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February 8th
1587 - Died this day, Mary, Queen of Scots (1560-1587), executed. After 19 years of imprisonment, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded for treason at Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire. For her part in a plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I. 1725 - Peter the Great of Russia died and was succeeded by Catherine I. His reign saw Russia drawn increasingly into the European sphere of influence. 1802 - Simon Willard patented the banjo clock. 1861 - The southern states which had seceded from the Union agree to set up the Confederate States of America. 1862 - Union forces took Roanoke Island, North Carolina, from the Confederacy during the American Civil War. 1863 - Prussia allied with Russia to suppress the revolution in Poland. 1878 - A peace agreement was proposed by Spanish General Arsenio Martinez Campos which was accepted by the majority of the House of Representatives, the official body of the Spanish ruled Republic of Cuba in Arms. 1883 - On this day, Louis Waterman began the series of experiments that led to his invention of the fountain pen. 1887 - The Aurora Ski Club of Red Wing, Minnesota, became the first ski club in the United States. 1896 - The Western Conference was formed by representatives of Midwestern universities. Later, the group changed its name to the Big 10 Conference. 1904 - The Russo-Japanese war broke out, when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur in northeast China. It was provoked by Russian penetration in Manchuria and Korea. 1906 - Tahiti and the Cook Islands were hit by a cyclone. 10,000 were killed by 192 km/h (120mph) winds. 1910 - Boy Scouts of America were founded in Washington, DC, by William Boyce. 1913 - Adolphe Pegoud earned his pilot's license. 1915 - On this date in 1915, Director D.W. Griffith's film Birth of a Nation premiered at Clune's Auditorium in Los Angeles. The Civil War epic, which cost $100,000 and ran nearly three hours, used revolutionary film making techniques, including multiple camera angles. The film provoked an outcry from liberals and black leaders, who objected to the film's sympathetic portrayal of members of the Ku Klux Klan and demonization of Southern blacks. Despite attempts by several groups to ban the film, the picture became a financial success, drawing long lines willing to pay the unprecedented price of $2 a ticket. One of the songs in the movie's score, The Perfect Song, became the first musical hit generated by a movie. 1918 - The Stars and Stripes, the weekly newspaper of the American Expeditionary Forces, was published for the first time. 
1921 - Born this day, Lana Turner, actress. Sweater Girl of the 1940s, her father was murdered when Lana was eight. Had seven husbands included Lex Barker and Artie Shaw and starred in 15 1950s movies, with one Oscar nomination for Peyton Place in 1957.
1924 - The gas chamber was used for the first time as a form of execution. Gee Jon was put to death in Nevada for murder. 1924 - General John Joseph Carty, of the Bell Telephone System, spoke in Chicago, Illinois. His speech was carried across the nation on the first coast-to-coast radio hookup. An estimated 50-million people heard the speech. 1925 - Born this day, Jack Lemmon, US actor. 1927 - The original version of the motion picture, Getting Gertie’s Garter, opened at the Hippodrome Theatre in New York City. The movie centered on a young lawyer who, believe it or not, didn’t know the difference between a bracelet and a garter. 1931 - Born this day, cult movie actor James Dean in Marion, Indiana. He made just three films before he died in a car crash in England. 1932 - Born this day, John Williams, film score composer (Jaws, Star Wars). 1936 - Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected president of the Indian National Congress. 1936 - The first National Football League draft was held. Jay Berwanger was the first to be selected. He went to the Philadelphia Eagles. 1937 - In the Spanish Civil War, General Franco captured Malaga with the help of 15,000 Italians. 1941 - Born this day, Nick Nolte, US actor. 1942 - Dr. Albert Speer succeeded Dr. Fritz Todt as German minister for armaments and war production. Todt was killed in a plane crash. 1943 - Advancing Russian troops recaptured Kursk, which they had lost to the Germans in November 1941. 1946 - Born this day, Adolpho De La Para, drums, Canned Heat, 1970 UK No.2 single Let's Work Together. 1948 - Born this day, Dan Seals, England Dan & John Ford Coley, 1976 US No.2 and UK No.26 single I'd Really Love To See You Tonight. 1949 - Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty, Primate of Hungary, was sentenced to life imprisonment for anti-state activities. 1953 - Film actress June Haver, age 26, renounced her Hollywood career to enter the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity convent in Xavier, Kansas. 1955 - Born this day, John Grisham, author. 1955 - Born this day, Gail Tatterson Gladding, WBL center (New York Stars). 1955 - Russians learned they had a new premier today when the USSR's Defense Minister, Marshal Nikolai Bulganin, replaced the Prime Minister of almost two years, Georgi Malenkov. While Bulganin may be the Soviet Union's leader by title, no-one doubts that the real power in the land is now Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the all-powerful Communist Party. 1956 - Buddy Holly signed a recording contract with Decca Records. The contract left off the 'E' in his last name, Holley, so he dropped it from his stage name as well. 1960 - Congressional investigators began exploring, as investigators for the government so frequently do, the influence of payola in the radio and record industries. Alan Freed and American Bandstand host, Dick Clark, among others, were called to testify. 1961 - The BBC announced that it was to drop Children's Hour from radio in April 1961. It started in 1922. 1961 - Born this day, Vince Neil, vocals, Motley Crue, 1988 UK No.23 single You're All I Need and 1989 US No.1 album Dr Feelgood. 1962 - Born this day, Ken McCluskey, drums, The Bluebells, 1993 UK No.1 single with the re-issued Young At Heart. 1963 - Lamar Hunt, owner of the American Football League franchise in Dallas, Texas, moved the operation to Kansas City. He named the new team, the Chiefs. Dallas got possession of an NFL franchise known as the Cowboys. 1963 - Iraqi President Abdel-Karim Kassem was overthrown and killed in a military coup. 1963 - Born this day, Mohammad Azharuddin, cricketer. 1964 - The Ronettes greeted The Beatles on their first visit to the US interviewing them for radio. 1964 - The publisher of Louie Louie offered $1,000 to anyone who could find suggestive lyrics in the song. 1965 - The Government announced a ban on cigarette advertising on TV following a campaign by health pressure groups. 1965 - The Supremes' Stop in the Name of Love was released in the US. 1966 - The United States and Vietnam issued the Declaration of Honolulu, outlining their aims for Vietnam. 1967 - Singing duo Peter and Gordon split up. 1968 - Planet of the Apes was released in the US. Linda Harrison played Nova, Charlton Heston's silent love interest. She didn't speak in the Apes movies until the sequel, when she screamed one word - 'Taylor!' 1969 - The last issue of the Saturday Evening Post was published on this day, ending a magazine tradition that began in 1821. 1969 - Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood formed Blind Faith. 1969 - TBC by The Supremes with Temptations went to No.1 on the US album chart. 1973 - Died this day, Max Yasgur, in Marathon, Florida, of a heart attack aged 53. In 1969 his dairy farm was the site of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival (known to most of the world simply as Woodstock) that has become an icon of the 1960's, he offered his land for the festival over the objection of local officials. 1974 - America's final Skylab mission, with Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue, returned to earth. 1974 - Born this day, De Homem Christo, Daft Punk, remixed for Gabrielle, Chemical Brothers. 1975 - Bob Dylan went to No.1 on the US album chart with Blood On The Tracks. 1975 - Engelbert Humperdink started a three week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with his Greatest Hits collection. 1977 - Born this day, Dave 'Phoenix' Ferrel, bass, Linkin Park, 2002 US No.2 and UK No.4 single In The End, 2002 US No.2 and 2001 UK No.4 album Hybrid Theory. 1978 - BBC Children's TV showed the first episode of Phil Redmond's Grange Hill. 1979 - The United States suspended all civilian aid to Nicaragua. 1980 - The divorce became final between David and Angie Bowie, he won custody of their son Zowie, now known as Joe and Angie received a £30,000 settlement. 1981 - R.E.M. recorded their first sessions at Bombay Studios Smyrna, Georgia. 1981 - Born this day, Ralf Little, actor. 1982 - Cher opened on Broadway in Come Back To the Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. 1983 - The Kahan Report on the Beirut Sabra and Shatila massacres in September 1982, condemned the Israeli government and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. 1983 - Singer Kim Wilde won the best British female artist at the second annual Brit Awards. 1983 - Race horse Shergar, winner of the 1981 Derby, was taken from his stable in the Irish Republic and a £2m ransom demanded. He has never been seen again. Lloyd's of London paid out £6 million insurance. 1984 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of the Los Angeles Lakers, scored 27 points while leading his team to a 111-109 victory over the Boston Celtics. Abdul-Jabbar passed Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA career record of 12,682 field goals. 1984 - The Winter Olympics opened in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina). Some 1,579 athletes from 50 nations participated. The Olympic facilities have since been all but destroyed by the war in Bosnia. 1985 - The Dukes of Hazzard ended its 6-1/2 year run on CBS television. The series was credited with using more stunt men than any other TV series in history. The show would use as many as eight cars per episode when the crash sequences got complicated. Waylon Jennings did the theme song, The Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol’ Boys). 1985 - On this date in 1985, Marvin Miller, who starred in the classic television drama, The Millionaire passed away. Miller played Michael Anthony, the dutiful 'right-hand-man' of John Beresford Tipton, a fabulously wealthy philanthropist. Anthony helped the mysterious multibillionaire, who was heard but never seen, dole out million-dollar-checks to needy strangers. The money came tax-free and with few strings attached, save for the simple provision that, outside of their spouses, recipients were never to reveal the details of their newfound wealth to anyone. It was an undeniably appealing fantasy and struck a chord with viewers: the series ran on CBS for five years from 1955 to 1960 and won Miller a small legion of fans. Viewers often wrote to the actor and requested their own million dollar checks; Miller would reply with a check (cheque) worth 'a million dollars of good luck'. 1986 - Billy Olson, who actually claimed that he was afraid of heights, broke an indoor pole vault record for the seventh time in four months. He vaulted 19 feet, 5-1/2 inches. 1986 - Billy Ocean started a four week run at No.1 with a song featured in the film The Jewel Of The Nile, When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going. The video was banned in the UK because it featured non-musician union members. 1987 - The West beat the East, in the NBA All-Star Game, by setting a record for total points scored. The West won 154-149 in overtime. 1988 - The Who, minus the late Keith Moon, reunited for their 25th anniversary, at a London awards ceremony. 1989 - A Boeing 707 crashed into a mountain on Santa Maria Island, The Azores. 1990 - CBS News put 60 Minutes' popular commentator Andy Rooney on a three-months' leave after receiving complaints that he had offended blacks and homosexuals with some off-the-cuff comments that were perceived as being bigoted. 1990 - Died this day, Del Shannon, of self inflicted gunshot wounds. 1992 - UK act Right Said Fred started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with I'm Too Sexy, it was a No.2 hit in the UK. 1992 - Wet Wet Wet scored their second UK No.1 album with High On The Happy Side. 1993 - Julian Cope raised over £2,500 for Lynx the anti-fur campaigners after selling raffle tickets to win his trade mark-microphone stand. 1993 - Tom Jones guested on NBC-TV's The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. 1993 - The newly divided Czech and Slovak republics began using separate currencies for the first time. 1994 - Oasis were forced to cancel their first foreign tour after they were deported from Holland for being involved in a drunken brawl on a cross-channel ferry. 1997 - LL Cool J went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with Ain't Nobody. 1997 - Reef went to No.1 on the UK album charts with their debut album Glow. 1998 - Chumbawamba singer Danbert Nobacon threw a plastic bucket full of cold water over UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott during the Brit Awards, in London. 2001 - Eminem made his live UK concert debut at The Manchester Arena. 2002 - Died this day, Bob Wooler, resident DJ and booker at Liverpool's Cavern Club during the early 60's. 2002 - Former Minister for Europe Keith Vaz faced a month-long suspension from the House of Commons for 'serious breaches' of the MPs' code of conduct. |
Trivia
Trivia - petty details or considerations, matters or things that are very unimportant, inconsequential, or nonessential; trifles; trivialities.
Trivial - of very little importance or value; insignificant: "Don't bother me with trivial matters." Trivially - unimportant, nugatory, slight, immaterial, inconsequential, frivolous, trifling.