Through The Rear Window: TODAY IS ... 1 FEBRUARY

Monday, February 1, 2010

TODAY IS ... 1 FEBRUARY

TODAY IS ...

1 FEBRUARY

BIRTHDAYS –

1990 - Laura Marling is a folk-pop, singer-songwriter from Hampshire, England. Initially predominant within the London 'Nu-Folk' scene, her sound is characterised by striking melodies and poetic lyricism.

1986 - Lauren Conrad - an American television personality, celebutante, author and fashion designer who is best known for being featured in the MTV reality series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and for her spin-off show, The Hills, which at one point followed her personal and professional life as she pursues a career in the fashion industry.

1984 - Lee Thompson Young is an American actor, known for starring in the Disney television series, The Famous Jett Jackson.

1979 - Rachelle Lefevre - a Canadian actress who played the role of Victoria in the 2008 film Twilight, and its sequel New Moon (2009), based on the novels by Stephenie Meyer.

1971 - Michael Hall - an American actor whose television roles include David Fisher on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under and serial-killer Dexter Morgan on the Showtime series Dexter. In 2010, Hall won a Golden Globe award and a Screen Actors Guild award for his role in Dexter.

1969 - Brian Krause - an American actor who is best known for his role as Leo Wyatt on the WB Network TV series Charmed from 1998 to 2006.

1968 - Lisa Marie Presley - is an American singer-songwriter, she is also known as the Princess of Rock 'n' Roll. She is the daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley.

1967 - Meg Cabot - an American chick-lit author of romantic comedies for teens and adults. She has written and published over fifty books, and is best known for The Princess Diaries, later made by Walt Disney Pictures into two feature films of the same name.

1965 - Brandon Lee - actor (son of Bruce Lee)

1965 - Sherilyn Fenn - an Emmy and Golden Globe award-nominated American actress who came to international attention for her performance on the 1990 cult TV series Twin Peaks. She is also known for her roles in Of Mice and Men, Ruby, Boxing Helena and Rude Awakening, and for portraying actress Elizabeth Taylor in Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story.

1965 - Princess Stéphanie of Monaco is a member of the royal family of Monaco - the youngest child of Grace, Princess of Monaco and Rainier III of Monaco, and the sister of Albert II of Monaco and Princess Caroline. Stephanie has been a singer, swimwear designer, and fashion model; her mother lovingly called the princess her "wild child."

1964 - Linus Roache - an English actor who appeared in Coronation Street playing Peter Barlow, the son of his father's character Ken Barlow. Roache is also a past member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Roache joined the American TV series Law & Order in 2008 as new Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter.

1955 - Margaux Hemingway – actress

1954 - Billy Mumy - actor (Lost In Space, Babylon 5 )

1952 - Rick James - American Grammy-winning singer. Music: Come Get It (1978), Give It to Me Baby (1981, #1), and Super Freak (1981).

1947 - Normie Rowe AM was the preeminent male solo star of Australian pop music in the 1960s. Known for his bright, edgy tenor voice and dynamic stage presence. Backed by his band The Playboys, Rowe released a string of Australian pop hits on the Sunshine Records label that kept him at the top of Australian charts and made him the most popular solo performer of the mid-1960s. Rowe's double-sided hit "Que Sera Sera" / "Shakin' All Over" was one of the most successful Australian singles of the 1960s.

1944 - Dennis Farina - actor (Crime Story, Get Shorty)

1942 - Terry Jones - actor: Monty Python series; director: Monty Python series, Personal Services

1938 - Sherman Hemsley - actor (Jeffersons, Amen)

1937 - Garrett Morris – actor

1937 - Don Everly- member of the Everly Brothers who were country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing. The Everlys are the most successful U.S. rock and roll duo on the Hot 100.

1928 - Stuart Whitman is an American actor who is best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967. Whitman also starred with John Wayne in the Western movie, The Comancheros, in 1961, and received top billing as the romantic lead in the extravagant aerial epic Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines in 1965.

1901 - Clark Gable - actor (Gone With the Wind)

1895 - John Ford - film director

OTHER EVENTS –

2009 - Bruce Springsteen started a two week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Working on a Dream’ his 16th studio album.

2009 - The Russian Orthodox Church enthrones Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow as Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church

2009 - Lily Allen started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Fear', the singers second UK No.1.

2009 – Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay head of state in the modern world.

2008 - US space agency Nasa announced that ‘Across the Universe’ by the Beatles was to become the first song ever to be beamed directly into space. The track would be transmitted through the Deep Space Network - a network of antennas - on the 40th anniversary of the song being recorded, being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, 431 light-years from Earth. In a message to Nasa, Sir Paul McCartney said the project was an "amazing" feat. "Well done, Nasa," he added. "Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul."

2007 – The Last King of Scotland starring Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy and Gillian Anderson commences screening in Australia. Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s

2007 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair is questioned for a second time in the 'cash for peerages (Cash for Honours)' probe as a witness.

2006 – New Zealand new wavers Split Enz (“I Got You”) announce they are reforming for an Australian tour. The band – whose members included Crowded House’s Neil Finn – broke up in 1984.

2006 – Il Divo, the pop/opera quartet created by American Idol star Simon Cowell top the U.S. album charts with Ancora. The second highest new entry is country star Josh Turner’s Your Man, in at No. 2.

2005 – Rob Thomas’ solo debut single, “Lonely No More,” premieres exclusively via AOL Music’s First Listen initiative.

2005 - Elvis Presley was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'It's Now Or Never', the singers 21st No.1, first released in 1960.

2005 - Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act, making Canada the fourth country to sanction same-sex marriage.

2004 - Singer Janet Jackson's breast was briefly exposed during a duet with Justin Timberlake during the Super Bowl halftime show. Timberlake later referred to the incident as a "wardrobe malfunction."

2004 - LMC vs U2 started a two week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Take Me To The Clouds Above.' Based on the guitar riff from U2's classic song 'With Or Without You'.

2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

2001 - Sylvester Stallone, Miranda Richardson and Michael Caine star in Get Carter which starts screening in Australia. Jack Carter, a mob enforcer living in Las Vegas, travels back to his hometown of Seattle for his brother's funeral

2001 - A collection of Sir Elton John's private photos on display at a museum in Atlanta were withdrawn. The exhibition, which included snaps of nude men, was said to be too explicit, some school trips to the museum had been cancelled.

2000 - Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico say they have traced the origin of the AIDS virus to around 1930.

1999 – The Web site Lycos begins a new search service that offers easy access to a halfmillion high quality recordings. The search service finds titles that use MP3, an easydownload technology. Such files alarm the recording industry, since many of the songs are illegal copies made by those who sell or give them away online.

1998 - Australian Mixed Doubles Tennis J Gimelstob & V Williams beat Suk & Sukova (6-2 6-1)

1998 - 86th Australian Mens Tennis Petr Korda beats Marcelo Rios (6-2 6-2 6-2)

1997 - The original soundtrack from the film 'Evita' went to No.1 on the UK album chart.

1996 – Starring Christian Slater, Mary Stuart Masterson and Josh Brolin Bed of Roses starts screening in Australia. Romantic drama about a young career girl who is swept off her feet by a shy florist, who fell in love with her after one glimpse through a shadowy window.

1996 - Both houses of the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly approved a rewrite of the 1934 Communications Act. Some highlights: allowed local and long-distance telephone companies, as well as cable TV providers, to offer a mixture of goods and services; Deregulate cable TV rates; allowed consumers access to a greater variety of cable, telephone and other communications services; and, in one of the most controversial changes, it revised the National Multiple Radio Ownership Rule and Local Radio Ownership Rule, allowing most of the stations in the U.S. to be snatched up by a few corporations.

1993 - The Simpsons comic book hits the shelves.

1992 - U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed an agreement of general principles that concluded decades of East-West rivalry and encouraged a future relationship of cooperation. The signing in Washington DC marked the official end of the ‘Cold War’.

1992 – Nirvana’s album, “Nevermind” goes to the No. 1 spot on the Chart Toppers Album chart for the second time.

1992 - George Michael and Elton John went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me', also a No.1 in the UK. All proceeds from the single went to Aids charities.

1992 - "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred topped the US charts and stayed there for 4 weeks.

1991 - South African president F W de Klerk says he would repeal all apartheid laws

1990- Siegfried & Roy open their exclusive show at the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas. They and their white tigers have performed for Hollywood stars, presidents and Pope John Paul II. One Vegas columnist notes: “When Elvis performed in Vegas there were some empty seats. But there are nothing but full houses when Siegfreid & Roy perform.” The act was finally ended by Roy’s throat being slashed by a tiger in 2003.

1990 – Next of Kin starring Patrick Swayze, Liam Neeson, Adam Baldwin and Helen Hunt commences screening in Australia. Truman, a Chicago cop, sets out to find the killer of his brother. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.

1989 - The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

1989 - Princess Diana of England visits New York NY

1987 - Terry Williams of Los Gatos, CA won the largest slot machine payoff to that time. He put $4.9 million in his pockets after getting four lucky 7s on a machine in Reno, Nevada

1986 - Diana Ross weds Norwegian businessman Arne Naess in Geneva, Switzerland.

1985 - The Eagles' Glenn Frey makes his acting debut in an episode of NBC's Miami Vice.

1982 - Senegal and Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia.

1982 - David Letterman begins an 11-year run as the host of the NBC program Late Night with David Letterman.

1981 - Dutch Antilles census is 231,932

1981 - Duke Ellington-musical "Sophisticated Ladies," premieres in New York NY

1981 - Australian cricket captain Greg Chappell causes furore when he orders his brother Trevor to bowl underarm to a New Zealand batsman. Trevor Chappell bowls his infamous "Underarm Ball" to Brian McKechnie to prevent New Zealand scoring a 6, and tying the ODI, on the last ball of the third match in the final of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup. It directly led to the banning of underarm bowling by the International Cricket Council as not within the spirit of the game.

1980 - Soap opera "Love of Life" ends a 28 year run

1978 - Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason star in The Goodbye Girl which starts screening in Australia. After being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.

1978 - Bob Dylan's Renaldo and Clara, a semi-documentary of his famous Rolling Thunder Revue tour, premieres in Los Angeles.

1978 - Amstrad were advertising their new ranges of hi-fi in the UK, the 8000 system complete with 40 watt amp, speakers and amp, £86 and the executive system with 140 watt amp, record deck, tuner, tape deck and speakers priced at £365.

1976 - Despite the very public divorce of its two stars and two ill-fated solo variety shows in the interim, the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour reappears on CBS as The Sonny and Cher Show.

1976 - "Rich Man, Poor Man" mini-series premieres on ABC TV

1975 - Pilot were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'January', the Scottish group's only No.1. The song was a No.1 hit in Australia for eight weeks.

1975 – Neil Sedaka had his second US No.1 single with ‘Laughter In The Rain’, over 12 years after his last chart topper ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’.

1974 - "Good Times" (spinoff from "Maude") premieres on CBS TV

1973 - Gladys Knight and the Pips leave Motown's Soul label for a new career at Buddah.

1972 - The calculator arrives as a scientific hand-held calculator (HP-35) introduced ($395)

1972 - Kuala Lumpur became a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

1972 - Chuck Berry had his first UK No.1 single with a live recording of a song he'd been playing live for over 20 years 'My Ding-a-Ling'. UK public morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse attempted to have the song banned due to its innuendo-laden lyrics. The Average White Band members guitarist Onnie McIntyre and drummer Robbie McIntosh played on the single.

1971 - The soundtrack album from the movie, Love Story, starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali McGraw, with music by Frances Lai, was certified as a gold record on this day.

1971 - Evonne Goolagong scored her first major singles victory as she defeated Margaret Court in the finals of the Victorian Open, played in Melbourne, Australia.

1969 - Tommy James and the Shondells started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Crimson And Clover', the group's second and last No.1. Billy Idol had a 1987 US No.1 with 'Mony Mony' a No.3 hit for Tommy James in 1968.

1968 - Official unification of the three military services of Canada, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, into the Canadian Forces.

1968 - Former Vice-President Richard Nixon announces candidacy for President

1967 - Frank and Nancy Sinatra record "Something Stupid"

1967 - At Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles started work on a new song ‘Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band’. It wasn't until The Beatles had recorded the song that Paul McCartney had the idea to make the song the thematic pivot for their forthcoming album.

1965 - Martin Luther King Jr and 700 demonstrators arrested in Selma, Alabama

1964 - The Beatles started a seven week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', the first US No.1 by a UK act since The Tornadoes 'Telstar' in 1962 and the first of three consecutive No.1's from the group.

1964 - "Stop the World, I Want to..." closes at Shubert New York City after 556 performances

1963 – 300 Spartans starring Richard Egan, Ralph Richardson and Diane Baker commences screening in Australia. Essentially true story of how Spartan king Leonidas led an extremely small army of Greek Soldiers

1960 - 48th Australian Mens Tennis: Rod Laver beats N Fraser (57 36 63 86 86)

1960 - 34th Australian Womens Tennis: Margaret Smith beats J Lehane (75 62)

1959 - Texas Instruments requests patent of IC (Integrated Circuit)

1958 - US satellite (Explorer I) launched

1958 - Merger of Egypt and Syria to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961.

1958 - 1959 Swiss males vote against voting rights for women

1956 - The Roxy Theater in New York City presents "The Rock and Roll Ice Revue," billed as "the hottest production ever staged on ice."

1954 - A television classic was born on CBS-TV, as The Secret Storm was shown for the first day of what would become a 20-year run on the network.

1953 - CBS-TV debuted Private Secretary. Ann Sothern played Susie McNamera, private secretary to NY talent agent, Peter Sands (played by Don Porter). Susie, you will remember, kept trying to improve Peter’s professional -- and personal -- life, screwing it up seriously in the process. The show ran during the regular TV seasons on CBS (last show was September 10, 1957) and ran on NBC-TV in the summers of 1953 and 1954.

1953 - "You Are There" with Walter Cronkite premieres on CBS television great show for it's time

1949 - Louis B. Mayer, the Mayer in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), became a millionaire once more. This deal had nothing to do with the movies, though. He sold his breeding farm of race horses for a million dollars.

1949 - In response to Columbia's recent 33-1/3 "long play," or LP, vinyl record, RCA Victor unveils the first 45-rpm, 7-inch version, as well as a phonograph that plays the new invention. The vinyl "single" would eventually kill off the old 78-rpm record.

1948 - Federation Malaysia forms from 9 sultanates

Flag from abFlag

1946 - Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie was chosen to be the first secretary-general of the United Nations.

1941 - Downbeat magazine reported this day that Glenn Miller had inked a new three-year contract with RCA Victor Records. The pact guaranteed Miller $750 a side, the fattest record contract signed to that time.

1940 - Frank Sinatra sang Too Romantic and The Sky Fell Down in his first recording session with the Tommy Dorsey Band. The session was in Chicago, IL. Frankie replaced Jack Leonard as lead singer with the band.

1939 - Benny Goodman and his orchestra recorded And the Angels Sing, on Victor Records. The vocalist on that number, who went on to find considerable fame at Capitol Records, was Martha Tilton.

1935 - First "March of Time" newsreel premieres at the Capitol

1933 - Dutch Bishops forbid membership in non-catholic unions

1930 - The Times published its first crossword puzzle.

1929 - Frenchman Charles Rigoulet is the first weightlifter to lift over 400 pounds (181 kg) in the "clean and jerk" method.

1926 - M.J. Winkler Productions releases the Alice Comedy film Alice's Little Parade to theatres.

1926 - Land at Broadway & Wall Street sold at a record $7 per square inch

1920 - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police begin operations.

1920 - The first commercial armored car introduced (St Paul Minnesota)

1919 - The first Miss America was crowned in New York City.

Margaret Gorman – first Miss America

1921. Margaret Gorman, the First Miss America, in a Birmingham car

1914 - Tanganyika Railway opens

1913 - New York City's Grand Central Terminal opens as the world's largest train station.

1904 - Enrico Caruso recorded his first sides for Victor Records. He did ten songs in the session ... for $4,000.

1902 - China's Empress Tzu-hsi forbids binding woman's feet

1901- Outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with prostitute Hedda Place, sometimes referred to as Mrs.Sundance, escape the law back in Wyoming and arrive in New York City to relax. After a month of sightseeing they take a ship to Bolivia.

1900 - Eastman Kodak Co. introduced the $1 Brownie box camera.

1898 - The Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, CT, issued the first automobile insurance policy. Dr. Truman Martin of Buffalo, NY, paid $11.25 for the policy, which gave him $5,000 in liability coverage.

1896- Puccini's opera "La Boheme" debuts in Turin. It was based on Prosper Merimee’s popular book Bohemian Sketches.

1893- In New Jersey Thomas Edison and his engineer W. K. Dickson built the FIRST MOTION PICTURE STUDIO in New Jersey. It was covered with black tar paper and nicknamed"The Black Mariah" because that was the nickname of police paddy wagons that it resembled.

1892 - Mrs William Astor invites 400 guests to a grand ball at her mansion thus beginning the use of the "400" to describe the socially elite

1887 -Harvey Wilcox of Kansas subdivides 120 acres he owned in Southern California & starts selling it off as a real estate development (Hollywood)

1862 - The Battle Hymn of the Republic was first published in Atlantic Monthly. The lyric was the work of Julia Ward Howe. The Battle Hymn of the Republic is still being sung and to the tune of a song titled, John Brown’s Body.