History Blog

October 16

Happy Birthday RIP Oscar Wilde(1854–1900) ; Angela Lansbury–88 Suzanne Somers(Mahoney)–67 Tim Robbins–55 Kim Wayans–52 Michael Balzary(“Flea”)–51 John Mayer–36 Brea Grant–32  ; 1923 – The Walt Disney Company is founded by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Disney

October 15

Happy Birthday RIP “Mark Lenard”(Leonard Rosenson 1924–1996) ; Lido “Lee” Iacocca–89 Linda Lavin–76 Carole Penny Marshall–71 Richard Carpenter–67 Sarah Ferguson–54 Emeril Lagasse–54 Dominic West–44 ; 1878 – The Edison Electric Light Company begins operation (later General Electric) in Schenectady ; 1951 – The first episode of I Love Lucy, an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley, airs on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

October 14

Happy Birthday RIP David Dwight Eisenhower(1890–1969) Lillian Gish(1893–1993) ; Charles Everett Koop–97 Sir Roger Moore–86 Ralph Lauren(Lifschitz)–74 Harry Anderson–61 Greg Evigan–60 Thomas Dolby(Robertson)–55 Isaac Mizrahi–52 Karyn White–48 Usher Raymond–35 Maximillion Thieriot–25 ; 1964 – civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

October 13

Happy Birthday RIP Margaret Thatcher(Roberts 1925–2013) ; Paul Simon–72 Grady Demond Wilson–67 Sammy Hagar–66 Olive Marie Osmond–54 Kathleen “Kate” Walsh–46 Sacha Baron Cohen–42 Branden Williams–39 Ashanti Douglas–33 ; 1843 – In New York City, Henry Jones and 11 others found B’nai B’rith (the oldest Jewish service organization in the world) 

October 12

Happy Birthday RIP Luciano Pavarotti(1935–2007) ; Chris Wallace–66 Susan Anton–63 Chris Botti–51 Glenn Soukesian(“Colton Ford”)–51 Hugh Jackman–45 Kirk Cameron–43 Joshua Hutcherson–21 ; 1998 – Matthew Shepard, a gay student at University of Wyoming, died five days after he was beaten, robbed and left tied to a wooden fence post outside of Laramie Wyoming

October 11

Happy Birthday RIP Anna Eleanor Roosevelt(1884–1962) ; Daryl Hall(Hohl)–67 David Morse–60 Joan Cusack–51 Sean Patrick Flanery–48 Luke Perry(Coy Luther Perry)–47 Jane Krajkowski–45 Stephen Moyer(Emery)–44 Matt Bomer–36 Trevor Donovan Neubauer–35 ; 1975 – The NBC sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live debuts with George Carlin as the host and Andy Kaufman, Janis Ian and Billy Preston as guest

October 10

Happy Birthday RIP Helen Hayes(Brown 1900–1993) Ibson Dana Elcar(1927–2005) Chris Penn(1965–2006) ; “Peter Coyote”(Rachmil Cohon)–72 Ben Vereen(Middleton)–67 David Lee Roth–59 Tanya Tucker–55 Julia Sweeney–54 Bradley Whitford–54 Jodi Marzorati(“Benson”)–52 Jonathan Manu Bennett–44 Mario Lopez–40 ; 1845 The U.S. Naval Academy opened in Annapolis, Maryland

October 9

Happy Birthday RIP John Lennon(1940–1980) ; Clyde Jackson Browne–65 Sharon Osbourne(Arden)–61 Tony Shalhoub–60 John O’Hurley–59 Scott Bakula–59 Sean Lennon–38 Brandon Routh–34 ; 1701 – The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) was chartered in New Haven. ; 1936 – Generators at Boulder Dam (later renamed to Hoover Dam) begin to generate electricity from the Colorado River and transmit it 266 miles to Los Angeles, California.

October 8

Happy Birthday Rona Barrett(Burstein)–77 Paul Hogan–74 Cornelius “Chevy” Chase–70 Sarah Purcell–65 Susan “Sigourney” Weaver–64 Darrell Hammond–58 Stephanie Zimbalist–57 Matt Damon–43 ; 1860 – Telegraph line between Los Angeles and San Francisco opens (later is part of first transcontinental line across America)

October 7

Happy Birthday RIP “June Allyson”(Eleanor Geisman 1917–2006) ; “Joy Behar”(Josephina Occhiuto)–71 John Mellencamp–62 Judy Landers(Hamburg)–55 Simon Cowell–54 Dylan Baker–54 Dan Savage–49 Toni Braxton–47 Shawn Ashmore–34 ; 1868 – Cornell University was inaugurated in Ithaca, N.Y.