| It was claimed in 1860 that a collection of Mother Goose children's nursery rhymes had been published in Boston by Thomas Fleet in 1719 under the title "Songs of the Nursery; or, Mother Goose's Melodies for Children." On the title page was the picture of a goose with a very long neck and a mouth wide open, and below this, "Printed by T. Fleet, at his Printing House in Pudding Lane, 1719. Price, two coppers." |
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| Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired at the end of his second. In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to avoid excessive party spirit and geographical distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances. Washington enjoyed less than three years of retirement at Mount Vernon, for he died of a throat infection December 14, 1799. For months the Nation mourned him. |  |
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| In 1839, John William Draper took a daguerreotype of the moon, the first celestial photograph made in the U.S. He exposed the plate for 20 minutes using a 5-inch telescope and produced an image one inch in diameter. Draper was a professor of chemistry at New York University, New York City. His research in the effect of light upon chemicals had led him to take up photography. He also made his first satisfactory photographic portrait in 1839. Draper made important scientific contributions in fields of radiant energy, photochemistry, photography, and electric telegraphy. He also anticipated development of spectrum analysis. |
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| Nutcracker World Premiere was at the Maryinsky Theater in St Petersbury, Russia. The first reveiw of the Nutcracker did not look to favorably on what would become the most attended holiday ballet ever produced. "For dancers there is rather little in it, for art absolutely nothing, and for the artistic fate of our ballet, one more step downward." Agrippina Vaganova, the famous Russian ballet teacher, said "Connoisseurs of ballet purposely took seats in the upper tier to admire the beautiful patterns [of the] waltz of the Snowflakes" performed by sixty dancers. |
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| At Oberlin, Ohio on May 24,1893 the Ohio Anti-Saloon League was formed. The same year a similar organization was founded in the nation's capital. These two organizations formed the nucleus for the National Anti-Saloon League which was officially founded on December 18,1895 in Washington, D.C. The name of this national organization was later changed to Anti-Saloon League of America. Howard Hyde Russell was named as the first superintendent of the national league. |
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| On December 18th, 1898 Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat (the "Electric Count") set the world's first official land-speed record over a measured kilometer near Paris. The new record was set in his electric Jeantaud automobile at a hair-raising speed of 39.245mph (62.8 kph). The car employed a single electric motor and alkaline batteries. |
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| To prepare for his return to La Scala, Tuscannini formed a new orchestra from the best players in Italy. After two months of rehearsals, they embarked on an eight-month international tour. For the first leg in Italy, they played 33 concerts in 21 cities in less than 5 weeks! Then, they headed for America for 68 concerts in barely 3 months. Toscanini's first records were cut at the beginning and end of the American segment of the tour. Sessions were held for the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey in December 1920 and March 1921. |
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| A special series of postage stamps was issued in commemoration of the tercentenary of the landing of the Pilgrims in Decemher of 1620. The Pilgrim Tercentenary stamps were issued in sheets of 70 and were first placed on sale Dcc. 18, 1920, at Provincetown and Plymouth, Mass. |  |
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| The orchestra's engagement, at the Lafayette Theatre in September 1933, was a success and in January 1934 Lunceford and his Orchestra took over from Cab Calloway at the Cotton Club. This prestigious engagement was probably the making of Lunceford, earning the orchestra valuable publicity, its value cemented when they began to record regularly, first for RCA-Victor and then exclusively for Decca. “Rhythm Is Our Business,” is a jaunty Eddie Wilcox arrangement of a Lunceford tune, with superb alto by Willie Smith who is also the vocalist. |
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| In 1935, both the face and back (reverse) of the seal appeared for the first time on paper money on $1 Silver Certificates. The pyramid, on the reverse of the Great Seal, represents permanence and strength. Its unfinished condition indicates that the United States will always grow, build, and improve with a continuous evaluation of Truth. The thirteen layers of stone in the pyramid refer to the thirteen Original States and the individual rights of States. The separate stones represent local self-government. |
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| Su-Lin, the first giant panda to come to US from China, arrived in SF. The giant panda, captured by Ruth Harkness, was the first ever seen in the US. Traveling across some of the toughest terrain in the world, the team was constantly threatened by hordes of bandits and hostile natives. The voyage took months to complete and cost Ruth everything she had. But when, almost miraculously, she returned from her journey with a baby panda named Su Lin in her arms, the story became an international sensation and made the front pages of newspapers around the world. No animal in history had gotten such attention. And Ruth Harkness became a hero. |
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| In July 1944, the renunciation law was passed. On December 18, 1944,the director of the WRA announces that all relocation centers will be closed by the end of 1945, and that the WRA’s operations will be ended by June 30, 1946. Japanese-Americans would be released from detention camps. |
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| Faraway Hill was the first soap opera broadcast on an American television network, running on the DuMont Television Network from October 2-December 18, 1946. David P. Lewis, the writer and director, had a budget of around $300 an episode. For many years A Woman to Remember was considered the first soap opera, but actually debuted in 1949. |
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| On Friday, December 18 (1953), WPTZ received its official FCC experimental color license, authorizing transmission of color video during regular broadcast hours. At 2:20 pm, December 18th, Philadelphians lucky enough to own color TV sets saw the nation's first color telecast via "Skinner's Spotlight." A color Felso soap commercial was aired during Skinner's program. |
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| Bennett's initial successes came via a string of Columbia singles in the early 1950's, including such chart-toppers as "Because of You," "Rags To Riches" and a remake of Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart." Bennett had 24 songs in the Top 40, including "I Wanna Be Around," "The Good Life," "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)" and his signature song, "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," which garnered him two Grammy Awards. |
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| Although the four women's arrangements owed more to the Andrews Sisters than doo wop, they did, unlike many of their peers, prove fairly adaptable to the rock era. First establishing themselves with the huge (and non-rock) pop hit "Mr. Sandman" in 1954, they continued to chart in the last half of the 1950s and the early 1960s, often with covers of rock and RB songs. The 2 1958 hit "Lollipop" was the biggest of these. |  |
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| Three contestants were introduced as the same person and then Bud Collyer (bow tie and all), would read the information about the individual. One contestant was telling the truth and the other 2 were lying. The 4 panelists would question each of the contestants and then vote for the one they thought was telling the truth. All 3 of the contestants made money when the panelists would vote for an impostor. Major panelists by the 1960s included Tom Poston, Peggy Cass, Orson Bean, and Kitty Carlisle. Earlier regular panelists had included Johnny Carson, Polly Bergen, Don Ameche, columnist Hy Gardner, and Ralph Bellamy. |
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| After retiring, he served for 40 years broadcasting Yankee games on radio and television where, like Harry Caray, his popular catchphrase was "Holy Cow." Although Caray was using the phrase while Rizzuto was still playing, Rizzuto once claimed he'd been saying it earlier, as a suggestion of something to say instead of using profanity. He also became known for saying "Unbelievable!" or "Did you see that?" to describe a great play, and would call somebody a "huckleberry" if he did something Rizzuto didn't like. |
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| In 1957, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first large-scale civilian nuclear power plant in the world first fed electricity into the grid for the Pittsburgh area. Ground was broken in 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower when the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 authorized private nuclear power production in the U.S. He made the official opening dedication on May 26, 1958. It was taken out of service in 1982. |
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| In 1958, the first American communications satellite was launched. Project SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment) was put into orbit from Cape Canaveral using an Atlas B missile, also the first successful trial of the Atlas' space launch vehicle. A planned low orbit limited life expectancy of the satellite to only 2 to 3 weeks, thus limiting opportunities for real-time relay between two ground stations. Therefore, a store-and-forward mode was added by including a tape recorder, which also gave the satellite a worldwide broadcast capability - the world's first satellite to broadcast voice. |
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| On September 7th, 1960, in Rome, Wilma became the first American woman to win 3 gold medals in the Olympics (100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and anchored the 400-meter relay team). This achievement led her to become one of the most celebrated female athletes of all time. Not bad for a young lady who overcame polio as a youth. |  |
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| The original title was "Mbube," which means "lion." It was a hunting song originally sung in Zulu in what is now Swaziland. The Tokens, had a Top 15 hit "Tonight I Fell in Love" in 1960, and, after a lyrics rewrite and title change,"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" became another hit for the group. |  |
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| "The Pink Phink" was the first Pink Panther animated short released by United Artists. In this short, the Pink Panther and a painter (Unnamed, but very loosely resembling the Inspector) compete over whether a house should be painted blue or pink. Each time the painter attempts to paint something blue, the panther thwarts him in a new way. Finally, the panther succeeds in turning the house and everything around it pink and moves in. It won the 1964 Academy Award for Short Subjects, animated films. |
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| Gemini VI was launched on December 4, piloted by Walter Schirra, Jr. and Thomas Stafford, the two spacecraft rendezvoused and flew in formation for five hours. Gemini VII remained aloft for 14 days to study the effects of long-duration flight. The 330 hours in space had no long-term harmful effects on the crew, but the flight turned into somewhat of an endurance test for the two pilots, confined in their hot, cramped quarters. |
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| The record was set at the 16th annual World's Barrel Jumping Championship is held in Grossinger, New York. LeBel was the National and North American Indoor Champion and North American Outdoor Champion. He set three National Indoor records and was a member of 1962 World Hockey Team. He also won four World Outdoor and three World Indoor Barrel Jumping Championships. Do you remember seeing him on Wide World of Sports? |
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| This song was written by Pete Seeger, an influential folk singer and activist. He recorded it before The Byrds covered it as a follow-up to their hit "Mr. Tambourine Man." |  |
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| This musical, based on the life of famed 86-year-old Fashion Designer Coco Chanel, brought Katharine Hepburn back to the Broadway after a lapse of 17 years. |  |
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| The song is about a family affair, whether it's a result of genetic processes or a situation in the environment." There was a rumor at the time that Stone had written it in response to demands made on him by black nationalist groups, who didn't approve of his integrationist sensibility. |  |
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| n the 1970s, Streisand successfully married her musical and film acting interests, first in "The Way We Were," a hit film with a theme song that became her first number one single; and then with "A Star Is Born," which featured her second number one single, "Evergreen," a song she co-wrote. From that point on, every album she released sold at least a million copies. |  |
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| This was never released as a single in England because it was banned on British radio stations due to suggestive lyrics. The offending lyric is: "Spread your wings and let me come inside." Stewart's girlfriend, Swedish actress Britt Ekland, sings in French at the end. |  |
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| From their first hit in 1974 through their heyday in the '80s, Daryl Hall and John Oates' smooth, catchy take on Philly soul brought them enormous commercial success. H20 fin 1982 proved more successful than their two previous albums, selling over two million copies and launching their biggest hit single, "Maneater," as well as the Top Ten hits "One on One" and "Family Man." |  |
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| "Beverly Hills Cop" is an American comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. The film boosted the popularity of Eddie Murphy as he started to become a mainstream actor. The film won the for Favorite Motion Picture (1985) and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical (1985). It earned an estimated $234 million at the box office. |  |
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| This episode was eventually nicknamed "The Lost Episode" because it was not included in the syndication package. It was not included because of its Christmas theme and because it mostly consists of flashbacks to previous episodes. This episode remained unseen until December 18, 1989 when CBS aired a colorized version. |  |
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| In 1996, the television industry created the TV Parental Guidelines a voluntary rating system designed to give parents information about the content of television programs. This system provides parents with information about the content and age-appropriateness of television programs. |
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| In 1997, the 15-kilometer (9.3-mile) toll expressway, Tokyo Bay Aqualine bridge and tunnel that spans the narrowest gap of Tokyo Bay, opened to traffic after 31 years of studies. It connects the cities of Kawasaki and Kisarazu,took 8-1/2 years to complete and cost $17 billion. Previously, the trip required a 1 hr ferry or 100 km (62.1 miles) drive. |  |
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1719 Thomas Fleet publishes "Mother
Goose's Melodies For Children"
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1796 First US newspaper to appear on Sunday (Baltimore
Monitor)
1799 George Washington's body interred at Mount
Vernon
More ...
1839 First celestial photograph (the moon) made
in US, John Draper, New York NY
More ...
1892 Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "Nutcracker
Suite" premieres
More ...
1895 Anti-Saloon League of America formed, Washington
DC
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1898 Automobile speed record set - 63 kph (39
mph)
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1920 Conductor Arturo Toscanini made his first
recording for Victor Records
More ...
1920 First US postage stamps printed without the
words United States or US
More ...
1934 Willie Smith sang with Jimmy Lunceford &
his orchestra on "Rhythm is Our Business"
More ...
1935 1935 $1 silver certificate was first to depict
the Great Seal on each side
More ...
1936 Su-Lin, first giant panda to come to US from
China, arrives in San Francisco
More ...
1944 US Army announces end of excluding Japanese-Americans
from West Coast
More ...
1946 TV's first network dramatic serial "Faraway
Hill" ends 2 month run
More ...
1953 WPTZ in Philadelphia presented the first color
telecast seen on a local station
More ...
1953 "Rags to Riches" by Tony Bennett
topped the charts
More ...
1954 "Mr. Sandman" by the Chordettes
topped the charts
More ...
1956 Bud Collyer hosts "To
Tell the Truth" on CBS-TV
More ...
1956 Phil Rizzuto signs as New York Yankee radio-TV
announcer
More ...
1957 Shippingport Atomic Power Station, first
nuke plant to generate electricity
More ...
1958 First test project of Signal Communications
by Orbiting Relay Equipment
More ...
1961 For 2nd consecutive year, AP names Wilma
Rudolph female athlete of year
More ...
1961 "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by the
Tokens topped the charts
More ...
1961 Britain's EMI Records originally rejects
the Beatles
1964 "The Pink Panther" cartoon series
premieres (Pink Phink)
More ...
1965 Borman & Lovell Splash down in Atlantic
ends 2 week Gemini VII
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1965 Kenneth LeBel jumps 17 barrels on ice skates
More ...
1965 "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by the Byrds
topped the charts
More ...
1969 "Coco" opens at Mark Hellinger
Theater NYC for 333 performances
More ...
1971 CBS radio cancels Saturday morning band concerts
1971 "Family Affair" by Sly & the
Family Stone topped the charts
More ...
1976 "A Star is Born", with Barbra Streisand,
premieres
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1976 "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)"
by Rod Stewart topped the charts
More ...
1979 Stanley Barrett first to exceed land sonic
speed (739.666 MPH)
1982 "Maneater" by Daryl Hall &
John Oates topped the charts
More ...
1985 "Beverly Hills Cop" became the
top movie grosser of the year
More ...
1989 "I Love Lucy" Christmas episode,
shown for first time in over 30 years
More ...
1993 Kevin Scott skates world record 1K (1:12.54)
1996 TV industry executives agree to adopt a ratings
system
More ...
1997 A unique bridge-and-tunnel expressway across
Tokyo Bay opened
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