» » This day from the past, December 30th, is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There is one day remaining until the end of the year. → 1650 - Fire destroys Ursuline convent at Québec. → 1731 - First US music concert (Peter Pelhams great room in Boston). → 1803 - The United States took formal possession of the territory of Louisiana. → 1809 - Wearing masks at balls forbidden in Boston. → 1816 - On this day, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin wed. The pair had run away together in July 1814, but because Shelley was already married they were unable to marry for two years, until the death of Shelleys wife. → 1817 - First coffee planted in Hawaii. → 1834 - Fire destroys Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada at York, Toronto, Ontario. → 1853 - Southern U.S. border established. James Gadsden, the U.S. minister to Mexico, and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the president of Mexico, sign the Gadsden Purchase in Mexico City. The treaty settled the dispute over the location of the Mexican border west of El Paso, Texas, and established the final boundaries of the southern United States. For the price of $15 million, later reduced to $10 million, the United States acquired approximately 30,000 square miles of land in what is now southern New Mexico and Arizona. → 1861 - Britain despatches the 62nd Wiltshire Regiment to St. Andrews, New Brunswick; all told, 6,000 British troops land at Saint John, NB with orders to march overland to the Canada’s - in defence of a possible American invasion; a response to the Trent Crisis, where the Union seized two Confederate diplomats from a British vessel on the high seas, St. Andrews, New Brunswick. → 1862 - On this day, the ‘U.S.S. Monitor’ sinks in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Just nine months earlier, the ship had been part of a revolution in naval warfare when the ironclad dueled to a standstill with the ‘C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimack)’ off Hampton Roads, Virginia, in one of the most famous naval battles in American history--the first time two ironclads faced each other in a naval engagement. → 1865 - Rudyard Kipling born, (novelist, short story author, poet: Nobel Prize for Literature [1907]; The Jungle Book, Captains Courageous, Wee Willie Winkie and other Stories, Gunga Din; dies Jan 18, 1936). → 1867 - Simon Guggenheim born, (philanthropist: established the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation providing grants to scientists, scholars, artists; dies Nov 2, 1941). → 1869 - Stephen Leacock born in Swanmore, in the county of Hampshire in southern England., (humorist: Literary Lapses, Nonsense Novels, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town; dies of throat cancer in Toronto on Mar 28, 1944). → 1879 - Gilbert & Sullivans Pirates of Penzance premieres. → 1884 - Hideki Tojo born, (Prime Minister of Japan; WWII war criminal, hanged Dec 22, 1948). → 1895 - Vincent Lopez born, (bandleader: played at NYC’s Astor Hotel, some of the greats started with him: Artie Shaw, Buddy Morrow, Buddy Clark; dies Sep 20, 1975). → 1896 - Canadian ice hockey player Ernie McLea scores the first hat-trick in Stanley Cup play, and the Cup-winning goal as the Montreal Victorias defeat the Winnipeg Victorias 6–5. → 1914 - Bert Parks (Jacobson) born, (radio/TV host: Miss America Pageant, Break the Bank, Stop the Music; dies Feb 2, 1992). → 1914 - Jo Van Fleet born, (Academy Award-winning actress: East of Eden [1955]; The Rose Tattoo, Cool Hand Luke, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Cinderella; dies June 10, 1996). → 1916 - World War I - Sometime over the course of the night and the early morning of December 29-30, 1916, Grigory Efimovich Rasputin, a self-proclaimed holy man, is murdered by Russian nobles eager to end his influence over the royal family. → 1917 - State record low temperature of -37° in Lewisburg, West Virginia. → 1918 - John E Hoover decides to be called J Edgar Hoover. → 1920 - Jack Lord (John Joseph Patrick Ryan) born, (actor: Hawaii Five-O, Stoney Burke, God’s Little Acre, Dr. No, The Doomsday Flight; dies Jan 21, 1998 [age 77]). → 1922 - In post-revolutionary Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established, comprising a confederation of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation (divided in 1936 into the Georgian, Azerbaijan, and Armenian republics). Also known as the Soviet Union, the new communist state was the successor to the Russian Empire and the first country in the world to be based on Marxist socialism. → 1924- Edwin Hubble announces existence of other Milky Way systems. → 1927 - The first subway in the Orient was dedicated in Tokyo, Japan. Many people had worried that the ground under Tokyo was too soft for a subway, but their fears proved unfounded as the Tokyo Underground Railway Company opened the first section of the subway between Ueno and Asakusa. → 1928 - Bo Diddley (Otha Ellas Bates McDaniel) born, (singer: Bo Diddley, I’m a Man, Say Man, Diddey Wah Diddey; dies Jun 2, 2008). → 1931 - Skeeter Davis (Mary Frances Penick) born, (singer: I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know, The End of the World, I Can’t Stay Mad at You; dies Sep 19, 2004). → 1934 - Del Shannon (Charles Westover) born, (singer: Runaway, Hat’s Off to Larry, Little Town Flirt, Keep Searchin’ [We’ll Follow the Sun]; songwriter: I Go to Pieces; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [Mar 15, 1999]; dies Feb 8, 1990). → 1936 - The famous feud between Jack Benny and Fred Allen was ignited. After a 10-year-old performer finished a violin solo on The Fred Allen Show, Mr. Allen said, “A certain alleged violinist should hide his head in shame for his poor fiddle playing.” It didn’t take long for Mr. Benny to respond. The humorous feud lasted for ten weeks on both comedian’s radio shows. → 1937 - John Hartford born, (Grammy Award-winning songwriter: Gentle on My Mind [1966]; musician: banjo, fiddle, guitar: Glenn Campbell’s Good Time Comedy Hour; dies Jun 4, 2001). → 1937 - (Noel) Paul Stookey born, (singer: The Wedding Song; group: Peter, Paul and Mary: Blowin’ in the Wind, Puff the Magic Dragon, I Dig Rock ’n’ Roll Music, Leavin’ on a Jet Plane). → 1938 - Electronic television system patented by V K Zworykin. → 1940 - The Arroyo Seco Parkway (between Los Angeles and Pasadena) was dedicated by Los Angeles, California Mayor Fletcher Bowron. It was the first freeway in the western U.S. The Pasadena Freeway, as it was known from 1954-2010, was designated as a historic engineering landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1999. → 1941 - World War II - Winston Churchill arrives in Ottawa after his talks with President Roosevelt over strategy to win the war with Germany. In his Chateau Laurier studio, Yousef Karsh snaps his famous photo of a scowling Churchill - by telling him to pose without his cigar. In a speech to Parliament that evening, he quips, Hitler thought that England would have her neck wrung like a chicken... Some chicken... some neck. → 1942 - Mr. and Mrs. North debuted on NBC radio. Joseph Curtin played Jerry North and Alice Frost played Pam. A typical Mr. and Mrs. North episode would find Pam leading Jerry on what seemed to be a wild-goose chase as they tracked down criminals. Pam always ended up being right and leading police to the criminals. The theme song for the show was The Way You Look Tonight. Sponsors included Woodbury soap, Jergens lotion and Halo shampoo. → 1942 - Frank Sinatra opened at New York’s Paramount Theatre for what was scheduled to be a 4-week engagement (his shows turned out to be so popular that he was booked for an additional 4 weeks). An estimated 400 policemen were called out to help curb the excitement. It is said that some of the teenage girls were hired to scream, but many more screamed for free. Sinatra was dubbed ‘The Sultan of Swoon’, ‘The Voice that Thrills Millions’, and just ‘The Voice’. Whatever he was, it was at this Paramount Theatre engagement that modern pop hysteria was born. → 1942 - Michael Nesmith born, (guitarist: group: The Monkees; wrote: Different Drum; formed: The First National Band: Joanne; movie producer: Repo Man, Elephant Parts: the first Grammy-winning video). → 1945 - Davy Jones (David Thomas Jones) born, (singer: group: The Monkees: Last Train to Clarksville, I’m a Believer, Daydream Believer; actor: UK version: Godspell; dies Feb 29, 2012). → 1948 - Alfred Drake and Patricia Morrison starred in Kiss Me Kate which opened at the New Century Theatre in New York City. Cole Porter composed the music for the classic play that was adapted from Shakespeare’s comedy, The Taming of the Shrew. The show ran for 1,077 performances on the Great White Way. → 1950 - “The Tennessee Waltz by Patti Page topped the charts. → 1954 - Pearl Bailey opened on Broadway in the play, House of Flowers, about two madams with rival bordellos. Diahann Carroll was also cast in the play, written by Truman Capote. Harold Arlen provided the musical score. → 1954 - James Arness made his dramatic TV debut on the Lux Video Theatre in The Chase. (The Gunsmoke series didn’t begin for Arness until the fall of 1955.) → 1961 - The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens topped the charts. → 1963 - Congress authorizes the Kennedy half dollar. → 1963 - Lets Make A Deal debuts on NBC-TV. → 1967 - Beatles Hello Goodbye single goes #1 & stays #1 for 3 weeks. → 1967 - Chart Toppers - ‘Hello Goodbye’ - The Beatles; ‘Woman, Woman’ - The Union Gap; ‘Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)’ - John Fred & His Playboy Band; ‘For Loving You’ - Bill Anderson & Jan Howard. → 1967 - Death of Vincent Massey, the first Canadian born Governor General of Canada. → 1968 State record low temperature of -48° in Mazama & Winthrop, WA. → 1969 - Peter, Paul and Mary received a gold record for the single, Leaving On a Jet Plane. → 1970 - Paul McCartney sued the other three Beatles to dissolve the partnership and gain control of his interest. The suit touched off a bitter feud between McCartney and the others, especially his cowriter on many of the Beatles compositions, John Lennon. The partnership officially came to end in 1974. → 1970 - Sonny Liston dies, American boxer (b. 1932). → 1971 - Groupe Placement Rondelle Ltée. acquires the Club de hockey du Canadien de Montréal from brothers David, Peter et William Molson with the sale of the Canadian Arena Company (the team and the Montreal Forum). → 1972 - President Nixon halts bombing of North Vietnam & announces peace talks. → 1972 - Me and Mrs. Jones by Billy Paul topped the charts. → 1972 - Vietnam War - Negotiations to resume in Paris. Officials in Washington, D.C., announce that the peace talks in Paris between National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho will resume on January 2. → 1974 - Beatles are legally disbanded (4 years after suit was brought) → 1975 - (Eldrick) ‘Tiger’ Woods born, (golf: champ: Masters [1997, 2001], US Open [2000], British Open [2000], PGA [1999, 2000]; first player to win four consecutive majors (2000-2001: US Open, British Open, PGA, Masters]). → 1976 - The Smothers Brothers, Tom and Dick, played their last show at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and retired as a team from show business. Each continued as a solo artist. They reunited years later for another stab at TV (on NBC) plus concert appearances that proved very successful. → 1977 - For the second time, Ted Bundy escapes from his cell in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. → 1978 - Le Freak by Chic topped the charts. → 1978 - Ohio State dismisses Woody Hayes as its football coach. → 1980 - The Selective Service System sent a warning to Mickey Mouse at Disneyland in Anaheim, California: Register for the draft or else! The Selective Service said that Mickey was in violation of registration compliance. Of course, Mickey, age 52 at the time, sent in his registration card proving that he’s a World War II veteran. → 1980 - Wonderful World of Disney last performance on NBC-TV. → 1981 - Wayne Gretzky scores five goals, including his 50th of the season into an empty net, leading the Edmonton Oilers to a 7-5 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Scoring in only his 39th game of the season, Gretzky becomes the First player to reach the mark in fewer than 50 games, shattering Maurice Richards NHL record. → 1982 - An uncommon sight in the sky this night, as a ‘blue moon’ appeared. It was not really a blue moon, but one unobstructed by pollution and haze -- appearing grayish in color. It was the second full moon of the month; a rare event that attracted many sky watchers. Now you know where the expression, “once in a blue moon” came from. → 1988 - Reagan and President-elect Bush subpoenaed to testify in the trial of Oliver North. → 1989 - Another Day in Paradise by Phil Collins topped the charts.→ 1993 - After some 2,000 years of rocky Jewish-Christian relations, the Holy See and the State of Israel signed an agreement to recognize each other. The agreement was seen as a significant step forward in relations between the Vatican and Israel. → 1998 - Hi-Lo Country (“A woman like Mona can drive men to extremes.”) opened in U.S. theatres. The flick stars Woody Harrelson, Billy Crudup, Patricia Arquette (as Mona), Cole Hauser, James Gammon, Penelope Cruz, Sam Elliott, Enrique Castillo, John Diehl, Darren Burrows and Jacob Vargas. → 2006 - Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein is executed. → 2009 - Bloodiest day of the year for Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, as 4 soldiers and one Journalist are killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while on a Community Security Patrol. The journalist was 34 year old Michelle Lang, a native of Vancouver, BC, who had been in Afghanistan just two weeks on a rotational assignment for the Calgary Herald. In 2008, Lang won a national journalism award for best beat reporter. → Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...Ω
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 11:16:04 +0000
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