Today's History & Birthdays - Tues. 10/22
LandonEx
Today is Tuesday, October 22, the 295th day of 2002. There are 70 days left in
the year. On this date:
In 1746, Princeton University in New Jersey received its charter.
In 1797, French balloonist Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute
descent, landing safely from a height of about 3,000 feet.
In 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first constitutionally elected
president of the Republic of Texas.
In 1883, the original Metropolitan Opera House in New York held its grand
opening with a performance of Gounod's "Faust."
In 1903, Jerome Lester ("Babe") Horwitz -- better known as Curly Howard of "The
Three Stooges" fame -- was born in Brooklyn, New York. He replaced his brother
Shemp in the Stooges' comedy revue act (which also starred his brother Moe, and
Larry Fine) and in 1934 the trio left the stage to began the longest-running
series of two-reel comedies in the history of sound films; some 200 "Three
Stooges" shorts were produced by Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1958.
Curly left the trio after he suffered a stroke in 1948, and Shemp returned to
fill the empty spot in the comedy team. On January 18, 1952, Curly died of a
cerebral hemorrhage at age 48 in San Gabriel, California.
In 1904, actress Constance Bennett was born in New York City. She made her
screen debut at age 17; her first of five husbands was actor Gilbert Roland.
Her films include "Sin Takes a Holiday," "What Price Hollywood?," "Born to
Love," "Topper," "Two-Faced Woman," "As Young as You Feel," "It Should Happen
to You" and "Madame X," among others. She died of a cerebral hemorrhage on
July 24, 1965.
In 1906, Paul Cezanne, the French Post-Impressionist painter, died; he
influenced many 20th century artists and among his best known works are "Card
Players" and "Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine Trees."
In 1909, French aviatrix Elise de Laroche, better known by her self-assumed
title Baronne de Laroche, made her first solo flight -- a distance of 300
yards; in March 1910, she became the first qualified woman pilot.
In 1910, noted murderer Dr Hawley Crippen was sentenced to death at the Old
Bailey Courthouse in London, England.
In 1928, Republican presidential nominee Herbert Hoover spoke of the "American
system of rugged individualism" in a speech at New York's Madison Square
Garden. Andrew Fisher, the three-time prime minister of Australia from
1908-1915, died.
In 1953, Laos and France signed a treaty in Paris, making Laos fully
independent.
In 1954, West Germany joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
In 1959, "Take Me Along" opened on Broadway in New York and quickly became an
American classic; it starred Walter Pidgeon and Jackie Gleason.
In 1962 (40 years ago), U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced that a Soviet
missile base was being built in Cuba and ordered a U.S. air and naval blockade
of ships carrying equipment there; the blockade came into effect two days
later. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela pleaded not guilty at the start of his
treason trial.
In 1964, French writer Jean-Paul Sartre rejected the Nobel Prize for
Literature, saying it would reduce the impact of his writing.
In 1968, Apollo 7 returned safely, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1973, Spanish cellist, conductor and composer Pablo Casals died in Rio
Piedras, Puerto Rico, at age 96.
In 1975, the first photographs transmitted from the surface of another planet
were sent to Earth from Venus by Soviet planetary probe Venera 9.
In 1979, the U.S. government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New
York for medical treatment -- a decision that precipitated the Iran hostage
crisis.
In 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) was
decertified by the federal government for its strike the previous August.
In 1986, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act of 1986, but
wrote his last name first; the signing, however, remained legal.
In 1987, one volume of a rare first edition of a Gutenberg Bible sold for a
record $5.39 million at Christie's Auction House in New York City. In Kuwait,
an Iranian Silkworm missile badly damaged the country's supertanker loading
terminal; Kuwait was supporting Iraq during the Gulf War.
In 1991, the European Community and the European Free Trade Association
concluded a landmark accord to create a free trade zone of 19 nations by 1993.
Ten years ago (1992): The space shuttle "Columbia" was launched on a 10-day
mission that included deployment of an Italian satellite. In baseball, the
Atlanta Braves beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-2, in game five of the World
Series.
In 1995, British novelist and poet Sir Kingsley Amis died.
In 1996, automaker General Motors settled a three-week strike with its workers
in Canada, resolving a walkout that had idled more than 46,000 workers across
North America. Thirty-four people were killed when a flaming Boeing 707
jetliner sliced through dozens of homes minutes after taking off from Ecuador's
Manta airport.
Five years ago (1997): For the first time, U.S. inspectors discovered E. coli
bacteria in imported Canadian beef, halting shipments of 34,000 pounds. U.S.
President Bill Clinton presented a modest strategy to combat global warming by
gradually reducing greenhouse gases over the next two decades. On the baseball
diamond, the Cleveland Indians tied the World Series at two games apiece as
they beat the Florida Marlins, 10-3, in game four.
In 1999, former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao returned to East Timor after
years in an Indonesian jail.
In 2000, Tunisia severed its low-level diplomatic relations with Israel in
protest at Israeli violence against Palestinians. Arab leaders meeting in
Egypt wrapped up a two-day summit on Israeli-Palestinian violence with a
declaration that stopped short of an outright call for cutting ties with
Israel.
One year ago (2001): A supersonic Concorde jetliner touched down in New York
City on its first flight to the United States after one of the aircraft crashed
near de Gaulle Airport in Paris in 2000. Hamas "commander" Ayman Halaweh,
accused by Israel of being behind deadly suicide bombings, died in the West
Bank city of Nablus when his car exploded. In the U.K., Sinn Fein leader Gerry
Adams urged the Irish Republican Army to begin disarming to save Northern
Ireland's peace process. In the U.S., a second Washington postal worker,
Joseph P. Curseen, died of inhalation anthrax; on Capitol Hill, the House and
Senate reopened while their office buildings remained closed due to possible
anthrax contamination. In the bid for World Series play, the New York Yankees
routed Seattle 12-3 in game five to win the American League pennant for the
38th time.
////////// Today in Music History:
In 1832, Leopold Damrosch was born in Russia; he founded the New York
Philharmonic and fathered the famous conductor Walter Damrosch.
In 1917, Leopold Stokowski led the Philadelphia Orchestra in its first
recording session, which was for Victor Records.
In 1948, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Twelfth Street Rag" by the Pee Wee
Hunt Orchestra.
In 1958, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "It's All In The Game" by Tommy
Edwards. The lyrics were written by Carl Sigman to a 1912 melody by Charles
Gates Dawes, who later served as Vice President of the United States.
In 1961, Chubby Checker sang (and danced) "The Twist" on TV's "The Ed Sullivan
Show."
In 1966, the Supremes rocketed to the top of the Pop Album charts with
"Supremes A' Go-Go." They were the first all-female vocal group to hit the top
of the LP chart.
In 1971, folk singer Joan Baez received a gold record for her hit, "The Night
They Drove Old Dixie Down." It turned out to be her biggest hit, having peaked
at No. 3 on the charts on October 2.
In 1973, Pablo Casals, the Catalan cellist, died. One of the great
instrumentalists, Casals did much to bring a wider range of music into the
standard repertory for cello, notably Bach.
In 1978, Earth, Wind & Fire began a 75-date sold-out U.S. tour, in Louisville,
Kentucky.
In 1985, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Saving All My Love for You" by
Whitney Houston. The song was originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy
Davis Jr., former members of The 5th Dimension.
In 1988, Phil Collins' remake of the Mindbenders' "Groovy Kind of Love" was the
No. 1 U.S. single; it remained at the peak of the pops for two weeks.
In 1997, MTV Italy launched its first domestically planned and produced
Italian-language show, "Sonic"; the one-hour weekly show featured international
and local acts performing live to a studio audience. Also in Italy, the
country's anti-trust agency, the Guarantor for Competition, fined the Italian
divisions of BMG, EMI, PolyGram, Sony Music and Warner Music a total of 7.7
billion lire ($4.5 million), claiming they formed a cartel to smother the
competition.
In 1998, Robert E. True, guitarist with The Vagabonds, a musical group of the
1950s, died of skin cancer; he was 85.
In 1999, the Motown group The Temptations earned their first official
RIAA-certified platinum award for their 56th album, "Phoenix Rising.''
In 2000, R.E.M. graced its Athens, Georgia, hometown with the band's first
concert appearance there in eight years. The three-song performance, held on
the steps of the Athens Clarke County Courthouse, was a result of Land Aid, a
local festival that strives to improve the economic environment of Athens and
its surrounding area.
////////// Today's Birthdays (born under the sign of Libra):
-- Actress Joan Fontaine ("Rebecca," "Suspicion," "September Affair") is 85.
-- Actor Christopher Lloyd ("Back to the Future," TV's "Taxi") is 64.
-- Actor Derek Jacobi ("Othello," "The Day of the Jackal") is 64.
-- Actor Tony Roberts ("Serpico," "Annie Hall," "Radio Days") is 63.
-- Former Disney Mouseketeer Annette Funicello ("Beach Party") is 60.
-- Film director-cinematographer Jan de Bont ("Speed," "Twister") is 59.
-- Actress Catherine Deneuve ("Repulsion," "The Last Metro") is 59.
-- Actor Jeff Goldblum ("The Big Chill," "The Fly," "Jurassic Park") is 50.
-- Film writer-producer Todd Graff ("Dominick & Eugene") is 43.
-- Rock musician Cris Kirkwood (Meat Puppets) is 42.
-- Olympic gold medal skater Brian Boitano is 39.
-- Singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding ("The Evil in Me") is 37.
-- Actress Valeria Golino ("Rain Man," "Hot Shots! Part Deux") is 36.
-- Country singer Shelby Lynne ("Things Are Tough All Over") is 34.
-- Reggae rapper Shaggy ("Boombastic," "It Wasn't Me") is 34.
-- Rapper Tracey Lee ("The Theme [It's Party Time]") is 32.
-- Actor Michael Fishman ("Artificial Intelligence," TV's "Roseanne") is 21.
-- Rock musician Zachary Hanson (Hanson) is 17.
-- Actor Jonathan Lipnicki ("Jerry Maguire," "Stuart Little") is 12.
////////// Thought for Today:
"You can fool too many of the people too much of the time."
-- James Thurber, American humorist (1894-1961)
AP / Reuters / E! Online / Zap2it
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