February 13 – Today In History

We take a look at some of the events that occurred on February 13th.

Today In …

1635 - The oldest public school in the U.S., the Boston Latin School, open today in Massachusetts.

1935 - Bruno Hauptmann was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering the son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. Hauptmann would later be executed.

1996 - “Rent” first opened on Broadway.

1997 - The Dow Jones, on the New York Stock Exchange, closed over the 7,000 for the first time.

Sharing A Birthday Today…

Stockard Channing, the award winning actress who starred in “Grease”, “The First Wives Club” and TV’s “The West Wing” was born in 1944.

Tennessee Ernie Ford, the musician and entertainer who sang “Sixteen Tons” was born in 1919.

Peter Gabriel the singer behind such songs as “Sledgehammer” and “Shock the Monkey” was born in 1950.

Kelly Hu who has starred in “The Scorpion King” and “X2: X-Men United” was born in 1968.

Randy Moss, one of the NFL’s top wide receivers, was bornin 1977.

David Naughton the actor who appeared in “An American Werewolf in London” was born in 1951.

Kim Novak, the actress who starred in the Hitchcock thriller “Vertigo” was born in 1933.

Oliver Reed the actor who starred in “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” and “Gladiator” was born in 1938.

Henry Rollins singer of Black Flag and the Rollins Band who has also starred in “Feast” and “Bad Boys II”, was born in 1961.

George Segal who appeared in “Ship of Fools” and on TV’s “Just Shoot Me” was born in 1934.

William Shockley, one of the inventors of the transistor and Nobel Prize winner in Physics, was born in 1910.

Jerry Springer, daytime TV talk show host and former “Dancing with the Stars” alumni was born in 1944.

Mena Suvari the star of such films as “American Beauty” and “American Pie” was born in 1979.

Peter Tork, the renowned musician who is best known for The Monkees was born in 1942. With the band, he wrote the song “For Pete’s Sake” and sang lead on several songs including “Shades of Grey”.

Bess Truman former First Lady and wife of the 33rd U.S. President, Harry S. Truman, was born in 1885.

Angelica Van Buren, cousin of Dolly Madison, married Abraham Van Buren, son of Martin Van Buren, the 8th President of the United States. Since Martin Van Buren’s wife had passed away years earlier, Angelica stepped into the role of First Lady during his tenure at the White House. She was born in 1818.

Almanzo James Wilder, who was married to famed author Laura Ingalls Wilder, was born in 1857.

Robbie Williams, former member of Take That and solo artist with such hits as “Angels”, was born in 1974.

Chuck Yeager the first pilot to travel faster than the speed of sound, was born in 1923.

We Said Goodbye To…

Katharine Howard, the fifth wife of England’s Henry VIII, was executed in 1542. Different reports give her age between 17 and 22.

David Jansssen star of such shows as “The Fugitive” and “Harry O” passed away in 1980 at the age of 48.

Waylon Jennings the musical icon who sang such hits as “Good Hearted Woman” and the theme to “The Dukes of Hazzard” passed away in 2002 at the age of 64. He also found success in his duets with Willie Nelson and as part of the Highwaymen with Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash.

Cotton Mather, Puritan theologian, passed away in 1728 at the age of 65.

Richard Wagner, German composer and writer of “Tristan and Isolde” passed away in 1883 at the age of 69.

Top Of The Charts On This Day In…

1971 - “One Bad Apple” by the Osmonds
1988 - On The Country Charts – “Tennessee Flat Top Box” by Roseanne Cash
1999 - “Angel of Mine” by Monica

Musical Moments In…

1914 - The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers or ASCAP was established in New York City to protect artists against copyright infringement.

In Print In…

1937 - The comic strip “Prince Valiant” was first published.

2000 - Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and the gang all said good-bye. The last original comic strip of “Peanuts” was published in newspapers today. Ironically, the creator of “Peanuts” had passed away a day earlier.