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February 20th
1437 - James I, King of Scotland, was assassinated by a group of dissident nobles led by Sir Robert Graham. 1694 - Born this day, Voltaire, French writer and philosopher. 1811 - Austria declared bankruptcy. 
1861 - The spire of Chichester cathedral was blown down in a storm. 1911 - In the first of a series of imaginative contests, Daily Mail proprietor Lord Northcliffe announced this day, a £1000 prize for the best bunch of sweet peas grown anywhere in Britain. (Who won and from where?) 1927 - Born this day, Sidney Poitier, US film actor, future paramour of Diahann Carroll. 1937 - Born this day, Nancy Wilson, singer, 1964 US No.11 single You Don't Know How Glad I Am. 1938 - Anthony Eden resigned as Foreign Secretary over Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy. 1940 - Born this day, Jimmy Greaves, ex footballer, TV football pundit. 1940 - Born this day, Barbara Ellis, The Fleetwoods, 1959 US No.1 and UK No.6 single Come Softly To Me. 1941 - Born this day, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer, songwriter, on the Piapot Reserve near Regina, Canada. 1971 UK No.7 single Soldier Blue, 1972 US No.38 single Mister Can't You See. 1943 - A farmer in the Mexican region of Colima, watched in amazement as a new volcano, now known as Paracutin, erupted from his cornfield. 1943 - Born this day, Mike Leigh, director. 1944 - Born this day, Lew Soloff, trumpet, Blood Sweat & Tears, 1969 US No.12 and UK No.35 single You've Made Me So Very Happy. 1945 - Born this day, Alan Hull, Lindisfarne, 1972 UK No.3 single Lady Eleanor. Died 17 November 1996. 1946 - Born this day, J. Geils, guitar, The J. Geils Band, 1982 US No.1 and UK No.3 single Centerfold. 1946 - Born this day, Brenda Blethyn, actress. 1947 - On this date in 1947, Lord Louis Mountbatten, a great-grandson of Queen Victoria who served as an Allied commander during World War II (WWII), was named the last British viceroy, or colonial administrator, of India. As Britain had promised independence to India at the end of World War II (WWII), Mountbatten's appointment enraged many Indians, leading to violence and mass protests. However, later in the year, Lord Mountbatten proved instrumental in concluding the negotiations for the former Mogul Empire, and on 15 August 1947, India and Pakistan gained independence. Mohandas Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, hailed the granting of independence to India as the "noblest act of the British nation". Mountbatten later served as Britain's military chief of staff and as the governor of the England's Isle of Wight. On 27 August 1979, his fishing yacht was blown up by an Irish Republican Army terrorist bomb off of Mullaghmore, Ireland, killing him, his grandson, and two other royal relatives. 1949 - Born this day, Ivana Trump, socialite. 1950 - Born this day, Walter Becker, bass, Steely Dan, 1973 US No.11 single Reeling In The Years. 1951 - Born this day, Randy California, Spirit, 1969 US No.25 single I Got A Line On You, 1981 UK No.40 album Potato Land. Died 2 January 1997. 1951 - Born this day, Gordon Brown, Labour MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer. 1954 - Born this day, Jon Brant, Cheap Trick, 1979 UK No.29 and US No.17 single I Want You To Want Me, 1988 US No.1 single The Flame. 1958 - Appearing on the first date of a six day tour of Florida, Bill Haley & His Comets, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmie Rodgers, under the title The Big Gold Record Stars. 1960 - Jimi Hendrix made his stage debut when he played a show at a High School in Seattle. 1960 - Born this day, Mark Reilly, Matt Bianco, 1988 UK No.11 single Don't Blame It On That Girl. 1960 - Born this day, Robert Boustead, King Kurt, 1983 UK No.36 single Destination Zululand. 1961 - Born this day, Imogen Stubbs, actress. 1962 - On this date in 1962, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, John Glenn Jr. was successfully launched into space aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first orbital flight by an American astronaut. Glenn, a lieutenant colonel in the US Marine Corps, was among the seven men chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1959 to become America's first astronauts. A decorated pilot, he flew nearly 150 combat missions during World War II (WWII) and the Korean War. In 1957, he made the first nonstop supersonic flight across the United States, flying from Los Angeles to New York in three hours and 23 minutes. Toward the end of Glenn's third and last orbit, mission control received a mechanical signal from the spacecraft indicating that the heat shield on the base of the capsule was possibly loose. Traveling at its immense speed, the capsule would be incinerated if the shield failed to absorb and dissipate the extremely high re-entry temperatures. It was decided that the craft's retrorockets, usually jettisoned before reentry, would be left on in order to better secure the heat shield. Less than a minute later, Friendship 7 slammed into Earth's atmosphere. After four minutes of radio silence, Glenn's voice crackled through loudspeakers at mission control, and Friendship 7 splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean. He was picked up by the USS destroyer Noa, and his first words upon stepping out of the capsule and onto the deck of the Noa were, "It was hot in there." He had spent nearly five hours in space. Glenn was hailed as a national hero, and on 23 February President John F. Kennedy visited him at Cape Canaveral. He later addressed Congress and was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City. In early 1998, NASA announced it had approved Glenn to serve as a payload specialist on the space shuttle Discovery. On 29 October 1998, nearly four decades after his famous orbital flight, the 77-year-old Glenn became the oldest human ever to travel in space. During the nine-day mission, he served as part of a NASA study on health problems associated with aging. In 1999, he retired from his US Senate seat after four consecutive terms in office, a record for the state of Ohio. 1963 - How the West Was Won with Carroll Baker was released. 1964 - The Bachelors had their only UK No.1 single with Diane. 1965 - Gary Lewis (son of actor Jerry Lewis), and the Playboys started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with This Diamond Ring. 1966 - Born this day, Cindy Crawford, model. 1967 - Born this day, Kurt Cobain, guitar, vocals, Nirvana, 1991 UK No.7 and 1992 US No.6 single Smells Like Teen Spirit, from the 1991 album Nevermind which spent over 2 years on the UK chart and made US No.1 album chart in 1992. Died 5 April 1994. 1968 - The UK government announced plans to end free milk in secondary schools. 1968 - England bowler Fred Titmuss lost four toes in a boating accident in Barbados. 1971 - A former British Army sergeant, self-appointed Major-General idi Amin Dada promoted himself to General and President of Uganda. 1971 - Appearing at Kingston Poly, were Yes supported by Queen, tickets were 50p. 1971 - The soundtrack to Jesus Christ Superstar went to No.1 on the US album chart. 1972 - Born this day, Neil Primrose, drums, Travis, 1999 UK No.1 album The Man Who, 1999 UK No.10 single Why Does It Always Rain On Me?. 1974 - Cher filed for divorce from Sonny Bono. 1975 - Born this day, Brian Littrell, Backstreet Boys, 1997 US No.2 single Quit Playing Games With My Heart, 1999 UK No.1 single I Want It That Way. 1976 - All four members of Kiss had their footprints implanted on the pavement outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. 1976 - Appearing at the College Of Art, High Wycombe, were Screaming Lord Sutch supported by The Sex Pistols. 1976 - Marc Bolan played at Bournemouth Winter Gardens. 1977 - Winners at this years Grammy Awards included Stevie Wonder for Best album with Songs In The Key Of Life, and Best Vocal performance for I Wish, Best album went to Chicago for Chicago X, Best new artist went to Starland Vocal Band. 1978 - Ex-president of Argentina Isabel Peron was indicted over an £8m fraud. 1980 - Bon Scott from AC/DC was pronounced dead on arrival at a London hospital, after a heavy night's drinking. The coroners verdict said that Scott drank himself to death. 1982 - Pat Benatar married her guitarist and producer Neil Giraldo on the Hawaiian island of Maui. 1985 - Contraceptives went on sale in the Irish Republic for the first time. 1985 - Appearing at The Marquee, London, were The Bangles, tickets were £3. 1985 - Born this day, Volkova Olegovna, singer, Tatu, 2003 UK No.1 single All The Things She Said. 1988 - All girl group Expose went to No.1 on the US singles chart with Seasons Change. It wasn't a hit in the UK. 1988 - Kylie Minogue had her first UK No.1 with I Should Be So Lucky. It stayed at the top for five weeks. She went on to score another 25 top 30 hit singles. 1993 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets went to No.1 on the UK album chart with the Words of Love compilation album. 1994 - Tori Amos went to No.1 on the UK album chart with Under The Pink. 1998 - When she finished her routine, Tara Lipinski sprinted across the ice, as if trying to catch the glorious moment and hold it forever. Then she saw her scores and her placement above Michelle Kwan and she knew that at the age of 15, she had become the youngest woman ever to win an Olympic figure-skating title. Lipinski triumphed in Nagano, Japan. 2000 - All Saints started a two week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Pure Shores. The groups fourth UK No.1. 2001 - Two estate agents were committed to trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court accused of stealing nude photographs of Patsy Kensit, ex wife of Liam Gallagher of Oasis, from the couple's home. 2001 - Died this day, Ronnie Hilton, UK singer, at the age of 73. Scored 21 UK Top 40 singles including the 1956 No.1 No Other Love. 2001 - Spice girl Mel G left hospital with newborn baby daughter Pheonix Chi and husband Jimmy Gulzar. 2002 - A young boy was found stabbed and burned beyond recognition in London. 2002 - Winners at the Brit Awards included, Robbie Williams, best male act, Dido, best female act, Travis best British group, S Club 7 best single for Don't Stop Movin', The Strokes best international newcomer and Sting won Outstanding contribution. 2004 - Died this day, Frederick Morgan, aged 81, poet and founding editor of the literary journal the Hudson Review. Died in New York. The cause was respiratory failure, said his wife, Paula Deitz, who is the journal's current editor. Morgan founded the Hudson Review with two partners in 1948. It has published poetry and prose by some of the 20th century's most renowned writers, including Thomas Mann, John Dos Passos, T.S. Eliot, Dylan Thomas and Sylvia Plath. |
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.