FEBRUARY 21
- TODAY IS NATIONAL STICKY BUN DAY
BIRTHDAYS:
- ROBERT MUGABE (1924, 94)
- ERMA BOMBECK (1927-1996)
- NINA SIMONE (1933-2003)
- RUE MCCLANAHAN (1934-2010)
- JOHN LEWIS (1940, 78)
- DAVID GEFFEN (1943, 75)
- ALAN RICKMAN (1946-2016)
- TYNE DALY (1946, 72)
- BOB RYAN (1946, 72)
- KELSEY GRAMMER (1955, 63)
- SCOTT KELLY (1964, 54)
- JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT (1979, 39)
- JORDAN PEELE (1979, 39)
- ELLEN PAGE (1987, 31)
- SOPHIE TURNER (1996, 22)
ON THIS DAY:
- IN 1431, JOAN OF ARC BEGINS STANDING TRIAL FOR HERESY
- IN 1842, JOHN GREENOUGH PATENTS THE SEWING MACHINE
- IN 1848, KARL MARX PUBLISHES “THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO”
- IN 1858, EDWIN HOLMES INSTALLS THE FIRST ELECTIC BURGLAR ALARM IN BOSTON
- IN 1878, NEW HARBOR, CT PUBLISHES THE FIRST TELEPHONE BOOK WITH 50 PEOPLE
- IN 1885, THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT IS DEDICATED
- IN 1887, OREGON IS THE FIRST STATE TO MAKE LABOR DAY A HOLIDAY
- IN 1902, DR. HARVEY CUSHING PERFORMS THE FIRST BRAIN SURGERY
- IN 1916, THE BATTLE OF VERDUN BEGINS IN WWI, EVENTUALLY KILLING 1 MILLION
- IN 1925, “NEW YORKER” MAGAZINE PUBLISHES ITS FIRST ISSUE
- IN 1931, ALKA SELTZER GOES ON SALE
- IN 1947, “A WOMAN TO REMEMBER” AIRS AS THE FIRST TV SOAP OPERA
- IN 1948, NASCAR (NATIONAL ASSOC. OF STOCK CAR AUTO RACING) IS INCORPERATED
- IN 1952, ELIZABETH TAYLOR MARRIES HER SECOND HUSBAND MICHAEL WILDING AT 19
- IN 1953, FRANCIS CRICK AND JAMES WATSON DISCOVER THE STRUCTER OF THE DNA MOLECULE
- IN 1964, THE ECHOES, A NEW YORK BASED BAND, RECRUIT A NEW PIANO PLAYER NAMED BILLY JOEL
- IN 1964, THE ROLLING STONES RELEASE “NOT FADE AWAY”
- IN 1965, MALCOLM X IS ASSASSINATED AT A NATION OF ISLAM MEETING IN NYC
- IN 1968, OTIS READING’S “SITTING ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY” ENTERS THE SINGLES CHART TWO MONTHS AFTER HIS DEATH. IT WOULD BECOME THE FIRST POSTHUMOUS #1 SINGLE ON THE US CHARTS
- IN 1970, THE JACKSON 5 MAKE THEIR TELEVISION DEBUT ON “AMERICAN BANDSTAND”
- IN 1972, RICHARD NIXON IS THE FIRST US PRESIDENT TO VISIT CHINA
- IN 1974, CANADIAN HOCKEY LEGEND TIM HORTON DIES IN A CAR CRASH AT 44
- IN 1975, THREE WATERGATE OFFICIALS ARE SENTENCED TO BETWEEN 2 AND 9 YEARS IN JAIL FOR OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE AND CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT A CRIME
- IN 1976, FLORENCE BALLARD, WHO HAD LEFT THE SUPREMES TEN YEARS EARLIER AMIDST A LAWSUIT AGAINST MOTOWN RECORDS, DIES OF CARDIAC ARREST AT 32
- IN 1981, CHARLES ROCKET ACCIDENTALLY BUT CLEARLY USES THE F WORD ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
- IN 1981, DOLLY PARTON GOES TO #1 WITH “9 TO 5”
- IN 1986, RYAN WHITE RETURNS TO HIS MIDDLE SCHOOL AFTER BEING DIAGNOSED WITH AIDS
- IN 1986, METALLICA RELEASES “MASTER OF PUPPETS”
- IN 1988, JIMMY SWAGGERT “CONFESSES HIS SINS” TO HIS CHURCH
- IN 1989, THE US BUSTS A CHINESE DRUG SMUGGLING OPERATION AND CONFISCATES $1 BILLION IN HEROIN
- IN 1989, THE IRAN CONTRA AFFAIR TRIAL BEGINS
- IN 1991, NEIL SIMON’S “LOST IN YONKERS” OPENS ON BROADWAY
- IN 1992, KRISTI YAMAGUCHI WINS THE GOLD MEDAL FOR FIGURE SKATING FOR THE US
- IN 1998, CELINE DION HITS #1 WITH “MY HEART WILL GO ON”
- IN 2003, “REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER” DEBUTS ON HBO
- IN 2014, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA MEETS WITH THE DALAI LAMA