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It was on this date in 1777 that the Stars and Stripes was adopted as the official flag of the United States of America.
The first Flag Day observance was not held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes on June 14, 1877, as some sites might tell you, but read on my friend, this seems to the real story:
In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, a man named George Morris persuaded his city of Hartford, Conn., to undertake a patriotic celebration on behalf of the Union. But the concept didn't catch on, there or elsewhere.
Two decades later, in 1885, a 19-year-old Waubeka schoolteacher named Bernard Cigrand plunked a small flag into an inkwell on his desk and assigned his students to write essays on patriotism. Later he traveled the country to promote respect for the flag, becoming president of the American Flag Day Association.
So now you know. (You may now be seated and put your hat back on.)
June 14, 1939 -
Ethel Waters became the first African-American singer to perform on television on this date when she appeared in an NBC variety show. (Unfortunately, other than publicity stills, the program was not recorded and videotapes of it do not exist.)
June 14, 1949 -
This truly dark comedy, Kind Hearts and Coronets, starring the ever present Alec Guinness, was released on this date.
The scene where six members of the D'Ascoyne's family, all played by Alec Guinness, are seen together, took two days to film. The camera was set on a specially built platform to minimize movement. In addition, the camera operator spent the night with the camera to ensure that nothing moved it by accident. A frame with six black matte painted optical flat glass windows was set in front of the camera, and the windows opened one at a time so each of the characters could be filmed in turn. The film was then wound back for the next character. Most of the time was spent waiting for Guinness to be made up as the next character.
June 14, 1959 –
Disneyland's Monorail System, the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere, had it's grand opening in Anaheim, California, on this date.
The Nixon's enjoyed their ride but the ride had to be taken off-line while it took them several hours to hose out the cars to get rid of the stench of his sweat.
June 14, 1967 -
One of the iconic films from the 60s, the British drama To Sir, with Love, starring Sidney Poitier premiered in the US on this date.
Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by E.R. Braithwaite and his experiences teaching in a tough secondary school in a poor area of post-war East London the film's portrayal of Braithwaite's character may not have been entirely accurate. After the film was released, several former pupils of Braithwaite's claimed that, the real Braithwaite was a stern and tough disciplinarian who often used corporal punishment in class and was far from the sympathetic and likeable character as played by Sidney Poitier.
June 14, 1970 –
The Grateful Dead released their fourth studio album, Workingman's Dead, on this date. In 2003, the album was ranked number 262 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
This was one of the Dead's first attempts to reach beyond their little cult and take a shot at the mainstream. According to Dennis McNally, the band's biographer and publicist, a Warner Bros. executive was so ecstatic when he heard Uncle John's Band, which he considered a marketable song from the band, it sent him running down the hallways with the news. "He was expecting more of Anthem Of The Sun stuff, and he ran down the corridors of Warner Bros., screaming, 'The Grateful Dead have written a song we can put on the radio!' And he was very happy."
June 14, 1975 –
The band America's single, (from their fifth album Hearts,) Sister Golden Hair went to No.1 on the Billboard singles chart, on this date. It was the group’s second No.1
George Martin, who was The Beatles producer, produced this track and the rest of the Hearts album (he started working with America on their previous album, Holiday). It was Martin's 20th US #1 as a producer, and his first away from The Beatles (by this point, each former Beatle had reached #1 outside of the group). Martin would have three chart-toppers: Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say and Candle In The Wind '97.
June 14, 1976 -
The Gong Show debuted on NBC on this date. People with dubious talents perform their acts before a celebrity panel of judges, who are free to eject the performer at any time by banging a large gong. The best non-gonged performer each night wins $516.32.
During the time the show is on the air, it's creator, Chuck Barris, suffered a complete mental breakdown, he said from the stress of being a secret CIA hit man.
No really, I'm not kidding you.
June 14, 1985 -
One of John Houston's last films, the black comedy Prizzi's Honor, opened on this date.
John Huston is the only director to direct two members of his own family to win Academy Awards. The first was his father Walter Huston in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, who won Best Actor in a Supporting Role, then his daughter Anjelica Huston won Best Actress in Supporting Role for this movie.
June 14, 1985 -
Michael Nesmith in Television Parts, a 30-minute comedy-variety show summer replacement series (a sequel of sort to his Grammy Award-winning video Elephant Parts) premiered on NBC-TV on this date. It was hosted by Nez himself, who participated in many of the sketches. Television Parts also featured guest appearances by a variety of comedians, including Martin Mull, Whoopi Goldberg, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Martin, and Garry Shandling, whose appearance laid the foundation for It's Garry Shandling's Show.
Unfortunately, the series was canceled after just five episodes. The last airing ran for 90 minutes and was broadcasted in the Saturday Night Live time slot.
June 14, 1997 -
Puff Daddy and Faith Evans started a 11 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with I'll Be Missing You, a tribute to the late Notorious B.I.G., on this date.
The song samples Every Breath You Take by The Police, which was one of Diddy's favorite songs. He didn't sort out the legal issues until after the song was released. Sting, who wrote the Police song, was granted a writers credit, resulting in substantial royalties. Sting appreciated the sentiment in Diddy using Every Breath You Take to honor his fallen friend. The Police frontman even performed the song with Diddy and his crew at the MTV Video Music Awards, where he sang the chorus.
Another unimportant moment in history
Today in History:
June 14, 1648 -
Midwife Margaret Jones was hanged in Boston for witchcraft on this date.
June 14, 1940 -
Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund had a quick drink as they planned to leave Paris, with their friend Sam, ahead of the Nazi invasion. Little does Rick know that Ilsa does not plan to join him (but that's another story ....)
Paris fell to the Nazis on this date. Marshal Philippe Petain became the head of the French government and sued for peace. Gertrude Stein translated Petain's speeches and hailed him as a hero of the French nation.
June 14, 1946 -
A little more moderation would be good. Of course, my life hasn't exactly been one of moderation.
Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States was born on this date. That's all I'm going to say.
June 14, 1949 -
Albert II was launched into the Space inside a V-2 rocket. Everything went as planned in beginning his rocket reached a height of 134 km and Albert II became the first mammal to reach space.
After spending a few minutes in Space his capsule returned back to the Earth. While re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere his capsule's parachute system did not work and he died upon impact. The take away for today - do not travel with anyone, man or primate, named Albert into space.
June 14, 1951 -
UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer), developed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, makers of ENIAC, was presented to the general public, on this date. Designed for the U.S. Census Bureau, it was billed as the world's first commercial computer.
UNIVAC I, as the first successful civilian computer, was a key part of the dawn of the computer age. Despite early delays, the UNIVAC program at the Census Bureau was a great success. The Bureau purchased a second UNIVAC I machine in the mid-1950's, and two UNIVAC 1105 computers for the 1960 census.
June 14, 1954 -
At the Lincoln Memorial, President Dwight Eisenhower signs a law inserting the words "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance. Eisenhower declares: "From this day forward, the millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty." Precisely which Almighty is left to the listener's imagination.
June 14, 1961 -
Sometimes you surprise yourself with what you can handle, and if you come out the other end with some wisdom, then it's not such a bad thing.
1980s pop music star George Alan O'Dowd was born in Kent, England on this date.
June 14, 1962 -
Albert Henry DeSalvo, a small time petty criminal confessed that he murdered Anna Slesersby, a petite divorcee, by strangling her with the belt from her robe on this date. She was only the first victim of The Boston Strangler.
June 14, 1963 -
The Soviet spacecraft Vostok 5 was launched into orbit on this date. Over the course of the next five days, Cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky would set a new record for the longest manned space flight in history.
The record would later be broken by the crew of Gemini 7, but Bykovsky will continue to hold the endurance record for a solo flight.
June 14, 1966 -
The Vatican announced the abolition of its Index librorum prohibitorum (Index of Prohibited Books), originally instituted in 1557 by Pope Paul IV. Notable novelists on the list have been Laurence Sterne, Voltaire, Daniel Defoe, Honor de Balzac, Jean-Paul Sartre.
June 14, 1989 -
Zsa Zsa Gabor was arrested for slapping a Beverly Hills police officer and driving with an expired license. Afterwards Zsa Zsa complains to the press that the handling she received from the BHPD "was like Nazi Germany."
And on a personal note:
One more thing -
And so it goes.
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