*Blogs / Pages Archives

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Friday, Feb. 11, 2022 1809 Robert Fulton patented the steamboat. 1953 Walt Disney’s “Peter Pan” premiered. 1938 BBC TV aired television’s first science fiction program. A 35-minute adaptation of a play

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 1864 U.S. President Abraham Lincoln posed for the picture that now appears on the U.S. $5 bill. 1870 Congress established The National Weather Service, a division of the

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022 1910 The Boys Scouts of America is founded, by William Boyce. Boyce had been lost in the fog while visiting London and encountered a boy who guided

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Feb. 7, 2022 1778 Daniel Boone was captured by Indians. But he managed to escape into the woods. 1940 Walt Disney’s “Pinocchio” was released. 1988 The crime show “America’s Most

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Friday, Feb. 4, 2022 1789 George Washington was elected president with 100% of the electoral vote. He was the first and only president to do so. 1962 St. Jude Children’s Hospital

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thurs., Feb. 3, 2022 1870 The 15th amendment was ratified, giving African Americans the right to vote. 1913 The 16th amendment was ratified, giving the U.S. Congress the power to collect

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Weds., Feb. 2, 2022 Groundhog Day! 1913 Grand Central Station opened in New York City. More than 100,000 people visited on its opening day. 1914 The first Cub Scout pack was

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022 1524 London astrologers predicted the world would end on that day. 20,000 Londoners fled their homes in anticipation of the event. It didn’t happen. So they recalculated

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Jan. 31, 2022 1865 The 13th amendment abolishing slavery in the U.S. was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. It would then go on to the states for ratification.

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Friday, Jan. 28, 2022 1915 The U.S. Coast Guard was established, when Congress combined the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life-Saving Service. 1978 The TV series Fantasy Island debuted on ABC. “Boss, de plane,

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 1880 Thomas Edison was granted a patent for an electric incandescent light. 1948 The first of John Mullin’s invention, the magnetic tape recorder was sold in the

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022 1784 Ben Franklin wrote a letter to his daughter expressing his disapproval of the eagle as our nation’s symbol. He thought the bald eagle was of bad

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022 1937 NBC Radio presented the first broadcast of “The Guiding Light”. The radio show continued until 1956 and began its run-on CBS TV in 1952. It ended

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Jan. 24, 2022 1848 Gold was discovered on John Sutter’s Mill, by James Marshall, starting the California gold rush. Over 300,000 people, known as “forty-niners” (from year 1849), would go

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Friday, Jan. 21, 2022 1813 The Pineapple was introduced to Hawaii. 1915 The benevolent organization Kiwanis was founded in Detroit. 1976 the first supersonic Concorde with commercial passengers took flight.  

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022 1892 The first ‘official’ basketball game was played at a YMCA in Massachusetts. The players used peach baskets. 1961 John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Weds., Jan. 19, 2022 1825 The first U.S. patent for preserving food in tin cans was granted. Thomas Kensett set up a small canning plant on the waterfront selling America’s first

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Jan. 18 2022 1778 James Cook became the first European to discover the Hawaiian Islands. 1943 Due to conservation efforts needed for World War II, a ban on American bakers selling sliced

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Jan. 17 2022 – Dr. Martin Luther King Day 1920 Prohibition went into effect as the 18th Amendment went into effect. It did not prohibit the consumption of alcohol, but

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Friday Jan 14, 2022 1952 Network TV’s first early-morning show, Today, debuted on NBC. Dave Garroway was Today‘s first host, hosting until 1961. The show is of course still running and is now

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thurs. Jan 13, 2022 1920 A New York Times editorial said rockets could never fly. Obviously, they were proved wrong and eventually issued an apology in 1969 after the Apollo 11

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Weds. Jan 12, 2022 1967 James Bedford’s body was frozen after he died of cancer. He currently resides at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation awaiting a time that he might be

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Friday Jan 7, 2022 1610 Astronomer Galileo Galilei observed three points of light near the planet Jupiter. Subsequent observations over the next several months led him to the realization that they were

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, Jan 6, 2022 1945 The Looney Tunes cartoon skunk Pepé Le Pew made his first appearance. Pepé Le Pew was voiced by Mel Blanc. 1969 Future U.S. President, Jimmy Carter

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Wednesday, Jan 5, 2022 1914 Automaker Henry Ford announced an unprecedented five-dollar-a-day minimum wage for his employees. Five dollars in 1914 adjusted for inflation is about $140 in today’s money. The

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Jan 4, 2022 1847 Samuel Colt made his first sale of 1000 Colt revolvers to the U.S. government for use by Rangers in the Mexican American War. 1936 Billboard magazine published

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Jan 3, 2022 1870 Construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge. It was completed in May of 1883. 1888 The first drinking straw was patented. 1959 Alaska became the 49th state

Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Jan 3, 2023 1870 Construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge. It was completed in May of 1883. 1888 The first drinking straw was patented. 1959 Alaska became the 49th state