What Happened On
Sonny Bono with Cher
Sonny Bono with Cher
Sonny Bono Killed in Skiing Accident
January 5, 1998
Singer Sonny Bono is killed when he hits a tree while skiing at Heavenly Mountain Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California.
After Bono's death, his wife Mary Bono said that Sonny had been addicted to Vicodin and Valium and that she believed her husband's drug use caused the accident. However no drugs or alcohol were found in his body on autopsy.
The epitaph on Bono's headstone reads "AND THE BEAT GOES ON".
Bono became famous as part of Sonny and Cher, and served as mayor of Palm Springs (1988-92) and U.S. Representative (California, 1995-98).
Music: I Got You Babe (1965, #1). TV: The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971-74) and The Sonny and Cher Show (1976-77).
First Woman U.S. Governor
January 5, 1925
Mrs. Nellie Tayloe Ross, Wyoming, takes office. She won by special election after her husband, the previous governor, died in office.
Ford Pays $5 Per Day
January 5, 1914
The automaker Henry Ford announces an unprecedented five-dollar-a-day minimum wage for his employees, doubling the current wages of his assembly line workers. Five dollars in 1914 adjusted for inflation is about $140 in today's money. The high pay attracted thousands of hopeful employees from across the country. The crowds were so large that riots broke out and the crowd had to be dispersed with fire hoses.
The higher pay was needed to help combat the high worker turnover due to the monotony of working on a moving assembly line. In 1913, Ford had to hire more than 50,000 workers to support a workforce of only 14,000. New workers were expensive to train and the lack of workers was slowing production of his Model T's, which were in high demand.
However, the pay increase came with conditions. The employees would still receive their pay of about $2.50 a day, but if they met company requirements they would get a bonus for the remainder of the five dollars. Some of the requirements to qualify for the bonus included:
• Abstain from alcohol and gambling
• Immigrant workers had to learn English and take classes to become "Americanized"
• Not physically abuse their family
• Keep their homes clean
• Not take in boarders
• Men's wives could not work outside the home
A group of ships from the Black Ball Line
A group of ships from the Black Ball Line
First Ocean Liner
January 5, 1818
The James Monroe sets sail on its maiden voyage from New York to England. It arrived February 2.
It was part of the famous Black Ball Line that established transatlantic voyages on a fixed schedule. Until then, ships arrived when winds and weather permitted, departed upon being loaded, and would add or remove stops along the way depending on their cargo.
The Black Ball Line is mentioned in the song Blow the Man Down:
"There's tinkers, and tailors, and soldiers, and all,
They all ship for sailors on board the Black Ball."
Vice-President Cheney
January 5, 2004
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia go on a three-day hunting trip together. Scalia would later refuse to recuse himself from a pending court case involving Cheney that the court had agreed to hear just three weeks earlier. Scalia ultimately supported Cheney in his decision on the case.
Dr. Spock Indicted for Aiding in Draft Evasion
January 5, 1968
The famed baby doctor and Olympic gold medal winner, Dr. Benjamin Spock, is indicted for conspiracy to aid others in draft evasion. He was later convicted and sentenced to two years.
Dr. Spock wrote of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946), which was one of the best-selling books of the twentieth century, selling 500,000 copies in its first six months and 50 million by the time of Spock's death in 1998.
Mister Ed
January 5, 1961
The TV show Mister Ed about a talking horse debuts. It first started as a syndicated show and was picked up by CBS the following October. Western actor Allan "Rocky" Lane provided the voice for Mister Ed, Ed's owner Wilbur Post was played by Alan Young, and Mister Ed was played by the horse Bamboo Harvester.
Alan Young described the method used to make Mister Ed "talk": "It was initially done by putting a piece of nylon thread in his mouth. But Ed actually learned to move his lips on cue when the trainer touched his hoof. In fact, he soon learned to do it when I stopped talking during a scene! Ed was very smart." Young also said of the fake story of using peanut butter to make Ed's lips move, "The producers suggested we keep the method a secret because they thought kids would be disappointed if they found out the technical details of how it was done, so I made up the peanut butter story, and everyone bought it."
The original pilot was financed by comedian George Burns.
Los Angeles Audubon Society members (1918)
Los Angeles Audubon Society members (1918)
National Association of Audubon Societies
January 5, 1905
The organization is incorporated. It is dedicated to protecting birds.
The society has nearly 500 independent local chapters which are voluntarily affiliated with it.
It was named after John James Audubon, the American ornithologist and wildlife artist.
First U.S. Library School
January 5, 1887
Opens at Columbia University.
First State Constitution
January 5, 1776
Adopted by the New Hampshire Colony.
Birthdays
Walter Mondale (Walter Frederick Mondale)
Born January 5, 1928 d. 2021
American politician. 42nd U.S. Vice-President (1977-81), U.S. Senator (1964-76, Minnesota), and U.S. Ambassador to Japan (1993-96).
George Reeves (George Keefer Brewer)
Born January 5, 1914 d. 1959
American actor. Superman from the TV series Adventures of Superman (1952-58).
Reeves was in the opening scene of Gone with the Wind (1939) as one of Scarlett O'Hara's suitors.
He died of a gunshot wound to the head while at home in his bedroom. The death was officially ruled a suicide, but many suspect foul play. Suspects included his fiancé Leonore Lemmon, his ex-girlfriend Toni Mannix, and her husband MGM executive Eddie Mannix, who was rumored to have ties to the mob. No fingerprints were found on the gun and no gunpowder residue was found on Reeves' hands or body.
In his will, Reeves left $71,000 of his estate, including his home, to Toni Mannix.
Los Angeles publicist Edward Lozzi claimed that Toni Mannix had confessed to a Catholic priest in his presence that she was responsible for having Reeves killed.
Reeves and Leonore Lemmon were planning to be married just three days later on June 19th. Coincidentally, Leonore Lemmon had the initials "LL", just like Lois Lane.
Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum
Born January 5, 1910 d. 1987
American actor. TV: Captain Kangaroo (1956-84, Mr. Green Jeans). Prior to Captain Kangaroo, he hosted a local children's TV series called Uncle Lumpy's Cabin. He also narrated a series of children's records called "Little Orley".
Ella's circus pitch card
Ella's circus pitch card
Camel Girl
Ella Harper
Born January 5, 1870 d. 1921
American circus performer. Known as the "Camel Girl", Ella was born with a very rare orthopedic condition that caused her knees to bend backwards (congenital genu recurvatum). Her preference to walk on all fours resulted in her nickname "Camel Girl." A star of the circus where she earned $200 (over $5,000 in today's equivalent) a week. The back of her circus pitch card read, "I am called the camel girl because my knees turn backward. I can walk best on my hands and feet as you see me in the picture. I have traveled considerably in the show business for the past four years and now, this is 1886 and I intend to quit the show business and go to school and fit myself for another occupation."
King Camp Gillette
Born January 5, 1855 d. 1932
American manufacturer. Inventor of the safety razor (1895).
Stephen Decatur, Jr.
Born January 5, 1779 d. 1820
American naval officer. Known for heroism in battle, he is the youngest person to reach the rank of captain in the history of the United States Navy (1804 at age 25). He died from a duel with fellow navy captain James Barron.
Famous quote: "Our country - In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right, and always successful, right or wrong." His quote inspired many similar ultra-patriotic quotes, such as "My country-may she ever be right, but right or wrong, my country."
Pamela Sue Martin
Born January 5, 1953
American actress. TV: Nancy Drew Mysteries (Nancy Drew) and Dynasty (Fallon Colby).
George Tenet
Born January 5, 1953
U.S. Director of the CIA (1997-2004). He resigned as Director of the CIA (2004). He had been under fire for the way the CIA monitored terrorist activity before the 9/11 Attacks in 2001, and for intelligence failures leading up to the war in Iraq.
Chris Stein
Born January 5, 1950
American guitarist, with Blondie. Music: Heart of Glass (1979, #1), Call Me (1980, #1), and Rapture (1981, #1).
Mercury Morris
Born January 5, 1947
American football running back.
Diane Keaton (Diane Hall)
Born January 5, 1946
American Oscar-winning actress. Film: Annie Hall (1977, Oscar).
Robert Duvall
Born January 5, 1931
American Oscar-winning actor. Film: The Godfather (1972), Apocalypse Now (1979), and Tender Mercies (1982, Oscar).
Jane Wyman (Sarah Jane Fulks)
Born January 5, 1917 d. 2007
American Oscar-winning actress. Film: Johnny Belinda (1948, Oscar, deaf-mute rape victim). TV: Falcon Crest (Angela Channing). She was the ex-wife of Ronald Reagan (1940-49).
The Jeane Dixon Effect
Jeane L. Dixon (Lydia Emma Pinckert)
Born January 5, 1904 d. 1997
American astrologer, psychic. Dixon reportedly predicted the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in the May 13, 1956 issue of Parade Magazine, in which she stated that the 1960 presidential election would be dominated by labor and won by a Democrat who would then be assassinated or die in office. But, as the election neared, she changed her prediction, now predicting that Richard Nixon would win. Nixon lost and Kennedy won and was assassinated.
While Dixon made many correct predictions, she also made many incorrect predictions, such as predicting the start of World War III in 1958 and that the Russians would be the first to put a man on the Moon.
John Allen Paulos coined the term "the Jeane Dixon effect" - the tendency to promote a few correct predictions while ignoring a larger number of incorrect predictions.
President Nixon followed her predictions and met with her in the Oval Office in 1971. She was also one of several astrologers, including Joan Quigley, who gave advice to the Reagans.
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard
Born January 5, 1895 d. 1981
American scientist and Episcopal priest. She was the first American woman to qualify as a free-balloon pilot (1934) and the first person to successfully fly a balloon through a layer of clouds (1934).
Edmund Ruffin
Born January 5, 1794 d. 1865
American agriculturist. He fired the first shot of the attack on Fort Sumter starting the Civil War. According to legend, he wrapped himself in the Confederate flag and committed suicide after the collapse of the Confederacy.
Robert Morrison
Born January 5, 1782 d. 1834
English missionary, first Protestant minister to China (1807). In 1823 he completed his Chinese translation of the entire Bible.
Zebulon Montgomery Pike
Born January 5, 1779 d. 1813
American general. For whom Pikes Peak is named. He was killed while leading the attack on York (now Toronto), Canada.
Deaths
Young on the Moon during the Apollo 16 mission
Young on the Moon during the Apollo 16 mission
John Young
Died January 5, 2018 b. 1930
American astronaut. He was the ninth person to walk on the Moon (as Commander of Apollo 16 in 1972), he was the first person to fly solo around the Moon (Apollo 10 in 1969), and is one of only three people to have flown to the Moon twice. He is the only person to have piloted, and been commander of four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini, the Apollo Command/Service Module, the Apollo Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle.
Bono with Cher
Bono with Cher
Sonny Bono (Salvatore Bono)
Died January 5, 1998 b. 1935
American singer with Cher, mayor of Palm Springs (1988-92), and U.S. Representative (California, 1995-98).
Bono was killed when he hit a tree while skiing at Heavenly Mountain Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California.
Music: I Got You Babe (1965, #1). TV: The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971-74) and The Sonny and Cher Show (1976-77).
"Pistol" Pete Maravich
Died January 5, 1988 b. 1947
American basketball player, NBA Hall of Famer (1986). He set the record for NCAA career points (3,667).
In high school, he would shoot the ball from his side, as if he were holding a revolver, thus earning the moniker "Pistol" Pete Maravich.
Mistinguett at the Moulin Rouge
Mistinguett at the Moulin Rouge
Mistinguett (Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois)
Died January 5, 1956 b. 1875
French actress, singer. Her risqué and flamboyant routines made her France's most-popular entertainer and the highest-paid female entertainer in the world. In 1919, her legs were insured for 500,000 francs.
Her signature song was 
"Mon Homme" (1916).
Calvin Coolidge
Died January 5, 1933 b. 1872
American politician. 30th U.S. President (1923-29) and 29th U.S. Vice-President (1921-23). He became president after the death of Warren G. Harding.
Photo Credit: Alan Light
Photo Credit: Alan Light
Jerry Van Dyke
Died January 5, 2018 b. 1931
American actor. Younger brother of Dick Van Dyke. TV: My Mother the Car (1965-66, David Crabtree - The car's son) and Coach (1989-97, Luther). My Mother the Car is considered by critics to be one of the worst sitcoms of all time.
Thomas "Tip" O'Neill
Died January 5, 1994 b. 1912
American politician, Speaker of the House.
Harold Clayton Urey
Died January 5, 1981 b. 1893
American chemist. He discovered heavy water (1931), for which he won the 1934 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
George Washington Carver
Died January 5, 1943 b. circa 1864
American black agricultural scientist, inventor. He is renowned for his research into the industrial use of crops, especially peanuts and sweet potatoes.
Joshua Ballinger Lippincott
Died January 5, 1886 b. 1813
American publisher. Founder of J.B. Lippincott & Co. (1836).
First American Male Saint
John Neumann (John Nepomucene Neumann)
Died January 5, 1860 b. 1811
Bohemian-born American Roman Catholic Bishop (Philadelphia, 1852). He was the first American male saint (1977). Neumann emmigrated from Bohemia to the United States in 1836, where he was ordained, joined the Redemptorist order, and became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia in 1852. He also founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the U.S.
Samuel Huntington
Died January 5, 1796 b. 1731
American statesman. 7th president of the Continental Congress (1779-81), signer of the Declaration of Independence, president of the Continental Congress (1779-81), and governor of Connecticut (1786-96).