Can you believe another year is already upon us?
🌙Depending upon your beliefs, 2019 marks either the 25th anniversary of the moon being destroyed that led to the world of
Thundarr the Barbarian or the 20th anniversary of the moon being violently launched from Earth orbit on September 13 to start
Space: 1999.🌑
Then again, 2019 is also either the 20th anniversary of the Super Dimensional Space Fortress crashing to Earth that was the catalyst of the
Macross anime as part of the overall
Robotech series, or Phillip J. Frye getting cryogentically frozen on New Year’s Eve before being awakened to face
Futurama.
On a more serious note the Euro, USB Drives, the BlackBerry, and Bluetooth all came into existence 20 years ago this year and there will be elections this fall, with Congressional seats being the highest office available. Despite past claims of this being a “minor” event, this year’s voting will be an important indicator of how America feels as the 2020 Presidential election approaches.
And to think, our biggest worry 20 years ago was what (if anything) the Y2K Bug 🐛would do.
Other events in the year ahead include...
525TH ANNIVERSARY (1494)
May 5: Christopher Columbus discovered what is now Jamaica during his second voyage.
190TH ANNIVERSARY (1829)
September 29: Scotland Yard was established.
175TH ANNIVERSARY (1844)
January 15: The University of Notre Dame was officially chartered.
165TH ANNIVERSARY (1854)
August 9: Henry David Thoreau's
Walden was first published.
160TH ANNIVERSARY (1869)
November 24: Charles Darwin first published
On the Origin of the Species.
150TH ANNIVERSARY (1869)
November 17: The Suez Canal officially opened.
115TH ANNIVERSARY (1904)
May 5: Cy Young pitched the first perfect game in baseball⚾ history: Boston
Red Sox 3, Philadelphia Athletics 0.
95TH ANNIVERSARY (1924)
February 12: George Gershwin's
Rhapsody in Blue premiered on Broadway.
90TH ANNIVERSARY (1929)
January 5:
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit 🐰(voiced by Mickey Rooney) debuts in “Ozzie At The Circus”.
January 7: Debut of
Buck Rogers in the comics.
January 17: Popeye the Sailor debuted in the
Thimble Theater comic strip.
85TH ANNIVERSARY (1934)
August 11: Alcatraz was opened for business and started accepting prisoners.
80TH ANNIVERSARY (1939)
August 15: Debut of Ellery Queen’s first novel:
The Roman Hat 🎩
Mystery.
September 1: Germany under Adolph Hitler invaded Poland, thus starting World War 2.
75TH ANNIVERSARY (1944)
August 25: Allied Forces liberated Paris, France; a major point in ending the European portion of World War 2.
70TH ANNIVERSARY (1949)
February 28: Bob Clampett’s Beany and Cecil the Sea Sick Sea Serpent debuted on
Time For Beany.
September 15: Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels first rode as
The Lone Ranger and Tonto on TV.
65TH ANNIVERSARY (1954)
March 25: RCA made the first color TV set commercially available. 12 and a half inch screen for $1000!
July 5: Elvis Presley had his first recording session at Sun Records, making “That’s All Right Mama”.
July 21: The Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into two separate countries.
September 27: Steve Allen started hosting
The Tonight Show.
October 27 saw the debut of
Disneyland, the TV series, to help raise construction funds for the park. The original
Mickey Mouse Club would debut the following year.
November 10: Then President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicated the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
60TH ANNIVERSARY (1959)
January 3: Alaska becomes the 49th member of the United States of America.
August 21: Hawaii becomes the 50th member of the United States of America.
September 12:
Bonanza debuted as part of that year’s new fall TV season.
September 29:
Rocky and Bullwinkle debuted.
We first entered
The Twilight Zone on October 2 and asked “Where Is Everybody?”
December 1: Antarctica was established as a military free scientific preserve.
55TH ANNIVERSARY (1964)
Anything that debuted this year, like
F-Troop and
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea both did on September 14.
As of October 3, there’s no need to fear,
Underdog is here!
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer 🦌shined for the first time December 6.
50TH ANNIVERSARY (1969)🌕
July 20: Apollo 11 landed on the moon! First moon walk next day, with Apollo 12 duplicating these feats before the end of the year.
Come and play!
Sesame Street debuted November 10.
The first Internet set up was established on November 20 at the University of Southern California.
45TH ANNIVERSARY (1974)
Anything that debuted this year, like
The Six Million Dollar Man January 18.
March 29: The Mariner 10 probe landed on Mercury.
April 8: Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit career home run #715, breaking Babe Ruth’s record, and he did it cleanly!⚾
April 13:
Dungeons and Dragons first edition debuted.
40TH ANNIVERSARY (1979)
The first Papal visit to the White House (by Pope John Paul II) occurred October 6.
October 7 saw the premiere of
Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
35TH ANNIVERSARY (1984)
April 16:
Rose is Rose 🌹comic strip premiered.
June 1:
Star Trek 3: The Search For Spock premiered.
That summer, the Soviet Union boycotted the Olympics in Los Angeles, California, USA.
30TH ANNIVERSARY (1989)
April 16: Scott Adams’
Dilbert started “taking care of business.”
June 23:
Batman, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, directed by Tim Burton, premiered.
20TH ANNIVERSARY (1999)
March 20: Bertrand Piccard (Switzerland) and Brian Jones (Britain) completed the first around the world hot air balloon trip.
May 1:
Spongebob Squarepants debuted.
May 19:
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace debuted.
15TH ANNIVERSARY (2004)
January 15: NASA’s Spirit Rover started exploring Mars.
10TH ANNIVERSARY (2009)
Then President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize October 9.
And of course,
The Free Choice E-zine will be celebrating its 2200 post sometime this year.
