| Greatguggly
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On January 24, 1848, James Marshall discovered gold in Northern California beginning the California gold rush.
Reply #961. Jan 24 12, 2:16 PM
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paulmallon 
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Jan 25, 1971:
Manson and followers convicted
In Los Angeles, California, cult leader Charles Manson is convicted, along with followers Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, and Patricia Krenwinkle, of the brutal 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others.
In 1967, Manson, a lifetime criminal, was released from a federal penitentiary in Washington State and traveled to San Francisco, where he attracted a following among rebellious young women with troubled emotional lives. Manson established a cult based on his concept of "Helter Skelter"--an apocalyptic philosophy predicting that out of an imminent racial war in America would emerge five ruling angels: Manson, who would take on the role of Jesus Christ, and the four members of the Beatles. Manson convinced his followers that it would be necessary to murder celebrities in order to attract attention to the cult, and in 1969 they targeted Sharon Tate, a marginally successful actress who was married to Roman Polanski, a film director.
On the night of August 9, 1969, with detailed instructions from Manson, four of his followers drove up to Cielo Drive above Beverly Hills and burst into Polanski and Tate's home. (Polanski was not home and friends were staying with the pregnant Tate.) During the next few hours, they engaged in a murderous rampage that left five dead, including a very pregnant Sharon Tate, three of her friends, and an 18-year-old man who was visiting the caretaker of the estate. The next night, Manson followers murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their home in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles; this time, Manson went along to make sure the killings were carried out correctly. The cases went unsolved for over a year before the Los Angeles Police Department discovered the Manson connection. Various members of his cult confessed, and Manson and five others were indicted on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
In January 1972, Manson and three others were found guilty, and on March 29 all four were sentenced to death. The trial of another defendant, Charles "Tex" Watson, was delayed by extradition proceedings, but he was likewise found guilty and sentenced to death. In 1972, the California Supreme Court abolished the death penalty in California, and Manson and his followers' death sentences were reduced to life imprisonment.
Reply #962. Jan 25 12, 3:25 PM
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paulmallon
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Jan 26, 1838:
Tennessee passes nation's first prohibition law
The first Prohibition law in the history of the United States is passed in Tennessee, making it a misdemeanor to sell alcoholic beverages in taverns and stores. The bill stated that all persons convicted of retailing "spirituous liquors" would be fined at the "discretion of the court" and that the fines would be used in support of public schools.
Reply #963. Jan 26 12, 5:16 PM
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paulmallon
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Jan 27, 1967:
Astronauts die in launch pad fire
A launch pad fire during Apollo program tests at Cape Canaveral, Florida, kills astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chafee. An investigation indicated that a faulty electrical wire inside the Apollo 1 command module was the probable cause of the fire. The astronauts, the first Americans to die in a spacecraft, had been participating in a simulation of the Apollo 1 launch scheduled for the next month.
Reply #964. Jan 27 12, 2:01 PM
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paulmallon
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Jan 28, 1986:
CHALLENGER EXPLODES
At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among the seven-member crew of the Challenger. She underwent months of shuttle training but then, beginning January 23, was forced to wait six long days as the Challenger's launch countdown was repeatedly delayed because of weather and technical problems. Finally, on January 28, the shuttle lifted off.
Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including Christa's family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle exploded in a forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching tragedy unfold on live television. There were no survivors
Reply #965. Jan 28 12, 4:45 PM
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paulmallon
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Jan 29, 1936:
U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame elects first members
On January 29, 1936, the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame elects its first members in Cooperstown, New York: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson.
ALSO:
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is published.
Reply #966. Jan 29 12, 10:34 AM
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paulmallon
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Feb 2, 1876:
National League of baseball is founded
On February 2, 1876, the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, which comes to be more commonly known as the National League (NL), is formed. The American League (AL) was established in 1901 and in 1903, the first World Series was held.
today the National league is the only league that plays baseball-what that other (Jr.circuit) league plays with the DH is beyond the original rules of the game...9 men on a side, not 9 plus some oaf who can hit a bit but can't catch a cold.
Reply #967. Feb 02 12, 4:55 PM
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paulmallon
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Feb. 7 2012 (today)
The NY Giants were honored with a parade down "The Canyon of Heroes" in front of an estimated crowd of ONE MILLION FANS for winning their fourth Super Bowl Sunday and 2nd in 4 years
Reply #968. Feb 07 12, 9:52 PM
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paulmallon
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ONE GIANT LEAP (not THAT one)
Feb 8, 1986:
Spud Webb wins dunk contest
On February 8, 1986, Spud Webb, who at 5’7” was one of the shortest players in the history of professional basketball, wins the NBA slam dunk contest, beating his Atlanta Hawks teammate and 1985 dunk champ, the 6’8” Dominique Wilkins.
Reply #969. Feb 08 12, 11:05 AM
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paulmallon
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Feb 10, 1996:
Kasparov loses chess game to computer
On this day in 1996, after three hours, world chess champion Gary Kasparov loses the first game of a six-game match against Deep Blue, an IBM computer capable of evaluating 200 million moves per second. Man was ultimately victorious over machine, however, as Kasparov bested Deep Blue in the match with three wins and two ties and took home the $400,000 prize. An estimated 6 million people worldwide followed the action on the Internet.
Reply #970. Feb 10 12, 10:38 PM
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paulmallon
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Feb 12, 1976:
Actor Sal Mineo is killed in Hollywood
Actor Sal Mineo is stabbed to death in Hollywood, California. Mineo was parking his car behind his apartment when neighbors heard his cries for help. Some described a white man with brown hair fleeing the scene. By the time they reached Mineo, he was almost dead from a deep wound to his chest. He died minutes later
Reply #971. Feb 12 12, 11:28 AM
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paulmallon
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Feb 13, 1633:
Galileo in Rome for Inquisition
On this day in 1633, Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to face charges of heresy for advocating Copernican theory, which holds that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Galileo officially faced the Roman Inquisition in April of that same year and agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. Put under house arrest indefinitely by Pope Urban VIII, Galileo spent the rest of his days at his villa in Arcetri, near Florence, before dying on January 8, 1642.
Reply #972. Feb 13 12, 5:52 PM
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paulmallon
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Feb 15, 1898:
THE MAINE EXPLODES IN HAVANA
A massive explosion of unknown origin sinks the battleship USS Maine in Cuba's Havana harbor, killing 260 of the fewer than 400 American crew members aboard.
One of the first American battleships, the Maine weighed more than 6,000 tons and was built at a cost of more than $2 million. Ostensibly on a friendly visit, the Maine had been sent to Cuba to protect the interests of Americans there after a rebellion against Spanish rule broke out in Havana in January.
An official U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry ruled in March that the ship was blown up by a mine, without directly placing the blame on Spain. Much of Congress and a majority of the American public expressed little doubt that Spain was responsible and called for a declaration of war.
Reply #973. Feb 15 12, 3:43 PM
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| C30
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18th February 1861, inauguration of Jefferson Davis as provisional President of Confederate States of American, at Montgomery, Alabama.
Reply #974. Feb 18 12, 4:32 AM
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tezza1551
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19 February 1942.. the first bombs fell on Darwin. In all, Darwin was bombed 64 times.
At least 243 people died in the first attack.
Lest we forget.
Reply #975. Feb 18 12, 5:22 PM
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paulmallon
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1979 - Sony ushers in a new generation of music listening when it introduces the Walkman - allowing people to listen to music while walking.
Reply #976. Feb 21 12, 9:43 AM
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paulmallon
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Feb 22, 1980:
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES? YES!!!
U.S. hockey team makes miracle on ice
In one of the most dramatic upsets in Olympic history, the underdog U.S. hockey team, made up of college players, defeats the four-time defending gold-medal winning Soviet team at the XIII Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. The Soviet squad, previously regarded as the finest in the world, fell to the youthful American team 4-3 before a frenzied crowd of 10,000 spectators. Two days later, the Americans defeated Finland 4-2 to clinch the hockey gold.
Reply #977. Feb 22 12, 7:04 PM
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| lesley153
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23rd Feb
1455 the Gutenberg Bible is published in Germany
1633 Samuel Pepys is born in England
1898 Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing "J'accuse"
1990 death of José Napoleón Duarte, President of El Salvador
Reply #978. Feb 22 12, 9:37 PM
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paulmallon
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1962 - Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in an NBA game in Hershey, PA
I remember a sports repoter from NY saying that despite the fact that it came against the pityful Knicks the commissioner's office said it would still count as an NBA record.
Reply #979. Mar 02 12, 9:27 AM
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redshould
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3rd March
On this day in 2005 the US multi-millionaire Steve Fossett became the first person to fly non-stop, solo, around the world without any refuelling. It took him 67 hours, piloting a single-engine jet aircraft called 'Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer'. Impresssive stuff...
Reply #980. Mar 03 12, 5:10 AM
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