On This Day January 8

1992
Pres. George Bush: Bush vomits in the lap of the Japanese prime minister and collapses to the floor. Bush had ignored a physician's warning to stay in bed.

1955
Thorazine and reserpine: The success of the two drugs in treating mental patients is reported by the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene.

1918
World War I: Pres. Wilson delivers his "Fourteen points" speech outlining the U.S. peace aims of the war.

1815
Battle of New Orleans: Although the War of 1812 had ended two weeks earlier, news had not arrived in time to prevent this battle. British troops suffered 2,100 casualties, while American troops led by Andrew Jackson suffered 13.

1947
David Bowie (David Robert Jones), 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).

1946
Robbie Krieger, American guitarist, with The Doors. Music: Light My Fire (1967, #1) and L.A. Woman (1971).

1942
Stephen Hawking, British physicist, author of A Brief History of Time, and one of the greatest theoretical physicists since Einstein. He appeared as a holograph of himself in a 1993 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

1937
Shirley Bassey, singer, recorded title songs for Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker.

1935 d. 1977
Elvis Presley, American singer, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll." He sold more than a billion records.

1931 d. 1991
Bill Graham (Wolfgang Grajonca), German-born American concert promoter. He helped pioneer the mass rock concert as an American cultural event.

1912
José Ferrer, Puerto Rican-born Oscar-winning actor. Film: Whirlpool (1949) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1950, Oscar).

1911
Butterfly McQueen (Thelma McQueen), American Emmy-winning actress. Film: Gone With the Wind (1939, Prissy). TV: Beulah (Oriole).

1868 d. 1939
Sir Frank Watson Dyson, proved light is bent by gravity, as predicted by Einstein.

1824 d. 1889
Wilkie Collins, English writer. A very successful writer in his time, he wrote The Moonstone (1868), the first English language detective novel, which some still consider the best ever written.

1786 d. 1844
Nicholas Biddle, American financier. As president (1822-36) of the Second Bank of U.S., he made it the first effective central bank.

1735 d. 1815
John Carroll, American clergyman, first American bishop (1790), was in charge of the Diocese of Baltimore, and founded (1789) the first Roman Catholic College in the U.S. (Georgetown College in Washington D.C.) (Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church)

1081 d. 1125
Henry V, King of Germany and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1106-25).

1994 b. 1915
Pat Buttram (Maxwell Emmett Buttram), American actor. TV: The Gene Autry Show (Gene's sidekick) and Green Acres (Mr. Haney).

1981 b. 1925
Stymie Beard (Matthew Beard, Jr.), African-American actor, the derby-wearing Little Rascal. He appeared in 36 Our Gang films. His trademark hat was a gift from Stan Laurel. He also played Monte in the TV series Good Times.

1956 b. 1927
Jim Elliot, American missionary to Ecuador's Quechua Indians. His was killed by the Aucas while trying to minister to them. Quote: "It is dangerous to get the cart before the horse, but essential in God's program to get the heart before the course." His death was the basis for the book/movie End of the Spear. (Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church)

1941 b. 1857
Sir Robert Baden-Powell, British major general, founder of the Boy Scouts (1908) and the Girl Guides (1910).

1919 b. 1850
Jim O'Rourke, American baseball player, made the first hit of the first National League game (1876), for Boston.

1642 b. 1564
Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, physicist. He built the first complete astronomical telescope, which he used to prove that the Earth revolved around the Sun. He was imprisoned by the Catholic Church for this belief.

January 8

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