What Happened On
Where's the Beef?
January 10, 1984
The Wendy's hamburger chain first airs its famous commercial starring 81-year-old Clara Peller. Wendy's sales jumped 31% during the ad campaign. Peller was paid actor-scale wages of $317.40 per day for the first commercial. It is reported that she was paid about $500,000 for the series of commercials that followed.
Peller became an overnight sensation and went on to appear on TV talk shows, Saturday Night Live, and even served as a guest time-keeper for the Battle Royale at WrestleMania 2.
After she did a commercial for Prego spaghetti sauce in which she wondered, "Where's the beef?" and exclaimed, "I found it! I really found it", Wendy's terminated her contract stating, she was only allowed to find the beef at Wendy's.
Metropolis
January 10, 1927
Fritz Lang's futuristic sci-fi silent film classic Metropolis premieres. It was initially met with mixed reviews, but highly acclaimed for its elaborate sets and special effects. It is now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made.
Workmen decommissioning a heavy gun, to comply with the treaty
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv, Bild
Workmen decommissioning a heavy gun, to comply with the treatyPhoto Credit: Bundesarchiv, Bild
World War I Ends
January 10, 1920
Treaty of Versailles takes effect. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Forces. It required Germany to accept sole responsibility for starting the war. Many historians believe the harsh terms of this treaty led to World War II. Although the U.S. was among the signatories of the treaty, the U.S. Senate refused to consent to ratification of the treaty, due in large measure to its objections to U.S. participation in the League of Nations. A separate peace treaty between the U.S. and Germany was negotiated in 1921.
Common Sense
January 10, 1776
Thomas Paine's pamphlet urging independence for the colonies is published. It was an immediate sensation, selling 120,000 copies in its first three months. Per population at the time, it is still the best-selling American title of all time.
"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right… Time makes more converts than reason."
― Thomas Paine, Common Sense
Kerrigan-Harding
January 10, 1994
According to her court testimony, Tonya Harding finds out about her bodyguard's and ex-husband's involvement in the attack on fellow Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.
World War I
January 10, 1923
The last American troops are withdrawn from Germany.
First Single-Lens Motion Picture Camera
January 10, 1888
American inventor Louis LePrince patents his device, taking his first pictures the following October.
Civil War - Florida Secedes
January 10, 1861
Florida becomes the 3rd state to secede from the Union.
U.S. Department of State
January 10, 1781
U.S. Department of State is established.
Birthdays
Rod Stewart
Born January 10, 1945
British Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer, songwriter. He has sold over 120 million records. Music: Every Picture Tells a Story (1971, the first album to be simultaneously #1 in Britain and the U.S.), Maggie May (1971), and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? (1978, #1).
Jim Croce
Born January 10, 1943 d. 1973
American folk and rock singer. Music: You Don't Mess Around With Jim (1972), Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (1973, #1), and Time In A Bottle (1973, #1).
Croce and all five others aboard their aircraft died when they crashed into a tree during takeoff from the airport in Natchitoches, Louisiana. It was the only tree in the area and the crash was blamed on pilot error. They had just completed a concert at Northwestern State University.
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv
Henning von Tresckow (Hermann Henning Karl Robert von Tresckow)
Born January 10, 1901 d. 1944
German army officer. Tresckow helped organize German resistance against Adolf Hitler during World War II. He was involved in at least five assassination attempts on Hitler, including an attempt in 1943 by placing a bomb on his plane, and was one of the architects behind the 1944 assassination attempt in which a briefcase bomb was detonated during one of Hitler's meetings. Tresckow committed suicide after this last failed attempt.
Quote: "I cannot understand how people can still call themselves Christians and not be furious adversaries of Hitler's regime." (April 1943).
Lyle Menéndez
Born January 10, 1968
American murderer. In 1989, he and his brother, Erik Menéndez, committed the shotgun murders of their wealthy parents in their Los Angeles home. After highly-publicized trials, they are both serving life sentences.
Julie Moran
Born January 10, 1962
American sportscaster. TV: ABC's Wide World of Sports (its first female host).
Pat Benatar (Patricia Andrzejewski)
Born January 10, 1953
American Grammy-winning singer. Music: Heartbreaker and Hit Me With Your Best Shot (1980).
Linda Lovelace (Linda Susan Boreman)
Born January 10, 1949 d. 2002
American porn star. Film: Deep Throat (1972, one of the highest-grossing porn films of all time). In her biography Ordeal she claimed she was forced into porn performances by her abusive husband. In later life, she became an anti-pornography spokeswoman.
Photo Credit: el grito
Photo Credit: el grito
George Foreman
Born January 10, 1949
American boxer, Olympic heavyweight gold medalist (1968) and world heavyweight champion (1973, 1994).
Willie McCovey
Born January 10, 1938 d. 2018
American Baseball Hall-of-Famer. He was National League Rookie of Year (1959), led the National League in home runs (1963, 68, 69), and was National League MVP 1969.
Paul Henried (Paul George Julius von Henried)
Born January 10, 1908 d. 1992
Italian-born American actor. Film: Casablanca (1943, Victor Laszlo).
Bernard Lee
Born January 10, 1908 d. 1981
British actor. Film: Bond's superior M in the first 11 James Bond movies.
Ray Bolger
Born January 10, 1904 d. 1987
American actor, dancer. Film: The Wizard of Oz (1939, Scarecrow). He was last surviving main credited cast member of The Wizard of Oz.
TV: The Ray Bolger Show (1954-55), The Partridge Family (1970-72, Shirley Jones' father), and Little House on the Prairie (1978-79, Toby Noe).
Frederick Gardner Cottrell
Born January 10, 1877 d. 1948
American chemist. He invented the electrostatic precipitator, which is used to remove dust and suspended particles from air.
Frank James
Born January 10, 1843 d. 1915
American outlaw, brother of Jesse James. After Jesse was killed, he surrendered to authorities and was tried twice, but not convicted.
Thomas Mifflin
Born January 10, 1744 d. 1800
11th president of the Continental Congress (1783-84).
Deaths
David Bowie (David Robert Jones)
Died January 10, 2016 b. 1947
British singer. Music: Space Oddity (1969), The Jean Genie (1973), Fame (1975, #1), and Let's Dance (1983). Broadway: The Elephant Man (1980, title role). Film: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976, title role) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988, Pontius Pilate).
Vampira
Maila Nurmi (Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi)
Died January 10, 2008 b. 1922
Finnish-American actress. She created the 1950's character Vampira which was used in several movies and became TV's first costumed horror show host on KABC-TV with The Vampira Show (1954-55). The Vampira character was created when Nurmi attended a masquerade ball in a costume inspired by the character Morticia Addams. Her costume attracted the attention of TV producer Hunt Stromberg who asked her to host a horror show. She was also the model for Maleficent, the evil witch in the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty. Film: Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959, Vampire Girl).
Oh, the Humanity!
Herbert Morrison
Died January 10, 1989 b. 1905
American radio reporter. He reported the Hindenburg explosion, exclaiming, "Oh, the Humanity!"
Paul Lynde
Died January 10, 1982 b. 1926
American comedian. TV: Bewitched (1965-71, Uncle Arthur) and a regular on Hollywood Squares (1966-79).
Famous for his answers as a panelist on Hollywood Squares, when asked the question "You're the world's most popular fruit. What are you?" Lynde replied, "Humble."
When asked "Why does a chef pound his meat", he replied "loneliness".
Buffalo Bill (William Frederick Cody)
Died January 10, 1917 b. 1846
American showman. He became a Pony Express rider at age 15 and formed the famous Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in 1883. He also served for the Union during the American Civil War and as a civilian scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1872.
His father was stabbed while giving an anti-slavery speech in Kansas. The complications from the stabbing along with a respiratory infection he got while bringing anti-slavery families to Kansas led to his death in 1857, forcing 11-year-old Bill to begin working as a horseback messenger for a wagon train.
Colt Walker pistol, 1847
Photo Credit: Older Firearms
Colt Walker pistol, 1847Photo Credit: Older Firearms
Samuel Colt
Died January 10, 1862 b. 1814
American inventor. He patented his revolver in 1836. He also invented the first electrically detonated water mine (1842). He would give custom engraved revolvers to heads of state and military officers, and received many government and military contracts. He would also give custom revolvers to newspaper editors that wrote favorable stories about his weapons. Colt supplied both the North and the South with firearms during the American Civil War. He had sold weapons to warring parties on both sides of other conflicts in Europe and saw no difference with respect to the war in America.
Buddy Greco (Armando Greco)
Died January 10, 2017 b. 1926
American composer, singer. Music: The Lady Is a Tramp (1960) and I Ran All The Way Home (1951).
Richard Boone
Died January 10, 1981 b. 1917
American actor. TV: Have Gun - Will Travel (1957-63, Paladin) and The Richard Boone Show (1963-64).
Boone, who lived in Hawaii at the time, was offered the role of Steve McGarrett in the TV series Hawaii Five-O, but turned it down and the roll ultimately went to Jack Lord, who had coincidentally appeared alongside Boone in the first episode of Have Gun - Will Travel.
George Meany
Died January 10, 1980 b. 1894
American labor official. He was unanimously elected the first president of the AFL-CIO (1955-79).
Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
Died January 10, 1971 b. 1883
French fashion designer, for whom Chanel No. 5 perfume, introduced in 1922, is named.
Dashiell Hammett
Died January 10, 1961 b. 1894
American author. Writings: The Maltese Falcon (1930) and Adventures of Sam Spade (1944).
Sinclair Lewis
Died January 10, 1951 b. 1885
American author. He was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1930 for his 1922 book Babbitt, a satirical novel about American culture).
Samuel A. Mudd
Died January 10, 1883 b. 1833
American physician. He treated (1865) U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth for his broken leg. For this he was sentenced to life in prison, but pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in 1869. Booth broke his leg while fleeing after shooting Lincoln. He then went to Mudd for treatment. Whether or not Mudd was involved in or knew of Booth's plot to assassinate Lincoln before his arrival is still debated among historians, but he certainly found out when he went into town later that day. He did not tell authorities about Booth's treatment until the following day, lied about knowing Booth, and hid from authorities the boot he cut off of Booth's leg.
It's clear that Mudd knew Booth and had met with him several times before the assassination, and that Booth had sent provisions to Mudd. Booth had originally told his other conspirators the plan was to kidnap Lincoln and ransom him for Confederate prisoners; not revealing his true intentions until the night of the assassination. So it's unlikely Mudd knew of the assassination plot, but may have known of the kidnapping plot. Mudd denied knowledge of either.
Gregory X
Died January 10, 1276 b. ????
religious leader, 184th Pope (1271-76).
Saint Agatho
Died January 10, 681 b. ????
religious leader, 79th Pope (678-681).
Saint Miltiades
Died January 10, 314 b. ????
African-born religious leader, 32nd Pope (311-314).