The evolution of St. Patrick's Day...
We've gone from honoring, according to tradition, St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who died on March 17, 461 to "Kiss me I'm Imus", Don Imus's annual radio/tv show from Boston which is on now as I write this. Since Boston hosted the first St. Patrick's Day celebration in the world, even before Ireland, in 1737, at least his show is coming from the right city...
In Ireland this day has historically been a religious holiday almost as big as Christmas but if you think St. Patrick's Day is only observed here and in Ireland, think again. There are 147 countries that celebrate including Sri Lanka, Japan and Indonesia...
And how many descendants of the Emerald Isle do we have in the United States ? There are 33.7 million residents of the U.S. that have Irish ancestry. But then again, we're all a bit Irish on St. Patrick's Day...
St. Patrick's Day Memories...
0461) St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland dies...
1756) New York City's 1st St. Patrick's Day celebration is held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern...
1776) British forces evacuate the city of Boston during the Revolutionary War...
1870) Wellesley College is incorporated by the Massachusetts legislature under it's 1st name, Wellesley Female Seminary...
1897) Bob Fitzsimmons, a 167-lb. middleweight KOs Gentleman Jim Corbett in the 14th round to claim the world title (after the fight, Fitzsimmons says of the 183-lb. Corbett, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall"...
1905) Franklin D. Roosevelt marries his distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt in New York City with President Theodore Roosevelt, FDR's 5th cousin, giving his niece away (are you as freaked out as I am ? My question is this, how distant was this cousin ? Isn't it great that Eleanor didn't have to change her last name ? Creepy, very creepy)...
1910) The Camp Fire Girls Organization is founded by Luther and Charlotte Gulick (2 years later the Camp Fire Girls begin operation)...
1958) The Coasters record "Yakety Yak"...
1959) The Dalai Lama aka Lhama Dhondrub Tenzin Gyatso flees Tibet for India...
1962) Billboard reports that Ray Charles starts his own label, Tangerine...
1967) Bobby Vee records "Come Back When You Grow Up"...
1968) The Bee Gees make their U.S. television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" singing "To Love Somebody" and "Words"...
1969) Golda Meir is sworn in as the 4th premier of Israel...
1973) The Philadelphia 76ers set an NBA record for futility, losing their 68th game of the season (they finished the season 9-73 and remain the only team not to reach double figures in wins)...
1982) Samuel George Jr. of the Capitols ("Cool Jerk") is stabbed to death in a family argument. George was 39...
1993) Legendary actress Helen Hayes is dead at 92,,,
1999) Medical experts conclude that marijuana has medical benefits for cancer and AIDS patients...
1999) The International Olympic Committee expells 6 of its members in the wake of a bribery scandal...
2003) President George W. Bush gives Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave Iraq (he rejects the ultimatum)...
(To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline)...
Happy Birthday To...
1941) Paul (Jefferson Airplane/Starship) Kantner...
1944) John (Lovin' Spoonful) Sebastian...
1951) Kurt Russell...
1955) Gary (CSI New York) Sinise...
1964) Rob Lowe...
1972) Mia (Mrs. "Nomah") Hamm...
1973) Caroline Corr of the Irish band The Corrs...
Commentary...
Mike McCann adds on Tammi Terrell that Tammi's collapse on stage occurred on October 14, 1967. Tammi died from a malignant brain tumor on March 16, 1970 and she was closer to 25 than 23 as she was a month and a half away from her 25th birthday on April 29, 1945. Good job Mike...
(Today is the 76th day of 2006 with 289 days remaining in the year, 3 days until spring and 15 until opening day)...
Saturday, March 18, 2006...
March 18 Memories...
1850) Henry Wells and William Fargo found Wells-Fargo...
1909) Einar Dessau of Denmark uses a shortwave transmitter to talk to a government radio post about 6 miles away (it is believed to be the 1st broadcast by a "ham" operator)...
1922) Mohandas K. Gandhi is sentenced to prison in India for civil disobedience (Ben Kings-uh, Gandhi will serve 2 years of a 6-year sentence)...
1931) Schick Inc. markets the 1st electric razor...
1953) The city of Boston loses a major league baseball team as National League President Warren Giles and all the NL team owners approve the Braves decision to move to Milwaukee (they will eventual leave Milwaukee for Atlanta)...
1961) The Poppin' Fresh "Pillsbury Dough Boy" is introduced (don't ya just wish you could poke him in that poppin' fresh tummy ?)...
1968) Mel Brooks' film "The Producers" premieres (it will win an Oscar for Best Screenplay). The movie stars Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel...
1982) Teddy Pendergrass (lead singer of Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes) is severly injured in an auto crash in Philadelphia (Teddy is paralyzed from the waist down but remarkably will sing again)...
1986) Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson (most recently seen hawking Weight Watchers)...
1989) The largest art heist in history is pulled off at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The 12 paintings stolen were worth $100 million...
1990) Baseball owners and players agree to a new labor agreement, ending a 32-day pre-season strike...
1992) Leona ("Queen of mean") Helmsley is sentenced to 4 years in prison for tax evasion...
1997) Joni Mitchell reunites with the daughter she gave up for adoption many years earlier...
(To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline)...
Happy Birthday To...
1926) Peter Graves...
1932) Author John Updike...
1938) Country singer Charlie Pride...
1963) Vanessa ("the undresser") Williams...
1964) Olympic gold medal speed skater Bonnie Blair...
1970) Queen Latifah...
(Today is the 77th day of 2006 with 288 days remaining in the year, 2 days until spring and 14 days until opening day)...
Sunday, March 19, 2006...
March 19 Memories...
1628) The Massachusetts colony is founded by Englishmen...
1822) The city of Boston is incorporated...
1831) The 1st bank robbery in America is reported. The City Bank of New York City loses $245,000 in a stick-up...
1918) Congress approves Daylight-Savings Time...
1931) Nevada legalizes gambling...
1945) About 800 lose their lives as Japanese kamikaze planes attack the U.S. carrier Franklin off Japan...
1953) Bob Hope emcees the first televised Academy Awards show on the network. 174 stations give viewers a look at Gary Cooper winning for "Best Actor" in "High Noon" and Shirley Booth accepting the "Best Actress" Oscar for "Come Back Little Sheba". "The Greatest Show on Earth" is "Best Picture"...
1957) Elvis Presley buys the mansion he calls "Graceland"...
1962) Bob Dylan's self-titled album is released...
1966) #3 Texas Western upsets #1 Kentucky in the NCAA tournament's final game to win the championship of college basketball. The Miners, primarily a team composed of blacks beats the Wildcats 72-65 (hmmm could be a movie in the making here)...
1976) Buckingham Palace announces the separation of Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon after 16 years of marriage...
1984) "Kate & Allie" debuts on CBS-TV starring Susan Saint James (Kate) and Jane Curtin (Allie) (the popular show about 2 divorcees runs 5 years ending September 11, 1989)...
1985) Rolling Stone begins publishing "Spin Magazine". Cash Box chart maven Marty Ostrow is hired to do their charts and features...
1987) TV evangelist Jim Bakker resigns as chairman of his PTL ministry amid a sex-and-money scandal involving former church secretary Jessica Hahn...
1995) One day after returning from his 1st retirement, Michael Jordan (wearing #45 instead of his familiar #23) scores 19 points for the Bulls in an OT loss to the Indiana Pacers...
(To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline)...
Happy Birthday To...
1928) Patrick ("Secret Agent", "The Prisoner") McGoohan...
1933) Former TV game show panelist Phyllis Newman...
1933) Renee Taylor...
1936) Former glam-girl Ursula Andress...
1937) Clarence "Frogman" Henry...
1946) Ruth Pointer...
1947) Glenn Close...
1955) Bruce Willis...
(Today is the 78th day of 2006 with 287 days remaining in the year, 1 day until spring and 13 days until opening day)...
