| Drake was secretly commissioned by Elizabeth I, queen of England, to undertake an expedition against the Spanish colonies on the Pacific coast of the New World. With five ships and 166 men, Drake set sail from Plymouth, England, on December 13, 1577. |
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| In 1642, Anthony Van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, commissioned Abel Tasman, a sea captain employed by the Dutch East India Company, to undertake a voyage to the unknown south seas. Leaving Batavia in August, 1642, Tasman first set a course towards Mauritius, then sailing southward, and later easterly, he reached in November, 1642, the west coast of Tasmania, which he named Van Diemen's Land. On the 13th of December Tasman saw land again, having reached the shore of the south island of New Zealand. |
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| The Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, a Congregational minister from Connecticut, founded Dartmouth College in 1769. In seeking to expand his school into a college, The Royal Governor of New Hampshire, John Wentworth, provided the land upon which Dartmouth would be built and on December 13, 1769, conveyed the charter from King George III establishing the College. That charter created a college "for the education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this Land ... and also of English Youth and any others." |
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| Dickens was very particular about producing a high-quality, reasonably-priced product for the Christmas book trade. The slender volume was bound in red cloth, with a gilt design on the front board and spine, and edges trimmed and gilt. Sixty per cent of the book's cost was incurred in the binding and the colouring of four of the eight plates by Punch magazine artist John Leech. Only sixteen per cent of the costs of the book involved the actual printing. By the close of 1844 the book had sold almost 15,000 copies--but at a profit to Dickens of only 726 pounds. |
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| Italo Marciony (also spelled Marchioni and Marcioni) claimed he created the ice cream cone on
September 22, 1896. He sold his cones from a pushcart in New York City, and his claim may be the best, since he had a
patent for a waffle mold, granted in December, 1903, eight months before the St. Louis Fair! He began his business
selling his homemade lemon ice from a single pushcart on Wall Street, but his business quickly grew into many carts. At the time, most ice cream from vendors was sold in serving glasses called "penny licks" (because you'd lick the ice cream from the glass, and it cost a penny to do so). There was a major problem with sanitation, but Marciony's problem was that many people would accidentally break the glasses, or not so accidentally walk off with them. His first solution was to make cone-like containers out of paper which worked fine until he was hit with a stroke of genius. In 1896 he began baking edible waffle cups with sloping sides and a flat bottom - shaped like his serving glass - and it was an instant hit. |
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| In 1920, Betelgeuse became the first star to have its diameter measured by means of the beam interferometer invented by Albert A. Michelson. This instrument was first tested on the 100-inch telescope at Mt. Wilson on December 13, 1920. Betelgeuse was selected as the first test object since theoretical calculations had suggested that the star was unusually great in size. The experiment was a success and the apparent angular size of Betelgeuse was found to average about .044 arcseconds. |
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| In National League meetings, Charles Ebbets proposes putting numbers on players' sleeves or caps. It's left to each club to do as it wishes. Alarmed at the increase in home run hitting (1,054 in the major leagues, up from 936), some American League owners back a zoning system setting a minimum of 300 feet for a ball to be called a home run. The motion dies. In another action, the league requires each club to furnish two home uniforms per player, plus extra caps and stockings on the road, to improve the players' appearance. |
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| From March to June 1928, Gershwin was in Europe, renewing acquaintances in London, Paris and Vienna, and working on "An American in Paris" as time allowed. He returned to New York in late June to discover that the New York Symphony had announced the premiere for the upcoming season. The two-piano sketch was finished by August 1st, and the orchestration completed only a month before the premiere. "An American in Paris," though met with a mixed critical reception, proved a great success with the public, and it quickly became clear that Gershwin had scored yet another hit. |
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| Hoagy Carmichael is remembered today as one of America's great composers of popular
songs. Several of his tunes, like "Star Dust" ,"Georgia on My Mind" ,"Up The Lazy River", "Lazybones", "Skylark" and
"Heart and Soul" have become standards which are still widely performed.
Louis Armstrong was the greatest of all Jazz musicians. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. | |
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| Sisler won two batting titles, hitting over .400 both times, and amassed an astounding total of 257 hits in 1920, a record that stood for 84 years until surpassed by Ichiro Suzuki in 2004. He had a 41-game hitting streak in 1922, hit .300 or better 13 times and had a sizzling .340 lifetime batting average. |
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| Beginning in June, 1939. Miller dominated the top spot on the various popular music charts for over a year, with "In the Mood" holding the top spot for over fifteen weeks at the beginning of 1940 and "Tuxedo Junction" taking over and keeping Miller at #1 into the summer. On February 11, 1941 Miller was presented with the first ever Gold record for "Chattanooga Choo Choo." His other popular hits included "String of Pearls," "Moonlight Serenade," and "Pennsylvania 6-5000" (which was, and still is, the real telephone number of the Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan). |
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| The cast of "Allen's Alley," including Fred Allen, Minerva Pious as Mrs. Nussbaum, Alan Reed as Falstaff Openshaw, and Kenny Delmar as Senator Claghorn. |
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| Dean's first professional acting job was a 1950 Pepsi commercial "in which a group of teenagers dance around a jukebox singing "Pepsi-Cola hits the spot." James Dean began acting with James Whitmore's acting workshop, appeared in occasional television commercials, and played several roles in films and on stage. In the winter of 1951, he took Whitmore's advice and moved to New York to pursue a serious acting career. He appeared in seven television shows, in addition to earning his living as a busboy in the theater district, before he won a small part in a Broadway play entitled "See the Jaguar." |
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| Originally billed as "Four Boys and a Guitar," the group's early records came complete with a note assuring listeners that the only musical instrument they were hearing was a guitar. The caution was understandable, since the Mills Brothers were so proficient at recreating trumpets, trombones, and saxophones with only their voices that early singles like "Tiger Rag" and "St. Louis Blues" sounded closer to a hot Dixieland combo than a vocal group. In 1952, "The Glow Worm" became their last number one hit. |
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| The Dodgers trade Jackie Robinson to the Giants for P Dick Littlefield and $35,000. Robinson retires rather than accept the trade. The most historically significant baseball player ever, Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play in the majors in the 20th century, to win the MVP award, and to be elected to the Hall of Fame; was also the first Rookie of the Year and the first baseball player, black or white, on an American postage stamp. Babe Ruth changed baseball; Jackie Robinson changed America. |
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| Along with some high school friends, Phil Spector put together The Teddy Bears, and wrote this so their new vocalist, Annette Kleinbard, would have something new to sing at a recording session. They had an audition with Era Records head Lew Bidell, who thought they were "okay" but needed better material. Kleinbard didn't like the song, but agreed to sing it anyway. The recording session was produced by Spector and took only 20 minutes and two takes, quite a contrast to Spector's later production efforts. |
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| Floyd Cramer was hired to play the piano on the recording, but wound up hitting a chunk of steel with a hammer instead. It was Floyd's idea to make the switch. This was a huge hit in the US. Not only did it top the Pop charts for 5 weeks, but it was also #1 on the Country charts for 2 weeks, and #1 Adult Contemporary for 10 weeks. Not bad for a tune that was intended to be a practical joke on one of Dean's friends. |
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| In 1962, Relay I, the first U.S. communications earth satellite to transmit telephone, television, teleprinter and facsimile signals was launched. The first test patterns were not transmitted until 3 Jan 1963, when the solar cells had built up sufficient battery charge. It had 8,215 solar cells, 3 nickel cadmium batteries and 5 external antennas. The signals were relayed between the U.S. and England, Italy and Brazil. |
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| Capitol Records issued a barely-noticed press release announcing that it has signed The Beatles. Following conventional wisdom that it is pointless to issue new product in the holiday season - the Beatles' first Capitol release "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is scheduled for Monday January 13th. The Beatles are set to make the first of their three Ed Sullivan Show appearances just three weeks later - on Sunday February 9th. |
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| Guthrie is the son of legendary Folk singer Woody Guthrie, who was a big influence on Bob Dylan. This reflected the attitude of many young people in America at the time. It was considered an antiwar song, but unlike most protest songs, it used humor to speak out against authority. |
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| This song was produced and recorded in one night by New York studio musicians Paul Leka, Dale Frashuer, and Gary DeCarlo. They used the name Steam because no one wanted their real name on the record. It was inspired by the sight of steam rising from an open manhole. The "na,na,na,na" parts were placeholders for where they couldn't come up with lyrics. Under deadline pressure, they turned in what they had for use as a B-side. The record company loved it, and released it as an A-side, where it became a surprise hit. |
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| Stevie Wonder came up with the idea for this. He gave Robinson a demo of it at a Motown Christmas party. Robinson thought it sounded like a circus, and came up with the lyrics based on the clown. A variety of instruments, including a bassoon, were used to create the circus sound. This was the only #1 hit for Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. |
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| Catfish Hunter met with Charlie Finley in the American Arbitration Association office in New York City for a hearing to determine the validity of Hunter's breach-of-contract claim on November 26. Hunter contended that Finley failed to pay $50,000, half of Hunter's salary, to a life insurance fund. |
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| Best remembered for their disco smash "Fly Robin Fly," the Munich, Germany-based ensemble Silver Convention was formed by producers Silvester Levay and Michael Kunze, debuting in 1975 with the LP "Save Me" and scoring a U.K. hit with the title track. After topping the American charts with "Fly Robin Fly," Levay and Kunze recruited a trio of vocalists -- Linda Thompson, Ramona Wulf, and Penny McLean. They were featured on the follow-up, "Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)," which was also a smash in 1976. |
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| During Richard Pryor's monologue, he twice used the word "ass," which was muted on the West Coast (but has been restored for syndication). Over the years SNL has almost always been broadcast live in the Eastern and Central time zones, in spite of the expletive spoken by Charles Rocket in 1981. Exceptions include shows hosted by Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and Andrew Dice Clay, which were broadcast on a five-second delay. |
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| Susan B. Anthony was honored as the first real (non-allegorical) American woman on circulating U.S. coinage with her appearance on the Anthony dollar. The dollar coin, approximately the size of a U.S. quarter, was minted for only four years, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1999. | |
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| Christine Andreas was nominated for the 1980 Tony Award® Best Actress in a Musical; Harry Groener was nominated for the 1980 Tony Award® Best Featured Actor in a Musical and Harry Groener won the 1980 Theatre World Award for their work in Olkahoma!. |
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| It took several tries before Kenny Rogers became a star. As a member of the First Edition (and the New Christy Minstrels before that), he shared in some million-sellers, among them "Reuben James" and "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town." By the beginning of the '80s, Rogers' audience was as much pop as it was country, and singles like his cover of Lionel Richie's "Lady" confirmed that fact, spending six weeks at the top of the pop charts. |
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| Clue is a 1985 U.S. comedy film based on the boardgame Clue (a.k.a. Cluedo). The film uses the characters and murder mystery premise of the boardgame as the basis for a quickfire farce. The basic premise of the board game is that of six guests, one has killed their host Mr. Boddy in a specific room of the mansion and with a specific weapon. The film expanded on this by making the six central characters victims of Boddy's blackmail, and they join him at his mansion for dinner one evening. |
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| Bruce Hornsby & the Range are best known for his 1980s signature song "The Way It Is" and the top five hits "Mandolin Rain" and "The Valley Road". "That's just the way it is, some things will never change," was both catchy and reflective of the American Civil Rights movement, and it topped the American music charts in 1986. |
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| Helmsley, the Manhattan hotelier and real-estate magnate who notoriously declared that "only the little people pay taxes," was convicted in 1989 of tax evasion and served time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn. Helmsley received a four-year prison sentence, 750 hours of community service, and a $7.1 million tax fraud fine in New York. |
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| Davis made an immediate impact, playing in 81 games and averaging 24.2 points per game in his first season on the Suns. He won the 1978 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and earned second team All-NBA honors. Over his first ten seasons, Davis averaged over 20 PPG six times, and earned trips to six NBA All-Star Games. |
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| De Klerk and Mandela met in December 1989 and were re-assured by each other despite some clear differences. De Klerk favoured a group rights system to protect white people from the black majority whereas Mandela insisted on simple equality for all races. Mandela continued to draw strength from weakness by insisting that he would remain in prison until all banned political organisations were legalised, all political prisoners released, the state of emergency lifted and the troops withdrawn from the townships. As a concession to de Klerk he indicated that he would then prioritise a cease-fire. |
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| Pierce was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 1st round (18th pick) of the 1982 NBA Draft. He won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award twice as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. His first, at the conclusion the 1987-1988 season, and two years later, in 1989-1990. He set the then-record for consecutive free throws made with 75 in 1991 with the Seattle SuperSonics. He retired after the 1997-1998 season in his second stint with the Bucks. |
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1577 Sir Francis Drake sets sail
from England to go around the world
More ...
1642 New Zealand discovered by Dutch navigator
Abel Tasman
More ...
1759 First music store in America opens (Philadelphia)
1769 Dartmouth College in New Hampshire received
its charter
More ...
1816 Patent for a dry dock issued to John Adamson,
Boston
1843 "A Christmas Carol" by Charles
Dickens published, 6,000 copies sold
More ...
1879 First federal fish hatching steamer launched
(Wilmington, DE)
1903 Italo Marcioni patents the ice cream cone
(New Jersey)
More ...
1920 Albert A. Michelson and F.G. Pease's interferometer
measures 1st stellar diameter
More ...
1922 Charles Ebbets proposes putting numbers on
players' sleeves or caps
More ...
1928 George Gershwin's "An American In Paris"
premieres (New York NY)
More ...
1928 Clip-on tie designed
1929 Hoagy Carmichael records "Rockin’
Chair" with Louis Armstrong
More ...
1930 George Sisler's career ends when Boston Braves
release him
More ...
1940 "The Anvil Chorus", was recorded
by Glenn Miller and his orchestra
More ...
1942 "Allen’s Alley" characters
debut on "The Fred Allen Show"
More ...
1950 James Dean begins his career with an appearance
in a Pepsi commercial
More ...
1952 "The Glow-Worm" by Mills Brothers
topped the charts
More ...
1956 Dodgers trade Jackie Robinson to Giants
- Robinson promptly retires
More ...
1958 "To Know Him Is To Love Him" by
The Teddy Bears topped the charts
More ...
1961 Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John" album is country
music's first million dollar seller
More ...
1962 Relay 1 communication satellite launched
More ...
1963 Capitol records signs right of first refusal
agreement with the Beatles
More ...
1969 Arlo Guthrie releases "Alice's Restaurant"
More ...
1969 "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"
by Steam topped the charts
More ...
1970 "Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson
& the Miracles topped the charts
More ...
1974 Jim "Catfish" Hunter wins free
agent claim against A's owner Finley
More ...
1975 "Fly, Robin, Fly" by the Silver
Convention topped the charts
More ...
1975 First time Saturday Night Live uses a time
delay (Richard Pryor hosts)
More ...
1976 Longest non-stop passenger airflight (Sydney
to San Francisco 13 hours 14 minutes)
1978 Susan B Anthony dollar, first US coin to
honor a woman, issued
More ...
1979 "Oklahoma!" opens at Palace Theater
NYC for 301 performances
More ...
1980 "Lady" by Kenny Rogers topped the
charts
More ...
1983 9,655 see highest-scoring NBA game: Detroit
186, Denver 184 (3 OT)
1985 In a movie first, the murder mystery, "Clue",
opened nationally
More ...
1986 “The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby
& the Range topped the charts
More ...
1989 The Queen of Mean" Leona Helmsley sentenced for
tax fraud fine in New York
More ...
1989 Walter Davis (Denver) ends NBA free throw
streak of 53 games
More ...
1989 President De Klerk of S. Africa meets
with Nelson Mandela to talk of end of apartheid
More ...
1991 Ricky Pierce (Seattle) ends NBA free throw
streak of 75 games
More ...
1995 US Federal Court votes that Cable companies
must carry local stations