Ant Farmer's Almanac

Today in Yesteryear

1980: Mount St. Helens blows its top.

1982: Unification Church founder Reverend Sun Myung Moon convicted of tax evasion; is now known as "The Al Capone of Religious Cult Wing Nuts."

 

Today's Birthdays!

1883 Walter Gropius

1897 Frank Capra

1904 Jacob Javits

1911 Big Joe Turner

1928 Pernell Roberts

1946 Reggie Jackson

1949 Rick Wakeman

Today in Yesteryear

1673: Joliet & Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi; expedition is marred by pair's constant bickering over whether the river is "Big" or "Muddy."

1804: Lewis & Clark begin exploration of the Louisiana Purchase; more than a little surprised to discover that Jefferson bought it sight-unseen and hope he kept the receipt.

1845: Rubber band patented; well, you didn't think it invented itself, did ya?

1846: Saxophone is patented, neighbors’ objections go unheard.

1932: Congress changes the name "Porto Rico" to "Puerto Rico" but does not stipulate any change of pronunciation.

1960: First atomic reactor system is patented by JW Flora, of Canoga Park, CA; he built it in his garage from stuff he got at an Army Surplus store and parts from three old Philco radios.

1961: Fidel Castro offers to exchange Bay of Pigs prisoners for 500 bulldozers; "The pretty yellow ones," he specifies.

Today's Birthdays!

1444 Sandro Botticelli

1911 Maureen O'Sullivan

1912 Archibald Cox

1936 Dennis Hopper

1955 Bill Paxton

1956 "Sugar" Ray Leonard,
Bob Saget

1963 Brigitte Nielsen.

Today in Yesteryear

1770: Marie Antoinette marries future King Louis XVI of France.

1891: Hormel & Company introduce Spam; it is best eaten with sporks.

1927: Supreme Court rules that bootleggers must pay income tax.

1965: Spaghetti-O's first sold; Uh, oh!

1966: Beach Boys' Pet Sounds is released.

Today's Birthdays!

1905 Henry Fonda; 1912 Studs Terkel; 1913 Woody Herman; 1921 Harry Carey Jr.; 1928 Billy Martin; 1931 Lowell Weicker; 1952 Pierce Brosnan; 1955 Debra Winger; 1963 Jimmy Osmond; 1970 Gabriela Sabatini.

Today in Yesteryear

1637: Cardinal Richelieu creates the table knife; meal-time sword mishaps become a thing of the past.

1828: U.S. passes Tariff of Abominations; although technically still in effect, it's getting harder to define what makes for an "abomination."

1942: Helicopter makes first cross-country flight, broadcasting local traffic reports along the way.

1950: Diner's Club issues its first credit cards.

1958: Richard Nixon‘s car attacked in Venezuela by anti-American demonstrators; this won’t happen to him in US until 1971.

1965: Rolling Stones record Satisfaction.

Today's Birthdays!

1907 Daphne du Maurier

1914 Joe Louis

1926 Beatrice Arthur

1927 Herbert Ross

1931 Jim Jones

1939 Harvey Keitel

1941 Ritchie Valens

1950 Stevie Wonder

1961 Dennis Rodman.

Today in Yesteryear

1958: Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu by Dicky Doo & The Don'ts hits #40; this would never have happened if Elvis wasn't in the army.

1958: US performs nuclear test at Enwetak; if by "test" you mean "Blew it to smithereens that will be radioactive for 6,000 years."

1959: Liz Taylor's 4th marriage (to Eddie Fisher).

1963: Bob Dylan walks off the Ed Sullivan Show rather than sing duet with Topo Gigio.

1989: Last graffiti-covered New York City subway car retired; it now lives comfortably in Florida on a modest pension.

1997: Tornado narrowly misses downtown Miami; is mercilessly ridiculed by hurricanes for its poor aim.

Today's Birthdays!

1828 Gabriel Dante Rossetti; 1914 Howard K. Smith; 1925 Yogi Berra; 1929 Burt Bacharach; 1937 George Carlin; 1948 Steve Winwood; 1950 Bruce Boxleitner, Gabriel Byrne, Billy Squier; 1966 Stephen Baldwin.

Today in Yesteryear

1752: Benjamin Franklin tests first lightning rod; "Eurkea! It works!" exclaims the smoldering inventor.
1924: J. Edgar Hoover made FBI chief; is sworn in wearing heels, tiara, smashing little strapless number.
1933: Paraguay declares war on Bolivia; and then they probably fight, or something.
1967: Keith Richards, Brian Jones & Mick Jagger arrested on drug charges.
1969: Rock band the Turtles play the White House; lead singer Mark Volman falls off stage five times (really).

Today's Birthdays!

1899 Fred Astaire; 1902 David O. Selznick; 1929 Fats Domino; 1936 Gary Owens; 1938 Maxim Shostakovich; 1957 Sid Vicious; 1960 Bono.

Today in Yesteryear

1962: U.S. performs nuclear test at Christmas Island; vacationing Santa Claus loses five reindeer and his red suit permanently glows in the dark.

1963: U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site near Las Vegas; this is how the Rat Pack gains its legendary superpowers.

1965: Beatles attend a Bob Dylan concert; the boys are a little miffed that Like a Rolling Stone isn't followed by some song with "beetle" in the name.

Today's Birthdays!

1918 Mike Wallace

1928 Pancho Gonzalez

1936 Glenda Jackson

1944 Richie Furay

1946 Candice Bergen

1949 Billy Joel

1962 John Corbett.

Today in Yesteryear

1867: To ensure that Bastille Day is never celebrated in the western hemisphere, Mexico heroically defeats occupying French forces.

1891: Carnegie Hall opens in New York; attendance is low, what with people not yet knowing how to get there.

1925: John T. Scopes arrested for teaching evolution in Tennessee.

Today's Birthdays!

1818 Karl Marx; 1867 Nellie Bly; 1900 Spencer Tracy; 1903 James Beard; 1912 Alice Faye; 1913 Tyrone Power; 1926 Ann B. Davis; 1940 Eric Burdon; 1942 Tammy Wynette; 1943 Michael Palin; 1944 Jean-Pierre Leaud, John Rhys-Davies.

Today in Yesteryear

1924: Olympics open in Paris; French athletes shrug indifferently and continue smoking.

1932: Al Capone, convict of income tax evasion; IRS deemed way scarier than FBI.

1957: Alan Freed hosts television's first prime-time network rock and roll show.

Today's Birthdays!

1826 Frederick Church; 1924 Dennis Weaver; 1928 Maynard Ferguson; 1929 Audrey Hepburn; 1939 Amos Oz; 1941 George Will; 1957 Richard E. Grant; 1958 Keith Haring. 

 

Today in Yesteryear

1494: Christopher Columbus discovers Jamaica, ganja.

1919: America's first passenger flight goes from New York City to Atlantic City; half of the passengers lose their return fare at the casinos and have to hitchhike back.

1965: The Real Don Steele debuts on KRTH radio in Los Angeles; Tina Delgado is alive, ALIVE!

1971: National Public Radio begins programming.

Today's Birthdays!

1895 Zoltan Korda

1898 Golda Meir

1903 Bing Crosby

1906 Mary Astor

1919 Pete Seeger

1920 Sugar Ray Robinson

1928 James Brown

1947 Doug Henning.