| Charles Darwin set out from Plymouth, England, aboard the ship HMS Beagle on his five-year global scientific expedition. Darwin collected fossils and studied plants and animals, gradually beginning to doubt that many diverse species of living things had sprung into existence at one moment (creationism). In 1859, he published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. |
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| In 1845, ether anesthetic was first used in childbirth by Dr. Crawford W. Long in Jefferson, Ga, who gave it to his wife, and she successfully gave birth to a baby girl, their second child, Fanny. Previously, on March 30, 1842, Dr. Long administered inhaled ether to James M. Venable, for the removal of a tumor from his neck. |
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| On December 27, 1900, Carry struck again, this time smashing the elaborate bar in the Hotel Carey (now the Eaton Hotel) in Wichita. With fellow prohibitionists joining her, Wichita would be treated to further raids on saloons in the next few weeks. While in that city, she took up the tool that was forever linked to her - the hatchet. |
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| Although the song as it is now known dates from 1903, the melody was written by Henry Armstrong in 1896 when he was 18 years old. After adding lyrics, the song became "You're the Flower of My Heart, Sweet Rosalie." This song went from publisher to publisher without finding a taker. Maybe a change of title would help. Armstrong happened to see a poster announcing the farewell concert tour of the famed prima donna, Adelina Patti. The girl in the song would be Adeline and the title shortened to, simply, "Sweet Adeline." |
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| The story starts in the 1880s on one of the many American riverboats that featured travelling shows. It follows the lives and loves of the troupe that work aboard the Cotton Blossom under the command of Cap'n Andy and his wife Parthy Ann. Songs included "Why Do I Love You", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "Bill" and "Ol' Man River." |
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| John D. Rockefeller Jr's financial power and RCA's media might were joined by the unusual talents of impresario S.L. "Roxy" Rothafel. Roxy had earned a reputation as a theatrical genius by employing an innovative combination of vaudeville, movies and razzle-dazzle décor to revive struggling theatres across America. Together Rockefeller, RCA and Roxy realized a fantastic dream-a theatre unlike any in the world, and the first completed project within the complex that RCA head David Sarnoff dubbed "Radio City." Radio City Music Hall was to be a palace for the people. |
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| At Cranmore in North Conway the unique skimobile lift was premiered in 1938. Financed by logging tycoon Harvey Dow Gibson, the original skimobile had 131 cars & cost $.25 per ride. The following year saw the skimobile's length extended so it would reach the summit. The cost for a bottom to top ride was $.50. While the Skimobile proved to be a reliable lift, it was considerably more labor-intensive than chairlifts. Because of it's design, cars with snowplows had to run the tracks of the trestle in snowstorms, salt had to be spread on the track during ice storms, and tire pressure had to be adjusted for varying weather conditions. |
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| In March 1939, the group was chosen to play the summer season at the prestigious Glen Island Casino in a suburb of New York, which led to another important engagement at Meadowbrook in New Jersey in spring of the same year. Both places offered frequent radio broadcasts, and by midsummer the Miller orchestra had developed a nationwide following. In December 1939, it began a series of radio broadcasts for Chesterfield cigarettes, which increased its already great popularity. |
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| The International Monetary Fund also known as the "IMF" was conceived at a United Nations conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, U.S. in July 1944. The 45 governments represented at that conference sought to build a framework for economic cooperation that would avoid a repetition of the disastrous economic policies that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s. |
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| The idea for Howdy Doody began on the NBC New York radio affiliate WEAF in 1947 with a program called "The Triple B Ranch." The three Bs stood for Big Brother Bob Smith, who developed the country bumpkin voice of a ranch hand and greeted the radio audience with, "Oh, ho, ho, howdy doody." Martin Stone, Smith's agent, suggested putting Howdy on television and presented the idea to NBC televi-sion programming head Warren Wade. With Stone and Roger Muir as producers, Smith launched Puppet Playhouse on 17 December 1947. Within a week the name of the program was changed to "The Howdy Doody Show." |
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| The Crosley car was put into use by the U.S. Postal Service in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the first right-hand-drive car designed specifically for mail delivery. The Crosley put the driver on the mailbox-side of the car, and changed mail delivery forever. |
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| Boyd was only 13 years old when he recorded this song. When this was released in 1953, some people thought it was a little too risque, the thought of a married woman, possibly having an affair. A closer listen implies that Santa Claus is actually the child's father, but this didn't stop radio stations in some cities, including Boston, from banning it when it came out. |
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| Sharman helped to define the NBA through his quick, efficient playing and sniper-like accuracy. He was one of the first guards to score above a .400 in field goal percentage in NBA history and still remains possibly the most accurate free-throw shooter of all time with a .883 percentage from the line. His record of seven seasons leading the league in free-throw shooting stands unbroken to this day. |
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| Late in 1958 Ross Bagdasarian released The Chipmunk Song with the singing credits going to The Chipmunks with David Seville. In the first five weeks after its release, the song sold three and a half million records, and in December, 1958 it was the #1 song on the pop charts. |
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| The band was known for its wild on-stage behavior, which led locals to call them "animals." They changed their name to The Animals in 1963, a carefully calculated ploy which caused immediate problems with the BBC. They'd been booked to appear on Saturday Club as The Alan Price Combo, and the BBC was not happy featuring a group which called itself The Animals - but eventually relented. |
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| "Star Trek" was created by Gene Roddenberry. The show's theme tune was an instrumental piece written by Alexander Courage and immediately recognized by many people who had never even seen the program. It is also one of the best known pieces played on the theremin. The lyrics were written by Gene Roddenberry without Courage's knowledge and without intending for them ever to be sung. Prior to his writing the song, Roddenberry had Courage agree to allow lyrics to be composed. Despite the non-performance, Roddenberry would nevertheless get a 50% share of the music's performance royalties. |
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| Diana Ross is the only member of the group whose voice is on the recording. The backing vocals are by session artists and Johnny Bristol, who co-wrote the song. |
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| "Hello, Dolly!" played for 2844 performances on Broadway at the St. James Theatre with Carol Channing in the title role. At the time it was the longest playing Broadway musical. The London production played for 794 performances at the Drury Lane Theatre. The show has been revived several times on Broadway, most recently in 1995 for 116 performances at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, again with Carol Channing as Dolly Levi. |
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| The Staple Singers' hitmaking streak for Stax Records included "Oh La De Da," "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" (another #1 R&B single), and "Touch A Hand, Make A Friend" before they moved on to Warner Brothers, where they scored with Curtis Mayfield's "Let's Do it Again" soundtrack. The title song became the Staples' third #1 R&B and second #1 pop single. |
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| In 1979, "Knots Landing", a CBS nighttime soap, made its debut. It was a spinoff of "Dallas." The second longest running prime time drama - after Gunsmoke - in television history, Knots Landing's (1979-1993) 14-season tenure is even more prestigious because it survived both the competition of glitzier prime time soaps (such as Dynasty) and the advent of cable television. |
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| "(Just Like) Starting Over" is a song written and performed by John Lennon for his Double Fantasy album. The B-side was Yoko Ono's "Kiss Kiss Kiss". It reached number one in both the USA and UK when it was released as a single in 1980. |
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| His career free throw percentage of .892 is second only to Rick Barry in NBA history. In 1,002 regular season games, Murphy scored 17,949 points, an average of 17.9 per game, and had 4,402 assists and 1,165 steals. He added 945 points, 213 assists, and 79 steals in 51 playoff games. |
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| Playing his 38th game of the season, a 10-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers' center Wayne Gretzky scored his 100th point of the season to set a record for the fastest 100 points in NHL history. Gretzky, who later bettered that mark in 1983-84 by scoring 100 points in 34 games, broke Phil Esposito's mark of 51 games set in 1970-71. |
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| Songwriter Liam Sternberg wrote this. He got the idea when he was on a ferry boat, and saw people struggling to keep their balance. The way they held out their arms and jerked around made it look like they were doing Egyptian movements, and if the boat moved suddenly, they would all topple over. "Walk Like an Egyptian" was the biggest hit for The Bangles, but it's one of their least favorite songs and #1 in the US for 1987. |
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| When he retired, Largent held six major career pass receiving records - most receptions (819), most consecutive games with a reception (177), most yards on receptions (13,089), most touchdowns on receptions (100), most seasons with 50 or more receptions (10) and most seasons with 1,000 yards or more on receptions (8). All this by a receiver who the Houston Oilers thought was too small and slow to make it in the pros. |
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| Burnett became known for her Tarzan yell during many shows, and for ending each show by tugging her ear, which was a message to the grandmother who had raised her. The show ceased production in 1978, and is generally regarded as the last successful major network variety show, to date. It continues to have success in syndicated reruns. |
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1831 Charles Darwin sets out from
Plymouth, England
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1845 Ether first used in childbirth in US, Jefferson
GA
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1900 Carrie Nation's first public smashing of
a bar (Hotel Carry Annex Bar, Wichita KS)
More ...
1903 "Sweet Adeline", a barbershop quartet
favorite, is first sung
More ...
1927 Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II's "Show
Boat"
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1932 Radio City Music Hall opens (New York NY)
More ...
1938 The first skimobile course in America opened
More ...
1939 The radio program, "The Glenn Miller
Show,", debuted on the CBS radio network
More ...
1945 International Monetary Fund established -
World Bank founded
More ...
1946 US wins first Davis Cup since 1938
1947 First "Howdy Doody Show" (Puppet
Playhouse), telecast on NBC
More ...
1951 Right-hand drive vehicle for mail
delivery
More ...
1952 "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
by Jimmy Boyd topped the charts
More ...
1956 Bill Sharman (Boston) ends NBA free throw
streak of 55 games
More ...
1958 "Chipmunk Song" by David Seville
and The Chipmunks topped the charts
More ...
1963 "The Animals" performed on the
BBC radio show, "Saturday Club"
More ...
1966 The words from "Star
Trek" theme copyright registered
More ...
1969 "Someday We'll Be Together" by
Diana Ross & the Supremes topped the charts
More ...
1970 "Hello, Dolly!" closes at St James
Theater NYC after 2,844 performances
More ...
1971 Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and Woodstock
of Charles Schulz’ famous "Peanuts" comic strip made the cover
of "Newsweek" magazine this day
1975 "Let's Do It Again" by the Staple
Singers topped the charts
More ...
1979 "Knots Landing" premieres on CBS-TV
More ...
1980 "(Just Like) Starting Over" by
John Lennon topped the charts
More ...
1980 Calvin Murphy (Rockets) begins longest NBA
free throw streak of 78
More ...
1981 Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky becomes fastest
NHLer to get 100 points
More ...
1986 "Walk Like an Egyptian" by Bangles
topped the charts
More ...
1987 Steve Largent sets all-time NFL record for
career catches
More ...
1991 Bengals hire Dave Shula as youngest NFL coach
(32)
1991 "Carol Burnett Show" last airs
on CBS-TV
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2004 The death toll from the Dec 26 earthquake-tsunami
catastrophe rose to more than 23,000