This Day in History

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On January 7, 1950, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was the #1 song on the U.S. pop charts. While Santa may have had eleven other reindeer guiding his sleigh, no other reindeer is as popular or well-loved as Rudolph.

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Johnny Marks's contribution to the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer song started him on the journey to create other classic Christmas songs. After Rudolph, Marks went on to write "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "Silver and Gold," "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," and "A Holly Jolly Christmas." The fact that Marks was Jewish makes the story even more interesting.

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On January 8, 1992, in one of the most widely ridiculed and memorable gaffes in history, President George H.W. Bush vomited on the Prime Minister of Japan.

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President George W. Bush was attending a dinner hosted by Kiichi Miyazawa, the then Prime Minister of Japan, and became ill during the meal. Unfortunately, he threw up in Miyazawa's lap and then fainted. Regaining consciousness, he apologized. It was later explained that he had suffered an attack of acute gastroenteritis, but felt much better after he took a drug to counter his nausea.

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On January 9, 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, which propelled Apple into becoming one of the richest companies in the world.

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Siri remembers everything, or, at least, Apple does because it stores everything you say for as much as two years. The questions a consumer asks Siri are analyzed, and a number, minus an individual's name and personal information, is generated to represent each user. When the voice recordings have been held for six months, Apple removes the number but hangs onto the clip for up to a year and a half to improve Siri.

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On January 12, 1971, the first episode of "All in the Family" premiered on CBS.

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Norman Lear is one of TV’s most prolific creators, but All In The Family wasn’t entirely his idea. Lear purchased the rights to the British comedy Till Death Do Us Part, a series that appeared on BBC from 1965 to 1975. In the British series, a bigoted, conservative Alf Garnett lives with his wife and daughter, as well as his liberal son-in-law. Sound familiar? Both shows were huge hits in their home countries, with Till Death Do Us Part running ten years and All in The Family running nine.

Also, in 1966, Batman premiered on ABC

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Just imagine the outcry if All in the Family came out now!

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On January 13, 1794, President George Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union.

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The first official flag carried thirteen stars and thirteen stripes to represent the original thirteen colonies. The flag has changed twenty-seven times since then, including in 1794, when two additional stars and stripes were added when Vermont and Kentucky became states, resulting in a 15-stripe flag. After 1818, the number of stripes went back to thirteen, while stars were added to represent the new states. The last changes made in 1960 when Alaska and Hawaii became states.

Actually, Hawaii became a state in January, 1959 and Alaska in August. I recall going to the Fourth of July parade in 1959 with a 49 star flag.

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Benedict Arnold, whose name became an epithet for traitor in the United States, was born on this day in 1741.

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Prior to his defection to the British, Benedict Arnold was hailed as on of the best generals in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He was instrumental in capturing Fort Ticonderoga, which held a large amount of artillery. He also led around 1,000 men to march through the backwoods of Maine in an effort to capture Quebec. According to the British Secretary of State, Lord Germaine, Arnold was considered the "most enterprising and dangerous” general in America.

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On January 15, 1972, “American Pie,”, an epic poem in musical form hit #1 on the Billboard charts. Few songs embrace American culture more than Don McLean's famous tune, "American Pie."

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While we can speculate what all of the lyrics to the classic song might mean, no one will really know for sure. That's because McLean continues to refuse to talk about the meaning behind most of the lyrics. "As you can imagine, over the years I've been asked many times to discuss and explain my song 'American Pie,'" McLean wrote in an open letter to fans in 1993. "I have never discussed the lyrics, but have admitted to the [Buddy] Holly reference in the opening stanzas. I dedicated the album American Pie to Buddy Holly as well in order to connect the entire statement to Holly in hopes of bringing about an interest in him, which subsequently did occur... You will find many 'interpretations' of my lyrics but none of them by me. Isn't this fun? Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence."

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The final episode of Bonanza was broadcast on Tuesday, January 16th, 1973. Bonanza, which ran for more than a decade, was one of the best-known television shows of its time and amassed a huge cult-like following.

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Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright on the show, opened a chain of restaurants named—you guessed it— Bonanza. The first Bonanza opened in Westport, Connecticut. After he sold the chain, the name changed to Ponderosa, and, like a wagon train, the restaurant just kept on going forward.

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The final episode of Bonanza was broadcast on Tuesday, January 16th, 1973. Bonanza, which ran for more than a decade, was one of the best-known television shows of its time and amassed a huge cult-like following.

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Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright on the show, opened a chain of restaurants named—you guessed it— Bonanza. The first Bonanza opened in Westport, Connecticut. After he sold the chain, the name changed to Ponderosa, and, like a wagon train, the restaurant just kept on going forward.

Ah. Yes. The Ponderosa Steak house, cheap steaks, but had a pretty good buffet, full of cheap food to fill you up so they could make money. Mashed tater, Mac and cheese, lots of pasta, salad of course...but I must admit those big round dinner rolls were the bomb. Kinda like today’s Golden Corral.