February 11 1752 - The Pennsylvania Hospital opened as the very first hospital in America. 1808 - Judge Jesse Fell experimented by burning anthracite coal to keep his house warm. He successfully showed how clean the coal burned and how cheaply it could be used as a heating fuel. 1812 - The term gerrymandering had its beginning when the governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, signed a redistricting law that favored his party. 1858 - A French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes. 1878 - The first U.S. bicycle club, Boston Bicycle Club, was formed. 1929 - The Lateran Treaty was signed. Italy now recognized the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City. 1936 - Pumping began the process to build San Franciscos Treasure Island. 1937 - General Motors agreed to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union, which ended the current sit-down strike against them. 1940 - NBC radio presented The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street for the first time. 1943 - General Dwight David Eisenhower was selected to command the allied armies in Europe. 1945 - During World War II, the Yalta Agreement was signed by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin. 1957 - The NHL Players Association was formed in New York City. 1958 - Ruth Carol Taylor was the first black woman to become a stewardess by making her initial flight. 1960 - Jack Paar walked off while live on the air on the Tonight Show with four minutes left. He did this in response to censors cutting out a joke from the show the night before. 1968 - The new 20,000 seat Madison Square Garden officially opened in New York. This was the fourth Garden. 1972 - McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. and Life magazine canceled plans to publish an autobiography of Howard Hughes. The work turned out to be fake. 1975 - Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to head a major party in Britain when she was elected leader of the Conservative Party. 1979 - Nine days after the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran (after 15 years in exile) power was seized by his followers. 1982 - ABC-TV’s presentation of The Winds of War concluded. The 18-hour miniseries cost $40 million to produce and was the most-watched television program in history at the time. 1982 - France nationalized five groups of major industries and 39 banks. 1984 - The tenth Space Shuttle mission returned to Earth safely. 1989 - Rev. Barbara C. Harris became the first woman to be consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal Church. 1990 - Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity. 1990 - In Tokyo, Japan, James Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the tenth round to win the heavyweight championship. 1993 - Janet Reno was appointed to the position of attorney general by U.S. President Clinton. She was the first female to hold the position. 2000 - The space shuttle Endeavor took off. The mission was to gather information for the most detailed map of the earth ever made. 2000 - Great Britain suspended self-rule in Northern Ireland after the Irish Republican Army (IRA) failed to begin decommissioning (disarming) by a February deadline. 2002 - The six stars on NBCs Friends signed a deal for $24 million each for the ninth and final season of the series. 2006 - In Texas, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a quail hunt. 2009 - John Dingell of Michigan became the longest serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He had more than 53 years of service. Music History 1830 - Composer Peter Arnold Heise was born. 1830 - Composer Hans Bronsart von Schellendorf was born. 1916 - The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presented its first concert. The symphony was the first by a municipal orchestra to be supported by taxes. 1963 - The Beatles recorded Twist & Shout and I Saw Her Standing There. 1964 - The Beatles played their first U.S. concert at the Collisseum in Washington, DC. 1966 - Cher recorded Bang Bang. 1967 - The Monkees announced that they would be playing all the instruments on all future recordings. 1970 - The film The Magic Christian, featuring Ringo Starr debuted in New York City. 1970 - John Lennon paid 1,344 pounds in fines for protesting the South African rugby team playing in Scotland. 1972 - David Bowie performed as Ziggy Stardust for the first time. 1979 - The TV movie Elvis, with Kurt Russell, aired on ABC. 1983 - The Rolling Stones concert film Lets Spend the Night Together opened in New York. 1986 - Boy George guest-stared on an episode of The A-Team. 1986 - The single Superbowl Shuffle by the Chicago Bears Shufflin Crew was certified gold by the RIAA. 1994 - Prince premiered his song The Most Beautiful Girl in the World on the 1994 Miss USA Pageant. Birthdays Lydia Child 1802 Thomas Alva Edison 1847 - Inventor and businessman. His inventions included the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb John Mills (The Mills Brothers) 1889 Josh White 1908 Joseph Mankiewicz 1909 Matt Dennis 1914 Sidney Sheldon 1917 Eva Gabor 1921 - Actress Lloyd Bentsen 1921 Kim Stanley 1925 Dr. Virginia Johnson 1925 Leslie Nielson 1926 - Actor Conrad Janis 1928 - Actor (Mork and Mindy) Larry Merchant 1931 Mary Quant 1934 Tina Louise 1934 - Actress (Gilligans Island) Gerry Goffin 1935 - Songwriter Gene Vincent 1935 Sergio Mendes 1941 - Bandleader Burt Reynolds 1936 - Actor (Smokey and the Bandit) Bobby Boris Pickett 1938 Otis Clay 1942 Jeb Bush 1953 - Governor of Florida, brother of U.S. President George W. Bush Phillip Anglim 1953 Catherin Hickland 1956 Carey Lowell 1961 - Actress (Law and Order) Sheryl Crow 1962 - Singer, musician Sarah Palin 1964 - Governor of Alaska Jennifer Aniston 1969 - Actress (Friends) Damian Lewis 1971 - Actor (Band of Brothers) DAngelo 1974 Brice Beckham 1976 Michael Kenji Mike Shinoda 1977 - Musician (Linkin Park) Brandy (Norwood) 1979 - Singer, actress Matthew Lawrence 1980 - Actor Kelendria Kelly Rowland 1981 - Singer (Destinys Child) Taylor Lautner 1992 - Actor (Twilight, New Moon) Today in Disaster History 1978 - In Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, 42 people died when a Pacific Western Airlines flight overran the runway after avoiding hitting a snowplow on the runway. Seven people survived the crash. 1999 - In Afghanistan, 70 people were killed in an earthquake. Today in Sports History 1878 - The first U.S. bicycle club, Boston Bicycle Club, was formed. 1922 - The Toronto St. Patricks and the Ottawa Senators recorded the first tie game in NHL history. 1957 - The NHL Players Association was formed in New York City. Ted Lindsay (Detroit Red Wings) was elected as president. 1966 - Willie Mays became the highest paid player in baseball. He signed a two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants for $130,000 a year. 1968 - The new 20,000 seat Madison Square Garden officially opened in New York. This was the fourth Garden. 1971 - Jean Beliveau (Montreal Canadiens) scored his 500th career goal. 1973 - The Philadelphia 76ers lost their 20th game of a twenty-game losing streak. 1984 - Wayne Gretzky set an NHL record when he scored his 11th short handed goal of the season. 1986 - The single Superbowl Shuffle by the Chicago Bears Shufflin Crew was certified gold by the RIAA. 1990 - In Tokyo, Japan, James Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the tenth round to win the heavyweight championship. 2003 - Mike Modano (Dallas Stars) became only the second American-born NHL player to play in 1,000 games with the same team. All of Modanos games had come with the Minnesota North Stars and Dallas Stars. Brian Leetch (New York Rangers) was the first American-born player to play in 1,000 NHL games.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 05:40:26 +0000
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