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January 12th
1628 - Born this day, Charles Perrault, author of Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Puss in Boots, was born in Paris. 1729 - Born this day, Edmund Burke, American statesman, philosopher, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”. Died 9 July 1797. 1773 - The first public museum in America was organised in Charleston, South Carolina. 1781 - A British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, Virginia. 1816 - France decreed that the Bonaparte family should be excluded from the country forever. 1848 - The revolution against Ferdinand II, king of the Two Sicilies, began. 1856 - Born this day, John Singer Sargent, American portrait painter. Born in Florence of American parents, he studied there and in Paris, then settled in London around 1885. He was a prolific and highly fashionable painter. He left Paris after a scandal concerning his decollete portrait of Madame Gautreau 1884. Later subjects included the actress Ellen Terry, President Theodore Roosevelt, and the writer Robert Louis Stevenson. (Girl in a Pink Dress, Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, Mrs. Fiske Warren and Her Daughter). Died 15 April 1925. 1866 - The Royal Aeronautical Society was founded. 1876 - Born this day, Jack London [John Griffith Chaney], US novelist and author, born in San Francisco. He is best known for adventure stories, for example, The Call Of The Wild (1903), The Sea Wolf (1904), and White Fang (1906). He died 22 November 1916. 1879 - The Zulu War began between the British of the Cape Colony and the natives of Zululand. 1895 - On this day, French Captain Alfred Dreyfus, was convicted of treason, and was publicly stripped of his rank. 1895 - The National Trust founded in England. 1896 - H. L. Smith took the first x-ray photograph. It was a hand with a bullet in it. The hand was attached to a corpse. 1902 - Born this day, Joe E. Lewis (Klewan), comedian, actor, (Lady in Cement, Private Buckaroo). Died 4 June 1971. 1905 - Born this day, Tex Ritter (born Woodward Maurice Ritter), country singer, actor, John Ritter’s father. Died 2 January 1974. He was nicknamed 'America's Most Beloved Cowboy' and is likely best remembered for singing the award-winning title song in the Gary Cooper/Grace Kelly classic, High Noon (1952). 1910 - Born this day, Luise Rainer, Academy Award-winning actress, (The Great Ziegfeld [1936], The Good Earth [1937]). 1916 - Born this day, PW Botha, Ex-President of South Africa. 1926 - Born this day, Ray Price, singer, (Crazy Arms, Make the World Go Away, For the Good Times, I Won’t Mention it Again, Nightlife). 1928 - Vladimir Horowitz debuted as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in New York City. It was the very same night that Sir Thomas Beecham gave his first public performance in the United States. 1928 - Born this day, Lloyd Ruby, auto racer, (18 Indianapolis 500 races, completed all 200 laps in the Indy 500 five times). 1930 - Born this day, Glenn Yarbrough, singer, (group: The Limeliters; solo: Baby the Rain Must Fall). 1932 - Hattie W. Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, became the first woman to be elected to the US Senate. 1932 - Ed Sullivan joined CBS radio in a program of gossip and interviews. He later became the host of the most popular variety show on television, The Ed Sullivan Show. 1932 - Born this day, Des O'Connor, entertainer, singer. 1933 - Born this day, Michael Aspel, UK TV presenter. 1936 - Born this day, Ron Harper, actor, (Wendy and Me, The Planet of the Apes, The Jean Arthur Show, Garrison’s Gorillas, 87th Precinct). 1937 - Born this day, Shirley Eaton, actress, in London, England. She gained her greatest fame, and the cover of Life magazine, with her role as the gold-painted Bond bombshell in 1964's Goldfinger. 1939 - Born this day, William Lee Golden, singer, The Oak Ridge Boys, 1981 US No.5 single Elvira. 1939 - The Ink Spots gained national attention after five years together, as they recorded If I Didn’t Care, Decca record number 2286. Many other standards by the group soon followed. 1941 - Born this day, Long John Baldry, vocals, Bluesology and solo, 1967 UK No.1 single Let The Heartaches Begin. 1942 - The Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur was captured by the Japanese army. 1943 - The Office of Price Administration announced that standard frankfurters/hot dogs/wieners would be replaced by ‘Victory Sausages’; made of meat and soybean meal. 1944 - Born this day, ‘Smokin’ Joe Frazier, boxer, (World Heavyweight Champion [1970-1973]). 1945 - Born this day, Maggie Bell, singer, Stone The Crows and also solo, UK No.11 solo single Hold Me. 1945 - The US Navy destroyed 41 Japanese ships in the Battle of South China Sea. 1946 - Born this day, Cynthia Robinson, singer, musician, trumpet, Sly and the Family Stone, Dance to the Music, Everyday People, [I Want to Take You] Higher, Hot Fun in the Summertime, Thank You [Falettinme be Mice Elf Agin]; The Stoners. 1948 - Born this day, Anthony Andrews, actor, (Haunted, Hands of a Murderer, Hanna’s War, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Ivanhoe, Brideshead Revisited). 1948 - The London Co-Op opened the first supermarket in Britain at Manor Park. 1949 - Born this day, James Dietz, rower. 1949 - Arthur Godfrey and His Friends was first seen on CBS-TV. The program stayed on the network for seven years. 1949 - In his State of the Union address, President Harry S. Truman labeled his administration the 'Fair Deal'. 1949 - The Chicago-based children’s show, Kukla, Fran and Ollie, made its national debut on NBC-TV. Fran Allison was hostess. 1950 - The Soviet Union re-introduced the death penalty for treason, espionage and sabotage. 1950 - A Swedish tanker struck the British submarine Truculent during the submarine's trials in the River Thames. Only 15 of 70 men on the submarine survived. 1951 - Born this day, Rush Limbaugh, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, political commentator, radio & TV broadcaster, radio talk show host, author. 1951 - Born this day, Kirstie Alley, Emmy Award-winning actress, (Cheers [1991]; Look Who’s Talking, Star Trek II). 1951 - Born this day, Chris Bell, Big Star, killed in a car accident 27 December 1978. 1954 - Born this day, Felipe Rose, vocals, The Village People, 1979 UK No.1 single YMCA. 1954 - Queen Elizabeth opened a special session of the New Zealand parliament, the first time the Queen had opened a Commonwealth parliament outside the United Kingdom. 1954 - Born this day, Howard Stern, American radio and TV personality. 1955 - The beginning of Rod Serling’s stellar career began with the TV production of Patterns, an original, hour-long drama. Within two weeks, the then struggling author had 23 other TV assignments. 1957 - Elvis Presley recorded All Shook Up. 1959 - Born this day, Per Gessle, musician, guitar, singer, (group: Roxette). 1959 - Henry Cooper became British and European heavyweight boxing champion after defeating Brian London on points. 1959 - Born this day, Blixa Bargeld, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, 1996 UK No.36 single with PJ Harvey, Henry Lee. 1960 - Born this day, Charlie Gillingham, Counting Crows, 1994 UK No.28 single Mr Jones. 1960 - Born this day, Oliver Platt, actor. 1960 - Died this day, Nevil Shute, author, aged 60. 1960 - The only feature film made in 'Smell-O-Vision', Scent of Mystery, opened in Chicago. 1961 - Johnny Tillotson was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Poetry In Motion. 1961 - The first Italian space rocket was launched. 1963 - Steve Lawrence started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Go Away Little Girl. 1963 - The Beatles released their first top ten single - Please Please Me. 1963 - Songwriter Bob Dylan sang Blowin’ In the Wind on the BBC radio presentation of The Madhouse on Castle Street. The song soon became one of the classics of the 1960s protest movement. 1964 - One month after Zanzibar became independent, the ruling Zanzibar National Party government was overthrown in a coup. 1964 - Born this day, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com. 1965 - Born this day, Greg Kriesel, bass, The Offspring, 1999 UK No.1 single Pretty Fly, (For A White Guy). 1965 - Hullabaloo premiered on NBC-TV with the Zombies and Gerry & the Pacemakers. 1966 - The campy, adventure TV spoof Batman premiered on ABC, with Adam West as the title superhero. The show offered the first prime-time comic superhero of the 1960's. For the first year it is shown in two-part episodes that aired on Wednesday-Thursday nights at 7:30pm and was a showcase for many actresses and models from the decade, featuring Julie Newmar, Teri Garr, Victoria Vetri, Eartha Kitt, among others. Burt Ward was the Bat-Boy, Robin. Pow! Zork! Crunch! Holy hot cakes, Batman! 1967 - One of broadcasting’s greatest hits, Dragnet, returned to NBC-TV after being off the network schedule for eight years. Harry Morgan was Jack Webb’s sidekick in the renewed series. 1967 - Born this day, Vendela [Kirsebom], fashion model. 1968 - Born this day, Raekwon, Wu-Tang Clan, 1997 UK No.1 album Wu-Tang Forever. 1968 - Born this day, Chynna Phillips, singer. 1968 - The Supremes appeared as nuns on an episode of Tarzan on NBC-TV. 1969 - Joe Namath led the New York Jets to victory over the Baltimore Colts in Superbowl III. 1970 - Joseph A. Yablonski, an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency of the United Mine Workers, was found murdered with his wife and daughter at their Clarksville, Pennsylvania, home. 1971 - All In the Family debuted on CBS-TV. Carroll O’Connor starred as Archie Bunker, Rob Reiner as Meathead, Sally Struthers as Gloria and Jean Stapleton as Edith. 1971 - President Richard M. Nixon ordered development of the NASA space shuttle. 1974 - Libya and Tunisia announced they were to merge under the combined name of the Islamic Arab Republic. 1974 - Jim Croce started a five week run at No.1 on the US album chart with You Don't Mess Around With Jim. 1974 - The Rolling Stones released the single Brown Sugar, the first on the bands own label. The track was lifted from the Sticky Fingers album. 1974 - The Steve Miller Band were at No.1 on the US singles chart with The Joker, the groups first of three No.1's. It reached No.1 on the UK chart in 1990. 1974 - Born this day, Melanie Chisholm [Mel C - Sporty Spice], singer, Spice Girls, 1996 UK and 1997 US No.1 single Wannabe and also as a solo artist, 2000 UK No.1 single Never Be The Same Again. 1975 - The first night of a UK tour under the banner The Warner Brothers Music Show featuring Little Feat, Montrose, Tower Of Power, The Doobie Brothers and Graham Central Station. Also released was an album sampler priced at 69p. 1976 - Died this day, Dame Agatha Christie, queen of the detective story and creator of detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She was 85. 1977 - Anti-French demonstrations took place in Israel after Paris released Abu Daoud, responsible for leading the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli athletes. 1977 - EMI Records issued a statement saying it felt unable to promote The Sex Pistols records in view of the adverse publicity generated over the last two months. 1977 - Keith Richards was fined £750 for possession of cocaine found in his car after he had been involved in a car crash. 1977 - The first night of a UK tour for Hall and Oats kicked off at The Odeon, Birmingham. 1977 - The Police had their first rehearsal, held at drummer's Stewart Copeland's London flat, with Henri Padovani on guitar. 1979 - Model Jean Shrimpton married photographer Michael Cox. 1980 - The Bee Gees Greatest album went to No.1 on the US charts. 1981 - A temperature of -35ºF was recorded in Massachusetts. 1981 - It was reported that the White House had expanded its record library by including albums by Bob Dylan, Kiss and The Sex Pistols. 1981 - The hour-long prime time soap opera, Dynasty, starring John Forsyth, Joan Collins, and Linda Evans, debuted on ABC. 1983 - Died this day, Reebop Kwaku Baah, former Traffic percussionist, from a brain haemorrhage in Stockholm. 1985 - After a record 24 weeks as the number 1 album in America, Prince (now known as The Artist Previously Known as Prince) slipped to the No.2 spot with Purple Rain. Replacing Prince at the top spot: ‘The Boss’ Bruce Springsteen’s Born In the USA, which spent 24 weeks waiting for Purple Rain to fall. 1986 - The 24th Space Shuttle Mission - Columbia 7 - was launched. 1987 - Europe was snowed-in with a pounding of white stuff and record low temperatures as a ‘Siberian Express’ spread across the continent. 1990 - Romania outlawed the Communist Party, the first East European state and Warsaw Pact member to do so. 1990 - The break-up of the USSR began as the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania prepared for secession. 1991 - Both houses of the United States Congress voted to authorise President George Bush to use force to compel Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. 1992 - The second round of Algeria's general elections was cancelled after strong gains by the Islamic Salvation Front in the first round. 1992 - Born this day, HAL computer. 1992 - Bob Geldof was arrested after a disturbance on a Boeing 727 which had been grounded for 5 hours at Stansted Airport. 1993 - Van Morrison failed to turn up at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction dinner, making him the first living inductee not to attend. 1995 - Snoop Doggy Dogg was charged in Los Angeles with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. 1995 - Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama resigned. 1996 - Russian troops arrived in Bosnia at the start of the first joint operation with US forces in a potential combat zone since World War II (WWII). 1997 - Nineteen-year-old Olympic gold medalist Oksana Baiul ran her Mercedes off the road, while travelling at nearly 100mph, in Bloomfield, Connecticut. She faced drunken-driving charges; according to police, she had the smell of alcohol on her breath more than 6 hours after the crash. Her blood-alcohol level was 0.168, well above the legal limit. The legal drinking age in Connecticut was 21. Baiul suffered a cut scalp and a concussion. She told police that she remembered losing control of the car, but did not remember much else about the accident. A passenger, fellow Ukrainian skater Ararat Zakarian, said he didn't think the accident happened because she was drunk, "but because she got very emotional." According to Zakarian, "There was a Madonna song playing and she loves Madonna. She was like performing, she was getting into it". 1998 - At a ceremony in Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria, Carlos Santana became the first Hispanic to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Santana said he was pleased about the honour, and felt a little like Jackie Robinson. Also inducted that day were The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and the Papas, and Jelly Roll Morton. 2000 - Gary Barlow married his long-time girlfriend Dawn Andrews on the Caribbean island of Nevis. 2000 - Teenage diva Charlotte Church sacked her manager Jonathan Shalit, he had won her a five album deal with Sony Records. 2001 - British Airways staff complained about Oasis singer Liam Gallagher after he had grabbed a stewardess' bottom, refused to stop smoking and thrown objects around the cabin during a flight from London to Rio De Janeiro. 2002 - Aaliyah went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with More Than A Woman. 2002 - Hear'Say singer Kym Marsh walked out on the rest of the group after a bitter bust up. 2003 - Died this day, Maurice Gibb, singer, Bee Gees, in Miami following a heart attack during abdominal surgery. He was 53. |
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.