Today in History
for
July 15

Born on this day...
- 1606 - Rembrandt (Van Rijn) (artist:
300 etchings, 1,400 drawings, 600 paintings: The Night Watch, Man with
a Magnifying Glass, The Anatomy Lesson of Professor Tulp, Descent from
the Cross, Rape of Ganymede)
- 1779 - Clement Moore (poet, author:
'Twas the Night before Christmas [A Visit from St. Nicholas])
- 1905 - Dorothy Fields (lyricist:
w/Cy Coleman: Sweet Charity, Seesaw; w/Jimmy McHugh: I Can't Give You Anything
but Love, I'm in the Mood for Love, On the Sunny Side of the Street; daughter
of comedian, Lew Fields)
- 1913 - Cowboy (Lloyd) Copas (country
singer: Alabam, Goodbye Kisses, Signed, Sealed and Delivered; killed in
plane crash with singer, Patsy Cline)
- 1922 - Philip Carey (actor: The
Great Sioux Massacre, Philip Marlowe, Laredo, One Life to Live, The Time
Travelers, Mister Roberts)
- 1927 - Nan Clow Martin (actress:
Matters of the Heart, Goodbye Columbus, For Love of Ivy)
- 1931 - Clive Cussler (author: Raise
the Titanic, Deep Six, Sahara, Cyclops)
- 1935 - Donn Clendenon (baseball:
Pittsburgh Pirates)
- 1935 - Alex (Alexander G.) Karras
(football: U of Iowa LB: Outland Trophy [1957], Detroit Lions DT: All-Pro
[1960-62]; sportscaster: Monday Night Football [1974-76]; actor: Blazing
Saddles, Against All Odds, Victor/Victoria, Webster)
- 1935 - Ken Kercheval (actor: Dallas,
Search for Tomorrow, Corporate Affairs, Calamity Jane)
- 1938 - Billie Lee Williams (baseball:
Rookie of the Year: Chicago Cubs outfielder [1961])
- 1939 - Mike Shannon (baseball:
St. Louis Cardinals; sportscaster)
- 1939 - Patrick Wayne (actor: Chill
Factor, Young Guns, McClintock, Big Jake; John Wayne's son)
- 1940 - Tommy Dee (Thomas Donaldson)
(DJ: KFXM, San Bernardino, CA; singer: The Three Stars; record company
executive)
- 1940 - Roy Winston (football: Minnesota
Vikings line backer: Super Bowl IV, VIII, IX, XI)
- 1943 - Bill Truax (football: Dallas
Cowboys tight end, Super Bowl VI)
- 1944 - Jan-Michael Vincent (actor:
Airwolf, The Winds of War, Indecent Behavior, The World's Greatest Athlete,
Hooper, Born in East L.A.)
- 1946 - Linda Ronstadt (singer:
group: The Stone Poneys: Different Drum; solo: Blue Bayou, You're No Good,
When Will I Be Loved, It's So Easy, Ooh Baby Baby, Hurt So Bad; actress:
Pirates of Penzance)
- 1951 - Rick Kehoe (hockey)
- 1952 - John Stallworth (football:
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver: Super Bowl IX, X, XIII, XIV)
- 1953 - David Pack (singer: group:
Ambrosia: The Biggest Part of Me)
- 1960 - Willie Aames (actor: Eight
is Enough, Charles in Charge, Frankenstein, Zapped!)
- 1973 - Brian Austin Green (actor:
Knots Landing, Beverly Hills 90210, An American Summer)
On this day...
- 1876 - George Washington Bradley pitched the first no-hitter in baseball
by leading St. Louis to a 2-0 win over Hartford.
- 1888 - The newspaper trade publication, "Printers' Ink",
was first sold on this day.
- 1904 - The first Buddhist temple in the United States was established
in Los Angeles, CA.
- 1912 - Jim Thorpe won the decathlon this day, in the Olympic games
in Stockholm, Sweden.
- 1922 - If there is a day that we get excited about around here, it's
this day that the duck-billed platypus thingy made our hearts singy! The
duck-billed platypus arrived in America, direct from Australia. It was
exhibited at the Bronx Zoo in New York City. For those of you who have
never seen this unusual mammal, it has webbed feet, a duck's bill, a beaver's
tail; is seal-like, yet hairy and it lays eggs. Go figure...
- 1940 - Robert Wadlow was 8 feet, 10-1/10 inches tall and weighed 491
pounds when he died this day -- at the age of 22.
- 1942 - Glen Miller and his band recorded the classic, "Jukebox
Saturday Night", for Victor Records on this day.
- 1952 - Singer Patti Page made her TV debut this day, in a summer replacement
series for Perry Como. The 15-minute program spotlighted Patti three times
each week on CBS.
- 1960 - "The New York World-Telegram" reported this day that
the average white-collar worker would earn a lifetime income of $200,000.
Forty years at $5,000 per year - yup, that's about the same for us 1990s
folks when you consider the cost of living ...
- 1965 - The spacecraft "Mariner IV" sent back the first close-up
pictures of the planet, Mars.
- 1965 - Comedy star, Joan Rivers, married Edgar Rosenberg. Edgar became
a favorite target in her comedy routine on stage, TV and in recordings.
- 1966 - Singer, Percy Sledge, earned a gold record for the hit single,
"When a Man Loves A Woman", on this day. It was his only song
to make it to number one (5/28/66) -- and the only one of five to break
into the top ten.
- 1968 - ABC-TV presented the serial, "One Life to Live", for
the first time this day.
- 1968 - Commercial air travel began between the United States and the
U.S.S.R., with the first plane, a Soviet Aeroflot jet, landing at Kennedy
International Airport in New York this day.
- 1972 - Elton John landed at the top spot on the "Billboard"
album chart for the first time as, "Honky Chateau", made it to
the top for a five-week stay.
- 1973 - For the first time in two decades, a baseball pitcher won two
no-hitters in a season. Nolan Ryan of the California Angels did the trick
with his second no-hit victory of the season -- a 6-0 romp over the Detroit
Tigers. Ryan pitched his first no-hitter of the season against the Kansas
City Royals on May 15th.
- 1978 - Bob Dylan performed before the largest, open-air, concert audience
(for a single artist) this night. Some 200,000 fans turned out to hear
Dylan at Blackbushe Airport in England.
- 1981 - Steven Ford, son of former President Gerald R. Ford, appeared
in the much publicized, seduction scene of "The Young and the Restless"
on CBS-TV. Ford played the part of Andy, the macho maverick.
- 1985 - Baseball players voted to strike on August 6th if no contract
was reached with baseball owners. The strike action turned out to be just
a one-day interruption.
Chart Toppers...
1955
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley and His Comets
Something's Gotta Give - The McGuire
Sisters
It's a Sin to Tell a Lie - Somethin'
Smith and The Redheads
Hummingbird - Les Paul and Mary
Ford
1963
Easier Said than Done - The Essex
Surf City - Jan and Dean
One Fine Day - The Chiffons
Memphis - Lonnie Mack
1971
It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King
Indian Reservation - Raiders
You've Got a Friend - James Taylor
When You're Hot, You're Hot - Jerry
Reed
1979
Bad Girls - Donna Summer
Shine a Little Love - Electric Light
Orchestra
Gold - John Stewart
Amanda - Waylon Jennings
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