Today In History Thurs. April 12
PUSSSYKATT
Today is Thursday, April 12, the 102nd day of 2001. There are 263 days left in
the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began as Confederate forces fired on
Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
On this date:
In 1606, England adopted as its flag the original version of the Union Jack.
In 1862, Union volunteers led by James J. Andrews stole a Confederate train
near Marietta, Ga., but were later caught. This episode inspired the Buster
Keaton comedy ``The General''
In 1934, ``Tender Is the Night,'' by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was first published.
In 1945, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in
Warm Springs, Ga., at age 63; he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S.
Truman.
In 1955, the Salk vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective.
In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space,
orbiting the earth once before making a safe landing.
In 1981, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral on its
first test flight.
In 1989, radical activist Abbie Hoffman was found dead at his home in New Hope,
Pa., at age 52.
In 1989, former middleweight boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson died in Culver
City, Calif., at age 67.
In 1992, Euro Disneyland opened in France.
Ten years ago: Defense Secretary Dick Cheney (news - web sites) announced plans
to close 31 major U.S. military bases, including Fort Ord in California and
Fort Dix in New Jersey. Kurdish rebels reported the Iraqi army was attacking
guerrillas in northern Iraq.
Five years ago: President Clinton (news - web sites) named U.S. Trade
Representative Mickey Kantor to succeed the late Ron Brown as commerce
secretary.
One year ago: Attorney General Janet Reno (news - web sites) met in Miami with
the U.S. relatives of Elian Gonzalez, after which she ordered them to bring the
6-year-old boy to an airport the next day so he could be taken to a reunion
with his father in Washington. Elian was seized by federal agents 10 days after
Reno's order to turn him over.
Today's musical milestones:
In 1954, Bill Haley and the Comets recorded "Rock Around The Clock."
In 1966, Jan Berry of Jan and Dean fame was severely injured when his
Corvette crashed into a truck in Los Angeles.
In 1978, Aretha Franklin married actor Glynn Turman. Her father, the Rev.
C.L. Franklin, officiated at the ceremony.
In 1987, a rock record smashing at a Dallas church turned into a
confrontation when rock music fans started shouting "Jesus loves rock 'n'
roll."
In 1992, singer/songwriter Don Henley was joined by other celebrities and
6,000 people on a six-mile "Walk for Walden Woods" to save the area in
Concord, Mass., from commercial development.
In 1993, Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album was back on the charts
after Capitol Records released the 20th anniversary limited edition CD.
In 1994, Entertainment Weekly quoted music industry sources saying Barbra
Streisand would get up to 90 percent of the $45 million in ticket sales for
her first concert tour in 28 years.
And in 1994, Chicago artist Dwight Kalb carved a 180-lb. ham into a statue
of Madonna, to be sent to David Letterman.
Also in 1994, a British-born Michael Jackson fan, Denise Pfeiffer, was
charged with making obscene calls to the father of the boy who accused the
pop star of molesting him.
In 1996, surf-rock groups the Ventures, Jan and Dean, the Surfaris and the
Chantays were honored at the Hollywood Rock Walk.
Also in 1996, Jamaican pop singer Shaggy was slightly hurt -- and six
other musicians injured, three seriously -- when a light panel fell on them
during rehearsal for a concert in Poznan, Poland.
In 1997, the Fugees performed a benefit concert in Port-au-Prince in their
homeland of Haiti.
In 1999, a judge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., gave Bobby Brown a 90-day
suspended sentence for showing up drunk to serve his jail time for a 1996
one-car accident that allegedly occurred when he was "under the influence."
In 2000, former Eagle Joe Walsh and his new band performed at the Fillmore
in San Francisco.
Today's Birthdays: Actress-dancer Ann Miller is 78. Country singer Ned Miller
is 76. Actress Jane Withers is 75. Opera singer Montserrat Caballe is 68. Actor
Charles Napier is 65. Jazz musician Herbie Hancock is 61. Actor Frank Bank
(``Leave It to Beaver'') is 59. Rock singer John Kay (Steppenwolf) is 57. Actor
Ed O'Neill is 55. Actor Dan Lauria is 54. Talk show host David Letterman (news
- Y! TV) is 54. Author Scott Turow is 52. Singer David Cassidy is 51. Actor
Andy Garcia is 45. Country singer Vince Gill is 44. Actress Suzzanne Douglas is
44. Rock musician Will Sergeant (Echo & the Bunnymen) is 43. Rock singer Art
Alexakis (Everclear) is 39. Country singer Deryl Dodd is 37. Folk-pop singer
Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) is 37. Figure skater Elaine Zayak is 36. Rock singer
Nicholas Hexum (311) is 31. Actress Shannen Doherty is 30. Actress Claire Danes
is 22; Tiny Tim, whose real name was Herbert Khaury, who was born in 1922, or
maybe 1930 or 1933; Herbie Hancock in 1940 (age 61); John Kay of Steppenwolf in
1944 (age 57); David Cassidy in 1950 (age 51); Pat Travers in 1954 (age 47);
Alexander Briley of the Village People in 1956 (age 45); country singer Vince
Gill in 1957 (age 44); and Echo and the Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant in
1958 (age 43).
Thought for Today: ``People everywhere confuse/ What they read in newspapers
with news.'' - A.J. Liebling, American journalist (1904-1963).
SEND EMAIL TO PUSSS...@aol.com
AGC FAQ and FUN STUFF
http://members.aol.com/pusssykatt/agcfaq.html