1758 - Mustard, that tangy, yellow stuff made for hot dogs and hamburgers, was advertised for the first time in America. Who do you think was responsible for bringing mustard to the U.S.A.? No, not French’s, nor Grey Poupon. It was Benjamin Franklin. We wonder whether Ben preferred the yellow or the dark mustard -- and what he would have thought of the many uses of mustard in haute cuisine.
1799 - Printed ballots were authorized for use in elections in the State of Pennsylvania. Originally these ballots, which are still used in many smaller municipalities across the county, were called ‘vest-pocket tickets’. Why? Because the ballot ticket slid into a heavy-paper pocket which fit nicely in a vest pocket.
1842 - Adhesive postage stamps were used for the first time by the City Dispatch Post (Office) in New York City. They probably tasted just like today’s adhesive lick ’em and stick ’em stamps. Maybe flavored postage stamps will be the next great idea. Remember that you read about it first right here.
1898 - The "USS Maine" exploded on this day in el Puerto De Habana, Cuba. The "Maine" had been sent to Cuba to help ‘calm’ the situation between Cuba and Spain. Although no one knows who and what caused the explosion, the U.S. blamed it on the Spaniards. The explosion, which killed 266 crewmen, marked the beginning of the Spanish-American War.
1932 - George Burns and Gracie Allen debuted as regulars on "The Guy Lombardo Show" on CBS radio. The couple was so popular that soon, they would have their own "Burns & Allen Show". George and Gracie continued on radio for 18 years before making the switch to TV. All in all, they were big hits for three decades.
1941 - Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded one of big band’s all time classics on this day. "Take the "A" Train" was recorded at Victor’s Hollywood studio and became the Duke’s signature song.
1943 - "My True Story" was heard for the first time on ABC radio. The program continued for 17 years and was presented in cooperation with "True Story" magazine.
1946 - Edith Houghton, age 33, was signed as a baseball scout by the Philadelphia Phillies; the first female scout in the major leagues.
1953 - The first American to win the women’s world figure skating championship was 17-year-old Tenley Albright. She won the competition in Davos, Switzerland.
1958 - "Get A Job", by The Silhouettes, reached the top spot on the music Tunedex. It remained at #1 for two weeks. Talk about sudden change in American popular music! One week earlier, the number one song was "Sugartime", by The McGuire Sisters, a song that definitely was not classified as rock ’n’ roll. "Get A Job" was replaced by "Tequila", an instrumental by a studio group known as The Champs.
1962 - CBS-TV bought the exclusive rights to college football games from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for an all-time high dollar figure of $10,200,000.
1965 - Canada displayed its new red and white Maple Leaf flag, which replaced the old Red Ensign standard.
1965 - This was a sad day in music, as singer Nat ‘King’ Cole died in Santa Monica, CA. The music legend was 45. Cole was born in Alabama and raised in Chicago. He first recorded in 1936, then formed the King Cole Trio in 1939 (he was the group’s pianist). He began his phenomenal solo career in 1950. Cole had feature roles in the films "St. Louis Blues" and "Cat Ballou", and made many appearances in Hollywood and on TV. His own network show was abruptly canceled in the mid-1950s when sponsors refused to advertise on a program hosted by a black entertainer. His daughter, Natalie, became a pop music star with many hits in the 1990s -- including an album of standards made popular by her father: "Mona Lisa", "For Sentimental Reasons", "Nature Boy", "Too Young", "Unforgettable", etc. With modern recording technology, she was able to record a duet with her father’s voice. Nat Cole was posthumously awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1990.
1978 - Boxer Leon Spinks defeated Muhammad Ali to win the universally recognized heavyweight boxing crown. Spinks won a split decision over Ali, who had held the title for seven years. The 24-year-old challenger had only seven professional fights to his credit. The title bout was held in the Pavilion at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
1982 - Sugar Ray Leonard, the welterweight boxing champion, knocked out Bruce Finch in the third round of a fight in Reno, NV. Leonard was injured in the second round and underwent retinal surgery in May. He retired -- for the first time -- in November 1982. He returned to the ring in 1984.
1985 - The Centers for Disease Control reported that more than half of all nine-year-olds in the U.S. showed no sign of tooth decay. Fluoride was given credit for these ‘pearly’ figures. Look Ma, no cavities!
1986 - Whitney Houston reached the #1 spot on the music charts. Her single, "How Will I Know", replaced a song recorded by her first cousin, Dionne Warwick ("That’s What Friends are For"). Whitney is the daughter of singer Cissy Houston. This day also saw Sade’s album "Promise" hit #1 in the U.S.
1998 - Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500. Earnhardt won the race on the 50th Anniversary of NASCAR, the 40th Anniversary of the Daytona 500 and his 20th running of the Daytona 500. During a post-race interview he took a stuffed toy monkey and threw it on the ground and said, “Now I have that monkey off my back!”
Remember the Maine.
On this first link to the right under "Today's picks" is a great clip on it.
http://www.history.com/
This is a good read also.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb15.html
LL:angels:
