History Blog

January 1

Happy Birthday RIP John Edgar Hoover(1895–1972) Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard Jr.(1925–1981) “Carole Landis”(Francis Ridste 1919–1948) Verne Troyer(1969–2018) ; Frank Langella Jr–86 Joseph Saddler(“Grandmaster Flash”)–66 William Jonas Armstrong–43 ; 1890 – The Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California by Members of Pasadena’s Valley Hunt Club presented the first of this annual parade ; 1892 – Ellis Island in New York City opens to begin processing immigrants into the United States ; 1983 – APRANET (DARPA) officially begins using TCP/IP instead of NCP, thus creating the Internet. Compuserve offered some services in 1979 before the internet was public. The first ISP was created in 1989.

December 31

Happy Birthday RIP Henri Matisse(1869–1954) Elizabeth Arden(1878–1966) “John Denver”(Henry Deutschendorf Jr 1943–1997) “Donna Summer”(LaDonna Gaines 1949–2012) ; Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins–86 “Ben Kingsley”(Krishna Bhanji)–80 Diane Von Furstenberg(Diana Halfin)–77 Timothy Matthieson–76 Beatrice “Bebe” Neuwirth–65 Val Kilmer–64 Michael McDonald–59 Joseph “Joey” McIntyre–51 ; 1907 – The first New Year’s Eve celebration is held in Times Square (then known as Longacre Square) in Manhattan. ; 1983 – The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government due to antitrust laws. ; 2021 – Beloved actress and Golden Girl Betty White dies at 99 only a few weeks before her birthday.

December 30

Happy Birthday RIP “Jack Lord”(John Ryan 1920–1998) “Bo Diddley”(Ellas Bates 1928–2008) David “Davy” Jones(1945–2012) Fred Ward(1942–2022) ; James Burrows–83 Meredith Vieira–70 Matthew Lauer–66 Tracey Ullman–64 Heidi Fleiss–58 Jason Behr–50 Eldrick “Tiger” Woods–48 Lucy Punch–46 Kristin Kreuk–41 ; 1940 – California’s first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena, was officially opened

December 29

Happy Birthday RIP Mary Tyler Moore(1936–2017) Inga Swenson(1932–2023) ; Barbara Steele–86 Jonathan “Jon” Voight–85 Edward “Ted” Danson III–76 Yvonne Elliman–72 Paula Poundstone–64 Patricia Clarkson–64 Lilly Wachowski–56 David Jude Law–51 David Fumero–51 ; 1851 – The first American Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was organized, in Boston Massachusetts

December 28

Happy Birthday RIP Thomas Woodrow Wilson(1856–1924) Martin Milner(1931–2015) Stanley “Lee” Lieber(1922–2018) Grace “Nichelle” Nichols(1932–2022) ; Dame Margaret “Maggie” Smith–89 Denzel Washington Jr.–69 Terri Garber–63 Hugh Malcolm Gets–60 Seth Meyers–50 Joseph Manganiello–47 Brendan Hines–47 John Stephens (“Legend”)–45 ; 1912 – The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco, California

December 27

Happy Birthday RIP Louis Pasteur(1822–1895) Marie “Marlene” Dietrich(1901–1992) Heather O’Rourke(1975–1988) Comied Robers(1943–2019) ; John Amos–84 Michael “Mike” Pinder–82 Gérard Depardieu–75 Wilson Echevarría(“Cruz”)–50 Masayori “Masi” Oka(岡 政偉)–49 Emilie de Ravin–42 ; 1927 – Kern and Hammerstein’s musical play Show Boat, considered to be the first true American musical play, opens at the Ziegfield theatre on Broadway ; 1932 – Radio City Music Hall “Showplace of the Nation” opened in New York City

December 26

Happy Birthday RIP Stephen “Steve” Allen(1921–2000) Irwin Kniberg(“Alan King” 1926–2004) Harvey Phillip Spector(1939–2021) ; Osborn “Ozzie” Smith–69 David Sedaris–67 Jared Leto(Bryant)–52 Richard “Reichen” Lehmkuhl–50 Chris Daughtry–44 Christopher “Kit” Harington–37 ; 1865 – James H. Nason of Franklin, Mass., received a patent for the coffee percolator ; 1933 – FM radio is patented by US patent office.

December 25

Happy Birthday RIP Sir Isaac Newton(1642–1726) Clarissa “Clara” Barton(1821–1912) Humphrey Bogart(1899–1957) “Tony Martin”(Alvin Morris 1913–2012) Rodman “Rod” Serling(1924–1975) “Mabel King”(Donnie Washington 1932–1999) James “Jimmy” Buffett(1946–2023) ; Gary Sandy–78 Barbara Mandrell–75 Mary “Sissy” Spacek–74 Ann “Annie” Lennox–69 Florian Armstrong(“Dido”)–52 Dylan Vox–45 ; 1815 – The Handel and Haydn Society, oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance at King’s Chapel (then Stone Chapel), with a chorus of 90 men and 10 women

December 24

Happy Birthday RIP Howard Hughes Jr(1905–1976) Ava Gardner(1922–1990) Mary Teresa Higgins(“Clark” 1927–2020) ; Karl Diedrich Bader–57 Enrique Martín Morales(“Ricky Martin”)–52 Jeremy Greenberg(Davidson)–52 Ryan Seacrest–49 ; 1851 – Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes

December 23

Happy Birthday RIP Corey Haim(1971–2010) ; Ronald Schell–91 Japanese Emperor Akihito(昭仁)–90 Robert “Bob” Kahn(TCP Creator)–85 Harry Shearer–80 Susan Lucci–77 “Eddie Vedder”(Edward Severson III)–59 ; 1913 – The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve Bank