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January 26th
1500 - Brazil was discovered by Spanish navigator Vicente Yanes Pinzon. 1784 - Ben Franklin wrote to his daughter to tell her that he was unhappy that the bald eagle had been chosen as the national bird of the United States. He mentioned that he believed the turkey would have been a much more respectable choice. 1788 - The first settlers from England, including a group of convicts, arrived in Sydney, Australia, at Sydney Cove. 1790 - Mozart's opera Cosi Fan Tutte premiered in Vienna. 1802 - The Cisalpine Republic was renamed the Italian Republic with Napoleon Bonaparte as president. 1814 - The ice thawed ending London's last Frost Fair on the frozen Thames. 1826 - Born this day, Julia Boggs Dent Grant, wife of 18th President Ulysses S. Grant [1869-1877]. Died 14 December 1902. 1827 - Peru ended its union with Colombia and declared independence. 1828 - The Duke of Wellington became Prime Minister. 1837 - 32 years and 15 days after Michigan was organized as a territory, it became the 26th state of the United States of America. Named Michigan after the American Indian word, Michigama, meaning great or large lake, Michigan borders four of the Great Lakes, and is divided into two peninsulas by the Straits of Mackinac that connect Lakes Michigan and Huron. The two peninsulas are recognised in the state motto: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look around you. In Latin: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice. Michigan is nicknamed the Wolverine State (although wolverines are very rare there) and/or the Great Lake State (its shores touch four of the five Great Lakes). The state bird is the robin; the state flower: apple blossom; state tree: white pine; state fish: trout; state gem: Isle Royal Greenstone aka Chlorastrolite. This gemstone wasn't enough for Michigan. It had to have a real stone, too ... the Petoskey stone. The state flag, which is blue charged with the arms of the state, waves over the state capital of Lansing. 1838 - The first Prohibition law in the history of the United States was passed in Tennessee, making it a misdemeanor to sell alcoholic beverages in taverns and stores. The bill stated that all persons convicted of retailing 'spirituous liquors' would be fined at the 'discretion of the court' and that the fines would be used in support of public schools. The movement for the prohibition of alcohol began in the early 19th century, when Americans concerned about the adverse effects of drinking began forming temperance societies. By the late 19th century, several states and dozens of cities had enacted prohibition laws, and temperance groups had become a powerful political force, campaigning on the state level and calling for total national abstinence. In December 1917, Congress passed the 18th Amendment, commonly known as the Prohibition Amendment. It took effect in January 1919, following state ratification. Despite an often-vigorous effort by law-enforcement agencies, the federal government failed to prevent the large-scale distribution of alcoholic beverages, and organised crime flourished in America during the 1920s. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified, repealing Prohibition. 1841 - The British flag was raised on Hong Kong island, six days after China had agreed to cede it to Britain. 1871 - The Rugby Football Union was founded in London, by 20 clubs. 1875 - George F. Green of Kalamazoo, Michigan patented the electric dental drill for the sawing, filing, dressing and polishing of teeth. 1880 - Born this day, Douglas MacArthur (US Army General and Commander of Allied Forces, WWII: “I shall return.”, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”). Died 5 April 1964. 1885 - Khartoum, in the Sudan, fell to the forces Mahdi and General Gordon, British commander and Governor of the Sudan, was killed. 1905 - The world's largest diamond, the Cullinan, was discovered near Pretoria, weighing 3,106 carats. 1911 - The Richard Strauss opera Der Rosenkavalier premiered in Dresden, Germany. 1912 - The Dixie Jazz Band of New Orleans opened at Reisenweber's Cabaret in Chicago. 1912 - Born this day, Cora Baird, puppeteer, (w/husband Bill Baird, TV, The Baird Marionettes). Died 7 December 1967. 1913 - Born this day, William Prince, in Nichols, New York, actor, (TV Soap: played the title role in the 1960's television soap opera Young Doctor Malone - Broadway: I Am a Camera, The Eve of St. Mark, Ah, Wilderness, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, Counting the Ways, and the lead in The Man Who Had Three Arms - Movies: Destination Tokyo, The Taking of Beverly Hills, The Portrait, Objective Burma!, Spies Like Us, Cyrano de Bergerac. Also was a co-star of the first hour-long drama series on US TV - The Mask in 1954). Died 8 October 1996 at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Tarrytown, New York, he was 83. 1913 - Born this day, Jimmy Van Heusen (Edward Chester Babcock), Academy Award-winning composer, (Swinging on a Star [1944], All the Way [1957], High Hopes [1959], Call Me Irresponsible [1963]; wrote the music to over 75 songs for Frank Sinatra with lyricists Johnny Burke and Sammy Cahn: My Kind of Town, Second Time Around). Died 7 February 1990. 1913 - Jim Thorpe wrote to the chairman of the Amateur Athletic Union and revealed that he had played professional baseball in 1909 and 1910. He returned the two gold medals (decathlon and pentathlon) that he had won in the 1912 Olympic games in Stockholm, Sweden. Sixty years later, and twenty years after his death, the AAU restored Jim Thorpe’s amateur standing and the Olympic honours. 1915 - Born this day, William Hopper, actor, (Rebel Without a Cause). Died 6 March 1970. 1918 - Born this day, Philip Jose Farmer, science fiction writer. 1920 - Born this day, Derek Bond, actor, (Nicholas Nickleby, Svengali, The Hand). 1922 - Born this day, (Walter) Page Cavanaugh, pianist, (Page Cavanaugh Trio: That’s How Much I Love You). 1923 - Born this day, Anne Jeffreys (Carmichael), actress, (I Married an Angel, Dick Tracy [1945], Boys’ Night Out, General Hospital [soap], Clifford). 1925 - Born this day, Joan Leslie (Joan Agnes Theresa Sadie Brodel), actress, (Yankee Doodle Dandy, Rhapsody in Blue, Born to be Bad, High Sierra). 1925 - Born this day, Paul Newman, Academy Award-winning actor, (The Color of Money, [1986], Cool Hand Luke, Hud, The Sting, The Hudsucker Proxy, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Verdict, Exodus; director: Rachel, Rachel, Harry and Son; race car driver; salad dressing and spaghetti sauce maker). 1928 - Born this day, Eartha Kitt, singer, (C’est Si Bon, Santa Baby; actress: stage play: Faust, film: New Faces of 1952, Boomerang). NB. Eartha Kitt’s birth certificate listing her actual birthdate as 17 January 1927 was found in 1997. She has celebrated her birthday as 26 January 1928 all of her life and says, 'It’s been the 26th of January since the beginning of time and I’m not going to change it and confuse my fans.) 1928 - Born this day, Roger Vadim (Roger Vladimir Plemiannikov), director, (Barbarella, Pretty Maids All in a Row, And God Created Woman). Died 11 February 2000. 1929 - Bron this day, Jules Feiffer, cartoonist, (Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist [1986]; scriptwriter: Carnal Knowledge, Little Murders, Popeye). 1931 - Mahatma Gandhi was released from prison to hold talks with the government during his civil disobedience campaign. 1931 - Born this day, Mary Murphy, actress, (Carrie, Houdini, 40 Pounds of Trouble). 1932 - Born this day, Claude Gray (The Tall Texan), country singer, (I’ll Just Have Another Cup of Coffee, My Ears Should Burn). 1932 - Born this day, Father George Harold Clements, Roman Catholic priest, civil rights leader. 1934 - Born this day, Huey 'Piano' Smith, US R&B pianist, (the original Rockin' Pneumonia - Boogie Woogie Flu). 1958 US No.9 single Don’t You Just Know It, played on Frankie Ford’s hit Sea Cruise. 1934 - The Apollo Theatre opened in New York City as a ‘Negro vaudeville theatre’. It became the showplace for many of the great black entertainers, singers, groups and instrumentalists in the country. 1936 - Franco and his forces captured Barcelona in the Spanish Civil War. 1939 - Producer David O. Selznick began filming Gone With the Wind. Numerous problems with the script, several directors, and a soaring budget plagued the project. After he turned down the role of Rhett Butler, Gary Cooper remarked, "Gone With the Wind is going to be the biggest flop in the history of Hollywood. I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling flat on his face and not Gary Cooper". 1941 - Born this day, Roger Vadim, director. 1942 - Born this day, Scott Glenn, actor, (Apocalypse Now, The Right Stuff, Silverado, The Hunt for Red October, The Silence of the Lambs). 1943 - Born this day, Jean Knight, singer (Mr. Big Stuff). 1944 - Born this day, Angela Davis, civil rights activist, teacher. 1945 - A syndicate headed by Dan Topping and Larry McPhail purchased the New York Yankees baseball team for $3 million. 1945 - Born this day, Ashley Hutchings, bass, Fairport Convention, UK folk group, 1969 UK No.21 single Si Tu Dois Partir. 1946 - Born this day, (Eugene Kal) Gene Siskel, movie critic, (half of Siskel and (Roger) Ebert team: Siskel & Ebert & the Movies). Died 20 February 1999. 1946 - Born this day, Christopher Hampton, playwright. 1947 - The Greatest Story Ever Told was first heard on ABC radio. It was the first radio series to portray the voice of Jesus Christ. 1948 - Born this day, Corky Laing, drums, Mountain, 1971 Nantucket Sleighride. 1949 - Born this day, Derek Holt, Climax Blues Band, 1976 UK No.10 and 1977 US No.3 single Couldn't Get It Right. 1950 - Born this day, David Strathairn, actor. 1950 - The American Associated Insurance Companies of St. Louis, Missouri issued the first baby sitter’s insurance policy. 1950 - India was formally proclaimed a republic within the Commonwealth. 1951 - Elizabeth Taylor divorced her first husband, Nicky Hilton, on the grounds of mental cruelty. It was less than a year after their highly publicized wedding. 1951 - Born this day, David Briggs, musician, guitar, Little River Band, Australian group, 1978 US No.3 single Reminiscing plus 12 other US Top 40 singles. 1953 - Film actress, dancer, and sex symbol Rita Hayworth divorced Prince Aly Khan in Reno, Nevada on this date. Hayworth once said, "Every man I knew had fallen in love with Gilda and wakened with me," referring to her most successful film role in Gilda and her less-than-successful track record in marriage. 1956 - Buddy Holly had his first of three 1956 recording sessions for Decca Records and producer, Owen Bradley, in Nashville. Nothing much came out of those sessions. He formed the group, The Three Tunes (changed later to The Crickets), and went on to find fame and fortune when he hooked up with producer Norman Petty in New Mexico. Holly died in a plane crash near Mason City, Iowa, on 3 February 1959 (“the day the music died”). He was 22. Holly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. 1957 - Born this day, Eddie Van Halen, Grammy Award-winning musician, guitar, singer, [Van Halen] 1984 UK No. 7 single Jump, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge [1991], owns recording studio: 5150. 1957 - Born this day, Norman Hassan, percussion, UB40, 1983 UK No.1 and 1988 US No.1 single Red Red Wine and over 30 other top 40 hit singles. 1958 - Born this day, Anita Baker, singer, (Sweet Love, Rhythm of Love, Giving You the Best that I Got). 1958 - Born this day, Ellen DeGeneres, comedienne, actress, (Ellen, Open House). 1959 - Alcoa Presents was seen for the first time on ABC-TV. Later, the show would be renamed One Step Beyond. The program was based on 'true events that are strange, frightening and unexplainable in terms of normal human experience'. 1960 - Pete Rozelle was elected commissioner of the National Football League. He stayed there for more than 25 years. 1961 - President John F. Kennedy appointed Dr. Janet G. Travell (Mrs. John Powell) to the post of personal physician to the President. Dr. Travell was the first woman to hold that post. 1961 - Elvis Presley had his 6th UK No.1 single with Are You Lonesome Tonight. 1962 - In Buffalo, New York, Bishop Burke declared Chubby Checker's The Twist to be impure and banned it from Catholic schools. 1962 - The US spacecraft Ranger 3 went off course, missing the moon by 20,000 miles. 1963 - The Rooftop Singers started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Walk Right In, it made No.10 in the UK. 1963 - Born this day, Jazzie B (Beresford Romeo), rap artist, producer, Soul II Soul, 1989 UK No.1 single Back To Life. 1963 - Born this day, Andrew Ridgeley, musician, guitar, singer, Wham!, with George Michael, 1984 UK No.1 single Wake Me Up Before You Go Go plus 10 other UK top 20 hit singles. 1964 - The British Invasion begins in America as I Want To Hold Your Hand by the Beatles goes to No.1. 1965 - Hindi became the official language of India leading to riots in the south of the country. The following month the government announced that English would continue as an associate official language. 1970 - Commissioner Pete Rozelle of the NFL announced that the three major TV networks, NBC, CBS and ABC, had agreed to pay a total of $124,000,000 over four years to televise the National Football League games. CBS carried the NFC games and NBC had the AFC. ABC came in with an idea to broadcast a thing called, Monday Night Football. 1970 - John Lennon wrote, recorded and mixed his new single Instant Karma, all in one day. 1974 - Mud had their first UK No.1 single with Tiger Feet. 1974 - Ringo Starr went to No.1 on the US singles chart with his version of the Johnny Burnette 1960 hit Your Sixteen, it made No.3 in the UK. 1975 - The BBC Omnibus documentary Cracked Actor, a film about David Bowie, was shown on TV. 1977 - Peter Green ex of Fleetwood Mac, was committed to a mental hospital following an incident when he threatened accountant Clifford Adams with an air rifle when he was trying to deliver a £30,000 royalty cheque. 1977 - Two months after meeting Ginger Alden, Elvis proposed to her at Graceland and put an 11.5-carat engagement rock on her finger. 1977 - Patti Smith fell off a stage, requiring 22 stitches. 1978 - Appearing at The Marquee, London, were Adam And The Ants, tickets were 65p. 1979 - The Gizmo guitar synthesizer was first demonstrated. 1980 - The Clash kicked off 'The 16 Tons' 22-date UK tour at Deeside Leisure Centre. 1980 - Prince made his TV debut on the US show American Bandstand. 1982 - Mrs Thatcher elected in 1979 on the slogan 'Labour isn't working' presided on this day over a jobless total of three million. (1 in 8 of the working population). 1984 - CBS television was brave enough to bring back the sexist, violent, wisecracking Mike Hammer. Mickey Spillane’s extremely violent novels were equally as violent on TV. But this time, all the murder, extortion, kidnapping and robbery cases were solved by the handsome Stacy Keach. Not much else had changed from the original version except Velda, Mike’s secretary, played by Lindsay Bloom, was not only heard, but now was very easy on the primarily-male audience’s eyes. Tight, low-cut dresses were the rule. All female cast members were poured into their costumes. Mike’s best friend had a woman’s name, Betsy. Betsy was Hammer’s .45 caliber pistol that helped him out of many a scrap. 1985 - Foreigner started a three week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with Agent Provocateur. 1986 - Allen Collins from Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed his car, paralysing him from the waist down and killing his girlfriend Debra Jean Watts. 1986 - Yoweri Museveni triumphed after a five-year guerrilla war in Uganda against former military ruler Tito Okello. 1986 - Super Bowl XX – Chicago Bears beat New England Patriots, 46-10 in New Orleans. 1987 - 'Things go better with Coke...' Coca-Cola was named the No.1 soft drink in America. Pepsi-Cola was in the No.2 position. 1988 - The hit musical from London, The Phantom of The Opera, set a Broadway record in advance sales of over $12 million before its grand opening on Broadway on this date. Phantom took in a record-setting amount of $920,272 in seventeen hours when tickets went on sale the previous November. 1989 - Appearing at the Riverside, Newcastle Upon Tyne, were Jane's Addiction. 1991 - The Chinese student leader Wang Dan was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in the 1989 pro-democracy movement. 1991 - Cher made a special video for the troops involved in 'desert storm', during the gulf war 'Cher's Video Canteen', featured Janet Jackson, Paul Simon, Van Halen and Bonnie Raitt. 1991 - German duo Enigma went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their album MCMXC featuring the UK No.1 single Sadness Part 1. 1991 - Queen had their second UK No.1 with Innuendo. It was the third longest No.1 song of all time behind The Beatles Hey Jude, and Simple Minds Belfast Child. 1991 - US act Surface went to No.1 on the US singles charts with The First Time, it made No.60 in the UK. 1992 - Russian President Yeltsin announced that his country would stop targeting US cities with nuclear weapons. 1993 - Appearing at The Underworld, Camden, were Rage Against The Machine. 1993 - Vaclav Havel became the first president of the new Czech Republic. 1994 - Romania became the first former Cold War foe of NATO to sign a partnership document with the military alliance. 1998 - Died this day, S.P. Leary, he had played with many blues legends including Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters. 2001 - On 26 January 2001 an earthquake registering 7.9 on the Richter scale devastated the Indian state of Gujurat. It was the second largest recorded earthquake in India, the largest being in 1737, and was the worst natural disaster in India in more than 50 years. The earthquake struck at approximately 8.46am local time, its epicentre located 80 kilometres north-east of the city of Bhuj. The place in the earth's crust where an earthquake occurs is known as the focus. The epicentre of an earthquake is the place directly above the focus. The shock waves or tremors from the Gujurat earthquake lasted about two minutes, followed by aftershocks for more than a month. 2002 - A post-mortem examination was due to take place on a former top executive of bankrupt US energy giant Enron who apparently committed suicide. 2003 - UN inspectors must be given 'time to do their job' to see if Saddam Hussein is complying with disarmament obligations, Tony Blair said. 2003 - Billy Joel was airlifted to hospital after his car smashed into a tree. The singer lost control of his Mercedes S500 and skidded for 100 yards before crashing. The accident happened in The Hamptons near New York. 2003 - B2K and Puff Daddy went to No.1 on the US singles chart with Bump Bump Bump. |
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.