Tuesday, July 10, 2012

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:

• Jessica Simpson (pop singer/fashion designer, former wife of Nick Lachey) (32)
• Adrian Grenier (actor, "Vincent Chase" on Entourage) (36)
• Jerry Miller (singer-guitarist, Moby Grape) (69)
• Elijah Blue Allman (Cher and Gregg Allman's son, and the lead singer of the band Deadsy) (36)
• Ron Glass (actor, played Detective Ron Harris on TV's Barney Miller) (67)
• Jake LaMotta (boxing champ, portrayed by Robert De Niro in Raging Bull) (91)
• Neil Tennant (singer, Pet Shop Boys) (58)
• Cindy Sheehan (antiwar activist) (55)
• Arlo Guthrie (folksinger, "Alice's Restaurant," "City ofNew Orleans," son of Woody Guthrie) (65)
• Greg Kihn (singer-guitarist, "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)," "Jeopardy") (63)
• Sofia Vergara (actress, Gloria on Modern Family) (40)
• Thomas Ian Nicholas (actor, American Pie movies, Rookie of the Year) (32)
• Peter DiStefano (guitar, Porno For Pyros) (47)

ON THIS DAY:

• 988 The city ofDublin,Ireland is founded.
• 1778,France entered the Revolutionary War on the side of the American colonials, declaring war againstEngland.
• 1790, the House Of Representatives voted to locate the planned national capital -- the future Washington, D.C. -- on a 10-square-mile site along the Potomac River.
• 1890,Wyoming was admitted to theUnion as the 44th state, the first state with female suffrage.
• 1914 Superman co-creator Joe Shuster is born. He dies in 1992.
• 1914, the Boston Red Sox purchased Babe Ruth from the Baltimore Orioles.
• 1925, the official news agency of the formerSoviet Union, TASS, was established.
• 1926 Actor Fred Gwynne (The Munsters, Pet Sematary, My Cousin Vinny) is born. He dies in 1993.
• 1940, the 114-day Battle Of Britain began during World War II as Nazi forces began attacking southern England by air. By late October,Britain managed to repel the Luftwaffe, which suffered heavy losses.
• 1942 Ronnie James Dio (singer, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio is born. He dies of stomach cancer in May 2010.
• 1943, Hall of Fame tennis player Arthur Ashe, the first black man to win a major tournament, was born. He died Feb. 6, 1993 at 49, after contracting the AIDS virus from a blood transfusion during open heart surgery.
• 1965, Beatles VI by the Beatles hits Number One on the album chart, where it stays for six weeks.
• 1965, the Rolling Stones got their first Number One hit with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."
• 1968, Eric Clapton announces that Cream will break up after a final tour.
• 1969 Jimi Hendrix, accompanied by bassist Billy Cox and percussionists Jerry Velez and Juma Sultan, performs "Lover Man" on The Tonight Show.
• 1971, Aqualung by Jethro Tull peaks at Number Seven on the album chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1976, Rock 'N' Roll Music by the Beatles peaks at Number Two on the album chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1979 Kiss's Dynasty is certified triple platinum.
• 1982, Still Life (American Concert 1981) by the Rolling Stones peaks at Number Five on the album chart, where it stays for four weeks.
• 1982, Toto IV by Toto peaks at Number Four on the album chart, where it stays for four weeks.
• 1984, At the age of 19, Dwight "Doc" Gooden of the New York Mets becomes the youngest player to appear in an All-Star Game as a pitcher. He leads the National League to a 3-1 win atCandlestickPark inSan Francisco.
• 1985, after a lukewarm reception for the “New Coke” and pressured by its customers, the Coca-Cola Company announces that they will resume selling its original old formula Coke, but announced they would continue to sell New Coke and call the original product “Classic Coke”.
• 1989 Actor-cartoon voice legend Mel Blanc -- the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Sylvester The Cat, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, and Pepe Le Pew, among others -- dies at age 81.
• 1991 The owners and promoters of a suburban St. Louis amphitheater sue Guns N' Roses, claiming that actions by the band led to a July 2nd riot that injured 75 people. The band says that poor security was to blame.
• 1991, Boris N. Yeltsin took the oath of office as the first elected president of the Russian republic.
• 1992, a federal judge in Miami sentenced former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, convicted of drug and racketeering charges, to 40 years in prison.
• 1993 Pearl Jam supports Neil Young at a concert at a 200-year-old castle inDublin,Ireland. The crowd breaks through the crash barriers and dozens of semi-conscious fans have to be ferried to the first-aid tent.
• 1995 NME reports that a Seattle organization called "Friends Understanding Kurt" claims that the deaths of Kurt Cobain and former Hole bassist Kristen Pfaff are linked to something called a "dream machine," a trance inducing device invented by William Burroughs collaborator Brion Gysin. Say what?
• 1995 The Offspring's Smash album is certified quintuple platinum.
• 1995, in a letter, Pope John Paul II apologized to the world's women for the Catholic Church's role in blocking their advancement, denounced sexual violence and job discrimination, and, in a reversal, praised the women's liberation movement.
• 1999, the U.S. women's soccer team won the World Cup, beating China 5-4 on penalty kicks after 120 minutes of scoreless play at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
• 2002 Eddie Van Halen and wife Valerie Bertinelli confirm that they are divorcing after 21 years of marriage.
• 2002, A private funeral service for Who bassist John Entwistle is held in England. Bandmates Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey attend, as well as onetime Who drummer Kenney Jones.
• 2004 OzzFest kicks off in Hartford, Connecticut. Judas Priest and Black Sabbath co-headline the tour.
• 2007 The Smashing Pumpkins release Zeitgeist, the first new album under the Pumpkins banner since frontman Billy Corgan disbanded the group in late 2000.