History Blog

March 28

Happy Birthday Conchata Ferrell(1943–2020) ; Dianne Wiest–76 Reba McEntire–69 Alexandra Billings–62 Vincent Vaughn–54 Julia Stiles–43 Stefani Germanotta(“Lady Gaga”)–38 ; 1979 – A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania leads to the core overheating and a partial melt down.

March 27

Happy Birthday RIP Sir Frederick Henry Royce(1863–1933) Ludwig Mies van der Rohe(1886–1969) Gloria Swanson(Svensson 1899 –1983) ; Michael York–82 Arthur Evans–82 Bart Conner–66 Quentin Tarantino–61 David Koz–61 Kevin Corrigan–55 Mariah Carey–55 Nathan Fillion–53 Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson–49 Blake McIver Ewing–39 Holliday Grainger–36 ; 1794 – President George Washington and Congress authorized creation of the U.S. Navy ; 1976 – The first 4.6 miles of the Washington Metro subway system opens

March 26

Happy Birthday RIP Thomas “Tennessee” Williams III(1911–1983) Leonard Nimoy(1931–2015) James Caan (1940–2022) Alan Arkin(1934–2013) ; Nancy Pelosi–84 Diana Ross–80 Steven Tyler(Tallarico)–76 Vicki Lawrence(Axelrad)–75 Martin Short–74 Leeza Gibbons–67 Jennifer Grey–64 Theodore “T.R.” Knight–51 Lawrence “Larry” Page–51 Keira Knightley–39 ; 1979 – Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C. ; 1999 – A jury in Michigan finds Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man

March 25

Happy Birthday RIP Howard Cosell(Cohen 1918–1995) Eileen Ford(1922–2014) Aretha Franklin(1942–2018) ; Eugene Shalit–98 Gloria Steinem–90 Paul Manfred Glaser–81 Sir “Elton John”(Reginald Dwight)–77 Bonnie Bedelia Culkin–76 Mary Gross–71 Haywood Nelson–64 Marcia Cross–62 Sarah Jessica Parker–59 Lee Pace–45 Sean Faris–42 ; 1913 – The home of vaudeville, the Palace Theater located at 1564 Broadway (at West 47th Street) in midtown Manhattan opened ; 1965 – Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully complete their 4-day 50-mile march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama

March 24

Happy Birthday RIP “Harry Houdini”(Erich Weiss 1874–1926) Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle(1887–1933) Terence Steven McQueen(1930–1980) Norman Feld(“Fell” 1924–1998) Louie Anderson(1953–2022); Robert “Bob” Mackie–84 Thomas Hilfiger–73 Robert Carradine–70 Donna Pescow–70 Kelly LeBrock–64 Gabriele Kerner(“Nena”)–64 Starlet “Star” Jones–62 Lara Flynn Boyle–54 James “Jim” Parsons–51 ; 1896 – Alexander S. Popov makes the first radio signal transmission in history considered to be inventor of radio receiver ; 1900 – Mayor of New York City Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground “Rapid Transit Railroad” that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn

March 23

Happy Birthday RIP “Joan Crawford” (Lucille LeSueur 1906–1977) “Marty Allen” (Morton Alpern 1922–2018) Richard Otcasek (1944–2019) “Chaka Khan”(Yvette Stevens)–71 Kenneth Cole–70 Amanda Plummer–67 Catherine Keener–65 Marc Cherry–62 Hope Davis–60 Richard Grieco Jr–59 Keri Russell–48 “Perez Hilton”(Mario Lavandeira Jr)–46 ; 1857 – Elisha Otis’s first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway New York City https://www.otis.com/en/us/our-company/history

March 22

Happy Birthday RIP Leonard “Chico” Marx (1887–1961) Louis L’Amour(LaMoore 1908–1988) Marcel Marceau(Mangel 1923–2007) “Karl Malden”(Mladen Sekulovich 1912–2009) Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021) Michael Emmet Walsh(1935–2024) ; William Shatner–93 George Benson–81 Wolf Blitzer–76 Andrew Lloyd Webber–76 Robert “Bob” Costas–72 Lena Olin–69 Stephanie Mills–67 Matthew Modine–65 Cole Hauser–49 Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon–48 ; 1882 – Congress outlawed polygamy ; 1963 – The Beatles’ first album, Please Please Me, is released in the United Kingdom

March 21

Happy Birthday RIP James Coco(1930–1987) “Eddie Money”(Edward Mahoney 1949–2019) ; Timothy Dalton–78 Leonard Gary Oldman–66 Matthew Broderick–62 Roseann “Rosie” O’Donnell–62 Jaye Davidson–56 Scott Eastwood(Reeves)–38 ; 1963 – Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay was emptied of its last inmates ; 2006 – Jack Dorsey sends first Twitter message “just setting up my twttr”

March 20

Happy Birthday RIP Fred Rogers(1928–2003) Jerry Reed(Hubbard 1937–2008) Carl Reiner(1922–2020) William Hurt1(1950–2022) Martin Brian Mulroney(1939–2024) ; “Hal Linden”(Harold Lipshitz)–93 Shelton “Spike” Lee–67 Holly Hunter–66 Kathleen “Kathy” Ireland–61 Michael Rapaport–54 Dean Geyer–38 ; 1996 – A jury in Los Angeles Criminal courts convicted Erik and Lyle Menendez of first-degree murder in the shotgun slayings of their millionaire parents. (They are serving life sentences without parole in separate California prisons and aren’t allowed to communicate) ; 1997 – Liggett Group settled 22 state lawsuits by admitting the industry markets cigarettes to teenagers and agreeing to warn on every pack that smoking is addictive. They are mainly known for Chesterfield brand which no longer is sold.

March 19

Happy Birthday RIP Eleanor “Betty” Compson(1897–1974) Fred Berry(1951–2003) ; Renee Taylor(Wexler)–91 Ursula Andress–88 Ruth Pointer–78 Glenda “Glenn” Close–77 Walter Bruce Willis–69 ; 1918 – The U.S. Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time. ; 1931 – Nevada legalized gambling ; 1953 – The Academy Awards was televised for first time from NBC International Theater in NYC ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOtp4dli7-4 )