Today's Highlight in History:
On November 27th, 1978, San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk, a gay-rights activist, were shot to death inside City Hall by former supervisor Dan White. [Again, this is a "highlight?" Twinkie™ Defense. — Ed.]
On this date:
In 1701, astronomer Anders Celsius, inventor of the Celsius temperature scale, was born in Uppsala, Sweden. [Inventor? He calls the freezing point of water 0° & its boiling point 100°, & for that he gets called the "inventor?" — Ed]
In 1901, the U. S. Army War College was established in Washington, D. C.
In 1910, the Pennsylvania Railroad began service at New York's Pennsylvania Station.
In 1942, during World War II, the French navy at Toulon scuttled its ships and submarines to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis.
In 1945, General George C. Marshall was named special U. S. envoy to China to try to end hostilities between the Nationalists and the Communists.
In 1953, playwright Eugene O'Neill died in Boston at age 65.
In 1970, Pope Paul VI, visiting the Philippines, was slightly wounded at the Manila airport by a dagger-wielding Bolivian painter disguised as a priest.
In 1973, the Senate voted 92-3 to confirm Gerald R. Ford as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew, who'd resigned.
In 1983, 181 people were killed when a Colombian Avianca Airlines Boeing 747 crashed near Madrid's Barajas airport.
In 1989, a bomb blamed by police on drug traffickers destroyed a Colombian Avianca jetliner, killing all 107 people on board. [Do not, under any circumstances, get near an Avianca plane on 27 November! — Ed.]
Ten years ago: A day after saying it would open its presidential palaces to international observers, Iraq declared that U.N. weapons monitors were not included in the invitation. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York was marred when a gust of wind knocked part of a lamppost onto a 34-year-old woman, fracturing her skull and leaving her in a coma for almost a month. Five years ago: U.N. specialists began a new round of weapons inspections in Iraq. President Bush appointed former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to lead an investigation into why the government failed to foil the September 11th attacks. (The following month, Kissinger stepped down, citing controversy over potential conflicts of interest with his business clients.) [OK, now can we prosecute him as a war criminal? — Ed.]President Bush gave the go-ahead to open US highways to Mexican trucks.
One year ago: President Bush, stopping over in Estonia en route to a NATO summit in Latvia and meetings in Jordan, intensified diplomatic efforts to quell rising violence in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fire burned down a group home for the elderly and mentally ill in Anderson, Missouri, killing 10 residents and a caretaker.
Today's Birthdays: Ret'd. general & former Sec'y. of State Alexander Haig is 83. ("Here at the White House, I'm in control." Whatta maroon. — Ed.] TV host Bill Nye ("Bill Nye, the Science Guy") is 52. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg is 50. Rock musician Charlie Burchill (Simple Minds) is 48. Rock musician Charlie Benante (Anthrax) is 45. Rock musician Mike Bordin (Faith No More) is 45. Actor Fisher Stevens is 44. Actress Robin Givens is 43.
Birthdays of Those No Longer W/ Us:
Chaim Weizmann, scientist and Zionist leader (1874)
Charles A. Beard, historian (1874)
James Agee, writer (1909)
Alexander Dubček, statesman (1921)
Bruce Lee, martial-arts actor (1940)
Jimi Hendrix, rock musician, guitarist (1942) [Would've been 65 today, having a retirement party & copping a gold watch or something. — Ed.]In Show Bidness Today:
In 1957, "The Chirping Crickets" by Buddy Holly and the Crickets was released. It contained the singles "That'll Be the Day," "Maybe Baby," and "Not Fade Away."
In 1967, The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" album was released in North America. [What is it, every day in November the Beatles did something? — Ed.]
In 1969, the Rolling Stones opened a four-night stand at New York's Madison Square Garden. Portions of the first two concerts were released on the album "Get Yer Ya-Yas Out."
In 1970, George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" album was released.
In 1980, the sitcom "Bosom Buddies," starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari, premiered on ABC.
In 1985, actress Amy Irving married filmmaker Steven Spielberg. They have since split up.
In 1995, The Beatles' "Anthology One" set a record for first-week sales, selling 1.2 million copies. That record has since been broken.
UPDATE (2 December 2007 @ 0001): Looks as if Al Haig was born 2 December rather than 27 November, though infoplease still thinks both. The AP seems to have changed its mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment