What Happened On
Otis Redding Killed in Plane Crash
December 10, 1967
26-year-old Otis Redding is killed in a plane crash. He had just recorded the song (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay (1968) two days earlier. It was released after his death, becoming his only Billboard #1 hit and the first posthumously-released song to reach #1 on the U.S. charts.
Redding and his band the Bar-Kays were traveling to play in Madison, Wisconsin, flying in poor weather with heavy rain and fog. They were given permission to land at the airport, but somehow the plane crashed into Lake Monona instead. The victims of the crash were: Otis Redding; four members of the Bar-Kays - guitarist Jimmy King, tenor saxophonist Phalon Jones, organist Ronnie Caldwell, and drummer Carl Cunningham; their valet, Matthew Kelly; and the pilot, Richard Fraser. The only survivor of the crash was Bar-Kays trumpeter Ben Cauley. Cauley awoke from the crash in the frigid waters of the lake. He spotted several other survivors floating in the water, but they died before the rescue team arrived 17 minutes later.
Bassist James Alexander was the only other survivor of the Bar-Kays. He was not on the plane because it only held eight people, and it was his turn to take a commercial flight.
The cause of the crash has never been determined.
First Black to Win an Emmy
December 10, 1959
Tonight with Belafonte airs on CBS, for which host Harry Belafonte would win the first Emmy awarded to an African American.
USS Iowa and crew - 1898
USS Iowa and crew - 1898
End of the Spanish-American War
December 10, 1898
Treaty of Paris of 1898 signed ending the Spanish-American War. The U.S. acquires the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Spain gives up all claims to Cuba.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
December 10, 1884
Mark Twain's classic novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is first published. Originally published in the United Kingdom, it wouldn't be published in the U.S. until several months later.
Walt Disney's Mighty Ducks
December 10, 1992
The Walt Disney Company announces that they are putting an NHL hockey franchise in Orange County, California. They named the team the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, from the 1992 movie The Mighty Ducks. The team was sold in 2005 and the name was changed to the Anaheim Ducks.
Frank Zappa Pushed Off Stage
December 10, 1971
The singer Frank Zappa is pushed off a London stage by a fan. He suffered a broken leg and ankle and a fractured skull and was wheelchair-bound for a year. The attacker said he was jealous because his girlfriend was infatuated with Zappa.
Six days earlier, "some stupid with a flare gun" started a fire during Zappa's performance at the Montreux Casino in Switzerland in an event immortalized by Deep Purple in the song Smoke on the Water.
Farm Credit Administration
December 10, 1971
Farm Credit Administration is established.
Mississippi
December 10, 1817
Mississippi becomes the 20th state. Mississippi is Chippewa for "great river."
Birthdays
Dan Blocker (Bobby Dan Davis Blocker)
Born December 10, 1928 d. 1972
American actor. TV: Bonanza (1959-72, Hoss Cartwright). Blocker weighed 14 pounds (6.4 kg) at birth, the record at the time for the largest baby ever born in Bowie County, Texas. At 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 300 pounds (140 kilograms), he was a star football player in college. He went on to serve in the Korean War, earning a Purple Heart for wounds received in combat.
Blocker died at age 43 of a pulmonary embolism following gall bladder surgery.
Lamour in Road to Bali
Lamour in Road to Bali
Dorothy Lamour (Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton)
Born December 10, 1914 d. 1996
American actress. Film: The Jungle Princess (1936, as Ulah) and co-star of all seven Hope-Crosby "road" pictures.
Emily Dickinson
Born December 10, 1830 d. 1886
American poet. Of her over 1,800 poems, less than a dozen were published during her lifetime.
"Because I could not stop for Death -
He kindly stopped for me -
The Carriage held but just Ourselves -
And Immortality."
First Computer Programmer
Ada Lovelace (Augusta Ada King-Noel, Countess of Lovelace)
Born December 10, 1815 d. 1852
English mathematician and the first computer programmer (1842). She is chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's (the father of computers) mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. Her notes on the engine include an algorithm to calculate Bernoulli numbers. This is recognized as the first algorithm intended to be carried out by a machine, making her the first computer programmer.
Susan Dey
Born December 10, 1952
American actress. TV: The Partridge Family (1970-74, Laurie Patridge) and L.A. Law (1986-92, Grace Van Owen). She and Partridge Family co-star David Cassidy dated briefly after the show ended.
She started her career as a teen model, with her first big break as the cover model for a booklet on the facts of menstruation for young girls titled "Getting to Know Yourself."
Dey serves as a board member of the Rape Treatment Center at UCLA Medical Center and co-narrated a documentary on campus rape with her former L.A. Law co-star Corbin Bernsen.
Harold Gould
Born December 10, 1923 d. 2010
American actor. TV: Rhoda (1974-78, Rhoda's father) and Golden Girls (1985-92, Miles Webber).
Chet Huntley (Chester Robert Huntley)
Born December 10, 1911 d. 1974
American newsman. TV: NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report. "Goodnight, Chet."
Olivier Messiaen
Born December 10, 1908 d. 1992
French composer.
Longest Home Run
Roy "Dizzy" Carlyle
Born December 10, 1900 d. 1956
American baseball player. He hit the longest measured home run. In 1929 he hit a 618 foot (188 meter) drive off of Ernie Nevers sending it out of the Oakland Oaks' ballpark, over the clubhouse, over the parking lot, and then over two buildings before it hit the gutter of a house leaving a mark. The impact was witnessed by one of his teammates.
Creator of the Dewey Decimal System
Melvil Dewey
Born December 10, 1851 d. 1931
American librarian. Creator of the Dewey Decimal System (1876).
Alexander Wood
Born December 10, 1817 d. 1884
Scottish physician. He invented the first hypodermic needle that used a true syringe and hollow needle (1853). It was originally used for the injection of morphine and opiates, although he foresaw its potential for injecting healing drugs.
Deaths
Richard Pryor
Died December 10, 2005 b. 1940
American Emmy-Grammy winning comedian. In 1980, while on a freebasing binge, he doused himself in rum, set himself on fire, and then ran down the street ablaze in front of his home until subdued by police. Film: Lady Sings the Blues (1972), Blazing Saddles (1974, co-wrote), Silverstreak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), Richard Pryor Live on Sunset Strip (1982), and Brewster's Millions (1985).
Otis Redding
Died December 10, 1967 b. 1941
American singer, "The King of Soul." Music: (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay (1968), his only Billboard #1, which was recorded two days before he died in a plane crash. The song was released after his death, becoming the first posthumously-released song to reach #1 on the U.S. charts.
First U.S. Air Hero of World War II
Colin Purdie Kelly, Jr.
Died December 10, 1941 b. 1915
American soldier. First U.S. air hero of World War II. He died when his B-17 was shot down by the Japanese, for which he was awarded the distinguished Service Cross. His was the first American B-17 shot down in combat.
The Monkees - Nesmith bottom right
The Monkees - Nesmith bottom right
Michael Nesmith
Died December 10, 2021 b. 1942
American Grammy-winning singer, producer, actor. He was the wool hat-wearing guitar player "Mike" of The Monkees (1966-68).
When Nesmith was 13, his mother invented the typewriter correction fluid known as Liquid Paper. She built the Liquid Paper Corporation into a multimillion-dollar international company, which she sold in 1979 for $48 million.
Nesmith shares his birthday with Monkees bandmate Davy Jones.
Philip McKeon
Died December 10, 2019 b. 1964
American actor. Best known for his role as Alice's son on the TV sitcom Alice (1976-85).
He died at the age of 55 after a long illness.
Dolph Schayes
Died December 10, 2015 b. 1928
American basketball player, coach. He was the first NBA player to score 15,000 points (1960).
Eugene McCarthy
Died December 10, 2005 b. 1916
U.S. Senator (1959-71). In 1968, he ran against incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, with the intention of influencing the government to curtail its involvement in the Vietnam War. A number of antiwar activists cut their long hair and beards in order to campaign for McCarthy door-to-door, leading to the slogan "Get clean for Gene".
Note: Not to be confused with Senator Joseph McCarthy who led the controversial investigations into communism.
Armand Hammer
Died December 10, 1990 b. 1898
American businessman, president of Occidental Petroleum Corporation. Some speculate that he was named after the "arm and hammer" symbol of the Soviet Labor Party of American. Known for his close ties to the Soviet Union, he bragged that he was the only man who was friends with both Vladimir Lenin and U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Freeman Fisher Gosden
Died December 10, 1982 b. 1899
American radio comedian. Radio: Amos 'n' Andy (1928-60, Amos and Kingfish). Amos 'n' Andy was the first U.S. syndicated radio program. It featured Gosden and Charles J. Correll, both white actors, portraying black characters.
Damon Runyon
Died December 10, 1946 b. 1880
American author, columnist. Writings: Guys and Dolls (1932). The stage version of Guys and Dolls featured characters from his various stories.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel
Died December 10, 1896 b. 1833
Swedish chemist, inventor of dynamite. The terms of his will established Nobel prizes.
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
Died December 10, 1864 b. 1793
American explorer. He discovered the source of the Mississippi river (1832).