324th day of 2009 - 41 remaining

Friday, November 20, 2009
HUBBLE DAY

Edwin Powell Hubble was born in Marshfield, Missouri on this day in l889. We’re talking about the Rhodes Scholar Hubble who studied Roman and English Law at Queens College, Oxford and then practiced law for a year in Louisville, Kentucky.

This is the same Hubble who said, “...[I] chucked the law for astronomy, and I knew that even if I were second-rate or third-rate, it was astronomy that mattered...” and then returned to his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Chicago, for postgraduate work leading to his doctoral degree in astronomy.

Hubble worked at the Mount Wilson (California) Observatory where he proved the need for a telescope larger than the 100-inch reflector they were using at the time and assisted in the design of the 200-inch Hale telescope. “With the 200-inch,” he said in a BBC broadcast in London, “we may grasp what now we can scarcely brush with our fingertips.”

“What do you expect to find with the 200-inch?” he was asked. Hubble’s reply, “We hope to find something we hadn’t expected.”

Edwin Hubble’s discovery and development of the concept of an expanding universe has been described as the “most spectacular astronomical discovery of the twentieth century.” As a tribute to him, the Hubble Space Telescope bears his name. That telescope, with its 240-centimeter mirror, has allowed us to see farther into space than ever before.

Events
November 20
1866 - The rotary-crank bicycle was patented by Pierre Lallement in Paris, France. The bike, incidentally, was known as the bone shaker.

1919 - The first municipally-owned airport in the nation opened -- in Tucson, Arizona. The entire community turned out for the big celebration.

1929 - The first broadcast of The Rise of the Goldbergs, with Gertrude Berg as Molly, was heard on the NBC Blue radio network. Later, the title would be shortened to The Goldbergs. Mrs. Berg, incidentally, wrote the first scripts for the 15-minute program and starred in the show -- for $75 a week. The program continued until 1945 (it returned for one season in 1949-1950). Gertrude Berg brought The Goldbergs to TV in 1949, entertaining audiences with New York style, motherly phrases like, “Button up your neck. It’s cold outside.”

1929 - Leo Reisman and his orchestra recorded Happy Days are Here Again for Victor Records. The classic was recorded just three weeks after the stock market crash that plunged the nation into the Great Depression. Some people have a unique sense of timing, don’t they?

1931 - The first commercial teletype service was introduced by American Telephone and Telegraph Company.

1947 - The first network presentation of Meet the Press aired on NBC-TV (consisting of two stations). The panel interview program became the longest-running series on network television. And it keeps on running and running and...

1947 - A royal wedding this day, as Princess Elizabeth (who would be Queen in four years) and Lt. Philip Mountbatten were married.

1959 - One of America’s great rock jocks was fired from WABC radio in New York. The ‘Moondoggy’ himself, Alan Freed, was axed in the midst of the payola music scandal.

1966 - Cabaret opened on Broadway for the first of 1,165 stellar performances. Joel Gray starred in the hugely successful musical that is an adaptation of both the play, I Am a Camera, and the novel, Goodbye to Berlin.

1969 - Soccer star Pelé collected his 1,000th career goal -- in Rio de Janeiro.

1971 - Isaac Hayes of Memphis, TN got his first #1 hit as the Theme from Shaft began a two-week stay at the top of the charts.

1984 - “You deserve a break today...” by knowing that 35 years and 11 months after the very first McDonald’s hamburger was sold, the 50 billionth burger was made by Edward Rensi, president of Mickey D’s. The milestone was celebrated this day at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

1984 - The largest crowd to see the unveiling of a Hollywood Walk-of-Fame star turned out as Michael Jackson got his piece of the sidewalk right in front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. ‘The Gloved One’ became star number 1,793 on the famed walk.

1992 - Fire erupted at Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth's official residence west of London, causing much damage. The queen and Prince Andrew pitched in to help save priceless artworks and other valuables housed in the fortress. The fire burned for 15 hours damaging or destroying nine principal rooms and over a hundred other rooms. It took a million and a half gallons of water to put out the blaze. The next five years would be spent restoring the Castle to its former glory.

1998 - It was movie debut day for: Woody Allen’s Celebrity, starring Hank Azaria, Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis, Leonardo Dicaprio and Melanie Griffith; Enemy of the State (“It's Not Paranoia if They’re Really After You.”), starring Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight and Regina King; and the animated The Rugrats Movie (“An adventure for anyone that ever wore diapers.”), with the voices of David Spade, Whoopi Goldberg, Elizabeth Daily, Christine Cavanaugha and Cheryl Chase.

Birthdays
November 20
1841 - Sir Wilfrid Laurier
eighth Prime Minister of Canada [1896-1911]; died Feb 17, 1919

1858 - Selma Lagerlöf
author: Gosta Berling’s Saga, Jerusalem, Christ Legends, The Wonderful World of Nils, Liljecrona’s Home, The Ring of the Lowenskolds; first woman to receive Nobel Prize in Literature [1909]; died Mar 16, 1940

1889 - Edwin Powell Hubble
astronomer: pioneer in extragalactic research; died Sep 28, 1953; see Hubble Day [above]

1900 - Chester Gould
cartoonist: **** Tracy; died May 11, 1985

1908 - Sir Alistair Cooke
author: America; Emmy Award-winning TV narrator/writer: America [1972-73], TV host: Masterpiece Theatre [1974-75]; Omnibus; 8th Annual ATAS Governor’s Award [1985]; died Mar 30, 2004

1913 - (Juliette) Judy Canova
comedienne, actress: The Howdy Doody Show, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Oklahoma Annie; died Aug 5, 1983

1914 - Emilio Pucci (Marchese deBarsento)
fashion designer; died Nov 29, 1992

1916 - Evelyn Keyes
actress: Before I Hang, Gone with the Wind, The Jolson Story, The Seven Year Itch, Return to Salem’s Lot; author: autobiography: Scarlet O’Hara’s Younger Sister; died Jul 4, 2008

1917 - Robert Byrd
legislator: Democratic whip of U.S. Senate [1971]

1921 - Phyllis Thaxter
actress: Three Sovereigns for Sarah, Superman: The Movie, Jim Thorpe: All American, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

1923 - Nadine Gordimer
writer: July’s People, Lifetimes Under Apartheid; won Nobel Prize in Literature [1991])

1925 - Kaye Ballard (Catherine Balotta)
actress, comedienne: What a Dummy, The Steve Allen Comedy Hour, The Perry Como Show, The Mothers-in-Law, Henry Morgan’s Great Talent Hunt, The Doris Day Show

1925 - June Christy (Shirley Luster)
singer: My Heart Belongs to Only You; sang with Stan Kenton band; died June 21, 1990

1925 - Robert F. (Francis) Kennedy
U.S. Attorney General under brother President John F. Kennedy; U.S. Senator [from New York]; shot by Sirhan Sirhan June 5, 1968, died June 6, 1968

1927 - Estelle Parsons
Academy Award-winning actress: Bonnie and Clyde; **** Tracy, For Pete’s Sake, Don’t Drink the Water, Roseanne, Backstairs at the White House

1928 - Rex Reason
actor: Band of Angels, This Island Earth, The Roaring Twenties, Man Without a Gun

1932 - Richard Dawson
actor: Hogan’s Heroes, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, The New **** Van Dyke Show, The Running Man, The Devil’s Brigade; TV host: Family “Survey says!” Feud; panelist: I’ve Got a Secret

1939 - **** Smothers
comedian: The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Smothers Brothers Show, The Steve Allen Show; actor: Speed Zone, Tales of the Unexpected

1940 - Tony Butala
singer: group: The Lettermen: When I Fall in Love, Goin’ Out of My Head, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

1942 - Norman Greenbaum
singer: Spirit in the Sky, The Eggplant That Ate Chicago

1943 - Veronica Hamel
actress: Hill Street Blues, Taking Care of Business, The Gathering series, Cannonball

1945 - Jay (John William) Johnstone
baseball: California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees [World Series: 1978], SD Padres, LA Dodgers [World Series: 1981], Chicago Cubs

1945 - Rick (Robert James) Monday
baseball: KC Athletics, Oakland Athletics [all-star: 1968], Chicago Cubs, LA Dodgers [World Series: 1977, 1978, 1981/all-star: 1978]; broadcaster

1946 - (Howard) Duane Allman
musician: lead guitar: group: Allman Brothers Band; killed in motorcycle crash in Macon GA Oct 29, 1971

1946 - Ray Stiles
musician: bass, singer: group: Mud: The Cat Crept In, Crazy, Myna-Mite, L-L-Lucy, Lean on Me, Lonely This Christmas, Moonshine Sally, Oh Boy, Rocket, The Secrets That You Keep, Shake It Down, Show Me You’re a Woman, Tiger Feet; The Hollies

1946 - Judy Woodruff
TV news anchor/host: PBS: Frontline, CNN

1947 - Joe Walsh
musician: guitar, singer: groups: James Gang; The Eagles: Hotel California, New Kid in Town, In the Fast Lane, Heartache Tonight; solo: Life’s Been Good, A Life of Illusion, All Night Long

1948 - Richard Masur
actor: Hiroshima, The Man Without a Face, And the Band Played On, Stephen King’s It, Rent-A-Cop, Heartburn, The Burning Bed, Under Fire, Risky Business, The Thing, East of Eden, Who’ll Stop the Rain, Semi-Tough, Picket Fences, Hot L Baltimore, One Day at a Time

1952 - John Van Boxmeer
hockey: Nova-Scotia Voyageurs, Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Rockies, Buffalo Sabres, Fredericton Express, Quebec Nordiques, Rochester Americans

1956 - Bo Derek (Mary Cathleen Collins)
actress: 10, Bolero, A Change of Season, Tarzan, the Ape Man, Ghosts Can’t Do It, Shattered Image; married to producer/director John Derek

1956 - Mark (Marcus) Gastineau
football: NY Jets defensive end: AFC Defensive Player of the Year [1984]

1957 - Jimmy Brown
musician: drums: group: UB40: King, Food for Thought, My Way of Thinking, I Think It’s Going to Rain, Dream a Lie, The Earth Dies Screaming, If It Happens Again, Red Red Wine, Don’t Break My Heart, Sing Our Own Song, Amandla Awethu [The Power is Ours]

1959 - Sean Young
actress: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Fatal Instinct, Cousins, Blade Runner, No Way Out

1963 - Ming-Na
actrees: The Joy Luck Club, ER, The Single Guy, One Night Stand, Mulan, Teddy Bears’ Picnic

1965 - Mike D (Diamond)
rap singer: group: The Beastie Boys: No Sleep Till Brooklyn, She’s On It, [You Gotta] Fight for Your Right [To Party]

Chart Toppers
November 20
1951Sin (It’s No) - Eddy Howard
Because of You - Tony Bennett
Down Yonder - Del Wood
Slow Poke - Pee Wee King

1959Mr. Blue - The Fleetwoods
Don’t You Know - Della Reese
Heartaches by the Number - Guy Mitchell
Country Girl - Faron Young

1967To Sir with Love - Lulu
Soul Man - Sam & Dave
Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock
It’s the Little Things - Sonny James

1975Island Girl - Elton John
Who Loves You - Four Seasons
That’s the Way (I like It) - KC & The Sunshine Band
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way - Waylon Jennings

1983All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie
Say Say Say - Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
Uptown Girl - Billy Joel
One of a Kind Pair of Fools - Barbara Mandrell

1991Cream - Prince & The N.P.G.
Can’t Stop This Thing We Started - Bryan Adams
When a Man Loves a Woman - Michael Bolton
Shameless - Garth Brooks

Chart Topper November 20th, 1967...Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock