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!
There is one anniversary today that I wanted to make note of in particular - John Lennon's birthday.
Lennon was born in England during the heavy days of World War II, when a sense of doom and hopelessness prevailed. Hitler's Germany had taken over and occupied, with quick and alarming efficiency, Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. He had strutted afterward, and acted like the war was, for all intents and purposes, over and done. Germany had won. Britain was the sole holdout, but they were all alone. Germany punished Britain with bombings, and Britain was able to withstand these attacks, and hold the Germans off. But it was during those darkest of days, as Hitler's Germany stood triumphant, that John Lennon entered the world.
Her had a rough childhood, and was himself a reflection of this. he was a tough kid. He had joined the band, and was known for disruptive behavior. A rebel. Of course, we all know the band that would gravitate to the Beatles that remain very well known and very well loved right to the present day.
Initially, it was Paul McCartney who seemed the most distinctive face and voice of the Beatles, and John Lennon was a bit jealous of just how easily the catchy and memorable Beatles songs that Paul wrote came to him. But Lennon developed his own considerable song writing skills, and he and McCartney, as well as George Harrison, began to feed off of one another's brilliance. That was part of what made the Beatles the Beatles.
John Lennon assumed leadership in the political realm with the Beatles. He grew bolder and bolder with his political expression, and came to be seen as a leader and a visionary. If anything, this increased after the breakup of the Beatles.
During his solo career, John Lennon continued to write and produce very influential and beautiful music, as well as to give a voice to what he saw as a better future, a world with greater possibilities than what we see all around us today. This vision inspired some of his most enduring works, and it is from this selection that I choose to honor him today, with the lyrics of one of my very favorite songs from him and, indeed, one of the signature songs in rock history, period. Here are the lyrics to what is likely his most iconic song (at least for his solo career), "Imagine":
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
On this day in 680, Husain ibn 'Ali, Shi'i religious leader, entered martyrdom. In 768 on this day, Charlemagne and his brother Carloman I are crowned Kings of The Franks. Charles the Bare was crowned king of Lotharingen on this day in 869. In year 1000 on this day, Leif Ericson discovered "Vinland" (possibly New England). Three years later on this day in 1003, Leif Erikson landed at L'Anse aux Meadows, (in modern day Newfoundland, Canada), thus becoming the first European to reach the Americas. Richard I of England, the Lion Heart, left Jerusalem in disguise on this day in 1192. James I of Aragon conquered Valencia and founded the Kingdom of Valencia on this day in 1238. The last of 16,000 English Jews were expelled by King Edward I on this day in 1290. The Hangul alphabet was published in Korea on this day in 1446. Mérida was founded in Venezuela on this day in 1558. Don Frederik disbanded the siege of Alkmaar on this day in 1573. On this day in 1595, the Spanish army captured Cambrai.
1597 - Earl Mauritius occupies Breevoort
1617 - Peace of Pavia (Spain & Savoye)
1621 - Turkey & Poland signs Peace of Chotin
1635 - Religious dissident Roger Williams banished from Mass Bay Colony
1651 - English parliament proclaims Navigation Act off
1655 - Swedish king Karel X Gustaaf occupies Krakow
1668 - Mass society storms palace of "heretics" Spanish gov Jose de Paternina
Holy Roman Emperor CharlemagneHoly Roman Emperor Charlemagne 1701 - Collegiate School of Ct (Yale U), chartered in New Haven
1708 - Battle at Lesnaya: Russian army captures Swedish convoy
1716 - England & France sign treaty
1740 - Neth gov-general Adriaen Valckenier allows murder of 8000 Chinese inhabitants of Batavia
1760 - 7 Year's War: Russian and Austrian forces occupy Berlin [OS=Sep 28].
1771 - The Dutch merchant ship Vrouw Maria sinks near the coast of Finland.
1776 - Mission Dolores founded by SF Bay
1794 - French troops occupy Hertogenbosch
1799 - Sinking of British frigate HMS Lutine, with the loss of 240 men and a cargo worth £1,200,000 off Dutch coast.
1804 - Hobart Tasmania founded
1806 - Prussia declares war on France.
1817 - University of Gent officially opens
1818 - Congress of Aken returns to France from Libya
1820 - Guayaquil, Ecuador declares its freedom from Ecuador
1824 - Slavery is abolished in Costa Rica.
1831 - Ioannis Kapodistrias, Ist Head of State of modern Greece, assassinated in Nafplion.
1835 - The Royal College, Colombo established with the name Hillstreet Academy in Sri Lanka.
1837 - Steamboat "Home" sinks off Okracoke NC killing 100
1837 - Meeting at the U.S. Naval Academy establishes the U.S. Naval Institute.
1845 - The eminent and controversial Anglican, John Henry Newman, is received into the Roman Catholic Church.
1854 - The siege of Sebastopol begins (Crime war)
1855 - Isaac Singer patents sewing machine motor
1855 - Joshua Stoddard of Worcester, Mass patents 1st calliope
1863 - Battle of Brady Station, VA (Culpeper Court House, Bristoe Station)
US Cavalry Commander George Armstrong CusterUS Cavalry Commander George Armstrong Custer 1864 - Battle of Tom's Brook; Confederate cavalry that harassed Sheridan's campaign is beaten by Custer & Merrit's cavalry divisions
1865 - 1st US underground pipeline for carrying oil is laid in Pennsylvania
1870 - Rome is incorporated into Italy by royal decree
1872 - Aaron Montgomery started his mail-order business
1874 - World Postal Union forms in Bern Switzerland
1876 - 1st 2-way telephone conversation, 1st over outdoor wires
1877 - American Humane Association organizes (Cleveland)
1888 - Washington Monument opens for public admittance
1890 - Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Red-Headed League"
1899 - 1st British troops reaches Durban, South Africa
1899 - South Africa President Kruger routes British authorities ultimatum
1900 - 8.3 earthquake shakes Cape Yakataga, Alaska
1903 - 11" (28.4 cm) rainfall in 24 hrs (NYC)
1905 - Phila A's meet Giants in World Series, Giants win 3-0
1909 - Ty Cobb steals home in World Series game
1910 - Nap Lajorie challenges Ty Cobb batting avg with 8 hits, 6 were bunts as Brown's 3rd baseman Red Corriden played deep, Cobb still won
1914 - German troops take Antwerp in World War I
1915 - Belgrade Serbia, surrenders to Central leaders
1915 - Gil Anderson races auto (165.1 km record) in Sheepshead Bay, NY
1915 - Louis Kaufmans "Unchastened Woman," premieres in NYC
US President Woodrow WilsonUS President Woodrow Wilson 1915 - Woodrow Wilson becomes 1st pres to attend a World Series game
1916 - Babe Ruth begins 29 2/3 scoreless World Series innings
1916 - Babe Ruth pitches & wins longest WS game (14 innings) 2-1
1920 - 1st World Series game in Cleveland, Indians win 2-1
1921 - Babe Ruth's 1st WS homer; only Sunday game ever pitched by Carl Mays
1926 - Dutch Queen Wilhelmina opens Royal Colonial Institution
1926 - NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation) forms
1928 - Marcel Pagnol's "Topaz," premieres in Paris
1928 - NY Yankees sweep Cards in 25th World Series, Ruth hits 3 HR in game
1928 - NY Yankees become 1st to sweep consecutive World Series
1929 - G Kaufman & R Lardner's musical "June Moon," premieres in NYC
1930 - 1st transcontinental flight by a woman completed, Laura Ingalls
1934 - St Louis Cards beat Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 3 in 31st World Series
1934 - Regicide at Marseille: The assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, Foreign Minister of France.
1936 - Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to Los Angeles
Baseball Great Babe RuthBaseball Great Babe Ruth 1938 - A Copland & E Lorings ballet "Billy the Kid," premieres in Chicago
1938 - Cleveland Browns & Chicago Bears play a penalty free NFL game
1938 - NY Yankees sweep Cubs in 35th World Series, 3rd straight WS win
1941 - A coup in Panama declares Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango the new president.
1942 - Statute of Westminster 1931 formalises Australian autonomy.
1944 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Russia for talks with Stalin
1944 - Canadian offensive in West-Zeeuws-Flanders
1944 - German occupier turn off electricity in Amsterdam
1944 - St Louis Cards beat St Louis Browns, 4 games to 2 in 41st World Series
1945 - British troops occupy Andamanen in Gulf of Bengal
1946 - 1st electric blanket manufactured; sold for $39.50
1946 - Eugene O'Neill's "Iceman Cometh," premieres in NYC
1947 - 1st telephone conversation between a moving car & a plane
1947 - Julie Styne & Sam Cohn's musical "High Button Shoes," premieres in NYC for 727 performances
1948 - WXYZ TV channel 7 in Detroit, MI (ABC) begins broadcasting
Soldier, author, journalist, politician Winston ChurchillSoldier, author, journalist, politician Winston Churchill 1949 - NY Yankees beat Dodgers 4 games to 1 in 46th World Series
1951 - 5th NHL All-Star Game: 1st Team ties 2nd Team 2-2 at Toronto
1951 - Gil McDougald's World Series grand slam helps Yanks beat Giants 13-1
1953 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill aproves Guyanese Constitution
1953 - Conrad Adenauer elected West German chancellor
1954 - KTIV TV channel 4 in Sioux City, IA (NBC) begins broadcasting
1955 - Betty Jameson wins LPGA Richmond Golf Open
1956 - 10th NHL All-Star Game: All-Stars beat Montreal 1-1 at Montreal
1957 - Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga Australia
1958 - Israeli navy inaugrates its 1st submarine
1958 - NY Yankees beat Braves 4 games to 3 in 55th World Series
1958 - NY Yankees appear in 9 & win 7 of last 10 World Series
1959 - Lee Harvey Oswald arrives in Southampton
1960 - Cowboy QB Eddie LeBaron throws shortest touchdown pass (2")
1961 - NY Yankees beat Cin Reds, 4 games to 1 in 58th World Series
Ex-soldier, drifter Lee Harvey OswaldEx-soldier, drifter Lee Harvey Oswald 1961 - Tanganyika becomes independent within British Commonwealth
1961 - US members of communist party obliged to report themselves to Police
1961 - Volcano eruptions on Tristan de Cunha (South Atlantic)
1961 - Yank Whitey Ford breaks Ruth record of 29 2/3 consecutive inning
1961 - World Series scoreless pitching streak Yanks beat Reds 4 games to 1
1962 - Battles to decide Algeria-Morocco boundary kills 130
1962 - NASA civilian test pilot John B McKay takes X-15 to 39,200 m
1962 - Uganda becomes independent from the United Kingdom
1963 - Landslide into Vaiont Dam empties lake, kills 3-4,000 (Italy)
1963 - British premier Harold MacMillan resigns
1963 - Dam in Piave valley Italy, breaks' about 2,000 die
1963 - French air force gets 1st nuclear weapons
1963 - Hurricane Flora ravages Cuba & Haiti, kills 6,000
1965 - 16th Ryder Cup: US wins 19½-12½ at Royal Birkdale, England
1965 - Beatles' "Yesterday," single goes #1 & stays #1 for 4 weeks
1966 - Balt Orioles sweep LA Dodgers, in 63rd World Series
1966 - Rolling Stones 1st LP recorded "Got Live if you Want It"
1968 - Government seizes oil fields in Peru
1968 - WKMU TV channel 21 in Murray, KY (PBS) begins broadcasting
1969 - Supremes release "Someday We'll Be Together"
1970 - Khmer Republic (Cambodia) declares independence
1971 - Japanese emperor Hirohito visits Netherlands
1971 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1972 - "Dude" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 16 performances
1973 - 1st general striking in Luxembourg since 1942
1973 - Elvis & Priscilla Presley divorce after 6 years
1973 - Israel announces loss of Bar-Lev defense line in Suez Canal
1973 - Warriors-Cavalier game in Cleveland postponed because of wet floors
1974 - Frank Robinson became 1st Black baseball manager (Cleve Indians)
1974 - Race riot in Boston due to "bussing"
1974 - Washington Capitals 1st NHL game, losing 6-3 to NY Rangers at Madison Square Garden Wash Caps begin a 37 game road losing streak
1975 - Emperor Hirohito of Japan visits SF
1975 - Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov wins Nobel Peace Prize
1976 - "Robber Bridegroom" opens at Biltmore Theater NYC for 145 performances
1976 - Peter Petherick takes hat-trick on debut NZ v Pak Javed 1st wkt
1976 - Test Cricket debut of Javed Miandad (Pakistan), scores 163 on 1st day
1976 - Yanks 1st AL Championship game, beat Royals 4-1
1977 - Amy Alcott wins LPGA Houston Exchange Clubs Golf Classic
1977 - Soyuz 25 launched to Saluyt 6, but returned after failing to dock
1977 - Yanks rally for 3 in 9th & beat Royals 5-3 for pennant #31
1978 - 12th Country Music Association Award
1978 - John Kander & Fred Ebb's musical "Ballroom," premieres in NYC
1979 - Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WCCC in Hartford Conn
1980 - 1st consumer use of home banking by computer (Knoxville Tn)
1980 - Nobel prize for literature awarded to Czeslaw Milosz
1980 - Princess Caroline of Monaco divorces Philippe Junot
1981 - Abolition of capital punishment in France.
1982 - Attack on synagouge in Rome, 1 dead
1983 - 4 South Korean government ministers assassinated in Rangoon Burma
1984 - Kathy Sullivan becomes 1st US woman to walk in space
1985 - "Tango Argentino" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 198 perfs
1985 - Central Park's Strawberry Fields, dedicated
1985 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1986 - "Phantom of the Opera" premeires in London
1986 - Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo, became 12th NHLer to score 500 goals
1986 - Senate convicted US District Judge Harry E Claiborne making him 5th federal official to be removed from office through impeachment
1987 - Japanese bank buys "Lady McGill" stamp for $1,100,000
1988 - 17% vote extremely-right Flemish Block in Belgium
1988 - Dennis Eckersley, 1st to save all 4 games in a championship series
1989 - 23rd Country Music Association Award: George Strait, Kathy Mattea wins
1989 - 27th Tennis Fed Cup: USA beats Spain in Tokyo Japan (3-0)
1989 - Penthouse Magazine's Hebrew edition hits newstands
1989 - 1st NFL game coached by a black man (Art Shell), his LA Raiders beat NY Jets 14-7 on Monday Night Football
1990 - David Hackett Souter, sworn in as Supreme Court Justice
1990 - Radio stations around world play "Imagine" honoring John Lennon
1990 - Saddam Hussein threatens to hit Israel with a new missile
1991 - "On Borrowed Time" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 99 perfs
1991 - Bush declares "total confidence" in nominee Clarence Thomas
1991 - San Jose Sharks beat Calgary for their 1st NHL win, 4-3
1991 - Ecuador becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
1992 - Great meteorite seen from Kentucky to NY
1992 - A 13 kilogram (est.) meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu
1994 - Austrian parliamentary election (23% extreme-right)
1994 - Darmstadtium (element 110) created in Darmstadt, Germany
1996 - Howard Stern's book "Miss America" released in paperback
1997 - ABL players allowed to own stock in the league
1997 - Hurricane kills 123 in Acapulco Mexico
1997 - NC's Dean Smith winningest college basetball coach retires
1997 - NY Rangers are 1st NHL team to open with 4 straight ties
1997 - Nobel prize for literature awarded to Dario Fo
1999 - The last flight of the SR-71.
2001 - Second mailing of anthrax letters from Trenton, New Jersey in the 2001 anthrax attack.
2006 - North Korea allegedly tests its first nuclear device.
2007 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at an all-time high.
2009 - First lunar impact of the Centaur and LCROSS spacecrafts as part of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program.
2012 - 25,000 people in Athens protest German Chancellor Angela Merkel
2012 - Serge Haroche and David Wineland win the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics for work on quantum optics
1635 - Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, was banished from Massachusetts because he had spoken out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away land that belonged to the Indians. Williams had founded Providence, Rhode Island as a place for people to seek religious freedom. 1701 - The Collegiate School of Connecticut was chartered in New Haven. The name was later changed to Yale. 1776 - A group of Spanish missionaries settled in what is now San Francisco, CA. 1781 - The last major battle of the American Revolutionary War took place in Yorktown, VA. The American forces, led by George Washington, defeated the British troops under Lord Cornwallis. 1812 - During the War of 1812 American forces captured two British brigs, the Detroit and the Caledonia. 1855 - Isaac Singer patented the sewing machine motor. 1855 - Joshua C. Stoddard received a patent for his calliope. 1858 - Mail service via stagecoach between San Francisco, CA, and St. Louis, MO, began. 1872 - Aaron Montgomery started his mail order business with the delivery of the first mail order catalog. The firm later became Montgomery Wards. 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson made their longest telephone call to date. It was a distance of two miles. 1888 - The public was admitted to the Washington Monument for the first time. 1914 - During World War I, German forces captured Antwerp, Belgium. 1919 - The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series. The win would be later tainted when 8 Chicago White Sox were charged with throwing the game. The incident became known as the "Black Sox" scandal. 1930 - Aviator Laura Ingalls landed in Glendale, CA, to complete the first solo transcontinental flight across the U.S. by a woman. 1935 - "Cavalcade of America" was first broadcast on CBS radio. 1936 - The first generator at Boulder Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles, CA. The name of the dam was later changed to Hoover Dam. 1940 - St. Paul's Cathedral in London was bombed by the Nazis. The dome was unharmed in the bombing. 1943 - "Land of the Lost" debuted on ABC radio. 1946 - "The Iceman Cometh" opened in New York City, NY. 1946 - The first electric blanket went on sale in Petersburg, VA. 1947 - The Broadway show, "High Button Shoes", opened. 1963 - Over 2,000 people were killed in northeast Italy when the Vaiont Dam was overrun by water. The incident was caused by landslide that occurred behind the dam. 1967 - Che Guevara was executed by Bolivian soldiers for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia. 1974 - Oskar Schindler died in Frankfurt, Germany. Schindler is credited with saving the lives of about 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. 1975 - Andrei Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Soviet scientist is known as the "father of the hydrogen bomb." 1983 - Helen Moss joined the Brownies at the age of 83. She became the oldest person to become a member. 1985 - The hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise liner surrendered after the ship arrived in Port Said, Egypt. 1986 - U.S. District Judge Harry E. Claiborne became the fifth federal official to be removed from office through impeachment. The U.S. Senate convicted Claiborne of "high crimes and misdemeanors." 1986 - Joan Rivers debuted her new "The Late Show" on the FOX network. 1986 - The musical "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber opened in London. 1989 - The official Soviet news agency Tass reported an unidentified flying object. The report included a trio of tall aliens that had visited the city of Voronzh. 1991 - The play revival "On Borrowed Time" opened. 1994 - The U.S. sent troops and warships to the Persian Gulf in response to Saddam Hussein sending thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks toward the Kuwaiti border. 1995 - Saboteurs tinkered with a stretch of railroad track in Arizona. An Amtrak train derailed killing one and injuring a hundred. 2000 - Brett Hull (Dallas Stars) scored his 611th National Hockey League (NHL) goal. The goal allowed him to pass his father, Bobby Hull, on the all time scoring list bringing him to number 9. 2001 - Prosecutors in Miami, FL, announced that they would seek a prison sentence if O.J. Simpson was convicted in his road rage trial. Jury selection began for the trial just after the announcement. 2003 - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II knighted Roger Moore and made Sting a CBE (Commander of the British Empire). 2009 - NASA launched the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). On November 13, it was announced that water had been discovered in the planned impact plume on the moon.
1635 Religious dissident and Rhode Island founder, Roger Williams, was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1888 For the first time the public was admitted to the Washington Monument. 1930 Aviator Laura Ingalls became the first woman to make a solo transcontinental flight across the United States. 1967 Che Guevara was executed in Bolivia. 1975 Soviet scientist Andrei Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end the nuclear arms race.
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/oct09.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
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