History Blog

Category Archives: History

May 11

Happy Birthday RIP “Irving Berlin”(Israel Baline 1888–1989) Salvador Dalí y Domenech(1904–1989) Martha Graham(1894–1991) Cory Monteith(1982–2013) ; Frances Fisher–73 Martha Quinn–66 Jonathan Jackson–43 Matthew Leinart–42 Matthew Giraud–40 ; 1927 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded ; 1947 – The B.F. Goodrich Co. of Akron, Ohio, announced the development of a tubeless tire

May 10

Happy Birthday RIP “Fred Astaire”(Frederic Austerlitz 1899–1987) “Nancy Walker”(Anna Swoyer 1922–1992) “Sid Vicious”(John Simon Ritchie 1957–1979) Gary Owens(Altman 1934–2015) Jim Abrahams(1944–2024) ; Margaret “Meg” Foster–77 Paul Hewson(“Bono”)–65 Jason Brooks–59 Dallas Roberts–55 Odette Annable(Yustman)–40 ; 1908 – The first Mother’s Day observance took place during church services in Grafton, W.Virginia ; 1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder in Japan

May 9

Happy Birthday RIP Myron “Mike” Wallace(1918–2012) Albert Finney(1936–2019) ; Candice Bergen–79 William “Billy” Joel–76 John Corbett Jr–64 Anthony Molinari–51 Chris Diamantopoulos–50 Rosario Dawson–46 Noah Centineo–29 ; 1874 – The first horse-drawn bus/carriage makes its début in the city of Mumbai, traveling two routes ; 1974 – Watergate scandal: The United States House Judiciary Committee opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon

May 8

Happy Birthday RIP Harry Truman(1884–1972) Touko “Tom of Finland” Laaksonen (1920–1991) Donald Rickles(1926–2017) ; Cathryn “Toni” Tennille–85 “Gary Glitter”(Paul Gadd)–81 Philip Bailey–74 Alexander “Alex” Van Halen–72 Melissa Gilbert–61 Enrique Iglesias Preysler–50 Stephen Amell–44 ; 1886 – Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named “Coca-Cola” as a patented medicine(over-the-counter medication without regard to its effectiveness) ; 1912 – Paramount Pictures is founded

May 7

Happy Birthday RIP Frank “Gary” Cooper(1901–1961) Anne Baxter(1923–1985) John Ingle(1928–2012) Robert Hegyes(1951–2012) ; Thelma Houston(Jackson)–79 Nora Kuzma(“Traci Lords”)–57 Ivan Sergei Gaudio–54 Breckin Meyer–51 Franchelle “Frenchie” Davis–46 Alexander Ludwig–33 ; 1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with around 20 employees

May 6

Happy Birthday RIP Sigismund Freud(1856–1939) Rodolfo di Valentina d’Antonguolla(“Rudy Valentino” 1895–1926) George Orson Welles(1915–1985) Willie Mays Jr(1931–2024) ; Robert “Bob” Seger–80 Anthony Blair–72 Thomas Bergeron–70 George Clooney–64 Gabourey Sidibe–42 Adrianne Palicki–42 ; 1889 – The Paris Exposition opened, featuring the just-completed Eiffel Tower ; 1937 – the hydrogen-filled German dirigible Hindenburg burned and crashed in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 36 of the 97 people on board

May 5

Happy Birthday RIP “Tammy Wynette”(Virginia Pugh 1942–1998) ; Michael Palin–82 Jonathon Rhys-Davies–81 Kurt Loder–80 Brian Williams–66 Kristina “Tina” Yothers–52 Henry Cavill–42 Walter “Bart” Baker IV–39 Adele Adkins–37 ; 1925 – John T. Scopes was arrested in Tennessee for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution ; 1934 – The first Three Stooges short, Woman Haters, is released

May 4

Happy Birthday RIP Audrey Hepburn(Ruston 1929–1993) Paul Gleason(1939–2006) ; Richard Jenkins–78 Pia Zadora(Schipani)–71 Randy Travis(Traywick)–66 Mary Elizabeth McDonough–64 Ana Gasteyer–58 William “Will” Arnett–55 Michael Pritchard(“Mike Dirnt”)–53 James Lance Bass–46 ; 1959 – The 1st Grammy Awards are held in the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hills Hotel. The list of winners follows

  • Best Album Cover : Winner: Frank Sinatra – Only the Lonely
  • Best Album Of The Year : Winner: Henry Mancini – The Music from Peter Gunn
  • Best Arrangement : Winner: Henry Mancini – The Music from Peter Gunn
  • Best Dance Band Performance : Winner: Count Basie – Basie
  • Best Female Vocal Performance : Winner: Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook
  • Best Group Jazz Performance : Winner: Count Basie – Basie
  • Best Individual Jazz Performance : Winner: Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
  • Best Male Vocal Performance : Winner: Perry Como
  • Best Original Cast Album – Broadway Or Television : Winner: Meredith Willson – The Music
  • Best Song Of The Year : Winner: Domecnico Modugno – Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)
  • Best Soundtrack Album, Dramatic Picture Score Or Original Cast : Winner: Andre Previn – Gigi

May 3

Happy Birthday RIP Lucile Langhanke(“Mary Astor” 1906–1987) James Brown(1933–2006) Ann B Davis(1926–2014) Alex Viespi(“Cord” 1933–2021) ; Francis Castelluccio(“Frankie Valli”)–91 Chris Mulkey–77 Ron Canada–76 Christopher Cross(Geppert)–74 Roberto “Bobby” Cannavale–55 ; 1802 – Washington, D.C., was incorporated ; 1978 – The first unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail (which would later become known as “spam”) is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States

May 2

Happy Birthday RIP Harry “Bing” Crosby Jr(1903–1977) “Hedda Hopper”(Elda Furry 1885–1966) ; “Engelbert Humperdinck”(Arnold Dorsey)–89 Bianca Macias(“Jagger”)–80 Louis Grammatico(“Lou Gramm”)–75 Christine Baranski–73 Donatella Versace–70 Dwayne Johnson–53 David Beckham–50 ; 1932 – Jack Benny’s first radio show debuted on the NBC Blue Network ; 1955 – Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof