On this Day in History

[latecomer91364]

On this day in 2018, Ingvar Kamprad—who founded the home furnishings retailer IKEA, the world's largest seller of furniture in the early 21st century—died at age 91.

When they finished assembling his coffin, they had several brackets and screws left over, but nobody could figure out where they were supposed to go.

Yep, went all the way there for a lame joke...

 

[latecomer91364]

On this day in 2009 we lost one of the last 'original' members of Lynyrd Skynyrd when keyboard player Billy Powell died at the age of 56 of a suspected heart attack in Florida. Powell called police saying he was having trouble breathing and emergency services tried to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead an hour later. Powell had missed a doctor's appointment on the day before his death; the appointment was for a checkup on his heart.

Powell was not truly a 'founding' member of the band, but was the first keyboard player. Around 1970, he found work as a roadie for Lynyrd Skynyrd and remained a member of the crew for two years, during which the band secured a support role for the band Mountain. In 1972, Skynyrd played a show at the Bolles School prom. During a break at that event, Powell sat down at a piano and played a song. When the band realized their roadie's ability, he was offered the position of keyboardist.

The very last founding member, guitarist Gary Rossington, passed in 2023.

 

[latecomer91364]

On this day in 1964, legendary director Stanley Kubrick’s black comic masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb opened in theaters to both critical and popular acclaim. The movie’s popularity was evidence of changing attitudes toward atomic weapons and the concept of nuclear deterrence.

Yee-haw!
The Slim Pickens role of Major T. J. "King" Kong was originally slated to be played by Peter Sellers, who backed out of it because he was already overloaded with his other three roles in the film, including the title character.

 

[latecomer91364]

Many huge events have occurred on January 30 over the centuries, from the execution of King Charles I in 1649, the assassination of Ghandi in 1948, and the infamous 'Bloody Sunday' massacre in Ireland in 1972, but as a blues fan, I'd like to note the passing of one of the greats.

On January 30, 1982, we lost blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist Sam Lightnin' Hopkins when he died of cancer aged 70.

Hopkins influenced Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix. R.E.M. recorded a song named after him on their Document album.

He is best remembered for his most well known song, among many others.

A personal favorite (live, with a lengthy introduction):

 

[latecomer91364]

On January 31, 1990, amid a steep economic decline, a harbinger of the coming demise of the Soviet Union appeared in Moscow when the first McDonald’s fast food restaurant opened there.

Throngs of people lined up to pay the equivalent of half a day's wages for Big Macs, shakes and french fries. The appearance of this notorious symbol of capitalism and the enthusiastic reception it received from the Russian people were signs that times were changing in the Soviet Union.

An American journalist on the scene reported the customers seemed most amazed at the “simple sight of polite shop workers…in this nation of commercial boorishness.” A Soviet journalist had a more practical opinion, stating that the restaurant was “the expression of America’s rationalism and pragmatism toward food.” He also noted that the “contrast with our own unrealized pretensions is both sad and challenging.”

 

[latecomer91364]

On February 1, 1949, RCA Records announced the creation of the first ever 45rpm record, although the first actual release of a 'single' would happen almost 2 months later, with 'Texarkana Baby' by Eddy Arnold on March 31, 1949, which had previously been released on 10" 78 rpm records the year before.

The Seeburg Corporation introduced the first commercial 45 rpm vinyl record jukebox in 1950, revolutionizing the industry with smaller, lighter, and more durable media. Seeburg's 1950 machine quickly became dominant, often featuring 100-selection mechanisms. This device helped define the 1950s and beyond.

 

[TiedbyChris]

On Feb. 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during its re-entry into Earth's atmosphere after sustaining damage during its launch. A strike from a piece of insulating foam that fell off the shuttle's external fuel tank left a hole in the orbiter's left wing leading edge that went unaddressed during the flight. On Columbia's return, hot plasma entered through the hole and tore the wing apart. The resulting loss of control led to Columbia's disintegration over the state of Texas.

The tragedy claimed the seven lives of the STS-107 crew, including commander Rick Husband, pilot William McCool, mission specialists David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and Michael Anderson and Israeli payload specialist Ilan Ramon. RIP.

 

[mstrman]

Ruhollah Khomeini's return to Iran​

Ruhollah Khomeini's return to Iran on 1 February 1979, after 14 years in exile, was an important event in the Iranian Revolution. It led to the collapse of the provisional government of Shapour Bakhtiar and the final overthrow of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, on 11 February 1979.

Ruhollah Khomeini, known in the Western world as Ayatollah Khomeini, was an Iranian Shia Muslim religious leader, philosopher, revolutionary and politician. Prior to his exile, Khomeini had been a prominent opponent of the Shah. Upon his return, he was greeted by crowds of millions, and within 10 days the revolution would be successful. Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader, a position created in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran as the highest-ranking political and religious authority of the nation, which he held until his death. Khomeini's return and the 10 days following are now celebrated in Iran as the Fajr decade.

 

[latecomer91364]

On February 2, 1897, Black inventor and businessman Alfred L. Cralle patented the first ice cream scoop.

While working as a porter at the Markell Brothers drugstore in Pittsburgh, Cralle noticed his fellow employees struggling to scoop ice cream cones for customers. Cralle decided to design a contraption to scoop ice cream easily with one hand. He called his invention the 'ice-cream mold and disher.'

According to his patent application, the disher "will be extremely simple in its construction, strong, durable, effectual in its operation and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture." The Pittsburgh Press reported that Cralle's ice cream disher could scoop "40 to 50 dishes of ice cream in a minute," while avoiding "the soiling of the hands." Cralle's invention spread rapidly, helping to satisfy the nation's craving for ice cream.

 

[mstrman]

27th Golden Globe Awards​

The 27th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1969, were held on February 2, 1970.

Best Motion Picture

Drama

Anne of the Thousand Days
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Midnight Cowboy
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Comedy or Musical

The Secret of Santa Vittoria
Cactus Flower
Goodbye, Columbus
Hello, Dolly!
Paint Your Wagon

Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama
Actor

John Wayne - True Grit as Rooster Cogburn
Alan Arkin - Popi as Abraham "Popi" Rodriguez
Richard Burton - Anne of the Thousand Days as King Henry VIII
Dustin Hoffman - Midnight Cowboy as Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo
Jon Voight - Midnight Cowboy as Joe Buck

Actress

Geneviève Bujold - Anne of the Thousand Days as Anne Boleyn
Jane Fonda - They Shoot Horses, Don't They? as Gloria Beatty
Liza Minnelli - The Sterile Cuckoo as Pookie Adams
Jean Simmons - The Happy Ending as Mary Wilson
Maggie Smith - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie as Jean Brodie

 

[latecomer91364]

On February 3, we commemorate the day in 1959 when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and 'The Big Bopper,' J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. Everybody knows the story.

Singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to it as 'The Day the Music Died' in his 1971 song 'American Pie.'

 

[beachbaby179]

On February 3rd, 1971, NYPD officer Frank Serpico was shot during a drug bust while his fellow officers stood outside and failed to call for assistance. He had that target placed on his back by his less-than-ethical fellow officers. The classic Pacino movie followed two years later.

 

[mstrman]

February 3, 1967 Studio Recordings Purple Haze The studio sessions on February 3rd marked The Experience’s first foray into Olympic Studios and their first time working with engineer Eddie Kramer​

Tape Log: Purple Haze The studio sessions on February 3rd marked The Experience’s first foray into Olympic Studios and their first time working with engineer Eddie Kramer. This initial session saw Hendrix return to the January 11th masters for “Purple Haze” to record some additional overdubs. This initial “Purple Haze” session at Olympic foreshadowed just how creative and cutting edge the team of Hendrix, Chas Chandler and Eddie Kramer would become in the months that followed. This recording session also marked one of the first times that Hendrix recorded in the studio with Roger Mayer’s experimental Octavia effects pedal.

 

[mstrman]

On February 3, we commemorate the day in 1959 when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and 'The Big Bopper,' J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. Everybody knows the story.

Singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to it as 'The Day the Music Died' in his 1971 song 'American Pie.'

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1254818159858456

 

[mstrman]

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1254818159858456

 

[Vinylguy]

On February 3, we commemorate the day in 1959 when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and 'The Big Bopper,' J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. Everybody knows the story.

Singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to it as 'The Day the Music Died' in his 1971 song 'American Pie.'

Very tragic day for the music community. The only bright spot is. We got to keep Waylon Jennings.

 

[latecomer91364]

It was on this day in 1983 that we lost singer and drummer Karen Carpenter, who died at the age of 32 of a cardiac arrest at her parent's house in Downey, California; the coroner's report gave the cause of death of imbalances associated with anorexia nervosa.

The Carpenters 1970 album Close to You, featured two hit singles: ‘(They Long to Be) Close to You’ and ‘We've Only Just Begun.’ They peaked at No.1 and No.2, on the US chart. In 1975 - in Playboy's annual opinion poll; its readers voted Karen Carpenter the Best Rock Drummer of the year.

Her passing alerted the public to the dangers of Anorexia, which had previously been a mostly unknown condition.

Karen on drums, before the fame (1968):

 

[mstrman]

On February 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched "Thefacebook" from his Harvard dorm room, marking the beginning of a social media revolution that transformed global communication.

The Birth of Facebook​

Mark Zuckerberg, a sophomore at Harvard University, created "Thefacebook" as an exclusive social networking site for Harvard students. This launch followed his earlier project, Facemash, which had gained attention for allowing students to rate their peers' attractiveness using photos hacked from the university's directories. Although Facemash was quickly shut down due to privacy concerns, it demonstrated the demand for social interaction online.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=3751...b3JsZC1kb21pbmF0aW9uLWE3MzE3MjA2Lmh0bWw&ntb=1

Initial Features and Growth​

The initial version of Thefacebook allowed users to create profiles, connect with classmates, and share personal information. Within a month of its launch, over half of Harvard's undergraduate population had signed up, showcasing its rapid adoption. The platform's exclusivity, requiring a valid university email address to join, fostered a sense of community that distinguished it from other social networks like MySpace and Friendster.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=376a...L01hcmslMjBadWNrZXJiZXJnJTIwbGF1bmNoZXM&ntb=1

Expansion Beyond Harvard​

Following its success at Harvard, Thefacebook expanded to other Ivy League schools and eventually to universities across the United States. By March 2004, it had reached institutions like Yale, Columbia, and Stanford, further solidifying its position in the social media landscape.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=3751...b3JsZC1kb21pbmF0aW9uLWE3MzE3MjA2Lmh0bWw&ntb=1

 

[latecomer91364]

On February 5, 1919, in an attempt to gain more artistic control over their film projects, Hollywood heavyweights Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith joined forces to create their own film studio, which they called the United Artists Corporation.

United Artists quickly gained prestige in Hollywood, thanks to the success of the films of its stars, notably Chaplin’s The Gold Rush (1925), as well as the work of actors such as Buster Keaton, Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson.

The corporation began to struggle financially in the 1940s, however, and in 1951 the production studio was sold and UA became only a financing and distributing facility.

By the mid-1950s, all of the original partners had sold their shares of the company, but UA had begun to thrive again, releasing such films as The African Queen (1951), High Noon (1952), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment and The Magnificent Seven (both 1960) and West Side Story (1961). In addition, the company was responsible for the James Bond and Pink Panther film franchises. UA went public in 1957 and became a subsidiary of the TransAmerica Corporation a decade later.

 

[mstrman]

1885 King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as his personal colonial possession

The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (French: État indépendant du Congo), was a large state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by King Leopold II, the constitutional monarch of the Kingdom of Belgium. In legal terms, the two separate countries were in a personal union. The Congo Free State was not a part of, nor did it belong to, Belgium. Leopold was able to seize the region by convincing other European states at the Berlin Conference on Africa that he was involved in humanitarian and philanthropic work and would not tax trade. Via the International Association of the Congo, he was able to lay claim to most of the Congo Basin. On 29 May 1885, after the closure of the Berlin Conference, the king announced that he planned to name his possessions "the Congo Free State", an appellation which was not yet used at the Berlin Conference and which officially replaced "International Association of the Congo" on 1 August 1885. The Free State was privately controlled by Leopold from Brussels; he never visited it.

The state included the entire area of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo and existed from 1885 to 1908, when the Belgian Parliament reluctantly annexed the state as a colony belonging to Belgium after international pressure.

Leopold's reign in the Congo eventually earned infamy on account of the atrocities perpetrated on the Indigenous people. Ostensibly, the Congo Free State aimed to bring civilization to the locals and to develop the region economically. In reality, Leopold II's administration extracted ivory, rubber, and minerals from the upper Congo Basin for sale on the world market through a series of international concessionary companies that brought little benefit to the area. Under Leopold's administration, the Free State became one of the greatest international scandals of the early 20th century. The Casement Report of the British Consul Roger Casement led to the arrest and punishment of officials who had been responsible for killings during a rubber-collecting expedition in 1903.

The loss of life and atrocities inspired literature such as Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness and raised an international outcry. Debate has been ongoing about the high death rate in this period. The highest estimates state that the widespread use of forced labor, torture, and murder led to the deaths of 50 per cent of the population in the rubber provinces. The lack of accurate records makes it difficult to quantify the number of deaths caused by the exploitation and the lack of immunity to new diseases introduced by contact with European colonists. During the Congo Free State propaganda war, European and US reformers exposed atrocities in the Congo Free State to the public through the Congo Reform Association, founded by Casement and the journalist, author, and politician E. D. Morel. Also active in exposing the activities of the Congo Free State was the author Arthur Conan Doyle, whose book The Crime of the Congo was widely read in the early 1900s.

By 1908, public pressure and diplomatic maneuvers led to the end of Leopold II's absolutist rule; the Belgian Parliament annexed the Congo Free State as a colony of Belgium. It became known thereafter as the Belgian Congo. In addition, a number of major Belgian investment companies pushed the Belgian government to take over the Congo and develop the mining sector as it was virtually untapped.

 

[latecomer91364]

On February 6, 1952, Elizabeth II ascended the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, following the death of her father, King George VI. She became the longest-reigning monarch in British history in 2015.

Her official coronation would be delayed for a year and a half, due to the unexpected nature of her father's death. The coronation took place on June 2, 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London.

 

[PotNoodle79]

On this day 1958, the Munich Air Disaster

 

[latecomer91364]

On February 7, 1964, the "British Invasion" began when Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight 101 from London Heathrow lands at New York’s Kennedy Airport, carrying The Beatles for their first U.S. tour. The flight was greeted by about 5,000 fans.

Two days later the band made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. My family was watching.

 

[latecomer91364]

On February 8, 1976, the film classic Taxi Driver had its world premiere at the Coronet Theatre in NYC, and soon, guys of a certain age were going around asking "Are you talkin' to me?"

The film was the first big hit for director Martin Scorsese, who had won modest acclaim with earlier features Boxcar Bertha, Bang the Drum Slowly and notably Mean Streets, although he had made unnoticed but well received features and shorts throughout the 60s - and was a 2nd unit director for the film Woodstock.

Robert De Niro's performance as the mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran Travis Bickle shocked its original audience and earned him an Oscar nomination. De Niro and Scorsese would form a legendary collaborative partnership in a string of successful films.

Also notable was Jodie Foster, who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at age 12 as an underage prostitute.

 

[mstrman]

1936 First-ever NFL Draft: Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago is first pick by Philadelphia Eagles

John Jacob "Jay" Berwanger (March 19, 1914 – June 26, 2002) was an American college football player and referee. In 1935, Berwanger was the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, renamed the Heisman Trophy the following year. At its inception, the award was given to "the most valuable player east of the Mississippi." In 1936, Berwanger became the first player drafted into the National Football League in its inaugural 1936 NFL draft, although he did not play professionally due to a salary dispute.

After attending Dubuque High School in Iowa, Berwanger played college football for the Chicago Maroons football team of the University of Chicago for the 1933 though 1935 seasons, scoring 22 touchdowns in 24 games. He was a star halfback for Chicago, where he was known as the "one man football team". Playing in the one-platoon system era, he was also a linebacker and return specialist. Berwanger was also nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman", although his ancestry was actually German, and the "Man in the Iron Mask", because he wore a special face guard to protect his twice-broken nose.

Berwanger was also awarded the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference and earned unanimous All-America honors. In a 1934 game against the Michigan Wolverines, Berwanger left his mark on Michigan center Gerald Ford in the form of a distinctive scar beneath the future U.S. president's left eye. In 1935, Berwanger became the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, renamed the Heisman Trophy the following year—John Heisman was then the club's athletic director, and after Heisman's death in October 1936 the trophy was expanded to become a national honor and named the Heisman Trophy.

Berwanger also competed in track and field for Chicago, setting a school decathlon record in 1936 that stood until 2007. He was a brother of the Psi Upsilon fraternity.