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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Fun On this date in history...

Discussion in 'Fun and Games' started by Juliet316, Dec 26, 2012.

  1. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ON MARCH 15th:

    In 44 B.C., Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, was stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March.

    In 270, Greek bishop and Christian Saint Nikolaos of Myra, better-known as St. Nicholas, was born in Patara in what is now Turkey.

    In 1767, Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the U.S., was born in Waxhaw, SC.

    In 1783, in an emotional speech in Newburgh, NY, George Washington asked his officers not to support a proposed uprising by the Continental Army against the U.S. Congress. The plea was successful and the threatened coup d’etat never took place.

    In 1820, Maine became the 23rd U.S. state.

    In 1869, The Cincinnati Red Stockings played their first game. They were the first professional baseball team.

    In 1906, Rolls-Royce, Ltd. was incorporated.

    In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson met with about 100 reporters for the first formal presidential press conference.

    Ooh! Ooh! In 1914, actor Joe E. Ross was born in New York City. He’d later be assigned to Car 54.

    In 1917, Tsar Nicolas II of Russia abdicated the Russian throne, ending the 304-year Romanov dynasty.

    In 1932, astronaut Alan L. Bean, LM pilot for Apollo 12 and commander of Skylab 3, was born in Wheeler, TX.

    In 1935, the Busby Berkeley movie musical "Gold Diggers of 1935" was released by Warner Bros.

    In 1939, the German occupation of Czechoslovakia was completed.

    In 1945, "Going My Way" won the Academy Award for best picture of 1944, and its star, Bing Crosby, was named best actor; Ingrid Bergman was named best actress for "Gaslight."

    In 1956, “Colonel” Tom Parker became Elvis Presley’s manager.

    Also in 1956, the sci-fi movie “Forbidden Planet” was released. It starred Leslie Neilsen, Anne Francis and Walter Pidgeon, but Robby stole the movie.

    In addition in 1956, the musical “My Fair Lady”, starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, debuted on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre.

    In 1964, actress Elizabeth Taylor married actor Richard Burton in Montreal; it was her fifth marriage, his second.

    In 1967, the kaiju movie “Daikaiju kuchusen: Gamera tai Gyaosu” was released in Japan. Later re-titled “Gamera vs. Gaos”, the English-dubbed version would be inflicted upon Joel & the ‘bots.

    Also in 1967, the Hammer Horror movie “Frankenstein Created Woman”, starring Peter Cushing and Susan Denberg, was released in the U.S.

    In 1972, the drama film “The Godfather” premiered in New York City.

    In 1975, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis died near Paris at age 69.

    In 1985, the first Internet domain name, symbolics.com, was registered.

    In 1990, Iraq executed London-based journalist Farzad Bazoft, whom it had accused of spying.

    Also in 1990, Mikhail Grobachev was elected as the first President of the Soviet Union.

    In 2005, former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers was convicted in New York on charges including fraud and conspiracy connected to the company’s bankruptcy. (He would later be sentenced to 25 years in Federal prison.)

    In 2016, producer/screenwriter/voice artist Sylvia Anderson died in Bray, Berkshire, England at age 88.
     
  2. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    Belated Happy Birthday to...
    [​IMG]
     
  3. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
  4. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ON MARCH 16th:

    In 1751, James Madison, 4th President of the U.S., was born in Port Conway, VA.

    In 1906, comedian Henny Youngman, “The King of the One Liners”, was born in Liverpool.

    In 1915, the Federal Trade Commission, created in 1914, began operations.

    In 1920, actor Leo McKern was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Years later, he’d face off against Patrick McGoohan in the Village, then face off against prosecutors at the Old Bailey.

    In 1926, rocketry pioneer Robert H. Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, MA.

    Also in 1926, comedian/actor/filmmaker Jerry Lewis was born in Newark, NJ.

    In 1932, astronaut/pilot/physicist Walter Cunningham, LM pilot for Apollo 7, was born in Creston IA.

    In 1945, the Sherlock Holmes movie “The House of Fear”, starring Basil Rathbone was Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson, was released in the U.S. It was loosely based on the Arthur Conan Doyle story, “The Adventure of the Five Orange Pips” and it was one of my Dad’s favorites.

    In 1964, Paul Hornung and Alex Karras were reinstated to the NFL after an 11-month suspension for betting on football games.

    In 1965, peace activist Alice Herz, age 82, set herself ablaze on a Detroit street corner to protest the Vietnam War; she died 10 days later.

    In 1965, the original cut of the Western “Major Dundee” premiered in New York City. It starred Charlton Heston and Richard Harris, and was directed by Sam Peckinpah.

    In 1966, the flight of Gemini 8, crewed by Neil Armstrong and David R. Scott, took place. It featured the first space docking (with an Agena target vehicle), but had to make an emergency landing following a serious thruster malfunction.

    In 1968, in the My Lai Massacre, between 347 and 500 Vietnamese villagers were killed by American troops.

    In 1969, the musical "1776," opened on Broadway at the 46th Street Theater.

    In 1970, singer/songwriter Tammi Terrell died of a brain tumor in Philadelphia at age 24. The tumor was diagnosed three years earlier when she collapsed during a concert.

    In 1971, Simon and Garfunkel were the first winners of the so-called "Triple Crown" of the Grammys. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was named song and record of the year, and the album by the same name won album of the year. It was also the first year the Grammys were televised live.

    In 1973, the Amicus horror movie “Vault of Horror”, featuring Terry-Thomas, Curt Jurgens and Tom Baker, was released in the U.S.

    In 1973, the suspense/black comedy movie “Theater of Blood”, starring Vincent Price and Diana Rigg, was released in Toronto, Canada.

    In 1974, the Grand Ole Opry moved from the Ryman Auditorium to a new facility at the Opryland complex.

    In 1976, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson resigned, citing personal reasons.

    In 1979, the drama “The China Syndrome”, starring Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas, was released in the U.S.

    In 1982, on “Doctor Who”, part four of “Earthshock” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the last regular appearance of Matthew Waterhouse as Adric.

    In 1983, on “Doctor Who”, part two of “The King’s Demons” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the first appearance of short-lived companion Kamelien.

    In 1984, on “Doctor Who”, part four of “The Caves of Androzani” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the last regular appearance of Peter Davison as the Doctor, and introduced Colin Baker in the role.

    Also in 1984, William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, Lebanon, was kidnapped by Islamic terrorists. (He’d later die in captivity.)

    In 1985, Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson was taken hostage in Beirut. (He was released on December 4, 1991.)

    In 1988, the Kurdish town of Halabja in Iraq was attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5000 people and injuring about 10000 people.

    Also in 1988, in connection with the Iran-Contra affair, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter were indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

    In 1991, seven members of Reba McEntire's band and her road manager were killed when their plane crashed after taking off from an airport in San Diego.

    In 1995, Mississippi formally ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865.

    In 2005, actor Robert Blake was acquitted of murdering his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. He was later found liable in a civil court and ordered to pay her children $30 million.
     
  5. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2005
    I remember seeing the news reports of McEntire's band's plane crash as it happend at the time. It was at least a year or two before she went out on the road again she was so devestated over it.

    This surprises me to hear/see this. This probably would have been far more noteworthy that year, were it not for the fact that the Oklahoma City bombing took place just a few short weeks later.
     
    DaddlerTheDalek likes this.
  6. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2005
  7. SergeyX2017

    SergeyX2017 Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 14, 2017
    Tomorrow, March 18th (I am posting now, as will be away most of the day tomorrow) will be the three year anniversary of Crimea returning to Russia. Call it invasion and annexation, or rightful reclamation, it doesn't matter.

    3 years ago on March 18th, 2014, President Vladimir Putin met Sergey Aksyonov, newly declared leader of Crimea, the head of Crimea's regional legislature, whose name I cannot remember right now, and Alexey Chaly, also newly popularly decided mayor of Sevastopol, and signed the treaty admitting both into Russian Federation
    [​IMG]

    Later, flanked by Valentina Matvienko, Speaker of Federation Council (Russian senate) and Sergey Naryshkin, then-Speaker of the Duma (parliament), Putin signed off on the official law declaring Crimea a Russian subject


    This is a monumental date in Russian history.

    According to surveys, Russians are more proud of taking back Crimea, than even of Yuri Gagarin's first human space flight!
    Russians more proud of Crimea’s return than Gagarin’s conquest of space

    It is also a religious issue, for many:

    Vladimir I, the first Orthodox Christian Tsar, was baptized there, in Crimea, by the Byzantine Greeks, at Khersones
    [​IMG]
    He would go on to bring all of Russia to Christianity.

    St. Vladimir cathedral stands now at Khersones
    [​IMG]
    It is a major pilgrimage site. After 2014, the Russian Orthodox Church has been granted control over the place, which sparked concerns among many historians and archeologists worried about those ancient Greek ruins nearby and how the Church plans to care for and preserve them. The Church, however, has promised to fully cooperate with the scientists on this issue.

    In November 2016, Putin, along with Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill and other Russian religious and political leaders, unveiled a huge new statue of St. Vladimir in Moscow
    [​IMG]
    The statue was designed to be bigger and grander than the Ukrainian Vladimir, which stands in Kiev.

    Russia and Ukraine are and have for a long time been involved in an ideological struggle over history, especially - Vladimir, or Volodymyr, as the Ukrainians call him. Each side claims his heritage, each claims to be his rightful descendant, as a civilization. Ukrainians say, because Vladimir's capital was Kiev (true), therefore his lineage belongs in Ukraine, and they also say, some of them, that Russians are not even real Slavs, but descendants of Finno-Ugric tribes who took on certain elements of East Slavic language and culture and stole their, Ukrainian, history after conquering them; while Russians argue that he and his whole dynasty originated from Russian Novgorod (also true) and Kiev was just a capital for awhile, after being indeed invaded and conquered by the Novgorodians, Vladimir was Russian, and Ukrainians are just a defective branch of our genetic tree and should keep their mouths shut lol

    Control of the Khersones and the cathedral there is vital in this fight. That it is now in Russian hands is a huge blow to the Ukrainians. Putin was very right, when he compared Crimea (and especially Khersones) for Russians to Temple Mount for the Jews: Putin Calls Crimea Russia's 'Temple Mount'

    The economic sanctions imposed by the West over it all did not hurt Russia as much as you may think, they only pissed off the Russian people and, for better or worse, rallied them even more around Putin, who now enjoys 82-86% approval ratings, he is a ****ing hero now, a new great Tsar...

    Meanwhile, the sanctions and retaliatory embargoes by Russia on various Western imports have given Russia's own industrialists a kick in the ass they had badly needed before. "Import Replacement" is the name of the game there now, Russian businesses are racing to fill store shelves with own stuff to supplant banned Western fruit, vegetables, dairy, and other produce.

    Here is a man who has recently built himself an empire in the fishing industry and became a bloody BILLIONAIRE, all thanks to the sanctions game
    [​IMG]
    How Trade and Sanctions Made This Russian Fisherman a Billionaire

    Most Crimeans also celebrated the annexation/reunification
    [​IMG]
    most, after all, are ethnic Russians, who never wanted to live in Ukraine to begin with.

    Crimeans singing along to national anthem, with famous Russian pop stars, at Russia Day celebration in Crimea in July, 2015

    One correction, video description on YouTube says this was in Sevastopol, actually, it was in Yalta :)

    Recall, that nobody resisted or even really protested the entry of Russian troops onto Crimean streets in 2014, on the contrary, smiling people welcomed them and wanted to take photos with them
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    This photo someone snapped, of a soldier handing back to a boy his lost cat that he came upon
    [​IMG]
    has become iconic, subject of statues
    [​IMG]
    and patriotic graffiti
    [​IMG]
    lol

    It was a peaceful vote, no soldiers and such at polling station
    [​IMG]

    Most Crimeans, after all, are ethnic Russians, who never even wanted to live in Ukraine. In 1991, when USSR was still intact, Crimea wanted to hold a referendum back then, and did, in which people voted to become own, separate Soviet Republic
    [​IMG]
    But then, the Union itself fell apart, that referendum was forgotten, and the Crimeans ended up stuck in Ukraine anyway...

    It's funny as hell, to me, that Mikhail Gorbachev, who, back then, ignored the 1991 referendum, even though he still, at the time, had power to respond to it, now backs Putin on the 2014 action: Gorbachev Says Outcome of Crimea Referendum Corrected Historical 'Mistake' | News | The Moscow Times

    lol Old hypocrite is trying to make amends to Russians, for allowing the USSR to go to waste... It's sad, really, he is an old man, alone, he lost his wife long time ago, cancer or something, his daughter Irina is all but estranged from him, don't know when he last saw his grandkids; most people in Russia despise him... It's no way to spend the last years of your life. Now, he just wants to die and not have folks spitting on his grave...

    Anyway, Crimean Tatars are another, separate issue. They've lived in Crimea for centuries. Many Russians resent them for kidnapping people and selling them into slavery to Ottoman Turks in the old days; as well as for allegedly collaborating with the Nazis during WWII. Stalin used the latter to rather cruelly expel them to Central Asia in the 1940s. Since the 80s, they began to return. Housing was a problem: many of their old villages were now populated by Russians or Ukrainians. They had nowhere to resettle. Many ended up squatting, illegally taking over empty plots of land to build makeshift homes on them, or moving into abandoned buildings. Their alleged illegal land grabs create frictions with the Slavic population, which descended into deadly violence on occasion.

    It was not, ironically, until after Crimea returned to Russia, that many Tatar families began to be moved into proper housing
    [​IMG]
    Brand new apartment blocks were built for them.

    Also, while the Tatar community assembly, Mejlis, was shut down by the new authorities (for peddling Russophobic propaganda and creating divisions and hatred against Russians), and so was their TV station, ATR; many Tatars, including former Mejlis figures, are now a part of the new Crimean government; and a new, pro-Russian Tatar TV network was launched.

    For my family, it is a personal issue...

    I remember my mom crying, watching on TV as Putin signed Crimea into Russia. All these years, she waited for her homeland to return to what she feels is their rightful place in the Motherland. She has many relatives on the Peninsula still. All voted in the Referendum. All voted for Russia.

    My dad served in Black Sea Fleet in Crimea as a sailor and officer, back in the day. In 1991, he was on the brand new Soviet spy warship, "Priazovie", a high tech marvel of its day, featuring Ak-230 automated multi-barrel gun turrets and the latest surveillance equipment and other electronics. In 1992, as the Fleet was divided, the Priazovie, which had a majority Ukrainian crew, ended up in their new Navy. Dad left his ship, he didn't want to serve Ukraine. He is ethnic Ukrainian, of proud Cossack stock, but always considered himself a Soviet and Russian officer, above all.

    Priazovie was renamed "Slavutych" and remained in Ukrainian Navy till 2014
    [​IMG]

    By then, demographic on board had changed. Much of the lower ranked crew were ethnic Russians and Russified Ukrainians from Crimea, although higher ranked officers were mostly nationalistic Ukrainians. When the "Crimean Spring" began, and the Russians started blocking the Ukrainian warships in their berths, they were ordered to go to sea and sail to safety in Odessa. Some did. "Slavutych" did not. The crew rebelled, disarmed the pro-Kiev officers (some stories paint quite a dramatic confrontation on board, between officers armed with their pistols and sailors who had broken out AKs from the armory... it could have gone very nasty indeed, but the clearly outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainians, luckily, had the sense to give up before anyone could have got killed...) The sailors arrested the officers and later ejected them from the ship, and raised Russian flags over her. After the annexation, Slavutych joined the Russian Navy and became part of the Black Sea Fleet. So did over a dozen formerly Ukrainian ships... Ukraine, today, has just her flagship left, the frigate "Hetman Sagaidachny", and a bunch of small cutters, in Odessa. Their Navy is gone, since Crimea, period. Even the Admiral who commanded their Navy then defected to the Russians during the annexation and now serves in the Russian BSF...

    There she is now, with Ukrainian board number and name filed off, and under Russian Naval jacks
    [​IMG]
    a sight which warms my dad's heart lol It is said she may soon be renamed back to "Priazovie" too. hehe

    Anyway, a happy day for some, sad for others, but, there it is, 3rd anniversary of Crimea's return to Russia.
     
    Kenneth Morgan likes this.
  8. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    Belated Happy Birthday to...
    [​IMG]
     
    Jedi Knight Fett and Juliet316 like this.
  9. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
  10. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ON MARCH 17th:

    In 1762, New York held its first St. Patrick's Day parade.

    In 1776, British forces evacuated Boston during the Revolutionary War.

    In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed the first king of a united Italy.

    In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt first likened crusading journalists to a man with "the muckrake in his hand" in a speech to the Gridiron Club in Washington.

    Also in 1906, actress Brigitte Helm, best-known for playing Maria and her robot double in “Metropolis”, was born in Berlin, Germany.

    In 1912, the Camp Fire Girls organization was incorporated in Washington, D.C., two years to the day after it was founded in Thetford, Vermont. (The group is now known as Camp Fire USA.)

    In 1919, singer/musician Nat King Cole was born in Montgomery, AL.

    In 1930, astronaut James Irwin, LM pilot for Apollo 15, was born in Pittsburgh, PA.

    In 1936, astronaut Ken Mattingly, CSM pilot for Apollo 16 and commander of two Space Shuttle missions, was born in Chicago, IL.

    In 1945, the Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany, collapsed, ten days after its capture.

    In 1950, scientists at the University of California at Berkeley announced they had created a new radioactive element, "californium."

    In 1951, actor Kurt Russell was born in Springfield, MA. His escape from New York would happen later on.

    In 1955, actor/director/musician Gary Sinise was born in Blue Island, IL. Years later, in “Apollo 13”, he’d play astronaut Ken Mattingly, also born on March 17th and also from Illinois. You can’t make this stuff up, folks.

    In 1956, actor/comedian Fred Allen died in Manhattan at age 61.

    In 1958, The United States launched the Vanguard 1 satellite. This should not be confused with the Vanguard TV-3 event, which was the spectacularly-failed attempt to launch the satellite in December, 1957.

    In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India in the wake of a failed uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule.

    In 1966, a U.S. midget submarine located a missing hydrogen bomb which had fallen from an American bomber into the Mediterranean off Spain.

    In 1968, the Bee Gees made their U.S. television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show." The brothers sang "To Love Somebody" and "Words."

    In 1969, Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel.

    In 1970, the United States cast its first veto in the U.N. Security Council. (The U.S. killed a resolution that would have condemned Britain for failure to use force to overthrow the white-ruled government of Rhodesia.)

    In 1988, Avianca Flight 410, a Boeing 727, crashed after takeoff into a mountain in Colombia, killing all 143 people on board.

    In 1992, actor John Boyega born in Peckham, London, England. He’d later be a something of a big deal with the Resistance.

    In 1994, the movie “Tangents”, later featured on “Mystery Science Theater 3000” under the title “Time Chasers”, premiered in the U.S.

    In 1998, the United States beat Canada 3-1 to win the first gold medal for women's hockey.

    In 2005, several major league baseball players spoke about steroid use with the House Government Reform Committee. Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro participated. The hearing lasted 11 hours.
     
  11. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    Seeing as how it's St. Patrick's Day...


     
  12. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

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    Apr 27, 2005
  13. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ON MARCH 18th:

    In 1766, Britain repealed the Stamp Act of 1765.

    In 1837, Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the U.S., was born in Caldwell, NJ.

    In 1850, American Express was founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo.

    In 1869, politician Neville Chamberlain was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. Later, as Prime Minister of Great Britain, he’d seriously misjudge Adolf Hitler.

    In 1892, Frederick Arthur, Lord Stanley of Preston, announced that he had purchased a trophy to be presented to the hockey champion of Canada.

    In 1913, King George I of Greece was assassinated in Thessaloniki.

    In 1915, during World War I, three battleships were sunk during a failed British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles during the Battle of Gallipoli.

    In 1925, the Tri-State Tornado struck southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois and southwestern Indiana, resulting in some 700 deaths.

    In 1926, actor Peter Graves was born in Minneapolis, MN. Supposedly, he was later connected with the IMF, but the Secretary has disavowed all knowledge of this.

    In 1931, author/costume designer John Mollo was born in London. He’d later win an Oscar for his work on “Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope”.

    In 1937, some 300 people, mostly children, were killed in a gas explosion at a school in New London, Texas.

    In 1940, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met at the Brenner Pass, where the Italian dictator agreed to join Germany's war against France and Britain.

    In 1941, singer/songwriter Wilson Pickett was born in Prattville, AL.

    In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii statehood bill. (Hawaii became a state on Aug. 21, 1959.)

    Also in 1959, the Western “Rio Bravo” premiered in the U.S. It starred John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson and Walter Brennan, and was produced & directed by Howard Hawks.

    In 1960, actor Richard Biggs, best-known for playing Dr. Stephen Franklin on “Babylon 5” was born in Columbus, OH.

    In 1962, France and Algerian rebels signed the Evian Accords, a cease-fire agreement which took effect the next day, ending the Algerian War.

    In 1964, “The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao” premiered in Denver, CO. Nearly 30 years later, the film’s closing lines would be immortalized as Joel’s send-off to his robot pals on the S.O.L.

    In 1965, the first spacewalk took place as Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov went outside his Voskhod 2 capsule, secured by a tether.

    Also in 1965, the spy thriller “The IPCRESS File”, starring Michael Caine as Harry Palmer, was released in the UK.

    In 1968, The U.S. Congress repealed the requirement for a gold reserve to back U.S. currency.

    In 1974, most of the Arab oil-producing nations ended their 5-month-old embargo against the United States that had been sparked by American support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War.

    In 1978, author/screenwriter Leigh Brackett died in Lancaster, CA at age 62. Shortly before her death, she’d worked on the screenplay for “Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back”.

    In 1981, the series “The Greatest American Hero”, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca and Robert Culp, premiered on ABC-TV.

    In 1990, Germans in the German Democratic Republic voted in the first democratic elections in the former communist dictatorship.

    In 1994, Bosnia’s Bosniaks and Croats signed the Washington Agreement, ending war between the Croation Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and establishing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

    Also in 1994, the comedy “The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult” was released in the U.S.

    In 2009, actress Natasha Richardson died in New York City at age 45.

    In 2017, singer/songwriter/musician Chuck Berry died in St. Charles, MO at age 90.
     
  14. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

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    Apr 27, 2005
  15. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

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    May 27, 1999
  16. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ON MARCH 19th:

    In 1813, missionary/explorer Dr. David Livingstone was born in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

    In 1863, the Confederate cruiser Georgiana, on its maiden voyage, was scuttled off Charleston, SC, to prevent it from falling into Union hands.

    In 1918, Congress approved daylight saving time.

    In 1920, the Senate rejected, for a second time, the Treaty of Versailles by a vote of 49 in favor, 35 against, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval.

    In 1928, actor/writer/director Patrick McGoohan was born in Astoria, Queens, NY. It was later that they’d give him a number and take away his name.

    In 1928, the radio serial “Amos ‘n’ Andy” debuted over Chicago station WMAQ.

    In 1931, Nevada Gov. Fred B. Balzar signed a measure legalizing casino gambling.

    In 1936, actress Ursula Andress was born in Ostermundigen, Switzerland.

    In 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of the U.S. Army Air Corps, was activated.

    In 1945, during World War II, 724 people were killed when a Japanese dive bomber attacked the carrier USS Franklin off Japan; the ship, however, was saved.

    Also in 1945, Adolf Hitler ordered the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands in his so-called "Nero Decree," which was largely disregarded.

    In 1953, the Academy Awards were televised for the first time. "The Greatest Show on Earth" was named best picture. Gary Cooper won the best actor award for "High Noon." Shirley Booth won best actress for her role in "Come Back, Little Sheba."

    In 1955, the inner-city school drama "Blackboard Jungle," starring Glenn Ford, premiered in New York City. It co-starred Sidney Poitier, and featured the song “Rock Around the Clock”, the first rock ‘n roll song used in a Hollywood movie.

    In 1956, writer/producer/director/actor/puppeteer Jim Mallon was born in Rochester, MN. His tenure with the Brains would come later.

    In 1957, Elvis Presley bought the Graceland mansion from Mrs. Ruth Brown-Moore for $102,500.

    In 1959, “The Shaggy Dog”, starring Fred MacMurray and Tommy Kirk, was released in the U.S. It was the first live-action comedy from Disney.

    Also in 1959, the two-part movie serial “Yusei oji” was released in Japan. Re-edited and retitled “Prince of Space”, it would reach the U.S. in 1962, and the S.O.L. in 1997.

    In 1965, the wreck of the Confederate cruiser Georgiana was discovered by E. Lee Spence, 102 years to the day after it had been scuttled.

    In 1976, Buckingham Palace announced the separation of Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, after 16 years of marriage.

    In 1977, the final episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” was broadcast on CBS-TV.

    In 1979, the U.S. House of Representatives began televising its floor proceedings; the live feed was carried by C-SPAN (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network), which was making its debut.

    In 1982, Argentinian forces landed on South Georgia Island, precipitating the Falklands War with the United Kingdom.

    In 1987, televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as chairman of his PTL ministry organization amid a sex and money scandal involving Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary.

    In 1993, Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White announced plans to retire. (White's departure paved the way for Ruth Bader Ginsburg to become the court's second female justice.)

    In 2000, a batch of Oscars were found in a trash can in Los Angeles, a week after they had been stolen from a loading dock.

    In 2003, President George W. Bush ordered the start of war against Iraq. (Because of the time difference, it was early March 20 in Iraq.)

    In 2008, author/futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke, CBE, FRAS died in Colombo, Sri Lanka at age 90.

    In 2014, Toyota agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle an investigation by the U.S. government, admitting that it had hidden information about defects that caused Toyota and Lexus vehicles to accelerate unexpectedly, resulting in injuries and deaths.

    In 2016, Flydubai Flight 981 crashed while attempting to land at Rostov-on-Don international airport, killing all 62 on board.
     
  17. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2005
  18. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ON MARCH 20th:

    In 1616, Sir Walter Raleigh was freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment.

    In 1727, physicist, mathematician and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton died in London.

    In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris after escaping his exile on Elba, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule.

    In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's influential novel about slavery, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," was first published in book form after being serialized.

    In 1899, Martha M. Place of Brooklyn became the first woman to be executed in the electric chair as she was put to death at Sing Sing for the murder of her stepdaughter.

    In 1916, Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity.

    In 1922, the decommissioned USS Jupiter, converted into the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, was recommissioned as the USS Langley.

    Also in 1922, actor/comedian Ray Goulding, of Bob & Ray, was born in Lowell, MA.

    In addition in 1922, actor/writer/producer/director Carl Reiner was born in the Bronx, NY.

    In 1928, educator/minister/author Fred Rogers, host of “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood”, was born in Latrobe, PA.

    In 1933, the state of Florida electrocuted Giuseppe Zangara for shooting to death Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak at a Miami event attended by President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, the presumed target, the previous February.

    In 1936, comedian Vaughn Meader was born in Waterville, ME. He’s best-known for his impression of President Kennedy in the “First Family” comedy albums.

    In 1937, singer/songwriter/actor Jerry Reed was born in Atlanta, GA.

    In 1942, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, made his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he said: "I came out of Bataan and I shall return".

    In 1943, “Dumb Hounded”, the first cartoon featuring Droopy, was released.

    In 1948, James Baskett received an Honorary Academy Award for his role in the Disney film “Song of the South”. He was the first African-American man to receive an Oscar, and the first actor to receive one for a Disney film.

    Also in 1948, with a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the U.S., under, respectively, Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, were given on, respectively, CBS-TV and NBC-TV.

    In addition in 1948, actor John de Lancie was born in Philadelphia, PA. His omnipotent role in “Star Trek” would come later.

    In 1952, the U.S. Senate ratified, 66-10, the Treaty of Peace with Japan.

    In 1963, actress/model Kathy Ireland was born in Glendale, CA.

    In 1964, the movie “The Pink Panther” went into wide release in the U.S. It actually starred David Niven, but he was upstaged by Peter Sellers and that cartoon cat.

    In 1969, John Lennon married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar.

    In 1974, Britain's Princess Anne was the target of a kidnapping attempt near Buckingham Palace; the would-be abductor, Ian Ball, was captured.

    In 1979, actress Freema Agyeman, well-known for playing Martha Jones on “Doctor Who” and “Torchwood”, was born in London.

    In 1985, Libby Riddles of Teller, Alaska, became the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race.

    In 1990, singer Gloria Estefan suffered a broken back when a truck rear-ended her tour bus on a snow-covered highway in Pennsylvania. (Surgeons implanted titanium rods to stabilize her spine, and Estefan was able to make a comeback after months of intensive physical therapy.)

    Also in 1990, The Los Angeles Lakers retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's #33.

    In 1995, in Tokyo, twelve people were killed, more than 5,500 others sickened when packages containing the deadly chemical sarin were leaked on five separate subway trains by Aum Shinrikyo cult members.

    In 2004, the BBC made a formal announcement that Christopher Eccleston had been cast as the Doctor in the “Doctor Who” revival. (The same day, the Daily Mail erroneously reported that Bill Nighy had been cast in the role.)

    In 2012, the Muppets were honored with their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
     
  19. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
  20. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2005
  21. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ON MARCH 21st:

    In 1413, Henry V became King of England.

    In 1556, Thomas Cranmer, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, was burned at the stake for heresy.

    In 1788, a fire in New Orleans left most of the town in ruins.

    In 1800, with the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII was crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mache.

    In 1804, the French civil code, or the "Code Napoleon" as it was later called, was adopted.

    In 1871, Otto von Bismarck was appointed Chancellor of the German Empire.

    Also in 1871, journalist Henry Morton Stanley began his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.

    In 1923, actor/singer Peter Pratt was born in Eastbourne, England. He’d later play a less-than-handsome incarnation of the Master.

    In 1925, Tennessee Gov. Austin Peay signed the Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of the Theory of Evolution in public schools. (Tennessee repealed the law in 1967.)

    In 1931, cartoonist/illustrator Al Williamson, well-known for his work on the “Star Wars” comic book and comic strip, was born in New York City.

    In 1935, Persia officially changed its name to Iran.

    In 1945, during World War II, Allied bombers began four days of raids over Germany.

    In 1946, actor Timothy Dalton was born in Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire, Wales. He’d be assigned 00 status years later, followed later on by leadership of the Time Lords.

    Also in 1946, The Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington. Washington was the first black player to join a National Football League team since 1933.

    In 1952, the Moondog Coronation Ball, organized by Alan Freed and considered the first rock and roll concert, took place at Cleveland Arena.

    In 1960, about 70 people were killed in Sharpeville, South Africa, when police fired on black protesters.

    In 1961, The Beatles made their first appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. The band would play more than 300 dates there.

    In 1963, the Alcatraz federal prison island in San Francisco Bay was emptied of its last inmates and closed at the order of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

    In 1965, civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began their third, successful march from Selma to Montgomery, AL.

    Also in 1965, NASA launched Ranger 9, the last of the Ranger series of spacecraft sent to explore the moon.

    In 1969, the movie “Gamera tai daiakaju Guiron” was released in Japan. It would later be re-titled “Gamera vs. Guiron” when it was released in the U.S., and later riffed on by Joel & the ‘bots.

    In 1980, on the TV show “Dallas”, the episode “A House Divided”, climaxing with the shooting of J.R. Ewing, was broadcast on CBS-TV.

    Also in 1980, President Jimmy Carter announced a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

    In 1981, on “Doctor Who”, part four of “Logopolis” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the last regular appearance of Tom Baker as the Doctor, and the introduction of Peter Davison in the role.

    In 1985, police in Langa, South Africa, opened fire on blacks marching to mark the 25th anniversary of Sharpeville; the reported death toll varied between 29 and 43.

    In 1989, Dick Clark announced he was stepping down as host of "American Bandstand" after 33 years.

    In 1990, Namibia became an independent nation as the former colony marked the end of 75 years of South African rule.

    In 1995, as if the Garden State wasn’t enough of a laughing stock, the "Howard Stern Rest Stop" opened along Route 295 in New Jersey.

    Also in 1995, the first episode of "NewsRadio" aired on NBC.

    In 2000, Pope John Paul II made his first ever pontifical visit to Israel.

    In 2006, the social media site Twitter was founded.
     
  22. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ON MARCH 22nd:

    In 1312, Pope Clement V issued a papal bull ordering dissolution of the Order of the Knights Templar.

    In 1621, The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony signed a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags.

    In 1622, Algonquian Indians killed 347 English settlers around Jamestown, VA, a third of the colony's population, during the Second Anglo-Powhatan War.

    In 1630, The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlawed the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables.

    In 1638, religious dissident Anne Hutchinson was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for defying Puritan orthodoxy.

    In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act to raise money from the American colonies, which fiercely resisted the tax. (The Stamp Act was repealed a year later.)

    In 1820, U.S. naval hero Stephen Decatur was killed in a duel with Commodore James Barron near Washington, D.C.

    In 1887, actor/comedian/musician Chico Marx was born in New York City.

    In 1894, hockey's first Stanley Cup championship game was played; home team Montreal defeated Ottawa, 3-1.

    In 1912, actor Wilfrid Brambell was born in Dublin, Ireland. He’d later play Paul’s very clean grandfather in “A Hard Day’s Night”.

    In 1920, actor Ross Martin was born in Grodek, Poland. This was years before he ran into Dr. Loveless.

    Also in 1920, actor/musician Werner Klemperer was born in Cologne, Germany. Years later, he’d repeatedly claim that no one had ever escaped from Stalag 13.

    In 1931, actor/author/producer/director William Shatner was born in Notre-Dame-de-Grace, Montreal, Quebec.

    In 1933, during Prohibition, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure to make wine and beer containing up to 3.2 percent alcohol legal.

    In 1934, the first Masters Tournament opened under the title "Augusta National Invitation Tournament," which was won three days later by Horton Smith.

    In 1943, World War II: the entire population of Khatyn in Belarus is burnt alive by German occupation forces.

    In 1945, the Arab League was formed with the adoption of a charter in Cairo, Egypt.

    In 1947, author James Patterson was born in Newburgh, NY. And, at my job at the library, I have to process one of his books roughly every month.

    In 1950, actress Mary Tamm, best-known for playing the first incarnation of Romana on “Doctor Who”, was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.

    In 1956, while driving to New York for appearances on 'The Perry Como Show', and 'The Ed Sullivan Show', the car that Carl Perkins was traveling in was involved in an accident, putting Perkins in hospital for several months.

    In 1960, Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes received the first patent for a laser.

    In 1963, The Beatles' debut album, "Please Please Me," was released in the United Kingdom by Parlophone.

    In 1967, Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing to be inducted into the United States Army.

    In 1976, principal photography began in Tunisia on “Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope”.

    In 1978, the mockumentary “The Rutles: All You Need is Cash”, conceived and co-written by Eric Idle, premiered on NBC-TV.

    In 1984, on “Doctor Who”, part one of “The Twin Dilemma” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the first regular appearance of Colin Baker as the Doctor.

    In 1990, a jury in Anchorage, Alaska, found former tanker captain Joseph Hazelwood not guilty of three major charges in connection with the Exxon Valdez oil spill, but convicted him of a minor charge of negligent discharge of oil.

    In 1994, the NFL announced the addition of the two-point conversion. It was the league's first scoring change in 75 seasons.

    In 1995, convicted Long Island Rail Road gunman Colin Ferguson was sentenced to life in prison for killing six people.

    In 2005, Terri Schiavo's parents begged a federal appeals court to order the severely brain-damaged woman's feeding tube reinserted after their emergency request was turned down by a federal judge in Tampa, Florida. (The court refused to intervene.)

    In 2016, At least 34 people were killed and 136 people injured in Brussels in terrorist bombings at the airport and at the Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station.

    In 2017, a terrorist attack in London near the Houses of Parliament left three people dead and at least 29 injured. The attacker was killed by police shortly thereafter.



    And, there’s this: In 2233, James Tiberius Kirk will be born in Riverside, Iowa. Accounts of his being born in an escape shuttle near the U.S.S. Kelvin should be considered apocryphal.
     
  23. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2005
  24. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ON MARCH 23rd:

    In 1775, during a speech to the Virginia Convention at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Founding Father Patrick Henry declared, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”.

    In 1888, in England, The Football League, the world's oldest professional association football league, met for the first time.

    In 1909, Theodore Roosevelt left New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society. Reports that he met a young boy named Henry Jones, Jr. during the trip have been widely debated.

    In 1910, filmmaker Akira Kurosawa was born in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan.

    In 1912, aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun was born in Wirsitz, Posen Province, Prussia, Germany.

    In 1914, the first installment of "The Perils of Pauline," the legendary silent film serial starring Pearl White, premiered in the greater New York City area.

    In 1933, The Reichstag passed the Enabling Act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.

    In 1940, the radio program "Truth or Consequences," hosted by Ralph Edwards, was first broadcast over four CBS radio stations in New York and New England.

    In 1942, the first Japanese-Americans interned by the U.S. Army during World War II arrived at the internment camp in Manzanar, CA.

    In 1956, Pakistan became the first Islamic republic in the world. (The day is celebrated as Republic Day in Pakistan)

    In 1961, pilot/cosmonaut Valentin Bondarenko died in Moscow at age 24. He was killed in a training accident involving a fire in a chamber pressurized with pure oxygen. It has been speculated that, had the Soviet Union allowed knowledge of the accident to be made public, the later fire-related deaths of Apollo 1 astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee might have been avoided.

    In 1964, John Lennon's book of verse and rhyme 'In His Own Write' was published in the UK.

    In 1965, the first manned flight of NASA’s Gemini program, Gemini 3, was launched. Command Pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom and Pilot John W. Young made three Earth orbits aboard the spacecraft Molly Brown.

    In 1966, Arthur Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Pope Paul VI met and exchanged greetings in Rome, the first official meeting between heads of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in more than four hundred years.

    In 1967, on the original series “Star Trek”, the episode “Errand of Mercy” was broadcast on NBC-TV. It featured the first appearance of the Klingons in the franchise.

    In 1973, before sentencing a group of Watergate break-in defendants, Chief U.S. District Judge John J. Sirica read aloud a letter he'd received from James W. McCord Jr. which said there had been "political pressure" to "plead guilty and remain silent."

    In 1977, the first installment of “The Nixon Interviews” was videotaped with British journalist David Frost interviewing former U.S. President Richard Nixon. (12 installments would be recorded over a four-week period.)

    In 1994, a USAF F-16 aircraft collided with a USAF C-130 at Pope AFB and then crashed, killing 24 U.S. Army soldiers on the ground. This later became known as the “Green Ramp Disaster”.

    In 1996, Taiwan held its first direct elections and chose Lee Teng-hui as President.

    In 2001, after funding for the project was discontinued, the Russian space station Mir was de-orbited and burned up in atmosphere.

    In 2011, Academy Award-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor died in Los Angeles at age 79.
     
  25. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2005