DBKP Today in Weird History: March 14, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, PATENTS, IMMIGRATION, LEVIATHAN, GUILTY, NOT GUILTY, SPIES, POLITICS, JEWS, TOP TEN, NICE GUYS, CLINTONS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

TOP TEN

1950 FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives" program begins.

WAR!

1951 During the Korean War, United Nations forces recaptured Seoul.

TERRORISM

1991 a British court overturned the convictions of the "Birmingham Six," who had spent 16 years in prison for an Irish Republican Army bombing, and ordered them released.

2007 The Pentagon released the transcript of a military hearing in which Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said he "was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z."

DISASTER

1940 27 killed, 15 injured when truck full of migrant workers collides with a train outside McAllen TX.

1960 14 die in a train crash in Bakersfield CA.

1980 A Polish airliner crashed while making an emergency landing near Warsaw, killing all 87 people aboard, including 22 members of a U.S. amateur boxing team.

1997 Iranian military plane crashes, killing 80.

1998 An earthquake killed at least five people and left some 10,000 homeless in southeastern Iran.

NICE GUYS

1983 OPEC cut oil prices for 1st time in 23 years.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1968 CBS TV suspends Radio Free Europe free advertising because RFE doesn't make it clear it is sponsored by the CIA.

PATENTS

1794 Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin, an invention that revolutionized America's cotton industry.

NOT GUILTY

2003 Actor Robert Blake was released from jail on $1.5 million bail, 11 months after he was arrested on charges of murdering his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. (Blake was later acquitted at trial.)

IMMIGRATION

1907 President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order designed to prevent Japanese laborers from immigrating to the United States as part of a "gentlemen's agreement" with Japan.

CLINTONS

1997 President Clinton trips & tears up his knee requiring surgery.

LEVIATHAN

1923 President Harding became the first chief executive to file an income tax return.

1971 The Rolling Stones leave England for France to escape taxes.

JEWS

1965 Israeli cabinet approves diplomatic relations with West Germany.

GUILTY

1964 A jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy.

POLITICS

1629 England granted a royal charter to Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1644 England grants patent for Providence Plantations (now Rhode Island).

SPIES

2003 Christopher Boyce, whose Cold War spying was immortalized on film in "The Falcon and the Snowman," was released from a halfway house in San Francisco after a quarter-century in prison.

BORN

1879 Albert Einstein Ulm Germany, (E=mc²/Theory of Relativity, Nobel 1921).

BIRTHDAYS

Former astronaut Frank Borman is 80. Singer Phil Phillips is 77. Actor Michael Caine is 75. Composer-conductor Quincy Jones is 75. Former astronaut Eugene Cernan is 74. Actor Raymond J. Barry is 69. Movie director Wolfgang Petersen is 67. Country singer Michael Martin Murphey is 63. Rock musician Walt Parazaider (Chicago) is 63. Actor Steve Kanaly is 62. Comedian Billy Crystal is 60. Country singer Jann Browne is 54. Actor Adrian Zmed is 54. Prince Albert II, the ruler of Monaco, is 50. Actress Tamara Tunie is 49. Actress Penny Johnson Jerald is 47. Producer-director-writer Kevin Williamson is 43. Actor Gary Anthony Williams is 42. Actress Megan Follows is 40. Rock musician Michael Bland is 39. Country singer Kristian Bush is 38. Rock musician Derrick (Jimmie's Chicken Shack) is 36. Actor Jake Fogelnest is 29. Actor Chris Klein is 29. Actress Kate Maberly is 26. Singer-musician Taylor Hanson (Hanson) is 25. Actor Jamie Bell is 22.

DEATH

1883 German political philosopher Karl Marx died in London.

1932 George Eastman US industrialist (Kodak-camera), suicide at 77.

1961 Akiba Rubinstein Polish chess player (opening theorist), dies at 78.

March 14, the 74th day of 2008. There are 292 days left in the year.


compiled by Mondoreb
image: morning-calm
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Also atDeath by 1000 Papercuts.

DBKP Today in Weird History: March 7, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, POLITICS, PATENTS, PROGRESS, COMING WAR, ASSASSINATION, PRONOUNCEMENTS, JAZZ, LABOR, PRO WRESTLING, SPORTS, JEWS, OH NO, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, HEALTH NAZIS, CIVIL RIGHTS,BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

GAMES

1933 Game of "Monopoly" invented.

WAR!

1945 during World War II, U.S. forces crossed the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany, using the damaged but still usable Ludendorff Bridge.

1991 Iraq continues to explode oil fields in Kuwait.

TERRORISM

1981 anti-government guerrillas in Colombia executed kidnapped American Bible translator Chester Allen Bitterman, whom they accused of being a CIA agent.

2007 A suicide attacker blew himself up in a cafe northeast of Baghdad, killing 30 people.

DISASTER

2007 Ten people were killed in the Bronx, N.Y., when fire tore through their home.

CIVIL RIGHTS

1965 A march by civil rights demonstrators was broken up in Selma, Ala., by state troopers and a sheriff's posse.

PRONOUNCEMENTS

1908 Cincinnati Mayor Mark Breith stood before city council & announced that, "women are not physically fit to operate automobiles".

SPORTS

1955 Baseball commissioner Ford Frick says he favors legalization of the spitter.

PRO WRESTLING

1940 Ray Steele beats B Nagurski in St Louis, to become wrestling champion.

HEALTH NAZIS

1997 5 sue Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, because his smoking has violated the country's constitution guaranteeing a wholesome life.

OH NO

1981 1st homicide at Disneyland, 18 year old is stabbed to death.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1993 Diff'rent Stroke actor Todd Bridges arrested for stabbing a tenant.

JAZZ

1917 1st jazz record "Dixie Jazz Band One Step", recorded by Nick LaRocca Original Dixieland Jazz Band, released by RCA Victor in Camden NJ.

LABOR

1932 Riots at Ford-factory Dearborn MI, kills 4.

1967 Teamster president Jimmy Hoffa begins 8-year jail sentence at Lewisburg Federal Prison for defrauding the union & jury tampering (commuted Dec 23, 1971).

KILLERS

2007 Sex offender John Evander Couey was found guilty in Miami of kidnapping, raping and murdering 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, who was buried alive.

POLITICS

1850 In a 3-hour speech to the U.S. Senate, Daniel Webster endorsed the Compromise of 1850 as a means of preserving the Union.

1975 The Senate revised its filibuster rule, allowing 60 senators to limit debate in most cases, instead of the previously required two-thirds of senators present.

PATENTS

1854 Charles Miller patents 1st US sewing machine to stitch buttonholes

1876 Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his telephone.

PROGRESS

1926 The first successful trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversations took place, between New York and London.

JEWS

1977 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin meets President Carter.

COMING WAR

1774 British close port of Boston to all commerce.

1936 Adolf Hitler ordered his troops to march into the Rhineland, thereby breaking the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact.

1998 Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, speaking in Rome, said the U.S. wouldn't tolerate any more violence in Kosovo, which she blamed on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

ASSASSINATION

1951 Ali Razmara Shah of Iran (1950-51), assassinated.

BORN

1849 horticulturist Luther Burbank was born in Lancaster, Mass.

BIRTHDAYS

Comedian Alan Sues is 82. Photographer Lord Snowdon is 78. TV personality Willard Scott is 74. Auto racer Janet Guthrie is 70. Actor Daniel J. Travanti is 68. Former Walt Disney Co. chief executive officer Michael Eisner is 66. Rock musician Chris White (The Zombies) is 65. Actor John Heard is 62. Rock singer Peter Wolf is 62. Rock musician Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum) is 62. Football Hall of Famer Franco Harris is 58. Football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann is 56. Rhythm-and-blues singer-musician Ernie Isley (The Isley Brothers) is 56. Actor Bryan Cranston is 52. Actress Donna Murphy is 49. Actor Nick Searcy is 49. Tennis Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl is 48. Actor Bill Brochtrup is 45. Opera singer Denyce Graves is 44. Comedian Wanda Sykes is 44. Singer-actress Taylor Dayne is 43. Rock musician Randy Guss (Toad the Wet Sprocket) is 41. Actor Peter Sarsgaard is 37. Actress Rachel Weisz is 37. Classical singer Sebastien Izambard (Il Divo) is 35. Rock singer Hugo Ferreira (Tantric) is 34. Actress Jenna Fischer is 34. Actress Audrey Marie Anderson is 33. Actress Laura Prepon is 28.

DEATH

322 -BC- Aristotle dies.

1959 Hinsdale Smith developer of roll-down auto windows, dies at 88.

1985 Victor W Farris inventor of paper milk carton, etc, dies.

1988 Divine [Harris Glenn Milstead] transvestite actor (Hairspray, Polyester, Pink Flamingos), dies in Los Angeles at 42.

1999 movie director Stanley Kubrick died in Hertfordshire, England, at age 70.

March 7, the 67th day of 2008. There are 299 days left in the year.

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

* DBKP at Blogger.
Originally posted at DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.

DBKP Today in Weird History: March 3, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, SPITTING, ANTHEMS, POLITICS, INSPIRING, CLINTONS, IMPEACHED, UNCLE SUGAR, VIDEO, NANNY STATE, TAVERNS, JEWS, CAMELS, SPORTS, JAZZ, JAILBREAK, READ MY LIPS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

VIDEO

1991 In a case that sparked a national outcry, motorist Rodney King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers in a scene captured on amateur video.

WAR!

1815 US declares war on Algiers for taking US prisoners & demanding tribute.

1863 1st US wartime military conscription bill enacted.

1878 Russia and the Ottomans signed the treaty of Stenafano. The treaty granted independence to Serbia.

1918 Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended Russian participation in World War I. (The treaty was rendered moot by the November 1918 armistice.)

1945 The Allies fully secured the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese forces during World War II.

TERRORISM

1968 Greece, Portugal & Spain's embassies bombed in the Hague.

2003 Israeli troops arrested Hamas co-founder Mohammed Taha in a deadly raid. (Israel released him 14 months later.)

DISASTER

1943 Bomb-fleeing crowd falls into London shelter; 173 die.

1953 Canadian Comet crashes at Karachi, 11 killed.

1966 Twister hits Jackson MS; 3 minutes after 1st sighting, 57 die.

1974 Nearly 350 people died when a Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashed shortly after takeoff from Orly Airport in Paris.

1991 25 people were killed when a United Airlines Boeing 737-200 crashed while approaching the Colorado Springs airport.

1992 Gas explodes in coal mine at Zonguldak Turkey, 100s die.

2007 President Bush handed out hugs to residents who survived killer tornadoes that ripped through Alabama and Georgia and offered encouraging words at Enterprise High School, where students were grieving the loss of eight classmates.

SPITTING

1903 In St Louis, MO, Barney Gilmore was arrested for spitting.

TAVERNS

1634 1st tavern in Boston opens (Samuel Cole).

CAMELS

1855 Congress approves $30,000 to test camels for military use.

JAILBREAK

1934 John Dillinger breaks out of jail using a wooden pistol.

READ MY LIPS

1992 President Bush apologizes for raising taxes after pledging not to.

CLINTONS

1998 Presidential confidant Vernon Jordan testified before the grand jury investigating the Monica Lewinsky matter.

JAZZ

1931 Cab Calloway records "Minnie the Moocher" (Jazz's 1st million seller).

UNCLE SUGAR

1812 The US Congress passed the first foreign aid bill (aids Venezuela earthquake victims).

SPORTS

1875 1st recorded hockey game (Montréal).

NANNY STATE

1791 1st Internal Revenue Act (taxing distilled spirits & carriages).

2003 President Bush offered a rough blueprint for adding drug benefits to Medicare.

POLITICS

1817 Mississippi Territory is divided into Alabama Territory & Mississippi.

1845 Florida became the 27th state.

1845 The US Congress passed legislation overriding a US President’s veto. It was the first time the Congress had achieved this.

1849 The US Congress created the territory of Minnesota.

1851 The US Congress authorized the 3-cent piece. It was the smallest US silver coin.

1875 The US Congress authorized the 20-cent piece. It was only used for 3 years.

INSPIRING

1887 Anne Sullivan arrived at the Tuscumbia, Alabama, home of Captain and Mrs. Arthur H. Keller to become the teacher for their blind and deaf 6-year-old daughter, Helen.

IMPEACHED

1803 The first impeachment trial of a US Judge, John Pickering, began.

JEWS

1801 1st US Jewish Governor, David Emanuel, takes office in Georgia.

ANTHEMS

1931 President Hoover signed a measure making "The Star-Spangled Banner" the national anthem of the United States.

BORN

1853 Vincent Van Gogh Dutch painter.

1909 Harry Hemsley billionaire New York landlord.

BIRTHDAYS

Socialite Lee Radziwill is 74. Actress Hattie Winston is 62. Singer Jennifer Warnes is 60. Actor-director Tim Kazurinsky is 57. Singer-musician Robyn Hitchcock is 54. Actress Miranda Richardson is 49. Actress Mary Page Keller is 46. Olympic track and field gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee is 45. Football player Herschel Walker is 45. Rapper-actor Tone-Loc is 41. Rock musician John Bigham is 38. Actress Julie Bowen is 37. Country singer Brett Warren (The Warren Brothers) is 36. Actor David Faustino is 33. Singer Ronan Keating (Boyzone) is 30. Rapper Lil' Flip is 26. Actress Jessica Biel is 25.

DEATH

1966 Alice Pearce comedienne (Gladys Kravitz-Bewitched), dies at 52.

1966 William Frawley actor (Fred Mertz-I Love Lucy), dies at 89.

1987 Danny Kaye comedian (Danny Kaye Show), dies at 74.

1998 Former CBS News president Fred W. Friendly died in New York at age 82.

2007 Malcolm Kilduff, the White House spokesman who announced to a shocked world the death of President Kennedy, died in Beattyville, Kentucky, at age 75.

March 3rd, the 63rd day of 2008. There are 303 days left in the year.

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



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: March 2, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, EXPLORERS, ICONS, POLITICS, PARKS, MOVIES, SURE THEY DID, SCANDAL, TABLOIDS, ASSASSINATION, NANNY STATE, ZEAL, IMMIGRATION, PROGRESS, OUTLAWS, CRICKET, WOMEN, JEWS, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, TYPICAL, BELOVED, SPORTS, DISNEY, EURO-WEENIES, POLICE STATE, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

ICONS

1904 Dr Seuss [Theodor Geisel] children's book author (Green Eggs and Ham, Horton Hears a Who!) was born in Springfield, Mass. He wrote and illustrated 44 children's books. However, they are still enjoyed by many adults.



WAR!

1776 Americans begin shelling British troops in Boston.

1943 The World War II Battle of the Bismarck Sea began; U.S. and Australian warplanes were able to inflict heavy damage on a Japanese convoy.

1966 215,000 US soldiers in Vietnam.

TERRORISM

1973 "Black September" terrorists occupy Saudi Embassy in Khartoum.

1981 Aircraft hijacked by 3 Pakistani terrorists.

1982 Terror group "The Illuminated Path" frees 260 prisoners in Peru.

1998 The U.N. Security Council unanimously endorsed Secretary-General Kofi Annan's deal to open Iraq's presidential palaces to arms inspectors.

2003 Iraq crushed another six Al Samoud II missiles, as ordered by U.N. weapons inspectors.

2007 The bodies of 14 kidnapped policemen were found northeast of Baghdad.

DISASTER

1910 2 trains crash in snow storm in Wellington WA, 118 die.

1933 Most powerful earthquake in 180 years hit Japan.

1938 Landslides & floods cause over 200 deaths (Los Angeles CA).

1944 Fumes from locomotive stalled in a tunnel suffocates 521 in Italy.

1989 Exxon Houston runs aground in Hawaii, spills 117,000 gallons of oil.

1995 Ferry boat sinks off Sumbe Angola, 42+ killed.

2007 A charter bus carrying a college baseball team from Bluffton University in Ohio plunged off an Atlanta highway ramp and slammed into the pavement below, killing seven people.

TYPICAL

1939 Massachusetts Legislature votes to ratify the Bill of Rights; 147 years late.


BELOVED

1950 Silly Putty invented.

SURE THEY DID

1977 The U.S. House of Representatives adopted a strict code of ethics.

TABLOIDS

2007 Anna Nicole Smith was buried in the Bahamas following a lavish memorial service.

NANNY STATE

1789 Pennsylvania ends prohibition of theatrical performances.

JEWS

1915 Vladmir Jabotinsky forms a Jewish military force to fight in Palestine.

ZEAL

1817 1st Evangelical church building dedicated, New Berlin PA.

POLITICS

1807 Congress bans slave trade effective January 1, 1808.

1836 The Republic of Texas formally declared its independence from Mexico.

1853 Territory of Washington organized after separating from Oregon Territory.

1861 US Congress creates Dakota & Nevada Territories out of the Nebraska & Utah territories.

1877 Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, even though Tilden had won the popular vote. Shades of Al Gore and the 2000 election.

1917 Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship as President Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act.

POLICE STATE

1994 Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh promises to surrender if taped statement is broadcast; it is, but he doesn't.

PROGRESS

1866 1st US company to make sewing needles by machine incorporated, Connecticut.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1923 Time magazine debuts.

1977 Future Tonight Show host Jay Leno debuts with host Johnny Carson.

1978 1st broadcast of "Dallas" on CBS TV.

1983 Final episode of MASH; 125,000,000 viewers; most-viewed TV show ever.

DISNEY

1976 Walt Disney World logged its 50 millionth guest.

SPORTS

1962 Wilt Chamberlain scores incredible 100 points in an NBA game.

1991 Del Ballard Jr throws most famous gutter ball in PBA Tour history.

PARKS

1899 Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state was established.

IMMIGRATION

1819 US passed its 1st immigration law.

WOMEN

1903 Martha Washington Hotel, catering to women only, opens in New York NY.

MOVIES

1933 The motion picture "King Kong" had its world premiere in New York.

1965 The movie version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "The Sound of Music" had its world premiere at New York's Rivoli Theater.

OUTLAWS

1867 Jesse James-gang robs bank in Savannah MO, 1 dead.

EURO-WEENIES

1989 12 European nations agree to ban chlorofluorocarbon production by 2000.

ASSASSINATION

1973 Cleo Noel US ambassador to Sudan is assassinated.

1979 Sir Richard Sykes British ambassador is assassinated in Holland.

CRICKET

1898 Australia complete a 4-1 series annihilation of England.

SCANDAL

2007 Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey resigned following a scandal over substandard conditions for wounded Iraq soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

EXPORERS

1958 A multinational expedition led by British geologist and explorer Vivian Fuchs completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica by way of the South Pole in 99 days.

BORN

1793 The first president of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, was born near Lexington, Va.

1917 Desi Arnaz Santiago Cuba, singer/actor (Ricky Ricardo-I Love Lucy).

BIRTHDAYS

Actress Jennifer Jones is 89. Bluegrass singer-musician Doc Watson is 85. Actor John Cullum is 78. Author Tom Wolfe is 78. Former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev is 77. Actress Barbara Luna is 69. Actor Jon Finch is 67. Author John Irving is 66. Singer Lou Reed is 66. Actress Cassie Yates is 57. Actress Laraine Newman is 56. Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., is 55. Singer Jay Osmond is 53. Pop musician John Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 52. Tennis player Kevin Curren is 50. Country singer Larry Stewart (Restless Heart) is 49. Rock singer Jon Bon Jovi is 46. Blues singer-musician Alvin Youngblood Hart is 45. Actor Daniel Craig is 40. Rock musician Casey (Jimmie's Chicken Shack) is 32. Rock singer Chris Martin (Coldplay) is 31. Actress Heather McComb is 31. Actress Bryce Dallas Howard is 27. Actor Robert Iler ("The Sopranos") is 23.

DEATH

1991 James "Cool Papa" Bell Negro baseball league great, dies at 87.

March 2, the 62nd day of 2008. There are 304 days left in the year.


images:
* pcart
* Red Planet
* modernmechanix
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: March 1, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, KIDNAPPED, POLITICS, CIVIL RIGHTS, PARKS, WRONG ASSESSMENTS, We SUPPORT THE TROOPS, EXECUTED, SCANDAL, MURDER, CALENDARS, BLOODBATH, CITIES, CUISINE, DEATH PENALTY, MYSTERY SHIP, UPSETS, STAMPS, GERONIMO, PANIC, NAZIS, LEVIATHAN, LABOR, JEWS, SPIES, UNREST, IRONIC, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, BLUELIGHT SPECIAL, MARRIAGE, CULTS, WATERGATE, CREDIT, GRAVE ROBBERS, CLIMATE CHANGE, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

KIDNAPPED!

1932 Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was kidnapped from the family home near Hopewell, N.J. (Remains identified as those of the child were found the following May.)

WAR!

1896 Battle of Adua: 80,000 Ethiopians destroy 20,000 Italians.

2003 Iraq began complying with orders from U.N. weapons inspectors to destroy its Al Samoud II missiles. The United Arab Emirates called for Saddam Hussein to step down, the first Arab country to do so publicly. Turkey's parliament dealt a stunning blow to U.S. war planning by failing to approve a bill allowing in American combat troops to open a northern front against Iraq.

TERRORISM

1954 Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives, wounding five congressmen.

1981 Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands began a hunger strike at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland; he died 65 days later.

2003 Suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was captured by CIA and Pakistani agents.

DISASTER

1910 3 passenger trains buried at Steven's Pass in Cascade Range: 118 die; Worst snowslide in US history.

1962 American Airlines 707 plunges nose 1st into Jamaica Bay NY killing 95.

1965 Gas explosion kills 28 in apartment complex (La Salle Québec Canada).

1982 5 die as ski lift malfunctions a Lúz-Ardiden in Pyrenees.

2007 Tornadoes killed 20 people in the Midwest and Southeast, including eight students at Enterprise High School in Alabama.

CUISINE

1784 E Kidner opens 1st cooking school, in Great Britain.

IRONIC

1954 Ted Williams fractures collarbone in 1st game of spring training after flying 39 combat missions without injury in Korean War.

GRAVE ROBBERS

1978 Charlie Chaplin's coffin was stolen from a Swiss cemetery.

UPSETS

1866 Paraguayan canoes sink 2 Brazilian ironclads on Rio Parana.

GERONIMO!

1912 Albert Berry makes 1st parachute jump from an airplane.

MYSTERY SHIP

1854 SS City of Glasgow leaves Liverpool harbor & is never seen again.

WRONG ASSESSMENTS

1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt returns from the Yalta conference and pronounces to Congress that it's a success.

CLIMATE CHANGE

1980 Snow falls in Florida.

CULTS

1970 Charles Manson's album "Lie" is released.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1957 Kokomo the Chimp becomes Today Show animal editor.

1968 NBC's unprecedented on-air announcement, Star Trek will return.

BLUELIGHT SPECIAL

1962 K-Mart opens.

UNREST

1954 Rebellion during visit of President Naguib in Khartoum Sudan, 30 die.

PANIC

1933 Bank holidays declared in 6 states, to prevent run on banks.

LEVIATHAN

1937 1st permanent automobile license plates issued (Connecticut).

1946 British Govt takes control of Bank of England, after 252 years.

1994 Senate rejects a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

1996 Plans approved allowing traffic cameras High Harrington & Shap England.

DEATH PENALTY

1847 Michigan becomes 1st English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty (except for treason against the state).

WE SUPPORT THE TROOPS

2007 An independent commission concluded the National Guard and Reserves weren't getting enough money or equipment.

CREDIT

1977 Bank of America adopts the name VISA for their credit cards.

SPIES

1950 Klaus Fuchs sentenced to 14 years for atomic espionage (London).

MARRIAGE

1968 Singers Johnny Cash (36) & June Carter (38) wed.

CALENDARS

1 -BC- Start of revised Julian calendar in Rome.

WATERGATE

1974 Watergate grand jury indicts 7 Presidential aides.

EXECUTED

1947 J Boogaard Nazi collaborator in the Netherlands, executed.

POLITICS

1781 the Continental Congress declared the Articles of Confederation to be in force, following ratification by Maryland.

1790 President Washington signed a measure authorizing the first U.S. Census.

1803 Ohio becomes 17th state.

1845 President Tyler signs a resolution annexing the Republic of Texas.

1867 Nebraska became the 37th state.

1967 U.S. Representative Adam Clayton Powell of New York, accused of misconduct, was denied his seat in the 90th Congress. (The Supreme Court ruled in 1969 that Powell had to be seated.)

CITIES

1642 Georgeana (York) ME became the 1st incorporated American city.

LABOR

1937 US Steel raises workers' wages to $5 a day.

MURDER

1995 Vladislav Listyev Russian TV-journalist, murdered at 38.

NAZIS

1941 Himmler inspects Auschwitz concentration camp.

CIVIL RIGHTS

1780 Pennsylvania becomes 1st US state to abolish slavery (for new-borns only).

1864 Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first black woman to receive an American medical degree, from the New England Female Medical College in Boston.

JEWS

1942 Suriname camp for NSB people opens to save Jews.

1943 Jewish old age home for disabled in Amsterdam raided.

1955 Israeli assault on Gaza, kills 48.

BLOODBATHS

1562 Blood bath at Vassy; General de Guise allows the murder of 1200 Huguenots.

1811 Egyptian king Muhammad Ali Pasha oversees ceremonial murder of 500.

PARKS

1872 President Grant signed a measure creating Yellowstone National Park.

STAMPS

1869 Postage stamps showing scenes are issued for 1st time.

SCANDAL

2007 The Army general in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center was relieved of command after disclosures about dilapidated buildings and inadequate treatment of wounded soldiers.

BORN

1904 Glenn Miller bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra-In the Mood).

1911 Harry Golombek chess grandmaster.

1917 Dinah Shore Winchester TN, singer (See the USA in a Chevrolet).

BIRTHDAYS

Actor Robert Clary is 82. Singer Harry Belafonte is 81. Former U.S. Solicitor General Robert H. Bork is 81. Actor Robert Conrad is 73. Rock singer Mike D'Abo (Manfred Mann) is 64. Former Sen. John Breaux, D-La., is 64. Rock singer Roger Daltrey is 64. Actor Dirk Benedict is 63. Actor Alan Thicke is 61. Actor-director Ron Howard is 54. Actress Catherine Bach is 54. Country singer Janis Gill (AKA Janis Oliver Cummins) (Sweethearts of the Rodeo) is 54. Actor Tim Daly is 52. Singer-musician Jon Carroll is 51. Rock musician Bill Leen is 46. Actor Russell Wong is 45. Actor John David Cullum is 42. Actor George Eads is 41. Actor Javier Bardem is 39. Rock musician Ryan Peake (Nickelback) is 35. Actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar is 34. Actor Jensen Ackles is 30. TV host Donovan Patton is 30. Rock musician Sean Woolstenhulme is 27. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sammie is 21.

DEATH

1991 Edwin H Land inventor (Polaroid Camera), dies at 81.

March 1, the 61st day of 2008. There are 305 days left in the year.

by Mondoreb
image: oregonlive
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgtP_hSMrtNSxQR5DrH5HQqKwOsNshdkdsBoIE0AZkt0UQrT2yKrSazmDcIntEyfZDWXaZfpqePUn8fWXlmp6TDYn9i9qaQYCZ-I1fEM6yssZokCBEbtsjZ_j4bIy6pIl0Ii2fCPRPhs/s200/farksml.jpg"/>

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 28, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, GOLD, PROGRESS, POLITICS, MAFIA, SCIENCE, ASSASSINATION, POLICE STATE, ATHEISTS, ECONOMY, NANNY STATE, SHOOT OUTS, SLEEPING, WITCHES, EXODUS, PATENTS, SEALS, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, NAZIS, SMOOTH, POPULATION, KILLER WHALES, POGRAMS, DRUG WAR, SPIES, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

POLICE STATE

1993 A gun battle erupted at a compound near Waco, Texas, when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to serve warrants on the Branch Davidians; four agents and six Davidians were killed as a 51-day standoff began.

1994 Brady Law, imposing a wait-period to buy a hand-gun, went into effect.

WAR!

1847 US defeats México in battle of Sacramento.

1917 AP reports México & Japan will ally with Germany if US enters WWI.

TERRORISM

1982 FALN (PR Nationalist Group) bombs Wall Street.

2007 A federal judge in Miami ruled that suspected al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla was competent to stand trial on terrorism support charges, rejecting arguments that he was severely damaged by 3 1/2 years of interrogation and isolation in a military brig.

DISASTER

1704 Indians attack Deerfield MA, kill 40, kidnap 100.

1844 A 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others.

1888 Ferry in San Pablo Bay explodes.

1956 13 die in a train crash in Swampscott MA.

1975 More than 40 people were killed in London's Underground when a subway train smashed into the end of a tunnel.

1997 Earthquake in Pakistan, kills 45.

SLEEPING

1646 Roger Scott was tried in Massachusetts for sleeping in church.

EXODUS

1879 "Exodus of 1879" southern blacks flee political/economic exploitation.

SEALS

1913 6.8-m, 4000-kg elephant seal killed, South Georgia (South Atlantic).

SMOOTH

1935 Nylon discovered by Dr Wallace H Carothers.

POGROMS

1988 Anti-Armenian pogrom in Azerbaijan, 30 killed.

KILLER WHALES

1977 1st killer whale born in captivity (Marineland, Los Angeles CA).

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1940 1st televised basketball game (college game at NYC's Madison Square Garden-University of Pittsburgh beats Fordham U, 50-37).

1983 Final TV episode of "MASH" airs (CBS); record 125 million watch.

1984 26th Grammy Awards Beat It, Michael Jackson wins 8.

1989 Memo by Bryant Gumbel criticizing Today Show co-workers becomes public.

POPULATION

1940 US population at 131,669,275 (12,865,518 blacks (9.8%)).

SPIES

1997 FBI agent Earl Pitts pleads guilty to selling secrets to Russia.

DRUG WAR

1990 Dutch police seize 3,000 kg of cocaine.

NAZIS

1933 German President Von Hindenburg abolishes free expression of opinion. Hitler disallows German communist party (KPD).

GOLD!

1849 The California gold rush began in earnest as regular steamship service started bringing gold-seekers to San Francisco.

WITCHES

1692 Salem witch hunt begins.

PROGRESS

1827 The first U.S. railroad chartered to carry passengers and freight, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co., was incorporated by the state of Maryland. It ran from Baltimore to Wheeling, WV (then part of Virginia).

1970 Bicycles permitted to cross Golden Gate Bridge.

POLITICS

1854 Republican Party formally organized at Ripon WI.

1859 Arkansas legislature requires free blacks to choose exile or slavery.

1861 The Territories of Colorado and Nevada organized.

1961 JFK names Henry Kissinger special advisor.

MAFIA

1951 The Senate committee headed by Estes Kefauver, D-Tenn., issued an interim report saying at least two major crime syndicates were operating in the U.S.

PATENTS

1893 Edward Acheson, Pennsylvania, patents an abrasive he names "carborundum".

1956 Forrester issued a patent for computer core memory.

SHOOT-OUTS

1997 In North Hollywood, Calif., two heavily armed masked robbers bungled a bank heist and came out firing, unleashing their arsenal on police, bystanders, cars and TV choppers before they were killed.

NANNY STATE

1871 2nd Enforcement Act gives federal control of congressional elections.

1997 Smokers must prove they are over 18 to purchase cigarettes in US.

1998 In their weekly radio addresses, President Clinton and the Republicans sparred over education, with Clinton describing tests showing American high school students lagging behind those of other industrial nations as a "wake-up call" while the Republicans blamed the disappointing results on a "hungry bureaucracy in Washington" that gobbled up education funds.

2003 The Food and Drug Administration announced that every bottle of ephedra would soon bear stern warnings that the popular herb could cause heart attacks or strokes, even kill.

ATHEISTS

2003 The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stood by its ruling that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools was unconstitutional because of the words "under God."

REVOLT

1708 Slave revolt, Newton, Long Island NY, 11 die.

ECONOMY

1982 AT&T looses record $7 BILLION for fiscal year ending on this day.

2007 Wall Street rebounded fitfully from the previous session's 416-point plunge in the Dow industrials as investors took comfort from comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that he still expected moderate economic growth.

SCIENCE

1953 Scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick announced they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule that contains the human genes.

2003 NASA released video taken aboard Columbia that had miraculously survived the fiery destruction of the space shuttle with the loss of all seven astronauts; in the footage, four of the crew members can be seen doing routine chores and admiring the view outside the cockpit.

ASSASSINATION

1908 Failed assassination attempt on Shah Mohammed Ali in Teheran.

1986 Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot to death in central Stockholm.

BORN

1824 Charles Blondin France, acrobat/aerialist.

1928 Smokey The Bear.

1943 Donny Iris, singer.

BIRTHDAYS

Actor Charles Durning is 85. Svetlana Alliluyeva, daughter of Josef Stalin, is 82. Actor Gavin MacLeod is 77. Actor Don Francks is 76. Actor-director-dancer Tommy Tune is 69. Auto racer Mario Andretti is 68. Singer Joe South is 68. Actor Frank Bonner is 66. Actress Kelly Bishop is 64. Football player Bubba Smith is 63. Actress Stephanie Beacham is 61. Actress Mercedes Ruehl is 60. Actress Bernadette Peters is 60. Comedian Gilbert Gottfried is 53. Basketball player Adrian Dantley is 52. Actor John Turturro is 51. Rock singer Cindy Wilson is 51. Actress Rae Dawn Chong is 47. Actor Robert Sean Leonard is 39. Rock singer Pat Monahan is 39. Actress Maxine Bahns is 37. Country singer Jason Aldean is 31. Actor Bobb'e J. Thompson is 12.

DEATH

1966 Charles A Bassett II astronaut, dies in a crash of T-38 jet at 34.

1966 Elliot McKay See Jr astronaut, dies in T-38 jet crash at 38.

1977 Eddie "Rochester" Anderson comedian (Jack Benny Show), dies at 71.

2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. died in New York at age 89.

February 28, the 59th day of 2008. There are 307 days left in the year.

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



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: February 24, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, NAZIS, POLITICS, REBELS, STRONGMEN, INJUSTICE, HUSTLER, SUPREME COURT, BULLS, GESTURES, CRUSH, FINALLY, PARADES, ARRESTS, ICE, PROGRESS, JEWS, DIETS, PIGS, HUH, FINANCE, ASSASSINATED, BLIMPS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH


1868 the House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate.

WAR!

1917 German plan to get Mexican help in WWI exposed (Zimmerman telegram).

1945 Egypt & Syria declares war on Nazi-Germany.

1968 US troops reconquer Hue Vietnam.

2003 Seeking U.N. approval for war against Iraq, the United States, Britain and Spain submitted a resolution to the Security Council declaring that Saddam Hussein had missed "the final opportunity" to disarm peacefully and indicating that he had to face the consequences.

TERRORISM

2007 A suicide truck bomber struck worshippers leaving a Sunni mosque in Habbaniyah, 50 miles west of Baghdad, killing at least 52 people.

DISASTER

1989 US Boeing 747 loses parts of roof over Pacific, 9 die.

PIGS

1979 Highest price ever paid for a pig, $42,500, Stamford TX.

HUH?

1989 Margaret Ray found in David Letterman's home, claims to be his wife.

BLIMPS

1997 South Africa announces it is constructing largest modern day blimp.

FINANCE

1995 Dow-Jones hits record 4011.74.

DIETS

1981 Jean Harris is convicted of murdering Scarsdale diet doctor Tarnower.

PROGRESS

1938 Du Pont begins commercial production of nylon toothbrush bristles.

PARADE

1868 1st US parade with floats (Mardi Gras-Mobile AL).

ICE

1925 Thermit explosive 1st used to break up ice jam, Waddington NY.

ARRESTS

1923 Mass arrests in US of Mafia.

JEWS

1949 Israel & Egypt sign an armistice agreement.

CRUSH

1807 17 die & 15 wounded in a crush to witness execution of Holloway, Heggerty & Elizabeth Godfrey in England.

FINALLY

1855 US Court of Claims established for cases against the government.

DISASTERS

2003 A powerful earthquake in China's western region of Xinjiang killed at least 268 people and injured more than 1,000.

BULLS

1582 Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull, or edict, outlining his calendar reforms. (The Gregorian Calendar is the calendar in general use today).

GESTURES

2007 The Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution expressing "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery.

SUPREME COURT

1803 in its Marbury v. Madison decision, the Supreme Court 1st rules a law unconstitutional and established judicial review of the constitutionality of statutes.

INJUSTICE

1983 a congressional commission released a report condemning the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II as a "grave injustice."

REBELS

1821, Mexican rebels proclaimed the "Plan de Iguala," their declaration of independence from Spain.

POLITICS

1863 Arizona was organized as a territory.

NAZIs

1920 a fledgling German political party held its first meeting of importance in Munich; it became known as the Nazi Party, and its chief spokesman was Adolf Hitler.

STRONGMEN

1946 Argentinians went to the polls to elect Juan D. Peron their president.

HUSTLER

1988 in a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court overturned a $200,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and publisher Larry Flynt.

ASSASSINATED

1945 Ahmed Maher Pasha Egypt's PM, assassinated in parliament.

BORN

1874 Honus Wagner HOF shortstop (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1900-17).

BIRTHDAYS

Actor Abe Vigoda is 87. Actor Steven Hill is 86. Actor-singer Dominic Chianese is 77. Movie composer Michel Legrand is 76. Actor James Farentino is 70. Actor Barry Bostwick is 63. Actor Edward James Olmos is 61. Singer-writer-producer Rupert Holmes is 61. Rock singer-musician George Thorogood is 58. Actress Debra Jo Rupp is 57. Actress Helen Shaver is 57. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is 53. News anchor Paula Zahn is 52. Country singer Sammy Kershaw is 50. Singer Michelle Shocked is 46. Movie director Todd Field is 44. Actor Billy Zane is 42. Actress Bonnie Somerville is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brandon Brown (Mista) is 25.

DEATH

1983 Tennessee Williams US playwright (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), dies at 71.

1994 Dinah Shore singer (Chevrolet), dies of cancer at 76.

1998 Henny Youngman, a tireless comic who quipped "Take my wife — please" and countless other one-liners during a career that spanned seven decades, died in New York City at age 91. "I once wanted to become an atheist but I gave up ... they have no holidays."

February 24, the 55th day of 2008. There are 311 days left in the year.

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

DBKP Today in Weird History: February 23, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, LAST STANDS, POLITICS, MASS INOCULATION, FAKE SHEEP, WHO, RUMORS, IRONY, BUSY, SERIAL KILLERS, PERSECUTION, PATENTS, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, CANDY, LEASES, PROGRESS, QUICKIE, FASCISTS, PRO WRESTLING, JEWS, KIDNAPPED, SUSPENDED, GOLD, SUPERNOVA, SHORT PEOPLE, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

WAR!

1945 During World War II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi, where they raised the American flag.

1847 The Battle of Buena Vista took place during the Mexican-American War. U.S. troops led by General Zachary Taylor fought Mexican General Santa Anna's forces, who ended up withdrawing.

1916 French artillery kills entire French 72nd division at Samogneux Verdun.

1942 Japanese sub fires on oil refinery in Ellwood CA.

1967 US troops begin largest offensive of Vietnam War.

TERRORISM

1969 Nayif Hawatimah forms Democratic People's Front for Liberation of Palestine.

1997 Ali Abu Kamal opens fire in Empire State Building & kills 1.

2007 Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport became the first in the United States to begin testing new X-ray screening technology that can see through people's clothes.

DISASTER

1887 French/Italian Riviera struck by Earthquake; 2,000 die.

1980 Oil tanker explosion off Pilos, Greece, causes 37-million-gallon spill.

1998 Forty-two people were killed, some 2,600 homes and businesses damaged or destroyed, by tornadoes in central Florida.

2003 In West Warwick, R.I., relatives of the 100 victims of a deadly nightclub fire were allowed to walk up to the charred rubble to pray and say goodbye.

IRONY

1994 Stuart Berger doctor (Immune Power Diet), dies from obesity at 40.

LAST STANDS

1836 the siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, entire garrison eventually killed.

BUSY

1922 Henri Landru executed for having 11 wives, in France.

SHORT PEOPLE

1993 Gary Coleman wins $1,280,000 lawsuit against parents for high fees.

PROGRESS

1910 1st radio contest held (Philadelphia).

1936 1st rocket air mail flight, Greenwood Lake NY.

QUICKIE

1915 Nevada enforces convenient divorce law.

GOLD

1973 Gold goes up $10 overnight to record $95 an ounce in London.

WHO?

2007 Democrat Tom Vilsack abandoned his bid for the presidency.

LEASES

1903 Cuban state of Guantanamo leased to USA.

SUSPENDED

1971 George Harrison is fined & his driving license is suspended for 1 year as a result of several speeding tickets and a dispute with the police.

SPORTS

1983 USFL New Jersey Generals sign Heisman winner Herschel Walker (3 years-$5 million).

1985 Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight throws a chair during a game.

POPULAR

1861 By popular referendum, Texas becomes 7th state to secede from US.

SUPERNOVA

1987 Supernova 1987A in LMC 1st seen; 1st naked-eye supernova since 1604

SERIAL KILLERS

1906 Johann Hoch US murderer, executed.

PRO WRESTLING

1939 Lou Thesz beats E Marshall in St Louis, to become wrestling champion.

PATENTS

1874 Major Walter Winfield patents game called "sphairistike" (lawn tennis)

RUMORS

1970 Rumors spread that females born on this day were better looking and more vivacious.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1886 London Times publishes world's 1st classified ad.

JEWS

1947 General Eisenhower opens drive to raise $170 million in aid for European Jews.

CANDY

1896 Tootsie Roll introduced by Leo Hirshfield.

KIDNAPPED

1958 5-time world driving champion Juan Fangio kidnapped by Cuban rebels.

BURNED

155 Polycarp disciple of Apostle John, arrested & burned at stake.

FASCISTS

1919 Benito Mussolini founds the Fascist party of Italy.

POLITICS

1861 President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take office, following word of an assassination plot in Baltimore.

1870 Mississippi was readmitted to the Union.

PERSECUTION

303 Emperor Diocletian orders general persecution of Christians.

MASS INOCULATION

1954 The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh.

COUP

1981 an attempted coup began in Spain as 200 members of the Civil Guard invaded the Parliament, taking lawmakers hostage. (However, the attempt collapsed 18 hours later.)

FAKE SHEEP

1997 Scientists in Scotland announced they had succeeded in cloning an adult mammal, producing a lamb named Dolly. (Dolly, however, was later put down after a short life marred by premature aging and disease.)

JURIES

2007 A Mississippi grand jury refused to bring any new charges in the 1955 slaying of Emmett Till, a black teenager who was beaten and shot after whistling at a white woman, declining to indict the woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, for manslaughter.

BORN

1633 English diarist Samuel Pepys (The Great Fire of London) was born in London.

1865 Barney Dreyfuss baseball owner (Pittsburgh Pirates).

BIRTHDAYS

Country songwriter Bob Willis is 74. Actor Peter Fonda is 68. Author John Sandford is 64. Singer-musician Johnny Winter is 64. Country-rock musician Rusty Young is 62. Actress Patricia Richardson is 57. Rock musician Brad Whitford (Aerosmith) is 56. Singer Howard Jones is 53. Rock musician Michael Wilton (Queensryche) is 46. Country singer Dusty Drake is 44. Actress Kristin Davis is 43. Tennis player Helena Sukova is 43. Actor Marc Price is 40. Actress Niecy Nash is 38. Rock musician Jeff Beres (Sister Hazel) is 37. Country singer Steve Holy is 36. Rock musician Lasse Johansson (The Cardigans) is 35. Actress Dakota Fanning is 14.

DEATH

1848 The 6th president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, died in Washington, D.C., at age 80.

1884 Tambo Tambo Australian aboriginal/US circus attraction, dies at 23.


February 23, the 54th day of 2008. There are 312 days left in the year.


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



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: February 22, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, POLITICS, CRICKET, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, MIRACLES, POPCORN, SUCIDE, ASSASSINATION, BEHEADED, JEWS, GOP, WAGERS, NANNY STATE, SPUNKY, FIVE and DIME, MISTAKES, FUR, FRIENDLY FIRE, SOCCER, NASCAR, NYC MAYORS, UNREST, ESPANOL, AHHHH, WOUNDED, MARRIAGE, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH
Click on image to enlarge.
NASCAR

1959 1st Daytona 500 auto race-Lee Petty wins (135.521 MPH).

WAR!

1862 Jefferson Davis, already the provisional president of the Confederacy, was inaugurated for a six-year term as president following his election the previous November.

1915 Germany begins "unrestricted" submarine war.

1967 More than 25,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation Junction City, aimed at smashing a Vietcong stronghold near the Cambodian border.

1991 Bush & US Gulf War allies give Iraq 24 hours to begin Kuwait withdrawal.

2007 Britain's Ministry of Defense announced that Prince Harry, a second lieutenant in the British army, would be deployed to Iraq. (Officials later reversed the decision because of insurgent threats.)

TERRORISM

1935 It became illegal for airplanes to fly over the White House.

1948 Arabs bomb attack in Jerusalem, 50 die.

1989 US authors demonstrate against Iranian death treats against Salman Rushdee, author of "Satanic Rituals".

2007 The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Iran had ignored a Security Council ultimatum to freeze uranium enrichment, and instead had expanded its program by setting up hundreds of centrifuges.

AHHHHH!

1989 Finland ministry of Public health installs sex vacation to thwart stress.

WAGERS

1861 On a bet Edward Weston leaves Boston to walk to Lincoln's inauguration.

SPUNKY

1920 1st artificial rabbit used at a dog race track (Emeryville CA).

NANNY STATE

1872 1st national convention of the Prohibition Party (Columbus OH).

FIVE & DIME

1879 1st 5¢ & 10¢ store opened by Frank W Woolworth in Utica NY.

FUR

1923 1st successful chinchilla farm in US (Los Angeles CA).

WOUNDED

1932 Purple Heart award re-instituted.

ESPANOL

1989 1st Spanish commercial on network TV (Pepsi-Cola-CBS Grammy Award).

NYC MAYORS

1982 NYC Mayor Koch announces he will run for New York governor (unsuccessful).

MARRIAGE

1992 Ed McMahon, 69, weds Pamela Hurn, 37.

1992 Rockers Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) & Courtney Love (Hole), wed.

1991 Actor Bill Bixby (57) weds Laura Michael (32).

FRIENDLY FIRE

1940 German air force sinks 2 German destroyers, killing 578.

1944 US 8th Air Force bombs Enschede, Arnhem & Nijmegen by mistake/800+ die.

POPCORN

1630 Indians introduce pilgrims to popcorn.

UNREST

1983 Hindus kill 3000 Moslems in Assam, India.

1995 Algiers police kill at least 99 prison rioters.

SUICIDE

1998 Sandy Hume correspondent (Fox News), commits suicide at 28.

GOP

1854 1st meeting of the Republican Party, Michigan.

1856 1st national meeting of the Republican Party (Pittsburgh).

MISTAKES

2003 Jesica Santillan, the teenager who'd survived a botched heart-lung transplant long enough to get a second set of donated organs, died two days after the second transplant at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina.

POLITICS

1819 Spain agreed to cede Florida to the United States under the Adams-Onis Treaty.

1865 Tennessee adopted a new constitution that included the abolition of slavery.

1889 President Cleveland signed an omnibus bill to admit the Dakotas, Montana and Washington state to the Union.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1924 President Coolidge delivered the first radio broadcast from the White House as he addressed the country over 42 stations.

SOCCER

1956 1st British soccer match at Kunstlicht Portsmouth vs Newcastle United.

ASSASSINATION

1913 Francisco Indalecio Madero Mexican President at 39, and Suarez, Mexican vice President, assassinated in a military coup.

JEWS

1656 New Amsterdam granted a Jewish burial site.

1775 Jews expelled from outskirts of Warsaw Poland.

1941 I G Farben decides building Buna-Werke in Auschwitz Concentration Camp; Nazi SS begin rounding up Jews of Amsterdam.

MIRACLES

1980 the U.S. Olympic hockey team upset the Soviets at Lake Placid, N.Y., 4-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.)

BEHEADED

1943 Hans Scholl German resistance fighter (White Rose), beheaded at 24. Sophie Scholl German resistance fighter (Die Weisse Rose), beheaded.

CRICKET

1993 Vinod Kambli scores 224 vs England at Bombay, 411 balls, 23 fours.

BORN

1732 The first president of the United States, George Washington, was born at his parents' plantation in the Virginia Colony.

1788 Arthur Schopenhauer Germany, philosopher (Great Pessimist).

1810 Frédéric F Chopin Polish/French pianist/composer.

1891 "Chico" Marx New York NY, actor/comedian (Marx Brothers, Animal Crackers).

BIRTHDAYS

Announcer Don Pardo is 90. Actor Paul Dooley is 80. Hollywood "ghost singer" Marni Nixon is 78. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., is 76. Movie director Jonathan Demme is 64. Actor John Ashton is 60. Actress Miou-Miou is 58. Actress Julie Walters is 58. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Julius Erving is 58. Actor Kyle MacLachlan is 49. Actress-comedian Rachel Dratch is 42. Actress Jeri Ryan is 40. Actor Thomas Jane is 39. Actress Tamara Mello is 38. Actress-singer Lea Salonga is 37. Actor Jose Solano is 37. Tennis player Michael Chang is 36. Actress Drew Barrymore is 33. Actress Liza Huber is 33. Singer James Blunt is 31. Actor Daniel E. Smith is 18.

DEATH

1998 Abraham A. Ribicoff, the former Connecticut governor and senator who served as President Kennedy's secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, died in Riverdale, N.Y., at age 87.

February 22, the 53rd day of 2008. There are 313 days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
image: fireballroberts
Source:
* Today in History
* Today in history



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: February 21, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, LANDMARKS, PROGRESS, CHINA CARD, JEWS, WATERGATE, ADVENTURE, POLITICS, DIPLOMACY, SPORTS, DRAWN and QUARTERED, EJECTED, SALUTE, MONEY, ALARMS, BOOKS, BRAINS, FIZZ, PRO WRESTLING, SCIENCE, BEATLES, MUSIC, MOONIES, SERIAL KILLERS, RECORDS, TV PREACHERS, DRUGS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

TERRORISM

1965 black Muslim leader and civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death inside the Audubon Ballroom in New York by assassins identified as members of the Nation of Islam.

WAR!

1862 Texas Rangers win Confederate victory at Battle of Val Verde, New Mexico.

1916 the World War I Battle of Verdun began in France as German forces attacked; the French were able to prevail after 10 months of fighting.

2003 Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix ordered the destruction of dozens of Iraqi missiles with ranges that violated U.N. limits.

2007 British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced his country would withdraw around 1,600 troops from Iraq in the coming months; Denmark, meanwhile, said it would withdraw its 460 troops.

DISASTER

1917 Train near Chirurcha Romania catches fire & explodes; 100s die.

1922 Airship Rome explodes at Hampton Roads Virginia; 34 die.

1971 Series of tornadoes cuts through Mississippi & Louisiana killing 117.

2003 The owners of The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., where 100 people perished in a fast-moving fire the night before, denied giving the rock band Great White permission to use fireworks blamed for setting off the blaze, although the band's singer insisted the use of pyrotechnics had been approved.

DRAWN & QUARTERED

1803 Edward Despard last person drawn & quartered in England.

PRO WRESTLING

1947 Whipper Billy Watson beats Bill Longson, to become wrestling champion.

EJECTED

1764 John Wilkes thrown out of English House of Commons for "Essay on Women".

FIZZ

1931 Alka Seltzer introduced.

RECORDS

1983 Donald Davis runs 1 mile backwards in 6 minutes 7.1 seconds.

SALUTE

1777 English ambassador Joseph Yorke demands dismissal of Governor John de Graaff for saluting US flag.

BEATLES

1964 UK flies 24,000 rolls of Beatle wallpaper to US.

TV PREACHERS

1988 During a live TV broadcast, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart (age 52) admitted to visiting a prostitute, then announced he would be leaving his ministry for an unspecified length of time. (Defrocked in April by the Assemblies of God, he was ordered to stay off TV for a year, but returned after only three months).

MONEY

1857 Congress outlaws foreign currency as legal tender in US.

BRAINS

1902 Dr Harvey Cushing, 1st US brain surgeon, does his 1st brain operation.

ALARMS

1858 Edwin T Holmes installs 1st electric burglar alarm (Boston MA).

SERIAL KILLERS

1981 "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe, murderer of 13 women, captured.

BOOKS

1878 1st telephone directory (with 50 names) issued (New Haven CT).

SCIENCE

1953 F Crick & J Watson discover structure of DNA-molecule.

DRUGS

1989 US bust Chinese heroin ring, capture record 820 lbs heroin ($1 billion street value).

LANDMARKS

1885 the Washington Monument was dedicated.

MUSIC

1970 Jackson 5 make TV debut on "American Bandstand".


PROGRESS

1947 Edwin H. Land publicly demonstrated his Polaroid Land camera, which could produce a black-and-white photograph in 60 seconds.

CHINA CARD

1972 President Nixon began his historic visit to China as he and his wife, Pat, arrived in Shanghai.

JEWS

1943 Dutch Roman Catholic bishops protest against persecution of Jews.

1973 Israeli fighter planes shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 over the Sinai Desert, killing more than 100 people.

1974 Israeli forces leave western Suez.

WATERGATE

1975 Former Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 1/2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up.

ADVENTURE

1995 Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, landing in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada.

POLITICS

2000 Consumer advocate Ralph Nader announced his entry into the presidential race, bidding for the nomination of the Green Party.

DIPLOMACY

1998 U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan began formal talks with Iraqi officials in the standoff over weapons inspections.

SPORTS

1979 2 Iowa girls High School basketball teams play 4 scoreless quarters; the game was won 4-2 in the 4th overtime period.

2003 Michael Jordan became the first 40-year-old in NBA history to score 40 or more points, getting 43 in the Washington Wizards' 89-86 win over the New Jersey Nets.

MOONIES

1977 74 Unification Church couples wed in New York NY.

BORN

1794 Antonio López de Santa Anna President of México (1833-36).

1887 Savielly [Xavier] G Tartakower Austrian/Polish/French chess player.

1893 Andrés Segovia Linares Spain, classical guitarist.

1907 Anglo-American poet W.H. Auden was born in York, England.

1914 Arnold S Denker New York, US chess champion (1944-46).

1927 Erma Bombeck Dayton OH, humorist (The Grass is Always Greener...).

BIRTHDAYS

Fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy is 81. Movie director Bob Rafelson is 75. Actress Rue McClanahan is 73. Actor Gary Lockwood is 71. Actor Peter McEnery is 68. Film/music company executive David Geffen is 65. Actor Alan Rickman is 62. Actress Tyne Daly is 62. Actor Anthony Daniels is 62. Tricia Nixon Cox is 62. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, is 61. Rock musician Jerry Harrison (The Talking Heads) is 59. Actress Christine Ebersole is 55. Actor William Petersen is 55. Actor Kelsey Grammer is 53. Country singer Mary Chapin Carpenter is 50. Actor Jack Coleman is 50. Actor Christopher Atkins is 47. Rock singer Ranking Roger is 47. Actor William Baldwin is 45. Rock musician Michael Ward is 41. Actress Aunjanue Ellis is 39. Blues musician Corey Harris is 39. Country singer Eric Heatherly is 38. Rock musician Eric Wilson is 38. Rock musician Tad Kinchla (Blues Traveler) is 35. Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt is 29. Singer Charlotte Church is 22. Actress Ellen Page (Film: "Juno") is 21. Actor Corbin Bleu is 19.

DEATH

1991 Dame Margot Fonteyn ballerina, dies of cancer at 71.

February 21, the 52nd day of 2008. There are 314 days left in the year.

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



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.