Australian Open Update: Danielle Collins Becomes Reinforces Ugly American Image During Immature Rant at Australian Open

American tennis player Danielle Collins won her second round match, defeating Australian Destanee Aiavans 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-2 yesterday. That was the good news for her, and she deserves credit for that.

The bad news?

She revealed herself to be extremely immature and, frankly, a bit of a spoiled brat in the process.

It had to occur to her that, playing an Australian woman at the Australian Open, she would not be the fan favorite during the match. There were people who I heard claiming that the audience was a little too partisan and slanted, and a bit too vocal, even cheering for things like double-faults. Now admittedly, I did not watch the match, so I cannot verify whether or not those claims of excessive bad behavior by the crowd are actually true. If it is, then the crowd itself showed a lack of class in the process.

However, Collins the antics which Collins displayed after the match - with a stupid smirk and mocking laughter to accompany it - showed that, in fact, the crowd apparently had every right to boo her, whether they knew it or not. 

Once she had won the match, she kind of held her hands to her ears in a "let's hear it for me" gesture. Then, smiling the entire time, she blew sarcastic kisses at the crowd and, at one point, patted her butt in what could be interpreted as a "you can kiss my ass" gesture. 

As if all of that was not enough, she was even worse during the interview moments after the match ended. It seemed at some point that she was going to talk about the match, and maybe credit her opponent, Destanee Aiavans, for playing tough. Instead, she interrupted this train of thought as the boos echoed down on her, and she said that at one point during the match, she thought of ways in which to spend the "big, fat paycheck" which she was going to earn. Then she followed up by explaining how she and fellow American tennis star Coco Gauff "love, we love a good five-star vacation." Later, during her press conference, she said something to the effect that the people that hate you (referring presumably to the Australian fans who had come out to watch the match) were paying her a ton of money.

Maybe she would not have come across so poorly if she had, say, mentioned that she would donate some of the winnings from her "big, fat paycheck" to the victims of the Los Angeles fire, or some other worthy cause. You know, to show the world that she s actually aware of a world out there beyond herself and her pampered world on the tennis courts. In fact, my own impressions of her - and I will admit to not having heard of her, or at least not remembering it if did - would not be so low. When I saw her actions and especially heard her words, I cringed, literally. Some people expressed support, making her out to be a victim of unfair treatment by an unnecessarily hostile crowd. But she is supposed to be a professional athlete, which means that on some level, a hostile crowd is a real possibility, especially if she is playing someone from the country she is playing in. I feel that this means she should also conduct herself as sa professional, even if deep down, she resents the hostility. You know, rise above it? In that, though, she fell pathetically short of the mark yesterday.

So in short, Danielle Collins went into a foreign country, to an event which it can fairly be said has an audience around the world, and seemed to act hurt and offended that the crowd would root against her while she played an Australian. Then, she showed incredible immaturity, a lack of sportsmanship and extreme disrespect towards the crowd and reinforced popular perceptions that too many Americans just love to wave their wealth and power and privilege in people's faces. 

My guess - and really my sincere hope - is that this was tongue in cheek on her part. Still, it was not witty, and since she actually has made millions and lives a life of privilege - and always has - something about it just feels wrong. Also, she just does not seem all that witty, frankly. It felt like she was annoyed at the crowd and wanted to get them back at that moment. And I guess she did. But she did it in a way that reflects poorly on her fellow Americans, as well as elite and wealthy athletes. Not sure that Coco Gauff was thrilled to be name-dropped by Collins, although maybe she was. One way or the other, it just felt like this played out terribly, and cast Collins in a negative light. In fact, it may wind up being what her tennis career is most remembered for, to the extent that it is remembered.

Collins showed that not all dumb jocks with a false sense of entitlement have to be male. And at a time when we really could use fewer Ugly Americans, she showed herself to be exactly that, and to show that unflattering and, yes, unlikeable side to her proudly. To show that shallow, arrogant side with a big, ridiculous, mocking smile on her face on top of it.

Now, I personally hope that she gets bounced out of that tournament soon. Also, let's hope that the Ugly American never, ever wins a Grand Slam title, and is soon forgotten.

To my mind's eye, she deserves to be forgotten more than she deserves her "big, fat paycheck." 

For my part, I will make a point of never watching a single one of her matches, so as not to be one of those which she mocks as paying her "big, fat paychecks." Sports, at it's best, can teach real life lessons about perseverance, overcoming adversity, mental toughness, believing in yourself, and overcoming great odds. At it's worst, however, it can reveal the uglier sides of otherwise impressive professional athletes. Collins showed the person she apparently is, and did it about as loudly and proudly as anyone could. But she embodies that other, less flattering side of sports, as somebody who seems to show bitterness when she is not happy about something, and who thinks that playing a game really entitles her to the extravagant lifestyle which she boasts about.

Let's rise above and move on from her sorry display yesterday.

OnOn-Court Interview: Danielle Collins thanks booing Australian Open crowd for 'big fat paycheck' 👀

The Los Angeles Wildfires

Usually, it takes a while into a new year for a truly unique news story to come up. You know, the first major news story to be identified with that year. 

Sometimes, however, it happens very quickly into a new year. I remember the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan back in 2011 feeling like it was the first news story to be firmly entrenched for that calendar year.

Well this year, we had one which came even earlier than that, of course. The wildfires in Los Angeles have wrought unbelievable devastation to the region. Of course, wildfires themselves are nothing new to the western half of the country. After all, mostly dry conditions in semi-arid land will have wildfires from time to time.

However, it seems like the severity of the wildfires in recent years has grown. There may or may not be more such fires, but they appear to have grown in intensity.

Still, these recent Los Angeles wildfires stand out in particular. As I understand it, the dry conditions were mixed with unbelievably strong winds, which of course allowed the fires to jump around, and incredibly quickly. There was a water shortage to boot. And so the fres spready, and astonishingly quickly.

By now, we have all seen the utter devastation. Thousands of homes and buildings have burned down. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from high risk areas. Businesses closed for many days. And we all saw pictures of the sky over Los Angeles looking literally apocalyptical.

There is not much that I can add to this story. Like most people, I watched this news story in horror, but from afar. My one and only visit to Los Angeles came last spring, so it makes it feel a bit more real to me, since I know some of the areas which were in danger and outright affected. 

Yet, I am literally on the other side of the continent. The major natural disaster that I can remember here in the greater New York/New Jersey area was the complete opposite of this. It was back in 2012, when Hurricane Sandy wrought unbelievable devastation. Whole parts of towns were underwater in a matter of hours. Homes and even neighborhoods were largely destroyed. The region made all sorts of headlines for what happened. Similar to New Orleans in Hurricane Katrina a few years earlier, and similar to the Carolinas and Florida last year.

Of course, the situation in Los Angeles is very different. What is sad is how this has become politicized, with members of Congress threatening to withhold funds, largely for political reasons. And an incoming president blaming the our sitting president, Joe Biden, and California's governor, Gavin Newsome, for the disaster. Those stories are reprehensible. They illustrate the worst of what people can do and be, and betray an increased absence of empathy and, frankly, yes, maturity in this country. There are times for political games and maneuvering, but a natural disaster is not one of those times. There are thousands of people there who need help, and they deserve better than slimy politicians trying to play the blame game and using that as justification to try and withhold emergency funding. 

Nor is it just politicians. I saw some frankly cold-hearted Facebook posts from a high school classmate who's political leanings should be obvious enough that I need not bother mentioning them here. He had several fabricated images of politicians, including President Biden and Governor Newsome, standing before the fires, with a clear implication that they are responsible for them. Another showed the fires burning out of control over the entire city (again, a fabricated image) with the words "God is Not Mocked" written underneath, and then explaining how "Hollywood" had mocked God at one of the awards shows just days earlier. The implication, of course, is that God is punishing Hollywood, and Los Angeles more generally, for being Godless sinners, presumably. 

Somehow, of course, when natural disasters occur in the "good" red states, these are tragedies which are horrible, and which we all need to try and do our part to help alleviate the situation. Some of them even suggest - apparently with a straight face - that the elites (by which they presumably mean liberals or Democrats) have machines which control the weather, and so they are responsible for these disasters, much like they are apparently responsible for the Los Angeles wildfires.

I will say it again: we need to grow up in this country, collectively. This kind of conduct and thinking should be beneath us. It should not be tolerated, and it is unbecoming of thinking adults, frankly. 

Despicable. 

Also, incredibly ugly. You know, I am not the most religious person, admittedly. But if anything, when I see the conduct (often very public, and too often without any sense of humanity or shame, frankly), it makes me run the other way from those people claiming to be religious There are some good people who take their religious faith seriously. We just lost Jimmy Carter, who seemed like such a person. He believed in his religion, and tried to practice his beliefs, both in his everyday conduct, as well as what he did to contribute to making the world a better place, like building homes for poor people. That, to me, is what Christianity should be about. What I have read of Jesus and his words in the Bible, it seems like that is what He would do. But this petty finger pointing and blaming the victims, and mocking them, all the while proclaiming themselves to be of some kind of superficial moral high ground?

No, sorry. That's not for me. The audacity. The level of arrogance and entitlement that they betray time and time again. That kind of religion has indeed become very popular in the United States in recent decades. But it's nothing that I want any part of, frankly. And I say that basing it on the conduct which I have seen far, far too many of the practitioners engaging in. 

Really, there are no words which I can say which could possibly make the situation better. I am not a man who has much in the way of faith, at least in terms of established religions. So I will not say anything about sending prayers, which is the common sentiment that most people share.

However, I will say that my heart goes out to all of those affected by these horrific wildfires. My sincere hope is that the fires are out soon, and that life returns to relative normality in the near future there. I will look to see if there is a good charity to contribute to, so that I can do my part to help out.

January 16th: This Day in History

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate.

550 - Gothic War (535-552): The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.

1120 - The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

1492 - The first grammar of a modern language, in the Spanish language, is presented to Queen Isabella.

1493 - Columbus leaves the new world and sets sail for Spain on his 1st trip

1547 - Ivan IV the Terrible (17) crowns himself 1st tsar of Moscow

1581 - English parliament passes laws against Catholicism

1605 - The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid.

1776 - Continental Congress approves enlistment of free blacks

Explorer of the New World Christopher ColumbusExplorer of the New World Christopher Columbus 1777 - Vermont declares independence from NY

1780 - Battle at Cape St Vincent: admiral Rodney beats Spanish fleet

1795 - French army under Pichegru occupies Utrecht Neth

Jan 16, 1919: Prohibition takes effect  The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," is ratified on this day in 1919 and becomes the law of the land.    The movement for the prohibition of alcohol began in the early 19th century, when Americans concerned about the adverse effects of drinking began forming temperance societies. By the late 19th century, these groups had become a powerful political force, campaigning on the state level and calling for total national abstinence. In December 1917, the 18th Amendment, also known as the Prohibition Amendment, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.  

1943 - Red Army recaptures Pitomnik airport at Stalingrad

Jan 16, 1945: Hitler descends into his bunker  On this day, Adolf Hitler takes to his underground bunker, where he remains for 105 days until he commits suicide.    Hitler retired to his bunker after deciding to remain in Berlin for the last great siege of the war. Fifty-five feet under the chancellery (Hitler's headquarters as chancellor), the shelter contained 18 small rooms and was fully self-sufficient, with its own water and electrical supply. He left only rarely (once to decorate a squadron of Hitler Youth) and spent most of his time micromanaging what was left of German defenses and entertaining Nazi colleagues like Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler, and Joachim von Ribbentrop. Constantly at his side during this time were his companion, Eva Braun, and his Alsatian, Blondi.  

1986 - First meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force.

Jan 16, 1990: Soviets send troops into Azerbaijan  In the wake of vicious fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in Azerbaijan, the Soviet government sends in 11,000 troops to quell the conflict.    The fighting--and the official Soviet reaction to it--was an indication of the increasing ineffectiveness of the central Soviet government in maintaining control in the Soviet republics, and of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's weakening political power.  

Jan 16, 1991: The Persian Gulf War begins  At midnight in Iraq, the United Nations deadline for the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait expires, and the Pentagon prepares to commence offensive operations to forcibly eject Iraq from its five-month occupation of its oil-rich neighbor. At 4:30 p.m. EST, the first fighter aircraft were launched from Saudi Arabia and off U.S. and British aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf on bombing missions over Iraq. All evening, aircraft from the U.S.-led military coalition pounded targets in and around Baghdad as the world watched the events transpire in television footage transmitted live via satellite from Baghdad and elsewhere. At 7:00 p.m., Operation Desert Storm, the code-name for the massive U.S.-led offensive against Iraq, was formally announced at the White House.    The operation was conducted by an international coalition under the command of U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf and featured forces from 32 nations, including Britain, Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

2001 Laurent Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was assassinated. 2003 Space shuttle Columbia blasted off on what would be its final mission. The craft broke up on its descent on Feb. 1, killing all on board.

2002 - The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted sanctions against Osama bin Laden, his terror network and the remnants of the Taliban. The sanctions required that all nations impose arms embargoes and freeze their finances. 

2003 - The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate.

550 - Gothic War (535-552): The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.

1120 - The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

1219 - Floods in Northern Netherlands after storm, 1,000s killed

1362 - A great storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German island of Strand and the city of Rungholt.

1412 - The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy.

1492 - The first grammar of a modern language, in the Spanish language, is presented to Queen Isabella.

1493 - Columbus leaves the new world and sets sail for Spain on his 1st trip

1531 - English Reformation parliament's 2nd sitting

1547 - Ivan IV the Terrible (17) crowns himself 1st tsar of Moscow

1556 - Emperor Karel appoints his son Philip II, king of Spain

1572 - Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.

1581 - English parliament passes laws against Catholicism

1605 - The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid.

1756 - England & Prussia sign Treaty of Westminster

1759 - British Museum opens in London

1761 - The British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.

1765 - Charles Messier catalogs M41 (galactic cluster in Canis Major)

1776 - Continental Congress approves enlistment of free blacks

Explorer of the New World Christopher ColumbusExplorer of the New World Christopher Columbus 1777 - Vermont declares independence from NY

1780 - Battle at Cape St Vincent: admiral Rodney beats Spanish fleet

1795 - French army under Pichegru occupies Utrecht Neth

1809 - Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of Corunna

1819 - Godert baron van der de Capellen becomes governor of Dutch-Indies

1832 - Charles Darwin lands at San Tiago, Cape Verde

1847 - John C. Fremont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.

1863 - -Aug 23rd) Cruise of CSS Florida

1864 - Heavy fighting takes place near Dandridge, Tennessee

1865 - Drunken sailor attacks munitions at Ft Fisher NC, 40 die

1865 - Gen Wm Sherman issues Field Order #15 (land for blacks)

1865 - SF Dramatic Chronicle started

1868 - Refrigerator car patented by William Davis, a fish dealer in Detroit

1870 - Virginia becomes 8th state readmitted to US after Civil War

1871 - Jefferson Long of Georgia sworn in as 2nd black congressman

Naturalist Charles DarwinNaturalist Charles Darwin 1877 - Color organ (for light shows) patented, by Bainbridge Bishop

1878 - Captain Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule.

1879 - January record 13" of snow falls in NYC (broken Jan 7, 1996)

1883 - Pendleton Act creates basis of US Civil Service system

1883 - Quebec Rugby Football Union forms

1887 - Cliff House damaged when schooner "Parallel"'s powder cargo explodes

1889 - 128°F (53°C), Cloncurry, Queensland (Australian record)

1896 - Defeat of Cymru Fydd at South Wales Liberal Federation AGM, Newport, Monmouthshire.

1897 - John Dewey's essay "My Pedagogic Creed" appears in School Journal

1900 - The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands.

1905 - Baseball outfielder Frank Huelsman completes eighth transaction in 8 months

1905 - Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Dawson City (Yukon) in 2 games Ottawa Silver 7 beats Dawson City (Yukon) 23-2 for Stanley Cup, this is most lopsided playoff game, Frank McGee scores 14 goals

1906 - -13] Conference of Algeciras (about Morocco)

1906 - -Apr 13] Conference of Algeciras (about Morocco)

1908 - Pinnacles National Monument, California established

Philosopher, Psychologist, Writer John DeweyPhilosopher, Psychologist, Writer John Dewey 1909 - British explorer Ernest Shackleton finds magnetic south pole

1909 - David, Mawson & Mackay reach south magnetic pole

1911 - Pandora becomes 1st 2-man sailboat to round Cape Horn west to east

1913 - British House of Commons accepts Home-Rule for Ireland

1914 - Writer Maksim Gorki returns to Russia

1915 - Congress authorizes $1 & $50 Panama-Pacific Intl Expo gold coin

1919 - Prohibition ratified by 3/4 of states; Nebraska is 36th

1920 - 18th Amendment, prohibition, goes into effect; repealed in 1933

1920 - 1st assembly of League of Nations (Paris)

1920 - Georgia declares independence

1925 - Gen M Froense replaces Trotsky as People's Commissioner of Defense

1925 - Leon Trotsky dismissed as CEO of Russian Revolution Military Council

1931 - Bradman scores 223 Australia v WI, 297 mins, 26 fours

1933 - Bert Oldfield flattened by Larwood delivery in Adelaide Test

1936 - 1st photo finish camera installed at Hialeah Race track in Hialeah Fla

Russian Revolutionary Leon TrotskyRussian Revolutionary Leon Trotsky 1936 - Screen Actors Guild incorporates with King Vidor as president

1936 - Spanish socialists/communists/anarchists form Unidad Popular

1938 - 1st jazz concert was held at Carnegie Hall (Benny Goodman)

1941 - US vice admiral Bellinger warns of an assault on Pearl Harbor

1941 - War Dept forms 1st Army Air Corps squadron for black cadets

1942 - William Knudsen becomes 1st civilian appointed a general in US army

1943 - -60°F (-51°C), Island Park Dam, Idaho (state record)

1943 - 1st US air raid on Ambon

1943 - German 2nd SS-Pantzer division evacuates Charkow

1943 - Red Army recaptures Pitomnik airport at Stalingrad

1944 - Gen Eisenhower took command of Allied Invasion Force in London

1945 - Scottish 52nd land division/1st Commando brigade-assault at Heinsberg

1945 - US 1st & 3rd army meet at Houffalise

1947 - Vincent Aurial elected president of France

1948 - 35 Haganah members are ambushed & killed in Gush Etzyon

1949 - "Rape of Lucretia" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 23 perfs

1949 - KNBH (now KNBC) TV channel 4 in Los Angeles, CA (NBC) 1st broadcast

1949 - WTOP (now WUSA) TV channel 9 in Washington, DC (CBS) 1st broadcast

1950 - Belgium, Luxembourg & Netherlands recognize Israel

1951 - Viet Minh offensive against Hanoi

1951 - World's largest gas pipeline opens (Brownsville Tx, to 134th St, NYC)

1952 - New Dutch bible translation finished

1952 - US Standard Board clears Stan Musial to get an $85,000 salary

1953 - 27th Australian Womens Tennis: Maureen Connolly beat J Sampson (6-3 6-2)

1953 - 41st Australian Mens Tennis: Ken Rosewall beats Mervyn Rose (6-0 6-3 6-4)

1953 - Egyptian Premier Gen Naguib disbands all political parties

1953 - KXLY TV channel 4 in Spokane, WA (ABC/CBS) begins broadcasting

1954 - "South Pacific" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 1928 performances

1955 - Jackie Pung wins LPGA Sea Island Golf Open

1955 - NFL Pro Bowl: West beats East 26-19

1956 - Egyptian pres Nasser pledges to reconquer Palestine

1957 - 3 B-52s leave California for 1st non-stop round world flights

1957 - Cavern Club opens on Matthews Street in Liverpool, England, home of The Beatles' 1st appearance

1958 - William Gibson's "Two for the Seesaw," premieres in NYC

1961 - "Conquering Hero" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 8 performances

1961 - Russian espionage ring detected in Great Britain

1962 - Shooting begins on "Dr No"

1962 - Suit accuses NYC Board of Education uses "racial quotas"

First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Nikita KhrushchevFirst Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev 1963 - Khrushchev claims to have a 100-megaton nuclear bomb

1963 - Tennessee Williams' "Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore," premieres

1964 - "Hello, Dolly!" opens at St James Theater NYC for 2,844 performances

1964 - AL owners vote 9-1 against Charlie Finley moving KC A's to Louisville

1965 - "Oh What a Lovely War" closes at Broadhurst NYC after 125 performances

1965 - "Outer Limits" last airs on ABC-TV

1965 - AFL Pro Bowl: West beats East 38-14

1965 - Searchers' "Love Potion #9" peaks at #3

1965 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1966 - Harold R Perry becomes 2nd black Roman Catholic bishop in US

1966 - Metropolitan Opera House opens in Lincoln Center

1967 - 1st black government installed in Bahamas

1967 - Lucius Amerson, becomes 1st southern (Ala) black sheriff in 20th cent

1968 - 21st NHL All-Star Game: Toronto beat All-Stars 4-3 at Toronto

1968 - Jay Allen's "Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," premieres in NYC

Playwright Tennessee WilliamsPlaywright Tennessee Williams 1968 - The Youth International Party is founded.

1969 - Soviet Soyuz 4 & Soyuz 5 perform 1st transfer of crew in space

1970 - Col Kadhaffi becomes premier of Libya

1970 - Curt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball's reserve clause

1970 - NFL realigns into 3 divisions (down from 4)

1970 - AAU player Steve Myers makes a basketball field goal of 92'3½" from out of bounds, Tacoma-it shouldn't have counted, but was allowed

1970 - Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects.

1971 - Ard Schenk skates world record 1500m (1:58.7)

1972 - Atje Keulen-Deelstra becomes European all-round lady skating champ

1972 - Super Bowl VI: Dallas Cowboys-24, Miami-3 in New Orleans Superbowl MVP: Roger Staubach, Dallas, QB

1973 - NBC presents 440th & final showing of "Bonanza"

1973 - USSR's Lunakhod 2 begins radio-controlled exploration of Moon

1974 - "Jaws" by Peter Benchley is published

1974 - L A Landslide kills 9, Canyonville, Oregon

1974 - NY Yankees Mickey Mantle & Whitey Ford elected to Hall of Fame

Jaws Novelist Peter BenchleyJaws Novelist Peter Benchley 1976 - "Donny & Marie" [Osmond] musical variety show premieres on ABC TV

1976 - Peter Frampton released platinum live album "Frampton Comes Alive"

1977 - Cap's H Monahan scored on 2nd penalty shot against Islanders

1978 - 5th American Music Award: Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac & C Twitty

1978 - Soyuz 27 returns to Earth

1979 - Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi of Iran flees Iran for Egypt

1980 - Paul McCartney jailed in Tokyo for 10 days on marijuana possession

1981 - Boxer Leon Spinks is mugged, his assailants even took his gold teeth

1981 - John Lennon releases "Woman" in UK

1981 - Protestant gunmen shoot & wound Bernadette Devlin McAliskey & husband

1981 - Ivan Lendl intentionally loses a match in Volvo Masters in order to avoid having to play Bjorn Borg

1984 - 11th American Music Award: Pat Benatar & Michael Jackson win

1984 - Paul & Linda McCartney arrested in Barbados-possession of cannabis

1985 - "Playboy" announces end of stapling centerfolds

1986 - Police arrested 3 IRA-terrorists in Amsterdam

King of Pop Michael JacksonKing of Pop Michael Jackson 

1986 - First meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force.

1988 - 4th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Live wins

1988 - Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder fired from CBS for racial remarks

1988 - NFL St Louis Cardinals announce move to Phoenix

1989 - Police arrest writer Vaclav Havel in Prague

1989 - USSR announces plan for 2-yr manned mission to Mars

1990 - 2 Bank of Credit & Commerce members plea guilty to money laundering

1991 - 7th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Live wins

1991 - US & 27 allies attack Iraq for occupying Kuwait (US time)

1992 - "2 Shakespearean Actors" opens at Cort Theater NYC for 29 performances

1994 - Scott skates world record 1000m (1:12.54)

1995 - UPN (Universal-Parmount Network) begins telecasting (WWOR in NYC)

1997 - Anthony Stuart takes ODI hat-trick, Aus v Pakistan, MCG

2001 - Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.

2001 - US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish-American War.

Islamic Militant & Terrorist Osama bin LadenIslamic Militant & Terrorist Osama bin Laden 2002 - The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the remaining members of the Taliban.

2003 - The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.

2006 - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.

2013 - 24 people are dead after three car bombs exploded in Idlib Governorate, Syria

2013 - A four day occupation of an Algerian BP facility by Amenas militants begins, killing 48 hostages

2013 - 25 people are killed after an apartment block collapses in Alexandria, Egypt

1547 - Ivan the Terrible was crowned Czar of Russia.   1572 - The Duke of Norfolk was tried for treason for complicity in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England. He was executed on June 2.   1759 - The British Museum opened.   1809 - The British defeated the French at the Battle of Corunna, in the Peninsular War.   1866 - Mr. Everett Barney patented the metal screw, clamp skate.   1883 - The United States Civil Service Commission was established as the Pendleton Act went into effect.   1896 - The first five-player college basketball game was played at Iowa City, IA.   1900 - The U.S. Senate consented to the Anglo-German treaty of 1899, by which the U.K. renounced rights to the Samoan islands.   1919 - The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited the sale or transportation of alcoholic beverages, was ratified. It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.   1920 - Prohibition went into effect in the U.S.   1920 - The motion picture "The Kid" opened.   1925 - Leon Trotsky was dismissed as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of the USSR.   1939 - The "I Love a Mystery" debuted on NBC’s West-Coast outlets.   1944 - General Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied invasion force in London.   1961 - Mickey Mantle signed a contract that made him the highest paid baseball player in the American League at $75,000 for the 1961 season.   1964 - "Hello Dolly!" opened at the St. James Theatre in New York City.   1970 - Colonel Muammar el-Quaddafi became virtual president of Libya.   1970 - Buckminster Fuller, the designer of the geodesic dome, was awarded the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects.   1979 - The Shah of Iran and his family fled Iran for Egypt.   1982 - Britain and the Vatican resumed full diplomatic relations after a break of over 400 years.   1985 - "Playboy" magazine announced its 30-year tradition of stapling centerfold models in the bellybutton and elsewhere would come to an immediate end.   1988 - Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder was fired as a CBS sports commentator one day after telling a TV station in Washington, DC, that, during the era of slavery, blacks had been bred to produce stronger offspring.   1998 - Researchers announce that an altered gene helped to defend against HIV.   1991 - The White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm. The operation was designed to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.   1992 - Officials of the government of El Salvador and rebel leaders signed a pact in Mexico City ending 12 years of civil war. At least 75,000 people were killed during the fighting.   1998 - The first woman to enroll at Virginia Military Institute withdrew from the school.   1998 - NASA officially announced that John Glenn would fly aboard the space shuttle Discovery in October.   1998 - It was announced that Texas would receive $15.3 billion in a tobacco industry settlement. The payouts were planned to take place over 25 years.   1998 - Three federal judges secretly granted Kenneth Starr authority to probe whether U.S. President Clinton or Vernon Jordan urged Monica Lewinsky to lie about her relationship with Clinton.   2000 - Ricardo Lagos was elected Chile's first socialist president since Salvador Allende.   2002 - U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that John Walker Lindh would be brought to the United States to face trial. He was charged in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, VA, with conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, providing support to terrorist organizations, and engaging in prohibited transactions with the Taliban of Afghanistan.   2002 - The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted sanctions against Osama bin Laden, his terror network and the remnants of the Taliban. The sanctions required that all nations impose arms embargoes and freeze their finances.   2009 - The iTunes Music Store reached 500 million applications downloaded.


1547 Ivan the Terrible was crowned the first czar of Russia. 1883 The U.S. Civil Service Commission established. 1920 A year after it was ratified, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages, went into effect. 1942 Actress Carole Lombard, the wife of actor Clark Gable, died in a plane crash. 1991 Operation Desert Storm was announced by the White House. 1992 The El Salvador government signed a peace treaty with guerrilla forces, formally ending 12 years of civil war. 2001 Laurent Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was assassinated. 2003 Space shuttle Columbia blasted off on what would be its final mission. The craft broke up on its descent on Feb. 1, killing all on board.


The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/jan16.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

January 15th: This Day in History

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 588 BCE, Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah's reign. The siege lasted until July 23, 586 BC. In the year 69 on this day, Otho seized power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, although only ruled for three months before committing suicide. In 708 on this day, Sisinnius began his reign as Pope, although it would be very short-lived, as he died 20 days later. On this day in 1777, New Connecticut (now known as Vermont) declared independence. On this day in 1831, Victor Hugo finished his iconic book, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Martin Luth King, Jr., who would eventually lead the Civili Rights movement in the United States and win a Nobel Peace Prize in the process, was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on this day in 1929. He also would be known for fighting poverty and opposing the controversial war in Vietnam. On this day in 1951, Ilse Koch, known as the "Witch of Buchenwald," was sentenced to prison. The Republic of Biafra surrendered to Nigeria on this day in 1970. On this day in 1973, American President Richard Nixon suspended all US offensive action in North Vietnam.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

On this day in 588 BCE, Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah's reign. The siege lasted until July 23, 586 BC. In the year 69 on this day, Otho seized power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, although only ruled for three months before committing suicide. In 708 on this day, Sisinnius began his reign as Pope, although it would be very short-lived, as he died 20 days later. 

946 - Caliph al-Mustaqfi blinded/ousted

1346 - Emperor Louis IV of Bavaria gives his wife Margaretha, Holland/Zealand

1535 - Henry VIII declares himself head of English Church

1552 - France signs secret treaty with German Protestants

1562 - 3rd sitting of Council of Trente opens

1582 - Russia cedes Livonia & Estonia to Poland, loses access to Baltic

1586 - Battle at Boxum: Spanish troops under Tassis beat state army

1752 - Tobias Smollett publishes pamphlet accusing Fielding of plagiarism

1754 - Riot at burial of doelist Daniel Raap in Amsterdam

1759 - British Museum opens in Montague House, London

1762 - Fraunces Tavern opens in NYC

On this day in 1777, New Connecticut (now known as Vermont) declared independence. Having recognized the need for their territory to assert its independence from both Britain and New York and remove themselves from the war they were waging against each other, a convention of future Vermonters assembles in Westminster and declares independence from the crown of Great Britain and the colony of New York on this day in 1777. The convention's delegates included Vermont's future governor, Thomas Chittenden, and Ira Allen, who would become known as the "father" of the University of Vermont.    Delegates first named the independent state New Connecticut and, in June 1777, finally settled on the name Vermont, an imperfect translation of the French for green mountain. One month later, on July 2, 1777, a convention of 72 delegates met in Windsor, Vermont, to adopt the state's new—and revolutionary—constitution; it was formally adopted on July 8, 1777. Vermont's constitution was not only the first written national constitution drafted in North America, but also the first to prohibit slavery and to give all adult males, not just property owners, the right to vote. Thomas Chittenden became Vermont's first governor in 1778.    Throughout the 1780s, Congress refused to acknowledge that Vermont was a separate state independent of New York. In response, frustrated Vermonters went so far as to inquire if the British would readmit their territory to the empire as part of Canada. Vermont remained an independent nation even two years after George Washington became president of the United States of America under the new U.S. Constitution. However, as the politics of slavery threatened to divide the U.S., Vermont was finally admitted as the new nation's 14th state in 1791, serving as a free counterbalance to slaveholding Kentucky, which joined the Union in 1792.

1780 - Continental Congress establishes court of appeals

1785 - Mozarts string quartet opus 10 premieres

1797 - 1st top hat worn (John Etherington of London)

1822 - Greek War of Independence: Demetrius Ypsilanti is elected president of the legislative assembly.

1831 - 1st US-built locomotive to pull a passenger train makes 1st run

On this day in 1831, Victor Hugo finished his iconic book, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."  On this day in 1831, Victor Hugo finishes writing Notre Dame de Paris, also known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Distracted by other projects, Hugo had continually postponed his deadlines for delivering the book to his publishers, but once he sat down to write it, he completed the novel in only four months.    Hugo, the son of one of Napoleon's officers, decided while still a teenager to become a writer. Although he studied law, he also founded a literary review to which he and other emerging writers published their work. In 1822, Hugo married his childhood sweetheart, Adele Foucher, and published his first volume of poetry, which won him a pension from Louis XVIII.    In 1823, Hugo published his first novel, Han d'Islande. His 1827 play, Cromwell, embraced the tenets of Romanticism, which he laid out in the play's preface. The following year, despite a contract to begin work on a novel called Notre Dame de Paris, he set to work on two plays. The first, Marion de Lorme (1829), was censored for its candid portrayal of a courtesan. The second, Hernani, became the subject for a bitter and protracted debate between French Classicists and Romantics. In 1831, he finally finished Notre Dame de Paris. In addition to promoting a Romantic aesthetic that would tolerate the imperfect and the grotesque, the book also had a simpler agenda: to increase appreciation of old Gothic structures, which had become the object of vandalism and neglect.    In the 1830s, Hugo wrote numerous plays, many created as vehicles for actress Juliette Drouet, with whom Hugo was romantically connected starting in 1833. In 1841, Hugo was elected to the prestigious Acadamie Francaise, but two years later he lost his beloved daughter and her husband when they were drowned in an accident. He expressed his profound grief in a poetry collection called Les Contemplations (1856).    Hugo was forced to flee France when Napoleon III came to power: He did not return for 20 years. While in exile, he completed Les Miserables (1862), which became a hit in France and abroad. He returned to Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and was hailed a national hero. Hugo's writing spanned more than six decades, and he was given a national funeral and buried in the Pantheon after his death in 1885.

1831 - 1st US railroad honeymoon trip, Mr & Mrs Pierson, Charleston, SC

1833 - HMS Beagle anchors at Goeree Tierra del Fuego

1844 - U of Notre Dame receives its charter in Indiana

1847 - 1st Swedish magazine in US, Skandinavia, published in NYC

1851 - Gen Arista replaces Mexican Pres Herrera

1857 - 1st first-class game in Sydney, NSW v Vic at The Domain

1861 - Steam elevator patented by Elisha Otis

1863 - 1st US newspaper printed on wood-pulp paper, Boston Morning Journal

1865 - Ft Fisher, NC falls to Union troops

1866 - Bedrich Smetana's opera "Branibori v Cechach," premieres in Prague

1870 - Donkey 1st used as symbol of Democratic Party, in Harper's Weekly

1877 - US Assay Office in Helena, Montana opens

1882 - 1st US ski club forms (Berlin NH)

1886 - Weekly Herald, 1st Vancouver, BC newspaper, publishes 1st issue

1889 - The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is originally incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.

1892 - Basketball rules published in Triangle Magazine, Mass

1895 - Albert Trott takes 8-43 on Test debut, then a record

1895 - French fleet reaches Majunga, Madagascar

Composer Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyComposer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1895 - Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" premieres, St Petersburg (1/27 NS)

1896 - Henry Arthur Jones' "Michael & his Lost Angel," premieres in London

1900 - SCNEC soccer team forms

1905 - Coen de Koning becomes world champion all-round skater

1907 - 3-element vacuum tube patented by Dr Lee De Forest

1907 - Gold dental inlays 1st described by Wm Taggart, who invented them

1908 - C Hill & R J Hartigan make 8th wkt partnership 243 for Aust

1915 - Japan claims economic control of China

1915 - Sydney, Kern & Smith's musical "Love o' Mike," premieres in NYC

1919 - 2 million gallons of molasses flood Boston MA, drowning 21

1919 - Frank Wedekind's "Die letzten Tage der Menschheit," premieres

1919 - Pianist & statesman Ignace Paderewski becomes 1st premier of Poland

1919 - Semana Tragica (Tragic Week): Bloodbath in Buenos Aires

1919 - W Collison & O Harbach's "Up in Mabel's Room," premieres in NYC

1919 - Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps.

Irish Nationalist Leader Michael CollinsIrish Nationalist Leader Michael Collins 1922 - Irish Free State forms; Michael Collins becomes 1st Premier

1924 - 3rd Dutch government Ruijs de Beerenbrouck forms

1925 - Hans Luther forms German government, with DNVP

A picture of my son in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, taken back in the spring of 2013 for the Cherry Blossom Festival. 

Martin Luth King, Jr., who would eventually lead the Civili Rights movement in the United States and win a Nobel Peace Prize in the process, was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on this day in 1929. He also would be known for fighting poverty and opposing the controversial war in Vietnam. Martin Luther King Jr. was the son of a Baptist minister. King received a doctorate degree in theology and in 1955 helped organized the first major protest of the African-American civil rights movement: the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. Influenced by Mohandas Gandhi, he advocated civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance to segregation in the South. The peaceful protests he led throughout the American South were often met with violence, but King and his followers persisted, and the movement gained momentum.    A powerful orator, King appealed to Christian and American ideals and won growing support from the federal government and Northern whites. In 1963, Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph led the massive March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; the event's grand finale was King's famous "I Have a Dream" address. Two hundred and fifty thousand people gathered outside the Lincoln Memorial to hear the stirring speech. In 1964, the civil rights movement achieved two of its greatest successes: the ratification of the 24th Amendment, which abolished the poll tax, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education and outlawed racial segregation in public facilities. Later that year, King became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. In the late 1960s, King openly criticized U.S. involvement in Vietnam and turned his efforts to winning economic rights for poor Americans. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.

1930 - George Headley scores century on debut v England (made 176)

1934 - 8.4 earthquake in India/Nepal, 10,700 die

1934 - Babe Ruth signs a 1934 contract for $35,000 ($17,000 cut)

1935 - 300 Dutch ice cream salesmen protest against Italian competition

1935 - Clifford Odets' "Waiting for Lefty," premieres in NYC

1936 - 1st all-glass windowless structure in US completed, Toledo, Ohio

1936 - Horace Stoneham elected president of NY Giants

1936 - Non-profit Ford Foundation incorporates

1939 - 1st NFL pro bowl, NY Giants beat All Stars 13-10 in Wrigley Field

1939 - Municipal Railway & Market St RR begin service to Transbay Terminal

1940 - German U-Boot torpedoes Dutch trade ship Arendskerk (Eagle's Church)

1942 - Cubs, drop plans to install lights at Wrigley due to WW II

32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1942 - FDR asks commissioner to continue baseball during WW II

1943 - 1st transport of Jews from Amsterdam to concentration camp Vught

1943 - World's largest office building, Pentagon, completed

1943 - 1,000 workers complete air conditioning system for Pentagon

1944 - European Advisory Commission decides to divide Germany

1944 - General Eisenhower arrives in England

1944 - Vught Concentration Camp puts 74 women in 1 cell, 10 die

1945 - "Make Mine Manhattan" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 429 perfs

1945 - Every Amsterdammer gets 3 kg sugar beets

1945 - Red Army frees Crakow-Plaszow concentration camp

1947 - The brutalized corpse of Elizabeth Short ("The Black Dahlia") is found in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California.

1949 - Mao's Red army conquers Ten-tsin

1950 - 4,000 attend National Emergency Civil Rights Conference in Wash DC

1951 - "Cloud of Death" rolls down Mount Lamington, New Guinea kills 3-5,000

1951 - Supreme Court rule "clear & present danger" of incitement to riot is not protected speech & can be a cause for arrest

On this day in 1951, Ilse Koch, known as the "Witch of Buchenwald," was sentenced to prison.  On this day, Ilse Koch, wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in West Germany. Ilse Koch was nicknamed the "Witch of Buchenwald" for her extraordinary sadism.    Born in Dresden, Germany, Ilse, a librarian, married SS. Col. Karl Koch in 1936. Colonel Koch, a man with his own reputation for sadism, was the commandant of the Sashsenhausen concentration camp, two miles north of Berlin. He was transferred after three years to Buchenwald concentration camp, 4.5 miles northwest of Weimar; the Buchenwald concentration camp held a total of 20,000 slave laborers during the war.    Ilse, a large woman with red hair, was given free reign in the camp, whipping prisoners with her riding crop as she rode by on her horse, forcing prisoners to have sex with her, and, most horrifying, collecting lampshades, book covers, and gloves made from the skin of tattooed camp prisoners. A German inmate gave the following testimony during the Nuremberg war trials: "All prisoners with tattooing on them were to report to the dispensary... After the prisoners had been examined, the ones with the best and most artistic specimens were killed by injections. The corpses were then turned over to the pathological department, where the desired pieces of tattooed skin were detached from the bodies and treated further."    Karl Koch was arrested, ironically enough, by his SS superiors for "having gone too far." It seems he had a penchant for stealing even the belongings of wealthy, well-placed Germans. He was tried and hanged in 1944. Ilse Koch was tried for crimes against humanity at Nuremberg and sentenced to life in prison, but the American military governor of the occupied zone subsequently reduced her sentence to four years. His reason, "lack of evidence," caused a Senate investigation back home. She was released but arrested again, tried by a West German court, and sentenced to life. She committed suicide in 1967 by hanging herself with a bedsheet.

Baseball Great Babe RuthBaseball Great Babe Ruth 1953 - 16 car Federal Express train loses brakes & crashes in Wash DC station

1953 - GDR Min of Foreign affairs Georg Dertingen arrested for "espionage"

1955 - 1st official act of Princess Beatrice, launches tanker Vasum

1955 - D Shostakovitch' "From Jewish Folk Poetry," premieres in Leningrad

1955 - USSR ends state of war with German Federal Republic

1956 - Bauer Marlene wins LPGA Sea Island Golf Open

1956 - D Shostakovitch appointed honorary member of Academia Santa Cecilia

1956 - KWAB TV channel 4 in Big Spring, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting

1956 - NFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 31-30

1957 - Brooklyn Dodgers sign a new 3 year lease for Ebbets Field

1958 - NY Yankees sign million dollar plus deal to show 140 games on WPIX TV

1961 - NFL Pro Bowl: West beats East 35-31

1961 - Suggs wins LPGA Sea Island Women's Golf Invitational Open

1961 - Supremes signed with Motown Records

1962 - 50th Australian Mens Tennis: Rod Laver beats R Emerson (86 06 64 64)

1962 - Dutch & Indonesian navy encounter in Etna Bay New Guinea

1964 - Baseball agrees to hold a free-agent draft in NYC

1964 - Teamsters negotiate 1st national labor contract

1965 - Rock group Who releases 1st album "I Can't Explain"

1965 - Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor Mich forms

1966 - AFL Pro Bowl: All-Stars beats Buffalo 30-19

1966 - NFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 36-7

1967 - Superbowl I: Green Bay Packers beat KC Chiefs, 35-10 in LA Superbowl MVP: Bart Starr, Green Bay, QB

1968 - KDCD TV channel 18 in Midland, TX (IND) begins broadcasting

1969 - Nuclear test at Pacific Ocean

1969 - Soyuz 5 launched by Soviet Union

1970 - Milwaukee Brewers make their 1st trade (with Oakland A's)

The Republic of Biafra surrendered to Nigeria on this day in 1970.  The Republic of Biafra, a breakaway state of eastern Nigeria, surrenders to Nigeria after three years of costly fighting.    In 1960, Nigeria gained independence from Britain. Six years later, the Muslim Hausas in northern Nigeria began massacring the Christian Igbos in the region, prompting tens of thousands of Igbos to flee to the east, where their people were the dominant ethnic group. The Igbos doubted that Nigeria's oppressive military government would allow them to develop, or even survive, so on May 30, 1967, Lieutenant Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu and other non-Igbo representatives of the area established the Republic of Biafra, comprising several states of Nigeria.    After diplomatic efforts by Nigeria failed to reunite the country, war between Nigeria and Biafra broke out in July 1967. Ojukwu's forces made some initial advances, but Nigeria's superior military might gradually reduced Biafran territory. The state lost its oil fields--its main source of revenue--and without the funds to import food, an estimated one million of its civilians died as a result of severe malnutrition. On January 11, Nigerian forces captured the provincial capital of Owerri, one of the last Biafran strongholds, and Ojukwu was forced to flee to the Ivory Coast. Four days later, Biafra surrendered to Nigeria. It was on this day in 2001 that Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, first went online.

1971 - "Ari" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 19 performances

1971 - Aswan Dam official opens in Egypt

1971 - George Harrison releases "My Sweet Lord"

1972 - Heavyweight Joe Frazier KOs Terry Daniels

1973 - 4 Watergate burglars plead guilty in federal court

1973 - Gene Shalit joins Today Show panel

1973 - Pope Paul VI has an audience with Golda Meir at Vatican

On this day in 1973, American President Richard Nixon suspended all US offensive action in North Vietnam.

1974 - "Happy Days" begins an 11 year run on ABC

1974 - 24th NBA All-Star Game: West beats East 134-123 at Seattle

1974 - Expert panel reports 18½ minute gap in Watergate tape, 5 separate erasures

1975 - Portugal signs accord for Angola's independence

1975 - Space Mountain opens (Disneyland)

1976 - Sara Jane Moore sentenced to life for attempting to shoot Pres Ford

1976 - US-German Helios B solar probe launched into solar orbit

1976 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1977 - Coneheads debut on "Saturday Night Live"

1977 - Jane Blalock wins LPGA Colgate Triple Crown Golf Tournament

1978 - Theodore Bundy kills Fla State U coeds Lisa Levy & Margaret Bowman

1978 - Superbowl XII: Dallas Cowboys beat Denver Broncos, 27-10 in N Orleans Superbowl MVP: Harvey Martin, Dallas, DE & Randy White, Dallas, DT

1980 - Pam Gems' "Piaf!," premieres in London

1981 - "Hill Street Blues" premieres on NBC-TV

1981 - Bob Gibson elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame

1982 - "Forbidden Broadway" by/with Gerard Alessandrini premieres in NYC

1983 - Dutch political party DS'70 disbands

1983 - Hartford Whalers smallest crowd 4,812 (beat Devils) during blizzard

1983 - Javed Miandad & Mudassar Nazar make 451 stand v India

1983 - Thom Syles keeps a life saver intact in his mouth for over 7 hours

Tennis Player Martina NavratilovaTennis Player Martina Navratilova 1984 - Hana Mandlikova ends Martina Navratilova's 54-match winning streak

1984 - Schonbrun skates world record 5 km (7:39.44)

1985 - Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to John Ashbery & Fred Chapell

1985 - Civil rights activist Tancredo Neves elected president

1985 - Mike Gatting & Graeme Fowler both scores 200's v India

1985 - Tancredo Neves becomes 1st elected president of Brazil in 21 years

1986 - Living Seas opens (Disneyland)

1988 - Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder makes racist remarks about black athletes

1988 - Kiran More stumps five WI batsman at Madras, world Test record

1988 - Narendra Hirwani takes 16-136 (8-61 & 8-75) v WI on Test debut

1989 - "Ain't Misbehavin'" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 176 perfs

1989 - 10th ACE Cable Awards: HBO wins 35 awards

1989 - Betsy King wins LPGA Jamaica Golf Classic

1989 - Big John Studd wins WWF's 1st Royal Rumble

1989 - Cerberal Palsy telethon raises 22,600,000

Boxing Champ George ForemanBoxing Champ George Foreman 1990 - 42 year old George Foreman KOs George Cooney in 2 rounds

1990 - 6th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Knots Landing wins

1990 - AT&T experiences long distance problems due to a computer glitch

1990 - Blue Jay Cecil Fielder signs with Detroit as a free agent

1990 - NY Knicks Trent Tucker scores with 1/10 sec, beats Bulls, 109-106

1991 - Australia beat NZ 2-0 to win the World Series Cup

1991 - UN's deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait (they don't)

1992 - Bulgaria recognizes Macedonia

1992 - Cleaning woman finds intimate photos of Sarah Ferguson with US man

1992 - Supreme Court rules 5-3 that Joseph Doherty isn't entitled to asylum

1993 - 7.5 earthquake strikes northern Japan, 2 die

1993 - Soap opera "Santa Barbara" final show on NBC TV

1993 - Top mafia leader Salvatore "Toto" Riina arrested in Palermo

1994 - 15th ACE Cable Awards: HBO wins 34 awards, Showtime wins 10

1994 - Hague motorist with .51% alcohol in blood, breaks Dutch record (.47%)

1994 - Queen Elizabeth falls off her horse & breaks her left wrist

1995 - Southern Alabama begins using new area code 334

1995 - Western Washington begins using new area code 360

Basketball Player Dennis RodmanBasketball Player Dennis Rodman 1997 - Chicago Bull Dennis Rodman kicks cameraman, Eugene Amosin the groin

1997 - Space Shuttle Atlantis docks with Mir Space Station

1998 - NASA announces John Glenn, 76, may fly in space again

1999 - The Racak incident: 45 Albanians in the Kosovo village of Racak are killed by Yugoslav security forces.

It was on this day in 2001 that Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, first went online.

2005 - ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon.

2005 - An intense solar flare blasts X-rays across the solar system.

2007 - Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.

2009 - US Airways Flight 1549 makes an emergency landing into the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. All passengers and crew members survive.

2011 - Wikipedia the free internet encyclopedia turns 10 years old

2013 - 83 people are killed and 150 are injured in a rocket attack on Aleppo University, Syria

2013 - 19 Egyptian Army recruits are killed and 120 are injured in a train accident in Giza





1559 - England's Queen Elizabeth I (Elizabeth Tudor) was crowned in Westminster Abbey.   1624 - Many riots occurred in Mexico when it was announced that all churches were to be closed.   1777 - The people of New Connecticut (now the state of Vermont) declared their independence.   1844 - The University of Notre Dame received its charter from the state of Indiana.   1863 - "The Boston Morning Journal" became the first paper in the U.S. to be published on wood pulp paper.   1870 - A cartoon by Thomas Nast titled "A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" appeared in "Harper's Weekly." The cartoon used the donkey to symbolize the Democratic Party for the first time.   1892 - "Triangle" magazine in Springfield, MA, published the rules for a brand new game. The original rules involved attaching a peach baskets to a suspended board. It is now known as basketball.   1899 - Edwin Markham's poem, "The Man With a Hoe," was published for the first time.   1906 - Willie Hoppe won the billiard championship of the world in Paris, France.   1908 - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority became America's first Greek-letter organization established by African-American college women.   1913 - The first telephone line between Berlin and New York was inaugurated.   1936 - The first, all glass, windowless building was completed in Toledo, OH. The building was the new home of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company Laboratory.   1943 - The Pentagon was dedicated as the world's largest office building just outside Washington, DC, in Arlington, VA. The structure covers 34 acres of land and has 17 miles of corridors.   1945 - CBS Radio debuted "House Party". The show was on the air for 22 years.   1953 - Harry S Truman became the first U.S. President to use radio and television to give his farewell as he left office.   1955 - The first solar-heated, radiation-cooled house was built by Raymond Bliss in Tucson, AZ.   1967 - The first National Football League Super Bowl was played. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League. The final score was 35-10.   1973 - U.S. President Nixon announced the suspension of all U.S. offensive action in North Vietnam. He cited progress in peace negotiations as the reason.   1974 - "Happy Days" premiered on ABC-TV.   1986 - President Reagan signed legislation making Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a national holiday to be celebrated on the third Monday of January.   1987 - Paramount Home Video reported that it would place a commercial at the front of one of its video releases for the first time. It was a 30-second Diet Pepsi ad at the beginning of "Top Gun."   2003 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Congress had permission to repeatedly extend copyright protection.

1559 Queen Elizabeth I was crowned in Westminster Abbey. 1759 The British Museum opened. 1777 The Republic of New Connecticut declared its independence. Six months later it was renamed Vermont. 1870 The donkey was first used as symbol of the Democratic Party in Harper's Weekly. 1943 The world's largest office building, the Pentagon, was completed. 1967 The first Super Bowl was played: Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10. 1973 President Nixon orders halt to offensive operations in North Vietnam. 1992 The European Community recognized Croatia and Slovenia as separate states, effectively ending the Yugoslav federation, founded in 1918. 2009 After allegedly striking a flock of geese, US Airways Flight 1549, en route from La Guardia Airport, New York City, to Charlotte, N.C., is forced to land in the Hudson River. All 150 passengers and 5 crew members survived. The pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, was hailed as the "Hero of the Hudson" for his quick thinking and deft landing of the plane.


The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/jan15.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

The First Ever Super Bowl Was Played On This Day in 1967

 

🏈🏈🏈🏈

Green Bay Packers

35

10

Kansas City Chiefs

Here is that review of the first ever Super Bowl game between the then NFL champion Green Bay Packers and the AFL Champions Kansas City Chiefs.

These are pictures I took of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during my visit last spring. This was the site where the first Super Bowl game (which was then known as the First AFL-NFL Championship Game) was played on this day in January of 1967.

The Super Bowl I video is a reconstruction with various sources and radio. Original television broadcast not available, but this is likely the next best thing. 1967 - Full game in color, sound is the radio broadcast matched perfectly. Excellent quality with pre-game.

Super Bowl I Logo:

Super Bowl Rings:


Image courtesy of Ryan Schreiber Flickr page - Super Bowl rings: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanschreiber/2966914635/in/photolist-9fhtR7-mTUuPg-7BfrrT-8VABVJ-71329o-dkVSiW-713aji-716t8C-6ZY2fn-aaJzti-bSQYxn-8qJEPk-caGaTw-7s88nt-4qr4K5-gvvHpq-bZ7QUG-5wbdmB-qJWkZK-9TA5tc-712koy-679ZUN-hkLnBw-712XU1-716sLj-712Zih-712YYw-6ZY1P4-712Ys5-6ZXY5z-7131DJ-713g7L-6ZYeHM-6ZYdeF-6ZYdPe-6ZYgjz-6ZYedK-7139TJ-7124Do-9fE3N7-a3dxxG-716YLQ-6ZYbrr-6ZYfMi-6ZYcBx-7138ew-713aSy-dBNXDK-713ehv-46Wiar

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Vince Lombardi Quotes

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up. The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender. 

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." - Vince Lombardi 

“Gentlemen, we will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it. But along the way, we shall catch excellence.”  ― Vince Lombardi 

The man on top of a mountain didn’t fall there.  Vince Lombardi 

https://www.ebth.com/items/683381-inspirational-framed-poster-vince-lombardi  

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE NO. 1     

Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win  once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them  right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.  There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and  that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay,  and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl  game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has  been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win,  and to win.    
Every time a football player goes to play his trade he's got to play from  the ground up-from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of  him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to  be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got  to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky  enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going  to come off the field second.     

Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of  organization-an army, a political party or a business. The principles are  the same. The object is to win-to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard  or cruel. I don't think it is.     

It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive  games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there-to compete.  

To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to  win fairly, squarely, by the rules-but to win.     

And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run,  deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There  is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh  reality of head to head combat.     

I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or  that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe  in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the  greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has  worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of  battle - victorious.    

 ~ Vince Lombardi

Okay, so I was not yet born for the first Super Bowls. In fact, the first Super Bowl that I actually was following the NFL for and watched was Super Bowl XVI, which means that I missed the first decade and a half of Super Bowls. So, it will take me a while in this series before I can mention personal memories, or anything.

However, there are some things that I can specifically mention about these times. The Vietnam War was well under way, although they were only really starting to grow very sour by this point, and opposition was starting to grow much more serious. The Beatles dominated the airwaves, although Wild Thing was quite huge, as well. Lyndon Johnson was president and still fighting his war on poverty in the attempt to create his "Great Society."

This game was a sort of experiment, merging the champions of the National Football League, the mighty Green Bay Packers with their legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, against the champions of the upstart American Football League, the Kansas City Chiefs. Understandably, the Packers were very heavy favorites, and they showed why in this one. After the Chiefs managed to keep it relatively close throughout the first half, with the Packers taking a 14-10 lead into the locker room at halftime, they blew the game open in the second half, ultimately winning, 35-10. 

Green Bay had become a dynasty in the 1960's. They won their fourth NFL title of the 1960's to qualify for this game. After they won this one, they cemented their status as the best team of the decade and, in fact, would go on to win a third straight title the following season, ending with a 33-14 win over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II. That means that they are the only team in the Super Bowl era to have won three straight championships, although since the first one came before the Super Bowls, it is more often than not counted as a "three-peat."

As for Kansas City, they lost this game. But they played well through the first half, and made history simply by qualifying for the first ever Super Bowl. They would return a few years later, one year after the New York Jets made history with a historical upset win over the mighty Baltimore Colts. The Chiefs also won against a heavily favored opponent, beating the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7. Many people feel that the Jets simply got lucky on that one day, beating the Colts, while the Chiefs really just dominated the NFL champion Minnesota Vikings all day in Super Bowl IV.

Yet, all of it really started with that first Super Bowl game between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, which was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on this day way back in 1967. It was nowhere near a sellout, and in fact, would be the only Super Bowl with a significant number of empty seats in the stadium until Super Bowl LV, which took place during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. 

Super Bowl I - January 15, 1967 , Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10. MVP Bart Starr, Quarterback. The Packers were favored by 14, National anthem University of Arizona and University of Michigan Bands, Halftime show University of Arizona and University of Michigan Bands, Attendance 61,946, Network CBS, NBC, Announcers Ray Scott, Jack Whitaker, Frank Gifford, Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman, est. 51.18 million viewers. Cost of 30-second commercial US$42,000.