History Blog

February 27

Happy Birthday RIP Joan Bennett(1910–1990) Dame Elizabeth Taylor(1932–2011) George Howard Hesseman(1940–2022) ; Joanne Woodward–94 Ralph Nader–90 Barbara Babcock–87 Adam Baldwin–62 Grant Show–62 Sir Jonathan Ive–57 Chelsea Clinton–44 Brandon Beemer–44 Joshua Groban–43; 1801 – Pursuant to the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Washington, D.C. is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.

February 26

Happy Birthday RIP William Frawley(1887–1966) J.R. “Johnny” Cash(1932–2003) Herbert “Jackie” Gleason Jr(1916–1987) “Tony Randall”(Ira Rosenberg 1920–2004) Frederick “Tex” Avery(1908–1980) Antoine “Fats” Domino(1920–2017) ; Jane Wagner–89 Barbara Niven (Bucholz)–71 Michael Bolton(Bolotin)–71 Arthur “Ed” Quinn–56 ; 1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of the U.S. Congress establishing most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park

February 25

Happy Birthday RIP James Backus(1913–1989) George Harrison(1943–2001) ; Sally Jessy Raphael(Lowenthal)–88 Bob Schieffer–87 Diane Baker–86 Karen Grassle–80 Scott “Carrot Top” Thompson–59 “Téa Leoni”(Elizabeth Pantaleoni)–58 Sean Astin(Duke)–53 Anson Mount III–51 Julio Iglesias Preysler–51 Chelsea Handler–49 ; 1836 –Inventor Samuel Colt patented his revolver ; 1928 – Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, D.C. becomes the first holder of a broadcast license for television from the Federal Radio Commission (renamed to FCC later)

February 24

Happy Birthday RIP Marjorie “Main” Tomlinson(1890–1975) Steven Paul Jobs(1955–2011) Abraham “Abe” Vigoda(1921–2016); Joseph Lieberman–82 Barry Bostwick–79 Edward James Olmos–77 George Thorogood–74 Paula Zahn–68 Emilio Rivera–63 William “Billy” Zane Jr–58 Bonnie Somerville–50 Stephen Wilson Bethel–40 ; 1868 – Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate

February 23

Happy Birthday RIP Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (Hudec 1932–2008) Peter Fonda (1940–2019) ; Patricia Richardson–73 John Howard Jones–69 Michael Dell–59 Kristin Davis–59 “Niecy Nash”(Carol Ensley)–54 Emily Blunt–41 Hannah Dakota Fanning–30 ; 1896 – The Tootsie Roll is invented ; 1927 – President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States

February 22

Happy Birthday RIP George Washington(1732–1799) Dominick “Don” Pardo(1918–2014) Robert Young(1907–1998) Robert Jonathan Demme(1944–2017) ; Paul Dooley(Brown)–96 Julius Erving–74 Dame Julia Walters–74 Ellen Greene–73 Kyle MacLachlan–65 Rachel Dratch–58 Jeri Ryan(Zimmerman)–56 James Blount–50 Drew Barrymore–49 ; 1879 – In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of five and dime Woolworth stores ; 1935 – It became illegal for airplanes to fly over the White House

February 21

Happy Birthday RIP Clara “Ann” Sheridan(1915–1967) Eunice Waymon(“Nina Simone” 1933–2003) Eddi-Rue McClanahan(1934–2010) Alan Rickman(1946–2016) ; David Geffen–81 Anthony Daniels–78 Ellen Tyne Daly–78 Christine Ebersole–71 Allen Kelsey Grammer–69 John “Jack” Coleman–66 Christopher Atkins Bomann–63 William “Billy” Baldwin–61 Jennifer Love Hewitt–45 Brendan Sexton III–44 Elliot Philpotts-Page–37 Tuppence Middleton–37 Sophie Turner–28 ; 1878 – The first telephone directory was issued, by the District Telephone Co. of New Haven, Connecticut ; 1925 – The New Yorker publishes its first issue

February 20

Happy Birthday RIP Ansel Adams (1902–1984) Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) Robert Altman (1925–2006) John W. Geils Jr(1946–2017) Gloria Vanderbilt (1924–2019) Sir Sidney Poitier(1927–2022) ; Sandra “Sandy” Duncan–78 Patricia Hearst–70 Cynthia “Cindy” Crawford–58 Lili Taylor–57 Calpernia Addams–53 Brian Littrell–49 Trevor Noah–40 Robyn Rihanna Fenty–36 ; 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington

February 19

Happy Birthday RIP Lamont “Lee” Marvin Jr(1924–1987) Johann “Falco” Hölzel (1957–1998) ; William “Smokey” Robinson Jr–84 Jeffrey Daniels–69 Raymond Winstone–67 Prince Andrew Windsor, Duke of York–64 Henry “Seal” Samuel–61 Justine Bateman–58 Benicio del Toro Sánchez–57 Haylie Duff–39 ; 1878 – Thomas Edison received a patent for his phonograph ; 1963 – The publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique book is released. It reawakens the Feminist Movement in the United States. NOW was organized in 1966 with 30 women from different backgrounds; Friedan was one of them, and helped draft the founding statement of NOW. The statement called for “the true equality for all women”.

February 18

Happy Birthday RIP William “Bill” Cullen(1920–1990) John Hughes Jr(1950–2009) “Jack Palance”(Volodymyr Palahniuk 1919–2006) George Kennedy(1925–2016) Jan “Milos” Forman(1832–2018) ; Yoko Ono( 小野 洋子)–91 Cybill Shepherd–74 Judy “Juice” Newton–72 John Travolta–70 Vanna White(Rosich)–67 Matthew Dillon–60 Andre “Dr Dre” Young–59 Molly Ringwald–56 Jacqueline Toboni– 32 ; 1885 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States ; 1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles by L Ron Hubbard as a cover for tax evasion. It is based on a fictitious book. It isn’t a religion and it has turned into a cult. Famous people such as John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley and Giovanni Ribisi are members. The scam still exists for actors to get into Hollywood with signed NDAs that basically keep them silent. One exception is Leah Ramini who escaped and told the story of this cult.