ALSO TODAY IN 1840 - Joseph Gibbons of Albion, Michigan received a notice from the U.S. Patent office. Joseph had patented the seeding machine. 1875 - Captain Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel (on this day and the next). He made the swim from Dover to Cap Gris-nez, France in 21 hours, 45 minutes. 1879 - New York’s Madison Square Garden displayed a real floating ship in a gigantic water tank as Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta, H.M.S. Pinafore, was performed. 1902 - The first Arabic daily newspaper in the U.S., Al-Hoda, began publication in New York City. 1916 - The U.S. National Park Service was created. If you see a park ranger, give ’em a pat on the back today. They deserve it. 1920 - Ethelda Bleibtrey became the first woman to win an event for the United States in Olympic competition. She won the 100-meter freestyle swimming competition at Antwerp, Belgium. 1920 - The first airplane to fly from New York to Alaska arrived in Nome on this day. Talk about getting out of the New York heat... 1940 - Arno Rudolphi and Ann Hayward were married -- while suspended in parachutes at the World’s Fair in New York City. The minister, best man, maid of honor and four musicians were also in parachutes! 1941 - Skinnay Ennis and his orchestra recorded the tune Don’t Let Julia Fool Ya. 1946 - Ben Hogan won his first major golf title. He captured the PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) championship at Portland, OR. 1949 - NBC radio debuted Father Knows Best. The Thursday night program aired for four years. Robert Young played the role of Jim Anderson, the ever-patient father. The rest of the family included wife Margaret, son Bud and lovely daughters Betty (the eldest) and Kathy. The family lived on Maple Street in Springfield. Remember Bud’s favorite phrase (he only said it about six dozen times per show)? “Holy Cow!” Father Knows Best made the transition to TV in 1954, with Robert Young as the only cast member to continue with the show. 1964 - The Beatles received a gold record for their hit single A Hard Day’s Night. It was the third gold record for the Fab Four. They would collect 18 more through 1970. 1968 - Outfielder Rocky Colavito of the New York Yankees did the unusual. He pitched 2-1/2 innings to help out in a pitching jam. He earned the win by beating Detroit 6-5. "What’s so unusual about that?" you ask. Remember, we said Rocky was an outfielder. 1970 - British singer and pianist Elton John made his U.S. concert debut at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. Some of his opening night numbers: Your Song, Country Comfort, Take Me to the Pilot, Honky Tonk Women and Bad Side of The Moon. 1979 - “Ooh, my little pretty one, my pretty one; When you gonna give me some time, Sharona.” My Sharona, by The Knack, hit #1 on the Hot 100. It was a solid #1 for six straight weeks. 1982 - The group, Fleetwood Mac, received a gold record for the album Mirage. 1984 - The Cabbage Patch Kids and Trivial Pursuit were replaced by the latest fad toys: robotic action figures that fought galactic battles. They were called Transformers. 1984 - Ghostbusters, by Ray Parker, Jr., started week #3 at the top of the pop music charts. The hit song was from the movie of the same name starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Rick Moranis and Harold Ramis. 1991 - The Russian Communist party issued a declaration of full independence for Belarus, the Soviet state that had declared its independence on July 27, 1991. Russia, Belarus and Ukraine formed the Commonwealth of Independent States to coordinate economic activities, defence and foreign relations. 1996 - Tiger Woods won his third U.S. Amateur Championship in a row. Steve Scott, a 19-year-old from the University of Florida, led from the third hole all the way to the next-to-the-last hole of the 36-hole final and lost on the second playoff hole. Woods is the only golfer to win three U.S. Amateurs in succession.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 10:58:33 +0000