Today in History 09/02

[yelladawg]

September 2
1666 - This was the first day of the Great Fire of London. More than 13,000 houses burned and six people died in a three-day fire that started in a wooden house on Pudding Lane near the Tower of London. The house belonged to a baker named Farryner. It was this fire that prompted the first fire insurance policy.
1789 - The United States Treasury Department, the third presidential cabinet department, was organized by an act of Congress. It got the U.S. out of the ‘wampum’ trading business...

1858 - The first special cigar bands were distributed at a dinner in New York City. The bands paid homage to Cyrus W. Field for his work in the laying of the Atlantic telegraph cable.

1897 - The first issue of McCall’s magazine was published. The magazine had previously been called The Queen—Illustrated Magazine of Fashion and McCall’s Magazine, the Queen of Fashion.

1924 - Theatregoers heard the song Indian Love Call for the first time in the operetta Rose Marie, which opened in New York City.

1927 - Sophie Tucker recorded her signature song, Some of These Days, for Columbia Records.

1931 - The radio show 15 Minutes with Bing Crosby debuted on CBS. The singer became a super-hot property after the debut.

1938 - The first railroad car to be equipped with fluorescent lighting was placed in operation on the New York Central railroad. Coach #1472 began its initial run with the modern lighting on this day.

1945 - U.S. President Harry S Truman proclaimed this day as Victory-over-Japan Day (V-J Day or Victory Day). It was so named because the official ratification of the Japanese surrender to the Allies was made aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on this day (Far Eastern Time). The informal agreement of surrender had been made on August 14.

1949 - Alben W. Barkley, the Vice President of the United States under President Harry S Truman, wrote a letter that made reference to his office as the Veep. The name stuck. Alben W. Barkley was forevermore referred to as the Veep. And ever since, it has been used as the common expression for vice presidents, whether in government or business. Barkley, born in Kentucky, was Veep from 1949 until 1953.

1962 - Ken Hubbs of the Chicago Cubs set a major-league baseball fielding record. ‘Hubbs of the Cubs’ played errorless ball for his 74th consecutive game.

1965 - The Beatles received a gold record for their single Help!, from the movie of the same name.

1972 - Milt Pappas of the Chicago Cubs pitched 9-2/3 innings of perfect baseball, before giving up a walk to Larry Stahl of the Philadelphia Phillies. Pappas got the no-hitter and an 8-0 win at Wrigley Field, Chicago.

1973 - Billy Martin was fired as manager of the Detroit Tigers. Martin was relieved of his duties three days after ordering his pitching staff to toss spitballs against Cleveland Indians batters. The Tigers lost anyway, 3-0.

1980 - Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych won his first game in 2-1/2 years for the Detroit Tigers. He gave up seven hits to the Chicago White Sox but led the Tigers to a 11-2 win.

1984 - Jockey Larry Snyder rode Tennessee Rite to a nine-length win in the the Prelude Stakes for $50,000 at Louisiana Downs. It was Snyder’s 5,000th career victory and came 24 years -- to the day -- after his first win in 1960.

1986 - Pitcher Steve Carlton earned career win #322. ‘Lefty’ gave up seven hits in leading the Chicago White Sox to a 3-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. Former Heisman Trophy winner, Bo Jackson, making his first major-league at-bats, got one of the hits. Bo knows...

1995 - The soundtrack album from the Michelle Pfeiffer movie, Dangerous Minds, hit number one on Billboard. Tracks like Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio, Gin & Juice by DeVante and True O.G. by Mr. Dalvin + Static kept the Dangerous Minds album at the top for three weeks.

1995 - The Concert for the Hall of Fame was presented at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. It was the grand-opening celebration for the $92-million, I.M. Pei-designed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Appearing at the concert were such Rock and Roll notables as Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Martha and the Vandellas, John Mellencamp, etc. etc. etc. The museum’s official public dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony had been held the previous day.

1998 - Swissair Flight 111 went down about five miles off the Nova Scotia hamlet of Peggy’s Cove. The Boeing MD-11, enroute to Geneva, Switzerland, from New York, plunged into the water off Canada while attempting an emergency landing at Halifax International Airport. The Canadian Transportation Safety Board has collected over a million pieces of wreckage from the Atlantic Ocean for its ongoing investigation. An in-flight entertainment system is suspected as one possible cause of the crash. Swissair and Boeing have offered compensatory damages to relatives of all 229 people who perished in the crash.

1999 - Cal Ripken, Jr. hit his 400th home run as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore.



Birthdays
September 2
1917 - Laurindo Almeida
Grammy Award-winning composer, musician: guitar: Guitar from Ipanema <1964>; Viva Bossa Nova; underscore: Viva Zapata; died July 26, 1995
1917 - Cleveland Amory
writer: The Cat and the Curmudgeon, The Cat Who Came for Christmas, TV Guide columnist; died Oct 14, 1998

1918 - Allen Drury
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist: Advise and Consent <1960>; died Sep 2, 1998

1918 - Martha Mitchell (Beall)
socialite: wife of U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell of the Nixon administration; died May 31, 1976

1919 - Marge Champion (Marjorie Belcher)
dancer, actress: Give a Girl a Break, Jupiter’s Darling, Lovely to Look At, Mr. Music, The Party, The Swimmer; choreographer ; model for animated Snow White

1925 - Eddie Price
football: NY Giants

1937 - Peter Ueberroth
businessperson, promoter: 1984 Summer Olympics in LA; Baseball Commissioner <1984-89>

1939 - Sam Gooden
singer: group: Roosters; The Impressions: It’s All Right, For Your Precious Love

1940 - Jimmy Clanton
singer, songwriter: Just A Dream, Venus in Blue Jeans, Another Sleepless Night; toured w/Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars; actor: Go, Johnny, Go!

1942 - Tom Keating
football: Oakland Raiders defensive tackle: Super Bowl II

1943 - Rosalind Ashford
singer: group: Martha and the Vandellas: Heat Wave, Quick Sand, Dancing in the Street

1943 - (James) Luke Walker
baseball: pitcher: Pittsburgh Pirates , Detroit Tigers

1946 - Marty Grebb
musician: keyboards: group: The Buckinghams: Don’t You Care, Kind of a Drag, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Susan

1948 - Nate (Nathaniel) ‘Tiny’ Archibald
Basketball Hall of Famer: Cincinnati Royals, Kansas City-Omaha Kings, New York Nets, Buffalo Braves, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks; NBA stats : 16,481 points, 6,476 assists, six NBA All-Star games; elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame <1991>

1948 - Terry Bradshaw
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Pittsburgh Steelers QB: Super Bowl IX, X, XIII, XIV; football sportscaster/analyst: CBS-TV, FOX-TV; actor: Cannonball Run; singer: I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

1948 - Christa McAuliffe (Sharon Christa Corrigan)
teacher, astronaut: Challenger space shuttle; killed in Challenger explosion Jan 28, 1986

1950 - Lamar Johnson
baseball: Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers

1951 - Lenvil Elliott
football: San Francisco 49ers running back: Super Bowl XVI

1951 - Mark Harmon
actor: Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Wyatt Earp, Till There Was You, Reasonable Doubts, Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years, St. Elsewhere, Centennial, Flamingo Road, Moonlighting, Sam, 240-Robert; People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive <1986>

1952 - Jimmy Connors
tennis champion: Australian Open <1974>, Wimbledon <1974, 1982>, U.S. Open <1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983>

1954 - Rick (Richard Eugene) Manning
baseball: Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers

1955 - Linda Purl
actress: Happy Days, Matlock, Beacon Hill, Robin’s Hoods, Under Cover

1957 - Steve Porcaro
musician: keyboards, singer: group: Toto: Hold the Line, 99, Make Believe, Rosanna, Africa

1958 - Fritz McIntyre
musician: keyboards: group: Simply Red: Money’s Too Tight to Mention, Holding Back the Years, The Right Thing

1960 - Eric Dickerson
football: NFL individual record for yards gained in a season: LA Rams <1984>: Rookie of Year <1983>; Indianapolis Colts; LA Raiders, Atlanta Falcons

1964 - Keanu Reeves
actor: Chain Reaction, A Walk in the Clouds, Johnny Mnemonic, Speed, Little Buddha, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, My Own Private Idaho, Parenthood, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Dangerous Liaisons, River’s Edge , Youngblood, Brotherhood of Justice, Babes in Toyland, Act of Vengeance, Dream to Believe

Chart Toppers
September 2
1944I’ll Be Seeing You - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Frank Sinatra)
Swinging on a Star - Bing Crosby
It Could Happen to You - Jo Stafford
Soldier’s Last Letter - Ernest Tubb

1952Auf Wiedersehn, Sweetheart - Vera Lynn
Walkin’ My Baby Back Home - Johnnie Ray
Half as Much - Rosemary Clooney
It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels - Kitty Wells

1960It’s Now or Never - Elvis Presley
Walk--Don’t Run - The Ventures
The Twist - Chubby Checker
Alabam - Cowboy Copas

1968People Got to Be Free - The Rascals
Born to Be Wild - Steppenwolf
Light My Fire - Jose Feliciano
Mama Tried - Merle Haggard

1976Don’t Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John & Kiki Dee
You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees
Let ’Em In - Wings
(I’m A) Stand by My Woman Man - Ronnie Milsap

1984What’s Love Got to Do with It - Tina Turner
Missing You - John Waite
Stuck on You - Lionel Richie
Let’s Fall to Pieces Together - George Strait