On This Day

[bunkerfan]

24th October


In 1931 Gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years for tax evasion.




In 1946 A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket, launched from Whites Sands US, takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.




In 1971 Harry Drake sets longest arrow flight by a footbow (1 mile 268 yds)




In 1987 Sting went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his third solo release 'Nothing Like The Sun.' The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet No.130 ("My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"), which Sting used in the song "Sister Moon". The album won Best British Album at the 1988 Brit Awards.

[bunkerfan]

25th October


In 1930 Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) begins 1st scheduled US transcontinental air service between NYC and Los Angeles, California; 30 hour trip includes overnight stop in Kansas City, Missouri.




In 1955 Tappan sells 1st microwave oven.




In 1964 "The Wrong Way Run", Viking Jim Marshall runs 66 yards in wrong direction for a safety (NFL's #1 blooper)




In 1965 The Rolling Stones release music single "Get Off of My Cloud".

[bunkerfan]

26th October


In 1918 Cecil Chubb gives prehistoric monument Stonehenge to the British nation.




In 1950 Mother Teresa founds Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta.




In 1965 Queen Elizabeth II invested The Beatles with their MBE's at Buckingham Palace, London. According to an account by John Lennon the group smoked marijuana in one of the palace bathrooms to calm their nerves.




In 1973 Wings release single "Helen Wheels".

[bunkerfan]

27th October


In 1780 Samuel Williams and the first U.S. astronomical expedition to record an eclipse of the sun observes the event at Penobscot Bay.




In 1938 DuPont announces its new synthetic polyamide fiber will be called "nylon".




In 1972 Golden Gate National Recreation Area created.




In 2013 Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed died at the age of 71. An admitted hard drinker and drug user for many years, he underwent a liver transplant in Cleveland in April 2013. Afterwards he claimed on his website to be 'bigger and stronger' than ever.

[bunkerfan]

28th October


In 1793 Eli Whitney applies for a patent for his cotton gin machine, used to pull cotton fibers from the seed.




In 1939 Warner Bros, releases gangster film "The Roaring Twenties", directed by Raoul Walsh, starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart.




In 1978 NBC's premiere of Kiss' acting debut, "Kiss Meets The Phantom of the Park" TV film.




In 1996 Apple Records releases The Beatles "Anthology 3" (double CD/triple LP)", the last of 3-part series of rare recordings and outtakes by the Beatles; set covers the years 1968-70; album tops Billboard charts in US and peaks at no. 4 in UK.

[bunkerfan]

Yesterday 27th October 2024, I watched an episode of The Simpsons on Channel 4 and the ending made my day but it was the English version

[bunkerfan]

29th October


In 1923 Gibbs, Grey and Wood's revue "Runnin' Wild" (introducing "The Charleston") opens on Broadway.




In 1959 "Asterix" is first published in the French magazine "Pilote" by Rene Goscinny, illustrated by Albert Uderzo.




In 1964 Star of India & other jewels are stolen in NY.




In 1965 The Who release single "My Generation" in UK.

[bunkerfan]

30th October


In 1888 John J Loud patents ballpoint pen.




In 1940 "One Night in the Tropics", first film for Abbott and Costello, premieres in Paterson, New Jersey.




In 1965 British model Jean Shrimpton causes a sensation at Derby Day at the Melbourne races wearing a white shift dress (four inches above the knee)




In 1970 Elton John released his third studio album Tumbleweed Connection. The cover photo for the album was taken at Horsted Keynes railway station, 30 miles south of London and captured John and Bernie Taupin in front of the late-nineteenth-century station to represent the album's rural Americana concept, despite the English location.

[bunkerfan]

31st October


In 1815 Cornishman Sir Humphry Davy patents miner's safety lamp.




In 1943 World War II: F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar-guided interception.




In 1963 J. Edgar Hoover's last meeting with President John F. Kennedy.




In 1969 George Harrison's "Something" is released by the Beatles as a single in UK, his first "A" side.

[bunkerfan]

1st November


In 1859 The current Cape Lookout, North Carolina lighthouse is lit for the first time. Its first-order Fresnel lens can be seen for 19 miles.




In 1957 Mackinac Straits Bridge, Michigan, world longest suspension bridge between anchorages opens.




In 1971 Eisenhower dollar put into circulation.




In 1980 Bruce Springsteen scored his first No.1 US album with 'The River', featuring the US No.5 & UK No.44 single 'Hungry Heart.'

[bunkerfan]

2nd November


In 1886 German patent granted to inventor Carl Benz for "vehicle with gas engine operation", the first automobile (No. DE37435C)




Born on this day in 1947 English multi-instrumentalis Dave Pegg from UK folk group, Fairport Convention. Pegg has also worked with many other artists including Jethro Tull, Nick Drake, John Martyn, Sandy Denny, Richard & Linda Thompson.




In 1967 Cream released their second studio album Disraeli Gears which became the group's American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller in 1968, and reaching No.4 on the American charts. The album features the two singles 'Strange Brew' and 'Sunshine of Your Love'.




In 1991 U2 scored their second UK No.1 single with 'The Fly', taken from their album 'Achtung Baby'. The song was also a showcase for a persona Bono had invented called "The Fly".

[bunkerfan]

3rd November


In 1911 Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T.




In 1954 Ishirō Honda's giant monster movie "Godzilla" goes into wide release in Japan; film makes a big splash, spawns three dozen related titles and sequels.




In 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson is elected President of the United States in a landslide, with Hubert Humphrey as his vice president, defeating Republican candidate Barry Goldwater.




In 1973 Daryl Hall and John Oates released Abandoned Luncheonette. The most well-known track from the album 'She's Gone' did not become a hit when first released but gained momentum from two later covers, one by Lou Rawls, and one by Tavares. After the latter cover topped the Billboard R&B chart in 1974, the original was re-released and became a top 10 pop hit in 1976, reaching No. 7 in the US.

[bunkerfan]

4th November


In 1922 Howard Carter rediscovers the intact tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt.




In 1948 American-born British poet T. S. Eliot wins Nobel Prize for literature.




In 1963 The Beatles topped the bill at The Royal Variety Show at The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London. With the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret in the audience, this was the night when John Lennon made his famous remark ‘In the cheaper seats you clap your hands. The rest of you, just rattle your jewellery’. The show was broadcast on UK television on the Nov 10th 1963.




In 1966 The Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations', entered the UK chart and went on to be a UK & US No.1 hit single. As a child, Brian Wilson's mother told him that dogs could pick up "vibrations" from people, so that the dog would bark at "bad vibrations". Wilson turned this into the general idea for the song.

[bunkerfan]

5th November


In 1605 Catholic conspirator Guy Fawkes attempts to blow up King James I and the British Parliament in the Gunpowder Plot. The plot is discovered, and Guy Fawkes is caught, tortured, and later executed along with seven others. Celebrated ever since as Guy Fawkes Day, his effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire, accompanied by fireworks.




In 1935 Parker Brothers launches the board game Monopoly.




In 1966 The Monkees score their 1st Billboard No. 1 - ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, written by Bobby Hart and Tommy Boyce.




In 1994 Sheryl Crow scored her first UK Top 10 single when 'All I Wanna Do' entered the charts at No.4. The US singer songwriter went on to become the first US female to score six UK hits off her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club.

[bunkerfan]

6th November


In 1917 New York State adopts a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote in state elections.




In 1947 NBC's "Meet the Press" debuts - US's longest running TV show.




In 1968 Psychedelic feature film "Head" starring the Monkees, and co-written by Jack Nicholson, a premieres in New York City.




In 1982 Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker started a three week run at No.1 on the US with a song taken from the film 'An Officer And A Gentleman', 'Up Where We Belong'.

[bunkerfan]

7th November


In 1885 Canadian Pacific Railway completed at Craigellachie - connects British Columbia with Eastern Canada.




In 1942 Italian cyclist Fausto Coppi establishes world hour record 45.798km in Vigorelli, Milan, Italy.




In 1967 Reg Dwight (Elton John) and his song writing partner Bernie Taupin signed to DJM publishing, their signatures had to be witnessed by their parents because they were both under 21 years of age. Taupin answered an advertisement for a lyric writer placed in the New Musical Express, the pair have since collaborated on over 30 albums.




In 1981 Hall and Oates started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Private Eyes', the duo's third US No.1, a No.32 hit in the UK.

[bunkerfan]

8th November


In 1920 Rupert Bear by illustrator Mary Tourtel first appears in the Daily Express newspaper in the UK.




In 1949 "All The King's Men" based on Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer winning novel, directed by Robert Rossen and starring Broderick Crawford premieres in New York (Best Picture 1950)




In 1974 British peer the Earl of Lucan disappears and is never seen again after his nanny is found murdered in London.




In 1993 Arista Records releases David Bowie's 19th studio "The Buddha of Suburbia", based on the novel of the same name by Hanif Kureishi, in the UK and Europe only; it is not released in US until nearly 2 years later.

[bunkerfan]

9th November


In 1904 1st airplane flight to last more than 5 minutes.




In 1939 Romantic comedy film "Ninotchka" directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Greta Garbo premieres.




In 1967 The first issue of Rolling Stone Magazine was published in San Francisco. It featured a photo of John Lennon on the cover, dressed in army fatigues while acting in his recent film, How I Won the War and the first issue had a free roach clip to hold a marijuana joint. The name of the magazine was compiled from three significant sources: the Muddy Waters song, the first rock ‘n’ roll record by Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.




In 1976 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their debut album on Shelter Records. The album received little attention in the United States. Following a British tour, it climbed to No. 24 on the UK albums chart and the single 'Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll' became a hit in the UK. After nearly a year and many positive reviews, the album reached the US charts, where it peaked at No. 55 in 1978 and eventually went Gold.

[bunkerfan]

10th November


In 1918 Western Union Cable Office in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, receives a top-secret coded message from Europe stating that on November 11, 1918, all fighting will cease on land, sea, and in the air.




In 1940 Walt Disney begins serving as an informer for the Los Angeles office of the FBI; his job is to report back information on Hollywood subversives.




In 1960 Uncensored version of D. H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley’s Lover" finally goes on sale in the UK after a jury finds publisher Penguin Books not guilty in an obscenity trial.




In 1975 Patti Smith released her debut studio album Horses. Produced by John Cale, Horses has since been viewed by critics as one of the greatest and most influential albums in the history of the American punk rock movement, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. Horses has also been cited as a key influence on a number of acts, including Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Smiths, R.E.M. and PJ Harvey.

[bunkerfan]

11th November


In 1918 WWI Armistice signed by the Allies and Germany comes into effect and World War I hostilities end at 11am, "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month".




In 1939 Kate Smith first sings Irving Berlin's "God Bless America".




In 1965 The final recording session for The Beatles Rubber Soul album took place, at Abbey Road, London. They needed three new songs to finish the album so an old song ‘Wait’ was pulled off the shelf and the group recorded two new songs from start to finish. Paul's ‘You Won't See Me’ and John's ‘Girl’, the basic tracks for both songs being completed in two takes. Rubber Soul was completed, and finished copies of the album were in the shops by December 3 in the UK and December 6 in the US.




In 1989 Chris Rea started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'The Road To Hell.' The iconic album cover features art by the English artist, Adrian Chesterman who was also responsible for creating cover art for, amongst others, Motörhead for their 1979 'Bomber' album.

[bunkerfan]

12th November


In 1880 Best-selling American novel "Ben-Hur: A Tale of The Christ" by soldier Lew Wallace is published.




In 1945 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to American politician Cordell Hull (for establishing the UN)




In 1981 1st balloon crossing of Pacific is completed (Double Eagle V)




In 1998 Winners at the MTV Europe Awards included Madonna best female artist and album for 'Ray Of Light', The Spice Girls won best group, All Saints won breakthrough artist, Robbie Williams, best male artist and Natalie Imbruglia won best song with 'Torn.'

[bunkerfan]

13th November


In 1875 Harvard-Yale game is 1st college football contest with uniforms.




In 1940 Walt Disney's animated film "Fantasia", starring Leopold Stokowski, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mickey Mouse, and ballet dancing hippopotamuses, premieres at the Broadway Theatre, New York City.




In 1980 US spacecraft Voyager 1 sends back 1st close-up pictures of Saturn during its fly-by.




In 1989 Paul McCartney releases single "Figure of 8".

[bunkerfan]

14th November


In 1896 The Emancipation Run: 33 motorists parade from London to Brighton to celebrate England's Locomotives on Highways Act 1896, which increased automobile speed limit to 14 mph.




In 1940 During WW II, German planes destroy most of Coventry, England.




In 1968 "National Turn in Your Draft Card Day" features draft card burning.




In 1992 Bon Jovi went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Keep The Faith' their fifth studio album and second UK No.1. The album produced six UK Top 20 hit singles, 'Keep The Faith', 'Bed Of Roses', 'In These Arms', 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead', 'I Believe' and 'Dry County'.

[bunkerfan]

15th November


In 1902 The Egyptian Museum, the first national museum in the Middle East, opens to the public in its new premises on Ismailia Square (now Tahir Square) in Cairo.




Born on this day in 1945 - 1945, Swedish singer, songwriter Anni-Frid Lyngstad from ABBA. Their first UK hit was the 1974 No.1 single 'Waterloo', followed by 8 other UK No.1 singles and 9 UK No.1 albums. ABBA are one of the best-selling music artists of all time. In 1967, Frida won the Swedish national talent competition, New Faces winning a recording contract with EMI Sweden.




In 1980 Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (a rollercoaster) opens at Disney World in Florida.




In 1987 Dire Straits became the first act to sell over three million copies of an album in the UK. Brothers in Arms contained five, top 40 singles: ‘Money for Nothing,’ ‘So Far Away,’ ‘Walk of Life,’ ‘Brothers in Arms’ and ‘Your Latest Trick.’ The album is the eighth-best-selling album in UK chart history.

[bunkerfan]

16th November


In 1920 Australia's Qantas airways founded in Winton, Queensland as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited.




In 1957 BBC’s 1st pop music show, the "Six-Five Special", is broadcast from the tiny 2i’s Coffee Bar in London.




In 1973 Skylab 4 launched into Earth orbit.




In 1984 John Lennon's 'Every Man has a Woman Who Loves Him' released posthumously.

[bunkerfan]

17th November


In 1855 David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Victoria Falls in what is now Zambia and Zimbabwe.




Born on this day in 1946 - English rock musician Martin Barre best known for his work with progressive rock band Jethro Tull from their second album in 1969 to the band's initial dissolution in 2012.




In 1973 Teri Garr plays new nurse, Lt Suzanne Marquetten, on "The Sniper" episode of TV series M*A*S*H.




In 1979 - Jethro Tull bass player John Glascock died at the age of 28, as a result of a congenital heart defect. Had also been a member of Chicken Shack.




In 1992 At the end of a long battle to claim royalties Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago ex of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, received an estimated $4 million in back payments from the song 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love'.

[bunkerfan]

18th November


In 1916 British General Douglas Haig finally calls off the First Battle of the Somme in World War I after more than 1 million soldiers are killed or wounded.




In 1959 "Ben-Hur" directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston premieres in New York City (Academy Awards Best Picture 1960)




In 1970 American scientist Linus Pauling declares large doses of Vitamin C could ward off colds.




In 2002 Dark Horse/EMI posthumously releases "Brainwashed", George Harrison's 12th and final studio album.

[bunkerfan]

19th November


In 1903 Temperance activist Carrie Nation attempts to address the US Senate.




In 1952 North American F-86 Sabre sets world aircraft speed record, 1124 KPH.




In 1969 Apollo 12's Charles Conrad and Alan Bean become the 3rd and 4th humans on the Moon.




In 1988 Robin Beck was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'First Time.' The song was from a TV advertisement for Coca-Cola which session singer Beck had recorded. It made the American a One Hit Wonder.

[bunkerfan]

20th November


In 1866 French inventor Pierre Lallement patents rotary crank bicycle.




In 1945 The Nuremberg war trials begin as 24 Nazi leaders are put on trial before judges representing the victorious Allied powers.




In 1975 Ronald Reagan announces candidacy for Republican nomination for US President.




In 1995 The Beatles Anthology 1 was released in the US, featuring 60 tracks including the track 'Free As A Bird', a song originally composed and recorded in 1977 as a home demo by John Lennon. In 1995 a studio version of the recording, incorporating contributions from Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr was released as a single by The Beatles.

[bunkerfan]

21st November

A bit of a movie theme going on today


In 1920 Silent film "The Last of the Mohicans" released, adapted from James Fenimore Cooper's novel, starring Wallace Beery, Barbara Bedford.




In 1931 Horror film "Frankenstein" is released, starring Boris Karloff as the monster, directed by James Whale and based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus".




In 1976 "Rocky" directed by John G. Avildsen and starring Sylvester Stallone premieres in New York (Best Picture 1977)




In 1994 After a five-year wait, The Stone Roses released the single 'Love Spreads'. In true Roses fashion the group turned down an appearance on BBC 1's TV show Top Of The Pops to promote the new single.