Archives
January 9
1788 - Beside a long tidal river or in American Indian-speak, Quinnehtukqut, is Connecticut, the state that entered the United States of America this day. Hartford, the capital of Connecticut ... and of the insurance industry ... boasts having the oldest newspaper, "Hartford Courant", which has been publishing since 1764. Many of the state’s symbols have been there as long, if not longer: state fossil: eubrontes giganteus; bird: American robin; flower: mountain laurel; tree: white oak; animal: sperm whale; mineral: garnet; shellfish: Eastern oyster; insect: praying mantis; hero: Nathan Hale. Other symbols came later: song: "Yankee Doodle" and ship: USS Nautilus. Nicknamed the Nutmeg State, Connecticut, the fifth state, also has an official designation: the Constitution State. Easy to figure out: In the 1630s, the English settlements along the tidal river gathered together to form the Connecticut Colony and wrote the first constitution in the new world, "Fundamental Orders". Connecticut’s motto: He who transplanted still sustains, or in Latin-speak: Qui transtulit sustinet.1793 - Jean-Pierre Blanchard made the first successful balloon flight in the United States. Blanchard’s balloon, filled with hydrogen, took off from Philadelphia, PA, soared to 5,800 feet and eventually wound up some 15 miles away, in Woodbury, New Jersey.
1936 - The United States Army adopted the M1 semiautomatic rifle this day.
1937 - The first issue of the periodical "LOOK" went on sale. The initial issue sold 700,000 copies and within a month, "LOOK" became a biweekly magazine.
1941 - Sammy Kaye and his orchestra recorded "Until Tomorrow" on Victor Records. This song became the sign-off melody for Kaye and other big bands.
1941 - The first demonstration of small-screen color television was given by the Columbia Broadcasting System. The TV failed miserably, since RCA had pretty much wrapped up the patent process on color TV at the time.
1942 - Joe Louis knocked out Buddy Baer. ‘The Brown Bomber’ defended his world heavyweight boxing title for the 20th time as Buddy rested comfortably on the canvas in the very first round.
1951 - Australia defeated England in Sydney, Australia, retaining the ‘Ashes’, the trophy which symbolized the cricket title, held by Australia since 1932. G’Day, mate!
1951 - The United Nations headquarters officially opened in New York City.
1961 - The play, "Rhinoceros", opened on Broadway, starring two of the theatre’s true stars -- Eli Wallach and Zero Mostel.
1965 - The Beatles’ "Beatles ’65" was the number-one album in the U.S. for the first of nine straight weeks (thru Mar 6). The tracks were: "No Reply", "I’m a Loser", "Baby’s in Black", "Rock and Roll Music", "I’ll Follow the Sun", "Mr. Moonlight", "Honey Don’t", "I’ll Be Back", "She’s a Woman", "I Feel Fine", and "Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby".
1972 - Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, speaking to reporters by telephone from the Bahamas, said a purported biography of him by Clifford Irving was a fake. Irving and his wife had received a $750,000 advance from the McGraw-Hill publishing house for the book. Clifford Irving was eventually imprisoned and ordered to repay the advance, plus damages.
1977 - Super Bowl XI (at Pasadena): Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14. John Matuszak and the Raiders defense kept Vikings QB Fran Tarkenton busy all day. MVP: Raiders’ WR Fred Biletnikoff. Tickets: $20.00.
1981 - Hockey Hall of Famer, Phil Esposito, said he would call it quits as a hockey player after the New York Rangers-Buffalo Sabres hockey game. It was a game that seemed like it might never end -- both teams skated to a 3-3 tie. Esposito quit the New York Rangers and went on to become General Manager and coach of the Rangers. Phil Esposito played for the Boston Bruins when he won the Hart Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player in the NHL in 1969 and 1974 and helped lead the Bruins to two Stanley Cup Championships in 1970 and 1972.
1984 - “WHERE’S THE BEEF?” Clara Peller was first seen by TV viewers this day in the famous and successful commercial campaign for Wendy’s fast-food chain. Dave Thomas spent $8 million on the ads that promoted hamburger sales plus T-shirts, baseball caps, records, greeting cards and countless other items bearing the picture of the elderly cult star.
1986 - Kodak got out of the instant camera business after 10 years. A nasty court battle didn’t go their way. The court claimed that Kodak copied Polaroid patents. Sixteen million camera owners were offered free stock, coupons or a replacement camera.
1996 - The Toronto Raptors set an NBA record for fewest free throws made. They missed all of their free throws while losing 92-91 to the Charlotte Hornets.
1998 - These movies opened in the U.S.: "Firestorm" (“Fight fire with fire.”), starring Howie Long, Scott Glenn, Suzy Amis and William Forsythe; and "Wag the Dog" (“Why does a dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail. If the tail was smarter, the tail would wag the dog.”), with Dustin Hoffman, Robert Deniro, Anne Heche, Denis Leary, Andrea Martin, Kirsten Dunst, William H. Macy, Craig T. Nelson and Suzie Plakson.
Birthdays - January 9
1898 - Gracie Fields (Grace Stansfield) (comedienne: Walter, Walter, I Took My Harp to A Party, The Biggest Aspidistra in the World; singer: Sally, Now is the Hour, Around the World; died Sep 27, 1979)1898 - Vilma Bánky (Lonchit) (actress: Son of the Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle; died Mar 18, 1991)
1901 - Chic (Murat Bernard) Young (cartoonist: Blondie, introduced the Dagwood Sandwich to America; died Mar 14, 1973)
1902 - Sir Rudolf Bing (manager: Metropolitan Opera House [1950-1972]; died Sep 2, 1997)
1913 - Richard Milhous Nixon (36th U.S. Vice President [1953-1961]; 37th U.S. President [1969-1974], only President to resign from office [Aug. 9, 1974 over charges stemming from Watergate scandal]; died Apr 22, 1994)
1915 - Fernando Lamas (actor: The Cheap Detective, Murder on Flight 502, Rose Marie, The Merry Widow, Rich, Young and Pretty; died Oct 8, 1982)
1915 - Anita Louise (Fremault) (actress: Retreat, Hell!, Wagons Westward, The Little Princess, Marie Antoinette, That Certain Woman, Judge Priest; died Apr 25, 1970)
1917 - Herbert Lom (Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich Schluderpacheru) (actor: Son of the Pink Panther and others in Pink Panther series, Ten Little Indians, King Solomon’s Mines, Murders in the Rue Morgue, Dorian Gray, Spartacus, War and Peace, The Seventh Veil, Secret Mission)
1928 - Judith Krantz (author: Scruples)
1934 - Bart Starr (Bryan Bartlett) (Pro Football Hall of Famer: Green Bay Packers quarterback: Super Bowl I, II [Most Valuable Player in both bowl games]; coach: Green Bay Packers)
1935 - Bob Denver (actor: Gilligan’s Island, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Back to the Beach, Wackiest Wagon Train in the West; died Sep 2, 2005)
1935 - Dick Enberg (sportscaster: California Angels play-by-play voice, NBC Sports, CBS Sports)
1936 - Ralph (Willard) Terry (baseball: pitcher: NY Yankees [World Series: 1960, 1961-1964/all-star: 1962], KC Athletics, Cleveland Indians, NY Mets)
1939 - Jimmy Boyd (singer: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus; actor: Bachelor Father, The Second Greatest Sex, Inherit the Wind, The Electric Company, Brainstorm, A Winner Never Quits; died Mar 7, 2009)
1939 - Susannah York (Susannah Yolande Fletcher) (actress: Devices and Desires, Superman 2, The Awakening, Superman: The Movie, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, A Man for All Seasons, Tom Jones, Tunes of Glory)
1941 - Joan Baez (singer: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down; political activist)
1943 - Rod Curl (golf: champ: Colonial National Invitational [1974])
1944 - Scott (Noel) Engel (singer: group: The Walker Brothers: My Ship is Coming In, Take It Easy on Yourself, The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore, LP: Take It Easy; solo as Scott Walker: Joanna)
1944 - Jimmy Page (musician: guitar: group: Led Zeppelin: Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Immigrant Song, D’yer Mak’er, Fool in the Rain)
1945 - Doug Volmar (hockey: Michigan State Univ.; NHL: Detroit Red Wings, LA Kings)
1947 - Terry Brown (football: Minnesota Vikings safety: Super Bowls VIII, VIX)
1948 - Bill Cowsill (singer, musician: group: Cowsills: The Rain, the Park and the Other Things, Hair, Indian Lake; died Feb 17, 2006)
1950 - David Johansen (Buster Poindexter) (singer: group: New York Dolls; solo: LP: Here Comes the Night, Buster Poindexter; actor: Mr. Nanny, Scrooged, Married to the Mob)
1950 - Robert Newhouse (football: Dallas Cowboys running back: Super Bowls X, XII, XIII)
1951 - Crystal Gayle (Brenda Gail Webb) (singer: Don’t it Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Half the Way; singer, Loretta Lynn’s sister)
1965 - Joely Richardson (actress: The Patriot, Behaving Badly, Lady Chatterley, 101 Dalmatians, The Affair of the Necklace)
1970 - Marco Sanchez (actor: Walker, Texas Ranger, SeaQuest DSV, The Last Debate, American Pie 2)
Chart Toppers - January 9
1945
Don’t Fence Me In - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
There Goes that Song Again - Russ Morgan
I’m Making Believe - Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots
I’m Wastin’ My Tears on You - Tex Ritter
1953
Why Don’t You Believe Me - Joni James
Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Perry Como
Glow Worm - The Mills Brothers
Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Skeets McDonald
1961
Wonderland by Night - Bert Kaempfert
Exodus - Ferrante & Teicher
Will You Love Me Tomorrow - The Shirelles
North to Alaska - Johnny Horton
1969
I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
For Once in My Life - Stevie Wonder
I’m Gonna Make You Love Me - Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations
Daddy Sang Bass - Johnny Cash
1977
You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show) - Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Leo Sayer
I Wish - Stevie Wonder
Broken Down in Tiny Pieces - Billy "Crash" Craddock
1985
Like a Virgin - Madonna
The Wild Boys - Duran Duran
Sea of Love - The Honeydrippers
Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind - George Strait
