Today in history......

[captorquewrench]

I usually don't do this, but today is different for some reason (it's my first annual 29th birthday!)

This Day in History

On March 18

1673 Lord Berkley sold his half of New Jersey to the Quakers.

1818 The U.S. Congress approved the first pensions for government service.

1834 The first railroad tunnel in the United States is completed in Pennsylvania.

1909 Einar Dessau of Denmark uses a short-wave transmitter, becoming the first person to broadcast as a “ham” operator.

1910 The first opera by a U.S. composer was performed at the Met in New York City.

1931 Schick, Inc. markets the first electric dry razor.

1938 New York first required serological blood tests of pregnant women.

1940 Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini held a meeting at the Brenner Pass. The Italian dictator agreed to join in Germany's war against France and Britain during the meeting.

1949 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is ratified.

1963 The United States Supreme Court handed down its Miranda decision which states that all defendants must be provided with legal counsel.

1965 Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first man to space walk when he leaves the Voskhod II space capsule while in orbit around the Earth.

1969 U.S. President Nixon authorizes Operation Menue. It was the ‘secret’ bombing of Cambodia.

1974 Most of the Arab oil-producing nations end their five-month embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.

[newwiccan]

Happy Birthday!!!!

[captorquewrench]

Today in music history:

2000 The U.S. Postal Service issues a 20-cent stamped postcard featuring the historic Ryman Auditorium, home to the Grand Ole Opry for more than 30 years.

1999 France's largest music merchant, Fnac, becomes the first major music retailer in Europe to sell song downloads on its Internet site (www.fnac.fr).

1998 King of Pop or Queen of Pop? According to German newswire reports, Michael Jackson goes shopping in Munich, Germany, disguised as an Arab woman. An unnamed toy store confirms that the disguised Jackson and his son enter the shop, apparently to avoid the fans camped outside his hotel.

1997 Happy Goday, who promoted film music for many of the major movie studios, dies of an undisclosed illness in New York. He is in his late 70s. All told, Goday works on music from films that land 47 Oscar nominations and 17 Oscars.

1997 Taylor Hawkins replaces William Goldsmith as the Foo Fighters' drummer. Goldsmith announced earlier that he would be leaving due to creative differences.

1997 In a historic moment, composer/performer Yanni becomes the first Westerner ever to play at India's Taj Mahal. Yanni plays three shows to help celebrate India's 50th anniversary of independence. Yanni donates all proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorship for the restoration and preservation of the shrine and its surrounding environs.

1992 Singer Donna Summer receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1982 Singer Teddy Pendergrass is partially paralyzed when his Rolls Royce skids off a road and wrecks in Philadelphia.

1978 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Night Fever," Bee Gees. "Stayin' Alive" and "How Deep Is Your Love" are still in the top 10 when this third consecutive No. 1 single from the soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever" reaches No. 8. The last group to have three songs in the top 10 at the same time was the Beatles.

1972 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Heart of Gold," Neil Young. The song is Neil Young's only solo single to reach the top 30.

1961 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Surrender," Elvis Presley. The song is based on the Italian song "Torna a Sorrento (Come Back to Sorrento)," which was written in 1911 by Ernesto and B.G. de Curtis.

1959 Irene Cara is born. She tops Billboard's Hot 100 for six weeks with the movie theme song "Flashdance ... What a Feeling."

1941 Soul singer Wilson Pickett is born in Prattville, Ala. His five No. 1 songs on Billboard's R&B singles chart include "634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)" and "Land of 1000 Dances." He is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.