March 12 1755 - The first reported use of the steam engine was made -- in North Arlington, NJ. 1884 - The State of Mississippi authorized the first state-supported college for women. It was called the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College. 1889 - Almon B. Strowger stepped up to the counter at the U.S. Patent Office to file for his invention, the automatic telephone system. The system was installed in Laporte, IN in 1892. It worked, but not well enough. Mr. Bell’s invention was deemed much more reliable. Good thing or we would have been complaining about Ma Stowger for years and years. 1933 - Eight days after he was inaugurated, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented his first presidential address to the nation. It was the first of what were called Roosevelt’s famous Fireside Chats. The name, incidentally, was coined by newsman, Robert Trout. He thought that the President sounded as if he was sitting with us in living rooms all over the nation next to a roaring fire, just telling it like it was. These frequent, soothing, down-to-earth talks helped bolster President Roosevelt’s enormous popularity for four terms in office, making him, many say, the greatest President of the century, if not of all time. 1935 - Parimutuel betting became a reality as horse race bets were legalized in the state of Nebraska. There are still U.S. states where horse racing, betting or other forms of legalized gambling still ‘nag’ legislatures, despite the fact that other states have been participating in these activities for decades. 1939 - Artie Shaw and his band recorded the standard, Deep Purple (with Helen Forrest singing the vocal), in New York for the Bluebird label. Larry Clinton and his orchestra had a number one song with a similar arrangement of the same tune that same year. It later was a hit for saxophonist, Nino Tempo and his sister, April Stevens in 1963. Hundreds of versions of this song have been recorded through the years, making it one of the most popular standards of all time. 1951 - “Mr. Wiiiiillllssssson!” The comic strip, Dennis the Menace, appeared for the first time in 16 newspapers across the U.S. The strip became an international favorite in thousands of newspapers and spawned a CBS-TV program that starred Jay North as Dennis. The series lasted for several seasons and is still seen in syndicated re-runs. A somewhat popular movie starring Walter Matthau as Mr. Wilson and Christopher Lloyd as the bad guy was released in 1993. 1955 - One of the great groups of jazz appeared for the first time at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The Dave Brubeck Quartet presented a magnificent concert for jazz fans. Joining with Brubeck, in what would become one of the most popular concert draws on college campuses, were names that would become legends in their own right, including Paul Desmond on alto sax, Joe Morello on drums and Eugene Wright on bass. 1966 - Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks became the first player in the National Hockey League to score more than 50 goals a single season. 1969 - Wedding bells rang in London for singer, Paul McCartney and his new bride, photographer, Linda Eastman. 1974 - Wonder Woman, the TV movie, came to ABC-TV, starring ... are you ready??? Cathy Lee Crosby. In November 1975, another Wonder Woman TV movie aired starring Lynda Carter. Eventually, after a series of specials, Wonder Woman became a regular CBS-TV show, still starring Lynda Carter in the title role. Wonder Woman’s real name, for those who have lost sleep wondering about such trivia, was Yeoman Diana Prince. As a bonus, Wonder Girl, Diana’s kid sister Druscilla, was played by Debra Winger. How about that? 1985 - Auto dealer Tom Benson and several investors plunked down some cash to buy the New Orleans Saints football team. The bankroll was quite substantial -- about $64 million -- making quite a hurricane in the French Quarter. 1985 - Larry Bird, of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, scored a club-record 60 points in a 126-116 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Bird broke the record previously held by teammate Kevin McHale, who scored 56 points just nine days earlier. 1987 - Both Coca-Cola and Boeing Company joined the rank and file of the Dow Jones Industrials this day. The 30-stock average said “adieu” to the stock of Owens-Illinois Glass and Inco Ltd. to make room for the new issues.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 17:03:11 +0000
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