History Blog

Category Archives: History

November 20

Happy Birthday RIP Robert F. Kennedy(1925–1968) Franklin Cover(1928–2006 , iconic white actor who is one half of the first televised interracial marriages. On the series “The Jeffersons” he is married to a black female actress, Roxie Roker, real life mother of Lenny Kravitz) “Richard Dawson” on Family Feud , birth name Colin Emm 1932–2012) Catherine Balotta(“Kaye Ballard” 1925–2019) ; Richard “Dick” Smothers–86 Joseph R Biden Jr–82 Veronica Hamel–81 Joseph Walsh–77 “Bo Derek”(Mary Collins)–68 Joel McHale–53 David O’Donnell–50 ; 1947– The Princess Elizabeth married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, who becomes the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London (later she becomes Queen Elizabeth II and when she dies he becomes King Charles III ; 1966 – The musical “Cabaret,” with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, opened on Broadway (later made into movie with lead by Liza Minnelli) ; 1974 – The United States Department of Justice files its final anti-trust suit against AT&T Corporation. This suit later leads to the breakup of AT&T and its Bell System

November 19

1991) Thomas Dorsey(1905–1956) “Larry King”(Lawrence Zeiger 1933–2021) ; Richard “Dick” Cavett–88 Robert “Ted” Turner III–86 Richard “Calvin” Klein–82 Robert Beltran–71 Ann Curry–68 Allison Janney–65 Margaret “Meg” Ryan(Hyra)–63 Alicia “Jodie” Foster–62 Theresa “Terry” Farrell–61 Jack Dorsey–48 ; 1863 – President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania

November 18

Happy Birthday RIP Louis Daguerre(1787–1851) George Gallup(1901–1984) Imogene Fernandez de Coca(1908–2001) ; Brenda Vaccaro–85 Linda Evans(Evanstad)–82 John Parr–72 Kevin Nealon–71 Elizabeth Perkins–64 Kim Wilde(Smith)–64 Owen Wilson–56 Chloë Sevigny–50 Damon Wayans Jr–42 ; 1928 – Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon, directed by Walt Disney, featuring the third appearances of cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. This is considered by the Disney corporation to be Mickey’s birthday , D28 ; 1963 – The first push-button touch tone telephone goes into service!

November 17

Happy Birthday RIP “Rock Hudson”(Roy Scherer Jr 1925–1985) Gordon Lightfoot(1938–2023) ; Martin Scorsese–82 Mary “Lauren” Hutton–81 Daniel DeVito Jr–80 Lorne Michaels(Lipowitz)–80 Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio–66 “RuPaul”(Andre Charles)–64 Rachel McAdams–46 Thomas Ellis–46 Isaac Hanson–44 ; 1973 – President Nixon told 400 Associated Press editors meeting in Orlando, Fla., that “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.” #Watergate

November 16

Happy Birthday RIP Oliver Burgess Meredith(1907–1997) ; David Leisure–74 Diana Krall–60 Lisa Bonet(Boney)–57 Martha Plimpton–54 Andrea “Missi” Pyle–52 Margalit “Maggie” Gyllenhaal–47 ; 1914 – The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States officially opens

November 15

Happy Birthday RIP Georgia O’Keeffe(1887–1986) John Kerr(1931–2013) Joseph Wapner(1919–2017) Yitzhak Edward Asner(1929–2021) Joanna Barnes 1934–2022; Petula Clark–92 Samuel Waterston–84 Anni-Frid Lyngstad–79 Alexander O’Neal–71 Margaret Reed–68 Jonathan Lee Miller–52 Sean Murray–47 ; 1926 – The National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) debuted with a radio network of 24 stations

November 14

Happy Birthday RIP Oscar-Claude Monet(1840–1926) Constance Ockelman(“Veronica Lake” 1922–1973) Edgar McLean Stevenson Jr.(1927–1996) Robert Keith Richey Jr.(“Brian Keith” 1921–1997) ; King Charles Philip Mountbatten-Windsor–76 Yiànnis Hryssomàllis–70 Daniel Bernard “DB” Sweeney–63 Harland Williams–62 Patrick Warburton–60 Joshua Duhamel–52 Russell Tovey–43 ; 1851 – Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick” was published

November 13

Happy Birthday RIP Gertrude Olmstead(1897–1975) Norman “Dack” Rambo(1941–1994) Richard Mulligan(1932–2000) William “Jack” Elam(1920–2003) Garry Marshall(Maschiarelli 1934–2016) ; Joseph Mantegna Jr–77 John De Lancie –76 Frances Conroy–71 Tracy Scoggins–71 Christopher Noth–70 “Whoopi Goldberg”(Caryn Johnson)–69 Aldo Caporuscio(“Nova”)–68 James Kimmel–57 Steven Zahn–57 Gerard Butler–55 Jordan Bridges–51 Michael Copon–42 Kit Williamson–39 ; 1927 – The Holland Tunnel opens to traffic as the first Hudson River vehicle tunnel linking New Jersey to New York City. ; 1956 – The United States Supreme Court declares Alabama laws requiring segregated buses illegal, thus ending the Montgomery Bus Boycott

November 12

Happy Birthday RIP François-Auguste-René Rodin(1840–1917) Grace Kelly(1929–1982) ; Neil Young–79 Megan Mullally–66 Nadia Comăneci–63 Sammy Sosa–56 Craig Parker–54 Harvey Stephens–54 Ryan Gosling–44 Anne Hathaway–42 ; 1936 – In California, the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic. ; 1954 – Ellis Island closed after processing more than 20 million immigrants since opening in New York Harbor in 1892

November 11

Happy Birthday RIP Jonathan Winters Jr(1925–2013) Vincent Schiavelli(1948–2005) Philip McKeon (1964–2019) ; Barbara Levy Boxer–84 Stanley Tucci Jr–64 “Demi Moore”(Demetria Guynes)–62 Calista Flockhart–60 Carson Kressley–55 Leonardo DiCaprio–50 John “Scoot” McNairy–47 ; 1919 – Woodrow Wilson commemorates the first Armistice Day (Later to be called Veteran’s Day) “Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory” ; 1926 – The United States Numbered Highway System is established