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February 14th
c270 - Saint Valentine was martyred by Roman Emperor Claudius II. 1014 - Pope Benedict VIII was crowned Henry II as Holy Roman Emperor. 1400 - King Richard II of England, deposed from the throne the previous year, died mysteriously in Pontefract Castle. 1477 - The world's first known valentine was sent to John Paston from Margery Brews, addressed "To my right welbelovyd Voluntyne." 1779 - Died this day, Captain Cook, British explorer, was murdered by natives in Owyhee (now known as Hawaii), when he went to retrieve a stolen rowing boat. 1797 - The British fleet, under Admirals John Jervis and Horatio Nelson, defeated the Spanish at the battle of St. Vincent off Portugal. 1803 - Moses Coats received a patent for the apple parer. 1819 - Born this day, Christopher Sholes, US inventor of the typewriter. 1824 - Born this day, Winfield Scott Hancock, Civil War general. Died in 1886. 1849 - The first photograph of a US President was taken by Matthew Brady in New York City. President James Polk was the subject of the famous picture. 1852 - Great Ormond Street children's hospital accepted its first patient. 1859 - Oregon was admitted as the 33rd state. 1859 - Born this day, George Ferris, inventor. Died in 1896. 1864 - Born this day, Israel Zangwill, writer, celebrated portrayer of the humorous as well as the tragic side of Jewish life in England. Died 1 August 1926 in Midhurst, West Sussex, England. He was the son of immigrants and grew up in London's East End. He graduated from the University of London, and became the most popular Jewish writer of his time. His many books include Children of the Ghetto and The King of Schnorrers. Through his books he introduced Jewish life and culture to a broader Gentile audience. Zangwill was also the author of the most famous metaphor to describe America. In his 1908 play, The Melting Pot he wrote, America is God's crucible, the great melting pot where all the races of Europe are melting and reforming. Zangwill also became the most famous Zionist of his day, devoting his life to the cause of helping Jews return to their ancient homeland. 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent on the telephone, an 'Improvement in Telegraphy', on Valentine's Day. 1884 - At the home of Theodore Roosevelt in New York City, his mother died of typhoid fever and his wife Alice died of Bright's disease, both on Valentine's Day, 1884. 1893 - Hawaii was annexed to the US by treaty, but the treaty was withdrawn by President Grover Cleveland. 1894 - Born this day, Jack Benny [Benjamin Kubelsky], comedian, vaudeville. Died in 1974. 1895 - The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde had its premier in London. 1899 - Voting machines for use in federal elections were approved by the US Congress. Florida abstained from the vote. It was a decision which eventually came back to haunt America, with the problems of the last Presidential election poll count. 1912 - The first diesel engine submarine was commissioned in Groton, Connecticut. 1912 - Arizona was admitted as the the 48th state. 1913 - Born this day, Mel Allen [Israel], sportscaster. Died in 1996. 1918 - The motion picture, Tarzan of the Apes, was released. The film was based on a series of stories written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The movie focused on 10-year-old Gordon Griffith who played Tarzan as a boy. An older Tarzan was played by Elmo Lincoln. Did you know that a famous baseball player turned down the chance to play the role of Tarzan? True! That famous player was the 'Iron Man' and pride of the New York Yankees, Lou Gehrig. Four Tarzans have won Olympic medals: Johnny Weissmuller, Herman Brix, Buster Crabbe and Glen Morris. It was Johnny Weissmuller who made the Tarzan yell famous. 1919 - The League of Nations, international peacekeeping body was formed with 17 initial member nations. 1920 - The League of Women Voters was formed in Chicago. 1921 - Born this day, Hugh Downs, TV host. 1921 - Born this day, Skeezix Wallet, comic strip character. 1922 - Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi began the first regular radio broadcasting transmission from England. 1923 - Born this day, Donna Atwood, ice skater. 1923 - Born this day, Jay Hebert, golfer. Died in 1997. 1923 - Born this day, Cesare Siepi, opera basso. 1925 - Born this day, Elliot Lawrence [Broza], Emmy Award-winning composer, conductor, musical director. 1927 - Born this day, Lois Maxwell, actress. 1928 - Born this day, Frank Borman, NASA astronaut. 1929 - On this date in 1929, in Chicago, the first organised crime massacre of national notoriety occured when gunmen in the employment of gangster Al Capone murder seven members of the 'Bugs' Moran gang in a garage on North Clark Street. George Bugs Moran was a career criminal who ran the North Side gang in Chicago during the bootlegging era of the 1920s. He fought bitterly with Scarface Al Capone for control of smuggling and trafficking operations in the Windy City. Throughout the 1920s, both survived several attempted murders. On one notorious occasion, Moran's gang drove 10 cars past Capone's headquarters and showered the building with thousands of bullets in the middle of the day. 
Al Capone, who was born in New York, had come to Chicago in the early years of Prohibition and joined organised crime boss John Torrio in the establishment of a lucrative bootleg alcohol business. After murdering most of his opponents, Scarface Capone took over from Torrio, and built a powerful crime syndicate that received tribute from businessmen and politicians and controlled gambling and prostitution in Chicago. However, in the late 1920s, Capone's absolute rule over the city's organised crime was still contested by an old Chicago rival, George Bugs Moran, the head of the North Siders gang.In February of 1929, Capone ordered Moran and his gang eliminated. On February 14, St. Valentine's Day, Capone's hit men lured the Moran gang to a garage on North Clark Street with an offer of buying some high quality whiskey at a low price. After the Moran gang arrived, the assassination squad, dressed in police uniforms, entered the garage pretending to be police raiders. The seven North Siders, apparently caught red-handed, lined up against the wall obediently. Moments later, Capone's men opened fire, killing six of the men instantly and fatally wounding the seventh. 
Bugs Moran himself, who was late for the meeting, spotted the assassins entering the garage in their police uniforms, and so was able to escape. The story of the so-called St. Valentine's Day Massacre caught America's attention, and Al Capone, the obvious perpetuator of the deed, became a household name. Although Capone himself was in Florida at the time, and little is found to directly connect him to the crime, his new notoriety encouraged various law enforcement agencies to step up their investigation of the elusive crime boss. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre actually proved to be the last confrontation for both Capone and Moran. Capone was jailed in 1931 and Moran lost so many important men that he no longer could control his territory. 1929 - Born this day, Vic Morrow, actor. Died on 23 July 1982. 1931 - Born this day, Phyllis McGuire, singer. 1931 - Born this day, Boom Boom [Bernie] Geoffrion, hockey. 1932 - The US won the first bobsled competition at the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, New York. Twelve other teams competed in the event. 1933 - The first telephone speaking clock came into operation in the Paris area. 1934 - Born this day, Florence Henderson, US actress and singer, Broadway star, in Dale, Indiana. She later starred as shag-wearing-mom Carol Brady on the popular The Brady Bunch series, which made its TV debut in 1969. 1935 - Born this day, Mickey [Mary] Wright, golfer, in San Diego, California. 1936 - Born this day, Andrew Prine, actor. 1936 - Born this day, Joan O'Brien, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, actress. She later co-starred with Elvis in It Happened at the World's Fair (1963); others in this movie included future stars Yvonne Craig (Batgirl on Batman), Gary Lockwood (an astronaut in 2001: A Space Odyssey), and Kurt Russell (Backdraft, Tombstone) as the 'boy who kicks Elvis'. 1939 - Born this day, Michael Rudman, theatre director. 1939 - The German navy launched its battleship Bismarck. 1940 - Born this day, Lillie Bryant, of Billy & Lillie (La Dee Dah). 1940 - The first porpoise born in captivity arrived at Marineland in Florida. 1941 - Frank Leahy was named head football coach at Notre Dame. 1941 - Born this day, Donna Shalala, US Secretary of Health and Human Services. 1942 - Born this day, Ricardo Rodriguez, auto racer. 1943 - Born this day, Bob Murphy, golfer. 1943 - In World War II (WWII), the Russians captured Rostov, Voroshilovgrad and Krasny Sulin from the Germans. 1944 - Born this day, Carl Bernstein, US Watergate journalist. 1944 - Born this day, Alan Parker, film director. 1945 - Born this day, Vic Briggs, guitar, The Animals, 1964 UK and US No.1 single House Of The Rising Sun. 1946 - A computer began working at the University of Pennsylvania, taking seconds to do calculations, which normally took hours. It was called ENIAC or Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer. 1946 - Born this day, Gregory Hines, dancer, actor. 1946 - Born this day, Doug Simril, Steve Miller Band, 1974 US No.1 and 1990 UK No.1 single The Joker. 1947 - Born this day, Tim Buckley, singer, songwriter, 1972 album Greetings From LA. Died 29 June 1975 from a heroin and morphine overdose. His singer songwriter son Jeff Buckley drowned while swimming in 1997. 1947 - Born this day, Judd Gregg, US Senator. 1948 - Born this day, Teller, magician. 1949 - Born this day, Ewa Aulin, actress, in Stockholm, Sweden. Candy 1969), Start the Revolution Without Me (1970). 1950 - Born this day, Roger Fisher, musician, guitarist, Heart, 1987 US No.1 and UK No.3 single Alone. 1950 - A 30-year treaty was signed between the Soviet Union and China in Moscow. 1951 - Born this day, Jo Jo [Alicia] Starbuck, ice skater. 1951 - Born this day, Kenny Hyslop, Slik, 1976 UK No.1 single Forever And Ever, Skids, 1979 UK No.10 single Into The Valley, Simple Minds, 1985 US No.1 single Don't You, Forget About Me, 1989 UK No.1 single Belfast Child. 1951 - Born this day, Kevin Keegan, former England football manager. 1956 - Born this day, Tom Watt, actor. 1956 - Born this day, Ken Wahl, actor. 1956 - The 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party opened, during which Nikita Khrushchev denounced the policies of Joseph Stalin. 1957 - Lionel Hampton's only major musical work, King David, made its debut at New York's Town Hall. The four-part symphony jazz suite was conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos. 1958 - King Faisal of Iraq and King Hussein of Jordan proclaimed the merger of their kingdoms in the Arab Federation, with King Faisal as head of state and King Hussein his deputy. 1959 - Cliff Richard was voted the best new singer in the annual New Musical Express (NME) awards. 1959 - Born this day, Ice-T [Tracy Morrow], male rapper, 1993 UK No.21 single That's How I'm Livin'. 1960 - Born this day, Meg Tilley, actress. 1962 - A televised tour of the White House, led by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and hosted by Charles Collingwood, was broadcast simultaneously by CBS and NBC. The tour was watched by an estimated 46,500,000 viewers, offering them their first opportunity to see many of the rooms of the President's home. The First Lady was praised on her astute knowledge of the antique furniture in the White House, as she explained the history of many of the pieces during the tour. 1963 - Harold Wilson became the new leader of the Labour Party at the age of 46. He beat George Brown by 144 to 103 votes in a ballot of the party's MP's. Mr Wilson said, "My mandate is to lead us to victory in the coming general election and I intend to." 1963 - Born this day, Enrico Colantoni, actor. 1964 - Born this day, Zach Galligan, actor. 1964 - Chad and Jeremy guested on ABC-TV's Patty Duke Show. 1966 - Rick Mount of Lebanon, Indiana, became the first high school male athlete, to be pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. 1966 - Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers set a National Basketball Association record as he reached a career high of 20,884 points after seven seasons as a pro basketball player. 1966 - Born this day, Jessica Yu, film-maker. 1967 - Aretha Franklin recorded her most famous song, Respect. 1968 - Manfred Mann started a two week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Bob Dylan song Mighty Quinn. It was a No.10 hit in the US. 1969 - Over 300 fans were injured during a concert by Love Affair and Amen Corner at an ice rink in Glasgow, Scotland. 1969 - Born this day, Helen Baxendale, actress. (Cold Feet?). 1969 - Died this day, Kenneth Horne, radio presenter. (Round the Horne). 1970 - The compilation album Motown Chartbusters Vol 3 went to No.1 on the UK chart, featuring Diana Ross and The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Tempations and The Four Tops. 1970 - The Who appeared at Leeds University, England. The show was recorded for the bands forthcoming Live At Leeds album. 1971 - Born this day, Du'ane Ladejo, athlete. 1972 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono started a week long run as co-hosts on Mike Douglas US TV show. 1972 - Born this day, Rob Thomas, Matchbox 20, 1998 UK No.38 single Push, 2000 US No.1 single Bent. 1972 - The musical Grease, opened at the Eden Theatre in New York City. The play later moved to the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway where it became the longest-running musical to date with 3,388 performances. A hit movie based on the stage play starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and produced the hit song Grease by Frankie Valli, You're the One That I Want and Summer Nights by Travolta and Newton-John. 1972 - The Soviet unmanned spacecraft Luna 20 was launched to the moon. 1972 - 'Steppenwolf Day' was declared in Los Angeles as they announced their breakup. 1972 - Born this day, Drew Bledsoe, American football. 1973 - David Bowie collapsed on stage during a concert at Radio City Music Hall, New York. 1974 - Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille (of Captain And Tennille) married in Virginia City, Nevada, while on a promotion tour of the States. 1974 - The New Seekers split up, during their career the group scored over 10 UK top 40 singles. 1975 - Died this day, Sir P.G. Wodehouse, novelist, writer of the Jeeves series, aged 93. 1976 - Slik had their only UK No.1 single with Forever And Ever. 1977 - Singer and songwriter Janis Ian received 461 Valentine's day cards after indicating in the lyrics of the song At Seventeen, she had never received any. 1977 - The B-52's made their first live performance appearing in a Greenhouse at a Valentines day party in Athens. 1978 - Dire Straits began recording their first album at basing Street Studios, London, the whole project cost £12,500 to produce. 1979 - Twenty-year-old rookie, Don Maloney, of the New York Rangers, scored his first goal in the National Hockey League. It came on his first ever NHL shot! 1979 - The US ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolphe Dubs, was killed when security forces tried to free him from kidnappers. 1979 - The US embassy in Iran was stormed by demonstrators, holding the ambassador and staff captive for several hours. 1980 - The Tourists kicked off a 12 date UK tour at the Gaumont Theatre, Ipswich. Tickets were £3.50. 1980 - A big day for Dan Rather, as Walter Cronkite announced his retirement from the CBS Evening News. Rather had been selected to replace TV's best known and most trusted television journalist. Cronkite announced that Rather would take over the anchor desk early in 1981. 1980 - Lou Reed married Sylvia Morales at a ceremony in his New York apartment. 1980 - Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) married Caroline Crowther the daughter of TV personality Leslie Crowther (Crackerjack, The Price is Right). 1981 - Mike Barson from Madness married his girlfriend Sandra. 1984 - Elton John married Renate Blauer in Sydney, Australia. Rod Stewart and Olivia Newton-John attended. The marriage lasted less than five years. 1984 - Britain's Torville and Dean skated their way to an Olympic gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, scoring maximum points and dancing to Ravel's Bolero. 1987 - The largest crowd to see an NBA game gathered at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. 57,745 folks watched the hometown Detroit Pistons beat the Philadelphia 76ers by a score of 125-107. 1987 - Dick Baldwin surpassed Adolph Rupp's record for the most college career coaching wins. He broke the record as Broome County Community College won game number 876 for Baldwin. He was with the college for forty years. Broome County Community College is in upstate New York. 1987 - Bon Jovi started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Livin' On A Prayer, the groups second US No.1, and a No.4 hit in the UK. 1989 - The Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa edict calling on Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses. 1989 - Died this day, Vincent Crane, keyboard player. Member of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, 1968 UK No.1 and US No.12 single Fire, and Atomic Rooster, 1971 UK No.4 single The Devil's Answer. 1989 - Kidnappers escaped with up to $2.5 million ransom after releasing former Belgian Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants from a month of captivity. 1989 - Union Carbide Corporation accepted an Indian Supreme Court ruling that it pay $470 million in compensation for the 1984 Bhopal poison gas disaster, in which poisonous clouds from a Carbide fertilizer plant enveloped nearly 20 square miles and killed thousands in the immediate area. 1990 - The Rolling Stones played the first of 10 nights at the Korakuen Dome, Tokyo, Japan. The shows were seen by over 500,000 fans making the band $20m. 1990 - An Indian Airlines Airbus crashed near Bangalore airport in southern India, killing 90 of the 146 people on board. 1992 - Jon Farriss from INXS married actress Leslie Bega. 1992 - The European Community and the seven-nation European Free Trade Association struck a final deal, clearing the way for the creation of the world's biggest single market. 1992 - The film Waynes World, with a brief cameo appearance from Meat Loaf, premiered in the US. 1993 - Harry Nilsson suffered a heart attack (he recovered this time, but another eventually killed him). 1995 - Peru declared a cease-fire at the end of a 19-day-old border war with Ecuador. 1996 - A New York jury found that Random House not only would not get back the $1.3 million advance it gave to Joan Collins, but that it would have to shell out more. The 62-year-old actress had finished one steamy novel promised to Random House, The Ruling Passion, but failed to deliver the second, Hell Hath No Fury, in complete shape. The publisher called the manuscripts unreadable trash, rejected both, and sued for return of the advance. The former Dynasty star countersued, asking for the rest of the contracted $4 million. The weeklong trial focused mostly on whether the two books were sexy potboilers or unreadable trash. Collins' unusual 1990 contract, put together by the late, legendary agent Irving 'Swifty' Lazar, guaranteed payment on delivery, regardless of the quality. 1996 - An armed North Korean demanding political asylum shot his way into the Russian embassy compound in Pyongyang, killing three. 1996 - The artist formerly known as Prince, aged 37, returned to his hometown of Minneapolis and, under his given name Prince Rogers Nelson, married his backup dancer Mayte Jannell Garcia, aged 22. Church workers were not allowed to watch the 40-minute candlelight service in the sanctuary, which was decorated with pink and white roses. It was the first marriage for both. The eccentric artist had announced a few years earlier that he would no longer use the name 'Prince', and would be known by an unpronounceable sign that merges the symbols for male and female. He composed a special song for his wife, Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife, which she heard for the first time when they had their first wedding dance. 1998 - Usher started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Nice & Slow 1998 - Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On set a new record for the most radio plays in the US with 116 million plays in one week. 1999 - Died this day, Buddy Knox, singer (Party Doll), of cancer. 1999 - Lenny Kravitz scored his first UK No.1 single with Fly Away, the single had been used on a TV ad for cars. 2000 - Northern Ireland secretary Peter Mandleson called on the IRA to spell out when and how it would give up its terrorist arsenal of guns and bombs. 2002 - Spin doctor Jo Moore did receive an e-mail from Department of Transport aide Martin Sixsmith warning against burying bad news on the day of Princess Margaret's funeral, it was confirmed. 2002 - Died this day, Mick Tucker, drummer with glam rock band The Sweet died of leukemia. 2003 - United Nations (UN) weapons chief inspector Hans Blix said Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime could still be disarmed without force. 2003 - Stolen reel-to-reel studio recordings by the John Lennon were found in Australia. Police recovered the tapes of the bands 1968 White album and the Abbey Road album after they were advertised for sale in a Sydney newspaper. Australian police had been tipped off by British detectives from Operation Acetone, an investigation into thefts of original Beatles music from Abbey Road studios in London in the 1960s. 2004 - Died this day, Doris Troy, singer, Northern Soul. |
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.