This day in history

Some interesting historical events that happened today include:

 

1858- President James Buchanan received the first transatlantic cable from Queen Victoria 

 

1870- professional pitcher Fred Goldsmith successfully proved the curveball is not an optical illusion. He repeatedly pitched around a center pole driven into the ground and brought the ball back across before reaching the target

 

1898- Edwin Prescott patented the   "loop-de-loop" roller coaster which he operated at Coney Island 

 

1916- the US and Canada signed one if the first treaties designed to protect wildlife - The Migratory Bird Treaty Act

 

1930- Ub Iwerks (artist who sketched the first Mickey Mouse) released the first color sound cartoon, Fiddlesticks

 

1940- the first official US Army parachute jump took place at Ft. Benning, GA

 

1954- Sports Illustratec published it's first issue. The cover photo wad Milwaukee Braves batter Eddie Matthews swinging away at a home game against the New York Giants

 

1962- after a disappointing performance during an audition, the Beatles released drummer Pete Best. They replaced him with Ringo Starr a few days later

 

1969- the Auditorium Theater in Chicago hosted the first concert of the folk-rock group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

 

1977- Elvis Presley died of a heart attack in his Memphis home at age 42

 

1983- Carrie Fisher married Paul Simon, although they divorced less than a year later

 

1986- Madonna's single "Papa Don't Preach" hit #1 along with her album True Blue

 

1993- Thomas Welsh was granted patent No. 5,236,208 for Platform Steerable Skateboard

 

2018- the first floating dairy farm opened in Rotterdam, the Netherlands housing 40 cows

 

Some notable birthdays include:

 

Hugo Gernsback (1884) - published one of the first magazines dedicated to science fiction - Amazing Stories 

T. E. Lawrence (1888) - better known as Lawrence of Arabia

Otto Messmer (1892) - created the cartoon character Felix the Cat

Louis Lomax (1922) - first African American TV journalist 

Shimon Peres (1923) - 9th President of Israel and prime minister

Suzanne Farrell (1945)

Kathie Lee Gifford (1953)

James Cameron (1954)

Angela Bassett (1958)

Madonna (1958)

Steve Carell (1962) - I'm a big fan of both The Office and Despicable Me