Sept 23, 1952. Anniversary of the nationally televised Checkers Speech by then vice presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon. Nixon was found clean as a hounds tooth in connection with a private fund for political expenses, and he declared he would never give back the cocker spaniel, Checkers, which had been a gift to his daughters.
Image: Public Domain via wikipedia.org
Sept 23, 1846. Neptune is 2.796 billion miles from the sun (about 30 times as far from the sun as Earth). Eighth planet from the sun, Neptune takes 164.8 years to revolve around the sun. Diameter is about 31,000 miles compared to Earth at 7,927 miles. Discovered by German astronomer Johann Galle.
Image: NASA.gov
Sept 23, 1930. Born at Albany, GA, Ray Charles Robinson began losing his sight at age 5. He began formal music training at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind, and by age 15 was earning a living asa musician. He went on to become one of the most influential performers of all time. As a pianist, singer, songwriter, bandleader and producer, he played country, jazz, rock, gospel and standards. His renditions of Georgia on My Mind, I Cant Stop Loving You and America the Beautiful are considered true American classics. He died at Beverly Hills, CA, June10, 2004.
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Sept 23, 1800. American educator and author of the famous McGuffey Readers, born at Washington County, PA. Died at Charlottesville, VA, May 4, 1873. Read more at http://www.units.miamioh.edu/mcguffeymuseum/.
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Sept 24, 1968. TVs longest-running prime-time program, and the first newsmagazine offering in-depth investigative reports and profiles, was originally hosted by Harry Reasoner and Mike Wallace. The shows correspondents have included Ed Bradley, Steve Kroft, Lesley Stahl, Morley Safer, Andy Rooney, Scott Pelley, Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer and Bob Simon. Tough interviewer Mike Wallace retired from the show in 2006.
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Sept 24, 1964. A successful show based loosely on the life of pioneer Daniel Boone, who helped settle Kentucky in the 1770s. Fess Parkerstarred as the American hero. Ed Ames played Mingo, Boones friend, an educated Cherokee, and Pat Blair played his wife, Rebecca. Also featured were Albert Salmi, Jimmy Dean, Roosevelt Grier, Darby Hinton, Veronica Cartwright and Dallas McKennon.
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Sept 24, 1977. This one-hour comedy-drama featured guest stars aboard a cruise ship, the Pacific Princess. All stories had to do with finding or losing love. The ships crew were the only regulars: Gavin MacLeodas Captain Merrill Stubing, Bernie Kopell as Doctor Adam Bricker, Fred Grandy as assistant purser Burl Gopher Smith, Ted Lange as bartender Isaac Washington and Lauren Tewes as cruise director Julie McCoy. The series ended with the last telecast on Sept 5, 1986, but special TV movies were broadcast in later years.
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Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne) was Frankensteins monster; Lily, his wife (Yvonne DeCarlo), and Grandpa, her father (Al Lewis), were vampires; and his son, Eddie (Butch Patrick), was a werewolf. Only their niece, Marilyn (Beverly Owen and Pat Priest), looked normal, and they considered her the unattractive family member. Most of the shows laughs came from the family’s interactions with outsiders. The last telecast was on Sept 1, 1966.
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Sept 24, 1936. Puppeteer, born at Greenville, MS. Jim Henson created a unique family of puppets known as the Muppets. Kermit the Frog,Big Bird, Rowlf, Bert and Ernie, Gonzo, Animal, Miss Piggy and Oscar the Grouch are a few of the puppets that captured the hearts of children and adults alike in television and film productions including Sesame Street, The Jimmy Dean Show, The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Great Muppet Caper and The Dark Crystal. Henson began his career in 1954 as producer of the TV show Sam and Friends at Washington, DC. He introduced the Muppets in 1956. His creativity was rewarded with 18 Emmy Awards, seven Grammy Awards, four Peabody Awards and five ACE Awards from the National Cable Television Association. Henson died unexpectedly May 16, 1990, at New York, NY. Read mores at http://www.henson.com/.
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National Punctuation Day on 24 September 2016 celebrates the lowly comma, the correct use of quotation marks and the proper manner to use periods, semi-colons and more. Read more…
On 25 September 1690 the first edition (and only edition) of Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestic was published at Boston, Massachusetts. Read more…
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Sept 25, 1981. Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as the first woman associate justice on the US Supreme Court on this date. She had been nominated by President Ronald Reagan in July 1981, and she retired from the court in 2006.
Image: Public Domain, U.S. Library of Congress
Sept 25, 1676. (Old Style date.) Two very accurate clocks were set in motion at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England. Greenwich Mean Time (now known as Universal Time) became the standard for England; in1884 it became the sta
ndard for the world. Read more…
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Sept 25, 1930. Cartoonist and children’s author, best remembered for his poetry that included A Light in the Attic and The Giving Tree. Silverstein won the Michigan Young Readers Award for Where the Sidewalk Ends. Also a songwriter, he wrote The Unicorn Song and A Boy Named Sue. Born at Chicago, IL, he died at Key West, FL, May 9, 1999.
Gilligan played by Bob Denver
Sept 26, 1964. Seven people set sail aboard the Minnow for a three-hour tour and became stranded on an island. They used the resources on the island for food, shelter and entertainment. The cast included Bob Denver (Gilligan), Alan Hale, Jr (the Skipper), Jim Backus (Thurston Howell, III), Natalie Schafer (Mrs Lovey Howell), Russell Johnson (the Professor), Dawn Wells (Mary Ann) and Tina Louise (Ginger Grant, the movie star). The last telecast aired on Sept 4, 1967.
Sept 26, 1969. This popular sitcom starred Robert Reed as widower Mike Brady, who has three sons and is married to Carol (played by Florence Henderson), who has three daughters. Housekeeper Alice was played by Ann B. Davis. Sons Greg (Barry Williams), Peter (Christopher Knight) and Bobby (Mike Lookinland) and daughters Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb) and Cindy (Susan Olsen) experienced the typical crises of youth. The program steered clear of social issues and portrayed childhood as a time of innocence. The last episode was telecast on Aug 30, 1974. The program continues to be popular in reruns, and there were also many spin-offs: a cartoon, a variety series, a sitcom, a short-lived dramatic series and films.
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Photo of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon taken prior to their first debate at WBBM-TV in Chicago in 1960.
Presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon debated on live television on 26 September 1960 broadcast from Chicago, Illinois. Read more…
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Sept 26, 1914. The son of French immigrants, born at San Francisco, CA, was to become Americas fitness guru through his eponymous TV show and wacky stunts. The Jack LaLanne Show went national in 1959, and by the end of its run in the 1980s had 3,000 episodes. LaLanne, who kept a 30-inch waist, popularized the benefits of healthy living with amazing stunts, such as swimming handcuffed from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf while also towing a 1,000-pound boat (at age 60). LaLanne died Jan 23, 2011, at Morro Bay, CA, at age 96.
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Sept 26, 1774. John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, believed to have been born at Leominster, MA. Died at Allen County, IN, Mar 11, 1845. Planter of orchards and friend of wild animals, he was regarded as a great medicine man by the Indians. Read more at http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/revolut/jb_revolut_apple_1.html.
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Sept 26, 1957. Composer Leonard Bernsteins updated Romeo and Juliet musical premiered on Broadway and ran until 1960. Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics, Arthur Laurents wrote the book and Jerome Robbins created the choreography. Read more at http://www.westsidestory.com/.
Image: Mihail Bojin via Flickr , CC 2.0
Sept 30, 1641. According to the Laws and Ordinances of New Netherlands (now New York and New Jersey), on Sept 30, 1641, authorities declared that henceforth there shall be held annually at Fort Amsterdam a Cattle Fair (Oct 15) and a Hog Fair (Nov 1), and that whosoever hath any things to sell or buy can regulate himself accordingly.
Source:
| Title | Chases’ Calendar of Annual Events |
| Authors | Harrison V. Chase, Helen M Chase, William DeRoy Chase |
| Publisher | Apple Tree Press, 1983 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | Jun 6, 2008 |
The first section of the Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed from movable type, was published at Mainz, Germany on 30 September 1452. Johann Gutenberg was the printer. The book was completed by 1456. Read more at the U.S. Library of Congress website.
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1953 Publicity Photo of James Dean
Sept 30, 1955. Rising young film star James Dean died in an auto accident near Cholame, CA, two hours after getting a speeding ticket. He was 24 years old. His final films, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant, were released posthumously in 1956.
Image: Public Domain via Wikipedia.org
Rioting broke out when James Meredith became the first African American to enroll in the all-white University of Mississippi. President Kennedy sent US troops to the area to force compliance with the law. Three people died in the fighting and 50 were injured. On June 6, 1966, Meredith was shot while participating in a civil rights march at Mississippi. On June 25, Meredith, barely recovered, rejoined the marchers near Jackson, MS.
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