Remembering the heroes of our space program...
January 27th and 28th were dark days for our country through the years as we suffered the loss of 10 astronauts. The first tragedy occurred on January 27, 1967 with the flash fire aboard Apollo I during a test conducted by astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee who all perished in the fire at Cape Kennedy. On January 28, 1986 we all watched in horror as Challenger Seven exploded taking the lives of 7 more space heroes. That night President Ronald Reagan addressed the country. What follows is part of the text of his address:
"Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But, we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes; Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together"...
Today's commentary is about remembering and paying tribute to our oldest veteran this weekend...
More January 27 Memories...
1880) Thomas Edison patents the electric incandescent lamp...
1918) "Tarzan of the Apes", the first Tarzan movie is released (this pre-Johnny Weissmuller film was silent but there would be 11 Tarzan movies starring the Olympic swimming champion from 1932 to 1948. The TV series would run from 1966 to 1969)...
1926) John Baird, a Scottish inventor, demonstrates a pictorial transmission machine called television...
1927) United Independent Broadcasters Inc. starts a radio network of 16 stations. The company would later be named the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)...
1948) The Wire Recording Corporation of America announces the 1st magnetic tape recorder. The "Wireway" machine with a built-in oscillator selling for $149.50 (but you can get 2 for $49.95 at Radio Shack)...
1951) Atomic testing begins in the Nevada desert when an Air Force plane drops a one-kiloton bomb on Frenchman Flats...
1956) The football Giants move their home games from the Polo Grounds to Yankee Stadium...
1956) "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley is released (By April 21st it tops the charts)...
1961) "Sing Along With Mitch" premieres on NBC-TV (Mitch Miller's popular sing-along show will run until September 2, 1966)...
1967) Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee die in their spacecraft which experiences a flash fire (feature story)...
1968) Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" is released 6 weeks after Redding dies in a plane crash...
1968) The Bee Gees make their U.S. debut with a concert at the Anaheim Convention Center...
1976) "Laverne and Shirley", a spin-off of "Happy Days" premieres on ABC-TV starring Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams (the show will run until May 10, 1983)...
1977) The Vatican reaffirms the Roman Catholic Church's ban on female priests...
1981) President Reagan greets the 52 former American hostages released by Iran at the White House...
1984) Wayne Gretzky sets an NHL record for consecutive game scoring with 51 games (and the streak ends there)...
1991) Whitney Houston sings the definitive and most dynamic version of our "Star Spangled Banner" ever at Super Bowl XXV and oh by the way, the Giants beat the Buffalo Bills in that game 20-19 when Scott Norwood's kick goes "wide right"...
1998) First lady Hillary Clinton blames a "vast right-wing conspiracy" on her husband's personal problems on NBC-TVs "Today Show"...
2002) The Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game 24-17 (next stop, the Super Bowl and a game against the favored St. Louis Rams. Can't wait to report on the results of that game)...
2004) John Kerry wins the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary...
To ensure accuracy, multiple reference sources were used in the timeline...
Happy Birthday To...
1930) Bobby "Blue" Bland...
1946) The Ronettes' Nedra Talley...
1948) Mikhail Baryshnikov...
1956) Mimi Rogers...
1964) Bridget Fonda...
Commentary...
This Sunday the Watertown (MA) VFW Post is honoring our oldest WWI and WWII veteran, Russell Buchanon, 106 years young with an indoor walkathon to raise funds for the Veteran's Homeless Shelter in Boston. The walkathon is at the Arsenal Mall. For more information, e-mail Gordy Brown at countrygordy@aol.com Thanks for the item Gordy and good luck...
Today is the 27th day of 2006 with 338 days remaining in the year but just 52 days until Spring and better yet only 20 days until pitchers and catchers...
Saturday, January 28, 2006...
January 28 Memories...
1878) The 1st telephone switchboard is installed in New Haven (CT) ("one ringy dingy, two ringy dingies")...
1878) "The Yale News" is published becoming the 1st daily collegiate newspaper in the U.S...
1915) The U.S. Coast Guard is created by an act of Congress...
1916) Louis D. Brandeis is appointed to the Supreme Court, becoming the courts 1st Jewish judge...
1922) The Decatur (IL) NFL franchise moves to Chicago and takes the name Chicago Bears...
1938) The 1st ski tow (using rope) starts operation in Woodstock, Vermont...
1953) J. Fred Muggs (a chimp) joins NBC-TVs "Today Show"...
1956) Elvis Presley makes his 1st appearance on network televison singing "Heartbreak Hotel" on the "Dorsey Brothers Stage Show"...
1957) "Tonight America After Dark" premieres on NBC-TV with co-hosts Jack Lescoulie and Al (Jazzbo) Collins (the show runs between Steve Allen and Jack Paar and becomes "The Jack Paar Show" on July 29, 1957)...
1958) Dodger catcher Roy Campanella is paralyzed below the waist when his car overturns on an icy road in Glen Cove (LI). Campanella will never play again and is inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1969...
1959) Vince Lombardi is named head coach of the Green Bay Packers (he will win 5 titles in his 9 years in Green Bay)...
1965) (Got any GM stock ?) General Motors reports the biggest profit of any U.S. company in history...
1973) "Barnaby Jones" starring Buddy Ebsen premieres on CBS-TV (it runs until September 4, 1980)...
1978) "Fantasy Island" starring Ricardo Montalban and Herve Villechaize ("the plane, the plane") premieres on ABC-TV (it runs until August 18, 1984 and then goes into syndication forever)...
1985) "We Are The World" is recorded (with more than 40 artists involved. Proceeds go to worldwide hunger prevention)...
1986) The space shuttle Challenger explodes killing all 7 astronauts aboard (feature story)...
1994) An L.A. superior court judge declares a mistrial in the case of Lyle Menendez in the murder of his parents (Lyle and his brother Erik would be retried and found quilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole)...
1996) Cowboy owner Jerry Jones creates "cash flows" around the salary cap, spending over $30 million over the cap and it pays off as his Dallas team beats the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX...
1999) Ford buys Sweden's Volvo for $6.45 billion...
2001) Ray Lewis leads the Baltimore Ravens to a 34-7 beating of the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV...
To ensure accuracy, multiple reference sources were used in the timeline...
Happy Birthday To...
1927) Acker Bilk...
1936) Alan Alda...
1950) Barbi Benton...
1968) Sarah McLachlan...
1969) Kathryn ("Cold Case") Morris...
Today is the 28th day of 2006 with 337 days remaining in the year but only 51 days until Spring and only 19 days until pitchers and catchers...
Sunday, January 29, 2006...
January 29 Memories...
1845) Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is published for the first time in the New York Evening Mirror...
1900) The American Baseball League is organized in Philadelphia with 8 teams (Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Washington, DC)...
1936) The Baseball Hall of Fame holds its 1st induction. Getting into the hallowed hall are Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson...
1958) Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward walk down the aisle...
1959) Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" is released...
1962) Warner Brothers signs Peter, Paul & Mary...
1964) Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" premieres...
1966) "I Fought The Law" by the Bobby Fuller Four is released...
1969) The "Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" debuts on CBS-TV (it runs until June 13, 1972)...
1972) Smokey Robinson leaves the Miracles for a solo career...
1979) Emerson, Lake and Palmer split up after a 10-year career...
1979) President Jimmy Carter commutes Patricia Hearst's 7-year sentence to 2 years...
1980) Jimmy Durante dies at 97...
1990) Joseph Hazelwood, former skipper of the Exxon Valdez goes on trial in Ancorage (AK) for his role in America's worst oil spill (he will be acquitted of all charges except a misdemeanor)...
1995) The San Francisco 49ers become the 1st team in the NFL to win 5 Super Bowls by beating San Diego 49-26 behind Steve Young's 6 touchdown passes (breaking Joe Montana's previous record of 5)...
1999) Paris prosecutors announce the end of the investigation into the accident that killed Britain's Princess Diana...
1999) The U.S. Senate delivers subpoenas for Monica Lewinsky and 2 presidential advisers for private videotaped testimony in President Clinton's impeachment trial...
To ensure accuracy, multiple reference sources were used in the timeline...
Happy Birthday To...
1918) John Forsythe...
1940) Katherine Ross...
1945) Tom Selleck...
1952) Tommy (Erdelyl) Ramone (the only surviving member of the Ramones)...
1960) Olympic champion Greg Louganis...
This is the 29th day of 2006 with 336 days remaining in the year but only 50 days until Spring and better yet just 18 days until pitchers and catchers...
