This day from the past, October 8th, is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 84 days remaining until the end of the year. → 1604 - Supernova Keplers nova first sighted. → 1643 - Medicine - Jeanne Mance opens the Hôtel Dieu, Montreals First hospital and the First lay hospital in North America; she will treat the French and Aboriginal populations for over 30 years; a proper hospital building is constructed in 1645. → 1783 - Loyalists from New York travel through Québec and settle at Adolphustown, Ontario. → 1818 - Two English boxers are first to use padded gloves or ‘mufflers’ as they were then known. → 1855 - ‘Arrow’, a ship flying the British flag, is boarded by Chinese who arrest the crew, thus beginning the Second Chinese War. → 1862 - Civil War - Union troops stop Rebels at the Battle of Perryville. The Confederate invasion of Kentucky stalls when Union General Don Carlos Buell stops General Braxton Bragg at the Battle of Perryville. → 1871 - Great Chicago Fire begins. On this day in 1871, flames spark in the Chicago barn of Patrick and Catherine OLeary, igniting a two-day blaze that kills between 200 and 300 people, destroys 17,450 buildings, leaves 100,000 homeless and causes an estimated $200 million (in 1871 dollars; $3 billion in 2007 dollars) in damages. Legend has it that a cow kicked over a lantern in the OLeary barn and started the fire, but other theories hold that humans or even a comet may have been responsible for the event that left four square miles of the Windy City, including its business district, in ruins. Dry weather and an abundance of wooden buildings, streets and sidewalks made Chicago vulnerable to fire. The city averaged two fires per day in 1870; there were 20 fires throughout Chicago the week before the Great Fire of 1871. → 1871 - Four major fires break out on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Holland, Michigan, and Manistee, Michigan including the Great Chicago Fire, and the much deadlier Peshtigo Fire. → 1890 - Eddie Rickenbacker born, aviator: decorated World War I hero; President and CEO of Eastern Airlines [1938-63]; dies July 23, 1973). → 1895 - The Berliner Gramophone Company was founded in Philadelphia. Record players were not too far off in the future. → 1895 - Juan (Domingo) Peron born, President of Argentina [1946-1955] [1973-1974]; married Eva Peron [Evita] who dies in 1952; married Maria Estela Martinez a.k.a Isabel, who became Vice President of Argentina in 1973 and then took over the presidency upon the death of her husband [1974]; dies July 1, 1974. → 1901 - Domino Sugar was trademark registered. → 1904 - The city of Edmonton, capital of Alberta, is incorporated. → 1904 - Prince Albert, Saskatchewan is incorporated as a city. → 1904 - ‘Little Johnny Jones’ opened in Hartford, CT. The show became a hit several times, due in part to a little ditty which became quite popular. Give My Regards to Broadway was penned, as was the entire musical, by the ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’ himself, George M. Cohan. → 1906 - Karl Ludwig Nessler demonstrates first permanent wave for hair, in London. The client wears a dozen brass curlers, each wearing two pounds, for the six-hour process. → 1918 - U.S. Corporal Alvin C. York almost single-handedly killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 in the Argonne Forest in France. York had originally tried to avoid being drafted as a conscientious objector. After this event his was promoted to sergeant and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. → 1919 - The first transcontinental air race in the United States begins, with 63 planes competing in the round-trip aerial derby between California and New York. As 15 planes departed the Presidio in San Francisco, California, 48 planes left Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York. → 1928 - Immigration - US Supreme Court decides that Canadians working in the US are not liable for immigration fee when crossing. Washington, DC → 1935 - The O’Neill’s debuted on CBS. The theme song, Londonderry Air, opened the 15-minute soap opera. The O’Neill’s aired Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m. In 1936 it moved to daytime where it stayed until 1943 on NBC’s Red and Blue networks and on CBS, too. One of radio’s original soaps, it was sponsored appropriately by Silver Dust, Ivory soap and Ivory soap flakes. → 1935 - Wedding bells pealed for a singer and a bandleader who tied the knot, making radio history together. The bandleader was Ozzie Nelson and the singer was Harriet Hilliard. → 1938 - This day’s cover of ‘The Saturday Evening Post’ portrayed Norman Rockwell. The illustrator chose to picture himself trying to come up with a cover concept and to complete the assignment before the magazine’s deadline. → 1939 - Paul Hogan born, Australian actor who became known for starring in the Crocodile Dundee films. He played Porter in the 1996 film, Flipper, and portrayed Shane in the 1998 film, Floating Away. → 1941 - Rev. Jesse Jackson born, civil rights leader, founder: Rainbow Coalition; U.S. presidential candidate. → 1941 - The Benny Goodman Orchestra recorded ‘Buckle Down Winsocki’, with Tom Dix as featured vocalist, on the Columbia label. → 1941 - World War II - On this day in 1941, the German invasion of the Soviet Union begins a new stage, with Hitlers forces capturing Mariupol. The Axis power reached the Sea of Azov. → 1943 - Chevy Chase (Cornelius Crane Chase) born, Emmy Award-winning comedian, actor: Saturday Night Live [1976]; The Chevy Chase Show, Fletch, Man of the House, Caddyshack I & II, National Lampoon’s Vacation series, Three Amigos, The Groove Tube; Emmy Award-winning comedy writer: The Paul Simon Special[1978], Saturday Night Live [1976]; The Groove Tube. → 1944 - The first broadcast of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet was heard on the CBS radio network. The show would continue on radio until 1953 and on ABC-TV from 1952 to 1966. “Hi Mom, Hi Dad, Hi Dave, Hi Ricky.” → 1945 - President Harry Truman announced that the secret of the atomic bomb would be shared only with Britain and Canada. → 1949 - Sigourney (Susan) Weaver born, actress: Gorillas in the Mist, Ghostbusters series, Working Girl, Annie Hall, Alien series, Dave, The Year of Living Dangerously; daughter of Sylvester Pat Weaver, Today show creator and author of Best Seat in the House. → 1949 - Youre Breaking My Heart by Vic Damone topped the charts. → 1951 - Princess Elizabeth arrives at Dorval Airport to start cross-country tour with her husband Prince Philip, later Duke of Edinburgh; her First Royal Tour lasts until November 12, 1951; she will be crowned Queen Elizabeth II the following year. → 1952 - The Complete Book of Etiquette was first published. Get your elbows off the table! → 1952 - Hugh John Flemming sworn in as Premier of New Brunswick, replacing John McNair. → 1955 - Worlds most powerful aircraft carrier, Saratoga (US), launched. → 1955 - Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing by Four Aces topped the charts. → 1956 - Lawrence “a-one and a-two” Welk was doing so well with “da boys inta band” on ABC-TV, that, after being on the tube for just one year with The Lawrence Welk Show, Welk originated another popular show called Lawrence Welk’s Top Tunes and New Talent. Mr. Welk wasn’t much on hip show titles, was he? → 1956 - Legendary broadcaster Mel Allen was at the mike, describing Don Larson’s perfect game, as the New York Yankee pitched the only perfect game in World Series history. Larson threw 97 pitches, faced 27 batters, struck out 11 and lead the Bronx Bombers to a 2-0 shutout of the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the Fall Classic. In the words of the immortal sports play-by-play great: “How about that!” → 1956 - Stephanie Zimbalist born, actress: Remington Steele, Centennial, The Gathering, The Awakening; daughter of actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. → 1957 - Jerry Lee Lewis records Great Balls Of Fire in Memphis, Tennessee. → 1960 - My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own by Connie Francis topped the charts. → 1961 - Green Bay Packers’ running back/kicker Paul Hornung set a Packer records for points scored in a game: 33. Hornung scored 33 points: four touchdowns, six extra points and one field goal. (The Packers beat the Baltimore Colts too, 45-7.) → 1964 - Chart Toppers - ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ - Roy Orbison; ‘Do Wah Diddy Diddy’ - Manfred Mann; ‘Dancing in the Street’ - Martha & The Vandellas; ‘I Guess I’m Crazy’ - Jim Reeves. → 1967 - Che Guevara & men captured in Bolivia. → 1968 - Vietnam War - Operation Sealords is launched in the Mekong Delta by U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. → 1970 - Matt Damon born, actor, screenwriter, producer, philanthropist: Saving Private Ryan, Courage Under Fire, Good Will Hunting, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Oceans Eleven. → 1970 - Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize in literature, “for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature.” → 1971 - John Lennon releases his megahit Imagine. → 1974 - Then Came You, by Dionne Warwick and The Spinners, went solid gold this day. → 1977 - Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band by Meco topped the charts. → 1978 - Australias Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60 mph at Blowering Dam, Australia. → 1979 - Sugar Babies, opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway. The star of the hit show was also making his debut on the Great White Way. Mickey Rooney, who had been acting since the 1930s, once again delighted one and all with his performance. → 1979 - New Brunswick Acadians announce desire for new political status for Acadia as Canadas 11th province. → 1982 - Poland bans Solidarity and all trade unions. → 1983 - Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler topped the charts. → 1984 - Anne Murray won the Country Music Association’s Album of the Year Award this day for A Little Good News. Murray was the first woman to win this award. → 1990 - American doctors Joseph E. Murray and E. Donnall Thomas won the Nobel Prize in medicine, “for their discoveries concerning organ and cell transplantation in the treatment of human disease.” → 1991 - A U.S. District Court in Anchorage, Alaska, approved a $900-million settlement (annual payments stretched over ten years) with Exxon Shipping Company (Exxon Oil Corporation) for the Valdez oil spill. Exxon also agreed to pay a $250-million fine, which would reimburse the state of Alaska and the U.S. for the costs of cleanup, damage assessment and litigation. → 1992 - Doug Smail scores a pair of goals, as the expansion Ottawa Senators beat the Montréal Canadiens 5-3 in the Civic Centre; First regular season NHL game for a Senators team in 58 years. → 1998 - Canada and Netherlands were voted into the U.N. Security Council. → 2001 - President George W. Bush announces establishment of Office of Homeland Security. → 2001 - A twin engine Cessna and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) jetliner collide in heavy fog during takeoff from Milan, Italy killing 118 people. → 2003 - Professional bodybuilder & actor Arnold Schwarzenegger elected Governor of California. → 2005 - Thousands of people are killed by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in parts of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. → 2009 - New study reveals one in four people are Muslim: global Muslim population is 1.57 billion. → 2010 - Japan approves a $60 billion economic stimulus package. → Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...Ω
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 10:30:38 +0000
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