History Blog

Category Archives: History

December 1

Happy Birthday RIP Mary Martin(1913–1990) David Doyle(1929–1997) Richard Pryor III(1940–2005) Matthew Shepard(1976–1998) Richard Treat Williams(1951–2023) “Woody Allen”(Allan Konigsberg)–89 Bette Midler–79 Charlene Tilton–66 Jeremy Northam–63 Néstor Carbonell–57 Sarah Silverman–54 Emily Mortimer–53 Dean O’Gorman–48 ; 1885 – First serving of the soft drink “Dr Pepper” formulated by Charles Alderton in Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas ; 1913 – The Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly lines ; 1952 – The New York Daily News reports the news of Christine Jorgensen, the first notable case of sex (transgender) reassignment surgery ; 1988 – World AIDS Day was proclaimed worldwide by the UN member states.

November 30

Happy Birthday RIP “Mark Twain”(Samuel Langhorne Clemens 1835–1910) Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill(1874–1965) Gordon Parks(1912–2006) Richard “Dick” Clark Jr(1929–2012) Martin E. Brooks(Baum 1925–2015) Robert Guillaume(Williams 1927–2017) ; Sir Ridley Scott–87 Mandel “Mandy” Patinkin–72 “Billy Idol”(William Broad)–69 “Stacey Q” Swain–66 Benjamin Stiller–59 “Clay Aiken”(Clayton Grissom)–46 Kaley Cuoco–39 ; 1982 – Michael Jackson’s second solo album, Thriller is released worldwide. It became the best-selling record album in history ; 1999 – Exxon and Mobil sign a US$73.7 billion agreement to merge, thus creating ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company.

November 29

Happy Birthday RIP Garry Shandling(1949–2016) Jacques Chirac(1932–2019) Jacqueline “Jackie” Stallone(Labofish 1921–2020) Vincent Scully(1927–2022) Thomas Sizemore(1961–2023); “Diane Ladd”(Rose Ladnier)–89 Chuck Mangione–84 Suzanne “Suzy” Chaffee–78 Joel Coen–70 Howard Mandel–69 Cathy Moriarty–64 Andrew McCarthy–62 Donald Cheadle Jr–60 Jonathan Knight–56 Anna Faris–48 Lucas Black–42 ; 1777 – San Jose, California, is founded as Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe by José Joaquín Moraga. It is the first civilian settlement, or pueblo, in Alta California ; 1877 – Thomas Alva Edison demonstrates his phonograph for the first time with the words “Mary Had A Little Lamb” reproduced ; 1981 – Natalie Wood is found dead off the coast of Catalina island. Speculation is that Robert Wagner may have pushed her after an argument and she drown because she was intoxicated. She was scared of water. No way she voluntarily dove in.

November 28

Happy Birthday RIP Hope Lange(1933–2003) Gloria Grahame(Hallward 1923–1981) Anna Nicole Smith(Vickie Hogan 1967–2007) Jacob Karnofsky(“James Karen” 1923–2018) ; Randall Newman–81 Joe Dante–78 Paul Shaffer–75 Edward Harris–74 Judd Nelson–65 “Jon Stewart”(Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz)–62 Ryan Kwanten–48 Alan Ritchson–42 ; 1895 – The first American automobile race takes place over the 54 miles from Chicago’s Jackson Park to Evanston, Illinois. Frank Duryea wins in approximately 10 hours ; 1925 – The Grand Ole Opry begins broadcasting in Nashville, Tennessee as WSM Barn Dance

November 27

Happy Birthday RIP Bruce Lee(李小龍 1940–1973) Edward “Eddie” Rabbitt(1941–1998) Johnny “Jimi” Hendrix(1942–1970) James Avery(1945–2013) ; Heidemarie Jiline “Jil” Sander–81 William “Bill” Nye–69 William Fichtner–68 Caroline Kennedy–67 Robin Givens–60 Michael Vartan–56 Elizabeth Marvel–55 Jaleel White–48 ; 1910 – New York’s Penn Station opened ; 1924 – the first Macys Thanksgiving Parade is held in NYC (but not televised until 1948) ; 1978 – In San Francisco, city mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former supervisor Dan White #HarveyMilk

November 26

Happy Birthday RIP Adele Jurgenson(1917–2002) Monroe Schulz(1922–2000) Robert Goulet(1933–2007) Marian Mercer(1935–2011) “Tina Turner”(Anna Mae Bullock 1939–2023) Mark Margolis(1939–2023) ; Richard “Rich” Little–86 Daniel Davis–79 Garcelle Beauvais–58 Ryan Robbins(Currier)–52 Adam J Harrington–52 Peter Facinelli–51 Natasha Bedingfield–43 Arturo Castro–39 ; 1842 – The University of Notre Dame is founded ; 1942 – Casablanca, the movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, premieres in New York

November 25

Happy Birthday RIP John Kennedy Jr(1960–1999) Ricardo Montalbán y Merino(1920–2009) Giuseppe “Joe” DiMaggio Jr(1914–1999) ; Benjamin Stein–80 John Larroquette Jr–77 Amy Grant–64 William “Billy” Burke–58 Stacy Lattisaw–58 Jillian Hennessy–56 Christina Applegate–53 Jerry Ferrara–45 ; 1952 – Agatha Christie’s murder-mystery play “The Mousetrap” opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. It will become the longest continuously-running play in history. It is still playing at St Martin’s Theatre in London.

November 24

Happy Birthday RIP Geraldine Fitzgerald(1913–2005) William Frank Buckley, Jr(1925–2008) ; William “Billy” Connolly–82 William Dwight Schultz–77 Denise Crosby–67 Amanda Wyss–64 Garret Dillahunt–60 Colin Hanks(Dillingham)–47 Katherine Heigl–46 ; 1859 – Charles Darwin publishes “On the Origin of Species”, which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology ; 1963 – In the first live, televised murder, Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy, is murdered two days after the assassination, by Jack Ruby in the basement of Dallas police department headquarters

November 23

Happy Birthday RIP “Boris Karloff”(William Pratt 1887–1969) Adolph “Harpo” Marx(1888–1964) Francis Michael Gough(1916–2011) Steven Landesberg(1936–2010) ; Bruce Vilanch–76 Bruce Hornsby–70 Robin Roberts–64 Vincent Cassel(Crochon)–58 Christopher Hardwick–53 Destiny “Miley” Cyrus–32 ; 1889 – The first jukebox made its debut, at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco California

November 22

Happy Birthday RIP “Rodney Dangerfield”(Jacob Cohen 1921–2004) Robert Vaughn(1932–2016) ; Billie Jean King(Moffit)–81 Jamie Leigh Curtis–66 Mariel Hemingway–63 Stephen Geoffreys(Miller)–60 Boris Becker–57 Mark Ruffalo–57 Scarlett Johansson–40 ; 1963 – President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas Texas. Suspected gunman Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested that same day.