This Week In History: June 29 – July 5

Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s

American Experience:

1945 – Newspaper strike in NY begins, lasts 17 days

1956 – The Interstate Highway System was authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, popularly known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956, and signed by President Eisenhower.

1959 – America’s new 49-star flag honoring Alaska statehood unfurled

1960 – America’s new 50-star flag honoring statehood of Hawaii unfurled

1963 – US postal service institutes the Zip Code (Zone Improvement Plan)

1964 – Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed after 83-day filibuster in Senate

1966 – Lyndon B Johnson signs Freedom of Information Act

1966 – Medicare goes into effect

1971 – Washington becomes the first state to ban sex discrimination

1986 – Statue of Liberty re-opens after refurbishment; Nancy Reagan cuts the ribbon at the ceremony

Movies & TV:

1941 – Commercial TV authorized by the FCC. Licenses granted to W2XBS-WNBT (NBC) & WCBW (CBS), NYC

1941 – Bulova Watch Company pays $9 for 1st-ever network TV commercial

1941 – CBS Television Quiz premieres as television’s first regular game show

1951 – “Amos ‘n’ Andy” premieres on CBS TV

1952 – Soap Opera “Guiding Light” moves from radio to TV

1955 – “Johnny Carson Show,” debuts on CBS-TV

1955 – “Lawrence Welk Show” premieres on ABC

1956 – Elvis Presley appears on the Steve Allen Show wearing a tuxedo

1958 – “Andy Williams Show” premieres on ABC

1964 – 1st draft of Star Trek’s pilot “Cage” released

Music & Radio:

1940 – “Quiz Kids?” premieres on radio

1963 – “From Me to You” Beatles’ 1st song hits UK charts

1964 – The Beachboys’ “I Get Around” climbs to #1

1967 – The Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” goes #1 for 15 weeks

1970 – Jimi Hendrix has his first recording session in New York City

1970 – “American Top 40″ with Casey Kasem debuts on LA radio

1978 – Supreme Court rules 5-4 that the FCC had a right to reprimand NY radio station WBAI for broadcasting George Carlin’s “Filthy Words”

1981 – “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes returns to #1 slot

Hollywood Headlines:

1971 – Jim Morrison, lead singer for The Doors, dies of heart failure at 27

The Arts:

1936 – “Gone With the Wind” written by Margaret Mitchell, published

1967 – “Funny Girl” closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 1348 performances

1972 – “Hair” closes at Biltmore Theater NYC after 1750 performances

1977 – Marvel Comics publish a tribute to the rock group Kiss with their “Kiss book”

Sports:

1937 – Joe DiMaggio’s hit his 1st grand slammer

1950 – US beats England in a World Cup soccer game 1-0. They will not win again until 1994.

1983 – Calvin Smith of US becomes fastest man alive (9.93 for 100m)

Technology & Inventions:

1934 – Dr. Warren Sausser made the first x-ray picture of the entire skeleton of an adult human. The Eastman Kodak Company made a special 20 x 70 inch film for the project.

1939 – Pan American Airlines (Dixie Clipper) completes 1st commercial plane flight to Europe

1931 – Ice vending machines were introduced in LA. 15 cents for 25 lbs

1948 – Bell Labs announces the Transistor as a substitute for Radio Tubes

Automobile News:

1953 – 1st Corvette manufactured in Flint, Michigan.