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March 19th
721BC - According to the Roman historian Ptolemy, Babylonian astronomers noted history's first recorded eclipse: an eclipse of the moon. 1589 - Born this day, Plymouth Colony Governor, William Bradford. 1644 - When the Manchus took Peking, they decided to end the princely rank in China, obliging 200 members of the Imperial family to commit suicide on this day. 1813 - Born this day, David Livingstone, Scottish explorer of Africa. 1822 - The City Temple, Holborn, London became the first church to be lit by electricity. 1834 - The Tolpuddle Martyrs, who fought low farm wages, were sentenced to seven years' transportation to Tasmania. 1848 - Born this day, Marshal Wyatt Earp. 1851 - Born this day, Grand Duke Frederick Francis III, of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in Ludwigslust, Germany. Died 10 April 1897 in Cannes, France. 1860 - Born this day, William Jennings Bryan, jurist. 1877 - In the very first cricket Test match, Australia beat England by 45 runs. (Held where?). 1891 - Born this day, Earl Warren, Chief Justice. 1904 - Born this day, John Sirica, 'Watergate' Judge. 1916 - The first US air combat mission in history saw eight Curtiss 'Jenny' planes of the First Aero Squadron take off from Columbus, New Mexico, to aid troops who had invaded Mexico in pursuit of the revolutionary Pancho Villa. 1918 - US Congress passed the Standard Time Act, which authorised the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish standard time zones in the United States. 1920 - The US Senate voted against joining the League of Nations (the Treaty of Versailles), fearing they would have to go to war again if another member state was invaded. 1928 - Born this day, Patrick McGoohan, actor, (The Prisoner). (I am not a number.... I'm a free man!). 1931 - On this date in 1931, in an attempt to lift the state out of the hard times of the Great Depression, the Nevada state legislature voted to legalise gambling. Located in the Great Basin desert, few settlers chose to live in Nevada after the United States acquired the territory at the end of the Mexican War in 1848. In 1859, the discovery of the "Comstock Lode" of gold and silver spurred the first substantial number of settlers into Nevada to exploit the territory's mining opportunities. Five years later, during the Civil War, Nevada was hastily made the 36th state in order to strengthen the Union. At the beginning of the Depression, Nevada's mines were in decline, and its economy was in shambles. In March 1931, Nevada's state legislature responded to population flight by taking the drastic measure of legalising gambling and, later in the year, divorce. Established in 1905, Las Vegas, Nevada, has since become the gambling and entertainment capital of the world, famous for its casinos, nightclubs, and sporting events. In the first few decades after the legalization of gambling, organised crime flourished in Las Vegas. Today, state gambling taxes account for the lion's share of Nevada's overall tax revenues. 1932 - Sydney Harbour Bridge opened, the world's longest single-span arch bridge. 1933 - Born this day, Philip Roth, novelist. 1935 - Born this day, Phyllis Newman, in Jersey City, New Jersey. She married writer Adolph Green (Bells Are Ringing (1960), What a Way to Go! (1964)) in 1960, and in 1964 appeared in That Was the Week That Was. 1936 - Born this day, Ursula Andress, in Berne, Switzerland, actress. 1937 - Born this day, Clarence 'Frogman' Henry, singer (Ain't Got No Home). 1942 - With World War II (WWII) under way, all men in the United States between the ages of 45 and 64, about 13 million, were ordered to register with the draft boards for non-military duty. 1942 - Born this day, Robin Luke, singer (Susie Darlin'). 1944 - Born this day, Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, former President Lyndon B. Johnsons daughter. 1946 - Born this day, Paul Atkinson, guitar, The Zombies, 1964 US No.2 and UK No.12 single She's Not There. 1946 - Born this day, Ruth Pointer, the Pointer Sisters, 1981 US No.2 single Slow Hand, 1984 UK No.2 single Automatic. 1947 - Born this day, Glenn Close, actress. 1952 - Born this day, Derek Longmuir, Bay City Rollers, 1975 UK No.1 single Bye Bye Baby plus 11 other UK top 20 singles, 1976 US No.1 single Saturday Night. 1953 - Born this day, Ricky Wilson, The B-52's, 1990 UK No.2 and US No.3 single Love Shack. Died 12 October 1985. 1953 - Legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille won the only Academy Award of his career when The Greatest Show on Earth, a big budget extravaganza about circus life, took home an Oscar for Best Picture. 1955 - Born this day, Bruce Willis, actor, (Moonlighting - with Cybil Shephard, Die Hard), singer, 1987 UK No.2 single Under The Boardwalk. 1955 - On this day Ruby Murray set a record for a female singer - five singles in the top 20 at one time. 1957 - Elvis Presley purchased the stately mansion 'Graceland' in Whitehaven, Memphis. He paid $102,500 for the property, which had previously been used by the Graceland Christian Church. 1958 - Big Records released Our Song by a teenage duo from Queens, New York, called Tom and Jerry. The duo went on to become famous in the '60s under their real names, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. 1959 - Born this day, Terry Hall, vocals, Specials, 1981 UK No.1 single Ghost Town, with Fun Boy Three, 1982 UK No.4 single It Ain't What You Do It's The Way That You Do It with Bananarama, with Colour Field, 1985 UK No.12 single Thinking Of You, also a member of Vegas. 1962 - A 300 year-old skull was discovered beneath 10 Downing Street, in London. 1964 - Billy J. Kramer And The Dakotas were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Little Children. The group’s second No.1. 1964 - UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson presented The Beatles with their awards for show business personalities of the year for 1963 at London's Dorchester Hotel. 1965 - The Tailor And Cutter Magazine ran an article asking The Rolling Stones to wear ties to save tie-makers from financial disaster. 1966 - Born this day, Nigel Clough, footballer. 1966 - Gary Leeds of the Walker Brothers was abducted by British students raising money for charity. 1968 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience played two shows at The Capitol Theatre, Ottawa, Canada. 1970 - Born this day, Kelly Holmes, athlete. 1971 - Bobby Sherman guested on ABC-TV's Partridge Family, it led to him getting his own series Getting' Together. 1974 - Jefferson Airplane became Jefferson Starship. 1976 - Died this day, Gary Thain, bass player with Uriah Heep, of a drug overdose aged 28. 1976 - Died this day, Paul Kossoff, guitarist, ex of Free and Back Street Crawler, of heart failure on a flight from Los Angeles to New York, after a long history of drug abuse. 1970 UK No.2 single All Right Now, 1971 UK No.4 single My Brother Jake, 1973 UK No.7 single Wishing Well. 1978 - Billy Joel made his UK live debut at London's Dury Lane Theatre. 1981 - The J. Geils Band were at No.1 on the US singles chart with Centrefold, Roxy Music had the UK No.1 with Jealous Guy. 1982 - Died this day, Randy Rhoads of The Ozzy Osborne Band, hairdresser Rachel Youngblood and pilot Andrew Aycock were all killed, near Orlando, Florida, whilst buzzing the bands tour bus in a light aircraft, when it clipped the bus and crashed. 1986 - Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Her engagement ring was a ruby surrounded by ten diamonds. 1987 - South Carolina televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as head of the PTL Club, saying he was blackmailed after a sexual encounter with former church secretary Jessica Hahn. 1988 - Two British soldiers who blundered into an IRA cortege in west Belfast were killed by a lynch mob. 1990 - Appearing at The Dome, Brighton, was Everything But The Girl. 1991 - Khaleda Zia became the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh. 1992 - Jet Harris from The Shadows was banned from driving for three years and fined £120 for drunk driving. 1992 - Buckingham Palace confirmed that the Duchess of York was seeking a divorce from Prince Andrew, exactly six years after announcing their engagement. 1993 - US Justice Byron White, the lone remaining member of the US Supreme Court appointed by a Democrat, announced he would retire, opening the way for President Clinton to make his first high judicial nomination. 1993 - A high school in the Los Angeles suburb of Lakewood, California, was rocked by the arrests of eight youths, allegedly members of a gang that raped and molested girls as part of a game. 1993 - Federal bankruptcy judge Abraham Hirschfeld, described by his own staff as a 'nut', was confirmed as the buyer of the New York Post. 1994 - Doop were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Doop. 1996 - Shaun Ryder announced that Black Grape dancer Bez had quit the band. 1996 - The second Beatles 'Anthology' series was released. Featuring Real Love, a track the remaining members of the Beatles recorded using an old demo track of John Lennon's voice. 1996 - Republican presidential hopeful Bob Dole won primaries in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. 1997 - A federal judge in Phoenix, Arizona, began sentencing 10 members of a paramilitary group to prison after they pleaded guilty to various counts, including conspiracy to make and possess destructive devices. 1997 - President Clinton nominated acting CIA director George Tenet to head the agency. 2000 - Geri Halliwell scored her third UK No.1 single with Bag It Up. It made Geri the first woman in chart history to have 10 UK No.1 hits. 2000 - The mother of Jamie Bulger made an emotional plea for 'the evil little monsters' who killed the toddler to have their 15-year sentences upheld by the Lord Chief Justice. 2001 - Geri Halliwell's London home was broken into. The intruder left obscene notes on the walls, stole the singer's computer, Hi Fi, had thrown milk and ribena on the walls and stole a necklace that used to belong to Liz Taylor. 2002 - Robbers stole at least three million US dollars from a South African Airways flight after hijacking a security van at Heathrow Airport. 2002 - Israel completed its army's pullout of the West Bank by leaving Bethelehem, one day after Israeli Prime Minister Arial Sharon met with US Vice President Dick Cheney. The following day a suicide bomber killed seven Israelis on a bus. 2003 - Thousands of British troops were poised to invade Iraq as Saddam Hussein defied a final United States ultimatum to leave the country or face war. 2003 - A musical based on the life of Cliff Richard opened in London. |
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.