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January 22nd
1440 - Ivan III the Great, Grand Duke of Muscovy, was born. He strengthened the monarchy and made Muscovy a great power, initiating the conquest of Ukraine. 1561 - Born this day, Sir Francis [Viscount St. Albans] Bacon, English politician and philosopher, writer, (The Advancement of Learning, Novum Organum). Died 9 April 1626. 1575 - Queen Elizabeth granted William Byrd and Thomas Tallis a monopoly for printing and selling music paper. 1771 - Spain reluctantly agreed that the Falkland Islands were British territory. The islands had been in dispute since they were discovered in 1592. 1788 - Born this day, Lord (George) Byron, poet, (Manfred, Cain, Don Juan). Died 19 April 1824. 1789 - The Power of Sympathy, by Philenia (Mrs. Sarah W.) Morton, was published in Boston, Massachusetts. The book has been called the first great American novel. 1840 - The first British colonists arrived at Port Nicholson, New Zealand. 1854 - In Westphalia, Germany, locals reported seeing a phantom battle. It was fought by a full army, waggons and horses and took place just before sunset near their village. Fifty villagers wathced and later gave graphic accounts of the fight. 1875 - Born this day, D. W. [David Lewelyn Wark] Griffith, film producer, director, (The Birth of a Nation; Los Angeles’ Griffith Park named after him). Died 21 July 1948. 1879 - James Shields, who had previously served Illinois and Minnesota, began a term as a US Senator from Missouri. He was the first Senator to serve three separate states. 1879 - As dawn broke the soldiers of the 24th Battalion prepared for battle. When the time came for them to face the 20,000 Zulu warriors gathered on a nearby ridge at Isandlwana, the British soldiers showed no fear, they were equipped with the latest weapon, a deadly rifle which could kill at long range. Yet that afternoon 1,300 redcoats lay massacred. Only 60 British men survived and the battle was relegated to history. The same afternoon the British were victorious at Rorke's Drift, a few miles away. Made into a film, Zulu, in 1964 starring Michael Caine. For the Zulus however, Isandlwana was their finest hour. 1889 - The Columbia Phonograph Company was formed in Washington, DC. 1890 - Born this day, Frederick Moore Vinson, 13th Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, Congressman, World War II (WWII) Director of War Mobilization, US Secretary of the Treasury [1945]. Died 8 September 1953. 1895 - The National Association of Manufacturers was organised in Cincinnati, Ohio. 1901 - Died this day, Queen Victoria of England died after reigning for 63 years and 232 days. She is the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She was 81. She holds the record for longest-reigning queen in the world, and is fourth in the list of longest-reigning monarchs. She died at her house, Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight. (Edward VII became king). 1904 - Born this day, George Balanchine (Georgi Balanchivadze), choreographer, (Apollo, Orpheus, Firebird, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker; founded School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet). Died 30 April 1983. 1905 - 'Bloody Sunday' occurred in St. Petersburg, when the Czar's troops killed 500 protesting workers. 1907 - The Richard Strauss opera, Salome, was featured with the Dance of the Seven Veils. It was copied by vaudeville performers and strip-tease performers as well. Soon, performances of the opera were banned at the Metropolitan Opera House. 1909 - Born this day, Ann Sothern (Harriette Lake), actress, (Lady Be Good, Panama Hattie, The Whales of August, The Ann Sothern Show, voice of My Mother, the Car). 1909 - Born this day, U Thant, statesman from Burma, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General [1961-1971], Died 25 November 1974. 1924 - Born this day, J.J. (James) Johnson, musician, trombone, composer, bandleader, one of first to use the trombone in modern jazz. 1924 - James Ramsay Macdonald took office as the first Labour Prime Minister in Britain. 1925 - Noted authors and songwriters appeared before a congressional committee in Washington to protest violations of their copyright privileges by radio broadcasters. 1931 - Born this day, Clair Rayner, Agony Aunt. 1931 - Clyde McCoy and his orchestra recorded Sugar Blues. The tune became McCoy’s theme song, thanks to its popularity on Columbia Records, and later on Decca, selling over a million copies. 1931 - Born this day, Sam Cooke, singer, 1957 US No.1 and UK No.29 single You Send Me, Chain Gang, 1986 UK No.2 single Wonderful World first released in 1960 when it made No. 27, A Change is Gonna Come). Shot to death 11 December 1964. 1931 - Born this day, Galina Zybina, Russian Olympic Gold Medalist, women’s shot-put [1952]. 1932 - Born this day, Piper Laurie (Rosetta Jacobs), actress, (The Road to Galveston, Twin Peaks (1990), Rising Son, Children of a Lesser God (1986), The Thorn Birds, Days of Wine and Roses, Carrie (1976), The Hustler (1961, Oscar nominated), Francis Goes to the Races). Oscar nominated three times. 1934 - Born this day, (Wilfred Bailey) Bill Bixby, actor, (My Favorite Martian, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, The Incredible Hulk, Fantasy Island, Rich Man Poor Man). Died 21 November 1993. 1937 - Born this day, Seymour Cassel, actor, (Bad Love, Indecent Proposal, Honeymoon in Vegas, Dick Tracy, Sweet Bird of Youth, Eye of the Tiger, Double Exposure, Valentino, Faces). 1937 - Born this day, Joseph Wambaugh, author, ex-police officer. 1939 - Born this day, Jeff Smith, chef. 1939 - The uranium atom was split for the first time. 1940 - Born this day, John Hurt, UK actor, (Wild Bill, Rob Roy, Spaceballs, 1984, The Elephant Man, Alien, Midnight Express, A Man for All Seasons, Crime and Punishment, Captain Corelli's Mandolin). 1940 - Born this day, Addi Harris, The Shirelles, 1961 US No.1 and UK No.4 single Will You Love Me Tomorrow. Died 10 June 1982. 1944 - The Allied Army landing began in Anzio, Italy. 1945 - The land route to China, the Ledo road across Burma from India to China, was reopened. 1945 - Born this day, Michael Cristofer, US playwright, (The Witches of Eastwick, The Bonfire of the Vanities). 1947 - KTLA, Channel 5, in Hollywood, began operation as the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River. 1947 - Born this day, Malcolm Mclaren, solo artist 1983 UK No.3 single Double Dutch. Sex Pistols manager. 1948 - Born this day, George Forman, US boxer. 1949 - Born this day, Nigel Pegrum, Steeleye Span, UK folk group, 1975 UK No.5 single All Around My Hat. 1950 - Throughout the twentieth century, independent automobile manufacturers have fallen again and again before the industrial power of the "Big Three" - Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. Most often, these independent firms are swallowed, bought up, like Nash, Austin, Studebaker, Hudson, Packard, and many others. The story of Preston Tucker is a little darker. Tucker was a Chicago businessman who built fifty extraordinary automobiles in 1947 and 1948. His cars had many modern amenities and remarkable horsepower. But he was indicted on thirty-one counts of fraud, and as he fought for his freedom in court, his company failed. On this day in 1950, Preston Tucker was cleared of all fraud charges against him. But it was too little, too late. The Tucker automobile was history. Many believe that the legal actions against Tucker were sponsored by the Big Three auto makers, who feared his competition. 1952 - The Goon Show started on BBC radio. It starred Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine. It ran until 1959. 1953 - Born this day, Steve Perry, musician, drums, vocals, Journey, 1981 US No.14 single Who's Crying Now, 1982 US No.2 single Open Arms, solo, 1984 US No.3 single Oh, Sherrie. Also with Radio Stars. 1953 - The Crucible, Arthur Miller's drama about witch-hunting in Salem in 1692, opened on Broadway to favourable reviews. The plot was a thinly-disguised criticism of the Communist "witch-hunts" being conducted in the entertainment industry by the US government. 1954 - Born this day, Chris Lemmon, actor, (Thunder in Paradise series, Corporate Affairs, Weekend Warriors, Swing Shift, The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood; son of actor Jack Lemmon). 1955 - Snooker player Joe Davis, recorded the first official 147 break. 1956 - Raymond Burr starred as Captain Lee Quince in the Fort Laramie debut on CBS radio. The program was said to be in the tradition of Gunsmoke. 1959 - Born this day, Linda Blair, actress, (The Exorcist (Oscar-nominated, though she didn't do all the acting or voices), Airport ’75, A Woman Obsessed, Bail Out). 1959 - Buddy Holly made his last ever recording in his New York apartment, it included Peggy Sue. 1959 - Died this day, Mike Hawthorn, racing driver, who retired as world champion in 1958 was killed in a road crash while driving on the Guildford bypass near to his Surrey home. 1960 - Sam Cooke signed with RCA Records. 1960 - Paul Pender beat Sugar Ray Robinson in a 15-round decision and gained international recognition as middleweight boxing champion. 1960 - Actress Inger Stevens starred in The Hitchhiker episode of The Twilight Zone. 1961 - Sixties Olympic gold medalist and track star Wilma Rudolph set a world indoor record in the women’s 60-yard dash. She ran the race in a fast 6.9 seconds in a meeting held in Los Angeles on this day. 1962 - Born this day, Michael Hutchence, vocals, INXS, died 22 November 1997. 1988 UK No.2 and US No.1 single Need You Tonight. 1962 - Gene Chandler made his TV debut on American Bandstand. 1963 - Gerry and the Pacemakers held their first recording session. 1963 - The Drifters recorded On Broadway. 1964 - Born this day, Nigel Benn, former boxer. 1964 - Kenneth Kaunda was sworn in as Northern Rhodesia's first prime minister. 1965 - Born this day, Diane Lane, actress, (Jack, Wild Bill, Oldest Confederate Widow Tells All, Judge Dredd, Chaplin, Lonesome Dove, The Cotton Club, Rumble Fish, A Little Romance). 1965 - Born this day, Roachford, singer, 1989 UK No.4 single Cuddly Toy. 1965 - Born this day, Steven Adler, drums, Guns N' Roses, 1988 US No.1 and 1989 UK No.6 single Sweet Child O' Mine. 1965 - The Rolling Stones began a 16 date tour in Sydney, of Australia, New Zealand and the Far East with Roy Orbison, Dionne Warwick, Rolf Harris, The Newbeats and Ray Columbus and the Invaders. 1965 - Born this day, DJ Jazzy Jeff, 1993 UK No.1 single Boom! Shake The Room. 1966 - The Beach Boys went into the studio to record Wouldn't It Be Nice. 1967 - Born this day, Olivia D'Abo, actor. 1968 - A US B-52 bomber carrying unarmed hydrogen bombs crashed near Thule, Greenland. 1968 - The NBC-TV show, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, debuted 'from beautiful downtown Burbank' on this night, co-starring two short-haired young actresses, blond go-go dancer Goldie Hawn and sock-it-to-me girl Judy Carne. (It received the official go-ahead after a successful pilot special that had aired in 1967.) The weekly show, produced by George Schlatter and Ed Friendly, then Paul Keyes, used 260 pages of jokes in each hour-long episode. The first 14 shows earned Laugh-In (as it was commonly called) 4 Emmys. And 'you bet your bippy', Nielsen rated it No.1 ... for two seasons. Thanks to an ever-changing cast of regulars including the likes of Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Arte Johnson, Goldie Hawn, Ruth Buzzi, JoAnne Worley, Gary Owens, Alan Sues, Henry Gibson, Lily Tomlin, Richard Dawson, Judy Carne, President Richard Nixon ('Go ahead, sock it to me!'), the show became the highest-rated comedy series in TV history. 1971 - Born this day, Stan Collymore, footballer. 1972 - The Treaty of Accession to the EEC was signed in Brussels by Britain, Denmark, Ireland and Norway. It became effective 1 January 1973. Edward Heath was Prime Minister at the time. 1972 - David Bowie 'came out' as bisexual during a famous Melody Maker interview with reporter Michael Watts. 1972 - Don Mclean's album American Pie, started a seven week run at No.1 in the US album chart. 1973 - The US Supreme Court struck down state laws that had restricted abortions during the first six months of pregnancy. The famous Roe vs. Wade case spawned the debate between a woman’s right to end her pregnancy and whether such an abortion is murder of an unborn child. The overheated debate continues and has caused radicals to bomb women’s reproductive health clinics, killing and injuring many. 1974 - Born this day, Rebekah Elmaloglou, actress. 1976 - Born this day, (Paul) Balthazar Getty, actor, (White Squall, Where the Day Takes You, Young Guns 2, Lord of the Flies; grandson of oil magnate, J. Paul Getty). 1977 - Stevie Wonder went to No.1 on the US singles chart with I Wish, his 5th US No.1. It made No.5 in the UK. 1977 - Wings went to No.1 on the US album chart with Wings Over America, Paul McCartney's sixth US No.1 after The Beatles. 1980 - Soviet dissident physicist Dr. Andrei Sakharov was arrested, stripped of his honours and exiled to Gorky from Moscow. 1980 - This week’s US Top 5 singles were, at No.5 Rupert Holmes with Escape (The Pina Colada Song), No.4 was Smokey Robinson with Crusin’, at No.3 was Kenny Rogers and Coward Of The County, in the No.2 slot was Captain and Tennille with Do That To Me One More Time, and at No.1 was Michael Jackson with Rock With You. 1983 - The Steven Spielberg film, E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, became the top movie moneymaker. In less than a year, E.T., the modern day, fairy tale, brought in $194 million in video rentals; replacing the previously #1 rented film, Star Wars. Something for E.T. to phone home about. 1983 - Five times Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg retired from tennis at the height of his career. He was only 26. He also won the French Open 5 times. Only the US Open eluded him. 1983 - The new 24 hour music video network MTV started broadcasting to the West Coast of America after being picked up by Group W Cable, Los Angeles. 1984 - Barry Manilow sang the American national anthem at Super Bowl XVIII. 1986 - Appearing at Glasgow Exhibition Centre, were Frankie Goes To Hollywood, tickets were £8. 1987 - Steve 'Silk' Hurley was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Jack Your Body. 1987 - Phil Donahue became the first talk show host to tape a show from inside the Soviet Union. Donahue appeared in Leningrad, Kiev and Moscow. The shows were seen by Russian TV audiences later in the year. 1988 - Faith No More made their live UK debut at Dingwalls, London at the start of a 13 date tour. 1992 - Mariah Carey's stepfather went to court seeking damages, claiming that he had paid for her Manhattan apartment, a car and dental work in her early years on the understanding that she would repay him when she became successful. 1994 - Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with All For Love. It was a No.2 hit in the UK and was taken from the film The Three Musketeers. 1994 - Died this day, actor and singer Telly Savalas, of prostrate cancer. (Kojak, Kelly's Heroes). 1975 UK No.1 single If. 1994 - D:Ream had their first UK No.1 single with Things Can Only Get Better, it stayed at No.1 for four weeks. 1997 - Died this day, Ron Holden (Love You So), of a heart attack in Mexico, where he had been performing. 1999 - A federal judge in Los Angeles awarded actor Dustin Hoffman $1.5 million in a non-jury trial. Hoffman had sued Los Angeles Magazine, which published a computer-altered image of the actor in a designer evening gown and heels without his permission. Hoffman was also praised by US District Judge Dickran Tevrizian as "one of our country's greatest living treasures." Hoffman said he was concerned about how the movie industry perceived the photo: "The industry knows that there's a certain plane, if you will, of actors who don't do commercials. ...It signals a decline in your career". 1999 - Former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson cut short a South American tour after being mobbed by scores of teen-age boys on a beach in Uruguay. 2000 - Savage Garden went to No.1 on the US singles chart with I Knew I Loved You. 2001 - Victoria Beckham told a London court of her distress at being left with 'nothing to wear' when almost her entire wardrobe of £90,000 designer clothing was stolen. Mark Oliver a former rubbish collector was charged with the theft. 2001 - News At Ten returned to ITV television after the 11 o'clock bulletin failed to draw viewers. 2001 - Chubby Checker guested on Fox-TV's Ally McBeal. 2001 - The Strokes released their first record The Modern Age EP on Rough Trade records in the UK. 2002 - Publican Colm Murphy, 49, was convicted at Ireland's Special Criminal Court of conspiring to cause the 1998 Omagh bombing which killed 29 people. 2004 - The latest recorded crime figures for England and Wales showed another 14% increase in violent offences. 2004 - Tory leader Michael Howard condemned as 'absurd', a Government move to lower the legal classification of cannabis. 2004 - Nasa scientists were dismayed after their Spirit rover failed to return data from Mars for more than 24 hours. |
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.