Fun On this date in history...

If I may...

ON JANUARY 24th:

In 41 A.D., Roman Emperor Caligula was assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards. His uncle Claudius would succeed him.

In 1742, Charles VII was elected Holy Roman Emperor during the War of the Austrian Succession.

In 1848, James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in northern California, a discovery that led to the gold rush of '49.

In 1908, the Boy Scouts movement began in England under the aegis of Robert Baden-Powell.

In 1916, in Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Federal income tax constitutional. And millions of Americans curse this decision to this very day.

In 1917, actor Ernest Borgnine was born in Hamden, CT.

In 1919, actor/filmmaker Coleman Francis was born in Oklahoma. He’d later ask us the immortal question, “Flag on the moon. How did it get there?”

In 1924, the Russian city of Petrograd, formerly St. Petersburg, was renamed Leningrad in honor of the late revolutionary leader. It would later be re-renamed St. Petersburg.

In 1927, actor John Hollis was born in Fulham, London, England. “Star Wars” fans remember him as silent Lobot in “The Empire Strikes Back”, and Whovians remember him as Sondergaard in “The Mutants”, where he had more lines.

In 1935, beer was first sold in cans in Richmond, Virginia, by the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Co.

In 1942, the Roberts Commission placed much of the blame for America's lack of preparedness for Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on Rear Adm. Husband E. Kimmel and Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short, the Navy and Army commanders.

In 1944, author/screenwriter David Gerrold was born in Chicago, IL. He’s best-known for writing “The Trouble with Tribbles”, one of the best-received episodes of the original series “Star Trek”. It’s doubtful that Klingons agree with that assessment, though.

In 1945, Associated Press war correspondent Joseph Morton was among a group of captives executed by the Germans at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Austria.

In 1949, actor/comedian/musician John Belushi was born in Chicago, IL.

In 1955, decorated Marine Ira Hayes, veteran of the Bouganville and Iwo Jima campaigns in World War II, died in Bapchule, AZ at age 32.

In 1961, a U.S. Air Force B-52 crashed near Goldsboro, North Carolina, dropping its payload of two nuclear bombs, neither of which went off; three crew members were killed.

In 1963, a U.S. Air Force B-52 on a training mission crashed into Elephant Mountain in Maine after encountering turbulence and losing its vertical stabilizer; seven of the nine crew members were killed.

In 1965, British statesman Winston Churchill died in London at age 90.

In 1967, actor/comedian Phil LaMarr was born in Los Angeles. One of his characters would later get stupidly shot dead in “Pulp Fiction”, while he’d voice animated characters with happier fates.

In 1968, in Italy, the movie “Diabolik” was first released.

In 1975, the extremist group FALN bombed Fraunces Tavern in New York City, killing four people.

In 1981, on “Doctor Who”, part four of “Warriors Gate” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the last regular appearance of Lalla Ward as Romana, and John Leeson as K-9 Mk. II.

In 1985, the space shuttle Discovery was launched from Cape Canaveral on the first secret, all-military shuttle mission.

In 1986, the unmanned spacecraft Voyager 2 passed within 81,500 kilometres (50,600 mi) of the planet Uranus. (Go ahead, get all the rude jokes over with.)

In 1989, confessed serial killer Theodore Bundy was executed in Florida's electric chair.

In 2006, Walt Disney Co. announced its purchase of animation company Pixar for $7.4 billion.

 

Kenneth Morgan: Also on the 24th: While fingers were being pointed in Washington, D.C., the sailors of the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Fleet engaged a Japanese invasion force at Balikpapan in the Dutch East Indies. Launching a surprise attack, the four World War I era destroyers--John D. Ford, Pope, Parrott, and Paul Jones--sank four Japanese transports and a patrol boat. Though it did little to halt the conquest of the Dutch East Indies, the victory was among the first by US naval surface forces in World War II, and the one of the very few obtained by the hopelessly outnumbered forces of the ABDA command.

I love the history of the Asiatic Fleet and the Yangtze Patrol.

 

If I may...

ON JANUARY 25th:

In 1533, England's King Henry VIII secretly married his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who later gave birth to Elizabeth I.

In 1890, reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) of the New York World completed a round-the-world journey in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes.

Also in 1890, The United Mine Workers of America was founded in Columbus, OH.

In 1915, America's first official transcontinental telephone call took place as Alexander Graham Bell, who was in New York, spoke to his former assistant, Thomas Watson, who was in San Francisco, over a line set up by American Telephone & Telegraph.

In 1916, composer/arranger Albert Glasser, best-known for his work on the films of Bert I. Gordon was born in Chicago, IL.

In 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games opened in Chamonix, France.

In 1938, actor/cult filmmaker Ray Dennis Steckler was born in Reading, PA.

In 1945, the World War II “Battle of the Bulge” ended as German forces were pushed back to their original positions.

Also in 1945, Grand Rapids, MI, became the first community to add fluoride to its public water supply.

In 1949, the first Emmy Awards were given for excellence in television. The first Emmy winner was Shirley Dinsdale and her puppet, Judy Splinters, for Most Outstanding Personality.

In 1955, the Soviet Union formally ended its state of war with Germany.

In 1958, Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" became the first single ever to enter the U.K. pop chart at No. 1.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy held the first presidential news conference to be carried live on radio and television.

In 1963, the movie “The Raven” was released in the U.S. It starred Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Jack Nicholson; it was directed by Roger Corman, and it was (sort of) based on the poem by Edgar Allen Poe.

In 1970, special effects designer/producer/director Eiji Tsuburaya, best-known for his work in the kaiju films for Toho, died in Ito, Shizuoka, Japan at age 68.

In 1971, Charles Manson and three women followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate.

Also in 1971, Idi Amin seized power in Uganda by ousting President Milton Obote) in a military coup.

In 1975, on “Doctor Who”, part one of “The Ark in Space” was broadcast on BBC 1. It was the first episode with Phillip Hinchcliffe as Producer and Robert Holmes as Story Editor, and is recognized as the start of the “Gothic Horror” era of the program.

In 1980, Paul McCartney was released from a Tokyo jail after being held for more than a week. He had been arrested when marijuana was found in his luggage.

In 1981, the 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived in the United States.

In 1990, an Avianca Boeing 707 ran out of fuel and crashed in Cove Neck, Long Island, NY; 73 of the 158 people aboard were killed.

In 1995, the U.S. and Norway launched a Black Brant rocket carrying equipment to study the aurora borealis, startling Russian officials who wondered at first if the rocket was an incoming Trident missile. (Russian President Boris Yeltsin reportedly was given his "nuclear briefcase" for possible retaliation before realizing there was no threat.)

In 2014, Morris "Morrie" Turner, creator of the "Wee Pals" comic strip and the first African-American cartoonist to be syndicated nationally, died in Sacramento, CA at age 90.

 

Sorry, I was busy battening down the hatches yesterday.

If I may...

ON JANUARY 26th:

In 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guided a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding the colony, later the nation, of Australia.

In 1837, Michigan was admitted as the 26th U.S. state.

In 1838, Tennessee enacted the first prohibition law in the U.S.

In 1861, the state of Louisiana seceded from the Union.

In 1885, troops loyal to the Mahdi conquered Khartoum, killing the Governor-General Charles George Gordon.

In 1880, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, AR.

In 1915, the Rocky Mountain National Park was established by an act of the U.S. Congress.

In 1934, the Apollo Theater reopened in Harlem.

In 1946, journalist/critic Gene Siskel was born in Chicago, IL.

In 1979, the action-comedy series "The Dukes of Hazzard premiered on CBS-TV.

Also in 1979, the 121st and last shooting day of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” was completed.

In addition in 1979, businessman/politician Nelson Rockefeller, 41st Vice-President of the U.S., died in New York City at age 70.

In 1980, at the request of President Jimmy Carter, the U.S. Olympic Committee voted to ask the International Olympic Committee to cancel or move the upcoming Moscow Olympics. (They did neither.)

Also in 1980, Israel and Egypt established diplomatic relations.

In 2005, President George W. Bush appointed Condoleezza Rice to the post of secretary of state, making her the highest ranking African-American woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet.

 

If I may...

ON JANUARY 27th:

In 1606, the trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators in connection with the Gunpoweder Plot began.

In 1756, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.

In 1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.

In 1888, the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, D.C.

In 1913, actor Michael Ripper, best-known for his appearances in movies from Hammer Films in the 1950’s & 60’s, was born in Portsmouth, England.

In 1919, singer/songwriter Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., creator of the Chipmuks, was born in Fresno, CA.

In 1944, during World War II, the Soviet Union announced the complete end of the deadly German siege of Leningrad, which had lasted for more than two years.

In 1945, during World War II, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland.

In 1957, comic book author/artist Frank Miller was born in Olney, MD.

In 1967, astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo 1 spacecraft.

Also in 1967, more than 60 nations signed a treaty banning the orbiting of nuclear weapons, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.

In 1968, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding was released, six weeks after he was killed in a plane crash.

In 1972, singer Mahalia Jackson died of heart failure in Chicago. She was 60.

In 1973, the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris. The same day, Colonel William Nolde was killed in action becoming the conflict's last recorded American combat casualty.

Also in 1973, on “Doctor Who”, part one of “The Carnival of Monsters” was broadcast on BBC 1. The cast included Ian Marter, two years before his appearance as Companion Harry Sullivan.

In 1976, the sit-com "Laverne and Shirley" premiered on ABC-TV.

In 1980, through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escaped hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.

In 1984, singer Michael Jackson suffered serious burns to his scalp when pyrotechnics set his hair on fire during the filming of a Pepsi-Cola TV commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

In 1998, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, on NBC's "Today" show, charged the sexual misconduct allegations against her husband were the work of a "vast right-wing conspiracy."

In 2003, the first selections for the National Recording Registry were announced by the Library of Congress.

In 2006, Western Union discontinued its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services.

In 2014, singer/songwriter/musician/activist Pete Seeger died in New York City at age 94.

 

Lest we forget...

 

If I may...

ON JANUARY 28th:

In 1547, England's King Henry VIII died; he was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI.

In 1813, the novel "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen was first published anonymously in London.

In 1909, the United States withdrew its forces from Cuba, with the exception of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, as Jose Miguel Gomez became president.

In 1910, actor John Banner, best-known for playing Sgt. Schultz on the sit-com “Hogan’s Heroes”, was born in Vienna, Austria.

In 1915, the United States Coast Guard was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill merging the Life-Saving Service and Revenue Cutter Service.

Also in 1915, the American merchant vessel SS William P. Frye, en route to England with a cargo of wheat, became the first U.S. ship to be sunk during World War I by a German cruiser, the SS Prinz Eitel Friedrich, even though the United States was not at war.

In 1945, during World War II, Allied supplies began reaching China over the newly reopened Burma Road.

In 1956, Elvis Presley made his first national TV appearance on "Stage Show," a CBS program hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

In 1958, the Lego company patented the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.

Also in 1958, the last episode of the British radio comedy program “The Goon Show” was broadcast.

In 1959, the Green Bay Packers signed Vince Lombardi to a five-year contract as the team's coach and general manager.

In 1962, the last of Washington, D.C.'s original streetcars made its final run.

In 1973, a cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War.

Also in 1973, actor John Banner died in Vienna, Austria at age 63.

In 1979, “CBS News Sunday Morning” premiered with original host and cocreator Charles Kuralt.

In 1985, the charity supergroup USA for Africa recorded the Michael Jackson-Lionel Richie song "We Are the World" at A&M Studios in Los Angeles.

In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

In 1996, author/illustrator Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman, died in Los Angeles at age 81.

 

Lest we forget...

 

If I may...

ON JANUARY 29th:

In 1820, Britain's King George III died at Windsor Castle.

In 1843, the 25th president of the United States, William McKinley, was born in Niles, OH.

In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" was first published in the New York Evening Mirror.

In 1861, Kansas became the 34th state of the Union.

In 1923, author/screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky was born in the Bronx.

In 1936, the first inductees of baseball's Hall of Fame, including Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, were named in Cooperstown, New York.

In 1958, Challenge Records released the single "Tequila" by The Champs.

In 1964, Stanley Kubrick's nuclear war satire "Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" premiered in New York, Toronto and London.

In 1966, on “Doctor Who”, the episode “The Destruction of Time” was broadcast on BBC 1. It was the final part of the 12-part serial “The Daleks’ Masterplan”, the longest single serial in the program’s history.

In 1975, a bomb exploded inside the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., causing considerable damage, but injuring no one; the radical group Weather Underground claimed responsibility.

In 1977, actor/comedian Freddie Prinze died in Los Angeles at age 22 from injuries from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In 1979, Brenda Spencer killed two men and wounded nine children with a rifle as they entered the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego. She’d later plead guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

In 1982, principle photography was completed on the movie, ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”.

In 1990, former Exxon Valdez skipper Joseph Hazelwood went on trial in Anchorage, AK, on charges stemming from the 1989 oil spill. (Hazelwood was acquitted of the major charges, and convicted of a misdemeanor.)

In 1998, a bomb exploded at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, AL, killing security guard Robert Sanderson and critically injuring nurse Emily Lyons. (The bomber, Eric Rudolph, was captured in May 2003 and is serving a life sentence.)

In 2002, in his State of the Union address, President George W, Bush described "regimes that sponsor terror” as an “Axis of Evil”, in which he included Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

In 2009, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office following his conviction of several corruption charges, including the alleged solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the U.S. Senate as a replacement for then- U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama.

In 2015, Malaysia officially declared the March 8, 2014 disappearance of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident and its passengers and crew presumed dead.

Also in 2015, singer/songwriter/poet Rod McKuen died in Beverly Hills at age 81.

 

Lyrics by Rod McKuen:

 

If I may...

ON JANUARY 30th:

In 1615, Thomas Rolfe, the only child of John Rolfe and his wife, Rebecca (the former Pocahontas), was born in Jamestown in the Virginia Colony.

In 1649, England's King Charles I was executed for treason.

In 1661, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England was ritually executed more than two years after his death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of Charles I, the monarch he himself deposed.

In 1781, Maryland became the 13th and final state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, almost three years after the official deadline given by Congress of March 10, 1778. (The Articles would be replaced by the U.S. Constitution in 1789.)

In 1806, the original Lower Trenton Bridge (also called the “Trenton Makes the World Takes” Bridge), which spans the Delaware River between Morrisville, PA and Trenton, NJ, was opened.

In 1815, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in agreeing to purchase the personal book collection of former President Thomas Jefferson to replace volumes lost when the British burned the U.S. Capitol and its congressional library during the War of 1812.

In 1835, in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol, President Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the U.S., survived the first attempt against the life of a U.S. president, when Richard Lawrence attempted to shoot him. His pistols misfired and he was overcome by bystanders, as well as Jackson, himself.

In 1882, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States, was born in Hyde Park, NY.

In 1920, Carwood Lipton, decorated soldier and World War II veteran, was born in Huntington, WV. He’s best-known for his service with Easy Co., 2nd Battalion, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany.

Also in 1933, the first episode of the radio program "The Lone Ranger" was broadcast on station WXYZ in Detroit.

In 1941, Dick Cheney, 46th Vice-President of the U.S., was born in Lincoln, NE.

In 1945, during World War II, more than 500 Allied captives held at the Japanese prison camp in Cabanatuan in the Philippines were liberated by U.S. Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts and Filipino guerrilla fighters.

In 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, age 78, was shot and killed in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist. (Godse and a co-conspirator were later executed.)

In 1956, African-American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home was bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

In 1962, two members of "The Flying Wallendas" high-wire act were killed when their seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance at the State Fair Coliseum in Detroit.

In 1963, actress Daphne Ashbrook was born in Long Beach, CA. Years later, she’d play a cardiologist treating a patient with a very unusual hearts (plural) condition.

In 1965, some one million people attended former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral, the biggest in the United Kingdom up to that point.

In 1968, the Tet Offensive began during the Vietnam War as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals.

In 1969, The Beatles staged an impromptu concert atop Apple headquarters in London; it was the group's last public performance.

In 1971, Carole King’s “Tapestry” album was released to become the longest charting album by a female solo artist and sell 24 million copies worldwide.

In 1972, 13 Roman Catholic civil rights marchers were shot to death by British soldiers in Northern Ireland on what became known as "Bloody Sunday."

In 1981, an estimated 2 million New Yorkers turned out for a ticker-tape parade honoring the freed American hostages from Iran.

In 1993, on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, the second part of the short subject “Hired!”, followed by the movie “Manos, the Hands of Fate” was broadcast on Comedy Central. The episode included the first appearance of Michael J. Nelson as Torgo, and was the only time that the characters of Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank ever apologized for showing a particular movie.

In 2005, Iraqis voted in their country's first free election in a half-century.

 

If I may...

ON JANUARY 31st:

In 1606, Guy Fawkes, convicted of treason for his part in the "Gunpowder Plot" against the English Parliament and King James I, was executed.

In 1797, composer Franz Schubert was born in Vienna.

In 1865, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery, sending it to states for ratification. (The amendment was adopted in Dec. 1865.)

Also in 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of the Confederate States Army by President Jefferson Davis.

In 1892, comedian/entertainer Eddie Cantor was born in New York City.

In 1915, during World War I, Germany was the first to make large-scale use of poison gas in warfare in the Battle of Bolimow against Russia.

In 1917, during World War I, Germany announces that its U-boats would resume unrestricted submarine warfare after a two-year hiatus.

In 1919, baseball player Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, GA.

In 1921, actor John Agar was born in Chicago, IL. The supremely smug characters in sci-fi movies would come later.

In 1943, during World War II, German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrendered to the Soviets at Stalingrad, followed 2 days later by the remainder of his Sixth Army, ending one of the war's fiercest battles.

In 1944, actress/screenwriter/psychotherapist Connie Booth was born in Indianapolis, IN. Years later, she’d play the sanest staff member of a certain hotel in Torquay.

In 1945, during World War II, Pvt. Eddie Slovik, age 24, became the first U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion as he was shot by an American firing squad in France.

In 1949, “These Are My Children”, the first television daytime soap opera was broadcast live from Chicago over NBC-TV.

In 1950, U.S. President Harry S. Truman publicly announces his decision to support the development of the hydrogen bomb

In 1958, the United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, Explorer I. The satellite detected the Van Allen Belt of radiation around the Earth.

In 1961, NASA launched Ham the Chimp aboard a Mercury-Redstone rocket from Cape Canaveral; Ham was recovered safely from the Atlantic Ocean following his 16 1/2-minute suborbital flight.

In 1968, during the Vietnam War, Viet Cong attacked the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive.

In 1970, on “Doctor Who”, part one of “Doctor Who and the Silurians” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the first appearance of Bessie, the Doctor’s car, and began the only serial in the program’s history to include “Doctor Who” in the title.

In 1971, astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.

In 1981, on “Doctor Who”, part one of “The Keeper of Traken” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the first appearance of Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, as well as the first series appearance of actor Anthony Ainley.

In 1990, McDonald's Corp. opened its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow.

In 2000, an Alaska Airlines MD-83 jet crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Port Hueneme, California, killing all 88 people aboard.

In 2007, Boston authorities responded to calls of bomb scares for blinking electronic signs on bridge overpasses and near transit stations. The signs ended up being promotional items for Cartoon Network's "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."

 

If I may...

ON FEBRUARY 1:

In 1790, the U.S. Supreme Court convened for the first time in New York. (However, since only three of the six justices were present, the court recessed until the next day.)

In 1861, Texas voted to leave the Union at a Secession Convention in Austin.

In 1865, during the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman began the Carolinas Campaign as they invaded South Carolina.

Also in 1865, Abolitionist John S. Rock became the first black lawyer admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1893, Thomas A. Edison finished construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, NJ.

In 1894, producer/director John Ford was born in Cape Elizabeth, ME.

In 1901, actor Clark Gable was born in Cadiz, OH.

In 1908, producer/animator George Pal was born in Cegled, Hungary. The lunar flight, time machine and invading Martians would come along later.

In 1909, singer/songwriter George Beverly Shea was born in Winchester, Ontario, Canada.

In 1921, actor Peter Sallis, best-known as Clegg in “Last of the Summer Wine” and as the voice of Wallace, was born in Twickenham, Middlesex, England.

In 1937, actor/singer/original Not Ready For Prime Time Player Garret Morris was born in New Orleans.

In 1940, actress Bibi Besch was born in Vienna, Austria. Years later, she’d play one of Jim Kirk’s past girlfriends, but with a significant difference.

In 1942, U.S. Navy conducted the Marshalls-Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.

Also in 1942, actor/writer/director/Python Terry Jones was born in Colwyn Bay, Wales.

In 1943, one of America's most highly decorated military units, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up almost exclusively of Japanese-Americans, was authorized.

In 1946, actress Elisabeth Sladen was born in Liverpool, England.

Also In 1946, Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie was chosen to be the first secretary-general of the United Nations.

In 1950, RCA introduced the 45 RPM record player.

In 1954, actor Bill Mumy was born in San Gabriel, CA. “Twilight Zone”, “Lost in Space”, “Babylon 5” and “Fish Heads” were some years away.

In 1960, four black college students began a sit-in protest at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, NC, where they'd been refused service.

In 1964,the governor of Indiana declared the song "Louie, Louie" by The Kingsmen to be pornographic, even though the average listener wasn't able to decipher the lyrics. The governor asked a state broadcasters' association to ban the record.

In 1965,James Brown recorded "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" in Charlotte, NC.

Also in 1965, actor/martial artist Brandon Lee was born in Oakland, CA.

In 1968, during the Vietnam War, South Vietnam's police chief (Nguyen Ngoc Loan) executed a Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to the head. The act would be memorably filmed and photographed.

Also in 1968, Richard M. Nixon announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

In 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini received a tumultuous welcome in Tehran as he ended nearly 15 years of exile.

In 1982, "Late Night with David Letterman" premiered on NBC-TV.

In 1983, on “Doctor Who”, part one of “Mawdryn Undead” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the first appearance of Mark Strickson as Turlough, and a return appearance by Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

In 1988, actress Heather O'Rourke, who'd co-starred in the 1982 movie "Poltergeist," died in San Diego at age 12.

In 1997, on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, the movie “Revenge of the Creature” was broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel. It was the first regular episode of the series shown on the Sci-Fi Channel, and it featured Bill Corbett’s first appearance as Crow T. Robot, and Kevin Murphy’s first appearance as Professor Bobo.

In 2002, Daniel Pearl, American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of the “Wall Street Journal”, who was kidnapped on January 23, 2002, was beheaded and mutilated by his captors.

In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry, killing all seven of its crew members.

 

Lest we forget...

 

Feb 2 1872: French naval architect Henri Dupuy de Lome achieves 5.6 to 6.8 mph with his airship, driven by a propeller turned by eight men.

 

If I may...

ON FEBRUARY 2:

In 1653, New Amsterdam - now New York City - was incorporated.

In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican-American War, was signed.

In 1876, the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, which comes to be more commonly known as the National League (NL), was formed.

In 1887, Punxsutawney, PA, held its first Groundhog Day festival. Bill Murray’s involvement would come later.

In 1913, Grand Central Terminal was opened in New York City.

In 1914, Charles Chaplin made his movie debut as the comedy short "Making a Living" was released by Keystone Film Co.

In 1925, the legendary Alaska Serum Run ended as the last of a series of dog mushers brought a life-saving treatment to Nome, the scene of a diphtheria epidemic, six days after the drug left Nenana.

Also in 1925, the silent film "The Lost World," based on the Arthur Conan Doyle novel about explorers who encounter living prehistoric animals in South America, had its world premiere.

In 1927, musician Stan Getz was born in Philadelphia, PA.

In 1937, comedian/actor/musician Tom Smothers was born in New York City. His later battles with CBS-TV censors would become both celebrated and infamous, depending on your viewpoint.

In 1949, actor Brent Spiner was born in Houston, TX. He’d later become well-known for starring in some syndicated sci-fi show, I understand it’s popular.

In 1972, the British embassy in Dublin was destroyed in protest for the “Bloody Sunday” incident.

In 1973, the musical variety series “The Midnight Special” premiered on NBC-TV.

In 1980, NBC News reported the FBI had conducted a sting operation targeting members of Congress using phony Arab businessmen in what became known as "Abscam," a codename protested by Arab-Americans.

In 1985, on “Doctor Who”, part one of “Mark of the Rani” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the first appearance of Kate O’Mara as the Rani.

In 1990, in a dramatic concession to South Africa's black majority, President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.