John 3:16 Football Game

January 8, 2012

This NFL football game became known as the "3:16 Game" due to many coincidental references to the Bible verse John 3:16 (For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life). Heisman winner Tim Tebow was quarterbacking for the Denver Broncos against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the NFL playoffs.
Tim Tebow had worn "John 3:16" in his eye paint in a college playoff game exactly three years earlier.
Tebow's passing yards = 316
Tebow's yards per completion = 31.6
Yards per rush = 3.16
The only interception of the game was against the Steelers on 3rd down and 16.
Steelers' time of possession was 31 minutes 6 seconds.
The Nielsen ratings for the game peaked at 31.6.
The Broncos lost their previous 3 games by an average of 16 points.

George Bush Vomits on Prime Minister

January 8, 1992

U.S. President George H. W. 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.

AT&T Breakup

January 8, 1982

The biggest corporate breakup in American history.

Elvis Presley Divorces Priscilla - On His Birthday

January 8, 1973

Elvis Presley, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll," files for divorce on his birthday after five years of marriage to Priscilla Presley. The couple agreed to share custody of their daughter and Priscilla was awarded a cash payment of $725,000, spousal support, child support, 5% of Elvis' new publishing companies, and half the income from the sale of their Beverly Hills home.
Elvis met 14 year-old Priscilla Ann Beaulieu when he was serving over seas in Germany. They married when she was 21.

Thorazine and Reserpine

January 8, 1955

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

First Woman Lieutenant Governor

January 8, 1955

Consuelo Northrop Bailey takes office as Lieutenant Governor of Vermont.
In 1950, Bailey was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives and served as the first woman Speaker of the Vermont House (1953-55).

World War I - Fourteen Points

January 8, 1918

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson delivers his "Fourteen points" speech outlining the U.S. peace aims of the war.

Brides of La Baleine

January 8, 1721

88 girls from France arrive at Ship Island, Mississippi to be married off in the Louisiana territory. Each had a dower for the marriage, two pairs of coats, two shirts and undershirts, and six headdresses. The were handed over to the custody of Governor Bienville with marriages commencing the following month.

Roy Batty

Born January 8, 2016

Blade Runner android. Leader of the renegade Nexus-6 replicants, in the 1982 film Blade Runner, played by Rutger Hauer.

Robbie Krieger

Born January 8, 1946

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

Graham Chapman

Born January 8, 1941 d. 1989

British comedian. TV: Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-74, co-creator, writer, actor). Film: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, King Arthur), The Life of Brian (1979, title role), Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983), and Yellowbeard (1983, title role and co-writer).
A recurring character of Chapman's was the British Colonel that would interrupt Monty Python skits that he found "too silly or offensive."
Chapman came out publicly as gay in 1972, making him one of the first celebrities to do so, and became an advocate for gay rights.

Shirley Bassey

Born January 8, 1937

Welsh singer. She recorded title songs for James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979). She was the first Welsh person to have a No. 1 single (1959, As I Love You).

Charles Osgood (Charles Osgood Wood III)

Born January 8, 1933

American broadcast journalist.

Bill Graham (Wulf Wolodia Grajonca)

Born January 8, 1931 d. 1991

German-born American concert promoter. He helped pioneer the mass rock concert as an American cultural event. He died in a helicopter crash.

Soupy Sales (Milton Supman)

Born January 8, 1926 d. 2009

American comedian. TV: What's My Line? (1968-75).

Ron Moody (Ronald Moodnick)

Born January 8, 1924 d. 2015

English actor. Film: Oliver! (1968, Fagin).

Larry Storch (Lawrence Samuel Storch)

Born January 8, 1923 d. 2022

American actor. TV: F Troop (1965-67, Cpl. Agarn) and Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963-66, Phineas J. Whoopee).

José Ferrer (José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón)

Born January 8, 1912 d. 1992

Puerto Rican Oscar-Tony-winning actor. He was the first Hispanic actor to win an Oscar. Film: Whirlpool (1949) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1950, Oscar).

Evelyn Wood

Born January 8, 1909 d. 1995

American speed-reading instructor. She was capable of reading 2,700 words a minute.

The First Doctor Who

William Hartnell

Born January 8, 1908 d. 1975

English actor. The first Doctor of the Doctor Who TV series (1963-66).

Sir Frank Watson Dyson

Born January 8, 1868 d. 1939

English astronomer. He proved light is bent by gravity, as predicted by Albert Einstein. He organized expeditions to observe solar eclipses at Brazil and Principe (1919), confirming Einstein's theory of the effect of gravity on light.

Frank Nelson Doubleday

Born January 8, 1862 d. 1934

American publisher.

Wilkie Collins

Born January 8, 1824 d. 1889

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.

Nicholas Biddle

Born January 8, 1786 d. 1844

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

John Carroll

Born January 8, 1735 d. 1815

American clergyman. He was the first American bishop (1790), 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.).

Edd Byrnes (Edward Byrne Breitenberger)

Died January 8, 2020 b. 1933

American actor. TV: 77 Sunset Strip (1958-1963, Kookie, with his 1959 hit song Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb). Film: Grease (1978, National Bandstand host Vince Fontaine).
In the 1958 pilot movie for 77 Sunset Strip (Girl on the Run), Byrnes played a vicious killer who compulsively combed his hair. The character was so well liked, that the character and his comb were added to the series as Kookie, despite the fact that the original character was sent to prison to be executed.

Yvonne De Carlo (Margaret Yvonne Middleton)

Died January 8, 2007 b. 1922

Canadian-born American actress. TV: The Munsters (1964-66, Lily Munster). Film: The Ten Commandments (1956, Moses' wife) and McLintock (1963, McLintock's housekeeper).
De Carlo's husband was injured while working as a stuntman in the John Wayne movie How the West Was Won (1963), resulting in the amputation of his leg. John Wayne offered her the role of his housekeeper in McLintock to help her out financially.

Founder of Wendy's Hamburgers

Dave Thomas (Rex David Thomas)

Died January 8, 2002 b. 1932

American restaurateur. Founder of Wendy's hamburger restaurants (1969).

John William Mauchly

Died January 8, 1980 b. 1907

American computer pioneer. He and John Presper Eckert, Jr. invented the first digital general-purpose computer (1945, ENIAC). He and Eckert also started the first computer company (1947).

Founder of the Boy Scouts

Sir Robert Baden-Powell

Died January 8, 1941 b. 1857

British major general. Founder of the Boy Scouts (1908) and the Girl Guides (1910).

Inventor of the Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney

Died January 8, 1825 b. 1765

American inventor. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin (1794). His cotton gin separated the seeds from the cotton by pulling the cotton though a mesh that blocked the seeds. He claimed to have gotten the idea from watching a cat who was trying to pull a chicken through a fence, but was only able to pull the feathers through.
His gin could generate up to 55 pounds (25 kg) of cleaned cotton daily, whereas a person could only do about a pound (0.45 kg) a day. This turned cotton into a profitable crop. U.S. cotton exports went from less than 500,000 pounds (230,000 kg) in 1793 to 93 million pounds (42,000,000 kg) by 1810 making it the country's chief export.
Historians argue that the cotton gin helped preserve slavery in the U.S., since before its invention slave labor was primarily used in growing rice, tobacco, and indigo, none of which were profitable any more. But with the gin reducing the labor needed to remove the seeds, growing cotton became highly profitable and became the chief source of wealth in the South, greatly increasing the desire for slave labor.
Whitney lost most of his profits due to legal battles over patent infringements. He then turned to manufacturing guns for the U.S. Army.

Galileo Galilei

Died January 8, 1642 b. 1564

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.

Marco Polo

Died January 8, 1324 b. 1254

Italian traveler. He wrote the famous account of his Asian travels (1300). Marco had commanded a ship in a war against the rival city of Genoa. He was captured and sentenced to prison, where he wrote of his famous adventures.

François Mitterand

Died January 8, 1996 b. 1916

President of France (1981-95). He founded the French Socialist Party. During World War II, he was captured by the Germans in 1940 and held prisoner at Stalag IXA. After two failed escape attempts in March and then November 1941, he managed to escape in December, returning to France on foot.

Pat Buttram (Maxwell Emmett Buttram)

Died January 8, 1994 b. 1915

American actor. He described his distinctive voice as having, "never quite made it through puberty".
TV: The Gene Autry Show (1950-55, Gene's sidekick Pat and also in over 40 films) and Green Acres (1965-71, Mr. Haney).
Buttram also wrote political quips for U.S. President Ronald Reagan's speeches.

Stymie Beard (Matthew Beard, Jr.)

Died January 8, 1981 b. 1925

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.

Jim Elliot

Died January 8, 1956 b. 1927

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.

Jim O'Rourke

Died January 8, 1919 b. 1850

American baseball player. He made the first hit of the first National League game (1876), for Boston.

Richard H. Garrett

Died January 8, 1878 b. 1806

American farmer. He owned the farm on which U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth was killed.

Celestine III

Died January 8, 1198 b. ????

Italian religious leader, 175th Pope (1191-98).