April 12
It’s National Licorice Day and Russian Cosmonaut Day and Big Wind Day
ON THIS DAY…
1606 The original Union Jack is adopted as the flag of Great Britain
1633 Galileo Galileis second trial before the Inquisition began; at its conclusion, his belief that the Earth was not the center of the Universe was pronounced heretical
1782 The British navy won its only naval engagement against the colonists in the American Revolution at the Battle of Saints, off Dominica
1831 The first US railroad tunnel was started between Hollidaysburg and Johnstown, PA
1833 Charles Gaylor patented the fireproof safe
1857 The first installment of Madame Bovary is published in the Revue de Paris
1861 The Civil War begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, SC
1877 The first catcher’s mitt is used in a baseball game in Lynn, MA
1888 Albert Nobel, inventor of dynamite, is mistakenly thought to have died, and an obituary call hims “a merchant of death”; this gets him thinking and ultimately leads to the establishing of the Nobel Prize
1892 Voters in Lockport, NY became the first in the US to use voting machines
1892 The first US patent for a portable typewriter, the Blickensderfer, was issued to George Blickensderfer of Stamford, CT
1898 Marie Curie observed a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences, where one of her teachers, Prof. Gabriel Lippmann announced her discovery of substances much more radioactive than uranium
1905 The Hippodrome opened in New York City
1912 Charlie Chaplin’s silent short film The Tramp opens in the US
1923 American scientists studying Einstein’s Theory of Relativity found further evidence in support of its correctness
1934 The strongest surface wind gust in the world, 231 mph, was measured by the staff of the Mount Washington Observatory on the summit of Mount Washington
1938 The first US law requiring a medical test for a marriage license was enacted in New York
1940 Alfred Hitchcock’s film Rebecca starring Laurence Olivier opens in US theaters
1945 In New York, the organization of the first eye bank, the Eye Bank for Sight Restoration, was announced
1954 The American Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) begins hearings to revoke Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance
1955 The University of Michigan Polio Vaccine Evaluation Center announced that the polio vaccine of Dr. Jonas Salk was “safe, effective and potent”
1961 Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man to orbit the Earth
1963 Police used dogs and cattle prods on peaceful civil rights demonstrators in Birmingham, AL
1964 The 100th episode of Mr. Ed airs
1966 Jan Barry (of Jan & Dean) crashed his car at “Dead Man’s Curve”
1981 The space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral, FL on its first test flight
1985 Federal inspectors declared that four animals of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus were not unicorns; they were goats with horns that had been surgically implanted
1985 Ladyhawke, starring Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer, opens in US theaters
1988 Sonny Bono is elected Mayor of Palm Springs, CA
1988 The first US patent is issued on an animal life form, for a genetically engineered mouse
1990 James Brown was released from a South Carolina jail on work furlough after serving 15 months of a six-year sentence for aggravated assault
1992 The Euro Disney Resort, featuring the Euro Disneyland park, opens in France
1993 NATO began enforcing a no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina
1994 The first Internet spamming program was used by an attorney in Arizona
1999 President Bill Clinton was cited for contempt of court for giving “intentionally false statements” in the Paula Jones sexual harassment civil lawsuit
2002 It was announced that the South African version of Sesame Street would be introducing a character that was HIV-positive
BORN:
1705 William Cookworthy, chemist who pioneered the manufacture of porcelain in Britain
1748 Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu, botanist who developed the principles that served as the foundation of a natural system of plant classification
1777 Henry Clay, 19th century statesman and orator who represented Kentucky in both the House of Representatives and Senate; known as “The Great Compromiser” and “The Great Pacifier” for his ability to bring others to agreement, he was the founder and leader of the Whig Party
1831 Grenville Mellen Dodge, civil engineer who was responsible for much of the railroad construction in the western and southwestern US during the 19th century
1838 John Shaw Billings, surgeon and librarian whose organization of US medical institutions played a central role in the modernization of hospital care and the maintenance of public health
1849 Albert Heim, geologist whose studies of the Swiss Alps greatly advanced knowledge of the dynamics of mountain building and of glacial effects on topography and geology
1853 Sir James Mackenzie, cardiologist, pioneer in the study of cardiac arrhythmias; he was first to make simultaneous records of the arterial and venous pulses to evaluate the condition of the heart, a procedure that laid the foundation for much future research
1916 Beverly Cleary, Newbery Medal winning author whose best-known characters are Henry Huggins, Ribsy, Beatrice (“Beezus”) Quimby, her sister Ramona, and Ralph S. Mouse
1917 Helen Forrest, one of the most popular female jazz vocalists during America’s Big Band era
1923 Ann Miller, actress and dancer (On the Town, Kiss Me Kate, Hit the Deck, Easter Parade)
1924 Peter Safar, physician whose pioneering “Kiss of Life” procedure of mouth-to-mouth resuscitations is credited with saving countless lives
1930 Tiny Tim (Herbert Khaury), falsetto-voiced novelty singer, ukulele player, and musical archivist (Tiptoe Through The Tulips)
1936 Charles Napier, character actor who usually plays hard-ass military types and menacing bad guys (The Blues Brothers, Something Wild, The Grifters, Philadelphia)
1939 Alan Ayckbourn, popular and prolific playwright (Absurd Person Singular, Woman in Mind, A Small Family Business, Man Of The Moment, House & Garden)
1942 Frank Bank, actor (Leave it to Beaver)
1946 Ed O’Neill, actor (John from Cincinnati, Dragnet, The 10th Kingdom, Married…with Children, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane)
1947 Tom Clancy, author of bestselling political thrillers (The Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising, The Cardinal of the Kremlin)
1947 David Letterman, TV personality
1949 Scott Turow, author and practicing lawyer (Presumed Innocent, The Burden of Proof)
1950 David Cassidy, actor and singer (The Partridge Family)
1956 Andy Garcia, actor (Ocean’s 11/12/13, Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead, Hero, Dead Again)
1971 Shannen Doherty, actress (Charmed, Little House: A New Beginning, Beverly Hills, 90210)
1971 Nicholas Brendon, actor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Psycho Beach Party, Kitchen Confidential, American Dragon: Jake Long)
1979 Claire Danes, actress (Stardust, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Romeo + Juliet , My So Called Life)
1979 Jennifer Morrison, actress (House, M.D., Surviving Christmas, Star Trek 2008, Urban Legends: Final Cut, Stir of Echoes)
DIED:
1870 John Stough Bobbs, physician who performed the first US gallstone operation in Indianapolis, IN, dies at 60
1912 Clara Barton, nursing pioneer who distributed supplies and tended to the wounded and dying despite life-threatening conditions and almost singlehandedly she founded the American Red Cross, which has provided comfort in times of crisis since 1882, dies at 90
1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States who was elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945, and is the only US president to have served more than two terms of office and one of the most important figures in the 20th century, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 63
1981 Joe Louis, nicknamed The Brown Bomber, he is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxing champions who has ever lived; he held the title for over 11 years, recording 25 successful defenses of the title, dies at 66
1989 Gerald Flood, actor (Doctor Who, Frightmare, Bleak House), dies at 61
1989 Abbie Hoffman, social and political activist who co-founded the Youth International Party (“Yippies”), dies at 52
1989 Sugar Ray Robinson, professional boxer whose performances at the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create “pound for pound” rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight; he had a record of 85-0 as an amateur with 69 of those victories coming by way of knockout, 40 in the first round. He turned professional in 1940 at the age of 19 and by 1951 had a professional record of 128-1-2 with 84 knockouts. Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and won the world middleweight title in the latter year. He retired in 1952, only to come back two and a half years later and regain the middleweight title in 1955. He then became the first boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five times. Robinson was named “fighter of the year” twice: first for his performances in 1942, then nine years and over 90 fights later, for his efforts in 1951. Robinson engaged in 200 pro bouts, and his professional career lasted nearly 26 years; he died at the age of 67
1999 Boxcar Willie, “hobo music” singer, dies at 67