| Providence Plantation was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Baptist minister fleeing from religious persecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Other settlements in Portsmouth, Newport, and Warwick quickly followed. A Parliamentary patent was secured in March 1644, uniting the four settlements. Under the Royal Charter, the colony was Self-Governing, with an elected Governor and Legislature. |
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| In 1794, Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin. His invention replaced much processing by hand labor, and revolutionized the textile industry. Cotton became commercially important in the southern US, with a resulting demand for slaves to tend the fields and harvest the cotton crops. |  |
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| In 1839, Sir John Herschel referred to "photography" in a lecture to the Royal Society—possibly the first use of the word. Herschel used the name Chrysotype (from the Greek word for gold) for his process. It used paper washed in a solution of ammonio-citrate of iron and brought out the image with a solution of soda or chloride of gold, or with nitrate of silver, and fixing it in the first case by washing it with iodide of potassium and in the second, with hyposulphite of soda. It had technical difficulties in controlling the contrast, colour and fogging of the image. |
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| The Gold Standard Act was an act to define and fix the standard of value, to maintain the panty of all forms of money issued or coined by the United States, to refund the public debt, and for other purposes. |
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| In 1903, the first US national bird sanctuary was established by executive order issued by President Theodore Roosevelt. This order protected the nesting colony of pelicans and herons of the Pelican Island, Sebastian, Florida. |  |
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| The Rockefeller Foundation was established in 1913 by John D. Rockefeller "to promote the well-being of mankind throughout the world." From its earliest years, the Foundation has been both a grant-making and direct operating institution. The Foundation made numerous small grants in many fields or to specific worthy causes, but officials soon concluded that concentration in a few carefully selected fields would encourage innovation. |
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| Businessman W. Lesie Comyn took up the initiative to build ferro-cement ships on his own and formed the San Francisco Ship Building Company (in Oakland, California) to begin constructing ferro-cement ships. He hired Alan Macdonald and Victor Poss to design the first American ferro-cement ship, a steamer named the SS Faith. |  |
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| Roosevelt loved trees and hated to see them cut and not replaced. It was natural for him to wish to put large numbers of the unemployed to repairing such devastation. His enthusiasm for this project, which was really all his own, led him to some exaggeration of what could be accomplished. He saw it big. He thought any man or boy would rejoice to leave the city and work in the woods. |  |
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| The Federal Register is a publication of the United States Government that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies. The FR is published daily, and provides notice to the public of a federal government agency's proposed new rules, or changes to existing rules. |
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| It was called, “The Battle of the Century.” The two comedians locked horns in the ballroom of the Hotel Pierre, exchanging torrid insults that were heard by the second largest audience in the history of radio. The ‘feud’, incidentally, lasted for the next 12 years! This was probably the longest-running publicity stunt in history, too! |  |
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| When The Grapes of Wrath was published on March 14, 1939, it created a national sensation for its depiction of the devastating effects of the Great Depression of the 1930s. By the end of April, it was selling 2,500 copies a day—a remarkable number considering the hard economic times. In May, the novel was a number-one best-seller, selling at a rate of 10,000 copies a week. By the end of 1939, close to a half million copies had been sold. |
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| "Rumba King" Xavier Cugat was the first bandleader to front a successful Latin orchestra in the United States. Affectionately known as "Cugie," he was largely responsible for popularizing Latin music among North American audiences. Cugat had a string of record hits from 1935-49, including "The Lady In Red", "Night Must Fall", "Perfidia", "Chica, Chica, Boom, Chic" (vocal: Lina Romay), "Babula" (Miguelito Valdes), "Amor" (Carmen Castillo), "Good, Good, Good (That's You-That's You)", and "South America, Take It Away" (Bobby Clark). |
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| With President Truman's "strongest endorsement", the idea takes shape as a seven-car rolling exhibit that will place dozens of documents of American liberty next to dozens of documents illustrating tyranny and despotism. The hope is that this exhibit will cause a reawakening in the hearts of Americans and serve as a reminder that freedom cannot be taken for granted.... |  |
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| A newspaper story in late 1949 led to the creation of the list. A reporter for the International News Service (the predecessor of the United Press International) asked the FBI for the names and descriptions of the "toughest guys" the FBI would like to capture. The story had so much appeal and generated so much positive publicity that former Director J. Edgar Hoover implemented the "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" Program. |
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| Her first hit, "Confess," came that same year and made her the first pop artist to overdub harmony vocals onto her own lead. Page gained her first million-seller in 1950 for "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming," which cashed in on the novelty effect of overdubbing (the added touch came with listing it as "the Patti Page Quartet"). Also in 1950, "All My Love" became her first number one hit and spent several weeks at the top. That same year produced the biggest hit of her career, "The Tennessee Waltz." Notched at number one for months, it eventually became one of the best-selling singles of all time and prompted no less than six Top 40 covers during the following year. During 1952-1953, Patti Page scored two more huge hits with "I Went to Your Wedding" and "The Doggie in the Window," both of which spent more than two months at number one. |
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| Nikita Khrushchev became prime minister of the Soviet Union on this date in 1958. He rose rapidly through the party ranks and after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, he became first secretary of the party's Central Committee, essentially the head of the Soviet Union's Communist Party. Khrushchev was an advocate of peaceful coexistence with the West, but his advocacy of nuclear weapons caused tensions with the US, culminating in 1962's Cuban Missile Crisis. |
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| Henry Aaron starts his first game with the Braves, getting three hits in a spring training game against the Boston Red Sox. One of the blows is a home run, off Ike Delock, that goes over a row of trailers along the outfield fence. |  |
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| Joe DiMaggio called Satchel Paige "the best and fastest pitcher I've ever faced". His pitching was amazing and his showboating was legendary. His career highlights span five decades. Pronounced the greatest pitcher in the history of the Negro Leagues, Paige compiled such feats as 64 consecutive scoreless innings, a stretch of 21 straight wins, and a 31-4 record in 1933. For 22 years, Paige mauled the competition in front of sellout crowds. Sure, he liked the attention, but to him, there was only one goal - to pitch in the Major Leagues. In 1965, 60 years after Paige's supposed birthday, he took the mound for the last time, throwing three shutout innings for the Kansas City Athletics. |
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| The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents U.S. record companies, has been the official certification agency for single and album certifications since 1958. The gold award is bestowed on albums that have shipped 500,000 units. The RIAA added platinum awards, signifying shipments of one million copies, in 1976, multiplatinum awards, for 2 million units and above, in 1984, and Diamond awards, 10 million units for a single title, in 2003. Perry Como's “Catch A Falling Star” was the first to be certified gold. |
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| "Venus" was the first of two US #1 singles by the former trumpeter. The other was "Why." It was the first US Top 10 hit that Avalon sang without holding his nose. He held his honker on earlier hits "Dede Dinah"(#7) and "Ginger Bread"(#9). |  |
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| Philadelphia rookie Wilt Chamberlain scored a then NBA Playoff record 53 points in the Warriors’ 132-112 win over Syracuse in the third and deciding game of the Eastern Division Semifinals. |  |
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| San Francisco guard Guy Rodgers handed out 28 assists in a 114-109 loss to St. Louis, matching what was at the time an NBA record. It is now tied for the third-highest total in NBA history. |
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| Jack Ruby was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F Kennedy. The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for two hours and 19 minutes. Oswald, who was accused of firing the gun that killed the president, was shot two days later by Ruby in the basement of the Dallas police headquarters. |
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| "I Want to Hold Your Hand” was the first Beatles song to catch on in America. In 1963, the Beatles became stars in England, but couldn't break through in the US. They couldn't get a major label to distribute their singles in America, so songs like "Love Me Do" and "She Loves You" were issued on small labels and flopped, even though they were hits in England. By February 1964, America finally took notice of The Beatles and bought this single in droves, giving them their first US hit. It sold better in first 10 days of release in the US than any other British single. |
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| Paul Simon wrote this about providing comfort to a person in need. It started as a modest Gospel hymn but became more dramatic as he put it together. This was one of the few songs to top the US and UK charts at the same time. It was #1 in the US for 6 weeks, #1 in the UK for 3. In 1971, this won 5 Grammys: Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Best Contemporary Song, Best Engineered Record, and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists. |
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| Parton wrote this for the 1980 film of the same name. This song won the 1981 Grammys for Best Country Song and Best Country Vocal Performance, Female; it also received a Grammy nomination for Best Album Of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or Television Special and received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. It also won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Song. |
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| Giotto was ESA’s first deep-space mission. In 1986, it passed closest to the nucleus of a comet, Halley. Its images showed for the first time the shape of a comet nucleus and found the first evidence of organic material in a comet. European Space Agency's Giotto probe returned 2,333 images during the Comet Halley encounter of March 13-14, 1986. |  |
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| Said Neil Peart: "This song simply describes the phenomenon of the sun breaking through the clouds in visible rays, as it sometimes does after a rain or on a cloudy day. The actual name seems to be one of those traditional names for natural things which has probably been around for ages. I think Geddy actually suggested the idea to me, after hearing his mother-in-law use the name. It had a nice sound to it, and of course the event itself is a beautiful and inspiring one." |
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| Smith starred in Men in Black, again the box-office champ of the summer season; recording for the first time under his given name, he also scored a smash with the movie's rap theme. Smith's debut solo LP, Big Willie Style, also appeared in 1997, notching the hits "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," "Just the Two of Us," and "Miami." |  |
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1644 England grants patent for
Providence Plantations (now Rhode Island)
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1743 First American town meeting (Boston's Faneuil
Hall)
1794 Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton
gin
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1812 Congress authorizes $11 million in war bonds
to finance War of 1812
1839 Herschel introduces us to “photography”
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1900 US currency goes on gold standard
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1903 First national bird reservation established
in Sebastian FL
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1913 John D Rockefeller gives $100 million to
Rockefeller Foundation
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1918 First concrete ship to cross the Atlantic
(Faith) is launched, San Francisco
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1923 President Warren G Harding became first President
filing income tax report and pay taxes
1933 Civilian Conservation Corp, begins tree conservation
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1936 Federal Register, first magazine of the US
government, publishes first issue
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1937 Fred Allen and Jack Benny fued in “The
Battle of the Century”
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1939 John Steinbeck novel "The Grapes of Wrath"
published
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1941 Xavier Cugat & his Orchestra record
"Babalu"
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1948 Freedom Train arrives in San Francisco
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1950 FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives"
program begins
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1953 "The Doggie in the Window" by Patti
Page topped the charts
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1953 Nikita Khrushchev succeeds Malenkov as Secretary
of Communist Party
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1954 Braves Henry Aaron homers in his first exhibition
game
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1954 NBA Baltimore Bullets end a 32 game road
losing streak
1956 Satchel Paige signs with the Birmingham Black
Barons (Negro League)
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1958 RIAA (Recording Industry Association of American) is
created
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1959 "Venus" by Frankie Avalon topped
the charts
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1960 Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia) sets NBA
playoff record of 53 points
More ...
1963 San Francisco's Guy Rodgers ties NBA record
with 28 assists
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1964 Dallas jury sentences Jack Ruby to death
for Lee Harvey Oswald murder
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1964 "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by the
Beatles topped the charts
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1967 First NFL-AFL common draft, Baltimore Colts
pick Bubba Smith
1970 "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by
Simon & Garfunkel topped the charts
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1972 NBA's Cincinnati Royals announce they are
moving to Kansas City
1978 NFL permanently adds 7th official (side judge)
1981 "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton topped
the charts
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1986 European Space Agency's Giotto flies by Halley's
Comet (376 miles)
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1987 "Jacob's Ladder" by Huey Lewis
& the News topped the charts
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1998 "Gettin' Jiggy With It" by Will
Smith topped the charts
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