Archive for 2008

Tiny Tim married Miss Vickie on this day in 1969.

On this day in 1773, there was a party in Boston.

The Boston Tea Party was an act of direct action protest by the American colonists against the British Government in which they destroyed many crates of tea belonging to the British East India Company and dumped it in Boston Harbor. The incident, which took place on Thursday, December 16, 1773, has been seen as helping to spark the American Revolution and remains to this day one of the most iconic events in American history.

Thank goodness this was all about tea and not bathroom safety products. Could you imagine what they would have called that?

On this day in 1890, reservation police killed the Great Chief Sitting Bull.

Sitting Bull (ca. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man, born near the Grand River in South Dakota and killed by reservation police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him and prevent him from supporting the Ghost Dance movement.

“Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer” topped the charts in 1951.

You can find out more about this day in history at the History Channel, Those Were The Days, and InfoPlease.

On this day in 1961, Grandma Moses died at the age of 101.

Moses began painting in her seventies after abandoning a career in embroidery because of arthritis. Louis J. Caldor, a collector, discovered her paintings in a Hoosick Falls, New York drugstore window in 1938. In 1939, an art dealer, Otto Kallir, exhibited some of her work in his Galerie Saint-Etienne in New York. This brought her to the attention of art collectors all over the world, and her paintings were highly sought after. She went on to exhibit her work throughout Europe and in Japan, where her work was particularly well received. She continued her prolific output of paintings, the demand for which never diminished during her lifetime. Grandma Moses painted mostly scenes of rural life. Some of her many paintings were used on the covers of Hallmark cards.

On this day in 1939, Betty Grable appeared on Life magazine.

Elizabeth Ruth Grable was born Dec. 18, 1916, in St. Louis. Her father became a successful grain broker and her mother Lillian pushed Betty into dancing and vaudeville at an early age. In 1929 she and Betty moved to Hollywood when the Golden Age of sound movies, the Star-Studded Revue and the Technicolor musical was beginning. Although only 5′4″ tall and 13 years old, Betty was hired as a Fox chorus girl at $50 a week to dance in Happy Days and Let’s Go Places. After working in films for Eddie Cantor and Busby Berkeley, she signed a 5-year contact in 1934 with RKO. Betty worked for most of the major studios in the 1930s but did not become a star until 1939: she signed with Darryl F. Zanuck at Twentieth Century Fox in July; divorced Jackie Coogan in October; starred in a Broadway play that opened Dec. 6; appeared on the cover of Life magazine Dec. 11.

On this day in 1965, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” debuted.

One thing I loved when I was a kid, was going to pick out a Christmas tree. We didn’t do it very often, in fact we only did it a few times while I was growing up because money was tight and we could only get one if it was on sale. I love the smell of fresh pine in the house.

On this day in 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed in New York City.

On this day, in 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. President Roosevelt gave the following speech after learning of the attack.

Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our secretary of state a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday the Japanese government also launched as attack against Malaya.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Wake Island.

And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As commander in chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. . .

We learned then, and we need to remember now, that we cannot have a government run by people quick to use their rubber stamps. If we (and our government) stop thinking for ourselves, all will be lost.

On this day in 1948, Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts debuted on CBS.