1895 - The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, is published

1919 - Dominion Stores grocery chain incorporated

1920 - The American Pro Football Association, later the NFL, plays its first games

1927 - The Prime Ministers of Canada and Britain opened the Trans-Atlantic telephone service

1929 - Kingdom of Serbs, Croats & Slovenes changes name to Yugoslavia

1929 - The Church of Scotland merged with the United Free Church of Scotland, retaining the name Church of Scotland

1932 - Iraq becomes independent after 17 years of British rule and centuries of Ottoman rule

1941 - The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart as hard-boiled detective Sam Spade, opens

1948 - NFL becomes the first sport televised as sport of the week

1954 - "Father Knows Best" premieres on TV

1955 - "Captain Kangaroo" premieres on TV

1955 - "Mickey Mouse Club" premieres on TV

1961 - "Dick Van Dyke Show" premieres on CBS-TV

1961 - "Mr Ed" premieres on TV

1971 - Billie Jean King became the first female athlete to win $100,000

1974 - Frank Robinson becomes baseball's first black manager (Cleve Indians)

1986 - Ground-breaking ceremonies held for SkyDome, Toronto's 56,000 seat stadium

1987 - Negotiators sign the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement, to take effect Jan. 1, 1989

1990 - East Germany & West Germany re-unite after 45 years to become Germany

1995 - O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the 1994 murders of his estranged wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman

1998 - Jimmy Fallon joins the cast of Saturday Night Live

Birthdays

1882 - Alexander Young 'A. Y.' Jackson, Montreal �?painter: member of the Group of Seven artists
1900 �?Thomas Wolfe, Asheville NC �?author: Look Homeward, Angel, You Can't Go Home Again
1925 - Gore Vidal - writer/playwright: Myra Breckinridge, Lincoln
1928 - Erik Bruhn, Copenhagen Denmark �?dancer: National Ballet of Canada
1931 - Glenn Hall - NHL goaltender: Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks
1938 - Eddie Cochran, Oklahoma City �?singer: C'Mon Everybody
1939 - James Darren, Philadelphia - actor/singer: Gidget, Diamond Head
1940 - Jean Ratelle - NHL player: NY Rangers, Boston Bruins
1941 - Chubby Checker, Spring Gulley SC �?singer: The Twist
1945 - Antonio Martinez, Madrid Spain - guitarist: Los Bravos "Black Is Black"
1947 - Lindsey Buckingham �?singer: Fleetwood Mac
1950 - Pamela Hensley, Glendale California �?actress: Buck Rogers in 25th Century
1951 - Dave Winfield - baseball player: NY Yankees
1954 �?Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dallas, Texas - musician
1956 - Hart Bochner �?actor: Supergirl, Die Hard
1959 - Jack Wagner - singer/actor: General Hospital, Santa Barbara
1962 - Tommy Lee, Greece �?musician: Motley Crue
1963 - Patrick Flatley, Ontario �?NHL player: NY Islanders
1973 �?Neve Campbell, Guelph, Ontario �?actress: Scream

 

 

 

Heart Failure

 

An archaeologist was digging in the Negev Desert in Israel and came upon a casket containing a mummy, a rather rare occurrence in Israel, to say the least.
 
After examining it, he called the curator of the Israel museum in Jerusalem.
 
"I've just discovered a 3,000 year old mummy of a man who died of heart failure!" the excited scientist exclaimed.
 
To which the curator replied, "Bring him in. We'll check it out."
 
A week later, the amazed curator called the archaeologist. "You were right about both the mummy's age and cause of death. How in the world did you know?"
 
"Easy. There was a piece of paper in his hand that said, '10,000 Shekels on Goliath'."