On This Day In History

[Piper]

1948-Saw Columbia Records
introduce the 33 1/3 RPM vinyl LP.

[Piper]

1865-The US federal holiday Juneteenth,
commemorating the end of slavery in the
United States.
It also marks the arrival of union troops in
Galveston, Texas, who announced the freedom
of enslaved people following the Emancipation
Proclamation.


1869-The first game of rugby played under Rugby
rules, which took place in Wanganui.
Additionally, the Trans-Pacific liner Niagara was sunk
by German mines off the Northland coast in 1940,
marking the arrival of World War II in New Zealand.

[Piper]

1978-Andrew Lloyd Webber
and Tim Rice's musical Evita
premieres in London.

[Piper]

1884-Construction began on the
King County section of the North
Island main trunk railway.


1897-Celebrations for Queen Victoria's
Diamond Jubilee took place across New
Zealand, with processions, illuminations
and bonfires.


1961-Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme
murdered Pauline's mother,Honora
Christchurch.

[Piper]

1961-The Antarctic Treaty came
into force, shaping the political
landscape of Antarctica.

[Piper]

1864-In New Zealand, the Battle of Te Ranga: British
forces attacked Maori fortifications as revenge
for their defeat at Gate Pa.


1964-New Zealand Tour: The Beatles started their
tour of New Zealand, playing in Wellington to a
large crowd of fans

[pritch]

1964-New Zealand Tour: The Beatles started their
tour of New Zealand, playing in Wellington to a
large crowd of fans

Some homies and I were part of that large crowd. As a concert it was a total bust. You couldn't hear the music for screaming female fans. There was just the one song where they all shut up and sobbed quietly into their hankies. An expensive night out for a single song.

[Piper]

1760-Death of he first Maori king
The Maori king movement came into
existence in the late 1850's as an
attempt to unite the tribes, present land
sales and make laws for Maori.
Potatau Te Wherowhero became the first
Maori king in 1858, but died two years later.

[Piper]

Some homies and I were part of that large crowd. As a concert it was a total bust. You couldn't hear the music for screaming female fans. There was just the one song where they all shut up and sobbed quietly into their hankies. An expensive night out for a single song.

I was 7 then, living in Gordon Wilson flats on the Terrace.

[Piper]

1918-The Australian steamer Wimmera, bound from
Auckland to Sydney, struck a mine north of Cape Maria Van Diemen, laid by the German raider Wolf.
Twenty-six of its 151 passengers and crew were lost.

[Piper]

1709-Grwat Northern War:
Peter the Great of Russia
defeats Charles XII of Sweden
at the Battle of Poltava, Charles
goes into exile in Bender,Ottoman
Empire.


1746-Flora Macdonald helps Bonnie
Prince Charlie, disguised as Betty
Burke and Irish maid, evade capture
by landing him on the Isle of Skye.

[Piper]

1881-New Zealand's first registered female pharmacist
qualified, marking a milestone for women's professional
advancement.


1919-The Treaty of Versailles was signed, officially ending
World War 1. New Zealand represented by Prime Minister
William Massey, was a signatory.
This event also led New Zealand becoming a founding
member of the League of Nations.


1920-The Alexander Turnbull Library, a significant
repository of New Zealand's documentary heritage was
established.

[Bikkie]

1613 – Globe Theatre in London burns down.

1861 – English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning dies, aged 55.

1880 – Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is wounded and captured at Glenrowan, Victoria; France takes control of South Pacific island of Tahiti.

1888 – Professor Frederick Treves performs UK’s first appendectomy.

1939 – First commercial flight from US to Europe is completed as Dixie Clipper lands at Lisbon, Portugal.

1949 – South Africa begins implementing apartheid.

1958 – 17-year-old Pele helps Brazil to their first Fifa World Cup title.

1974 – Soviet ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov defects in Toronto.

1990 – Penny Jamieson becomes world’s first female Anglican bishop, after being appointed the Bishop of Dunedin.

[Bikkie]

1607: The English explorer John Smith is elected council president of Jamestown, Virginia.
1859: French acrobat Charles Blondin becomes the first person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
1908: A massive explosion in the Tunguska region of Siberia flattens an estimated 80 million trees over 2,150 square kilometers.
1960: Democratic Republic of Congo gains independence from Belgium.
2004: The United Nations Security Council adopts a resolution demanding the handover of power to Iraq’s interim government.


SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS
1905: Albert Einstein publishes the article “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies,” introducing his theory of special relativity.
1936: A test of the world’s first helicopter, the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, takes place in Germany.
1953: James Watson and Francis Crick publish their paper in the journal ‘Nature’ describing the structure of DNA.
1997: NASA’s Pathfinder spacecraft lands on Mars, becoming the first successful Mars rover mission in over 20 years.
2012: Physicists at CERN announce the discovery of a new particle consistent with the Higgs boson, a major milestone in understanding the fundamental particles of the universe.



In Music History


2020-John Prine, who grew up near Chicago, is named the first honorary poet laureate of Illinois. Prine died of coronavirus three months earlier.

2017-Jay-Z releases his album 4:44, which addresses the infidelity accusations his wife Beyoncé leveled at him in her album Lemonade. "Let the baddest girl in the world get away," he raps on the opening track, "Kill Jay-Z."

2015-Apple launches a new streaming service, Apple Music.

2012-In Kiev, Queen launch their first tour with American Idol alumnus Adam Lambert on lead vocals. The band had previously toured with Paul Rodgers.

2009-U2 launch their 360 tour with a show in Barcelona. 109 shows later, the tour finishes with $735 million in earnings, blowing away the $558 million record set by The Rolling Stones on their 2005-2007 A Bigger Bang tour. Ed Sheeran breaks the record in 2019 when his ÷ (Divide) tour rakes in $775 million.

2008-Olivia Newton-John marries Amazon John Easterling, a TV producer and entrepreneur.

2006-Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey divorce after three years of marriage.

2006-US president George W. Bush and Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visit Graceland in Memphis.

2004-Dave Davies of The Kinks suffers a massive stroke while walking out of a BBC building in London. Completely incapacitated for a few days, he gradually recovers, re-learning how to walk and play guitar over the next few years.

2001-The Rockabilly Hall of Fame opens in Jackson, Tennessee.

2001-Chet Atkins, a country guitarist and forerunner of the burgeoning Nashville sound of the '50s, dies of cancer at age 77.

1998-System Of A Down release their frantic self-titled debut album. The singles "Sugar" and "Spiders" earn airplay on rock radio and MTV, and as the band builds a following through touring, it goes on to sell over a million copies in America.

1995-Phyllis Hyman commits suicide by drug overdose at age 45. Known for the 1979 hit single "You Know How to Love Me," among others.

1994-Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam testify before congress to make their case against Ticketmaster - the band couldn't keep ticket prices for a planned tour under $20 because of Ticketmaster's fees, so they decided to cancel it. The hearing draws attention to the issue but nothing comes of it.

1993-Six days after falling off a 10-foot platform during rehearsal for a game show, 31-year-old Wong Ka Kui (lead singer of Beyond) dies of his head injuries.

1992-The soundtrack for Cameron Crowe's Singles is released. Even more than the movie itself, it helps bring the Seattle music scene across the entire US. Featuring songs from Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, and many others, it's instrumental in launching the '90s "grunge revolution."

1992-Kyuss' Blues for the Red Sun, one of stoner metal's all-time classic albums, is released via Dali Records. It was produced by the band and Chris Goss.

1991-During a show at Brixton Academy in London, The Alarm frontman Mike Peters tells the crowd he's leaving the group, shocking his bandmates with the announcement. The Alarm disbands and doesn't re-form with the original members until a one-off reunion in 2004 for the VH1 show Bands Reunited.

1984-Fantasia Barrino is born in High Point, North Carolina. She wins the third season of American Idol and later stars in both Broadway and film adaptations of The Color Purple.

1984-The Huey Lewis & the News album Sports claims a week at #1 in the US. It's one of just five albums to top the chart in 1984, the others being Thriller, Purple Rain, Born in the U.S.A., and the Footloose soundtrack.

1979-Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu is born Matthew Paul Miller in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

1977-Bob Dylan and his wife of 11 years, Sara, finalize their divorce. She is given custody of their five children.

1976-Police raid Neil Diamond's house and find less than an ounce of marijuana. The arrest is struck from his record when he agrees to attend a drug aversion program.

1975-Bob Dylan spots Scarlet Rivera, a striking redhead with a violin, while driving in New York City. That night, he takes her to a Muddy Waters concert where they both take the stage as guest musicians. Dylan enlists her to play violin on his Desire album (most notably on the song "Hurricane"), and she joins his Rolling Thunder Revue.

1973-George Harrison's "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" dislodges Paul McCartney and Wings' "My Love" from the #1 spot on the US singles charts.

1973-"It was a hot afternoon, the last day of June," Bobby Goldsboro sings in "Summer (The First Time)."

1969-Tom Drummond (bass guitarist for Better Than Ezra) is born in Shreveport, Louisiana.

1956-Philip Adrian Wright (first Director of Visuals, then keyboardist for The Human League) is born in Wakefield, England.

1953-Hal Lindes (guitarist for Dire Straits from 1980-1985) is born in Monterey, California.

1951Jazz musician Stanley Clarke is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1949-Andy Scott (lead guitarist for Sweet) is born in Wrexham, Wales.

1944-Little River Band lead singer Glenn Shorrock is born in Chatham, Kent, England. He moves with his family to Adelaide, Australia, when he is 10.

1943-Florence Ballard (of The Supremes) is born in Detroit, Michigan.

1940-Larry Hall, known for the one-hit-wonder song "Sandy" (1959), is born in Hamlett, Ohio.

1939-Frank Sinatra begins touring with Harry James' orchestra. He sings "Wishing" and "My Love For You" at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland. James wants him to go by "Frankie Satin," but Sinatra refuses.

1934-Adolf Hitler begins Operation Hummingbird, the Röhm Putsch, or the Night of the Long Knives which culminates in the murder of Ernst Röhm on July 2. Al Stewart later writes a song about it called "The Last Day Of June 1934."

1917-Lena Horne is born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York.

1792-Classical era composer Antonio Rosetti dies at age 42.

[Bikkie]

1862- Battle of Malvern Hill [Poindexter's Farm], day 7 of 7 days battles, Union forces repel Confederate attack, Tactical Union victory (US Civil War)

1862- The Russian State Library is founded in Moscow

1862- US Internal Revenue Law imposes 1st federal taxes on inheritance, tobacco and on incomes over $600 (progressive rate)

1863- Battle of Gettysburg begins in Pennsylvania, Union forces halt Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgini

1863- Free city delivery of mail begins in 49 US cities; postage 3 cents per oz

1863- Slavery abolished in Dutch territories including Sint Maarten, Suriname and the Dutch Antilles, (now marked as Keti Koti Day in Suriname and the Netherlands)

1867- The Dominion of Canada is formed, comprising the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, with John A. Macdonald serving as the first Prime Minister

1869- Dutch newspaper stamp tax repealed

1869 -US mint at Carson City, Nevada opens

1870- James W. Smith of South Carolina is one of 1st African Americans to attend West Point1871- The decimal currency system is made uniform in Canada

1873 -Henry Ossian Flipper of Georgia enters West Point Military Academy - later the first African American to graduate


Music History


201630-year-old Lady Gaga finally gets her driver's license.

2009-Following Michael Jackson's death the previous week, he becomes the first act to sell more than 1 million song downloads in a week.

2008-Gym Class Heroes' lead singer Travie McCoy assaults a fan who shouts out a racial slur just as their set finishes during the Warped Tour in St. Louis.

2008-Mel Galley (former Whitesnake guitarist) dies of esophageal cancer at age 60.

2008-Crüe Fest kicks off in West Palm Beach, Florida. The tour features Mötley Crüe, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M., and Trapt; it earns about $40 million.

2007-In memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, a concert is held at the newly built Wembley Stadium in London. Acts include friends of the Princess Duran Duran and Elton John as well as artists she enjoyed such as Nelly Furtado, Tom Jones and Kanye West.

2006-The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts opens on the grounds of the 1969 Woodstock festival in Bethel, New York. The brainchild of Alan Gerry, who sold his company, Cablevision Industries, to Time Warner for $2.8 billion, the Center includes a performance venue, and later, a museum.

2005-Luther Vandross dies at age 54 after suffering a stroke two years earlier that left him in a wheelchair.

2003-Flute player Herbie Mann dies of prostate cancer at age 73. His best-known song is "Hijack," a dance tune that hit #14 in 1975.

2000-In London, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails overdoses on China white heroin that he believes is cocaine. Reznor, who has been battling addiction throughout the '90s, redoubles his efforts to get sober and eventually does a few years later.

1999-Jennifer Lopez releases her debut album, On The 6, with the hit single "If You Had My Love."

1999-Guy Mitchell, '50s pop singer and TV host, dies of complications from cancer surgery at age 72.

1997-Radiohead release OK Computer in the US. With highly emotive songs and beguiling music videos for tracks like "Karma Police" and "Paranoid Android," it lands on many lists of the year's top albums.

1995-Legendary DJ Wolfman Jack, who famously spun rock and roll records from a border blaster station in Mexico throughout the '60s, dies of a heart attack at age 57.

1991-Members of the Olympia, Washington bands Bratmobile and Bikini Kill publish the first issue of Riot Grrrl, a mini-magazine that introduces the phrase, used to describe a female punk-rock ethos with a cutting edge but also a sense of humor. Bands that join the Riot Grrrl movement include L7 and Babes In Toyland.

1986-Misfits issue their second compilation, a self-titled, 20-track release with two songs Metallica later cover: "Green Hell" and "Die, Die My Darling."

1982-Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five release the early rap classic "The Message." It's the first hip-hop hit with lyrics about struggle in the inner city.

1981Rushton Moreve (original bass guitarist for Steppenwolf) dies in an automobile accident at age 32.

1977-Liv Tyler is born. Her mother is the notorious groupie/muse Bebe Buell, and her father is Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler. By the time Liv is born, Bebe has gone back to her previous boyfriend, Todd Rundgren, and Rundgren raises her as his own. Liv is 11 years old when she finds out Tyler is her real dad.

1975-Ringo Starr divorces his first wife, Maureen.

1975-Lou Reed releases Metal Machine Music, a double album of distortion and guitar feedback.

1973-The Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar closes after 711 performances. In August, it is released as a feature film.

1972-The Doobie Brothers release their second album, Toulouse Street. It contains their first hit, "Listen To The Music," and also their cover of "Jesus Is Just Alright," which gives some the impression they're a religious band.

1971-Jethro Tull's Aqualung album is certified Gold.

1969-Sam Phillips sells the legendary Sun Records studio in Memphis.

1969-John Lennon receives 17 facial stitches, and Yoko Ono gets 14 of her own, after a car crash in Scotland.

1963-Roddy Bottum (keyboardist for Faith No More) is born Roswell Christopher Bottum III in Los Angeles, California.

1960-The Shadows release the instrumental call-to-arms "Apache," which goes to #1 in the UK and is a US hit the next year for Jorgen Ingmann. Variations of the song are later sampled on a number of hip-hop tracks.

1952-Dan Aykroyd is born in Ottawa. What's he doing on a music history calendar? He formed The Blues Brothers with John Belushi and also appeared on "We Are The World."

1951-Victor Willis, original lead singer for The Village People, is born in Dallas, Texas. He leaves the group in the mid-'80s but returns in 2017 when he gains control of the name, replacing the existing members with a new lineup. Willis, who plays the policeman, is the only group member with co-writing credits on their songs, including "Y.M.C.A." and "Macho Man."

1951-Fred Schneider of The B-52s is born in Newark, New Jersey.

1949-John Farnham is born in Dagenham, England, but moves to Australia with his family when he is 10. He becomes one of the most popular singers in that country, thanks to his rousing hit "You're The Voice."

1948-John Ford (multi-instrumentalist of The Strawbs) is born in Fulham, London, England.

1945-Deborah Ann Harry (lead singer of Blondie) is born in Miami, Florida, but will be raised in Hawthorne, New Jersey.

1942-Gospel singer Andrae Crouch is born in San Francisco, California.

1939-Delaney Bramlett, who co-fronted the early-'70s rock/soul ensemble Delaney & Bonnie with then-wife Bonnie Bramlett, is born in Pontotoc, Mississippi.

1930-Bobby Day, known for his hit version of "Rockin' Robin," is born Robert James Byrd in Fort Worth, Texas.

1925-French composer/pianist Erik Satie dies of cirrhosis of the liver at age 59.