History Blog

Category Archives: History

September 3

Happy Birthday RIP Alan Ladd(1913–1964) Verla Eileen Brennan(1932–2013) “Kitty Carlisle”(Catherine Conn 1910–2007) Anna “Anne” Jackson(1925–2016) ; Valerie Perrine–81 Holt McCallany–61 Adam Curry–60 “Charlie Sheen”(Carlos Estevez)–59 Samuel “Nick” Wechsler–46 David Moretti–43 Garrett Hedlund–40 ; 1951 – The first long-running American soap opera, “Search for Tomorrow”, airs its first episode on the CBS television network in black and white. Color broadcast starts in 1967. Soap opera is defined as TV drama series dealing with daily events of the same group of characters.

September 2

Happy Birthday RIP Meinhardt Raabe(“Munchkin Coroner” 1915–2010) Christa McAuliffe(1948–1986) ; Mary Jo Catlett–86 Terry Bradshaw–76 Thomas Mark Harmon–73 James “Jimmy” Connors–72 Keanu Reeves–60 Salma Hayek Jiménez–58 Charles “Tuc” Watkins III–58 ; 1789 – The U.S. Treasury Department was established ; 1963 – CBS Evening News becomes U.S. network television’s first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes with Walter Cronkite hosting the program

September 1

Happy Birthday RIP “Yvonne De Carlo”(Margaret Middleton 1922–2007) Richard Farnsworth(1920–2000) Conway Twitty(Harold Jenkins 1933–1993) George Maharias (1928–2023; Mary Jean “Lily” Tomlin–85 Don Stroud–81 Barry Gibb–78 Dr. Phillip McGraw–74 Gloria Estefan(Garcia)–67 Burn Gorman–50 Robert Scott Speedman–49 Robert Boyd Holbrook–43 ; 1878 – Emma Nutt becomes the world’s first female telephone operator when she is recruited by Alexander Graham Bell to the Boston Telephone Dispatch Company ; 1897 – The Tremont Street Subway in Boston opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America(ie first underground subway)

August 31

Happy Birthday RIP James Coburn Jr(1928–2002) “Buddy Hackett”(Leonard Hacker 1924–2003) ; Lee Bryant–79 Isaac Perlman–79 Sir George Ivan “Van” Morrison–79 Richard Gere–75 Julie Brown–66 Jonathan LaPaglia–55 Deborah Gibson–54 Christopher Tucker–53 ; 1920 – The first radio news program is broadcast by 8MK in Detroit, Michigan ; 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris France

August 30

Happy Birthday RIP Raymond Massey(1896–1983) “Shirley Booth”(Thelma Ford 1898–1992) Fredrick MacMurray(1908–1991) Bill Daily(1927–2018) ; Elizabeth Ashley(Cole)–85 Timothy Bottoms–73 Paul Oakenfold–61 Michael Chiklis–61 Cameron Diaz–52 Lisa Ling–51 Andrew “Andy” Roddick–42 ; 1963 – The Moscow–Washington hotline between the leaders of the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union goes into operation

August 29

Happy Birthday RIP Ingrid Bergman(1915–1982) Eloise “Isabel” Sanford(1917–2004) Michael Jackson(1958–2009) Robin Leach(1941–2018) William Friedkin(1935–2023) ; Elliott Gould(Goldstein)–86 Ellen Geer–83 Temple Grandin–77 Rebecca DeMornay(Pearch)–65 Perri “Pebbles” McKissack–60 Carla Gugino–53 William Levy–44 Lea Michele Sarfati–38 ; 1898 – The Goodyear tire company is founded ; 1922 – The first radio advertisement is broadcast on WEAF-AM in New York City advertising a new apartment complex in Jackson Heights, Queens

August 28

Happy Birthday RIP Nancy Kulp(1921–1991) Roxie Roker(1929–1995) Donald O’Connor(1925–2003) Charles Rocket(1949–2005) Biagio “Ben” Gazzara(1930–2012) David Soul(Solberg 1943–2024) ; Luis Guzmán–68 Scott Hamilton–66 Brian Thompson–65 Emma Samuelson(“Samms”)–64 Jennifer Coolidge–63 David Fincher–62 “Shania Twain”(Eilleen Edwards)–59 Jason Priestley–55 Thomas “Jack” Black–55 Margaret LeAnn Rimes–42 Armond “Armie” Hammer–38 ; 1898 – Caleb Bradham (a pharmacist) invents the carbonated soft drink that will later be called “Pepsi-Cola” and was president of the original corporation ; 1963 – March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his “I Have a Dream” speech

August 27

Happy Birthday RIP Lyndon B. Johnson(1908–1973) “Martha Raye”(Margaret Reed 1916–1994) George Montgomery Letz(1916–2000) Paul Rubenfeld(“PeeWee Herman” 1952–2023) ; George W. Bailey–80 Barbara Goldbach–77 Peter Stormare–71 Diana Scarwid–69 Thomas “Tom” Ford–63 Vic Mignogna–62 “Downtown” Julie Brown–61 Sarah Chalke–48 Aaron Paul Sturtevant–45 Patrick J. Adams–43 ; 1939 – First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel 178, the world’s first jet aircraft ; 1955 – The first edition of the Guinness Book of World Records is published in England.

August 26

Happy Birthday RIP Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu(“Mother Theresa” 1910–1997) Geraldine Ferraro(1935–2011) ; Valerie Simpson–78 Peter Brett Cullen–68 Wanda De Jesus–66 Melissa McCarthy–54 Gunner Wright–51 Zemfira Ramazanova–48 Christopher Pine–44 Macaulay Culkin–44 “Cassie”(Casandra Ventura)–38 Dylan O’Brien–33 ; 1791 – John Fitch is granted a United States patent for the steamboat ; 1920 – The 19th amendment to United States Constitution takes effect, giving women the right to vote.

August 25

Happy Birthday RIP Melchoir Ferrer(1917–2008) Louis “Leonard” Bernstein(1918–1990) David Canary(1938–2015) Maurice Halperin(“Monty Hall” 1921–2017) Regis Philbin(1931–2020) Thomas Sean Connery(1930–2020) ; Thomas Skerritt–91 Nancy Stoll(“Mink Stole”)–77 Chaim Weitz(“Gene Simmons”)–75 Declan MacManus(“Elvis Costello”)–70 Timothy Burton–66 William Ray Cyrus–63 Blair Underwood–60 Rachael Ray–56 Claudia Schiffer–54 Alexander Skarsgård–48 Blake Lively(Brown)–37 ; 1916 – The National Park Service was established within the Department of the Interior ; 1939 – “The Wizard of Oz” is released nationally