1588 - Birthday of John Winthrop, American colonial governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, born at Edwardston, England. Governor Winthrop kept a diary of events in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, published nearly two centuries later (in 1825-26), titled “The History of New England from 1630 to 1649”. Died at Boston, MA, Mar 26, 1649 (OS).
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0852497.html
http://members.tripod.com/shesabo/winthrop/
    1701 – In the Netherlands, use of the Gregorian calendar began
    1737 - Birthday of John Hancock, American patriot and statesman, first signer of the Declaration of Independence. Born at Braintree, MA, he died at Quincy, MA, Oct 8, 1793. Because of his conspicuous signature on the Declaration, Hancock's name has become part of the American language, referring to any handwritten signature, as in "Put your John Hancock on that!"
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/hancock.htm
http://www.colonialhall.com/hancock/hancock.php
(lower part of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan12.html )
    1773 - In Charleston, South Carolina, the first public museum in America was organized at the annual anniversary meeting of the Charleston Library Society. The first curators of the museum were the diplomat Charles Cotesworth Pinckeney, the politician Thomas Heyward, and two physicians, Alexander Baron and Peter Fayssoux. Eventually the building was torn down, and the collection was moved to the College of Charleston. On August 29, 1850, the city council ratified an ordinance “to provide for the appoint of a Curator for the Museum of the College of Charleston.” Francis Simmons Holmes was elected to the post on November 25, 1880, and was appointed professor of geology and paleontology at the college on December 28.
http://www.charlestonmuseum.org/directions.asp
http://www.charlestonbynight.com/charleston/charlestonfacts.html
    1777 - Mission Santa Clara de Asis, a California mission, was built by followers of Father Junipero Serra to educate the Indians. In the 1850s, the mission became Santa Clara University, the oldest university in California. The current building, used by the University as its chapel, is a replica of an older building that was destroyed by fire in 1926. The first two sites are located one block from my former office. They were destroyed in floods. The third and existing Mission is at the University of Santa Clara, about five blocks from my office (higher ground). In 1819, a fourth mission was established and is part of the existing site. In 1926, a fire destroyed the chapel, and a replica was rebuilt, which is very popular for marriages and ceremonies in Santa Clara Valley. San Jose has taken steps to curb the flooding of the Guadalupe River, but as recently as twenty years ago there was a major flood in the area, down First Street, which the city is just getting around to building major storm drains along Trimble Road, not far
from my old office in Santa Clara.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan12.html
http://www.scu.edu/adobelodge/history.html
    1812 – The first cargo arrived in New Orleans by steamboat from Natchez, MS.
    1839 - Anthracite coal was first used to smelt iron, at Mauch Chunk, PA.  The town was renamed Jim Thorpe following his 1953 death.  Thorpe's widow and third wife, Patricia, was angry when the government of Oklahoma, his state of birth, would not erect a memorial to honor him. When she heard that the boroughs of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk were desperately seeking to attract business, she made a deal with civic officials. The boroughs merged, renamed the new municipality in Jim Thorpe's honor, obtained the athlete's remains from his wife and erected a monument.  The monument site contains his tomb, two statues of him in athletic poses, and historical markers describing his life story. The grave rests on mounds of soil from Thorpe's native Oklahoma and from the Stockholm Olympic Stadium in which he won his Olympic medals.
    1853 - The first university on the Pacific Coast was Willamette University, Salem, Oregon. It was organized on February 1, 1842, as the Oregon Institute, offering only elementary work, and opened on August 13, 1844, with five students. On January 12, 1853, it was chartered as a university by the Oregon Territorial Legislature. The Oregon Institute was continued as a preparatory school.
    1856 - American artist John Singer Sergeant was born Florence, Italy. Although he lived much of his life in England and was buried there, he refused knighthood in 1907 because he still considered himself an American citizen.
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/sargent/
http://www.jssgallery.org/Biography/Biography.htm
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/psearch?Request=A&Person=27660
    1851 - In San Francisco, William Walker, editor of the "Herald," dueled on Mission Road with W.H. Graham. Graham was upset with article in newspaper. Walker was shot twice in the leg but survived.
    1852 - In San Francisco, Ex-Governor McDougal and A.C. Russell, editor of the "Picayune," engaged in a duel today. Russell was hit in the hand and slightly wounded.
    1863 - President Jefferson Davis delivered his "State of Confederacy" address.  Davis extolled the virtues of the armies in the field. Their victories were many, including Second Manassas, Fredericksburg and at Vicksburg.  In fact, he reviewed the entire history of the war thus far – might anyone have missed it – before jumping headlong into his hopes and aspirations, his disappointments and accusations of the Confederate foreign relations. Despite the fact that Europe was growing cold on his new nation, he still believed there was a chance that someone, anyone, might recognize them as a sovereign state.  And then he dove into one of the heftier reasons why Europe was a bit leery on siding with the South: slavery – specifically, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.  He began by asserting that he would not speak on the absurdity of such an act: The slaves, according to Davis, were happy in their lot. They were “peaceful and contented.” So, he wondered, why had Lincoln encouraged them “to a general assassination of their masters”?  And so Davis had a plan. Since the Emancipation Proclamation was a military act, it was the military officers who were guilty of inciting this “general assassination.” He decreed that any commissioned officers in the Union army captured by Confederate forces were to be executed. The enlisted soldiers, being apparent pawns, would be treated as normal. Tossing military matters aside, Davis moved on to the politics of slavery. This servile insurrection, this rising up of the “inferior race” to assassinate their masters was, in reality, “the true nature of the designs of the party which elevated to power the present occupant of the Presidential chair at Washington.”  Though President Lincoln had said numerous times that he didn’t want to end slavery in the South, Davis railed that these were all lies. He went on to cite several pre- and early-war supposed olive branches held out by his Northern counterpart.   
    1876 - Birthday of Jack London, born John Griffin Chaney, in San Francisco. Renowned author of more than 50 books: short stories, novels and travel, stories of the sea and of the far north, many marked by brutal realism. His most widely known work is “The Call of the Wild”, the great dog story published in 1903. He resided in the Glen Ellen area for many years of his life. His ranch is a popular tourist visit, now a famous historic park, and is not far from the famous Glen Ellen winery. Contrary to popular belief, he did not commit suicide but on November 22, 1916, Jack London at the age of 40, died of gastrointestinal uremic poisoning.
http://www.parks.sonoma.net/JLStory.html
http://www.geocities.com/jacklondons/additions.html
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/London/
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jlondon.htm
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/London/Images/
http://www.parks.sonoma.net/JLPark.html
http://www.inetours.com/PagesWT/WTareas/Glen_Ellen.html
    1888 - A sharp cold front swept southward from the Dakotas to Texas in just 24 hours spawning a severe blizzard over the Great Plains. More than 200 pioneers perished in the storm. Subzero temperatures and mountainous snow drifts killed tens of thousands of cattle.
    1890 - Birthday of Black educator Mordecai W Johnson, at Paris,
Tennessee.  He was the first African-American president of Howard University and held the position for more than three decades
http://www.africanpubs.com/Apps/bios/1049JohnsonMordecai.asp?pic=none
http://www.vernonjohns.org/tcal001/vjbscgsp.html
http://www.fetchbook.info/search_Mordecai_W._Johnson/
searchBy_Author.html
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/papers/vol4/
570705-008-To_Mordecai_Johnson.htm
    1893 - Representatives of 21 mission boards met in NY City to discuss common concerns. Soon becoming an annual event, by 1911 the convention was known as the Foreign Missions Conference. In 1950, it became a constituting member of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, serving as its Division of Foreign Missions.
    1896 - The first X-ray photograph was made by Dr. Henry Louis Smith, professor of physics and astronomy, Davidson College, Davidson, NC. Smith obtained the hand of a corpse, fired a bullet into it, and then took a 15-minute exposure which, when developed, revealed the exact location of the bullet.
    1904 - Guitarist Fred “Mississippi” McDowell born Rossville, TN.  Died 1971.
http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~patrickp/aavesem/texts
/FredMcDowellBio.html
http://www.bigroadblues.com/features/fred.shtml
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=543245301/
ut=43a1166e45af8b80
    1905 - Singing cowboy Woodward Maurice (Tex) Ritter was born in Panola County, Texas. He was one of the first to follow Gene Autry into films as a singing cowboy, and became one of country music's most popular stars in the 1940's. Ritter won an Academy Award in 1953 for his version of the theme song from "High Noon." He died of a heart attack on January 2nd, 1974, at a jail in Nashville where he was arranging bail for one of his band members. Tex was also the father of the late TV actor, John Ritter…”Three’s Company” and “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter.”
    1906 – For the first time the Dow Jones Industrial Average passed 100.
    1906 - Football rules committee legalizes forward pass
    1910 - Guitarist Gussie “Blind” Nesbitt born Spartansburg, SC.  His most popular song was “Ain’t Nobody’s Business.”
http://www.rootsandrhythm.com/roots/BLUES%20&%20GOSPEL/
prewar_gospel.htm
    1912 - Birthday of trombonist Trummy Young, Savannah GA
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,512734,00.html
?artist=Trummy+Young
http://www.bikehawaii.com/jazz/trummy.html
    1912 - The record low temperature for the state of Iowa was set at Washta. The temperature fell to 47 degrees below zero (this record was tied in February, 1996).
    1915 - The US House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote. Women gained the right to vote in 1920
    1915 - Congress established the Rocky Mountain National Park.     
    1916 - Pianist/band leader Jay McShann born Muskogee, OK
http://www.riverwalk.org/profiles/mcshann.htm
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/mcshann_jay/bio.jhtml
http://www.colindavey.com/BoogieWoogie/articles/jmi.htm
    1921 – Following the legal adjudication of the infamous Chicago Black Sox, and the resulting embarrassment, the owners of Major League Baseball teams appointed Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the first commissioner of baseball.  He agreed to a seven-year contract at $50,000 annually.
    1922 - Birthday of Ira Hayes on a Pima Indian Reservation at Arizona.  Hayes was one of the six US Marines who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, following a US assault on the Japanese stronghold. The event was immortalized by an Oakland Tribune Photographer, working then for Associated Press, Joe Rosenthal. The picture was posed, after the first flag was raised, but it became a symbol, in fact is the Marine War Memorial monument at Arlington, Virginia. He returned home after World War II a much celebrated hero. A hero to everyone except himself, Hayes was unable to cope with fame. He was found dead of "exposure to freezing weather and over-consumption of alcohol" on the Sacaton Indian Reservation at Arizona, January 24, 1955http://www.artnatam.com/utaylor/n-ut008.html.
    1926 - Drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson was born in Fort Worth TX
http://www.cymbatamusic.com/bio.html
http://www.about-time-records.com/at-1003.html
    1926 – Singer/songwriter Ray Price was born Noble Ray Price in Perryville, TX.  Some of his well-known recordings include "Release Me”, "Crazy Arms", "Heartaches by the Number", "For the Good Times", "Night Life", and "You’re the Best Thing That Ever happened to Me". He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. Price continued to record and tour well into his mid-eighties, before passing in 2013.
    1926 - Original “Sam ‘n’ Henry” first aired on Chicago radio; later renamed “Amos ‘n’ Andy” in 1928.
    1928 - Russian-born pianist Vladimir Horowitz made his US debut with the New York Philharmonic under Sir Thomas Beecham in a performance of Tchaikovsky's "B Flat Minor Concerto." Horowitz would become the most celebrated pianist of the century, renowned for his enormous sound and technical command of his instrument.
    1930 – Folk singer Glenn Yarbrough was born in Milwaukee.  He was the lead singer with The Limelighters between 1959 and 1963, and had a prolific solo career thereafter.
    1932 - Hattie W. Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, was the first woman elected to the US Senate. Born in 1878, Caraway was appointed to the Senate on November 13, 1931, to fill out the term of her husband, Senator Thaddeus Caraway, who had died a few days earlier. On January 12, 1932, she won a special election to fill the remaining months of his term. Subsequently elected to two more terms, she served in the senate until January, 1945. She was an adept and tireless legislator (once introducing 43 bills on the same day), who worked for women’s rights (once co-sponsoring an equal rights amendment) and supported New Deal Policies. She died December 21, 1950, at Falls Church, VA. The first woman appointed to the Senate was Mrs. W.H. Felton in 1922 who served for two days. The first woman to be elected to the Senate without having been appointed first was Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, who had served first in the House. She was elected to the Senate in 1948.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcarawayH.htm
http://www.senate.gov/~lincoln/html/hattaway.html
http://asunews.astate.edu/caraway.htm
    1935 – The Amazing Kreskin was born George Joseph Kresge in Montclair, NJ.
    1936 - A. D. Winans was born in San Francisco. After serving three years in the military, he graduated from San Francisco State in 1962.  He made his home away from home in North Beach where he became friends with Beat poets like Bob Kaufman and Jack Micheline.  He also founded The Second Coming Press, a small printer of poems, books, magazines, and anthologies.  http://www.2poetswunderleewinans.homestead.com/Winans.html
http://www.thundersandwich.com/thundersandwich17/winans.html
    1937 – Actress Shirley Eaton, “Goldfinger” was born in London.     
    1939 - After five years playing together, the Ink Spots gained national attention when they recorded "If I Didn’t Care".
http://www.inkspots.ca/
http://www.theinkspots.com/
    1939 - William Lee Golden of The Oak Ridge Boys was born in Brewton, AL.   Is that the best town name, or what?
    1942 – President Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board.   
    1942 – Bernardine Dohrn, American activist, was born in Milwaukee.   A leader of the Weather Underground, a group that was responsible for the bombing of the US Capitol, the Pentagon, several police stations in New York, and a Greenwich Village townhouse explosion that killed one of their members. As a member of the Weather Underground, Dohrn helped to create a “Declaration of a State of War” against the United States government, and was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, where she remained for three years. From 1991 to 2013 she was a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at the Children and family Justice Center at Northwestern University School of Law. She is married to Bill Ayers, a co-founder of the Weather Underground, who was formerly a tenured professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  In 2008, Dohrn and Ayers resurfaced in headlines as presidential candidate John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin publicly denounced the ties between Ayers and then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.
    1943 - DAVIS, CHARLES W., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Guadalcanal Island, 12 January 1943. Entered service at: Montgomery, Ala. Birth: Gordo, Ala. G.O. No.: 40, 17 July 1943. Citation: For d1stinguishing himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy on Guadalcanal Island. On 12 January 1943, Maj. Davis (then Capt.), executive officer of an infantry battalion, volunteered to carry instructions to the leading companies of his battalion which had been caught in crossfire from Japanese machineguns. With complete disregard for his own safety, he made his way to the trapped units, delivered the instructions, supervised their execution, and remained overnight in this exposed position. On the following day, Maj. Davis again volunteered to lead an assault on the Japanese position which was holding up the advance. When his rifle jammed at its first shot, he drew his pistol and, waving his men on, led the assault over the top of the hill. Electrified by this action, another body of soldiers followed and seized the hill. The capture of this position broke Japanese resistance and the battalion was then able to proceed and secure the corps objective. The courage and leadership displayed by Maj. Davis inspired the entire battalion and unquestionably led to the success of its attack.
    1943 - The Office of Price Administration announced that standard frankfurters/hot dogs/wieners would be replaced by 'Victory Sausages.'
    1944 - Birthday of Joe Frazier, former Heavyweight Champion of the boxing world, at Beaufort, SC.  Known as Smokin’ Joe, his career lasted from 1965-76 and included the epic trilogy of battles with Muhammad Ali.  Upon becoming Undisputed Heavyweight Champion in 1970, he defeated Ali by unanimous decision in the highly anticipated "Fight of the Century" in 1971. Two years later Frazier lost his title when he was knocked out by George Foreman. He fought on, beating Joe Bugner, losing a rematch to Ali and beating Quarry and Ellis again.  Frazier's last world title challenge came in 1975, but he was beaten by Ali in their brutal rubber match, The Thrilla in Manila”.  Frazier was diagnosed with liver cancer in late September 2011 and died November 7, 2011.  http://www.ibhof.com/frazier.htm
    1946 - Less than a month after the Cleveland Rams won their first NFL title, the league gave owner Dan Reeves permission to move the team to Los Angeles. In approving this franchise shift, the NFL became the first major professional sports league to put a team on the West Coast. Fans in Cleveland quickly embraced a new team, the Browns in the new All-American Football Conference which lasted until the two leagues merged in 1950.
    1946 - Pianist George Duke born San Rafael, Ca.
http://www.georgeduke.com/
http://www.bingsoldskool.com/duke.html
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/duke_george/bio.jhtml
    1947 – Kicker Tom Dempsey was born in Milwaukee.  He played for a number of NFL teams in his career (1969-79) including the New Orleans Saints.  Dempsey's kicking style was the standard (of the day) straight-toe style.  Dempsey is most widely known for kicking a then-record 63-yard FG as time expired to give the Saints a 19–17 win over the Detroit Lions on November 8, 1970.  Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot and no fingers on his right hand. He wore a modified shoe with a flattened and enlarged toe surface. This generated controversy about whether such a shoe gave a player an unfair advantage. When reporters would ask him if he thought it was unfair, he said "Unfair eh? How 'bout you try kickin' a 63 yard field goal to win it with 2 seconds left an' yer wearin' a square shoe, oh, yeah and no toes either."
    1948 - US Supreme Court decision gives Blacks the right to study law at state institutions. The Court ordered the State of Oklahoma to provide Ada Lois Fisher, a Negro, with the same education is offered white students. Five days later, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma ruled the state must establish a separate but equal law school for Fisher who had been barred from entering the University of Oklahoma Law School because of her color.
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1921/
Ada_Lois_Sipuel_Fisher_an_Oklahoma_legend
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/search-ng.gsp?search_constraint=3920&search_query=
Fisher%2c%20Ada%20Lois%20Sipuel
    1948 - Top Hits
“Ballerina” - Vaughn Monroe
“Civilization” - The Louis Prima Orchestra
“I’ll Dance at Your Wedding” - Buddy Clark with the Ray Noble Orchestra
“I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)” - Eddy Arnold
    1949 - In his State of the Union address, President Truman labeled his administration the "Fair Deal."
http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/aae/side/fairdeal.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ht33.html
http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture22.html
    1949 - On CBS-TV, "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends" was first seen in what would be a seven year run on the network.
http://timvp.com/arthurg.html
    1949 - The Chicago-based children’s show, "Kukla, Fran and Ollie", made its national debut on NBC-TV. Fran Allison was hostess.
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/K/htmlK/kuklafrana/kuklafrana.htm
http://www.chicagohs.org/KFO/KFO.html
http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/burr.html
    1951 - Birthday of political commentator, sometimes sports commentator, Russ Limbaugh, talk-show host ("The Rush Limbaugh Show"), born Cape Girardeau, MO.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html
    1952 - ROSSER, RONALD E., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Heavy Mortar Company, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Vicinity of Ponggilli, Korea, 12 January 1952. Entered service at: Crooksville, Ohio. Born: 24 October 1929, Columbus, Ohio. G.O. No.: 67, 7 July 1952. Citation: Cpl. Rosser, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty. While assaulting heavily fortified enemy hill positions, Company L, 38th Infantry Regiment, was stopped by fierce automatic-weapons, small-arms, artillery, and mortar fire. Cpl. Rosser, a forward observer was with the lead platoon of Company L, when it came under fire from 2 directions. Cpl. Rosser turned his radio over to his assistant and, disregarding the enemy fire, charged the enemy positions armed with only carbine and a grenade. At the first bunker, he silenced its occupants with a burst from his weapon. Gaining the top of the hill, he killed 2 enemy soldiers, and then went down the trench, killing 5 more as he advanced. He then hurled his grenade into a bunker and shot 2 other soldiers as they emerged. Having exhausted his ammunition, he returned through the enemy fire to obtain more ammunition and grenades and charged the hill once more. Calling on others to follow him, he assaulted 2 more enemy bunkers. Although those who attempted to join him became casualties, Cpl. Rosser once again exhausted his ammunition obtained a new supply, and returning to the hilltop a third time hurled grenades into the enemy positions. During this heroic action Cpl. Rosser single-handedly killed at least 13 of the enemy. After exhausting his ammunition he accompanied the withdrawing platoon, and though himself wounded, made several trips across open terrain still under enemy fire to help remove other men injured more seriously than himself. This outstanding soldier's courageous and selfless devotion to duty is worthy of emulation by all men. He has contributed magnificently to the high traditions of the military service.
    1954 - Birthday of radio and television personality Howard Stern ("The Howard Stern Show"), in Queens, NY. People say they “dislike” his humor and antics, but he remains one of the most popular personalities, even after his “not so famous” divorce.
http://www.eonline.com/On/Howard/
http://www.animaux.net/stern/eshows.html
    1955 – Our neighbor (he lived down the street from us), Rod Serling, made a television breakthrough with the production of the hour-long drama, "Patterns". Within two weeks, the struggling author earned 23 other television assignments.   “Patterns” dramatized the power struggle between a veteran corporate boss running out of ideas and energy and the bright, young executive being groomed to take his place. Instead of firing the loyal employee, and risk tarnishing his own reputation, the boss enlists him into a campaign to push aside his competition. The New York Times critic Jack Gould called the show "one of the high points in the TV medium's evolution" and said "[f]or sheer power of narrative, forcefulness of characterization and brilliant climax, Mr. Serling's work is a creative triumph."  Robert Louis Shayon stated in the Saturday Review, "in the years I have been watching television I do not recall being so engaged by a drama, nor so stimulated to challenge the haunting conclusions of an hour's entertainment."  Serling then wrote “Requiem for a Heavyweight” for “Playhouse 90”, again to critical acclaim.  He is forever known in TV history for his ground-breaking science fiction TV series, “The Twilight Zone.”
http://www.rodserling.com/NYTpatterns.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/serling_r.html
http://www.videoflicks.com/titles/1046/1046573.htm
    1956 - Top Hits
“Memories are Made of This” - Dean Martin
“The Great Pretender” - The Platters
“Lisbon Antigua” - Nelson Riddle
“Sixteen Tons” - Tennessee Ernie Ford
    1957 – ‘TCB’…Elvis released "All Shook Up," "Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do," "I Believe," "Tell Me Why".
    1958 - Two-Point Conversion: The NCAA football rules committee make the first change in scoring rules since 1912 by introducing the optional two-point conversion. Under the rule, teams could kick for one point or run or pass for two points after a touchdown.
    1959 - “The Bell Telephone Hour” premiered on TV, bringing great musical performances. NBC's musical series ran semi-regularly for nearly 10 seasons. The Bell Telephone Orchestra was conducted by Donald Voorhees.
    1959 - Berry Gordy borrows $800 from his family to start a record label and rents an eight-room house on 2648 W. Grand Blvd, the future home of Motown Records.
    1960 - Schayes Score 15,000 points: Two years to the day after he became the NBA’s leading career scorer, Dolph Schayes of the Syracuse Nationals becomes the first NBA player to score 15,000 points. He finished his career in 1963-64, with 19,249 points.
    1961 - The Chicago Cubs announced that they would forsake the traditional manager, replacing it with a team of eight coaches lead the club, with several taking turns at the top. The experiment lasted two seasons during which the Cubs finished 64-90 and 59-103.  You still need good players to win, no matter who manages!
    1961 - Motown Records signs The Primettes to a recording contract and convinces them to change their name. From several possibilities, they settle on one suggested by Florence Ballard - The Supremes.
    1962 – The first battle in Vietnam, “Operation Chopper” involving US troops occurred.
    1963 - The Beatles released "Please Please Me", which would be their first number one single in the UK. Written mostly by John Lennon, the song made it to the top in just three weeks and would sell over 1.5 million copies worldwide. However, the record wouldn't appear on the US charts for another year.

    1963 - On his way back from Italy in a search for estranged girlfriend Suze Rotolo, Bob Dylan records the radio play “Madhouse” on Castle Street in London for the BBC.  It features his first recorded rendition of "Blowin' in the Wind" and his only recorded version of the original "Swan on the River." In the drama, Dylan plays a folk singer.
    1963 - The Cascades' "Rhythm of the Rain" enters the pop charts
    1963 - Steve Lawrence's "Go Away Little Girl" hits #1
    1964 - Top Hits
“There! I’ve Said It Again” - Bobby Vinton
“Louie Louie” - The Kingsmen
“Popsicles and Icicles” - The Murmaids
“Love’s Gonna Live Here” - Buck Owens
    1964 – Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, was born in Albuquerque.  Under his guidance, Amazon.com became the largest retailer on the World Wide Web and a top model for Internet sales. In 2013, Bezos purchased “The Washington Post” newspaper.  As of October 2014, Bezos's personal wealth is estimated to be $ 27.6 billion, ranking him number 21 on the Forbes list.
    1965 - The NBC television pop music show "Hullabaloo" made its debut. An answer to ABC's successful "Shindig" show which ran for two years, "Hullabaloo" tried to attract a wider audience by booking both rock music and Las Vegas-type acts. The host was pop singer Jack Jones, and the guests on the first show included the New Christy Minstrels, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Zombies and Woody Allen.
    1966 - “Bop,” “Biff,” “Bam”…the television show Batman premiered on television. I never missed an episode. ABC's crime-fighting show gained a place in Nielsen's top 10 ratings in its first season. The series was based on the DC Comic characters created by Bob Kane in 1939. Adam West starred as millionaire Bruce Wayne and superhero alter ego, Batman. Burt Ward co-starred as Dick Grayson/Robin, the Boy Wonder. A colorful assortment of villains guest-starring each week included: Cesar Romero as the Joker, Eartha Kitt and Julie Newmark as Catwoman, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Frank Gorshin as the Riddler. Some other stars making memorable appearances included Liberace, Vincent Price, Milton Berle, Tallulah Bankhead and Ethel Merman. The series played up its comic-strip roots with innovative and sharply skewed camera angles, bright bold colors and wild graphics. "Batman's" memorable theme song, composed by Neal Hefti, can be heard today with some 120 episodes in syndication. [note: when this premiered, I was a sophomore at Cornell.  The only color television around was at the Ithaca Hotel downtown, that set the TV up in the main ballroom for as many of us to watch as could fit in the room.  It was so jammed, that we were using periscopes to see what was happening. They did not charge admission.]
http://www.musicselections.com/tv/batman.mid
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0059968/
http://www.buyersmls.com/americantv/batman.htm
http://b.webring.com/hub?ring=batman1966
    1966 – President Lyndon Johnson said in his State of the Union address that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there was ended.
    1967 - After 8 years off the network schedule, "Dragnet," one of broadcasting’s greatest hits, returned to NBC-TV. One of my high school best friends’ father, Harry Morgan played Jack Webb’s sidekick, Officer Bill Gannon, in the renewed series.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0763077.html
http://www.bestcareanywhere.net/Morgan.htm
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Morgan,+Harry
http://www.triviatribute.com/harrymorgan.html
    1967 - The Beatles recorded "Penny Lane"
    1968 - The Supremes guest-starred on a "Tarzan" TV episode. They played nuns.
    1968 - The Doors' second album, "Strange Days," goes gold. Highlights are "People Are Strange," "Love Me Two Times," "Moonlight Drive" and "When the Music's Over."
    1969 - Led Zeppelin released their self-titled, debut album. The groundbreaking LP is now seen as one of the most impressive and important debuts in Rock music history. The name of the band had recently been changed from The New Yardbirds after drummer Keith Moon of The Who predicted the band's music would "go over like a lead zeppelin".
    1969 - Jets Win Super Bowl III: In one of the greatest, if not the grates, upsets in sports history, overcoming their status as a 17-point underdog, and living up to quarterback Joe Namath’s bold prediction, the New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7 in Super Bowl III.   Jets quarterback Joe Namath made an appearance three days before the Super Bowl at the Miami Touchdown Club and brashly guaranteed a victory.  The Jets got a touchdown from fullback Matt Snell and three field goals form Jim Turner to become the first American Football League team to snatch a championship from an NFL team.  The game wasn’t that close as the Jets led 16-0 in a thoroughly dominant performance of offense and defense.  After the Colts replaced starter Earl Morrall with the great Johnny Unitas, who had been injured much of the season, the Colts were able to finally score in the 4th quarter.  Statistically, the teams were close in mostly all categories but one…the Colts’ four turnovers, all INTs, provided the Jets with field position all game, while the Jets had no turnovers. Little known fact:  Namath did not throw a pass in that quarter as the running game was so powerful and time-consuming.  Namath is also the only Super Bowl MVP QB that did not throw a TD pass in the game for which he was so named.
    1971 - Congressional Black Caucus organized.
http://www.house.gov/ebjohnson/cbcbirth.htm
    1971 - “All in the Family” premiered on television. Based on the success of the British comedy "Till Death Us Do Part," Norman Lear created CBS's controversial sitcom "All in the Family." The series was the first of its kind to realistically portray the prevailing issues and taboos of its time with a wickedly humorous bent. From bigotry to birth control, few topics were considered too sacred to discuss on air. Ultra-conservative Archie Bunker (played by Carroll O'Connor) held court from his recliner, spewing invectives at anyone who disagreed with him. Jean Stapleton portrayed Archie's dutiful wife, Edith (pronounced “Eat-it”). Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner rounded out the cast as Archie's ultra-liberal daughter and son-in-law, Gloria and Mike "Meathead" Stivic. All three characters often fell victim to Archie's zinging one-liners and insults.
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0066626/
http://www.allinthefamilysit.com/home.shtml
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/sounds/AllintheFamily.wav
    1972 - Top Hits
“Brand New Key” - Melanie
“American Pie” - Don McLean
“Let’s Stay Together” - Al Green
“Would You Take Another Chance on Me” - Jerry Lee Lewis
    1974 - Steve Miller's "The Joker" hits #1
    1974 - Jim Croce's album You Don't Mess Around with Jim hits #1
    1975 - Pittsburgh Wins Super Bowl IX: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 16-6 in Super Bowl IX,. Led by their famed “Steel Curtain” defense, Pittsburgh held the Vikings to only 17 yards rushing. For the Steelers, it was their first Super Bowl victory and the first of four they would win over a six-year period.
    1976 - The life expectancy for a white woman in the United States became 75.9 years, and for nonwhite women 72 years, according to an announcement by the U.S. Census Bureau. The second half of the 20th century thus marked the first time in recorded history that women were outliving men. Birth control and spaced birthing made the difference. In 1900, the life expectancy for all women in the U.S. was 40 years, much less than men's primarily because of excessive child birth, which made the average life expectancy of a married woman 35. In the 16th century the average length of life for a woman was 25 years.
    1979 - Drummer Aynsley Dunbar joined Jefferson Starship. He had previously played with such groups as John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, the Mothers of Invention, Journey and his own Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation.
    1980 - Top Hits
“Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” - Rupert Holmes
“Rock with You” - Michael Jackson
“Do that to Me One More Time” - The Captain & Tennille
“Coward of the County” - Kenny Rogers
    1981 - The very popular TV show “Dynasty” premiered as a three hour movie. The popular ABC prime-time serial focused on the high-flying exploits of the Denver-based Carrington family. The series had a weekly wardrobe budget of $10,000 with many elegant costumes designed by Nolan Miller. In addition to the juicy storylines, many tuned in worldwide to view the palatial mansions and lavish sets. John Forsythe played patriarch Blake Carrington with Linda Evans as his wife, Krystle. Joan Collins played Alexis, Blake's scheming ex-wife and arch business rival. Other cast members included Kathleen Beller, Pamela Bellwood, Diahann Carroll, Jack Coleman, John James, Heather Locklear, Pamela Sue Martin, Ted McGinley, Michael Nader, Catherine Oxenberg, Emma Samms and Gordon Thomas. Notable guest stars included William Campbell, James Farentino, George Hamilton, Charlton Heston, Rock Hudson, Billy Dee Williams and many others during the soap's long run.
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/D/htmlD/dynasty/dynasty.htm
    1981 - Chester, Massachusetts recorded its lowest temperature in history at -35ºF (-37ºC).  Ironically, the state's highest temperature on record was reported here on Aug. 2, 1975, at 107 degrees.
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=2906
    1982 - A low pressure area on the Gulf spread snow and freezing rain over the central and southern Gulf States. Amounts were generally 5 inches from northern Louisiana into northern Florida. Atlanta, GA was paralyzed by snow and freezing rain. Vegetables were destroyed as far south as Homestead, where the temperature fell to 29 degrees, and citrus was damaged at Orlando, where the mercury fell to 23 degrees. Amounts were generally 5 inches from northern Louisiana into northern Florida. Atlanta, GA was paralyzed by snow and freezing rain.
    1982 - New England defeats Miami 3-0 in the infamous "Snowplow Game." A prisoner on a work-release, Mark Henderson uses his snowplow to clear a kicking surface on the Sullivan Stadium turf for John Smith's 33-yard game-winning field-goal.
    1984 - Cholesterol is linked to heart disease after 10-year study by the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute.
    1984 - Motley Crue opened its first U.S. tour at Madison Square Garden.
    1985 - Commodore Roberta Hazard, becomes the first woman commander of the nation's largest naval training facility, the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois.
http://www.wic.org/bio/rhazard.htm
http://www.history.navy.mil/ar/hotel/hazard.htm
    1985 - After a record setting 24 weeks as the United States' #1 album, Prince's "Purple Rain" slipped to the #2 spot. Bruce Springsteen’s "Born in the USA", finally took over the top spot after 24 weeks in the #2 slot while "Purple Rain" ruled
    1986 - Space shuttle Columbia blasted off with a crew that included the first Hispanic-American in space, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.
    1988 - Top Hits
“So Emotional” - Whitney Houston
“Got My Mind Set on You” - George Harrison
“The Way You Make Me Feel” - Michael Jackson
“I Can’t Get Close Enough” – Exile
    1990 - Gale force winds produce squalls with heavy snow in the Great Lakes Region. Totals in northwest Pennsylvania ranged up to eleven inches at Conneautville and Meadville. Barnes Corners, in western New York State, was buried under 27 inches of snow in two days.
    1991 - The US Congress passed a resolution authorizing the President of the US to use force to expel Iraq from Kuwait. This was the sixth congressional vote in US history declaring war or authorizing force on another nation.
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1994/ch13_p11.htm
    1991 - Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation 1814" became the first album to generate seven top-five singles on the Billboard Hot 100 when "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" reached number four. It would rise to number-one the following week.
    1991 - Johnny Paycheck is released from prison after serving two years of a seven-year sentence for a barroom shooting. Ohio Governor Richard Celeste had commuted his sentence upon leaving office.
    1992 - This date is incorrect on the birthday of “Hal,” computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke, "born" Urbana, IL.
    1993 - The Eighth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in Los Angeles. Inductees include Cream (who reunite on stage for the event), Ruth Brown, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Etta James, Van Morrison, and Sly and the Family Stone.
    1994 - Top Hits
“Hero”- Mariah Carey
“All For Love”- Bryan Adams/Rod Stewart/Sting
“All That She Wants”- Ace Of Base
“Again”- Janet Jackson
    1995 - The Tenth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York. Inductees include The Allman Brothers Band, Al Green, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Martha and the Vandellas, Neil Young, and Frank Zappa.
    1996 - The fourth and final in a series of snowstorms to strike the east coast in only ten days dumped 36 inches of snow at Oakland, PA, 26 inches at Franklin, NY, and 25 inches at Montrose, PA. Another 4 to 6 inches fell in the Washington, DC- Baltimore, MD area. The 10.8 inches at Harrisburg, PA raised its monthly snowfall to 38.8 inches -- the city's snowiest month ever. After this snowfall, many places had over 40 inches of snow on the ground, including Grafton, NH (50 inches), Danville, PA (49 inches), Jaffrey, NH (46 inches), and West Granville, MA (43 inches). Oddly enough, this deep snow cover would be completely eradicated in most areas over the next two weeks from warm temperatures and heavy rains, setting the stage for major flooding.
    1997 - HAL becomes operational (2001: A Space Odyssey); this date was given as January 12, 1992 on screen, but 1997 is the date used in both the novel and screenplay.
http://asru99.research.att.com/abstracts/0_6741_keynote.pdf
http://www.indelibleinc.com/kubrick/films/2001/images.html
    1998 - The Harlem Globetrotters, the most popular basketball attraction in the world, played their 20,000th game, defeating their perennial foils, the New York Nationals, 85-62, in Remington, IN. The victory brought the Trotters’ overall record to 19,668 wins against only 332 defeats. The Globetrotters, originally known as the Savoy Five, were founded in 1926 by Abe Saperstein. They played before their first paying crowd in 1927, adopted their new name in 1930 and played their first game on foreign soil in 1939. In the nearly six decades since, they have played in 114 countries before an estimated total audience of 100 million.
    1998 - At a ceremony in Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria, Carlos Santana became the first Hispanic to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Santana said he was pleased about the honor, and felt a little like Jackie Robinson. Also inducted that day were The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and the Papas, and Jelly Roll Morton.
http://www.santana.com/
    1998 - Linda Tripp provided Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's office with taped conversations between herself and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
    1999 - Top Hits
“Have You Ever?” - Brandy
“Nobody's Supposed to Be Here” - Deborah Cox
“I’m Your Angel” - R. Kelly
“...Baby One More Time” - Britney Spears
    1999 - Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball was sold at auction in New York for $3 million to an anonymous bidder.
    2000 - Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, gave police broad authority to stop and question people who run at the sight of an officer.
    2002 - Adam Ant (Stuart Goddard) was arrested at the Prince of Wales club in London. He was charged with possession of a firearm and with criminal damage and assault. He also allegedly attacked a man in his 40s.
     2005 - NASA launched "Deep Impact". The spacecraft was planned to impact on Comet Tempel 1 after a six-month, 268 million-mile journey.
    2006 - The U.S. Mint began shipping new 5-cent coins to the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks. The coin has an image of Thomas Jefferson taken from an 1800 Rembrandt Peale portrait in which the president is looking forward. Since 1909, when presidents were first depicted on circulating coins, all presidents had been shown in profile.

Super Bowl Champions:
1969 – New York Jets
1975 – Pittsburgh Steelers