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Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Person of the Year 2020

Tom retired this year at the law firm of Barton, Klugman & Oetting, Los Angeles, California. The Leasing News Advisory Board nominated him for his support and contributions to the industry
Tom McCurnin joined the Leasing News Advisory Board March 16, 2007. He has written over 600 articles for Leasing News and served as Legal News Editor. (1) He has contributed to other media, including major newspapers, as well as bank and law publications.

In addition, he helped brokers, lessees, and lessors who had complaints they originally made to Leasing News. His time was all pro bono. He also represented Leasing News pro bono in many threats of lawsuits, and in depositions.  As noted, his main practice was representing banks, leasing companies, funders, and cases brought to him he channeled to other attorneys, many of whom were outside of California where he practiced.

He is a musician, world traveler, as well as being active in animal rescue, particularly Labrador Retrievers. He now serves as a volunteer forest ranger in the San Bernardino National Forest.  His main hobbies are hiking, wilderness canoeing, camping, and woodworking. He also has a cabin in the mountains for he and his wife Jodi.

Tom retired in March, 2020, at Barton, Klugman & Oetting, Los Angeles, California, resigning from the California Attorney Bar Association and letting his law practice insurance expire. It was right before COVID-19 became widespread. He and his wife had earlier bought a cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains, fitted with propane, ran electric, chopped wood, and have a well. He wanted to enjoy the wilderness, as well as spending time in his house in downtown Los Angeles.

In the confidential group email conference on Basecamp for the Leasing Person of the Year, Tom was nominated by Leasing News Advisor, Kenneth Green, Esq., CLFP. 

"I have given this a lot of thought. There are many people in the industry who are leaders, though often only within their own small sphere of influence. One person who has shown a tireless, unflagging desire to educate and illuminate those well beyond his immediate circle is my good friend Tom McCurnin. I have known Tom for decades.

"We have worked together and he is one of the most impressive attorneys I have ever known. His cumulative contributions to Leasing News (over 600 articles in more than a decade) have brought true value to the industry by enlightening hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people about subjects and object lessons of which all of us should be aware.

“He is also a delightful, talented man who I am glad to call a friend. Yes, I am envious that he has retired, pursuing a dream of being a forest ranger (!). His absence has created a huge vacuum both in my life and within the equipment finance industry. I nominate Tom McCurnin as “Leasing Person of the Year.”

"Can’t think of a better candidate."

In order of response:

Edward Kaye, Esq., Schickler Kaye PLLC, "I second the motion. I’ve read his columns for years. They are my current inspiration! Well deserved."

Alan Levine, Madi$on Capital, "My contact with Tom, albeit limited, were great. Always a helping hand, receptive, forthcoming, and knowledgeable. Great choice."

Edward Castagna, InPlace Auction, "I only know Tom through his articles which are top notch!"

Shari Lipski, CLFP, ECS Financial Services, "Tom would be great. He’d have my vote!"

David C. Lee, North Mill Capital, "I do not know Tom but agree that his articles are quite informative so I support this nomination."

Ben Carlile, MAXIM COMMERCIAL CAPITAL, LLC  "Thanks, Ken. I agree. Tom is an excellent, ethical writer and a significant contributor over the years."

Dale Davis, Endeavor Financial Services, "I concur.  Tom is an excellent choice."

Phil Dushay, Global Financial Services, "I don’t know him personally but I will go along with the group."

Bruce Kropschot, The Alta Group, "Sorry that I am late to the conversation. I agree that Tom McCurnin is an excellent choice. He has been a great supporter of our industry. Also, thanks to Ken Greene for suggesting Tom."
The above are the first ones received.

(1) Leasing Cases by Tom McCurnin
http://leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html

Leasing News
Chair, Advisory Board
Shari Lipski, CLFP	ECS Financial Services, Northbrook, IL
Vice Chair, Advisory Board
Paul Menzel, CLFP	The Alta Group, Santa Barbara, CA
Advisory Board
Ben Carlile	Maxim Commercial Capital, Los Angeles, CA
Ed Castagna	InPlace Auction, Melville, NY
Steve Crane, CLFP	BSB Leasing, Englewood, CO
Dale Davis	Endeavor Financial Services, Costa Mesa, CA
Phil Dushey	Global Financial Services, Manhattan, NY
Ken Greene, Esq.	Kenneth Charles Greene Law Offices, Westlake Village, CA
Shawn Halladay	Pitney Bowes Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah
Ed Kaye	Schickler Kaye PLLC, New York, NY
Bruce Kropschot	Kropschot Financial Services, Naples, FL
David C. Lee	North Mill Equipment Finance, Norwalk, CT
Allan Levine	Madison Capital, LLC., Owings Mills, MD
Bruce Lurie	Douglas-Guardian Services Corporation, Houston, TX
Paul Menzel, CLFP	The Alta Group, Santa Barbara, CA
Don Myerson	BSB Leasing, Colorado, HI
Reid Raykovich, CLFP	CLFP, Seattle, WA
Hugh Swandel	Meridian OneCap Credit, Burnaby, B.C.
Bob Teichman, CLFP	Teichman Financial Training, Mill Valley, CA.

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
Christopher Menkin	Saratoga, California
Associate Publisher/Webmaster
Rick Jones	Brentwood, California
Advisory Board/Associate Editor
Ralph Mango	Alexandria, Virginia

Previous Leasing Persons of the Year
With their Announcements

Gerald "Jerry" Parrotto (left) receiving 2018
 Leasing News Person of the Year Award
from Leasing News Advisor/Associate Editor (volunteer), Ralph Mango. 
(photo by David Bara)

Ralph Mango nominated Jerry Parrotto, therefore it is fitting that he present the award.

Previous Leasing News Persons of the Year included Randy Brook, Curt Ritter, Jerry Parrotto, all who retired and were then named for the career bodies of work that formed the foundations of their selections as Leasing News person of the year,

2005  Paul J. Menzel, CLFP, Pacific Capital Bancorp.
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202006/01-03-06.htm#person
2006  Paul A. Larkins, Key Equipment Finance
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202007/01-03-07.htm#year
2007  Randall H. Brook, Sr. Attorney, Federal Trade Commission
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-07-08.htm#lpy
2008  Robert Teichman, CLFP, Teichman Training
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202009/01-05-09.htm#year
2009  Ralph Petta, COO, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2010/1_05.htm#poy
2010  Curt Ritter, CIT, VP, Communications/Media Relations
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2011/1_04.htm#ritter
2011  John C. Deane, Sr. Mgr. Partner, The Alta Group
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2012/1_04.htm#2011_poy
2012  Tony Golobic, President, GreatAmerica Financial Services
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2013/1_07.htm#poy
2013  Bernard D. Boettigheimer, CLFP, Founder, Lease Police
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2014/1_07.htm#poy
2014 Valerie Jester, President, Brandywine Capital Associates
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2015/1_05.htm#previous
2015 Bruce Kropschot, The Alta Group
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2106/01_06.htm#poy
2016 Reid Raykovich, CLFP, Certified Lease & Finance Professional Foundation
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2017/01_04.htm#poy
2017 Deborah Monosson, President and CEO, Boston Financial& Equity Group
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2018/01_03.htm#poy
2018 Gerald "Jerry" Parrotto, retired CEO/President, Molloy Associates; Publisher Monitor, ABF Journal
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2019/01_03.htm#loy2018
2019  Monica Harper, Executive Director, American Association of Commercial Finance Brokers
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2020/01_08.htm#prior

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The State of Equipment Leasing
in the United States 2021
By Christopher Menkin

Happy New Year, 2021

It was the end of the year, several readers emailing me for my telephone number to learn about the changes in leasing due to COVID-19. I responded by email as I can include more information that has been published here. The changes are affected by remote working, rather than actual visits, as well as greatly sped-up communication and processing. Financial Technology, the internet and all the programs available have changed the entire process dramatically. The changes include online submissions, documentation, funding, and traveling to the client and headquarters, all of which have opened up great advantages, especially those now able to work from home. This has affected not only for sales but bookkeeping, credit, even documentation, and funding.

Most leases today are equipment finance agreements with four-hour turnaround, including ACH payments to vendors, whether the equipment is delivered or job finished. Leases require delivery, inspection, formal insurance certificate, and often landlord waivers. An equipment finance agreement is a loan and changes UCC, insurance, delivery requirements and responsibilities not on the lessor, but the borrower. One of the first to take advantage of this was the late Bernie Boettigheimer and his son John, who was basically running the main business. Bernie was running Lease Police. His goal was to check out vendors as well as brokers.

When the financing, leasing, or business loans didn’t work, along came merchant cash advance deals, hard business loans, or good old accounts receivable financing and factoring.

Depending on the size of the transaction, there is not much tax tax incentive when $100,000 is a write-off a year.

Perhaps aircraft, ships, and larger assets are involved in true leases or higher dollar transactions.  Most franchises are financing are business loans and equipment finance agreements.

Yes, there are very few true leases written today due to the IRS depreciation advances available, as well as the problems past lessees have had with evergreen payments. Most have changed the names of their company from leasing to Capital or Finance in the title, as have associations, commercial loan brokers, and originators. FinTech has become prominent with very fast credit decisions and ease of online documents signing and funding. Most salesmen now work from their homes, as do credit people and processors due to what is available via the internet. The "New Hires" feature every week notes where they work from and, usually this is not at headquarters.

Companies process online from UCC and other Internet sources of leads, ACH, new credit financial technology. Prospect contact has become easier and not as expensive in the past with many companies advertising their services on line.

Another factor is the availability of investments to funders from low bank interest rates and underwriting financing to well-run entities has a much better return.

I suggest visiting the top websites to see how they operate. It will add to your understanding of today in "leasing:
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_07.htm#sites

I also strongly recommend joining a real financing and leasing association and learn from their members what they are doing and how they may help you.  http://leasingnews.org/associations.htm

The new changes of declaring interest in certain state will not slow down the process, as the top credits already know how to use "TValue” software. Most companies are interested in getting an approval, doing it without a lot of explanation and work, and while concerned about what the payment and terms will be, are more interested in obtaining an approval.

As Scott Wheeler’s survey proved, there are a lot of originators reporting who made good money in 2020.
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_02.htm#results

 

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

 

Being Authentic
 - The Only Way to Succeed In an Interview

The Ultimate Hire by Ken Lubin, ZRG Partners

When going on an interview, most people try to be the person they think the company wants to hire, similar to taking a personality assessment or going on a first date.  As humans, we inherently think we know what the other person wants us to say, be, or do; this is a bad strategy. In my time in the recruiting business, I can’t tell you how many times a candidate tried to act their way into a job but it never works out. It is like the man behind the curtain; once they are found out, the game is up and things don’t end well.

True professionals go into an interview being themselves, having “authentic confidence,” and realizing that the only way that they are going to be successful in a culture is to be accepted as they are. They take the guess work out of the meeting, show their true selves and if the company doesn’t hire them for being their true selves, then they know it was never going to be a fit. When going on an interview, don’t act and don’t be afraid to be you, because you are the only thing you have.

klubin@zrgpartners.com

Ken Lubin
Managing Director
ZRG Partners, LLC
Americas I EMEA I Asia Pacific
C: 508-733-4789
https://www.linkedin.com/in/klubin/

"What is the Ultimate Hire? The Ultimate Hire is the professional that every business, team or leader needs in their organization. This is the high performance individual that always rises to the top, brings the team to the next level and can significantly add to the bottom line. The Ultimate Hire is the person that you can't afford to be without. Finding, Attracting, Hiring and Retaining these professionals is critical to the success of your business. We have identified these traits and can help you find these top professionals."

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A Half-Million Dollar Ad on deBanked
By Sean Murray, deBanked President/Editor-in-Chief

In early 2015, deBanked signed up a customer that was interested in paying with Bitcoin. So we priced it out and we agreed that about one month of advertising on our website combined with an ad in a single magazine issue would cost about 14 bitcoins.

I submitted an invoice via Coinbase and they paid. Pretty soon thereafter, we sold the bitcoins for cash. I thought nothing of it because I’ve never seen Bitcoin as an investment.

We continued to do other advertising deals in Bitcoin in which the contracts were priced in Bitcoin instead of dollars but that was the largest single Bitcoin transaction we ever did. I’ve also done things like pay for hotel rooms for industry conferences in Bitcoin, because you know…that’s how I roll.

As you probably heard over the New Year’s weekend, the price of bitcoin shot up to $34,000. It got me thinking about how I failed to become a Bitcoin millionaire years earlier, but now with this incredible new high, it reminded me of that one deal in particular

Fourteen bitcoins in 2021 is worth approximately $476,000. Almost a half million dollars. That was for just 1 month of advertising on deBanked.

I guess I should’ve held on to them.

Happy New Year.

Last modified: January 4, 2021

www.debanked.com

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##### Press Release ############################

North Mill Equipment Finance Sets Multiple Records in 2020
as Originations Reach All-Time High

North Mill Equipment Finance LLC (“North Mill”), a leading independent commercial equipment lessor located in Norwalk, Connecticut, announced today that 2020 was the best twelve months in the company’s 60-year history as loan and lease originations reached an all-time high. Reporting upsurges in volume throughout 2020, the organization beat each of its prior high-water marks as new records were set for annual, quarterly, and monthly volume as December came to a close.

David C. Lee, Chairman and CEO, North Mill, said, “Despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic, 2020 turned out to be an extraordinarily successful year for North Mill as our key performance indicators were up across the board.

“Annual volume topped $183 million, a robust increase of 33% from 2019.  Average FICO was 713, an improvement of 19 points over last year and our average deal size increased 8% to $77,606.”
 The company reported record originations in the third quarter of 2020 only to surpass that record in the fourth quarter as volume surged an additional 10% to close at $55 million. The newly attained highpoints continued through year-end as December’s originations came in at just under $20 million, the company’s best month ever, beating the previous peak in November. 

A major factor responsible for North Mill’s continued success, according to Lee, is an ongoing commitment to portfolio diversification which helped referral agent partners place more business with the company.

David Lee explained, Transportation, which made up nearly 100% of our asset portfolio a few years ago, now represents about 42% of funded volume with sleeper trucks, which just five years ago represented over 60% of funded volume, now accounting for just 9 percent of financed transactions,”.
Another element contributing to the company’s vigorous growth is the catalog of process improvements targeting referral agents and customers. 

Mark Bonanno, North Mill’s Chief Operating Officer, commented, “In 2020, we introduced DocuSign, electronic power of attorney, and wireless GPS among other initiatives designed to improve the customer experience’

“And there’s much more to come in 2021, especially as it relates to technology enhancements and user-interface touch points for our brokers.”

In preparation for the coming year, North Mill closed on two Q4 2020 capital market transactions.  The size of the company’s senior loan facility with Deutsche Bank AG, New York Branch (“Deutsche Bank) was increased to $125 million while a new $50 million senior loan facility was closed with Truist Bank (“Truist”) in December. The loan facilities increased North Mill’s total credit availability to $205 million.

Pier Snider, North Mill’s Chief Financial Officer, reaffirmed the significance of the record-breaking year as it relates to the company’s lending partners. “Our ability to service our bank portfolios through a global pandemic, while simultaneously setting new records at regular intervals, provides our lending partners with the confidence necessary to initiate and grow their commitments with us.”

About North Mill Equipment Finance
Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, North Mill Equipment Finance originates and services small-ticket equipment leases and loans, ranging from $15,000 to $300,000 in value. A broker-centric private lender, the company handles A – C credit qualities and finances transactions for numerous asset categories including construction, transportation, vocational, medical, manufacturing, printing, and material handling equipment. North Mill is majority owned by an affiliate of Wafra Capital Partners, Inc. (WCP).  For more information, visit www.nmef.com.

### Press Release ############################

Pyrenees Mountain Dog
San Bernadine, California

Kyle

The breed is known as Le Chien de Montagne des Pyrenees in its native habitat (the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain).

The Pyr is actually descended from the ancient large, primarily white, livestock guardian dogs of the Middle Ages and developed parallel to most modern breeds of dogs. The Pyrenees has remained virtually unchanged physically and mentally for hundreds of years, meaning that the breed has relatively few health problems in comparison to modern dogs.
https://www.greatpyrrescue.org/about.html

Application:
https://www.greatpyrrescue.org/adoption-application.html

Great Pyrenees Association-Southern
18122 Rancho Ave
San Bernardino, California
(909) 887-8201

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Top Ten Leasing News
December 28 to December 30

(Stories most opened by readers)

(1) I Don’t Know Who Drew This…
    Drawing
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_30.htm#drawing

(2) Trebels Group Found Guilty $350,000
    Dallas School Bus Sale/Leasebacks
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_30.htm#trebels

(3) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
    and Related Industries
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_30.htm#hires

(4) Gov. Cuomo signs bill to protect small businesses
    getting loans to survive COVID-19 and other emergencies
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_28.htm#bill

(5) Sales Champions Wanted/Sales Support
    VP of Business Development Open Position
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_28.htm#ads_help

(6) Key Provisions in the New Economic Recovery Act
    By Caity Roach, Editor, Coleman Report
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_30.htm#key

(7) North Mill Equipment Finance Closes
    Two Capital Market Transaction in Fourth Quarter
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_28.htm#nm

(8) The 5 Real Reasons You Didn't Get Hired
    By Ken Lubin, ZRG Partners
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_30.htm#5

(9) Trump signs COVID-19 'red lined' economic relief package
    Asks Congress to Remove Wasteful Spending
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-signs-covid-19-economic-relief-package/

(10) Bob Teichman Retires, Shari Lipski Named Chair
    Paul Menzel, Vice-Chair, Leasing News Advisory Board
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2020/12_30.htm#ab

 

News Briefs---

Local funding crisis
    threatens U.S. vaccine rollout
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccines-distribut/local-funding-crisis-threatens-u-s-vaccine-rollout-idUSKBN295135

Vaccination is going slowly
    because nobody is in charge
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/12/31/vaccination-slow-trump-administration-states/

Tesla made half a million electric cars in 2020
    "built 509,737 EVs, delivered 499,550
https://www.engadget.com/tesla-2020-production-half-million-cars-154826010.html

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You May Have Missed---

Disabled dog missing 10 months
    is reunited with owner
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/disabled-dog-missing-10-months-is-reunited-with-owner/article_63708e8e-bd46-5809-aef9-c7c33941c9c9.html

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Sports Briefs---

Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth were despondent
    over Eagles QB change
https://nypost.com/2021/01/04/nbc-announcers-were-despondent-over-eagles-qb-change/

Seattle called a kneeldown, but Russell Wilson changed  
  the play to get David Moore a $100,000 bonus
https://sports.yahoo.com/seattle-called-a-kneeldown-but-russell-wilson-changed-the-play-to-get-david-moore-a-100000-bonus-142708821.html

How Tom Brady helped Antonio Brown earn $250K
    bonus late in Bucs-Falcons game
https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/how-tom-brady-helped-antonio-brown-earn-250k-bonus-late-bucs-falcons-game

Ranking NFL's six open head coaching jobs
     in 2021 from worst to first
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/nate-davis/2021/01/04/nfl-2021-six-head-coaching-jobs-ranked-jets-jaguars-chargers/4124456001/

John Elway steps down as Broncos general manager,
     will remain to oversee football operations
https://www.denverpost.com/2021/01/04/john-elway-steps-down-broncos-general-manager/

An autopsy of the Cowboys: How grim is the outlook
     in Dallas after an unpleasant 2020 season?
https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/cowboys/2021/01/04/an-autopsy-of-the-cowboys-how-grim-is-the-outlook-in-dallas-after-an-unpleasant-2020-season/

Report: Patriots, Cam Newton
    are expected to part ways
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/01/03/report-pa

Steph Curry scores career-high 62 points
    in Golden State Warriors victory
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/04/sport/steph-curry-62-golden-state-warriors-portland-trailblazers-spt-intl/index.html

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California Nuts Briefs---

San Francisco extends stay-at-home order indefinitely as virus surges
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/12/31/san-francisco-extends-stay-at-home-order-indefinitely-as-virus-surges/

Study: Silicon Valley is mostly working from home
     — and service industry is paying the price
https://sanjosespotlight.com/study-silicon-valley-is-mostly-working-from-home-and-service-industry-is-paying-the-price/

Owner of hotels in East Bay, South Bay, Monterey Bay area   
 reports cash shortages, but hopes for financing rescue

https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/01/04/real-estate-big-owner-bay-area-hotel-warns-bankruptcy-sec-filing/

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“Gimme that Wine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

These married former Apple execs used lessons learned
     from Steve Jobs to pivot their small business during Covid-19
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/29/how-lessons-from-steve-jobs-helped-a-small-business-during-covid.html

What California’s farmworkers can teach
     us during a season of giving
https://grist.org/justice/what-californias-farmworkers-can-teach-us-during-a-season-of-giving/

Remembering the innovators, luminaries, friends
     and family of the wine industry who died this yea
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/2020-in-memoriamr

NABI Opposes Ill-Timed Airbus Tariffs Revisions
     By United States Trade Representative
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=239977

French wine exporters say U.S. wine taxes a "sledgehammer" to sector
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-eu-trade-france-idUSKBN2950Z4

TTB legalizes the most popular size of wine can WG
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=239984

Free Wine App
https://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp/

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

This Day in History

     1643 - The first divorce was granted, by Quarter Court, Boston, MA: “Anne Clarke, beeing deserted by Denis Clarke hir husband and, and hee refusing to accompany with hir, she is graunted to bee divorced, his refusal was under his hand, and seale, which hee gave before Mr. John Winthrop, Junr. Mr. Emanuel Downing, Mr. Nehemiah Bo'ne (Bourne) and Richard Babington, alsoe hee confsseth hee liveth in adultery with one, by whom he hath had 2 and refuseth hir which hee had two children by.”
    1776 – New Hampshire is the first state to adopt a constitution.  The Congress of New Hampshire voted to establish a civil government and specified the manner and form that government would have. The Congress ratified the Constitution at the urging of the US Continental Congress. The 1776 Constitution did not contain a Bill of Rights, nor was it submitted to the people of New Hampshire.
    1779 - American naval officer Stephen Decatur’s (d. 1820) birthday at Sinepuxent, Maryland.  His father and grandfather, both also named Stephen Decatur, were also seafaring men.  In a toast at a dinner in Norfolk in 1815, Decatur spoke his most famous words, quoted often today by both men and women in the military, "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong." This has been slightly changed to modern times, but that was the original quote. Dueling was "popular" to settle arguments in early America where everyone had a gun and used it. Mortally wounded in a duel with Commodore James Barton, at Bladensburg, Maryland, on the morning of March 22, 1820, Decatur was carried to his home in Washington where he died a few hours later.
    1779 – Zebulon Pike (d. 1813) was born in Lamington, NJ.  He was a brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak is named. As a US Army captain in 1806–1807, he led the expedition, sent out by President Jefferson, to explore and document the southern portion of the Louisiana Territory and to find the headwaters of the Red River, during which he recorded the discovery of what later was called Pikes Peak. The Pike expedition coincided with other Jefferson expeditions including the Lewis and Clark (1804-1806) and the Freeman and Custis (1806). The Pike Expedition traveled through present-day Colorado after his party confused their location. This led to capture by Spanish, who sent Pike and his men to Chihuahua, present-day Mexico and questioned by the governor. They were released later in 1807 at the border of Louisiana. 
    1781 - British naval expedition led by former American General Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, VA.
http://www.lbdb.com/TMDisplayLeader.cfm?PID=5759
    1794 - Birthday of the Southern agriculturist, Edmund Ruffin (d. 1865), at Prince George County, VA. His discoveries of crop rotation and fertilizer, learned from journals of George Washington, were influential in the early agrarian culture of the US. He published the Farmer's Register from 1833 to 1842, a journal that promoted scientific agriculture. A noted politician as well as a farmer, he was an early advocate of Southern secession whose views were widely circulated in pamphlets. As a member of the Palmetto Guards of Charleston, he was given the honor of firing the first shot on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. After the South's defeat, he became despondent and, wrapping himself in the Confederate flag, took his own life on June 18, 1865, at Amelia County, VA, writing in his diary the reason: “...I here repeat and would willingly proclaim my unmitigated hatred to Yankee rule--to all political, social and business connections with Yankees, and the perfidious, malignant and vile Yankee race."
http://www.dixienet.org/spatriot/lastwrds.html
http://www.oldnewspublishing.com/edmund.htm
    1804 - Ohio legislature passes first laws restricting free blacks movement.
    1835 - It was a record cold morning in the eastern U.S. The temperature plunged to 23 degrees below zero on the Yale campus in New Haven, CT and to 40 degrees below zero in the Berkshire Hills of Connecticut.
    1836 - Davy Crockett arrives in Texas to join others to fight for freedom from Mexico.
http://www.americanwest.com/pages/davycroc.htm
    1838 - President Martin Van Buren issues a neutrality proclamation forbidding US citizens from taking part in the Canadian insurrection. The privately-owned US steamship Caroline, leased by Canadian revolutionaries, has been destroyed by Canadian militiamen on 29 December. President Van Buren orders General Winfield Scott to post militiamen along the Canadian frontier.
    1846 - Boldly reversing its long-standing policy of "free and open" occupation in the disputed Oregon Territory, the U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution calling for an end to British-American sharing of the region. The British agreed to abandon their claim to the area north of the Columbia and accept the 49th parallel as a border. The Hudson Bay Company already had decided to relocate its principal trading post from the Columbia River area to Vancouver Island, leaving the British with little interest in maintaining their claim to area. Despite the cries of betrayal from the advocates of the 54th parallel, Polk wisely accepted the British offer to place the border on the 49th parallel. The new boundary not only gave the U.S. more territory than it had any legitimate claim to, but it also left Polk free to pursue his next objective: a war with Mexico for control of the Southwest.
    1861 - Alabama troops seize Forts Morgan and Gaines at Mobile Bay
    1861 - 250 Federal troops are sent from New York to Fort Sumter
    1874 – Joseph Erlanger (d. 1965) was born in San Francisco.  A physiologist who is best known for his contributions to the field of neuroscience, with Herbert Spencer Gasser, he identified several varieties of nerve fiber and established the relationship between action potential velocity and fiber diameter. Among their experiments was shock therapy.  They were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1944 for these achievements. 
    1875 - President Grant sends federal troops to Vicksburg, Miss.  Eleven years after he had captured the city during the Civil War, he was sent Federal troops back to Vicksburg to quell riots between freedmen and white residents of the city.  During Reconstruction, former slaves were granted citizenship and the vote by the 14th and 15th Amendments. The freedmen eagerly registered and flooded the polls, while many former Confederates were not allowed to vote. In Mississippi's 1874 election, the Republican Party carried a 30,000 majority in what had been a Democratic Party stronghold when only whites voted. Republicans took the governor's office and some legislative seats.  In August 1874, the Vicksburg city government elected a White reform party consisting of Republicans and Democrats. White city officials went after the county government, which had a majority of African Americans. Rather than using legal means, the White League threatened the life of Peter Crosby, the black county sheriff and tax collector. Crosby escaped and took a train to Jackson, Mississippi. In Jackson, Governor, Adelbert Ames, of Massachusetts, was a former Union general who had earned the Medal of Honor for his actions at First Manassas in 1861. Ames had no forces to send and depended on the national government for troops to reinstate ousted officials. Crosby returned to Vicksburg where he was arrested by members of the White League. On December 7, 1874, a group of blacks marched into Vicksburg from the countryside to restore him to power and were met by an armed militia made up of whites, some Democrats and some Republicans. The leader of the black militia was allowed to visit Crosby in jail where the deposed sheriff told his supporters to go home. They were outnumbered and outgunned. As the black militia was turning to leave town, the group of whites opened fire. In the fighting, two whites and 29 blacks were killed. Some historians estimate as many as 300 people were killed in the ensuing violence. Both sides gave differing versions of the sequence of events. On December 21, Grant gave a Presidential Proclamation for the people in Vicksburg to stop fighting. Philip Sheridan in Louisiana dispatched troops who reinstated Crosby as sheriff and restored the peace.
    1882 - Herbert Bayard Swope (d. 1958) was born in St. Louis.  Editor and journalist, Swope spent most of his career at the New York World newspaper. He was the first and three-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Reporting.  He is known for saying, "I can't give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time." He is also credited with coining the phrase, "Cold War."  He was the first newspaperman to employ the “op-ed” concept of opinion pieces printed opposite the editorial page. 
    1884 - A severe arctic outbreak hit the Midwest, sending Des Moines to a low of 30 degrees below zero and Indianapolis to a low reading of 25 degrees below zero. Peoria, Illinois had a record low reading of 27 degrees below zero.
    1885 - Revolutionizing produce delivery, the first piggyback railroad operation began on the Long Island Rail Road in New York State. A produce train, consisting of eight flatcars for carrying farmers' wagons, eight cars to carry their horses, and a coach for teamsters, left Albertson's station, railroad station on Long Island. It arrived at 6:30am at Long Island City, where a ferry carried the wagons across the East River to New York City.
    1887 - First US school of librarianship opens at Columbia University.
    1895 – Guitarist/Singer/Composer Elizabeth Cotten (d. 1987) was born near Chapel Hill, North Carolina; one of America's great early female folk singers. 
http://www.eclectica.org/v1n1/nonfiction/demerlee.html
    1895 - Jeannette Ridlon Piccard’s (d. 1981) birthday in Chicago.  She was the first woman to qualify as a free balloon pilot (1934). One of the first women to be ordained an Episcopal priest (1976). Pilot for record-setting balloon ascent into stratosphere (from Dearborn, MI, Oct 23, 1934) at 57,579 feet with her husband Jean Felix Piccard. Identical twin married to identical twin.
    1896 - The Die Presse newspaper (Germany) publicly announces Wilhelm Rontgen’s discovery of X-rays and their potential for new methods of medical diagnoses in a front-page article.
    1903 – Telegraph service between San Francisco and Honolulu began.   
    1904 - 34ºF (-36.7ºC), River Vale NJ (state record)
    1904 - 42ºF (-41.1ºC), Smethport PA (state record)
    1904 – Astrologer Jeanne Dixon (d. 1997) was born in Medford, WI.  One of the best-known American astrologers and psychics of the 20th century, due to her syndicated newspaper astrology column, some well-publicized predictions, and a best-selling biography.  She professed to be a devout Roman Catholic and attributed her prophetic ability to God. A million seller, “My Life and Prophecies,” was credited "as told to Rene Noorbergen", but Dixon was sued by Adele Fletcher, who claimed that her rejected manuscript was rewritten and published as that book. Fletcher was awarded five percent of the royalties by a jury. President Nixon followed her predictions through his secretary, Rose Mary Woods, and met with her in the Oval Office at least once, in 1971. The following year, her prediction of terrorist attacks in the United States in the wake of the Munich massacre spurred Nixon to set up a cabinet committee on counterterrorism.  She was one of several astrologers who gave advice to Nancy Reagan. 
    1905 - National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals, a non-profit, environmental organization dedicated to conservation, incorporates.  William Dutcher was president and T. Gilbert Pearson was secretary and financial agent.
    1906 – Trumpet player Wild Bill Davison (d. 1987) birthday, Defiance, OH.
http://www.jazzcanadiana.on.ca/_DAVIDS.htm
http://www.mp3.com/wild-bill-davison/artists/21106/biography.html
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=15926
    1906 - Trumpet player Wendell Culley (d. 1983) birthday, Worcester, MA.
http://www.mp3.com/Wendell-Culley/artists/52196/biography.html
http://rewards.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,419191,00.html?
artist=Wendell+Culley.  Perhaps best known for his solo on “Lil Darlin',” also played with Lionel Hampton and featured on “Airmail Special” and “Midnight Sun.”   He alternated between third and lead trumpet player (the third trumpet player is always the alternate lead trumpet player and often the first and third switch during a tune for many reasons, including they play the highest notes---until Stan Kenton introduced Maynard Ferguson and others brought on “screamers.”)
One of the best Basie albums with Culley:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?j=1andCategoryID=cat02007andid
=64000andskuId=1935838andtype=productandref=25and
loc=SMXandDCMP=
KNC-TLC (Listen to “Whirly Bird.” Neal Hefti was the arranger here, one of Frank Sinatra's favorites, too.)
    1913 - The record low temperature for the state of Utah was set at Strawberry Tunnel. The thermometer plunged to 50 degrees below zero.
    1914 - Henry Ford announced that all that all Ford Motor Company employees would receive a minimum wage of $5 a day. This was a major move in its day as wages went from $2.40 for a 9-hour day to $5.00 for an 8-hour day. Ford explained the policy as “profit sharing and efficiency engineering.” The more cynical attributed it to an attempt to prevent unionization and to obtain a docile workforce that would accept job speedups. To obtain the minimum wage an employee had to be of “good personal habits.” Whether an individual fit these criteria was determined by a new office created by Ford Motor Company---the Sociological Department.
    1914 – “Superman,” George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer (d. 1959) in Woolstock, IA.  His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains a polarizing issue; the official finding was suicide but some believe he was murdered or the victim of an accidental shooting.  It also formed the story line in the 2006 movie, “Hollywoodland.”  Reeves's film career began in 1939 when he was cast as one of Scarlett’s suitors in “Gone with the Wind.”  Drafted into the Army Air Force in 1943, he made training films.  After the War, he returned to a lackluster film career, although he played a minor character in “From Here to Eternity” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, giving Reeves the distinction of appearing in two "Best Picture" films.  In June 1951, Reeves was offered the role of Superman in a new television series titled “Adventures of Superman.”  That show ran for six seasons and interminably in syndication but it is the show for which Reeves is best remembered.
    1917 - Jane Wyman (d. 2007), American actress (“Magnificent Obsession”) and first wife of Ronald Reagan, was born in St. Joseph, Missouri.  She received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in “Johnny Belinda” (1948), and later in life achieved a new level of success in the 1980s on “Falcon Crest.”
    1918 - Canadian clarinetist and bandleader Dal Richards (d. 2015) was born in Vancouver. Richards was music director and bandleader at the Hotel Vancouver's Panorama Roof for 25 years, from 1940 to 1965. Among the vocalists with his band was his wife, Lorraine McAllister. Richards also became a familiar figure during halftime shows at BC Lions football games.
    1923 - Sam Phillips (d. 2003), owner of the legendary Sun Records in Memphis, was born in Florence, Alabama. Many music historians say Sun was where rock 'n' roll began. Certainly, Phillips was the first to record the black-influenced music of such young white singers as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins in 1954. Phillips began by recording such black artists as Howlin' Wolf and Jackie Brenston, whose "Rocket '88" from 1951 is often cited as the first rock 'n' roll record. But Phillips had also dreamed of finding a white singer who could sing in a black style - and in 1954 he did. Elvis Presley recorded five hit singles for Sun before Phillips sold his contract to RCA in 1956 for $35,000.  Phillips sold Sun Records in 1969 but he had already assured his place in rock history. The original Sun Studio on Union Avenue in Memphis is now open as a tourist attraction. Much of the soundtrack for the 1989 Jerry Lee Lewis film biography "Great Balls of Fire" was recorded there.
    1925 - Nellie Taylor (Mrs. William B) Ross became the first woman to serve as governor upon her inauguration in Wyoming. She had previously finished out the term of her husband, who died in office. In 1974, Ella Grasso of Connecticut became the first woman to be elected governor.
    1926 - Claude (Buddy) Young (d. 1953) was born in Chicago.  The 5'4" Young, also known as the "Bronze Bullet," had exceptional quickness and acceleration. He is one of the shortest men ever to play NFL football.  In football, three of the most talented minority athletes during the war years were Bill Willis, Marion Motley and Young.  His 10-year pro career saw him with the NY Yankees of the AAFL, who became the NY Yanks that were absorbed into the NFL, who then moved to Dallas and became the Texans in 1951.  In 1952, the team moved again and became the Baltimore Colts (of later Unitas fame) and retired with them in 1955.
    1926 – Robert Earle (d. 2019) was born in Baldwin, NY.  He was the former host of “G.E. College Bowl” during its entire NBC run, from 1962 to 1970.  In the early 1950s, Earle was also an announcer and news anchor for a Utica, NY television station WKTV. After he left the station, he was replaced at the anchor desk by another up-and-coming television personality, Dick Clark.
    1927 - Judge Landis begins 3-day public hearing on charges that 4 games played between Chicago and Detroit in 1917 had been thrown to White Sox.
    1928 – Former Vice-President Walter Mondale was born in Ceylon, MN. 
    1930 – Bonnie Parker meets Clyde Barrow for the first time at Clarence Clay's house, Barrow's friend, in West Dallas, TX.  Barrow was 20 years old, and Parker was 19. Parker was out of work and staying with a female friend to assist her during her recovery from a broken arm. Both were smitten immediately; most historians believe that Parker joined Barrow because she had fallen in love with him. She remained his loyal companion as they carried out their many crimes and awaited the violent death which they viewed as inevitable.
    1931 – The first woman to purchase a baseball team, Lucille Thomas, purchases the Topeka franchise in the Western League
    1931 – Actor Robert Duvall was born in San Diego.  He served in the Korean War and used the GI Bill to begin drama studies.  After a modest career on and off Broadway, followed by bits parts in such films as “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Bullitt,” and “True Grit,” he landed a meaty part as Major Frank Burns in “M*A*S*H*,” for which he drew considerable attention.  His portrayal as the family consigliere Tom Hagen in “The Godfather” earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and the reprise in “The Godfather, Part II.”     
    1932 – Former Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach and former Cleveland Browns guard Chuck Noll (d. 2014) was born in Cleveland.  In 1969, he took over a perennially awful franchise and turned it into a perennial contender. As head coach, won nine AFC Central Division championships and he compiled a 209-156-1 record in all games, including a 16-8-0 post-season record, and had winning records in 15 of his final 20 seasons. Until Bill Belichick, he won more Super Bowl victories, 4, than any other head coach in NFL history. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.  Noll was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1953, where he played until his retirement in 1959. During his first year, the Browns lost to the Detroit Lions in the NFL championship. The next two years the Browns were NFL champions.  Coach Paul Brown used Noll as one of his "messenger guards" to send play calls to the quarterback (beginning with Otto Graham). Brown recalled that Noll soon "could have called the plays himself without any help from the bench. That's how smart he was."
    1933 - Prohibition was repealed. The Twenty-First Amendment was adopted when it was ratified by Utah, the 36th state to do so.
    1933 – Construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge that spans the channel at the entrance to the San Francisco Bay. When finished, in May, 1927, it was called an engineering marvel.
    1934 - Both baseball's National and American Leagues decided to use a standard size baseball, making it the first time in 33 years they both used the same size ball.
    1934 - Fenway Park catches fire for 2nd time (May 8, 1926 also).
    1940 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) heard FM radio for the first time. The new medium of FM, free of interference and static, was developed by Major E.H. Armstrong. In 1941, the first FM transmitter was put in operation.
    1941 - Carmen Miranda recorded Decca record #23210, "Chica Chica Boom Chic." She sang the song in the film, "That Night in Rio."      
    1942 - John B. Hughes of the Mutual Broadcasting Company opens an attack on Japanese Americans in California. He charges they are engaged in espionage and their dominance in produce production and control of the food supply are part of a master war plan.  Hughes had a regular news program on the Mutual Broadcasting Network in 1941–42 and is credited by several observers as being "the first widely heard newsman," "the most prominent early editorialist" and the "chief offender on the West Coast" to press for the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast.  He corresponded with Attorney General Francis Biddle, claiming in a January 19 letter that "ninety percent or more of American-born Japanese are primarily loyal to Japan."  His voice, soon joined by many others, helped shape West Coast public opinion to strongly favor mass removal.  He was later fired by Mutual and, later in the war, did a 180º turn, supporting the rights of minorities and decrying prejudice against Japanese Americans in his broadcasts for KFWB, an independent Los Angeles station. 
http://bss.sfsu.edu/tygiel/Hist427/1940sphotos/internment/internment.htm
http://www.janm.org/projects/clasc/resources.htm
    1942 – American television talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose was born in Henderson, NC.
    1943 - *WALKER, KENNETH N., (Air Mission) Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Brigadier General, U.S. Army Air Corps, Commander of V Bomber Command. Place and date: Rabaul, New Britain, 5 January 1943. Entered service at. Colorado. Birth: Cerrillos, N. Mex. G.O. No.: 13, 11 March 1943. Citation: For conspicuous leadership above and beyond the call of duty involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life. As commander of the 5th Bomber Command during the period from 5 September 1942, to 5 January 1943, Brig. Gen. Walker repeatedly accompanied his units on bombing missions deep into enemy-held territory. From the lessons personally gained under combat conditions, he developed a highly efficient technique for bombing when opposed by enemy fighter airplanes and by antiaircraft fire. On 5 January 1943, in the face of extremely heavy antiaircraft fire and determined opposition by enemy fighters, he led an effective daylight bombing attack against shipping in the harbor at Rabaul, New Britain, which resulted in direct hits on 9 enemy vessels. During this action his airplane was disabled and forced down by the attack of an overwhelming number of enemy fighters.
    1945 – In Japan, young pilots become Kamikaze, or "Divine Wind."  The suicidal blitz of the Kamikazes revealed Japan's desperation in the final months of World War II. Most of Japan's top pilots were dead, but youngsters needed little training to take planes full of explosives and crash them into ships. At Okinawa, they sank 30 ships and killed almost 5,000 Americans, including “human” torpedoes who made sure they found their target. The war in Iraq with suicide bombers was similar.
    1945 - Admiral Smith leads a force of cruisers and destroyers to shell Iwo Jima, Haha Jima and Chichi Jima. There is a simultaneous attack by USAAF B-29 Superfortress bombers.
    1945 - Admiral McCrea leads three cruisers and nine destroyers to bombard Suribachi Wan in the Kuriles.
    1946 – Actress Diane Keaton was born Diane Hall in LA.  Her first major film role was in “The Godfather” (1972), but the films that shaped her early career were those with director and co-star Woody Allen, beginning with “Play It Again, Sam” in 1972. Her next two films with Allen, “Sleeper” (1973) and “Love and Death” (1975), established her as a comic actor. Her fourth, “Annie Hall” (1977), won her the Academy Award for Best Actress.  Keaton subsequently expanded her range to avoid becoming typecast as her Annie Hall persona:  “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” (1977) and received Academy Award nominations for “Reds” (1981) and “Marvin’s Room” (1996).  Keaton's films have earned a cumulative gross of over $1.1 billion in North America. In addition to acting, she is also a photographer, real estate developer, author, and occasional singer.
    1947 - Birthday of Kathy Switzer, Amberg, Germany.  American athlete, who had been refused permission to enter the Boston Marathon but got a number in 1967 as K. Switzer. While racing she was discovered to be a girl. Front page photos seen throughout the world show race officials chasing her, trying to pull her number off. She outmaneuvered them with the help of a couple of male runners and finished the race. As a member of the Syracuse University track team, she was promptly suspended from the Amateur Athletic Union for "running without a chaperon!" It wasn't until five years later that women were officially allowed to run in the race with men. In 1979, she began organizing women's racing meets.
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/tindall/timelinf/marathon.htm
    1948 - Movie theater audiences were given a treat when Warner Brothers-Pathe showed the very first color newsreel, with pictures of the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football classic.
    1951 - Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Ponte Vedra Beach Women's Golf Open.
    1955 - A song from a "Studio One" production took over the #1 spot on the pop music charts. For four weeks, Joan Weber's, "Let Me Go, Lover," maintained the top spot on the hit parade. Before airing on television, the song had been heard on a limited basis, under a different title, was "Let Me Go, Devil."
    1955 - Lavern Baker's "Tweedle Dee" enters the R and B chart. It will later peak at #4 and become the first of Baker's 13 R and B Top Twenty hits.
    1956 - Elvis Presley records "Heartbreak Hotel"
    1956 - Screen actress Grace Kelly announced to the press her marriage engagement to Monaco's Prince Rainier III.
    1957 - Top Hits
“Singing the Blues” - Guy Mitchell
“The Green Door” - Jim Lowe
“Blueberry Hill” - Fats Domino
“Singing the Blues” - Marty Robbins
    1957 – Brooklyn Dodgers' Jackie Robinson retires rather than be traded to New York Giants.  During the 1956 season, he had begun to exhibit the effects of diabetes, and to lose interest in the prospect of playing or managing professional baseball.  Unbeknownst to the Dodgers, Robinson had already agreed with the president of Chock Full o’ Nuts to quit baseball and become an executive with the company.
    1957 - In response to the increasingly tense situation in the Middle East, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a proposal to Congress that calls for a new and more proactive U.S. policy in the region. The "Eisenhower Doctrine," as the proposal soon came to be known, established the Middle East as a Cold War battlefield. In the summer of 1958, nearly 15,000 U.S. troops were sent to help quell the disturbances in Lebanon.
    1959 - Coral Records releases what proves to be Buddy Holly's last record before his death, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," which was one of the few songs that Buddy recorded that he didn't write. It was penned by Paul Anka and peaked at #13, two months after Holly was killed in a plane crash on Feb 3, 1959 in Iowa.
    1961 - "Mr. Ed," the show about a talking horse, debuted for the episode of a six-year run. The show starred Alan Young as Ed's owner, Wilbur Post, and Connie Hines as Wilbur's wife, Carol. Neighbor, Roger Addison, was played by Larry Keating who was not the only neighbor confounded by Ed's antics during the show's run. Mr. Ed was voiced by Allan ‘Rocky' Lane.
    1963 - The co-founder of Chess records, Leonard Chess, tells Billboard, "As it stands today, there's virtually no difference between rock and roll, pop and rhythm and blues. The music has completely overlapped."
    1963 - "Camelot" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 873 performances
    1964 - Following an unprecedented pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Pope Paul VI met with Greek Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I in Jerusalem. It was the first such meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches in over 500 years (since 1439).
    1964 - The San Diego Chargers rout the Boston Patriots, 51-10, in the AFL title game as fullback Keith Lincoln totals 349 yards of offense.
http://images.nfl.com/history/images/0105.jpg
    1965 - Top Hits
“I Feel Fine” - The Beatles
“She's a Woman” - The Beatles
“Love Potion Number Nine” - The Searchers
“Once a Day” - Connie Smith
    1967 – The Inaugural message of Ronald Reagan, California's 33rd governor, was delivered during ceremonies in the Rotunda of the State Capitol at midnight. Just before the swearing in, the new governor turned to U.S. Senator George Murphy -- a former movie song-and-dance man -- and said "Well George, here we are on the late show again." The new governor placed his hand on Father Serra’s bible as he was sworn in by State Supreme Court Justice Marshall F. McComb.
    1968 - "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" goes gold just nine months after its release. The album package includes an award-winning poster by graphic artist Milton Glaser.
    1968 - Dr. Benjamin Spock indicted for conspiring to violate draft law
    1970 - "All My Children" premiered on television. This ABC show became TV's top-rated soap opera by the 1978-79 season and still keeps viewers glued to the screen. “All My Children” was created by Agnes Nixon, who had written for “Search for Tomorrow,” “Another World” and “One Life to Live.” Set in a place called Pine Valley, NY, the show focused on the Tyler and Martin families. The story includes the illegitimate child of Dr. Tyler, Erica Kane (played by Susan Lucci), who became one of daytimes TV's most popular characters. Lucci had been nominated more than a dozen times for an Emmy, and finally won one in 1999. This serial has included the cast of Hugh Franklin as Dr. Charles Tyler and Ruth Warrick as his wife, Phoebe; son Lincoln has been played by James Karen, Paul Dumont, Nicholas Pryor and Peter White, daughter Ann by Diana De Vegh, Joanna Miles, Judith Barcorft and Gwyn Gilles.
    1970 - MILLER, FRANKLIN D., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces.  Place and date: Kontum province, Republic of Vietnam, 5 January 1970. Entered service at: Albuquerque, N. Mex. Born: 27 January 1945, Elizabeth City, N.C. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Miller, 5th Special Forces Group, distinguished himself while serving as team leader of an American-Vietnamese long-range reconnaissance patrol operating deep within enemy controlled territory. Leaving the helicopter insertion point, the patrol moved forward on its mission. Suddenly, 1 of the team members tripped a hostile booby trap which wounded 4 soldiers. S/Sgt. Miller, knowing that the explosion would alert the enemy, quickly administered first aid to the wounded and directed the team into positions across a small stream bed at the base of a steep hill. Within a few minutes, S/Sgt. Miller saw the lead element of what he estimated to be a platoon-size enemy force moving toward his location. Concerned for the safety of his men, he directed the small team to move up the hill to a more secure position. He remained alone, separated from the patrol, to meet the attack. S/Sgt. Miller single-handedly repulsed 2 determined attacks by the numerically superior enemy force and caused them to withdraw in disorder. He rejoined his team, established contact with a forward air controller and arranged the evacuation of his patrol. However, the only suitable extraction location in the heavy jungle was a bomb crater some 150 meters from the team location. S/Sgt. Miller reconnoitered the route to the crater and led his men through the enemy controlled jungle to the extraction site. As the evacuation helicopter hovered over the crater to pick up the patrol, the enemy launched a savage automatic weapon and rocket-propelled grenade attack against the beleaguered team, driving off the rescue helicopter. S/Sgt. Miller led the team in a valiant defense which drove back the enemy in its attempt to overrun the small patrol. Although seriously wounded and with every man in his patrol a casualty, S/Sgt. Miller moved forward to again single-handedly meet the hostile attackers. From his forward exposed position, S/Sgt. Miller gallantly repelled 2 attacks by the enemy before a friendly relief force reached the patrol location. S/Sgt. Miller's gallantry, intrepidity in action, and selfless devotion to the welfare of his comrades are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1971 - After posting victories in 2,495 straight games dating back to 1962, the Harlem Globetrotters suffered a rare defeat at the hands of their perennial opponents, the Washington Generals. In the closing seconds of a game in Martin, TN, a basket by Red Klotz gave the Generals a 100-99 win.
    1971 - US heavyweight boxer "Sonny" Liston's corpse was found.  Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home. On returning home from a two-week trip, Geraldine, on entering, saw Sonny slumped up against the bed, a broken foot bench on the floor. Authorities theorized that he was undressing for bed when he fell over backward with such force that he broke the rail of the bench. 
    1972 - United States President Richard Nixon signed a bill instructing NASA to begin research on a manned space shuttle.
    1972 - John Denver was awarded a gold record for the album, "Aerie".
    1973 - Top Hits
“Me and Mrs. Jones” - Billy Paul
“Clair” - Gilbert O'Sullivan
“You're So Vain” - Carly Simon
“She's Got to Be a Saint” - Ray Price
    1974 - The Carpenters' greatest-hits collection, "The Singles 1969-1973," hits #1.  The brother-and-sister duo had, by this year, charted eight Top Ten hits, including a pair of Number Ones.
    1975 – Actor Bradley Cooper was born in Philadelphia.
    1979 - The soundtrack LP for "Saturday Night Fever" reached $25 million marker in sales.
    1979 - The Blues Brothers, known better as Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, reportedly ruffle some feathers with their tongue-in-cheek renderings of classic soul songs. However, their biggest supporters are the covered artists themselves. The Blues Brothers album, "Briefcase of Blues" goes to Number One and goes platinum on this date and give the Sam and Dave song, "Soul Man," a new life.  I have all their records and play them often, such as I compile this.
    1981 - Top Hits
“(Just Like) Starting Over” - John Lennon
“Love on the Rocks” - Neil Diamond
“Hungry Heart” - Bruce Springsteen
“One in a Million” - Johnny Lee
    1982 - A three-day rainstorm in the San Francisco, CA area finally came to an end. Marin and Santa Cruz counties were drenched with up to 25 inches of rain. Big snow fell in the Sierra-Nevada range, with accumulations up to eight feet in depth. The storm claimed at least 36 lives and caused more than 300 million dollars damage.
    1987 - The first year in which the federal budget exceeded $1 trillion was the fiscal year 1988. The budget submitted to Congress by President Ronald Wilson Reagan totaled $1.024 trillion, which included revenues of $916.6 billion and projected deficit of $107.8 billion. 
    1987 - When the Midshipmen defeated East Carolina, 91-66, David Robinson became the first basketball player in the history of the Naval Academy to score over 2,000 points; he went on to become a star in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs.  Robinson is a 10-time NBA All-Star, the 1995 NBA MVP, a two-time NBA Champion (1999 and 2003), a two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner (1992, 1996), a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2009 for his individual career, 2010 as a member of the 1992 US Men’s Olympic basketball team), and a two-time US Olympic Hall of Fame inductee (2008 individually, 2009 as a member of the 1992 Olympic team). He is widely considered one of the greatest centers in both college and NBA history. To date, Robinson is the only player from Navy to play in the NBA.
    1987 - Surrogate Baby M case begins in Hackensack, NJ.  In re Baby M was a custody case that became the first American court ruling on the validity of surrogacy. William Stern and his wife, Elizabeth Stern, entered into a surrogacy agreement with Mary Beth Whitehead, whom they found through a newspaper advertisement. According to the agreement, Mary Beth Whitehead would be inseminated with William Stern's sperm (making her a traditional, as opposed to gestational, surrogate), bring the pregnancy to term, and relinquish her parental rights in favor of William's wife, Elizabeth. After the birth, however, Mary Beth decided to keep the child. William and Elizabeth Stern then sued to be recognized as the child's legal parents.  The New Jersey court ruled that the surrogacy contract was invalid according to public policy, recognized Mary Beth Whitehead as the child's legal mother, and ordered the Family Court to determine whether Whitehead, as mother, or Stern, as father, should have legal custody of the infant, using the conventional 'best interests of the child' analysis. Stern was awarded custody, with Whitehead having visitation rights.
    1988 - The Columbia Broadcasting System sold CBS Records to the Sony Corporation of Japan. CBS Records began in 1887 as the American Graphophone Company, founded by two English inventors, one of whom was a cousin of Alexander Graham Bell. American Graphophone manufactured dictation machines. Its offspring, the Columbia Phonograph Company, did not begin making records until 1890. Over the years, Columbia Records was owned by an English businessman, a radio and refrigerator manufacturer, a button maker and finally a broadcaster before being sold to Sony.
    1988 - Thunderstorms helped produce heavy snow in the Lower Great Lakes Region. Snow fell at the rate of four to five inches per hour, and snowfall totals ranged up to 69 inches at Highmarket, NY.
    1989 - Top Hits
“Every Rose Has Its Thorn” - Poison
“My Prerogative” - Bobby Brown
“Two Hearts” - Phil Collins
“When You Say Nothing at All” - Keith Whitley
    1989 - A strong Pacific cold front produced heavy snow and high winds in Nevada. Winds gusted to 80 mph north of Reno, while up to two feet of snow blanketed the Lake Tahoe ski area.
    1993 - Mike Ditka was dismissed as Chicago Bears head coach after 32 years as a player and coach (11 seasons as head coach, 106-62). In 1988, Ditka, who played in five Pro Bowls and two conference championships (1963 and 1971), was the first tight end to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
    1995 - Myra C. Selby, became the first woman and the first black member of the Indiana State Supreme Court.
http://www.state.in.us/judiciary/fairness/members/selby.html
http://www.icemiller.com/lawyer_print.aspx?id=882andbioid=212
    1996 - After 33 seasons as a head coach, Don Shula retired from the helm of the Miami Dolphins to become part-owner and vice-chairman of the team. Shula left the game as the winningest professional coach of all time with a record, counting regular season and playoff games 347-173-6. His teams made the playoffs 20 times and won two Super Bowls, both when he was head coach of the Baltimore Colts.
    1998 - Sonny Bono, age 62, was killed after slamming into a tree while skiing at a resort in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Bono, formerly married to entertainer Cher, had become active in politics following their breakup. He had served as the mayor of Palm Springs, California, and a congressman. The pop duo Sonny and Cher had several big hits, including "The Beat Goes On" and "I've Got You, Babe."
    2005 - Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, is discovered by the team of Michael Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David Rabinowitz using images originally taken on October 21, 2003, at the Palomar Observatory.
    2007 – Bill Cowher resigns as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers after winning the Super Bowl.  In 15 seasons as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he led the team to eight division titles and 10 playoff appearances, which resulted in two Super Bowl appearances and one victory.
    2019 – Golden State and Sacramento combined for 41 3-point goals in the Warriors’ 127-123 win to set a new NBA 3-point record.       
    2020 - Chinese professor Zhang Yongzhen publishes the first SARS-CoV-2 genome map online, allowing health professionals worldwide to identify COVID-19.