DBKP Today in Weird History: February 29, 2008

WAR, DISASTER, REPORTS, QUICK-THINKING, MOVIES, VAVOOM, MUSIC, QUITTING, SCIENCE, RATINGS, POLITICS, KILLERS, UNUSUAL, BURNED, KINK, SPORTS, WHAT, RECORDS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

QUICK-THINKING

1504 Christopher Columbus, stranded in Jamaica during his fourth voyage to the West, used a correctly predicted lunar eclipse to frighten hostile natives into providing food for his crew.

You might be interested in reading: Leap Day: Facts, Figures, Birthdays and Famous Events

WAR!

1856 Hostilities in Russo-Turkish War cease.

1944 US troops land on Los Negros, Admirality Islands.

DISASTER

1960 Earthquake kills 1/3 of Agadir Morocco population (12,000) in 15 seconds.

1996 A Peruvian commercial jetliner crashed in the Andes, killing all 123 people on board.

UNUSUAL

1904 Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenberdorft Sr near Hamburg, Germany; had a Christian name for every letter in the alphabet, shortened it to Mr Wolfe Plus 585 Sr.

VAVOOM!

1960, the first Playboy Club, featuring waitresses clad in "bunny" outfits, opened in Chicago.

KINK

1784 Marquis de Sade transferred from Vincennes fortress to the Bastille.

RECORDS

1964 Frank Rugani sets badminton shuttlecock distance record, 24.3 meters.

WHAT?

1988 NYC Mayor Koch calls Reagan a "WIMP" in the war on drugs.

POLITICS

1956 Islamic Republic established in Pakistan.

2000 George W. Bush won Republican presidential primaries in Virginia, Washington state and North Dakota, defeating John McCain; Vice President Al Gore crushed fellow Democrat Bill Bradley in Washington state.

SPORTS

1964 North Carolina high school basketball teams play to 56-54 score in 13 overtime.

KILLERS

1996 Daniel Green was convicted in Lumberton, North Carolina, of murdering James R. Jordan, the father of basketball star Michael Jordan, during a 1993 roadside holdup. (Green and an accomplice, Larry Martin Demery, were sentenced to life in prison.)

2000 Six-year-old Kayla Rolland was fatally shot by a fellow first-grader at Buell Elementary School in Mount Morris Township, Michigan.

REPORTS

1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson's National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (also known as the Kerner Commission) warned that racism was causing America to move "toward two societies, one black, one white -- separate and unequal."

BURNED

1528 Patrick Hamilton Scottish protestant martyr, burned at stake.

MOVIES

1940 "Gone with the Wind" won eight Academy Awards, including best picture of 1939.

2000 "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" won a record-tying 11 Academy Awards, including best picture; Sean Penn took the best-actor prize for "Mystic River" and Charlize Theron won best actress for "Monster."

SCIENCE

1968 the discovery of the first "pulsar," a star which emits regular radio waves, was announced by Dr. Jocelyn Bell Burnell in Cambridge, England.

MUSIC

1968 at the Grammy Awards, the 5th Dimension's "Up, Up and Away" won record of the year for 1967, while album of the year honors went to The Beatles for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

QUITTING

1984 Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau announced he was stepping down after more than 15 combined years in power.

2000 Facing rebellion, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned and left for exile in the Central African Republic.

RATINGS

1996 About 30 television and entertainment industry executives met with President Clinton at the White House, where they promised to devise a TV ratings system.

BORN

1908 The artist known as Balthus was born in Paris.

1936 Henri "Rocket" Richard NHL center (Montréal Canadiens).

1944 Dennis Farina Chicago IL, actor (Mike Torello-Crime Story).

BIRTHDAYS

Actress Michele Morgan is 88. Actor James Mitchell is 88. Actor Joss Ackland is 80. Actor Alex Rocco is 72. Former space shuttle astronaut Jack Lousma is 72. Actor Dennis Farina is 64. Actress Phyllis Frelich is 64. Actor Antonio Sabato Jr. is 36. Rapper Ja Rule is 32.

DEATH

1992 Johnny Mack British actor (Time Lord-Dr Who), dies at 70.

2000 Playwright Jerome Lawrence died in Malibu, California, at age 88.

February 29th, the 60th day of 2008. There are 306 days left in the year. This is Leap Day.

compiled by Mondoreb
image: eaae
Sources:
* Today in History

* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: February 19, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, TREASON, POLITICS, PATENTS, NANNY STATE, MASSACRE, BURNED, DIPLOMACY, LABOR, PROGRESS, INSANE, CEREAL, PRIZE, MARRIAGE, JEWS, PRO WRESTLING, CROCS, FAST, CARTOONS, HELP, PLAGIARISM, COKE, MICKEY, HEALTH NAZIS, PORN, TRASHED, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH


WAR!

1945 during World War II, some 30,000 U.S. Marines began landing on Iwo Jima, where they commenced a successful monthlong battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces.

1634 Battle at Smolensk Polish king Wladyslaw IV beats Russians.

1942 President Roosevelt signed an executive order that gave the military the authority to relocate and intern U.S. residents, including citizens, of Japanese ancestry.

1942 Japanese warplanes, attacking in two waves, raided the Australian city of Darwin; at least 243 people were killed.

TERRORISM

1986 Jordanian King Hussein severs ties with PLO.

DISASTER

1884 Tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky & Indiana kill 800 people. No claims of climate change made.

1985 150 killed when a Spanish jetliner crashed approaching Bilbao, Spain.

2003 An Iranian military plane carrying 275 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards crashed in southeastern Iran, killing all on board.

PRIZE!

1913 1st prize inserted into a Cracker Jack box.

INSANE

1859 Dan Sickles is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity 1st time this defense is successfully used.

HEALTH NAZIS

1987 Anti-smoking ad airs for 1st time on TV, featuring Yul Brynner.

CEREAL

1906 W K Kellogg & Charles D Bolin incorporate Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, Battle Creek MI.

CROCS

1945 900 Japanese soldiers reportedly killed by crocodiles in 2 days.

HELP!

1964 UK flies ½ ton of Beatle wigs to US.

TRASHED

1998 US hockey team destroys their rooms at Olympics village in Japan.

PORN

1992 Porn producer Jim Mitchell found guilty of killing his brother Artie.

COKE

1985 Canned & bottled Cherry Coke introduced by Coca-Cola.

PRO WRESTLING

1942 Bill Longson beats Managoff & Sandor Szabo, to become wrestling champion.

PLAGIARISM

1981 George Harrison is ordered to pay ABKCO Music $587,000 for "subconscious plagiarism" "My Sweet Lord" with "He's So Fine"

LABOR

1537 Weavers of Leiden Netherlands strike.

FAST!

1959 USAF rocket-powered rail sled attains Mach 4.1 (4970 kph), New Mexico.

TREASON

In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr, accused of treason, was arrested in the Mississippi Territory, in present-day Alabama. (Burr was acquitted at trial.)

MARRIAGE

1934 Bob & Dolores Hope marry.

MICKEY

1985 Mickey Mouse welcomed in China.

BURNED

1401 William Sawtree 1st English religious martyr, burned in London.

1545 Pierre Brully [Peter Brulius], calvinist minister, burned to death.

JEWS

1941 Nazis raid Koco Amsterdam & round up 429 young Jews for deportation.

PROGRESS

1831 1st practical US coal-burning locomotive makes 1st trial run, Pennsylvania.

CARTOONS

1960 Bil Keane's "Family Circus" cartoon strip debuts.

POLITICS

1846 the Texas state government was formally installed in Austin, with J. Pinckney Henderson taking the oath of office as governor.

2003 Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt announced his second candidacy for president with a pledge to repeal most of President Bush's tax cuts.

PATENTS

1878 Thomas Edison received a U.S. patent for "an improvement in phonograph or speaking machines."

NANNY STATE

1881 Kansas prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.

DIPLOMACY

1998 U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan set out for Iraq on a last-chance peace mission, saying he was "reasonably optimistic" about ending the standoff over weapons inspections without the use of force.

2007 Three-way talks between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli and Palestinian leaders, initially billed as a new U.S. push to restart peace efforts, ended with little progress other than a commitment to meet again.

MASSACRE

1983 13 people were found shot to death at a gambling club in Seattle's Chinatown in what became known as the "Wah Mee Massacre." (Two Chinese immigrants were convicted of the killings and sentenced to life in prison.)

BORN

1473 Nicolaus Copernicus Torún, Poland, astronomer (heliocentrism).

1916 Eddie Arcaro jockey (1958 Racing Hall of Fame, 2 triple crowns).

1943 "Mama" Cass Elliot actress (Mamas & Papas-Monday Monday).

BIRTHDAYS

Singer Smokey Robinson is 68. Singer Bobby Rogers (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles) is 68. Actress Carlin Glynn is 68. Singer Lou Christie is 65. Actor Michael Nader is 63. Rock musician Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell) is 60. Author Amy Tan is 56. Actor Jeff Daniels is 53. Rock singer-musician Dave Wakeling is 52. Talk show host Lorianne Crook is 51. Actor Ray Winstone is 51. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is 49. Britain's Prince Andrew is 48. Tennis Hall-of-Famer Hana Mandlikova is 46. Singer Seal is 45. Country musician Ralph McCauley (Wild Horses) is 44. Actress Justine Bateman is 42. Actor Benicio Del Toro is 41. Rock musician Daniel Adair is 33. Pop singer-actress Haylie Duff is 23.

DEATH

1980 Bon Scott Australian rock vocalist (AC/DC-Whole Lotta Rosie), dies at 33.

1997 Deng Xiaoping, the last of China's major Communist revolutionaries, died at age 92.

1998 Grandpa Jones country comic/banjo wizard (Hee Haw), dies at 84.

2007 Actress Janet Blair died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 85.


February 19, the 50th day of 2008. There are 316 days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
image: teachpol
Source:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: February 17, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTERS, BURNED, POLITICS, PROGRESS, CHINA CARD, CHESS, HANGED, VEGETABLES, JIHAD, TOILETS, NANNY STATE, CARTOONS, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, JEWS, MUSIC, FINANCE, ENVIRONMENTAL SCARE, KILLERS, HUSTLER, CLINTONS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

click on image to read Newsweek's "The Cooling World"

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1933 1st issue of "Newsweek" magazine published.

WAR!

1864 The Confederate submarine Hunley, equipped with an explosive at the end of a protruding spar, rammed and sank the Union's ship Housatonic off the coast of Charleston, S.C.

1865 Columbia, S.C., burned as the Confederates evacuated and Union forces moved in. (It's not clear which side set the blaze.)

1915 Edward Stone, 1st US combatant to die in WWI, is mortally wounded.

1979 China invades Vietnam.

2003 European Union leaders declared their solidarity with the United States, warning Saddam Hussein that Iraq faced one "last chance" to disarm peacefully but calling war a last resort.

2007 Senate Republicans foiled a Democratic bid to repudiate President Bush's deployment of 21,500 additional combat troops to Iraq.

2007 Marine Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington was sentenced to eight years in military prison for his role in the kidnapping and killing of an Iraqi civilian.

TERRORISM

1986 Libyan bombers attack N'djamena Airport in Chad.

1988 US Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins kidnapped by Lebanese terrorists & later killed.

1993 Alfredo de Leon leader (Philippines Red Scorpio Gang), killed.

1998 Larry Wayne Harris & Bill Levitt arrested for possession of anthrax.

DISASTER

1926 Avalanche buries 75 in Sap Gulch Bingham UT, 40 die.

1950 31 die in a train crash in Rockville Center, New York.

1957 Fire in Warreton MO, kills 72.

1962 Storm in Hamburg, kills 265.

1974 49 die in stampede for seats at soccer match, Cairo, Egypt.

1993 Haitian ferry boat capsize in storm, 800-2,000 die.

2003 Twenty-one people were killed in a stampede at the crowded E2 nightclub in Chicago.

HANGED

1688 Reverend James Renwick hanged in Scotland for being a Presbyterian.

VEGETABLES

1795 Thomas Seddal harvests 8.3-kg potato from his garden Chester, England.

TOILETS

1883 A Ashwell patents free-toilet in London.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCARE

1989 6-week study of Arctic atmosphere shows no ozone "hole".

MUSIC

1962 Beach Boys introduced a new musical style with their hit "Surfin".

HUSTLER

1997 Weekly Standard shows evidence Larry Flint sex abused his daughter.

CARTOONS

1933 Blondie Boopadoop marries Dagwood Bumstead; Dagwood's father promptly disinherits him.

1958 Comic strip "BC" 1st appears.

JIHAD

1568 Holy Roman Emperor agrees to pay annual tribute to Sultan for peace.

CLINTONS

1998 President Clinton, preparing Americans for possible air strikes against Iraq, said military force is never the first answer "but sometimes it's the only answer."

KILLERS

1970 Jeffrey McDonald slices up his wife & daughter.

1995 Colin Fergusson found guilty of killing 6 people on the Long Island Railroad in New York.

1998 Diane Zamora, 20, Naval Academy cadet convicted of capital murder.

FINANCE

1981 Chrysler Corp reports largest corporate losses in US history.

NANNY STATE

1913 1st minimum wage law in US takes effect (Oregon).

BURNED

1600 Italian philospher, alchemist, and Copernican theory advocate Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for heresy by the Inquisition.

JEWS

1943 Dutch churches protest at Seyss-Inquart against persecution of Jews.

1949 Chaim Weizman elected 1st President of Israel.

1969 Golda Meir sworn in as Israel's 1st female prime minister.

2007 Former French Cabinet minister Maurice Papon, convicted of complicity in crimes against humanity for his role in deporting Jews during World War II, died near Paris at age 96.

POLITICS

1801 The electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr was broken by the House of Representatives who elected Jefferson president.

CHINA CARD

1972 President Richard Nixon left on his trip to China.

PROGRESS

1817 Baltimore became the first U.S. city lit by gas.

CHESS

1996 Chess champion Garry Kasparov beat the IBM computer, Deep Blue, winning the six-game match.

BORN

1817 Frederick Douglass famous African-American.

1844 A. Montgomery Ward founded mail-order business (Montgomery Ward).

1854 Friedrich A Krupp German arms manufacturer.

1908 sportscaster Walter Lanier "Red" Barber was born in Columbus, Miss.

BIRTHDAYS

Bandleader Orrin Tucker is 97. Actor Hal Holbrook is 83. Mystery writer Ruth Rendell is 78. Singer Bobby Lewis is 75. Comedian Dame Edna (AKA Barry Humphries) is 74. Country singer-songwriter Johnny Bush is 73. Football Hall-of-Famer Jim Brown is 72. Actress Mary Ann Mobley is 69. Actress Brenda Fricker is 63. Actress Rene Russo is 54. Actor Richard Karn is 52. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 46. Basketball player Michael Jordan is 45. Actor-comedian Larry, the Cable Guy is 45. TV personality Rene Syler is 45. Movie director Michael Bay is 44. Singer Chante Moore is 41. Rock musician Timothy J. Mahoney (311) is 38. Actor Dominic Purcell is 38. Actress Denise Richards is 37. Rock singer-musician Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is 36. Actor Jerry O'Connell is 34. Country singer Bryan White is 34. Actress Kelly Carlson is 32. Actor Jason Ritter is 28. TV personality Paris Hilton is 27. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 27.

DEATH

1908 Geronimo Apache chief, dies at about 79.

1982 Theolonious S Monk US, jazz pianist/composer (Blue Monk), dies at 64.

1990 Keith Haring US graffiti-artist, dies at 31.

February 17, the 48th day of 2008. There are 318 days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
image: austrianeconomists
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: February 9, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTERS, TIME, POLITICS, COMMIES, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, SCIENCE, WEATHER, BURNED, RESISTANCE, EXECUTED, SERIAL KILLERS, SIMIANS, PATENTS, VEGETABLES, SPORTS, NANNY STATE, NAZIS, ESCAPES, PROGRESS, SUICIDE, RESTROOMS, RECORDS, OPIUM KINGS, SIMPSONS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH



COMMIES

1950 in a speech in Wheeling, W.Va., Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., charged the State Department was riddled with Communists.

WAR!

1674 English re-conquer New York from Netherlands.

1775 English Parliament declares Massachusetts colony is in rebellion.

1943 the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.

1998 The Pentagon said it was sending up to 3,000 U.S. ground troops to the Persian Gulf region to discourage what one official called "any creative thinking" by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

2003 President Bush told congressional Republicans at a policy conference that Iraq had fooled the world for more than a decade about its banned weapons and the United Nations was now facing "a moment of truth" in disarming Saddam Hussein. The leaders of Germany and Russia renewed their calls for a peaceful resolution in Iraq, restating their opposition to any U.S.-led war to disarm and oust Saddam Hussein.

TERRORISM

2007 Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Munich, Germany, that serial numbers and other markings on bombs suggested that Iranians were linked to deadly explosives used by Iraqi militants.

DISASTER

1913 10 Day Tragedy of Mexico-City; 3,000 die.

1971 Quake in San Fernando Valley kills 65 & causes over $½ billion damage.

2001 A U.S. Navy submarine collided with a Japanese fishing boat off the Hawaiian coast, killing nine men and boys aboard the boat.

RECORDS

1992 Fastest yodeler-22 tones/15 falsetto in 1 second by Thomas School of Germany.

VEGETABLES

1891 1st shipment of asparagus arrives in San Francisco from Sacramento.

OPIUM KINGS

1993 Army of opium king Khun Sa kills 60 in NE Burma.

RESTROOMS

1987 New York Stock Exchange installs ladies restroom in the Exchange Luncheon Club.

SIMPSONS

1997 Fox cartoon series "Simpsons" airs 167th episode the longest-running animated series in cartoon history.

PATENTS

1863 Fire extinguisher patented by Alanson Crane.

NAMES

1942 Philadelphia "Phillies" change nickname (temporarily) to "Phils", thereby saving three letters (l.i.e.) for the war effort.

ESCAPES

1947 Bank robber Willie Sutton escapes jail in Philadelphia PA.

PROGRESS

1969 World's largest airplane, Boeing 747, makes 1st commercial flight.

SUICIDE

1987 Former national security adviser Robert McFarlane attempts suicide.

LABOR

1943 FDR orders minimal 48 hour work week in war industry.

1955 US federations of trade unions merge into AFL/CIO.

NAZIS

1941 Nazi collaborators destroy pro-Jewish café Alcazar Amsterdam (Alcazar refused to hang "No Entry for Jews" signs in front of cafe).

1943 Nazis arrest Dutch sons of rich parents.

NANNY STATE

1909 1st federal legislation prohibiting narcotics (opium).

SPORTS

1895 1st intercollegiate basketball game (Minnesota Agricultural beats Hamline, 9-3).

1895 Volleyball invented by W G Morgan in Massachusetts.

TIME

1942 daylight-saving "War Time" went into effect in the United States, with clocks turned one hour forward.

BURNED

1583 Jeseph Sanalbo Jewish convert in Rome, burned at stake.

THEORIES

1926 Teaching theory of evolution forbidden in Atlanta GA schools.

EXECUTED

1943 ... Reydons wife of General Reydons, shot to death by resistance.

RESISTANCE

1945 George J L Maduro resistance fighter (Madurodam), dies in Dachau.

SERIAL KILLERS

1978 Kimberly Leach killed by Ted Bundy in Lake City FL at age 12.

SIMIANS

1977 Gaus, an orangutan who lived to be 59 dies.

POLITICS

1825 The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

1861 Tennessee votes against secession.

1861 Jefferson Davis was elected the provisional president of the Confederate States of America.

1867 Nebraska becomes 37th US state.

WEATHER

1870 The U.S. Weather Bureau was established.

1922 Snow on Mauna Loa, Hawaii.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1953 "The Adventures of Superman" TV series premieres in syndication.

1964 The Beatles made their first live American television appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on CBS.

1971 Probably 1st gay theme TV episode - All in the Family.

SCIENCE

1971 The crew of Apollo 14 returned to Earth after man's third landing on the moon.

BORN

1773 The ninth president of the United States, William Henry Harrison, was born in Charles City County, Va.

BIRTHDAYS

Actress Kathryn Grayson is 86. Television journalist Roger Mudd is 80. Actress Janet Suzman is 69. Actress-politician Sheila James Kuehl ("The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis") is 67. Singer-songwriter Carole King is 66. Actor Joe Pesci is 65. Singer Barbara Lewis is 65. Author Alice Walker is 64. Actress Mia Farrow is 63. Singer Joe Ely is 61. Actress Judith Light is 59. Rhythm-and-blues musician Dennis "DT" Thomas (Kool & the Gang) is 57. Actor Charles Shaughnessy is 53. Country singer Travis Tritt is 45. Actress Julie Warner is 43. Country singer Danni Leigh is 38. Actor Jason George is 36. Actor-producer Charlie Day is 32. Actress Ziyi Zhang is 29. Actor David Gallagher is 23. Actress Marina Malota is 20. Actress Camille Winbush ("The Bernie Mac Show") is 18.

DEATH

1984 Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov died at age 69, less than 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was succeeded by Konstantin U. Chernenko.

2002 Princess Margaret sister of Queen Elizabeth II of England, dies from a stroke at 71.

2007 British actor Ian Richardson, who portrayed immoral politician Francis Urquhart in the satirical TV drama "House of Cards," died in London at age 72.

February 9, the 40th day of 2008. There are 326 days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
image: gov.archives
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.