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January 17th
1377 - Pope Gregory XI restored the Papal See to Rome after it was removed from Avignon. 1536 - Henry VIII fell from his horse while jousting and was unconscious for several hours. Experts believed this triggered his mental instability. 1562 - The edict of Saint Germain took effect by which the Huguenots were recognised in France. On the same day, the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine formed a union to block the edict. 1601 - The Treaty of Lyons was signed between France, Spain and Savoy under which Henry IV gained Bresse, Bugey, Gex and Valromey. 1706 - Born this day, Benjamin Franklin, statesman, oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, printer, author, publisher [Richard Saunders]: Poor Richard’s Almanack, scientist, inventor: Franklin stove, bifocals, lightning rods; established the University of Pennsylvania. Died 17 April 1790. 1773 - Captain Cook's ship Resolution became the first to cross the Antarctic circle. 1781 - The English were defeated by American militia under Daniel Morgan at the battle of Cowpens in South Carolina. 1795 - The Dudingston Curling Society, the oldest club of its kind, was organized in Edinburgh, Scotland - curling is an ancient (1600s) predecessor of ice hockey. 1806 - James Madison Randolph, grandson of President Thomas Jefferson, was the first child born in the White House. The event took place in Washington, DC. 1820 - Born this day, Anne Bronte, English poet and novelist whose works include The Tennant of Wildfell Hall. 1827 - The Duke of Wellington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. 1852 - Britain recognised the independence of Transvaal in the Sand River Convention. 1860 - Born this day, Anton Pavlovitch Chekhov, short story writer, playwright. Russian dramatist and writer. He began to write short stories and comic sketches as a medical student. His plays concentrate on the creation of atmosphere and delineation of internal development, rather than external action. His first play Ivanov (1887) was a failure, as was The Seagull (1896) until revived by Stanislavsky in 1898 at the Moscow Arts Theatre, for which Chekov went on to write his major plays Uncle Vanya (1899), The Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904). Born in Taganrog, he qualified as a doctor in 1884, but devoted himself to writing short stories rather than medical practice. A collection Particoloured Stories (1886) consolidated his reputation, and gave him leisure to develop his styles: My Life (1895), The Lady with the Dog (1898) and In The Ravine (1900). He died in 1904. 1862 - Died this day, John Tyler, 10th president of the United States, in Richmond, Virginia. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia. 1871 - Andrew S. Hallidie of San Francisco, California received a patent for a cable car system. The public transportation system was put into operation in the city by the bay in 1873, providing a fast, safe way to travel up and down San Francisco’s steep hills. 1874 - Died this day, Chang and Eng Bunker, the first set of Siamese twins to make a successful career out of their condition, died on this date at the age of 62 in Mount Airy, North Carolina. The two brothers, bound together at the base of their chests by a thick ligament, became famous when they performed to sell-out audiences in the US and Europe, and toured with P.T. Barnum. They married two sisters and fathered several offspring and died within two and a half hours of each other. 1876 - The saxophone was played by Etta Morgan at New York City’s Olympic Theatre. The instrument was little known at the time in the United States. 1880 - Born this day, Mack Sennett (Mikall Sinnott), silent movie director, (Tillie’s Punctured Romance, Mack Sennett Comedies, Kid’s Auto Race, Mabel’s Married Life, Cannonball, Dizzy Heights and Daring Hearts). Died 5 November 1960. 1884 - Born this day, Noah Beery, actor. Died in 1946. 1891 - Born this day, Marjorie Gateson, actress, (Arizona Mahoney, Goin’ to Town). Died 17 April 1977. 1893 - Died this day, Rutherford Hayes, the 19th US president. He was the only president to be elected by an electoral commission following a disputed ballot. 
1899 - Born this day, Chicago mafia mobster Al [Alphonse] Capone 'Scarface', was born in Naples. Died 25 January 1947. 1905 - Punchboards were patented by a Chicago, Illinois manufacturing firm. 1910 - Died this day, Thomas Crapper, said to be the inventor and developer of the flush toilet mechanism that most of us use now. 1912 - Captain Robert Scott and his expedition reached the South Pole, one month after Norway's Roald Amundsen. 1913 - Born this day, Vido Musso, musician, reed instruments, played with Benny Goodman; bandleader: Stan Kenton was his pianist. 1916 - The Professional Golfers Association was formed in New York City. The first PGA Champion was Jim Barnes. 1919 - Classical pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski became prime minister of Poland. 1920 - Born this day, George Handy (George Joseph Hendleman), pianist, composer, arranger, (Boyd Raeburn band, Alvino Rey band, Paramount Studios). Died 8 January 1997. 1924 - Born this day, Betty White, singer, Emmy Award-winning actress, (The Mary Tyler Moore Show [1974-1975, 1975-1976], The Golden Girls [1985-1986]; The Betty White Show, Ladies Man). 1926 - Born this day, Moira Shearer, ballerina, appeared in ballet film: The Red Shoes. 1926 - Born this day, Newton Minow, former head of the USA Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 1927 - Born this day, Eartha Kitt, US female singer, 1955 UK No.7 single Under The Bridges Of Paris, 1989 UK No.32 single with Bronski Beat, Cha Cha Heels. (See also entry for 26 January 1928.) 1928 - The fully automatic, film-developing machine was patented by A.M. Josepho. 1928 - Born this day, Vidal Sassoon, in London, England, famed '60s hairdresser and stylist, cosmetologist, developer of hair care products. 1929 - King Inayatullah of Afghanistan was forced to abdicate after a coup; he ruled for only three days. 1929 - Popeye made his first appearance in a comic strip. 1929 - Born this day, [Thomas] Grady Martin, Nashville guitar great, in Chapel Hill, Marshall County, Tennessee, USA, 1931 - Born this day, James Earl Jones, actor, (Star Wars [Darth Vader], The Hunt for Red October, The Lion King, Sneakers, Roots, The Great White Hope; “This... is CNN”). 1933 - Born this day, Sheree North (Dawn Bethel), actress, (Marilyn: The Untold Story, How to be Very Popular, Defenseless, Portrait of a Stripper). 1933 - Born this day, Shari Lewis [Hurwitz], puppeteer, (The Shari Lewis Show [featuring Lamb Chop, the puppet]. Died 2 August 1998. 1933 - Elva Connes married John Miller and became 'Mrs. Miller' (Downtown). 1936 - Born this day, Troy Donahue (Merle Johnson), actor, (Hawaiian Eye, Parrish, A Summer Place). 1938 - Born this day, Paul Revere of Paul Revere and the Raiders, in Harvard, Nebraska. 1938 - Francis X. Bushman was the star of the program, Stepmother, which debuted on CBS radio. The show continued on the air for the next four years. 1939 - Born this day, Maury Povich, TV talk show host, (A Current Affair, The Maury Povich Show; Twenty One). Married to newscaster Connie Chung. 1940 - The river Thames froze over for the first time since 1880 as bitterly cold weather engulfed Europe. 1941 - Gene Krupa and his band recorded the standard, Drum Boogie, on Okeh Records. The lady singing with the boys in the band during the song’s chorus was Irene Daye. 1942 - Born this day, Muhammad Ali [Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.], boxer, heavyweight champion [1964, 1974, 1978], the only man to have regained this title twice. 1943 - Born this day, Chris Montez, singer, (She’s My Rockin’ Baby, Call Me, There Will Never Be Another You, Some Kinda Fun, 1962 UK No.2 and US No.4 single Let's Dance). 1944 - Born this day, Francoise Hardy, singer. 1944 - Born this day, Joe Frazier, boxer, heavyweight champion [1968, 1970]). 1945 - Born this day, William Hart, The Delfonics, 1968 US No.4 &and 1971 UK No.19 single La-La Means I Love You. 1945 - The American record holder for the indoor one mile run, Gilbert Dodds, announced his retirement from competition to devote his time to running for a higher source. Dodds became a gospel preacher. He came out of retirement briefly, in hopes of competing in the 1948 Olympics. While training for the Olympics, he broke his own record by winning the Wanamaker Mile in 4:05.3. How did Gilbert do in the Olympics? He didn’t. The mumps caught up to him before the trials and he permanently retired from running. 1948 - Born this day, Mick Taylor, singer, musician, rhythm guitar, joined The Rolling Stones in 1969, left 12 December 1974. Also worked with Mike Oldfield, Bob Dylan, John Mayall, The Gods. 1971 US No.1 and UK No.2 single Brown Sugar. 1949 - The Goldbergs came to CBS-TV. The program had been a radio standard for years, dating back to 1931. The TV version lasted for four years. Molly: “Close the window, Jake. It’s cold outside.” Jake: “Okay. The window’s closed. Now it’s warm outside?” Molly Goldberg was played by Gertrude Berg, who won an Emmy for her performance in 1950. 1949 - The trial on subversion charges of the top leaders of the US Communist Party began in New York. 1955 - Born this day, Steve Earle, US country singer, songwriter, musician, guitar, 1988 UK No.45 single Copperhead Road, Guitar Town, Exit O. 1955 - The first nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus, commissioned by the United States Navy in 1954, made her maiden voyage on this day in 1955. 1956 - Born this day, Paul Young, singer, 1983 UK No.1 single Wherever I Lay My Hat, That's My Home, Come Back And Stay, Everything Must Change, Senza Una Donna (w/Zucchero), 1985 US No.1 single Everytime You Go Away, with the Streetband, 1978 UK No.18 single Toast, also with the Q-Tips, a soul covers band. 1956 - Born this day, David Caruso, actor. 1957 - Born this day, Keith Chegwin, TV presenter. 1957 - Born this day, Paul Merton, comedian. 1958 - Born this day, Jez Strode, Kajagoogoo, 1983 UK No.1 single Too Shy. 1959 - Senegal and the French Sudan agreed to form the Republic of Mali, effective in April. 1959 - Born this day, Susanna Hoffs, guitar vocals, The Bangles, 1986 UK No.2 single with Prince song Manic Monday, 1986 US No.1 single Walk Like An Egyptian. LP: Rainy Day. 1960 - Born this day, John Crawford, singer, musician, bass, keyboards, Berlin, 1986 UK and US No.1 single Take My Breath Away. 1961 - Died this day, Patrice Lumumba, ex-premier of the Congo, assassinated. 1961 - Born this day, Dave Collard, keyboards, Jo Boxers, 1983 UK No.3 single Boxer Beat. 1962 - Born this day, Jim Carrey, actor, comedian, (The Mask, Ace Ventura series, Dumb & Dumber, Batman Forever, The Cable Guy, The Truman Show, Me, Myself & Irene, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Bruce Almighty). 1962 - Born this day, Sebastian Junger, novelist. 1963 - Appearing at The Marquee Club, London, was the Cyril Davis All Stars, The Velvets and bottom of the bill The Rolling Stones. Tickets were 4 shillings (20p). 1963 - Born this day, Andy Rourke, bass, The Smiths, 1984 UK No.10 single Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, plus 15 other UK top 40 singles. 1966 - A US B-52 bomber collided in midair with a refueling tanker over Spain; eight were killed and the bomber released its H-bomb into the Atlantic. The bomb was recovered the following month. 1966 - NBC-TV bought The Monkeys series, placing it on their 1966 autumn schedule. 1966 - Born this day, Shabba Ranks, 1993 UK No.3 single Mr Loverman. 1967 - The Daily Mail ran the story about a local council survey finding 4,000 holes in the road in Lancashire inspiring John Lennons contribution to The Beatles song A Day In The Life. 1967 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded a session for Radio Luxembourg's Ready Steady Radio. The band ran up a bar Bill of £2/5/0d, (2 pounds and 5 shillings, or £2.25), which they were unable to pay. 1969 - The Beatles Yellow Submarine was released in the UK. The album was re-issued in October 1999. 1969 - Lady Samantha, one of the very first recordings by Reginald Kenneth Dwight (aka Elton John), was released in England on Philips Records. The song floundered, and then bombed. The rock group, Three Dog Night, however, thought Elton’s tune was nifty and recorded it for an album. 1969 - The first Led Zeppelin album, which was self-titled, was released. 1970 - Died this day, Billy Stewart [William Larry Stewart], the car he was in drove off a bridge when the wheel locked up in Smithfield, North Carolina. Born 24 March 1937 in Washington, DC. His band, The Soul Kings recorded the 1966 US No.10 single Summertime and Sitting In The Park. Also in the same car were Norman P. Rich, William Cathey, Rico Hightower members of the band. 1970 - Appearing at New York's Felt Forum were The Doors. The show was recorded for the bands forthcoming Absolutely Live. (Another source says Los Angeles). 1971 - Born this day, Kid Rock [Robert James Ritchie], US singer, 2000 US No.2 album History Of Rock. 1971 - Marvin Gaye sang the American national anthem at Superbowl V in Miami. 1972 - Elvis Presley Boulevard was dedicated, in Memphis, Tennessee. 1974 - Dean Martin's son Dino Martin was arrested on suspicion and sale of two AK-47 machine guns after attempting to sell them to an undercover agent. 1975 - Appearing at GBGB's, New York, were Television and Blondie. 1976 - Barry Manilow scored his second US No.1 single with I Write The Songs. It was written by Beach Boy Bruce Johnson. 1976 - Earth, Wind & Fire started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Gratitude. 1977 - On this day in 1977, Gary Gilmore, convicted for the murder of self-service gas station attendent, Max Jensen, and Ben Bushnell, aged 25, the manager of the City Center Motel in Provo, was shot to death by a firing squad in Utah, becoming the first person to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. In 1972, the US Supreme Court ruled that, in violation of the eighth Amendment to the Constitution, the death penalty qualified as 'cruel and unusual punishment', primarily because states used capital punishment in 'arbitrary and capricious ways', especially in regard to race. However, in 1976, with 66 percent of Americans supporting the death penalty, the court ended the constitutional ban on capital punishment, provided that states create specific guidelines for imposing death sentences. (To read more about this subject click here or click here) 1982 - Died this day, Tommy Tucker, at the age of 48 after being overcome by poisonous fumes while he was renovating the floors of his New York home. He wrote Hi Heel Sneakers. (Another source says - Tommy Tucker died of carbon tetrachloride poisoning while refinishing floors in his home (though some accounts say it was food poisoning and 1987 on 22 January). 1983 - This day saw the start of breakfast TV in Britain, with the BBC's Breakfast Time. 1983 - Nigeria expelled an estimated two million illegal immigrants from Ghana; Ghana reopened its border to nationals at the end of January. 1985 - Leonard Nimoy, who roamed among the stars in the Star Trek TV series and movies, got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1985 - Meat Loaf kicked off a 16 date UK tour at The De Montfort Hall, Leicester. 1986 - This was D-Day for G-rated movies as four ‘Approved for All Audiences’ films were released. Among the characters featured were Yogi Bear and Heathcliff along with The Adventures of Mark Twain and The Adventures of the American Rabbit. 1986 - Olivia Newton-John gave birth to daughter Chloe. 1987 - Gregory Abbott went to No.1 on the US singles chart with Shake You Down. It was a No.6 hit in the UK. 1987 - Kate Bush started a two week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with The Whole Story. 1991 - In the Gulf War, US-led allied forces launched 'Operation Desert Storm', an air and missile offensive against Iraqi positions and installations in Iraq and occupied Kuwait. 1991 - The Michael Jackson... The Legend Continues special aired on CBS-TV. 1994 - An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale struck Los Angeles, killing 61 people and causing extensive damage. 1994 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin accepted the resignation of Economics Minister Yegor Gaidar. 1994 - Donny Osmond took part in a charity boxing match held in Chicago against former Partridge Family member Danny Bonaduce, Donny lost 2-1. (Bonaduce won a disputed split decision). 1995 - More than 6,000 people were killed after a strong earthquake ripped through central Japan. Measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, the earthquake, centered around the port of Kobe, was the biggest quake to hit Japan in half a century. 1996 - Italy's former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, went on trial for corruption on charges; he said the accusations were trumped up by magistrates seeking to wreck his political career. 1996 - After 32 years at the helm, Helen Gurley Brown resigned as editor in chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. 1997 - Died this day, Clyde Tombaugh, the man who discovered Pluto in 1930. 1998 - The hit single Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden climbed into the No.1 spot on the US pop charts, and stayed there for 2 weeks. 1998 - All Saints scored their first UK No.1 single with Never Ever. The single spent a total of twenty-four weeks on the UK chart. 1999 - 911 went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Dr Hook song A Little Bit More. 1999 - Fatboy Slim started a four week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with You've Come A Long Way Baby. 2001 - Sting was awarded a medal by the Chilean government for his involvement for human rights. 2002 - Died this day, Peter Adamson, actor (Len Fairclough - Coronation Street), in Lincoln County hospital, from the effects of bowel cancer. 2002 - Two men appeared in a Leicester court charged with being members of the al-Qaeda terror network blamed for the 11 September attacks. 2002 - Died this day, Harvey 'Job' Matusow, at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital in Lebanon, New Hampshire, from complications following an automobile accident earlier in the month. Aged 75, he was born in the Bronx, New York on 3 October 1926. Best known as being an actor, author and humanitarian. He invented CockyBoo the Clown, the Stringless Yo-Yo and the Magic Mouse Children’s Television Show. He had been involved in theatre, comedy, and drama since he was 12-years-old. He worked in radio and television starting in 1947 and made appearances on the Mike Douglas Show, Howdy Doody Show. He founded the London Film Makers Co-Op and appeared in Young Guns 2, Young Riders TV, Iron Eagle III and Shadow Hunter. He was the author of 4 books, released 7 albums or CD’s. He was the executive director of SCAT-TV, the only public access television in the State of Utah, and also served as executive director of Claremont’s own CCTV Channel 8. He was a veteran of World War II (WWII). 2003 - A long-lost recording featuring John Lennon and Mick Jagger was set to spark a bidding war at a London auction. The acetate record was recorded in 1974 with Jagger singing the blues song Too Many Cooks and Lennon playing guitar. The track had never been release because the two artists were both signed to different record companies. 2004 - Controversial US doctor Panos Zavos claimed a 35-year-old woman had been implanted with a freshly-cloned embryo. 2004 - Hundreds of pensioners took to the streets of central London for a rally against rising council tax bills. 2004 - A murder probe was launched after one of three bodies found below cliffs was found to have his hands and feet bound. |
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.