This Day in History

1781 - Richmond, VA, was burned by a British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold.

1885 - The Long Island Railroad Company became the first to offer piggy-back rail service which was the transportation of farm wagons on trains.

1896 - It was reported by The Austrian newspaper that Wilhelm Roentgen had discovered the type of radiation that became known as X-rays.

1900 - In Ireland, Nationalist leader John Edward Redmond called for a revolt against British rule.

1903 - The general public could use the Pacific cable for the very first time.

1914 - Ford Motor Company announced that there would be a new daily minimum wage of $5 and an eight-hour workday.

1925 - Mrs. Nellie Taylor Ross was sworn in as the governor of Wyoming She was the first female governor in the U.S.

1933 - Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began.

1934 - Both the National and American baseball leagues decided to use a uniform-size baseball. It was the first time in 33 years that both leagues used the same size ball. (MLB)

1935 - Phil Spitalny’s All-Girl Orchestra was featured on CBS radio on the program, "The Hour of Charm."

1940 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) got its very first demonstration of FM radio.

1944 - The London "Daily Mail" was the first transoceanic newspaper to be published.

1948 - Warner Brothers-Pathe showed the very first color newsreel. The footage was of the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football classic.

1956 - In the Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy walked on two legs for the first time.

1961 - "Mr. Ed" debuted. The show would run for six years.

1970 - "All My Children" premiered on ABC.

1972 - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon ordered the development of the space shuttle.

1987 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan underwent prostate surgery.

1993 - The state of Washington executed Westley Allan Dodd. It was America's first legal hanging since 1965. Dodd was an admitted child sex killer.

1996 - Yahya Ayyash, a member of the Hamas in Israel, is killed by a booby-trapped cellular phone.

1998 - U.S. Representative Sonny Bono died in skiing accident.

2002 - A 15 year-old student pilot, Charles Bishop, crashed a small plane into a building in Tampa, FL. Bishop was about to begin a flying lesson when he took off without permission and without an instructor.

Wicked Wednesday

Remembering Gerry Rafferty (1947-2011)

Gerry Rafferty, who died yesterday at age 63, had a string of hits in the late seventies and early eighties. Hailing from the United Kingdom, he had a very smooth tenor voice that was perfectly suited to the soft rock that took him to fame. His fans the world over are mourning his loss. Rafferty was a truly talented man.

Most people remember him best for his hit Baker Street, but for me his best work was Right Down The Line. A song that extolled the virtues of the love he felt for an anonymous partner, Right Down The Line kept a certain groove going throughout the mix that just gets inside you. You never forget this riff.

While a video of Gerry performing this song would have been nice, I couldn’t locate one on the internet. So a tribute is the best route. Gerry, we’ll miss you. Your hits are still playing on US radio every day. Your talent will live on. We sure do love you. Thanks for the music.

Thought for Today

“Anyone who has experienced a certain amount of loss in their life has empathy for those who have experienced loss.” -- Anderson Cooper