This Date in History - January 7

We remember you on your birthday, Tony Conigliaro.  Yeah, that had to hurt.

1325:  ALFONSO IV BECOMES KING OF PORTUGAL.

Fonzie to you.

1558:  FRANCE TAKES CALAIS, THE LAST CONTINENTAL POSSESSION OF ENGLAND.

Those crafty French can put up a fight when they want to.

1608:  A FIRE DESTROYS JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA.

As opposed to the Jamestown in NY where Lucy was born.

1610:  GALILEO GALILEI MAKES HIS FIRST OBSERVATIONS OF THE FOUR GALILEAN MOONS --- GANYMEDE, CALLISTO, LO, AND EUROPA.

To the Ganymede, Alice!

1785:  FRENCHMAN JEAN-PIERRE BLANCHARD AND AMERICAN JOHN JEFFRIES TRAVEL FROM DOVER, ENGLAND TO CALAIS, FRANCE, IN A GAS BALLOON.

And, yes, as we know from earlier, it is Calais, France.

1797:  THE MODERN ITALIAN FLAG IS FIRST USED.

1797?   How modern is that?

1800:  PRESIDENT MILLARD FILLMORE IS BORN.

Yes, that Millard Fillmore.

1894:  WILLIAM KENNEDY DICKSON RECEIVES A PATENT FOR MOTION PICTURE FILM.

So I guess, in a way, you can blame him for Adam Sandler.

1904:  THE DISTRESS SIGNAL "CQD" IS ESTABLISHED ONLY TO BE REPLACED TWO YEARS LATER BY "SOS."

I never heard of CQD soap pads.

1911:  ACTRESS BUTTERFLY MCQUEEN IS BORN.

So, at least, her mother knew something about birthin' babies.

1912:  CARTOONIST CHARLES ADDAMS IS BORN.

Finger snap, finger snap.

1920:  THE NY STATE ASSEMBLY REFUSES TO SEAT FIVE DULY ELECTED SOCIALIST ASSEMBLYMEN.

These days, they are welcomed.

1927:  THE FIRST TRANSATLANTIC TELEPHONE SERVICE IS ESTABLISHED --- FROM NEW YORK, NY TO LONDON.

Hello, duck.

1935:  BENITO MUSSOLINI AND FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER PIERRE LAVAL SIGN THE FRANCO-ITALIAN AGREEMENT.

The Franco-American agreement gave us Spaghetti-Os.

1945:  DURING WORLD WAR II, BRITISH GENERAL BERNARD MONTGOMERY HOLDS A PRESS CONFERENCE AND CLAIMS CREDIT FOR VICTORY IN THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE.

Big deal.  So he lost some weight.

1945:  BOSTON RED SOX TONY CONIGLIARO IS BORN.

His baseball career was destroyed by a beanball to the head.  Isn't everybody's?

1948:  KENTUCKY AIR NATIONAL GUARD PILOT THOMAS MANTELL CRASHES WHILE IN PURSUIT OF A SUPPOSED UFO.

How do we know that the Martians didn't shoot him down?

1955:  MARIAN ANDERSON BECOMES THE FIRST PERSON OF COLOR TO PERFORM AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA.

Because I guess that white isn't a color.   Hey, it's in the box of Crayola 64s.

1957:  TV HOST KATIE COURIC IS BORN.

Because, unlike what it says in Wikipedia, I refuse to call her a journalist.

1959:  THE US RECOGNIZES THE NEW CUBAN GOVERNMENT OF FIDEL CASTRO.

They'll really know who he is by October, 1962.

1973:  MARK ESSEX FATALLY SHOOTS 10 PEOPLE AND WOUNDS 13 OTHERS AT A HOWARD JOHNSON'S IN NEW ORLEANS.

23 Victims, 28 Flavors.

1980:  US PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER AUTHORIZES LEGISLATION GIVING $1.5 BILLION TO BAIL OUT THE CHRYSLER CORPORATION.

Hey, how about you stop making shitty cars???

1990:  THE INTERIOR OF THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC FOR SAFETY REASONS.

It's about time.   Wasn't it leaning for like a century or two??

1990:  SF GIANTS OWNER HORACE STONEHAM DIES.

Drunk.

1999:  THE SENATE TRIAL IN THE IMPEACHMENT OF US PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON BEGINS.  

Yeah, a fat lot of good that did.

2002:  COMEDIAN AVERY SCHREIBER DIES.

He was the comedy partner of Jack Burns.  So it's okay if you say "who" twice.

2012:  A HOT AIR BALLOON CRASHES IN NEW ZEALAND, KILLING ALL 11 PEOPLE ON BOARD.

Around The World in 80 Seconds.

2013:  TV HOST HUELL HOWSER DIES.

Still alive on PBS stations all over California.

Dinner last night:  Leftover sausage and peppers.