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January 25th
1327 - Edward III acceded to the English throne after Edward II was forcibly removed. 1533 - Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn (wife number two of six) were married secretly by the Bishop of Lichfield at Whitehall. 1579 - The Dutch Republic was founded with the signing of the Union of Utrecht. Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Friesland, Groningen and Overyssel signed the Union to defend their rights against Spain. 1627 - Born this day, Robert Boyle, Irish physicist and chemist. 1759 - Born this day, Robert Burns, Scottish poet. 1799 - Eliakim Spooner patented the seeding machine. It proved to be impractical. 1817 - La Cenerentola or Cinderella, a comic opera by Gioacchino Rossini, was first performed in Rome. 1831 - In Poland, the Diet declared independence thus removing Tsar Nicholas from the throne. 1858 - Mendelssohn’s Wedding March was presented for the first time, as Victoria, the Princess Royal, married Frederick, the Crown Prince of Prussia. 1860 - Born this day, Charles Curtis, 31st US Vice President under Herbert Hoover [1929-1933]. Died 8 February 1936. 1870 - G. D. Dows patented the ornamental soda fountain. 1874 - Born this day, W. (William) Somerset Maugham, English writer and author. 1878 - A Turkish steamer became the first ship to be sunk by a torpedo, fired from a Russian boat. 1881 - Writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky died a few days after suffering a hemorrhage that his doctor thought was not serious. His last words were, "Hold me not back. My hour has come. I must die." His best-remembered novels include The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment. 1882 - Born this day, Virginia Woolf, English author. 1902 - Boer War - The Dutch Government offered to mediate. 1905 - The world's largest diamond, Cullinan - 3106 carets, was found in South Africa. 1915 - Alexander Graham Bell in New York spoke to his assistant in San Francisco, inaugurating the first transcontinental-US telephone service. 1915 - Born this day, Ewan MacColl, folk singer, songwriter. Composed The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, a UK No.14 hit for Roberta Flack in 1971. Died 22 October 1989. 1917 - The USA purchased the Danish West Indies now the Virgin Islands, for £25 million. 1918 - Born this day, Ernie Harwell, US sportscaster. 1918 - To help deal with the shortage of meat caused by World War I (WWI), the British government ordered restaurants to have two meatless days per week. 1919 - The League of Nations, forerunner of the United Nations (UN), was founded. 1919 - Born this day, Edwin Newman, journalist, author. 1924 - The first Winter Olympics were inaugurated at Chamonix, in the French Alps, France. 1925 - Born this day, Barbara Carroll, jazz pianist, arranger, occasional vocalist, (LPs: Everything I Love, This Heart of Mine, Live at the Carlyle, Old Friends). 1927 - Jack Benny married Sadye Marks on this day. She was Mary Livingstone, Sadye changed her name after she married the comedian. 1928 - Born this day, Eduard Shevardnadze, leader of Georgia. 1931 - Born this day, Dean Jones, actor, (The Love Bug, Tea and Sympathy, Beethoven). 1933 - Born this day, Corazon 'Cory' Aquino, President of the Philippines. 1934 - Born this day, Elizabeth Allen, actress, singer, (The Paul Lynde Show, C.P.O. Sharkey, Bracken’s World). 1935 - Born this day, Conrad Burns, US Senator. 1936 - Born this day, Diana Hyland (Gentner), Emmy Award-winning actress, (The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, The ABC Friday Night Movie - 12 December 1976, One Man’s Way, Eight is Enough, Peyton Place). Died 27 March 1977. 1937 - NBC radio presented the first broadcast of The Guiding Light. The program became the longest-running story line in daytime drama. The radio show remained until 1956. The Guiding Light began its long run on CBS-TV in 1952. 1938 - Born this day, Etta James, singer, (Wallflower, Good Rockin’ Daddy, All I Could Do Was Cry, Tell Me Mama, I’ve Found a Love, 1996 UK No.5 single I Just Want To Make Love To You used in the Coca-Cola advert in the UK). 1938 - Due to intense sunspot activity, the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) were seen as far south as Western Europe. 1939 - Born this day, Angela Thorne, actress. 1939 - Gunga Din, based on Rudyard Kipling's novel, opened in US theatres. The film starred Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Joan Fontaine, and Sam Jaffe. 1940 - Mary Martin recorded My Heart Belongs to Daddy for Decca Records. The song was her signature song until she starred in South Pacific in 1949. 1941 - Born this day, Buddy Baker, auto racer, fastest win ever in the Daytona 500: 177.602mph [1980]. 1942 - In World War II (WWII), Thailand declared war on Britain and the United States. 1944 - The character, a black maid named Beulah and played by a white man, Marlin Hunt, aired on radio for the first time on Fibber McGee and Molly. The spinoff, Beulah, became a radio series in 1945. 1944 - Born this day, Bob Dickson, golfer, won British and US amateurs [1967], left job as Tournament Director of Nike Tour to join Senior Tour [1994]. 1944 - Born this day, long lanky Anita Pallenberg, in Rome, Italy. Her slight careers in modeling and acting, Candy, Barbarella (both 1968), led to intense drug-addled relationships with Rolling Stones guitarists Brian Jones and then Keith Richards. 1944 - Born this day, Leigh Taylor-Young, in Washington, DC, actress, (I Love You Alice B. Toklas, Soylent Green, Can’t Stop the Music, Honeymoon Academy, Peyton Place, Dallas). 1945 - Richard Tucker debuted at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City in the production of La Gioconda. 1947 - Died this day, Al Capone, best known gangster who dominated the Chicago area during the Prohibition era. Indicted for tax evasion and imprisoned, Capone was released in 1939. Died of a brain haemorrhage, aged 48. 1949 - The first Emmys, the awards presented each year in recognition of excellence in television performance and production, were presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club. The event was the 1st Annual Los Angeles Emmy Awards (for programming which appeared in 1948) and was presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Academy was also an infant, having formed just three years earlier. Mike Sotkey’s Pantomime Quiz Time was selected as the year’s top television show. Shirley Dinsdale and her puppet, Judy Splinters took honours as Most Outstanding Television Personality. 1949 - Born this day, John Cooper Clarke, punk poet. 1950 - Born this day, Michael Cotten, synthesiser, The Tubes, 1977 UK No.28 single White Punks On Dope. 1950 - US State Department official Alger Hiss was found guilty of perjury after he concealed his membership in the Communist Party. 1953 - Born this day, Malcolm Green, Split Enz, 1980 UK No.12 single I Got You. 1954 - Born this day, Richard Finch, songwriter, musician, bass, KC and the Sunshine Band, Blow Your Whistle, Do It Good, Queen of Hearts, Rock Your Baby, Get Down Tonight, 1975 US No.1 single That’s the Way [I like It], [Shake, Shake, Shake] Shake Your Booty, I’m Your Boogie Man, Keep It Comin’ Love, I like to Do It, Boogie Shoes, It’s the Same Old Song, Please Don’t Go, 1983 UK No.1 single Give It Up. 1955 - The Supreme Soviet officially ended the state of war with Germany. 1955 - Born this day, Joe Strummer, musician, The Clash. 1955 - The government announced a plan to introduce the same pay for men and women in the civil service by 1961. 1955 - In London, the British government announced a £1,240 million ($3,730m) rail electrification plan. 1956 - Born this day, Andy Cox, musician, guitar, The Beat, Stand Down Margaret, Wha’appen, 1983 UK No.3 single Can't Get Used To Losing You, Fine Young Cannibals, 1989 US No.1 and UK No.5 single She Drives Me Crazy, Johnny Come Home. 1958 - Born this day, Gary Tibbs, Adam And The Ants, 1981 UK No.1 single Stand And Deliver, plus 15 other top 40 UK singles. 1958 - Born this day, Lesley Wood, guitar, vocals, Au Pairs, The Darlings. 1958 - Born this day, Dinah Manoff, Tony Award-winning actress, (I Ought to be in Pictures [1980]; Soap, Empty Nest). 1960 - Sam Cooke recorded Chain Gang. 1960 - The original cast recording of The Sound Of Music started a 16 week run at No.1 on the US album chart. 1961 - John F. Kennedy presented the first live presidential news conference from Washington, DC. Kennedy’s quick wit made him 'an immediate sensation', according to reporters gathered at the scene. 1961 - The Disney animated cartoon classic, One Hundred and One Dalmations, was released to US theatres. It took an animation staff of three hundred to complete the film in three years, at a cost of $4 million. It was a huge success at the box office. 1962 - Born this day, Emma Freud, TV presenter. 1962 - Born this day, Peter Coyle, vocals, Lotus Eaters, 1983 UK No.15 single First Picture Of You. 1963 - Born this day, Carl Fysh, Brother Beyond, 1988 UK No. 2 single The Harder I Try. 1964 - The Beatles reached the No.1 spot on the US music charts, as their hit single, I Want to Hold Your Hand, grabbed the top position in Cash Box magazine, as well as on the list of hits on scores of radio stations. It was the first No.1 hit for the Beatles. Billboard listed the song as No.1 on February 1. The group’s second No.1 hit song, She Loves You, was also released this day, but not on Capitol Records. It was on Swan Records (#4152). Other songs by The Beatles were released on Vee Jay Please, Please Me, M-G-M My Bonnie with Tony Sheridan, Tollie Twist and Shout, Atco Ain’t She Sweet and the group’s own label, Apple Records, as well as Capitol. 1964 - Phil Spector appeared as a panelist on this week’s UK TV show Juke Box Jury. 1964 - Dusty Springfield's I Only Want to Be with You entered the Billboard charts, it eventually reached No.12. 1964 - The Echo C spacecraft was launched, the first joint US-Soviet project. 1967 - Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick and Paul Kantner became the parents of a baby girl they name 'god', later they changed it to 'China'. 1967 - Born this day, David Ginola, footballer. 1969 - The latest phase of Vietnam peace talks opened in Paris, the Allies pushing for the restoration of the de-militarized zone and the Communists for total withdrawal of American troops. 1969 - The New Seekers were at No.1 on the UK album chart with their The Best Of album. 1971 - Army officers led by Idi Amin deposed Milton Obote, and he became president of Uganda. 1971 - Charles Manson was found guilty of masterminding the killings of actress Sharon Tate and six others. He was convicted of first-degree murder. 1971 - Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane gave birth to a daughter, naming her God, (she was later re-named China). 1973 - Born this day, Chris Wilkie, Dubstar, 1996 UK No.15 single Stars. 1975 - The Carpenters went to No.1 on the US singles chart with their version of The Marvelettes 1961 hit Please Mr. Postman. 1975 - The Tymes were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Ms Grace. 1975 - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became president of Bangladesh and established a one-party state. 1977 - Born this day, Christian Ingebrigtsen, vocals, A1, 2000 UK No.1 single Same Old Brand New You. 1978 - Joy Division made their live debut in Manchester appearing at Pips, supported by Connection. 1978 - The first night of a UK tour at The Lafayette, Wolverhampton, for XTC. 1980 - Abolhassan Bani-Sadr won Iran's first presidential election with 70 percent of the vote. 1980 - Paul McCartney was released after nine days in a Tokyo jail for marijuana possession. 1980 - The Specials made their US live debut when they appeared at New York's Hurrah club. 1981 - The Oakland Raiders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 in Super Bowl XV. 1981 - Born this day, Alica Keys, singer, 2001 US No.1 single Fallin' and 2001 US No.1 album Songs In A Minor. 1981 - Born this day, Francis Jeffers, footballer. 1981 - The Gang of Four - Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers - broke away from the Labour Party to set up the Social Democrats. 1983 - China commuted the death sentence, imposed on this day in 1981, on Mao Zedong's widow Jiang Qing. 1983 - Died this day, Lamar Williams, The Allman Brothers, bassist, of cancer aged 36. 1984 - Yoko Ono donated £250,000 ($375,000) to Liverpool old people's home (retirement home) - Strawberry Fields. It was the inspiration for John Lennon's song. 1985 - Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, of Boston College, signed a $7-million, five-year contract. Flutie would play with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League. The deal made him the highest paid football player and the best paid rookie ever - in any sport. The USFL would soon fold and players like Flutie joined the CFL; and some went to the NFL. 1986 - A-Ha were at No.1 in the UK with The Sun Always Shines On TV. 1986 - Barbra Streisand started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with The Broadway Album. 1987 - An outstanding record for the time, the highest TV advertising rate was set at $600,000 per 1/2 minute for the NBC network prime time airing of the Super Bowl XXI. The game was watched by a record 127 million viewers. Neil Diamond sang the American national anthem at Super Bowl XXI. 1989 - Bobby Brown was arrested for an overtly sexually suggestive performance after a show in Columbus, Ohio, he was fined $652 under the anti-lewdness ordinance law. 1989 - Madonna started divorce proceedings for the second time from Sean Penn at Los Angeles County Court and moved into a new three bedroom house in Hollywood Hills. 1990 - Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto gave birth to a girl, the first-ever head of government to give birth while still in office. 1990 - CBS-TV's 48 Hours profiled Paul McCartney. 1990 - Died this day, screen actress Ava Gardner, of pneumonia in London at the age of 67. The exotic beauty would be best-remembered for her roles in the films Showboat, The Barefoot Contessa, Mogambo, On the Beach, and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Gardner was once voted by movie fans the most beautiful woman in the world. 1990 - Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers appeared on NBC-TV's Cheers. 1990 - Avianca Flight 52, ran out of fuel and crashed in Cove Neck, New York, 73 died. 1991 - The United States accused Iraq of deliberately pumping oil into the Persian Gulf in what it called an act of environmental terrorism. 1992 - Color Me Bad scored their second US No.1 single with All 4 Love, it was a No.5 hit in the UK. 1992 - Wet Wet Wet had their second UK No.1 single with Goodnight Girl, it's four week stay at No.1 was aided by it's use in ITV's Coronation Street's Christmas disco broadcast. 1994 - Michael Jackson reached a multi-million dollar settlement with a boy who had accused him of sexual molestation. 1995 - On this date in 1995, Russia's early-warning defense radar detected an unexpected missile launch near Norway, and Russian military command estimated the missile to be only minutes from impact on Moscow. Moments later, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, his defense minister, and his chief of staff were informed of the missile launch. The nuclear command systems switched to combat mode, and the nuclear suitcases carried by Yeltsin and his top commander were activated for the first time in the history of the Soviet-made weapons system. Five minutes after the launch detection, Russian command determined that the missile's impact point would be outside Russia's borders. Three more minutes passed, and Yeltsin was informed that the launching was likely not part of a surprise nuclear strike by Western nuclear submarines. These conclusions came minutes before Yeltsin and his commanders should have ordered a nuclear response based on standard launch on warning protocols. Later, it was revealed that the missile, launched from Spitzbergen, Norway, was actually carrying instruments for scientific measurements. Nine days before, Norway had notified 35 countries, including Russia, of the exact details of the planned launch. The Russian Defense Ministry had received Norway's announcement but had neglected to inform the on-duty personnel at the early-warning center of the imminent launch. The event raised serious concerns about the quality of the former Soviet Union's nuclear systems. 1996 - The Council of Europe parliamentary assembly voted to admit Russia to the 38-nation body despite fierce criticism of its military crackdown in Chechnya and its human rights record. 1997 - Central African Republic's embattled president, his political rivals and army mutineers signed a peace deal in Bangui to end an army mutiny and ethnic bloodshed. 1997 - White Town went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with Your Woman. 1999 - Died this day, Robert Shaw, the longtime Atlanta Symphony conductor who elevated choral directing to an art, died following a stroke. He was 82. Shaw gained fame as conductor of the Robert Shaw Chorale, which he founded in the late 1940's. He also held posts at the San Diego Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra. He was appointed music director and conductor of the Atlanta Symphony in 1967, keeping the post until his retirement in 1988. 1999 - Actor Gary Busey was taken into custody for investigation of domestic violence after an argument with his wife escalated into a confrontation, authorities said. Busey, age 54, was booked for investigation of misdemeanor spousal battery after his wife called authorities that night. The actor was released from jail the next day after posting $2,500 bail. Tiana Busey had no visible injuries and was not hospitalized, police said. Tiana told authorities that her husband 'grabbed her shoulders and wrestled her to the ground' during an argument, Deputy Mark Bailey said. In 1997, a United Airlines flight attendant claimed Busey struck her after she bumped him. Criminal charges were not filed. In 1995, paramedics found the actor unconscious at his California home after a friend called 911 to say Busey had snorted cocaine. Drug charges were dropped after he enrolled in a drug rehabilitation program. 2001 - Celine Dion gave birth to her first child, a boy weighing 6lb 8oz (2.94Kg). Born three weeks early he was named Renee George. 2001 - Millionaire pop impresario Jonathan King was charged with a further ten offences of sexually abusing children. The charges dated back to the 1970's, King was granted bail. 2002 - More than 30 people were taken to hospital after a Tube train carrying 800 people derailed in central London. Passengers were thrown around amid flying glass after the rear three carriages derailed and hit a wall as the train pulled into Chancery Lane shortly before 1400 GMT. 2002 - Terrorist Colm Murphy was jailed for 14 years by a Dublin court for conspiring to cause the Omagh bombing. 2003 - Clarence Carter and Eddie Floyd were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. 2003 - Billy Joel totaled his Mercedes on a Long Island highway, he only received facial cuts. |
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.