January 5
Jump to:
Events on This Day
1825 - Alexandre Dumas (Sr.) fought his first duel. In the process, his pants fell down. Dumas told the story later in his memoirs.1885 - The Long Island Railroad Company was the first to offer piggyback rail service. It transported farm wagons on trains and moved all those potatoes pretty fast! Where did all of Long Island’s (NY) potato farms go when they were replaced by houses, houses, houses?
1903 - The general public could use the Pacific cable for the very first time.
1914 - Here’s news from the labor front: Ford Motor Company proudly announced that there would be a new daily minimum wage of $5 and an (shortened) eight-hour work day.
1925 - The first female governor in the U.S. took office in Wyoming this day. A tip of the ten-gallon hat, please, to Mrs. Nellie Tayloe Ross who was sworn in during special ceremonies.
1933 - What is now a symbol of the great American West, the Golden Gate Bridge, went under construction. It would be called an engineering marvel when completed. Spanning the deep channel at the entrance to San Francisco Bay, with the Bay on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, few people-made things are as beautiful as the Golden Gate Bridge. Quite a sight!
1935 - We proudly remind you that Phil Spitalny’s All-Girl Orchestra was featured on CBS radio this day on the program, The Hour of Charm.
1940 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) got its very first demonstration of FM radio. The new medium, free of interference, static, and noise in thunderstorms, was developed by Major E.H. Armstrong. The first FM transmitter was put in operation in 1941. What did it broadcast? Talk, of course. Well, not ‘talk’ per se, but lots of talking.
1941 - Decca record #23210 was recorded. The title: Chica Chica Boom Chic, by the lovely Carmen Miranda. It seems she sang the song in the film, That Night in Rio.
1948 - Warner Pathe showed the very first color newsreel. Pictures of the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football classic were seen by theatre audiences.
1955 - A tune used in a Studio One production became the #1 song on the pop music charts this day. Joan Weber’s song, Let Me Go, Lover, rode the hit parade as the most popular record in U.S. for four weeks straight. Before being aired on television, the song had only been heard on a limited basis. In fact, the title was even different. It used to be known as Let Me Go, Devil. Such romantics, those TV people...
1956 - After a whirlwind romance, screen actress Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier Grimaldi of Monaco, formally announced their engagement in New York and Monaco. It was the Cannes Film Festival of 1954 that turned out to be the life-changing event for Kelly. In a brief meeting with the prince in connection with a photo essay for French magazine, Kelly proceeded to capture his heart.
1961 - “Hello. I’m Mr. Ed!” “A horse is a horse, of course, of course”... you know the lyrics. Mr. Ed, the talking horse, debuted for what would be a six-year run. The show starred Alan Young as Ed’s owner, Wilbur Post. Wilbur’s wife, Carol, was played by Connie Hines. Good old neighbor Roger Addison was Larry Keating. The voice of Mr. Ed was... no, not Alan Young... rather, Allan ‘Rocky’ Lane... of course, of course.
1963 - Broadway news: Camelot closed at the Majestic Theater after 873 performances; and Carnival! closed at the Imperial Theater after 719 performances.
1968 - Dr. Benjamin Spock was indicted by a Boston federal grand jury for conspiracy to abet, aid and counsel draft dodgers.
1970 - The ABC daytime drama, All My Children, premiered. The scene: Pine Valley, New York, which later became Pine Valley, Pennsylvania. All My Children ran through Friday, September 23, 2011.
1971 - Former (1962-1964) world heavyweight boxing champion Charles ‘Sonny’ Liston was found dead in his home in Las Vegas NV. He was 38 years old. Officially, the cause of his death (Dec 30, 1970) was listed as lung congestion and heart failure. Unofficially, the death appeared to be the result of a heroin overdose, and some police officials and Liston associates believed that Liston may have been the victim of foul play.
1972 - John Denver received a gold record for the album Aerie on this day.
1972 - President Richard M. Nixon announced that NASA would proceed with the development of a reusable ‘low cost’ space shuttle system. He signed a $5.5 billion dollar bill for its creation. Such a deal...
1975 - The Broadway premiere of The Wiz received enthusiastic reviews. The show, a black version of The Wizard of Oz, ran for 1,672 shows at the Majestic Theatre. Moviegoers, however, gave a thumbs down to the later cinema version of the musical that starred Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. One memorable song from the show is Ease on Down the Road.
1975 - In Hobart, capital city of Australia’s island state of Tasmania, a bulk ore carrier travelling on the Derwent River collided with several pylons of the Tasman Bridge. The crash brought a large section of the bridge deck down onto the ship and into the river. Twelve people were killed, including seven crew on the ship, and five occupants of four cars which fell 45 m (150 feet) off the bridge. The loss of this main road connection had a big impact on the area. A third of Hobart’s residents lived on the eastern shore and were effectively isolated, turning a three-minute commute over the bridge into a 90-minute ordeal. The new Bowen Bridge was completed a few kilometres north of the old one -- but was not finished until in 1984.
1978 - The Sex Pistols began their first and only U.S. tour -- in Atlanta GA. Nine days later, the English punk rockers announced that they were breaking up.
1979 - John Travolta probably remembers that the soundtrack LP of Saturday Night Fever reached $25 million in sales.
1981 - Police in England arrested Peter Sutcliffe, a truck driver later convicted of the Yorkshire Ripper murders of twelve women.
1984 - The group, The Police, planned a farewell concert for March 2 in Melbourne, Australia. After seven years together, band members decided to go their separate ways.
1987 - When the Midshipmen beat East Carolina 91-66, this night, David Robinson became the first basketball player in Naval Academy history to score more than 2,000 points. Mr. Robinson went on to become a major star in the NBA.
1988 - Basketball star ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich died of a heart attack during a pickup game in Pasadena, CA. He was 40 years old.
1993 - Mike Ditka was dismissed as Chicago Bears head coach after 32 years as a player and coach (11 seasons as head coach, 106-62). (In 1988, Ditka, who played in five Pro Bowls and two conference championships (1963 and 1971), was the first tight end to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.)
1994 - Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Thomas ‘Tip’ O’Neill died in Boston. He was 81 years old. O’Neill was a Democratic party stalwart whose political career spanned nine presidencies.
1995 - President Bill Clinton welcomed Republican congressional leaders to the White House, declaring, “we can do a lot of business together” to reform the way the U.S. government works.
1998 - U.S. Congressman Sonny Bono (R-CA) died when he skied into a tree (or did he?) at Heavenly Ski Resort on the Nevada-California line, 55 miles southwest of Reno, Nevada. Bono was 62.
1999 - A U.S. federal judge approved settlement of a class-action suit filed by African-American farmers. The agreement to compensate farmers for years of racial bias totaled $300 million. The farmers were paid $50,000 (tax-free) and had their government debts forgiven.
2000 - Democratic presidential hopefuls Al Gore and Bill Bradley engaged in a feisty debate in New Hampshire.
2001 - Motion pictures debuting in the U.S.: Chocolat (“One Taste is All It Takes”.), starring Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Johnny Depp and Judi Dench; and Traffic (“No One Gets Away Clean.”), with Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Dennis Quaid and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
2001 - In a blizzard of last-minute executive orders, U.S. President Bill Clinton curtailed road-building and logging on federal forest land.
2002 - Fifteen-year-old Charles Bishop crashed a stolen Cessna 172 airplane into the 40-story Tampa Bank of American building in Florida. There were fears at first that the crash was an act of terrorism, but the teen left a note saying he was acting alone.
2003 - Author and playwright Jean Kerr died at 79 years of age. She is best remembered for her book Please Don’t Eat the Daisies and her play Mary, Mary.
2004 - The U.S. began fingerprinting and photographing international passengers at 115 airports and 14 ports.
2006 - It was reported that U.S. President George Bush (II) had defied Congress by making a series of controversial recess appointments. Bush tapped former Navy Secretary and defense contractor Gordon England to become deputy defense secretary to fill the post once held by Paul Wolfowitz; he also appointed Dorrance Smith to become the Pentagon’s chief spokesman assistant secretary for public affairs; and the president appointed Julie L. Myers to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau at the Department of Homeland Security.
2007 - New films in U.S. theatres: Code Name: The Cleaner, starring Lucy Liu, Elizabeth Hurley, Cedric The Entertainer, DeRay Davis and Nicollette Sheridan; Freedom Writers, with Hilary Swank, Imelda Staunton, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn and Mario; and the animated Happily N’Ever After, featuring the voices of Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., George Carlin, Michael McShane, Patrick Warburton, Andy Dick, Wallace Shawn and Jon Polito.
2007 - U.S. President George Bush (II) nominated John Michael McConnell, a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral, to be the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI). He would follow John Negroponte, who served 18 months as the first head over sixteen intelligence agencies.
2007 - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Asha-Rose Migiro to be deputy secretary-general, calling her a highly respected leader and outstanding manager who has championed the developing world.
2008 - Hayden, Idaho: A man who believed he bore the “mark of the beast” used a circular saw to cut off one hand. He then cooked it in a microwave oven and called 911.
2009 - A survey in Hong Kong concluded that one in five residents was considering leaving the city because of its lousy air quality. Hong Kong’s leaders had insisted that the Chinese Mainland was the source of airborne pollutants, but experts think that most of Hong Kong’s acid rain comes from its own industry and transport.
2009 - Germany’s ruling coalition agreed to a 2-year fiscal stimulus package of €50 billion ($69 billion).
2009 - The California Supreme Court ruled that churches that break away from a national denomination may not take church assets with them.
2011 - Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune opened in U.S. theatres. The historical documentary features Ochs, Joan Baez, Tom Hayden and Christopher Hitchens.
2011 - Resurgent Republicans gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives as the 112th Congress convened in an era of economic uncertainty. Dozens of tea party-backed lawmakers took office in both U.S. houses of Congress.
2012 - Kiyoshi Kimura, president of a sushi restaurant chain, paid $736,000 for a tuna at the Tsukiji fish market, smashing the record price for a single bluefin. Kimura said he wanted to “liven up Japan” and help it recover from the devastating 2011 tsunami and its resulting economic stagnation.
2013 - Pat McCrory was sworn in as governor of North Carolina. He was the first Republican to head the state in 20 years.
2014 - Human body parts fell from the sky over the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Police theorized the debris could have been the remains of a person trapped in an airplane’s wheel bay. In desperate attempts to cross borders, some people at poorly monitored airports sneak inside the landing gear bays. Most of them freeze to death once the aircraft reaches cruising altitude, but some survive.
2015 - Lebanon began imposing unprecedented restrictions on the entry of Syrians into the country as it struggled to cope with well over a million refugees who were trying to escape the civil war next door.
2016 - POTUS Barack Obama announced executive action to tighten U.S. gun laws. His order included 10 separate provisions, with one that would require more gun sellers — especially those who do business on the Internet and at gun shows — to be licensed and would force them to conduct background checks on potential buyers.
2016 - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency in Flint over lead contmination of the city’s drinking water. Flint’s drinking water became contaminated with lead in 2014 after the city switched its supply source from Lake Huron to the more polluted and corrosive Flint River. The switch was done as a cost-cutting measure while the city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager.
2017 - Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. testified to Congress that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Senior U.S. officials said the CIA had identified Russian officials who fed material hacked from the Democratic National Committee and party leaders to WikiLeaks at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin through third parties. And the Central Intelligence Agency -- and others -- concluded that the Russian government escalated its efforts from discrediting the U.S. election process to assisting Donald Trump’s election campaign.
2017 - Heavy snow fell in the western U.S. At Deer Valley in Utah, Emily Summers said her boss kicked her and her co-workers out of the office and told them to hit the slopes and take advantage of a winter that only comes once a decade. “This is the snow we dream of,” said Summers, a spokeswoman for the resort. The storms pounded parts of California, Utah, Colorado and other states as they made their way east, creating difficult driving conditions and closing roads. Small avalanches and white-outs were reported in some areas.
2018 - Movies opening in U.S. theatres included: Insidious: The Last Key, starring Kirk Acevedo, Spencer Locke and Josh Stewart; Blame, with Quinn Shephard, Chris Messina and Nadia Alexander; and Namiya, starring Jackie Chan, Karry Wang and Dilraba Dilmurat.
2018 - 13 people were swept away by three near-simultaneous avalanches at three places in a stretch of about 10 km (6 miles) on a mountainous road in Kupawara district of Kashmir. Two people were rescued. 11 bodies were recovered the next day.
2018 - Astronaut John Young died at his home in Houston, Texas. He was 87 years old. Young was commander of the Apollo 16 lunar voyage; he walked on the moon in April, 1972. Young was the only person to pilot, and command, four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini, the Apollo Command/Service Module, the Apollo Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle.
2019 - Heavy snow caused travel chaos in parts of Austria and Germany as authorities closed roads and train routes because of avalanche danger and airports reported weather-related cancelations. A 20-year-old skier died in an avalanche on Mount Teisen, near the Austrian border.
2020 - (77th) Golden Globe Awards top movie prizes went to the World War One movie 1917 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, set in 1960s Tinseltown. On a night packed with upsets and hot-button issues at the start of Hollywood's awards season. Joker and Rocketman won two awards each. In television, Succession, Fleabag and Chernobyl were the most awarded, with two awards each. Ricky Gervais hosted the ceremony for the fifth time -- from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.
2021 - Wide receiver DeVonta Smith won the Heisman Trophy. His speed and acrobatics electrified Alabama’s offense and helped the Crimson Tide win the 2021 national championship. As a senior at Alabama in 2020, Smith recorded over 1,800 yards and 23 touchdowns. (He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.)
2021 - A pair of runoff elections in Georgia determined control of the U.S. Senate. The Democrats won both Senate seat runoffs. And Reverend Raphael Warnock became the first Black senator in the state’s history.
2022 - The U.S. began returning migrants to Tijuana in an restart of a Trump-era program that forced asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while waiting for U.S. court hearings.
2022 - The FBI arrested Filippo Bernardini, a 29-year-old rights coordinator for Simon & Schuster U.K., saying that he “impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of individuals” over five or more years, obtaining hundreds of unpublished manuscripts in the process.
2022 - Allegiant Air confirmed plans to buy 50 new Boeing 737 MAX jets worth some $5.5 billion. This, as it geared up for a post-pandemic rebound in tourism. The company’s historic order was the first-ever deal between Boeing and an ultra-low-cost carrier in the U.S. At the time, Allegiant operated an all-Airbus fleet consisting of 75 A319 and A320s.
2023 - The funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. Heads of state and royalty, clergy from around the world and thousands of regular people flocked to the ceremony, despite Benedict’s requests for simplicity and official efforts to keep the first funeral for an pope emeritus in modern times low-key. The former Joseph Ratzinger, who died Dec. 31, 2022 at age 95, was considered one of the 20th century’s greatest theologians and spent his lifetime upholding church doctrine. He was the first pope in six centuries to retire.
2023 - The South Carolina Supreme Court struck down the state’s six-week abortion ban, ruling 3-2 that the law violated the state constitution’s privacy protections. “The decision to terminate a pregnancy rests upon the utmost personal and private considerations imaginable,” the court said.
2023 - The Federal Trade Commission proposed a ban of noncompete clauses. Companies would no longer be able to impose contracts barring workers from leaving and taking jobs with rival companies, or starting their own competing businesses. The proposed rule was just that -- proposed -- and was subject to changes before it was finalized and then likely years of protracted litigation before it would be enforced.
2024 - Night Swim opened in U.S. theatres. The horror, thriller stars Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amélie Hoeferle and Gavin Warren.
and more...
Birthdays on This Day January 5
1779 - Stephen Decatur
U.S. naval officer: “Our country right or wrong.”; died Mar 22, 18201794 - Edmund Ruffin
agriculturist: one of the originators of crop rotation and fertilization; publisher: Farmer’s Register; Confederate soldier: fired first shot on Fort Sumter in American Civil War; died June 15, 18651864 - Ban (Byron Bancroft) Johnson
Baseball Hall of Famer: president of Western League: changed minor league Western League to major league American League; helped eliminate an element of rowdyism, thus enhancing the game’s reputation; died Mar 28, 19311875 - James Stuart Blackton
artist, filmmaker: introduced animation and helped in development of cinematic art; died Aug 13, 19411876 - Konrad Adenauer
German statesman: Mayor of Cologne [1917-1933]; Chancellor of Federal Republic of Germany [1949-1963]; co-founder of Christian Democratic Union; led rebuilding of West Germany after WWII; died Apr 19, 19671885 - Art (Arthur) Fletcher
baseball: shortstop: NY Giants [World Series: 1911-1913, 1917], Philadelphia Phillies; 3rd base coach: NY Yankees [1927-1945]; manager: Philadelphia Phillies [1923-1926]; died Feb 6, 19501890 - Benny (Benjamin Michael) Kauff
baseball: NY Highlanders, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Brooklyn Tip-Tops, NY Giants [World Series: 1917]; led Federal League in batting [1914, 1915]; later banned from pro baseball for alleged gambling involvement; died Nov 17, 19611895 - Jeannette (Ridlon) Piccard
balloon pilot: 1st American woman to be free balloon pilot: set record [w/husband] for balloon ascent into stratosphere [57,579 ft. - 1934]; one of first women to become Episcopalian priest; died May 17, 19811901 - Luke (James Luther) Sewell
baseball: catcher: Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals [World Series: 1933], Chicago White Sox [all-star: 1937], SL Browns; manager: St. Louis Browns: American League pennant [1944]; died May 14, 19871904 - Erica Morini
concert violinist; died Oct 31, 19951906 - Donald Randolph
actor: Topaz, Cowboy, Over-Exposed, The Silver Chalice, All American, The Brigand, Gambling House, Chief Crazy Horse; died Mar 16, 19931908 - George Dolenz
actor: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Song of the Sarong, No Time for Love, The Count of Monte Cristo [TV series]; died feb 8, 19631911 - Jean-Pierre Aumont
actor: Maria-Chapdelaine, Napoleon, The Happy Hooker, Windmills of the Gods, Becoming Colette; died Jan 30, 20011914 - George Reeves
actor: Adventures of Superman, Gone With the Wind, From Here to Eternity, Samson and Delilah; died June 16, 19591917 - Jane Wyman (Sarah Fulks)
Academy Award-winning actress: Johnny Belinda [1948]; How to Commit Marriage, Pollyanna, Magnificent Obsession, The Yearling, The Lost Weekend, My Favorite Spy, Falcon Crest, The Incredible Journey of Dr. Meg Laurel; TV hostess: Summer Playhouse, Fireside Theatre; former Mrs. Ronald Reagan; died Sep 10, 20071918 - Jeane Dixon
astrologer, newspaper columnist; died Jan 25, 19971919 - Al Blozis
track: Georgetown University: NCAA, IC4A, AAU: shotput championships [1940-1942], IC4A discus champion [1940-1942]; football: New York Giants tackle [1942-1944]; died Jan 31, 19451923 - Sam Phillips
record executive: Sun Records: The [Memphis] Million Dollar Quartet: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis; died July 30, 20031925 - Louis Carnesecca
Basketball Hall of Fame coach: St. John’s University [526-200], NY Nets [114-138]1926 - W.D. Snodgrass
poet: Heart’s Needle, The Fuhrer Bunker, The Complete Cycle, April Inventory; died Jan 13, 20091926 - Hosea Williams
U.S. civil rights leader, ordained minister, businessman, philanthropist, scientist, politician; died Nov 16, 20001926 - Buddy Young
football: University of Illinois: Rose Bowl MVP [1947]; AAFC NY Yankees aka NFL NY Yanks, Dallas Texans , Baltimore Colts: NFL record: career average 27.7 yards per kickoff return; Baltimore Colts scout, director of player relations; died Sep 5, 19831928 - Fred Glover
hockey: NHL: Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks; AHL: player/coach: Cleveland Barons; died Aug 16, 20011928 - Walter ‘Fritz’ Mondale
politician: U.S. Senator; Vice President [1977-1981]; Democratic presidential nominee [1984]; died Apr 19, 20211931 - Alvin Ailey
choreographer: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: 79 ballets in repertoire - establishing a place for blacks in modern dance; died Dec 1, 19891931 - Robert Duvall
Academy Award-winning actor: Tender Mercies [1983]; A Family Thing, Stalin, A Show of Force, Days of Thunder , Colors, The Natural, True Confessions, Apocalypse Now, Network, The Godfather, M*A*S*H, True Grit, Countdown, Bullitt, To Kill a Mockingbird, Naked City1932 - Chuck Noll
NFL football coach w/most Super Bowl wins: Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowls: IX, X, XIII, XIV; died Jun 13, 20141935 - Earl (Jesse) Battey
baseball: catcher: Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins [all-star: 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966/World Series: 1965]; died Nov 15, 20031938 - Lindsay Crosby
actor: Big Foot, Out of This World; son of crooner Bing Crosby; died Dec 11, 19891938 - Jim Otto
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Oakland Raiders center: 7 division championships, 1 AFL championship [Super Bowl II]; AFL’s only All League Center [1960-1969], All-AFC Center [1970-1972]1941 - Chuck McKinley
Tennis Hall of Famer: Wimbledon [1963]; U.S. National Doubles [w/Dennis Ralston]; Davis Cup [1963]; died Aug 10, 19861941 - Hayao Miyazaki
Japanese film director, animator: Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, The Secret World of Arrietty, Spirited Away, Ponyo1941 - Grady Thomas
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer: Parliament-Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove, Atomic Dog, Flashlight, Maggot Brain, Cosmic Slop1942 - Charlie Rose
TV host: CBS News Nightwatch, The Charlie Rose Show; TV news correspondent: 60 Minutes II, CBS This Morning1942 - Wayne Rutledge
hockey: NHL: LA Kings1945 - Sam Wyche
football: Washington Redskins quarterback [Super Bowl VII]; coach: Cincinnati Bengals [Super Bowl XXIII], Tampa Bay Buccaneers; TV sportscaster: NBC, CBS1946 - Diane Keaton (Hall)
Academy Award-winning actress: Annie Hall [1977]; Sleeper, Hair, Love and Death1947 - Mercury (Eugene) Morris
football [running back]: Miami Dolphins: Super Bowls VI, VII, VIII1948 - Charlie (Charles Oliver) Hough
baseball: pitcher: LA Dodgers [World Series: 1974, 1977, 1978], Texas Rangers [all-star: 1986], Chicago White Sox, Florida Marlins1948 - Ted Lange
actor: Perfume, Terminal Exposure, The Love Boat1949 - George ‘Funky’ Brown
musician: drums: group: Kool and the Gang: Ladies Night, Celebration, I.B.M.C., LPs: Wild and Peaceful, Kool Jazz1950 - Chris Stein
musician: guitar: group: Blondie: In the Flesh, Denis, [I’m Always Touched by Your] Presence Dear, Picture This, Hanging on the Telephone, Sunday Girl, Heart of Glass, Dreaming, Union City Blue, Atomic, The Tide is High, Rapture; solo: French Kissin’; scored theme: Fifteen Minutes1953 - Pamela Sue Martin
actress: The Poseidon Adventure, Dynasty, The Nancy Drew Mysteries1954 - Alex (Alexander) English
Basketball Hall of Fame forward: University of South Carolina; NBA: Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks1954 - Bryan Hitt
musician: drums: group: REO Speedwagon: I Don’t Want to Lose You, Here With Me, Roll With the Changes, Keep on Loving You, That Ain’t Love, Take It on the Run1958 - Ron (Ronald Dale) Kittle
baseball: Chicago White Sox [all-star: 1983], NY Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles1959 - Clancy Brown
actor: Emergence, The Shawshank Redemption, Pathfinder, The Guardian, Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth, Gambling, The Making of Daniel Boone, The Laramie Project1962 - Suzy Amis
actress: The Usual Suspects, Nadja, Blown Away1962 - Danny (Lynn) Jackson
baseball: pitcher: KC Royals [World Series: 1985], Cincinnati Reds [all-star: 1988/World Series: 1990], Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies [World Series: 1993/all-star:1994], SL Cardinals1963 - Jeff (Jeffrey Joseph) Fassero
baseball: pitcher: baseball: pitcher: Univ of Mississippi; Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, SL Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks1964 - Grant Young
musician: drums: group: Soul Asylum: Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold The Truck, Made to Be Broken, Time’s Incinerator, While You Were Out, Clam Dip And Other Delights, Hang Time, Soul Asylum and the Horse They Rode in On, Grave Dancers Union, Let Your Dim Light Shine, Candy from a Stranger1966 - Kate Schellenbach
musician: drums: groups Beastie Boys: Pollywog Stew; Luscious Jackson: Fever in Fever Out, Electric Honey, Naked Eye [Grand Royal], Natural Ingredients1967 - Ray Crockett
football: Baylor Univ; NFL: Denver Broncos, KC Chiefs1967 - Joe Flanigan
actor: Stargate Atlantis, Profiler, First Monday, Sisters, The Force, Thoughtcrimes, Women’s Murder Club, Warehouse 13, Ferocious Planet1968 - Stan Drulia
hockey: NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning1968 - Carl T. Evans
actor: Walking on the Sky, Above and Beyond, Matlock: The Suspect, As the World Turns1968 - Carrie Ann Inaba
dancer, choreographer: TV talent judge: Dancing with the Stars1968 - Joe Juneau
hockey: Canadian National Team; NHL: Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres1968 - Felton Spencer
basketball: Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic1969 - David Dixon
football: Arizona State Univ; NFL: Minnesota Vikings1969 - Marilyn Manson (Brian Warner)
rock singer/performer: quote: “I picked Marilyn Manson as the fakest stage name of all to say that this is what show business is, fake. Marilyn Monroe wasn’t even her real name, Charles Manson isn’t his real name, and now, I’m taking that to be my real name. But what’s real?”1969 - Shaun Micheel
golf: PGA champ [2003], NIKE Greensboro Open [1999], Singapore Open [1998]1969 - Shea Whigham
actor: Boardwalk Empire, True Detective, Fast & Furious, Barry Munday, The Lincoln Lawyer, Catch .44, Silver Linings Playbook, Fast & Furious 6, American Hustle, The Wolf of Wall Street, Non-Stop1974 - Calvin Collins
football: Texas A&M; NFL: Atlanta Falcons [1997-2000]: 1999 Super Bowl XXXIII; Minnesota Vikings [2001]; Houston Texans [2002]; Pittsburgh Steelers [2003]; Denver Broncos [2004])1974 - Damon Minor
baseball: SF Giants; twin brother of Ryan Minor1974 - Ryan Minor
baseball: Baltimore Orioles; twin brother of Damon Minor1974 - Mark Redman
baseball [pitcher]: Univ of Oklahoma, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Oakland A’s1975 - Bradley Cooper
actor: Silver Linings Playbook, Wedding Crashers, Yes Man, He’s Just Not That Into You, The Hangover film series, Limitless, The Place Beyond the Pines; 2011 People magazine Sexiest Man Alive, American Sniper, American Hustle, A Star Is Born1975 - Warrick Dunn
football: Florida State, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons RB1975 - Mike Grier
hockey: NHL: Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres1978 - January Jones
actress: Mad Men, Anger Management, Love Actually, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, We Are Marshall, Love’s Enduring Promise, Unknown, X-Men: First Class1978 - Michael Wiley
football: Ohio State Univ; NFL: Dallas Cowboys1979 - Kyle Calder
hockey: NHL: Chicago Blackhawks1979 - Rubén Quevedo
baseball [pitcher]: Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers; died Jun 7, 20161980 - Garette Ratliff Henson
actor: Nevada, Three Wishes, Casper, Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, For Their Own Good, The Adventures of Huck Finn1981 - Michael Mizrachi
pro poker champ: World Series of Poker [2010, 2012, 2018]1987 - Jason Mitchell
actor: Straight Outta Compton, Contraband, Broken City, Keanu, Kong: Skull Island
and still more...
Hit Music on This Day January 5
1944My Heart Tells Me (facts) - The Glen Gray Orchestra (vocal: Eugenie Baird)
Paper Doll (facts) - The Mills Brothers
1953
1962
1971
1980
1989
1998
2007
2016
and even more...
Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...
TWtD Calendar
