This Day In History

February 1

Events

• 1709 – Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk is rescued by the Duke, a privateering ship. He had been marooned on an uninhabited island, Fernandez Island for 4 years. He survived on catching goats for meat and milk, wild turnip and the fended off rats by staying close to feral cats. His story is the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe.
• 1814 – Lord Byron’s semi-autobiographical verse, The Corsair, sells 10,000 copies on the day of publication; it was very influential with corsair Conrad’s fight against humanity.
• 1887 – Harvey Wilcox of Kansas subdivides 120 acres he owned in Southern California & starts selling it off at $1000 per plot, his wife named it Hollywood. Later this became the American movie capital.

Birthdays

• 1901 – Clark Gable born as William Clark Gable in Cadiz Ohio, he became an actor famed for portraying Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind.
• 1915 – Sir Stanley Matthews was born in Stoke on Trent, UK. He became a footballer and is considered one of the greatest players of the game. He was the first British football player to be knighted.
• 1968 – Lisa Marie Presley was born in Memphis Tennessee. She is seen as the Princess of Rock and Roll with her father being the icon of Elvis Presley and her mother the actress Priscilla Presley. She is also a singer and songwriter.

January 29

Events

• 1845 – Edgar Allen Poe’s work The Raven is first published in New York.
• 1920 - Walt Disney starts his first job as an artist, his weekly wage was $40. He worked for the Kansas City Slide Company.
• 1944 - 285 German bombers attack London it was known as the little blitz.

Birthdays

• 1939 – Germaine Greer was born in Melbourne Australia, she became a feminist and the author of the Female Eunuch.
• 1945 – Tom Selleck was born in Detroit, Michigan. He became an actor and was Lance in the Rockford Files and also starred in Magnum PI.
• 1954 – Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Michigan, she became an actress but is best known for her TV show, Oprah.

January 12

Events

• 1820 – The Royal Astronomical Society was founded in England.
• 1948 – The first supermarket in the UK opens, under the name of Premier Supermarket, the store was in Streatham, London.
• 1995 – The Murder trial against OJ Simpson, begins in Los Angeles.

Birthdays

• 1944 – Joe Frazier – Was born in Beaufort, South Carolina became a heavyweight champion boxer, he won Olympic gold in 1964).
• 1951 – Kirstie Alley – Born in Wichita, Kansas. She became a well known actress and starred in the sit-com’s Cheers and Veronicas Closet, she had a role in Star Trek, The Wrath of Khan playing Lt. Saavik.
• 1968 – Heather Mills – Born in Aldershot, UK. She became a model and writer, she also married Paul McCartney of Beatles fame in 2002, they have since divorced.