BITS OF AMERICAN HISTORY

September 13 in history:

New York City became the first official capital of the United States on September 13th, 1788.  George Washington was sworn in as president there the following year.  By 1790, the capital was moved to Philadelphia.

Margaret Chase Smith was a pioneer at the U.S. Capitol.  Mrs. Smith had succeeded her late husband in the House, and on September 13th, 1948, she was elected to the U.S. Senate from Maine. That made her the first woman to be elected to both houses of Congress.

Maine was not a state yet during the War of 1812, so it was not represented on the “star-spangled banner” that flew over Ft. McHenry in Baltimore on this date in 1814.  Francis Scott Key wrote his famous poem about the 15-star, 15-stripe flag that continued to fly over the fort after a British attack.

Maryland is where presidential candidate George Wallace was shot at a campaign rally in 1972.  Wallace was paralyzed from the waist down by the shooting, and used a wheelchair until his death on September 13th, 1998.

As governor of Alabama in the 1960s, George Wallace tried to prevent black students from entering the University of Alabama.  On this date in 1962, Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett gave a televised speech in which he rejected a U.S. Supreme Court ruling ordering the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith as a student.  Barnett said “I shall do everything in my power to prevent integration in our schools.”

HIGH TECH WONDERS

May 24th in history: 

The first night game in major league baseball was played at Crosley Field in Cincinnati on May 24th, 1935. The Reds had the home field advantage, beating the Phillies, 2-1.

On this date in 1976, the Concorde supersonic jet began regular service between Washington and London.

Inventor Samuel Morse was in Washington on this date in 1844 when he sent a message over the telegraph to Baltimore for the first time.  The message “What hath God wrought” was transmitted in Morse code.

The first message that Thomas Edison recorded on his phonograph was the poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”  That nursery rhyme by Sarah Josepha Hale was first published on this date in 1830.

A couple of popular singers who have won multiple Grammy awards for their recordings were born on May 24th…Bob Dylan (born 1941), and Patti La Belle (1944).

KNOW-IT-ALLS

April 6th in history:

On April 6th, 1909, explorers Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reported reaching the North Pole. Henson was African-American, and Peary has been criticized for not treating Henson as an equal member of the expedition.

Baseball executive Al Campanis was accused of making racist remarks on a broadcast of “Nightline” on April 6th, 1987. Campanis was general manager of the Dodgers until the TV interview, when he said blacks “may not have some of the necessities” to be baseball managers. He later said that he meant many blacks might not have the proper experience for the job.

Famous baseball stadiums that opened on April 6th include Miller Park in Milwaukee (2001) and Camden Yards in Baltimore (1992).  It’s also the birthday of Baltimore native Barry Levinson (1942), who directed the classic baseball movie “The Natural,” starring Robert Redford and Kim Basinger.

“The Natural” was Basinger’s follow-up to the Burt Reynolds comedy “The Man Who Loved Women.”  That film also featured Burt’s future TV wife on “Evening Shade,” Marilu Henner, born April 6th, 1952.  Best known as Elaine on “Taxi,” Henner has written several books about health and fitness, and is one of the small group of Americans identified as having “highly superior autobiographical memory.”

Cliff Clavin also remembers lots of things, but he’s fictional.  John Ratzenberger, who played know-it-all mailman Cliff on “Cheers,” was born on this date in 1947.  “Cheers” and “Taxi” aired back to back Thursday nights on NBC in 1982 and ’83, and had a number of producers and writers in common.

Watch Marilu Henner, along with Triviazoids’ Brad Williams, on “60 Minutes”:

 

ONCE UPON A MIDNIGHT DREARY

January 29th in history:

 

In 1845, readers of the New York Evening Mirror got their first look at a new poem by Edgar Allan Poe, called “The Raven” — published in the January 29th edition. Because Poe lived for many years in Baltimore and is buried there, the Baltimore Ravens football team was named in honor of the poem.

Two halls of fame for sports heroes announced their first members on January 29th, in different years.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted its first class of 17 legends in 1963…27 years after the Baseball Hall of Fame announced its initial group of five honorees in 1936.  Baltimore-born Babe Ruth tied for second place with Honus Wagner in that first baseball hall of fame election, behind long-time Detroit Tigers star Ty Cobb.

And January 29th is the birthday of the actor who often wore a Tigers baseball cap in his TV role as “Magnum, P.I.,” Detroit native Tom Selleck (1945).