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January 14th
1301 - The Árpád dynasty in Hungary ended. 1604 - The Hampton Court Conference began under James I to discuss Puritan demands for doctrinal changes in the Church of England. 1639 - The first colonial constitution in Hartford, Connecticut, the first constitution in the American colonies, the 'Fundamental Orders', was adopted by representatives of Wethersfield, Windsor, and Hartford. The Dutch discovered the Connecticut River in 1614, but English Puritans from Massachusetts largely accomplished European settlement of the region. During the 1630s, they flocked to the Connecticut valley from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and in 1638 representatives from the three major Puritan settlements in Connecticut met to set up a unified government for the new colony. Roger Ludlow, a lawyer, wrote much of the Fundamental Orders, and presented a binding and compact frame of government that put the welfare of the community above that of individuals. It was also the first written constitution in the world to declare the modern idea that "the foundation of authority is in the free consent of the people." In 1662, the Charter of Connecticut superseded the Fundamental Orders; though the majority of the original document's laws and statutes remained in force until 1818. 1699 - Massachusetts held a day of fasting for wrongly persecuting 'witches'. 1741 - Born this day, Benedict Arnold, American General in the War of American Independence. US soldier and traitor to the American side in the War of American Independence. A merchant in New Haven, Connecticut, he joined the colonial forces but in 1780 plotted to betray the strategic post at West Point to the British. Major Andre was sent by the British to discuss terms with him, but was caught and hanged as a spy. Arnold escaped to the British, who gave him an army command. Died 14 June 1801. 1742 - Died this day, Edmond Halley, English astronomer who discovered the cycle of the famous comet that bears his name. 1797 - In the Battle of Rivoli in Italy, the French defeated an Austrian attempt to relieve Mantua; 3,500 Austrian troops were killed. 1814 - The last London frost fair was held. Crowds flocked on to the frozen Thames to enjoy a variety of entertainments. 1814 - Under the Treaty of Kiel, the king of Denmark ceded Norway to the king of Sweden. 1858 - Italian revolutionary Felice Orsini threw bombs at Napoleon III in Paris in an assassination attempt. Several people were killed but the emperor was unharmed. 1866 - Peru, dissatisfied with a treaty recognising Peruvian independence signed in 1865, declared war on Spain. 1873 - ‘Celluloid’ was registered as a trademark. It was the wonderful invention of John Hyatt in 1869. While waiting for a patent, he used the celluloid to wrap his Christmas presents. Then he got the idea that somebody might be able to make movies and films with the stuff. 1875 - Born this day, Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize winner, philosopher, musician, physician, humanitarian. French theologian, organist, and missionary surgeon. He founded the hospital at Lambarene in Gabon in 1913, giving organ recitals to support his work there. He wrote a life of Bach and Von reimarus zu Wrede/The Quest for the Historical Jesus 1906 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his teaching of 'reverence for life'. Died 4 September 1965. 1878 - W. H. Preece demonstrated Alexander Graham Bell's new invention, the telephone, to Queen Victoria at Osborne House. On the first private connection by telephone in Great Britain, which was made on the Isle of Wight, Queen Victoria spoke to Thomas Biddulph. 1882 - The Myopia Hunt Club became the first country club in the United States in Winchester, Massachusetts. 1892 - Born this day, Hal Roach, producer, director, (Hal Roach Studios; director: One Million B.C., Road Show, The Devil’s Brother). Died 2 November 1992. 1898 - Died this day, Lewis Carroll, English author of Alice's Adverntures in Wonderland (1865). 1900 - Tosca, an opera by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini opened in Rome. 1906 - Born this day, William Bendix, actor, (For Love or Money, Babe Ruth Story, Blackbeard the Pirate, The Detective Story, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Guadalcanal Diary, Wake Island, Star Spangled Rhythm, The Life of Riley). Died 14 December 1964. 1907 - Hundreds died when an earthquake destroyed much of the Jamaican capital Kingston. 1908 - Born this day, Russ Columbo [Ruggerio Eugenio di Rudolpho Colombo], singer, bandleader, songwriter, (You Call It Madness, Let’s Pretend There’s A Moon, Prisoner of Love). Died 2 September 1934. 1914 - Actress Sarah Bernhardt was awarded France's Legion of Honour. 1914 - Henry Ford announced the newest advance in assembly line production of cars. The new continuous motion method reduced assembly time of a car from 12½ hours to 93 minutes. 1915 - Born this day, Mark Goodson, TV game show producer, (Pop the Question; Goodson-Todman Productions: What’s My Line, I’ve Got a Secret, Family Feud, The Price is Right). Died 18 December 1992. (Another source says 24th January 1915?). 1917 - Born this day, Billy Butterfield (Charles William Butterfield), musician, trumpet, founding member of World’s Greatest Jazz Band. 1919 - Born this day, Andy Rooney, Emmy Award-winning news writer, syndicated columnist, TV commentator. 1926 - Born this day, Warren Mitchell, UK actor, comedian, (Till Death Us Do Part). 1926 - Born this day, Tom Tryon, actor, writer, (Texas John Slaughter, The Cardinal, In Harm’s Way, The Longest Day). Died 4 September 1991. 1929 - Born this day, Billy Walker, singer, (‘masked singer’: Thank You for Calling, Charlie’s Shoes, Word Games). 1929 - In Afghanistan, King Amanullah was forced to abdicate in favour of his brother, Inayatullah. 1931 - Born this day, Caterina Valente, singer, (The Breeze and I, Malaguena). 1932 - Horse racing legend, Eddie Arcaro, won his first race. He was riding a horse named Eagle Bird. 
1934 - Born this day, Richard Briers, English TV and stage actor (The Good Life). 1936 - Harriet Hilliard, vocalist and wife of bandleader Ozzie Nelson, sang, Get Thee Behind Me Satan, on Brunswick Records. 1937 - Born this day, Billie Jo Spears, US female singer, 1975 UK No.6 single Blanket On The Ground. 1938 - Born this day, Alain Toussaint, US singer, songwriter, producer, worked with Paul Simon, Joe Cocker, The Band, Lee Dorsey, Neville Brothers. 1938 - Walt Disney's first full-length Technicolor cartoon, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, opened in the US. 1938 - Born this day, Jack Jones (John Allan Jones), singer, (Lollipops and Roses, Wives and Lovers, The Impossible Dream, Lady, The Race is On, Love Boat theme). 1939 - The program, Honolulu Bound, was heard on CBS radio. Phil Baker and the Andrews Sisters were featured on the program. 1940 - Born this day, Trevor Nunn, theatre director. 1940 - Born this day, Julian [Horace] Bond, American legislator (Georgia [1965]), and civil rights leader, helped found Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, chairman of NAACP board of directors). 1941 - Born this day, (Dorothy) Faye Dunaway, Academy Award-winning actress, in Bascom, Florida. She was runner-up in the Miss University of Florida contest, then started a long movie career that included 1960s classics Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). Also Network (1976); Don Juan DeMarco, Casanova, Beverly Hills Madam, Christopher Columbus, Mommie Dearest, Voyage of the Damned, Three Days of the Condor, The Towering Inferno, Chinatown, The Deadly Trap, Little Big Man, The Arrangement. 1941 - Born this day, Gibby Gilbert, golfer. 1943 - The Allies (Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill), met in Casablanca to agree on a strategy for concluding World War II (WWII) and to demand the unconditional surrender from the enemy. 1943 - US President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first US President to fly in an airplane while in office. He flew from Miami, Florida to French Morocco. 1943 - Born this day, Shannon Lucid, astronaut. 1944 - Born this day, Graham Marsh, golfer. 1944 - Born this day, Nina Totenberg, broadcast journalist, correspondent. 1945 - Born this day, Marjoe Gortner, ex-evangelist, actor, singer. 1948 - Born this day, Carl Weathers, actor, (Happy Gilmore, Dangerous Passion, Hurricane Smith, Rocky series, Force 10 from Navarone, Semi-Tough). 1948 - Born this day, Tim Harris, The Foundations, 1967 UK No.1 single Baby That I've Found You, 1969 US No.3 single Build Me Up A Buttercup. 1949 - Born this day, Lawrence Kasdan, filmmaker. 1952 - NBC's Today show pioneered the now ubiquitous morning news show format. 1953 - Marshal Josip Broz Tito was elected first president of the Republic of Yugoslavia. 
1954 - Screen actress and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, age 29, and New York Yankees baseball star Joe DiMaggio were married in San Francisco. Monroe later wrote in her autobiography, "That was something I had never planned on or dreamed about - becoming the wife of a great man." 1955 - Born this day, Martyn Davies, TV weatherman. 1955 - Alan Freed's first New York stage show included the Clovers, the Drifters and Fats Domino. 1956 - Rock ‘n’ roller, Little Richard, was singing the newly released, Tutti-Frutti. The Pat Boone version became even more popular as a cover record. 1956 - Born this day, Bob Bradbury, Hello, 1974 UK No.6 single Tell Him. 1957 - Died this day, Humphrey Bogart, US film actor whose films include The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. 1959 - Born this day, Chas Smash, horns, Madness, 1982 UK No.1 single House Of Fun and over 20 other top 40 hits. 1960 - Elvis Presley was promoted to Sergeant in the US Army. 1960 - The Elvis Presley album GI Blues started a seven week run at No.1 on the UK chart. It went back to No.1 for another 15 weeks. 1962 - The Beatles played at The Casbah Club, West Derby in Liverpool. 1962 - Born this day, Patricia Morrison, Gun Club, Sisters Of Mercy, 1992 UK No.3 single Temple Of Love. 1963 - Drummer Charlie Watts made his live debut with The Rolling Stones at The Flamingo Jazz Club, Soho, London. 1963 - France vetoed Britain's application to join the Common Market. 1963 - Born this day, Steven Soderbergh, film director. 1964 - A hootenanny was held for the first time at the White House, as the New Christy Minstrels entertained President and Lady Bird Johnson, as well as Italy’s President. 1965 - Georgie Fame was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Yeh Yeh. 1965 - The prime ministers of Northern Ireland and Ireland met for the first time in 43 years. 1966 - Faye Dunaway made her TV debut on The Trials of O'Brien. 1967 - The first Be-In was held in San Francisco, with Big Brother & the Holding Company and Jefferson Airplane. 1967 - Born this day, Emily Watson, actress. 1967 - Born this day, Zakk Wylde, Ozzy Osbourne Band, 1986 UK No.20 single Shot In The Dark. 1968 - Born this day, [James Todd Smith] L. L. Cool J., singer, 1987 UK No.8 single I Need Love. 1969 - Born this day, Dave Grohl, drums, Nirvana, 1991 UK No.7 single Smells Like Teen Spirit, from the album Nevermind which spent over 2 years on the UK album chart, Foo Fighters, 1995 UK No.5 single This Is A Call. 1969 - The Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 was launched, followed the next day by Soyuz 5, they achieved the first docking of two manned spacecraft in Earth orbit. 1969 - Born this day, Jason Bateman, actor, (Little House on the Prairie, Breaking the Rules, Necessary Roughness, A Taste for Killing). 1969 - The Monterey Pop film opened in Los Angeles. 1969 - Sir Matt Busby announced his retirement as manager of Manchester United Football Club. 1970 - Diana Ross made her last appearance with The Supremes at The Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas, she left the group the next day. 1972 - Yes played the first of two nights at the Rainbow Theatre, London. 1972 - Comedian Redd Foxx, whose last name was really Sanford, debuted on NBC-TV in Sanford & Son. Demond Wilson starred as Fred Sanford’s son. Quincy Jones composed the catchy theme song. 1972 - Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, the current monarch of Denmark, ascended to the throne under a new act of succession. 1972 - Stevie Wonder kicked off a 15-date UK tour at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. 1973 - Elvis Presley's famous Aloha From Hawaii benefit concert was broadcast live to TV's around the world; the audience was estimated to be a billion people strong, still one of the largest television audiences ever, but not in the US, where it aired on TV months later. 1974 - Born this day, Denise Van Outen, actress, singer, 2002 UK No.23 single with Andy Williams, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You. The song set a new record of the biggest age gap of a duo to have a hit: 45 years. 1976 - Died this day, Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysian Premier, in London. He was succeeded by Datuk Hussein Bin Onu. 1978 - Player started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Baby Come Back. It made No.32 in the UK, the groups only UK hit. 1978 - The Sex Pistols played their last ever live gig when they appeared at at Winterland, San Francisco, (they re-formed in 1996). 1979 - The Census Bureau reported that 95% of all Americans were married or would get married. Also, most people who divorce would eventually marry again, but not necessarily to each other. 1980 - The UN General Assembly approved a motion calling for immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion in December 1979. 1981 - On this day in 1981, Princess Margaret became the first Royal castaway on Desert Island Discs. 1984 - Paul McCartney was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Pipes Of Peace. 1985 - Martina Navratilova joined Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert Lloyd as the only professional tennis players to win 100 tournaments. To accomplish this, Martina defeated Manuela Maleeva to win the Virginia Slims competition in Washington, DC. 1986 - Rambo: First Blood, Part II arrived at video stores, breaking the record set by Ghostbusters, for first day orders. 435,000 copies of the video were sold or about $21.4 million worth. 1987 - Appearing at King Georges Hall, Blackburn, was Nik Kershaw, the first night of a 25 date UK tour. 1989 - Bobby Brown went to No.1 on the US singles chart with My Prerogative. 1989 - Compilation albums were excluded from the UK chart and were listed in the new Top 20 Compilation Albums. 1989 - British Muslims held public burnings of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. 1990 - The Fox network's animated show The Simpsons premiered. 1991 - Three Palestinian guerrilla chiefs, including Abu Iyad, were assassinated in Tunis. 1992 - Died this day, Jerry Nolan, drummer with The New York Dolls, from a fatal stroke. 1993 - The Pixies announced that they had split. 1994 - Appearing at The Astoria 2, London, were The Cranberries. 1995 - Rednex started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Cotton Eye Joe. 1995 - The British Army ended 25 years of daylight patrols in Belfast in a wind-down of a guerrilla conflict which engulfed Northern Ireland. 1996 - The confessed assassin of Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, Yigal Amir, was formally charged with conspiricy to murder. 1996 - Oasis went to No.1 on the UK album chart with (What's The Story) Morning Glory? 1996 - Right-wing businessman Alvaro Arzu took office as Guatemala's new president and appealed for an end to a brutal 35-year civil war. 1997 - The Beach Boys guest starred on an episode of ABC-TV's Home Improvement. 1998 - A judge ordered Jean-Claude Van Damme to pay $112,000 month to support his 2-year-old son and estranged wife, Darcy LaPier. Darcy cited irreconcilable differences when she filed for divorce in 1996. She and Van Damme later reconciled, but she filed for divorce again in 1997, alleging physical and emotional abuse. 1999 - Jerri Hall filed for divorce from Mick Jagger. 2001 - Jennifer Lopez scored her first UK No.1 single with Love Don't Cost A Thing. 2002 - The Government's rail strategy body published a major plan that could enable nearly £70bn to be pumped into the ailing rail network this decade. 2003 - The sister of Jerry Lee Lewis, Linda Gail Lewis dropped a claim of sex discrimination against Van Morrison. Lewis had claimed that Morrison had ‘publicly humiliated’ her on stage and had tried to ruin her life by asking her for sex. She withdrew her claim after discussions with her lawyer. Morrison denied all the allegations. 2004 - The national flag of Georgia, the so-called Five Cross Flag, was restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years. 2006 - Died this day, Shelley Winters, actress (Poseidon Adventure, Alfie). |
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.