time) is murdered at 10 by her father
1989 Steve Rubell, nightclub owner (Studio 54) dies at 45
1992 Charlie Rich, country singer (Behind Closed Doors) dies at 62
1997 Ben Hogan, golf champion, dies at 84

Today in History

1837 The first commercial use of an electric telegraph was successfully demonstrated by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone between Euston and Camden Town in London.
1854 The paper shirt collar was patented by Walter Hunt of New York City.
1860 Harvard and Yale University freshmen met in the first intercollegiate billiards match at Worcester, MA.
1861 The Crittenden-Johnson Resolution was passed by Congress, stating that the war was being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.
1866 Ulysses S. Grant was elevated to full (four-star) general of the U.S. Army, becoming the first American officer to reach that rank.
1868 Wyoming became a United States territory.
1871 Seth Wheeler of Albany, NY patented perforated toilet paper.
1909 Louis Bleriot of France crossed the English Channel in a 28-hp monoplane with a wingspan of just 23 feet.
1925 Station 2XAG in Schenectady, NY became the first radio station in the U.S. to broadcast with a 50,000-watt transmitter.
1946 The United States detonated an atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific in the first underwater test of the device.
1946 Crooner Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis staged their first show as a team at Club 500 in Atlantic City, NJ.
1952 Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the United States.
1953 The cartoon Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century was released, starring Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Marvin the Martian.
1956 52 of the 1,662 passengers and crew on board the Andrea Doria died in a collision with the Swedish-American liner Stockholm near Cape Cod.
1965 Bob Dylan appeared on stage at the Newport Folk Festival with an electric guitar; he was booed by the audience for being amplified.
1975 The musical A Chorus Line opened on Broadway.
1978 Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman Pete Rose broke the National League record for hitting safely in consecutive games as he hit safely in his 38th straight game.
1978 The first test-tube baby was born in England.
1980 Australian band AC/DC released the album Back in Black.
1981 Walter Payton signed a contract to play with the Chicago Bears of the NFL on his 27th birthday.
1984 Salyut 7 Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to perform a space walk.
1994 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein signed a declaration at the White House ending their countries' 46-year-old state of war.
1995 A U.N. war crimes tribunal indicted Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, army commander Gen. Ratko Mladic, and 22 other Serbs for war crimes.
1998 The United States Navy commissioned the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.
1999 Lance Armstrong rode to victory in the Tour de France, capping an amazing comeback from cancer.
2000 Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde supersonic passenger jet, F-BTSC, crashed just after takeoff from Paris, killing all 109 aboard and 4 on the ground.
2000 Texas Gov. George W. Bush selected Dick Cheney to be his running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.
2006 Israeli troops sealed off a Hezbollah stronghold and widened their control of southern Lebanon; an Israeli airstrike hit a U.N. border outpost, killing four observers.

Chart Toppers

1950
Bewitched - The Bill Snyder Orchestra
Mona Lisa - Nat King Cole
I Wanna Be Loved - The Andrews Sisters
I’m Moving On - Hank Snow

1958
Hard Headed Woman - Elvis Presley
Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson
Little Star - The Elegants
Alone with You - Faron Young

1966
Hanky Panky - Tommy James & The Shondells
Wild Thing - The Troggs
Lil’ Red Riding Hood - Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs
Think of Me - Buck Owens

1974
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
Annie’s Song - John Denver
Rock and Roll Heaven - The Righteous Brothers
Maria Laveau - Bobby Bare

1982
Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
Rosanna - Toto
Hurts So Good - John Cougar
Take Me Down - Alabama

1990
She ain’t Worth It - Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown
Hold On - En Vogue
Cradle of Love - Billy Idol
The Dance - Garth Brooks

Quote of the Day

Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Stephen King, horror novelist & screenwriter (1947 - )

Today in History - July 26th

Today's Birthdays

1856 George Bernard Shaw, playwright (Pygmalion) died Nov 2, 1950
1875 Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist, died June 6, 1961
1894 Aldous (Leonard) Huxley, philosopher/satirist/author (Brave New World) died Nov 22, 1963
1895 Gracie (Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie) Allen, vaudeville/radio/TV/stage actress/Mrs George Burns, died Aug 27, 1964
1909 Vivian Vance (Vivian Roberta Jones), actress (I Love Lucy) died Aug 17, 1979
1922 Blake Edwards (McEdwards), director (The Pink Panther, 10, Victor/Victoria, Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
1922 Jason Robards Jr., actor (The Ice Man Cometh, All the President’s Men, Philadelphia, Something Wicked This Way Comes) died Dec 26, 2000
1923 (James) Hoyt Wilhelm, MLB ALl-Star pitcher (NY Giants)
1928 Stanley Kubrick, director (2001: A Space Odyssey, Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange) died Mar 7, 1999
1940 Bobby Rousseau, NHL forward (NY Rangers)
1940 Mary Jo Kopechne, aide to Robert F. Kennedy, died July 18, 1969 at Chappaquiddick
1940 Dobie Gray (Leonard Ainsworth), singer (Drift Away)
1943 Mick (Michael) Jagger, singer (The Rolling Stones)
1945 Helen Mirren (Ilyena Lydia Mironoff), actress (Excalibur, White Knights, The Queen)
1949 Roger Taylor (Meadows-Taylor), drummer (Queen)
1950 Duncan Mackay, keyboardist (10CC)
1954 Vitas Gerulaitis, tennis champion, killed by carbon monoxide from a faulty heater Sep 17, 1994
1956 Dorothy Hamill, Olympic Hall of Fame ice skater
1959 Kevin Spacey, actor (American Beauty, The Usual Suspects, K-Pax, A Time to Kill, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, L.A. Confidential, The Shipping News, The Ref)
1961 Gary Cherone, rock singer (Extreme, Van Halen)
1964 Sandra Bullock, actress (Speed series, The Net, While You Were Sleeping, A Time to Kill, Hope Floats, Miss Congeniality series)
1965 Jeremy Piven, actor (Kiss the Girls, Serendipity, Black Hawk Down, Grosse Point Blank, Entourage)
1973 Kate Beckinsale, actress (Pearl Harbor, Much Ado About Nothing, Haunted, Brokedown Palace, Underworld)
1980 Dave Baksh, rock guitarist (Sum 41)
1993 Taylor Momsen, actress (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, We Were Soldiers)

Today's Deaths in History

1863 Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas, dies at 70
1925 William Jennings Bryan, American politician/Secretary of State (3-time Democratic Presidential nominee) dies at 65
1952 Eva Peron, Argentina's first lady, dies at 33
1971 Diane Arbus, photographer, commits suicide at 48
1984 George Gallup, statistician/opinion pollster, dies at 82
1990 Brent Mydland, keyboardist (Grateful Dead 1979-1990) dies at 37
1992 Mary Wells, singer (My Guy) dies at 49

Today in History

1775 A postal system was established by the 2nd Continental Congress of the United States; Benjamin Franklin became postmaster-general.
1788 New York became the 11th state.
1893 Commercial production of the Addressograph started in Chicago, Illinois.
1908 Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte issued an order creating an investigative agency that was a forerunner of the FBI.
1945 Winston Churchill resigned as Britain's prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labor Party.
1947 The National Security Act of July 26, 1947 was passed into law; it established the National Security Council and provided for all armed forces in the U.S. to be under the control of the National Military Establishment (Now the Department of Defense).
1948 Babe Ruth was seen by the public for the last time as he attended the New York City premiere of the the motion picture, The Babe Ruth Story.
1948 President Harry S. Truman signed executive orders prohibiting discrimination in the U.S. armed forces and federal employment.
1952 King Farouk I of Egypt abdicated in the wake of a coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.
1953 Fidel Castro began a revolt against Fulgencio Batista with an unsuccessful attack on an army barracks in eastern Cuba.
1956 Following the World Bank's decline to fund building the Aswan High Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation.
1964 Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa and six others were convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the handling of a union pension fund.
1969 Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones celebrated his 26th birthday with the release of the album Beggar’s Banquet.
1971 Apollo 15 was launched on a manned mission to the moon.
1975 Van McCoy and The Soul City Symphony reached the top spot on the Billboard record chart for the first and only time with the disco hit "The Hustle."
1984 Purple Rain, the film creation of Prince, premiered in Hollywood.
1990 The House of Representatives reprimanded Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., for ethics violations.
1990 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a young woman, later identified as Kimberly Bergalis, had been infected with the AIDS virus apparently by her dentist.
1990 President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law.
1991 Paul Reubens, aka Peewee Herman, was arrested in a Sarasota, Florida theater for exposing himself.
2000 U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel (in federal court, San Francisco CA) issued a preliminary injunction against online music service Napster, ordering Napster to stop distributing copyrighted songs on the Web.
2000 A federal judge approved a $1.25 billion settlement between Swiss banks and more than a half million plaintiffs who alleged the banks had hoarded money deposited by Holocaust victims.
2005 Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs became the 13th pitcher in major league history to record his 3,000 career strikeout, in a game against the San Francisco Giants.
2006 A jury in Houston found Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning of her children in a bathtub in the second trial she faced on the charges; she was committed to a state mental hospital.

Chart Toppers

1951
Too Young - Nat King Cole
My Truly, Truly Fair - Guy Mitchell
Mister and Mississippi - Patti Page
I Wanna Play House with You - Eddy Arnold

1959
Lonely Boy - Paul Anka
A Big Hunk o’ Love - Elvis Presley
My Heart is an Open Book - Carl Dobkins, Jr.
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton

1967
Windy - The Association
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You - Frankie Valli
Light My Fire - The Doors
With One Exception - David Houston

1975
The Hustle - Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony
I’m Not in Love - 10cc
One of These Nights - Eagles
Touch the Hand - Conway Twitty

1983
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
Is There Something I Should Know - Duran Duran
Pancho and Lefty - Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard

1991
Unbelievable - EMF
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You - Bryan Adams
P.A.S.S.I.O.N. - Rythm Syndicate
I Am a Simple Man - Ricky Van Shelton

Quote of the Day

Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together.
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, (1742 - 1799)