Archives
May 23
Events
1788 - South Carolina, the colony originally named in honor of Charles I of England, became one of the United States on this day. The eighth state also has the dubious honor of being the first state to secede at the start of the Civil War in 1861. Its capital city is Columbia. The state bird is, appropriately, the Carolina wren. When a state has so many palmetto palms and beautiful jasmine flowers, what do you do? You choose the yellow jessamine (jasmine) as the state flower and call South Carolina the Palmetto State. Equal opportunity for the plants.1827 - The first nursery school in the United States was established in New York City. The school was developed “to relieve parents of the laboring classes from the care of their children ... offering the children protection from weather, from idleness and contamination of evil example.” Yes, it actually meant that mommies and daddies who worked could drop the kiddies off for a truly fun, educational experience with little to fear. Plus, the youngsters got milk and cookies too!
1879 - Iowa State College, located in Ames, IA, established the first veterinary school in the U.S.
1922 - "Abie’s Irish Rose" opened at the the Fulton Theatre in New York City. The play continued for 2,327 performances and numerous revivals as well. It is estimated that some 50,000,000 people have seen the play performed somewhere in the world.
1922 - The first debate to be heard on radio was broadcast on WJH in Washington, DC. The two debaters argued about the topic of Daylight Saving Time with the audience acting as the judge.
1938 - "LIFE" magazine’s cover pictured the actor Errol Flynn as a glamour boy.
1938 - Singer Ray Eberle signed on as vocalist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra for $35 a week. Eberle’s first session with Miller included, "Don’t Wake Up My Heart", for Brunswick Records.
1940 - Frank Sinatra, The Pied Pipers (with Jo Stafford) and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra recorded the sentimental classic, "I’ll Never Smile Again", for Victor Records. The tune remains one of Sinatra’s best-remembered performances.
1941 - Buddy Baer was disqualified at the beginning of the seventh round as Joe Louis defended his heavyweight boxing title for the 17th time. Baer’s manager refused to leave the ring when the round was ready to begin. Poor Buddy Baer...
1944 - Chicago University called it quits to sports when it announced plans to withdraw from the Big 10 Conference of the NCAA and all other athletic competition.
1949 - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin lifted the Berlin Blockade. It had taken 10 months and 18 days of a continuous airlift of goods by the United States to foil Stalin’s attempt at isolating Berlin from the outside world. The U.S. kept more than 2.5 million Berliners in the Western sector of the German city from starvation and freezing ... supplying food, medicine, machinery, clothing and other necessities -- up to 13,000 tons per day. The airlift transormed West Berlin into a symbol of resistance to communism. During the blockade, the U.S. and its allies delivered 2,325,809 tons of supplies, including 23 tons of oranges. Two thirds of the tonage was coal to provide heat during the brutally-cold 1948-49 winter. The round-the-clock airlift, registered 277,804 flights, and a loss of 78 airmen, killed in crashes and other accidents.
1960 - Don and Phil, the Everly Brothers, enjoyed the day as their recording of "Cathy’s Clown" made it to number one on the hit music charts. The song stayed at number one for 5 weeks -- a big hit for the duo.
1962 - The National Basketball Association agreed to plans to transfer the Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, CA. The team became the San Francisco Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors).
1962 - Joe Pepitone of the New York Yankees set a major-league baseball record by hitting two home runs in one inning. The rare feat lifted the Yankees past the Kansas City Athletics by a score of 13-7.
1975 - Singer B.J. Thomas received a gold record for the single with the extremely long title, "(Hey, Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song".
Birthdays - May 23
1734 - Franz Anton Mesmer (physician: used hypnotism and magnetism in treatments; Mesmerism named after him; died March 15, 1815)1810 - Margaret Fuller (journalist: The Dial, The New York Tribune; author: Women in the Nineteenth Century; feminist; killed [w/husband and two-year-old son] in shipwreck [off Long Island NY] July 19, 1850)
1846 - Arabella Mansfield (Belle Aurelia Babb) (first woman admitted to legal profession in U.S.; dean of schools of art and music at DePauw University; helped found Iowa Woman Suffrage Society; died Aug 2, 1911)
1883 - Douglas Fairbanks (Douglas Elton Ulman) (actor: The Americano, He Comes Up Smiling, The Mollycoddle, The Mark of Zorro, The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, The Thief of Bagdad, The Black Pirate, The Gaucho; formed United Artists with D.W. Griffith & Charlie Chaplin; died Dec 12, 1939)
1890 - Herbert Marshall (actor: The Little Foxes, The Painted Veil, The Razor’s Edge, The Underworld Story, The Virgin Queen; radio serial: A Man Called X; died Jan 22, 1966)
1910 - Scatman (Benjamin Sherman) Crothers (entertainer, actor: Petrocelli, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Charlie’s Angels, Hill Street Blues, The Sins of Rachel Cade, Hello, Dolly!, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Silver Streak, Bronco Billy, Twilight Zone: The Movie; died Nov 22, 1986)
1910 - Artie Shaw (Arthur Arschawsky) (musician: clarinet: bandleader: Begin The Beguine, Indian Love Call, Frenesi, Summit Ridge Drive, My Little Nest of Heavenly Blue, Back Bay Shuffle, Traffic Jam, Nightmare, The Blues, They Say, Thanks for Ev’rything, Stardust, Dancing in the Dark, Concerto for Clarinet, I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles, Any Old Time; died Dec 30, 2004)
1912 - John Payne (actor: Miracle on 34th Street, The Razor’s Edge, Springtime in the Rockies, Tin Pan Alley, To the Shores of Tripoli; died Dec 6, 1989)
1919 - Betty Garrett (actress: All in the Family, LaVerne & Shirley, My Sister Eileen, On the Town, Take Me Out to the Ball Game)
1920 - Helen O’Connell (singer: Green Eyes, Amapola, Tangerine; married to bandleader, Frank DeVol; died Sep 9, 1993)
1928 - Jeannie Carson (Jean Shufflebottom) (comedienne: Red Buttons Show; actress: Hey, Jeannie! [1956 TV Series: as Jeannie MacLennan], Rockets Galore!, Little Women [1958 TV], Search for Tomorrow [1951 TV soap: as Marcy Vincente])
1928 - Rosemary Clooney (singer: Hey There, Come on-a My House, This Ole House, Bye Bye Blackbird; actress: White Christmas, Deep in My Heart, Red Garters, Mangos, The Rosemary Clooney Show; aunt of actor George Clooney; sister of Nick Clooney, TV news anchor; died June 29, 2002)
1928 - Nigel Davenport (actor: A Man for All Seasons, Chariots of Fire, Nighthawks, Picture of Dorian Gray)
1929 - Julian Euell (jazz/studio musician: bass)
1931 - Barbara Barrie (Berman) (actress: Barney Miller, Backstairs at the Whitehouse, Private Benjamin, Two of a Kind)
1933 - Joan Collins (actress: Dynasty, The Stud; appeared in Playboy at age 50; sister of writer, Jackie Collins)
1934 - Dr. Robert Moog (electronics inventor: Moog synthesizer; died Aug 21, 2005)
1943 - Lee (Andrew) May (baseball: Cincinnati Reds [all-star: 1969, 1971/World Series: 1970], Houston Astros [all-star:1972], Baltimore Orioles [World Series: 1979], KC Royals)
1943 - John Newcombe (tennis champion: Australian Open [1973, 1975], Wimbledon [1967, 1970, 1971], U.S. Open [1967, 1973])
1944 - Bob Leduc (hockey: WHA: Ottawa Nationals, Toronto Toros)
1945 - Lauren Chapin (actress: Father Knows Best)
1946 - David Graham (Australia’s golf champion: U.S. Open [1981], PGA [1979])
1948 - Reggie (Reginald Leslie) Cleveland (baseball: pitcher: St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox [World Series: 1975], Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers)
1951 - Anatoly Karpov (world chess champion: International Grandmaster)
1952 - Butch (Clarence Edward) Metzger (baseball: pitcher: SF Giants [NL Rookie of the Year (w/Pat Zachry): 1976], SD Padres, SL Cardinals, NY Mets)
1954 - Marvelous Marvin Hagler (International Boxing Hall of Famer: middleweight champion [1980-1987]; bouts: 67, won 62, lost 3, drew 2, KOs: 52; changed his legal name to Marvelous Marvin Hagler)
1958 - Drew Carey (comedian, actor, producer, writer: The Drew Carey Show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?)
Chart Toppers - May 23
1951
Mockingbird Hill -Patti Page
On Top of Old Smokey - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
Too Young - Nat King Cole
Kentucky Waltz - Eddy Arnold
1959
The Happy Organ - Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez
A Teenager in Love - Dion & The Belmonts
Dream Lover - Bobby Darin
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton
1967
Groovin’ - The Young Rascals
Respect - Aretha Franklin
I Got Rhythm - The Happenings
Sam’s Place - Buck Owens
1975
Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire
Before the Next Teardrop Falls - Freddy Fender
Jackie Blue - Ozark Mountain Daredevils
I’m Not Lisa - Jessi Colter
1983
Let’s Dance - David Bowie
Flashdance...What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Little Red Corvette - Prince
Common Man - John Conlee
1991
I Like the Way (The Kissing Game) - Hi-Five
Touch Me (All Night Long) - Cathy Dennis
Here We Go - C + C Music Factory Presents Freedom Williams and Zelma Davis
If I Know Me - George Strait
