Today In History
February 8

Events

• 1802 - Simon Willard patents banjo clock


• 1837 - 1st VP chosen by Senate, Richard Johnson (Van Buren admin)


• 1865 - 1st black major in US army, Martin Robinson Delany


• 1883 - Louis Waterman begins experiments to invents fountain pen


• 1887 - Aurora Ski Club of Red Wing, Minnesota became the 1st US ski club


• 1894 - Enforcement Act repealed, making it easier to disenfranchise blacks


• 1898 - John Ames Sherman patents 1st envelope folding & gumming mach (Massachusetts)


• 1910 - Boy Scouts of America incorporated & chartered (William D Boyce-Chicago)


• 1915 - "Birth of a Nation" opens at Clune's Auditorium in Louisiana


• 1918 - "Stars & Stripes," weekly US armed forces newspaper, 1st published


• 1922 - Radio arrives at the White House


• 1924 - 1st coast-to-coast radio hookup: Gen John Joseph Carty speech in Chicago


• 1934 - Export-Import Bank organizes in Washington, DC


• 1936 - 1st ski jumping tournament, Red Wing, Minnesota


• 1944 - 1st black reporter accredited to White House, Harry McAlpin


• 1957 - San Francisco Public Library's bookmobile initiated in front of City Hall


• 1960 - Congress opens hearings looking into payola


• 1963 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site


• 1964 - Rep Martha Griffiths address gets civil rights protection for women being added to the 1964 Civil Rights Act


• 1967 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site


• 1968 - Officers kill 3 students demonstrating in South Carolina State (Orangeburg)


• 1969 - Last edition of Saturday Evening Post


• 1973 - Senate names 7 members to investigate Watergate scandal


• 1977 - Earthquake in San Francisco, at 5.0, strongest since 1966


• 1979 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site


• 1981 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Elaine Zayak


• 1981 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton


• 1983 - Eric Peters sets transatlantic sailboat record (E-W)-46 days


• 1986 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano

Baseball

• 1916 - NL votes down Charlie Ebbets proposal to limit 25 cent seats


• 1982 - Dodgers trade Davey Lopes to A's breaking up the longest-playing infield (Cey-Russell-Lopes-Garvey)


• 1983 - Baseball orders Mickey Mantle to sever ties with Claridge Casino


• 1984 - A's take Yankees pitcher Tim Belcher as Type A free agent compensation


• 1991 - Roger Clemens signs record $5,380,250 per year Red Sox contract

Football

• 1935 - 1st NFL draft; Jay Berwanger of U Chicago is 1st pick (by Eagles) He never plays in NFL


• 1963 - AFL's Dallas Texans become Kansas City Chiefs


• 1996 - NFL & Cleveland allows Art Modell to move his NFL franchise to Baltimore but he had to leave the Browns' name behind

Basketball

• 1960 - Boston Celtic Bill Russell becomes 1st NBAer with 50 rebounds (51)


• 1976 - Largest crowd at Cleveland Coliseum (Cavs vs Washington-21,130)


• 1985 - Bruce Morris, Marshall Univ, makes a 92' 5+" basketball shot


• 1986 - 5' 7" Spud Webb of Atlanta Hawks wins NBA Slam Dunk Competition


• 1987 - 37th NBA All-Star Game: West beats East 154-149 (OT) at Seattle


• 1998 - 48th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 135-114 at New York City

Golf

• 1953 - Betty Jameson wins LPGA Serbin Golf Open


• 1976 - Jan Stephens wins LPGA Sarah Coventry Naples Golf Classic


• 1981 - Sally Little wins LPGA Elizabeth Arden Golf Classic


• 1987 - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Classic

Hockey

• 1936 - 1st successful Toronto Maple Leaf penalty shot, Conacher vs Rangers


• 1967 - Longest losing streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history (10 games)


• 1975 - Caps only got one shot in a period against Islanders


• 1983 - 35th NHL All-Star Game: Campbell beat Wales 9-3 at New York Islander


• 1983 - Wayne Gretzky sets NHL all star record of 4 goals in 1 period


• 1998 - NHL stops season until Feb 24th to accomodate the Olympics

Horse Racing

• 1989 - Jockey Chris Antley begins record of 64 consecutive winning days

Entertainment

• 1926 - Walt Disney Studios forms


• 1928 - 1st transatlantic TV image received, Hartsdale, New York


• 1928 - Scottish inventor J Blaird demonstrates color-TV


• 1929 - KOY-AM in Phoenix Arizona begins radio transmissions


• 1930 - "Happy Days Are Here Again" by Benny Mereoff hits #1


• 1947 - KSD (now KSDK) TV channel 5 in St Louis, Missouri (NBC) begins broadcasting


• 1952 - "RCA Victor Show Starring Dennis Day," debuts on NBC TV


• 1953 - WLVA (now WSET) TV channel 13 in Lynchburg-Roanoke, Virginia (ABC) begins


• 1958 - KIRO TV channel 7 in Seattle, Washington (CBS) begins broadcasting


• 1962 - KACB TV channel 3 in San Angelo, Texas (NBC) begins broadcasting


• 1965 - Supremes release "Stop In the Name of Love"


• 1967 - Peter (Asher) & Gordon (Waller) discontinue their singing partnership


• 1971 - Pedro Morales beats Ivan Koloff in New York, to become WWF wrestling champ


• 1974 - "Good Times," debuts on CBS TV


• 1974 - Ringo releases "You're 16"


• 1974 - Soap opera "Secret Storm" ends a 20 year run


• 1990 - "60 Minutes" commentator Andy Rooney suspended by CBS for racial remarks attributed to him by a gay magazine


• 1992 - "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred peaks at #1


• 1994 - Jack Nicholson uses a golf club to attack a car

Trains Planes and Automobiles

• 1912 - 1st eastbound US transcontinental flight lands in Jacksonville, Florida


• 1933 - 1st flight of all-metal Boeing 247


• 1993 - GM sues NBC, alleging that "Dateline NBC" program had rigged 2 car-truck crashes to show that 1973-87 GM pickups were prone to fires

Weather

• 1933 - -23 deg F (-31 deg C), Seminole, Texas (state record)


• 1989 - 5 cm of snow falls in outskirts of Los Angeles

Disasters

• 1923 - Coal mine explosion at Dawson, New Mexico kills 120


• 1931 - Gas explosion Fire in Fushun-coal mine, Manchuria kills 3,000


• 1965 - Eastern DC-7B crashes into Atlantic off Jones Beach New Jersey, kills 84


• 1989 - US Boeing 707 crashes into Santa Maria mountain, 145 die


• 1993 - Suchoi-24 crashes into Tupolev passenger flight, 134 die


• 1995 - 6.4 earthquake at Trujillo, Colombia (46+ killed)

Space

• 1974 - Skylab 4's astronauts land


• 1984 - 1st time 8 people in space


• 1988 - NASA launches DOD-2


• 1992 - Ulysses spacecraft passes Jupiter

Weddings

• 1975 - 1800 Unification church couples' wed in Korea

World War II

• 1940 - Lodtz, 1st large ghetto established by Nazis in Poland


• 1941 - Japanese armored barges cross Strait of Johore to attack Singapore


• 1942 - Congress advises FDR that, Americans of Japanese descent should be locked up en masse so they wouldn't oppose the US war effort


• 1943 - Red Army recaptures Kursk


• 1944 - U-762 sunk off Ireland


• 1945 - Allied air attack on Goch/Kleef/Kalkar/Reichswald

World War I

• 1916 - French cruiser "Admiral Charner" torpedoed off Syrian coast, kills 374

Cival War

• 1861 - Confederate States of America organizes in Montgomery, Alabama


• 1862 - Battle of Roanoke Island North Carolina, Federals gain control of Pamlico Sound

Wild West

• 1887 - Dawes Act passed (indians living apart from tribe granted citizenship)

Crime and Criminals

• 1925 - Marcus Garvey enters federal prison in Atlanta

Birthdays

• 412 - St Proclus, patriarch of Constantinople


• 1291 - Afonso IV, King of Portugal (1325-57)


• 1577 - Robert Burton, writer, Anglican clergyman (Anatomy of Melancholy)


• 1586 - Jacob Praetorius, composer


• 1612 - Samuel Butler, England, poet/satirist (Hudibras) (baptized)


• 1708 - Vaclav Jan Kopriva, composer


• 1741 - Andre-Ernest-Modeste Gretry, composer


• 1764 - Joseph Leopold von Eybler, Austrian composer


• 1789 - Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer, composer


• 1795 - Friedlieb F Runge, German chemist (Chinoline)


• 1795 - Moritz G [Moses] Saphir, Hungarian journalist/serial writer


• 1807 - Franciscus J van Vree, Dutch Catholic foreman


• 1810 - Norbert Burgmuller, composer


• 1811 - Edwin Denison Morgan, Sect of War (Confederacy), died in 1883


• 1813 - Jacob G Agarah, Swedish algologist


• 1817 - Richard Stoddert Ewell, Lt Gen (Confederate Army), died in 1872


• 1818 - Austin Blair, Gov/MC (Union), died in 1894


• 1819 - John Ruskin, writer/critic/artist/Gothic Revivalist (Prerafaelite)


• 1820 - William Tecumseh Sherman, Major General (Union Army), died in 1891


• 1822 - Maxime Du Camp, France, writer/traveler (Les Buveurs de Cendres)


• 1824 - Barnard Elliot Bee, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1861


• 1828 - Antonio Cagnoni, composer


• 1828 - Jules Verne, France, pioneered sci-fi (From the Earth to the Moon)


• 1851 - Kate O'Flaherty Chopin, novelist


• 1852 - Nikolai Garin [Michailovski], Russ author (Tjoma Kartashov) [NS=2/20]


• 1859 - John H Been, town's archivist of Brielle (Baasje & Witkop)


• 1876 - Paula Modersohn-Becker, German "entartet" painter


• 1878 - Martin Buber, German/Israeli philosopher/theologist (Ich und Du)


• 1880 - Franz Marc, German painter (Blaue Reiter)


• 1882 - George Siegmann, actor (Birth of Nation, Queen of Sheba, Oliver Twist)


• 1883 - Joseph A Schumpeter, Austria/US economist/minister of finance


• 1885 - Edith Evans, London England, actress (Tom Jones, David Copperfield)


• 1886 - Charlie Ruggles, LA Calif, actor (Ruggles, Aesop-Bullwinkle Show)


• 1888 - Matthijs Vermeulen, Dutch composer/music critic


• 1890 - Claro Mayo Recto, Filipino nationalist/opponent of US colonialism


• 1892 - Fritz Todt, German Reichs minister (Organization Todt)


• 1894 - Ludwig Marcuse, German philosopher


• 1895 - King Vidor, director (War & Peace, Stella Dallas)


• 1896 - Orville Caldwell, Ca, actor (Patsy, French Doll, Last Warning)


• 1900 - Guy Douglas Hamilton Warrack, composer


• 1900 - John Cameron, judge


• 1901 - Janina Spychajowa-Kurkowska, Poland, women's world champion archer


• 1902 - Lyle Talbot, [Lysle Hollywood], Pittsburgh, actor (Glen or Glenda)


• 1903 - Abdulrahman, minister of Internal affairs/premier of Malaysia


• 1904 - Igor' Fyodorovich Belza, composer


• 1905 - Truman Bradley, MO, TV host (Science Fiction Theater)


• 1906 - Artur Balsam, Polish/US pianist (Begeleidde Menuhin, Milstein)


• 1906 - Chester F Carlson, inventor (photocopy)


• 1906 - Henry Roth, Austria-Hungary/US writer (Call it Sleep)


• 1908 - Grigor Eghiazaryan, composer


• 1908 - Leslie Kenneth O'Brien, Lord O'Brien of Lothbury, missionary


• 1908 - Myron McCormick, Albany, actor (Hustler, Jolson Sings Again)


• 1909 - Henry Roth, writer


• 1911 - Anne Aitken, [nee Hopkins], Chicago, co-found (Diamond Sangha)


• 1911 - Elizabeth Bishop, US poet (North & South)/Pulitzer Prize (1956)


• 1911 - Henri Knap, Dutch resistance fighter/journalist/writer


• 1912 - Simon Jurovsky, composer


• 1913 - Betty Field, Boston MA, actress (Kings Row, Bus Stop)


• 1913 - John Grandy, Brits RAF-marshal


• 1914 - Bert Haas, baseball player


• 1914 - Jules van Ackere, Flemish musicologist (Eternal Music)


• 1915 - Lambros Georges Guetary Worloou, singer


• 1918 - John Intoxication, resistance fighter


• 1918 - Lord Maxd Rayne, English broker/multi-millionaire


• 1919 - Buddy Morrow, orch leader (Jimmie Rodgers Show)


• 1920 - Buddy Blattner, baseball player


• 1920 - Lana Turner, Wallace Idaho, actress (Survivors, Falcon Crest)


• 1921 - Hoot Evers, baseball player


• 1922 - Joeri Averbach, Russian chess grandmaster


• 1923 - Andrew MacElhone, bar owner


• 1924 - Audrey Meadows, Wu Chang China, actress (Alice-Honeymooners)


• 1924 - Joe Black, baseball player


• 1925 - Alvin Brehm, composer


• 1925 - Jack Lemmon, Boston Mass, actor (Days of Wine & Roses, Missing)


• 1925 - Raimondo d'Inzeo, It, equestrian (Oly-gold/2 silver/3 bronze-1948-76)


• 1927 - John T Myers, (Rep-R-IN, 1967- )


• 1927 - Stanley Baker, Ferndale Wales, actor (Concrete Jungle, Zorro, Zulu)


• 1927 - Zdenek Zouhar, composer


• 1928 - Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, lawyer


• 1930 - Alejandro Rey, Buenos Aires, actor (Carlos-Flying Nun)


• 1930 - Arlan Stangeland, (Rep-R-MN, 1977- )


• 1930 - Catherine Hardy, Carollton Ga, 4x100m runner (Olympic-gold-1952)


• 1930 - Manuel Castillo, composer


• 1931 - James Dean, Marion IN, stage/film actor (Giant, Rebel Without a Cause)


• 1932 - Jan H Christiaanse, president Dutch political party (CDA)


• 1932 - John Towner Williams, Flushing NY, composer/conductor (Boston Pops)


• 1933 - Elly Ameling, Rotterdam Holland, soprano (Ilya-Idomeneo)


• 1933 - Jack Larson, LA Calif, actor (Jimmy Olsen-Superman)


• 1934 - Galina Bystrova, USSR, pentathelete (1957, 58)


• 1934 - Nick Nolte, Omaha Nebr, actor (Teachers, 48 Hrs, Rich Man Poor Man)


• 1935 - Vincent Weir 3rd baron Inverforth, Scottish shipping magnate


• 1936 - Cletis Boyer, 3rd baseman (NY Yankees)


• 1936 - Larry Verne, singer (Custer)


• 1936 - Manohar Hardikar, cricketer (batted in 2 Tests India v WI 1958-59)


• 1937 - Joe Raposa, composer/songwriter (Sesame Street)


• 1937 - Manfred Krug, Duisburg Germany, actor (Boxer)


• 1938 - Ray Sharpe, singer


• 1939 - Barry Mann, vocalist (Who Put the Bump)


• 1939 - Gerrit Lakmaaker, sculptor/painter (Leidsepleingroep)


• 1940 - Averil Cameron, British(?) historian


• 1940 - Talib Rasul Hakim, composer


• 1940 - Ted Koppel, Lancashire England, news anchor (ABC Nightline)


• 1941 - Tom Rush, NH, rock guitarist/vocalist (Circle Game, Urge For Going)


• 1942 - Fritz Peterson, baseball pitcher (NY Yankees)


• 1942 - Robert Klein, Bronx, comedian/actor (Hooper, Deadly Rivals)


• 1942 - Terry Melcher, Rip Chords, Doris Day's son


• 1943 - Bob Oliver, baseball player


• 1943 - Creed Bratton, Calif, rock guitarist (Grass Roots-Sooner or Later)


• 1943 - Jose de Almeida Prado, composer


• 1944 - Bunky Henry, golfer


• 1944 - Jim Capaldi, rocker (Traffic)


• 1946 - "Fito" Adolpho De La Parra, LA Calif, rocker (Canned Heat-Hot Money)


• 1946 - Paul Wheatbread, rocker (Gary Puckett & Union Gap-Young Girl)


• 1947 - Sam Gannon, cricketer (Austr lefty quick, 3 Tests v India 1977-78)


• 1948 - Dan Seals, McCamey Texas, vocalist (Seals & Crofts-You Still Move Me)


• 1949 - Brooke Adams, NYC, actress (Cynthia-OK Crackerby, Body Snatchers)


• 1949 - Julia Barr, Ft Wayne Ind, actress (Brooke-All My Children)


• 1949 - Scott Allen, USA, skater (Olympic-bronze-1964)


• 1950 - England Dan, singer (England Dan & John Ford Coley)


• 1950 - Jose Armando Lopez-Falcon, Cuba, cosmonaut


• 1950 - Michael Goodroe, rock bassist (Motels-Only the Lonely)


• 1950 - Ted Turner, rocker (Wishbone Ash)


• 1951 - Camille LaPierre, NHLer


• 1952 - Hans Van de Lubbe, Dutch bassist/singer (Dike)


• 1952 - Nancy Lord, Libertarian VP candidate (1992)


• 1953 - Mary Steenburgen, Newport Ark, actress (Parenthood, Time After Time)


• 1954 - "Sensational" Sherri Martel, [Russell], New Orl, wrestler (WWF/AWA)


• 1955 - Ethan Phillips, actor (Neelix-Star Trek Voyager)


• 1955 - Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart, wrestler (WWF/WCW/NJPW/CWFI/Calgary)


• 1955 - John Grisham, writer (Client, Firm, Pelican Brief)


• 1959 - Heinz Gunthardt, Switzerland, tennis star


• 1959 - Irina Kalinina, USSR, springboard diver (Olympic-gold-1980)


• 1959 - Pamela Jean Bryant, Indianapolis In, playmate (April, 1978)


• 1960 - Alex Scott, British horse trainer


• 1960 - Dino Ciccarelli, Ontario, NHL right wing (Minn North Stars, Wash Caps)


• 1960 - Linda Fratianne, LA Calif, figure skater (Olympic-silver-1980)


• 1961 - Sammy Llanas, rocker (Bodeans)


• 1963 - Mohammad Azharuddin, cricketer (elegant Indian batsman 1984-)


• 1963 - Raleigh MCkenzie, NFL center/guard (Phila Eagles, SD Chargers)


• 1964 - Dennis Gibson, NFL inside linebacker (SD Chargers)


• 1965 - Carmen Savy, Brisbane QLD, golfer (1990 Brisbane & District)


• 1965 - Jim Thornton, NFL tight end (Houston Oilers)


• 1965 - Lee Knight, CFL full back (Hamilton Tiger Cats)


• 1965 - Mathilda May, Paris France, actress (Lifeforce)


• 1965 - Rod Bernstine, NFL running back (Denver Broncos)


• 1965 - Terry McDaniel, NFL cornerback (Oakland Raiders, LA Raiders)


• 1966 - Gary Coleman, Zion Ill, actor (Arnold-Diff'rent Strokes)


• 1966 - Kirk Muller, Kingston, NHL center (Toronto Maple Leafs)


• 1967 - Yvon Corriveau, Ontario, NHL left wing (Wash Caps)


• 1968 - Joy Fawcett, Inglewood Calif, soccer defender (Olympics-96)


• 1968 - Ron Goetz, CFL linebacker (Saskatchewan Roughriders)


• 1969 - Herb Hohenberger, hockey defenseman (Team Austria 1998)


• 1969 - Mary McCormack, actress, (Murder One, Private Parts)


• 1970 - Alonzo Mourning, NBA center (Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets)


• 1970 - Cameron Cuffy, cricketer (St Vincent & WI fast bowler 1994-)


• 1971 - Heidi Mark, Columbus OH, playmate (Jul, 1995)


• 1972 - Adrian Rollins, cricketer (Derbyshire batsman, bro of Robert of Essex)


• 1972 - Marcus Pollard, NFL tight end (Indianapolis Colts)


• 1973 - Andreas Gliatis, soccer player (NEC)


• 1973 - Dave Dopek, Bolingbrook Illinois, 200m runner


• 1973 - Eric Kresser, quarterback (Cincinnati Bengals)


• 1973 - Michelle Brogan, Australian basketball forward (Olympics-bronze-96)


• 1973 - Tom King, Australian 470 class yachter (Olympics-96)


• 1975 - Damon Denson, guard (New England Patriots)


• 1975 - Joshua Morrow. Juneau Alaska, actor (Nicholas Newman-Young & Restless)


• 1976 - Holly Manthei, Edina Minn, soccer midfielder/forward (Olympics-96)


• 1976 - Jim Parque, Norwalk Calif, baseball pitcher (Olympics-bronze-96)


• 1978 - Christa Williams, Houston TX, softball pitcher (Olympics-gold-96)


• 1979 - Tara Tucker, Miss Alabama Teen USA (1997)


• 1981 - Tommy Michaels, Staten Island NY, actor (Timmy Hutton-All My Children)

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