Ground Hog Day
Birthdays:
1954 ~ Christie Brinkley, American model.
1947 ~ Farrah Fawcett (d. 2009), American
actress.
1931 ~ Judith Viorst, American author.
1927 ~ Stan Getz (d. 1991), American
musician.
1926 ~ Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, French
president.
1923 ~ Liz Smith, American gossip columnist.
1915 ~ Abba Eban (d. 2002), Israeli diplomat.
1912 ~ Millvina Dean (d. 2009), last survivor
of the RMS Titanic.
1905 ~ Ayn Rand (d. 1982), Russian-born
American author and philosopher, best known for her novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.
1897 ~ Howard Johnson (d. 1972), American
hotelier and founder of the Howard Johnson hotel and restaurant chain.
1882 ~ James Joyce (d. 1941), Irish author.
1861 ~ Solomon Guggenheim (d. 1949), American
art collector and philanthropist.
1786 ~ Jacques Philippe Marie Binet (d.
1856), French mathematician.
1650 ~ Nell Gwynne (d. 1687), English actress
and long-time mistress of King Charles II of England.
1649
~ Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730).
1522 ~ Lodovico Ferrari (d. 1565), Italian
mathematician.
1455 ~ King John of Denmark (d. 1513).
1208 ~ King James I of Aragon (d. 1276).
Events
that Changed the World:
1971 ~ Idi Amin became leader and dictator of
Uganda.
1935 ~ The first polygraph machine was
tested.
1925 ~ Dog sleds reached Nome, Alaska with
diphtheria serum. This inspired
the Iditarod races.
1922 ~ James Joyce published his novel, Ulysses.
1913 ~ Grand Central Terminal was opened in
New York City.
1901 ~ The funeral for Queen Victoria was
conducted.
1899 ~ The Australian Premiers’ Conference,
which was held in Melbourne, decided to locate Australia’s capital city to
Canberra.
1887 ~ The first Groundhog Day was observed
in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
1876 ~ The National League of Professional
Baseball Clubs of the Major League Baseball was formed.
1848 ~ The first wave of Chinese immigrants
arrived in San Francisco, California to assisted with the California Gold Rush.
1653 ~ The city of New Amsterdam, alter
renamed New York City, was incorporated.
1536 ~ The city of Buenos Aries, Argentina
was founded by Pedro de Mendoza.
1032 ~ Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor became
King of Burgundy.
962 ~ Otto I was crown Holy Roman Emperor by
Pope John XII.
Good-byes:
1996 ~ Gene Kelly (b. 1912), American dancer
and actor.
1992 ~ Bert Parks (b. 1914), American
television host and long-time emcee for the Miss America pageants.
1980 ~ William Howard Stein (b. 1911),
American biochemist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
1980 ~ Hanna Rovina (b. 1893), Israeli
actress.
1970 ~ Sid Vicious (né John Simon Ritchie, b.
1957), English musician and frontman for the Sex Pistols. He died from a drug overdose that was
possibly a suicide.
1970 ~ Bertrand Russell (b. 1872), English
mathematician, writer and philosopher.
He was the recipient of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature.
1969 ~ Boris Karloff (d. 1887), English actor
best known for his characters in horror films.
1950 ~ Constantin Cathathéodory (b. 1873),
Greek mathematician.
1918 ~ John L. Sullivan (b. 1858), American
heavyweight boxer.
1904 ~ William C. Whitney (b. 1841), American
financier.
1769 ~ Pope Clement XIII (b. 1689).
1768 ~ Robert Smith (b. 1689) English
mathematician.
1704 ~ Guillaume François Antoine, Marquis de
l’Hôpital (b. 1661), French mathematician.
1461 ~ Owen Tudor, (b.~ 1400), Welsh founder
of the Tudor dynasty of England.
