Named In Honor of Black Child They Refused to Serve

January 29, 2011

The Ronald McNair Life History Center opens.
In the summer of 1959, 8-year-old African-American Ronald McNair visited the segregated Lake City, South Carolina public library, but they only served white patrons and wouldn't allow him to check out any books. When he refused to leave, the police and his mother were called. The library begrudgingly relented when the officer asked, "Why don't you just give him the books?" McNair went on to earn a Ph.D. degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and became a NASA astronaut. Unfortunately, he was killed on his second mission in the 1986 Challenger Disaster.
That library has since been turned into a museum named the "Ronald McNair Life History Center" in his honor. The museum tells the story of Dr. McNair from his childhood battling discrimination in the South to his death.

Axis of Evil

January 29, 2002

U.S. President George W. Bush first uses the term "Axis of Evil" during a State of the Union address to describe North Korea, Iran, and Iraq.

Gays in the Military

January 29, 1992

U.S. President Bill Clinton partially lifts the ban on gays in the military, stating he will eventually lift the ban altogether.

Patty Hearst

January 29, 1979

Patty Hearst is given clemency by U.S. President Jimmy Carter after serving 22 months of a seven-year prison sentence for bank robbery. She was released three days later. President Bill Clinton gave her a full pardon in 2001.
In 1974, she was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). They demanded the Hearst family deliver $70 worth of food to every needy person in California. The estimated cost of such an operation would have been about $400,000,000. Patty Hearst's father tried to donate $2,000,000 worth of food to the Bay Area, but the distribution turned into chaos and the SLA refused to release Patty.
She later participated in a bank robbery with the SLA for which she was convicted. She claimed she was raped and tortured to coerce her into participating in their crimes, claiming she was a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, in which a hostage bonds with their captors.

Baseball Hall of Fame

January 29, 1936

Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson are selected as the first inductees.

First U.S. Guide Dog School

January 29, 1929

Morris Frank, himself blind, founds The Seeing Eye in Nashville, Tennessee. Frank had brought the first U.S. seeing-eye dog, Buddy, into the U.S. from Switzerland.

Kansas

January 29, 1861

Kansas becomes the 34th state. Kansas is Sioux for "south wind people."

Ann Jillian

Born January 29, 1950

American singer, dancer, actress. TV: It's A Living (1980-82, 85, Cassie) and The Ann Jillian Story (1988, which chronicled her real-life battle with breast cancer).

Tom Selleck

Born January 29, 1945

American actor. TV: Magnum P.I. (1980-88, Thomas Magnum), Jesse Stone TV movies (2005-, Jesse Stone), and Blue Bloods (2010-, Commissioner Reagan). He appeared twice on The Dating Game, but was never chosen.

Katherine Ross

Born January 29, 1940

American actress. Film: The Graduate (1967, Elaine Robinson) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969, Etta Place). TV: The Colbys (Francesca).

Dorothy Malone (Dorothy Maloney)

Born January 29, 1924 d. 2018

American Oscar-winning actress. Film: Written on the Wind (1956, Oscar). TV: Peyton Place (1964-68, Constance Mackenzie Carson).

Paddy Chayefsky (Sidney Chayefsky)

Born January 29, 1923 d. 1981

American Oscar-winning screenwriter. Film: Paint Your Wagon (1969), Network (1976, Oscar), and Altered States (1979).

John Forsythe (John Freund)

Born January 29, 1918 d. 2010

American actor. TV: Charlie's Angels (1976-81, voice of Charlie) and Dynasty (1981-89, Blake Carrington).

Victor Mature

Born January 29, 1913 d. 1999

American actor, starring in many Biblical epics. He was billed as "A beautiful hunk of man." Film: One Million B.C. (1940, Tumak the caveman), Samson and Delilah (1949, Samson) and After the Fox. Quote: "Actually, I am a golfer. That is my real occupation. I never was an actor; ask anybody, particularly the critics." (1966).

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Born January 29, 1860 d. 1904

Russian author, The Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904).

John Graham, Jr.

Died January 29, 1991 b. 1908

American architect. In the late 1940s, he designed what became the modern shopping center. He also designed the Space Needle for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair and the first revolving restaurant (Honolulu, Hawaii).

Jimmy Durante

Died January 29, 1980 b. 1893

American comedian. Known for his Schnozzola (from the Yiddish slang "Schnoz" for big nose), which became his nickname. His trademark lines include "Ink-a-Dink-a-Doo" and "Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."

Freddie Prinze (Frederick Karl Pruetzel)

Died January 29, 1977 b. 1954

American actor. Freddie Prinze is best known for his role as Chico in TV's Chico and the Man (1974-78), with his catch phrase, "Looking good!" Early in his career, he roomed with Jay Leno who taught him how to drive.
Prinze suffered from depression and was going through a divorce when he called family and friends to tell them he was going to commit suicide. His business manager came over to help the distraught Prinze, but while he was there Prinze put a gun to his head and shot himself. He was rushed to the hospital, but died the following day. A presumed suicide note was found, stating "I can't go on". His death was initially ruled a suicide. However, in 1983 his mother filed a civil suit and the jury ruled that his death was medication induced and accidental, enabling the family to receive a significant life insurance settlement.
He had 10-month-old son and just months before his death, Prinze had signed a five-year deal with NBC worth $6 million.

Invented Safety Glass

Édouard Bénédictus

Died January 29, 1930 b. 1878

French artist, inventor. In 1903, Édouard Bénédictus accidentally knocked over a glass beaker. He was surprised to see that instead of shattering into many pieces, it cracked but held its form keeping the pieces together. He deduced that this was due to the plastic cellulose nitrate that the beaker had contained. After some experimentation he created laminated glass in which a layer of celluloid was sandwiched between two layers of glass. He patented his invention in 1909 after hearing about a car crash where two women were severely injured by glass debris from the windshield.
Bénédictus was also renowned for his art deco designs.

Popularized Limericks

Edward Lear

Died January 29, 1888 b. 1812

English artist, author. Writings: Book of Nonsense (1846), which was responsible for popularizing limericks.
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, "It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!"

Howard Hesseman

Died January 29, 2022 b. 1940

American actor. TV: WKRP in Cincinnati (1978-82, Dr. Johnny Fever), One Day at a Time (1982-84, Ann Romano's second husband Sam), and Head of the Class (1986-90, Mr. Moore). Film: Billy Jack (1971, Howard Johnson) and This Is Spinal Tap (1984, Terry Ladd).
Hesseman worked as a real DJ in the 1960s under the name Don Sturdy at KMPX in San Francisco. KMPX is best known as the birthplace of the freeform progressive rock format ("Underground radio").

Manuel Padilla, Jr.

Died January 29, 2008 b. 1955

American actor. TV: Tarzan (1966-68, Jai) and The Flying Nun (1967, Marcello). Film: American Graffiti (1973, Carlos).

Harold Russell

Died January 29, 2002 b. 1914

Canadian-born American Oscar-winning actor. He was the first visibly handicapped person to appear in a major motion picture, having lost both hands in World War II. He won an Oscar for The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) which he sold in 1992, making him the first person to publicly sell their own Oscar. He needed the money for his wife's medical expenses.

Alan Ladd

Died January 29, 1964 b. 1913

American actor. Film: This Gun for Hire (1942), The Great Gatsby (1949), and Shane (1953).

Robert Frost

Died January 29, 1963 b. 1874

American Pulitzer-winning poet. Writings: A Boy's Will, North of Boston, and The Mending Wall, which contained the phrase "Good fences make good neighbors".

H.L. Mencken (Henry Louis Mencken)

Died January 29, 1956 b. 1880

American newspaperman, critic for the Baltimore Sun. In 1917, he perpetrated The Great Bathtub Hoax which started myths that the bathtub was banned in parts of the U.S. In 1920, he predicted that if the voters got their wish the White House would eventually be occupied by a moron.

Christian IX

Died January 29, 1906 b. 1818

King of Denmark (1863-1906).

George III

Died January 29, 1820 b. 1738

King of Great Britain and Ireland (1760-1820) during the American Revolution. He became insane in 1811 leaving the Prince of Wales (George IV) to run the government.

Gelasius II

Died January 29, 1119 b. circa 1062

religious leader, 161st Pope (1118-19).