| This, the colonies' first continuous newspaper, was a half sheet of paper, about 8 x 12 inches, made up with two columns on each of its two pages. John Campbell, the postmaster of Boston, published the first issue. The Boston News-Letter appeared weekly until 1776 and had no competition in Boston until 21 December 1719, when the first issue of the Boston Gazette appeared. |
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| The Library of Congress was established by an act of Congress in 1800, and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Initially it was housed in the new Capitol in Washington, D.C., but British troops burned the Capitol building and stole the library materials. Retired president Thomas Jefferson then offered his personal library to the Congress. In January 1815, Congress accepted Jefferson's offer and purchased his library, which contained some 6,500 books, for $23,950. |
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| While one may trace the patents, of certain aspects, of the soda fountain back to the early
1800's it must be realized that it wasn't until the 1880's that "ice cream parlors" came into vogue. Ice cream
parlors were part of the history of the soda fountain but it is worth noting that they were usually stand alone
businesses that sold ice cream and phosphate sodas.
It wasn't until Jacob Baur began to manufacture carbon dioxide in tanks that the real soda fountain was born. Baur was a pharmacist who started the Liquid Carbonic Co. in 1888 and eventually began to manufacture and market the Liquid Carbonic soda fountains in the early 1900's. |
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| Projectiles from the volcano shower down, killing medical students climbing the mountain. The entire cone splits. In the years before the next eruption, Vesuvius rises to 1,322m (4,338ft) above sea level. |
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| Reconstruction ended with the withdrawal of federal troops in 1877, ending the North's post-Civil War rule in the South.. They were withdrawn, supposedly, to restore normal governance in the former Confederate states, but the consequence was that those states, once there was nobody on hand to force them to obey the Constitution, took full citizenship away from African-Americans. |
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| In 1888 Eastman invented the word "Kodak" as a distinctive name for a film camera he was developing. He needed a strong, short, distinctive word that would also meet foreign trademark laws, and the letter "K" was a personal favorite of Eastman's. According to him, "It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with 'K'. The word 'Kodak' is the result." |
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| Original lyrics written in 1906 by Midshipman First Class Alfred Hart Miles; music by Lieutenant Charles A. Zimmerman. In 1906, Bandmaster Lieutenant Zimmerman was approached by Midshipman First Class Alfred Hart Miles with a request for a new march or fight song. Midshipman Miles was a member of the Naval Academy class of 1907. Miles and his classmates were eager "to have a piece of music that would be inspiring, one with a swing to it so it could be used as a football marching song, and one that would live forever." The two men reportedly worked out the tune and it was first called "Stand Navy Down The Field". It eventually became the official song for the U.S. Navy. "Aweigh", meaning to raise or hoist, comes from the nautical phrase "to weigh anchor". |
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| They left Los Angeles in a Packard and arrived in NYC in 32 days-5 hours-25 minutes. Earlier coast-to-coast were also attention-grabbing events, but it was not until Pennsylvania lumberman Jacob Murdock became the first man to drive his family across the continent, that the average American began to see the automobile as a useful, practical means of traveling long distances. Murdock's trip ended the period when automakers (and others) would sponsor a cross-country trip merely to prove that it could be done. |
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| May 1935, a hotel engagement failed to get much attention. Nonetheless, the Benny Goodman Trio, for which he hired another genius, pianist Teddy Wilson, made groundbreaking studio sides (e.g., ?China Boy? and ?After You?ve Gone?) that summer. Goodman then took his orchestra, without Wilson, on the road and, on August 21, at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles (and before a nationwide broadcast audience), was a crowd sensation: It was later said that this was the night that the Swing Era began. Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson and Goodman recorded the session in Chicago. |
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| Dick Powell was known as a song and dance man until his rebirth as a movie tough guy in Murder My Sweet, where he played Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe. He then appeared in a string of crime and detective flicks, and eventually parlayed it into a successful radio show. Powell played "Richard Diamond", "radio's singing gumshoe", an ex-OSS man turned New York City private detective who was tough when he needed to be, but tried to have a little fun while on the job. He often closed the show with a song to his uptown girlfriend, Helen. The show was a hit, the first of many for writer/director Blake Edwards, who went on to create Peter Gunn and the Pink Panther movies. |
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| Peter Pan has been a favorite of the English speaking public since he first appeared in Sir
James Barrie's novel in 1902. Since then, there have been many productions of the play, movie and cartoon versions
and even a ballet based on his adventures.
Peter Lawrence initially wanted to produce a full musical version of Peter Pan, but once it had been decided that Jean Arthur would star, the project changed shape. The show that opened at the Imperial Theatre in New York was a play with music, the five Leonard Bernstein songs all sung by Peter Pan, Hook, the pirates and the mermaids. The veteran British Actor Boris Karloff, best known for his many appearances in horror films such as The Bride of Frankenstein, took the role of Captain Hook, with Joe E. Marks as his sidekick, Smee. |
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| Making his entrance into television in 1948, his show 'The Chesterfield Supper Club' soon became huge, and won Como several Emmy awards. Throughout the 1950s, Como's appeal was unrivalled but,inevitably, with the dawn of rock 'n' roll, Como struggled. His last number one was in 1958, with 'Catch a Falling Star' |
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| Announced by Fred Collins, the listener was greeted with the following introduction each night: Countdown for blastoff... X minus five, four, three, two, X minus one... Fire! [Rocket launch SFX)] From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories of the future; adventures in which you'll live in a million could-be years on a thousand may-be worlds. The National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers of Astounding Science Fiction presents... X Minus One. |
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| Frank Umont became the first American League umpire to wear eyeglasses in a regular season game, working the clash between the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Athletics. He still looked intimidating enough, and small wonder: he once played tackle for the New York (NFL) Giants. |
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| The program enjoyed some popularity but was never as successful as its radio predecessor which began in 1935 and ran for fifteen years before moving to television. Both the radio and television versions featured the most popular songs of the previous week as determined by a national "survey" of record and sheet music sales. Both the TV and radio versions were sponsored by the American Tobacco Company's Lucky Strike cigarettes. |
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| The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful attempt by United States-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow the government of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Increasing friction between the U.S. government and Castro's leftist regime led President Dwight D. Eisenhower to break off diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961. Even before that, however, the Central Intelligence Agency had been training anti-revolutionary Cuban exiles for a possible invasion of the island. The invasion plan was approved by Eisenhower's successor, John F. Kennedy, who took full blame for the failed mission. |
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| With two years of practice singing in front of a crowd and writing songs, Shannon was
discovered by disc jockey Ollie McLaughlin of nearby Ann Arbor, MI. McLaughlin in turn introduced the promising
singer to Irving Micahnik and Harry Balk of EmBee Productions in Detroit, who were affiliated with Big Top Records
based in New York. Shannon was swiftly signed to a contract and recorded "Runaway," which skyrocketed to the top of
the charts within weeks after release and brought Shannon to instant star-status in the spring of 1961.
The hit streak continued as Shannon composed "Hats Off To Larry," "So Long Baby," and "Hey! Little Girl" hot on the heals of "Runaway," giving the multi-talented artist four Top 40 hits in his first year as a singer. |
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| The Vasa sank within one nautical mile of the start of her maiden voyage in 1628 before she even
left the Stockholm archipelago. Anders Franzén had already found some 17th century wooden ships, as his hobby and
obsession was looking for old wrecks. He was bent on finding Vasa and did. Franzén found her in 1956.
She was lifted up from her claybed and moved in several steps to shallower locations until she could be excavated in "dry-dock." This was possible only because the hull was in good condition. |
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| Sandy Koufax ties the modern major-league record he shares with Bob Feller by fanning 18 Cubs in nine innings, becoming the first major-league pitcher to do so on two different occasions. The Dodgers win 10-2. |
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| With exceptional peripheral vision, large hands, sloping shoulders and extremely sturdy legs, Bob Cousy was an outstanding all-around player. In basketball circles, however, Cousy was best known for his razzle-dazzle ballhandling abilities. Nicknamed the "Houdini of the Hardwood" by sports writers, Cousy is considered by many as the best playmaker ever. |
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| The band recorded a skillful adaptation of Clint Ballard's "The Game of Love," featuring a moonlighting member of the Spinners folk group on backing vocals and a devastating Stewart guitar solo, played on a Les Paul borrowed from Jimmy Page. It reached number two in Britain and number one in America, despite being not only the Mindbenders' first Stateside release, but also one of the first releases on the American Fontana label. |
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| Danny Napoleon pinch-hit, three run triple giving Casey Stengel his 3,000th victory as a manager on all professional levels. Stengel managed until mid-1965, when a broken hip forced him to retire a week before his 75th birthday. |
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| The group scored their biggest chart entry with the title song from the rock musical "Hair." Around that same time Columbia Pictures' television division dispatched a group of screenwriters to observed the Cowsills' daily lives for a possible series based on their story; the show never panned out, but was later fictionalized as The Partridge Family. |
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| After the Sino-Soviet split, China started to develop its own indigenous nuclear deterrent and delivery systems. A natural outgrowth of this was a satellite launching program. This culminated in 1970 with the launching of Dong Fang Hong I, the first Chinese satellite. |
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| Three Dog Night scored a succession of 21 hit singles, including eleven Top Tens, and twelve consecutive gold albums from 1969 to 1975 . "Joy to the World" became the group's biggest hit in 1971, spending six weeks on top of the pop charts. |
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| Nicknamed the "Philosopher of Soul" during his Stax days, that version of Taylor is best remembered for his 1968 R&B chart-topping smash "Who's Making Love," but far and away his biggest success was 1976's across-the-board number one "Disco Lady," the first single ever certified platinum (which at the time meant sales of over two-million copies). |
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| The Angels Nolan Ryan strikes out 15 Mariners-the 20th time he has had 15 K's in a game-in nine innings, but leaves without a decision. Seattle prevails 6-5 in the 12th frame. |
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| Shoemaker ranks second all-time in career wins with 8,833 (passed by Laffit Pincay Jr. in Dec. 1999); 3-time Eclipse Award winner as jockey (1981) and special award recipient (1976,81); won Belmont 5 times, Kentucky Derby 4 times and Preakness twice; oldest jockey to win Kentucky Derby (age 54, aboard Ferdinand in 1986). |
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| With the Blackhearts, she had several singles in the top ten, including the #1 "I Love Rock 'N Roll" cover, originally by The Arrows, as well as covers of Tommy James' "Crimson and Clover" and Gary Glitter's "Do You Wanna Touch Me". "Bad Reputation", whose accompanying video narrates the story of the rejection of Joan by major labels and the creation of her own record label, was also a hit. |
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| Twins' manager Tom Kelly apologizes to the fans after his team wallops the host Tigers 24-11, the highest score rung up on Detroit since their loss in 1912 when the team boycotted over the suspension of Ty Cobb and a sub team was hastily cobbled together. Greg Myers and Paul Molitor each drives in five runs as Minnesota scores against all seven Tiger pitchers they face. The 35 runs is the most today as major league teams total 195 runs, the most this century. The average game total of 13.9 runs tops the record of 13.6 set on July 12, 1931. |
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1704 "Boston News-Letter", first successful
newspaper in US, is established
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1800 Library of Congress is established with $5,000
allocation
More ...
1833 Patent granted for first soda fountain to
Jacob Evert & George Dulty
More ...
1872 Volcano Vesuvius erupts
More ...
1877 Federal troops were ordered out of New Orleans
More ...
1888 Eastman Kodak forms
More ...
1897 First reporter, William Price (Washington
Star), is assigned to White House
1907 "Anchors Aweigh" copyrighted
More ...
1908 Mr & Mrs Jacob Murdock become the first
to travel across the US by car
More ...
1923 Colonel Jacob Schick patents Schick shavers
1936 Benny Goodman and his trio recorded "China
Boy".
More ...
1949 Dick Powell starred in "Richard Diamond,
Private Detective" on NBC radio.
More ...
1950 "Peter Pan" opens at Imperial Theater
NYC for 320 performances
More ...
1952 Raymond Burr made his TV acting debut on
the "Gruen Guild Playhouse" in an episode titled, "The Tiger".
Not long after this start, Burr would be seen in the hugely popular "Perry
Mason" and much later in "Ironside".
1954 "Wanted" by Perry Como topped the
charts
More ...
1955 "X-Minus One", a show for science
fiction fans, was first heard on NBC radio this day
More ...
1956 First umpire to wear glasses in a regular season game
More ...
1959 "Your Hit Parade" ended after a
nine-year run on television and radio.
More ...
1961 JFK accepts "sole responsibility"
following Bay of Pigs
More ...
1961 "Runaway" by Del Shannon topped
the charts
More ...
1961 The Vasa, which sunk on her maiden voyage
in 1628, is raised
More ...
1962 Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers strikes
out 18 batters
More ...
1962 MIT sends TV signal by satellite for 1st
time California to Massachusetts
1963 Boston Celtics' Bob Cousy retires
More ...
1965 "Game of Love" by Wayne Fontana
& the Mindbenders topped the charts
More ...
1965 New York Mets' Casey Stengel wins his 3,000
game as manager
More ...
1969 The Cowsills, received a gold record for their hit single, "Hair"
More ...
1970 The People's Republic of China launched its
first satellite.
More ...
1971 "Joy to the World" by Three Dog
Night topped the charts
More ...
1974 NFL grants franchise to Tampa Bay Bucaneers
1976 "Disco Lady" by Johnny Taylor topped
the charts
More ...
1978 Angels Nolan Ryan strikes out 15 Mariners
More ...
1981 Bill Shoemaker wins his 8000th race, 2000
more than any other jockey
More ...
1981 IBM-PC computer introduced
1982 "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" by Joan
Jett & the Blackhearts topped the charts
More ...
1990 West & East Germany agree to merge currency
& economies on July 1st
1992 "Man of La Mancha" with Sheena
Easton opens at Marquis theater NYC for 108 performances
1996 Highest scoring baseball game in 17 years
More ...