26 February 2018 Interesting tidbits:
1909 – Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, was first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London. Kinemacolor was used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was a two-color additive color process, photographing and projecting a black-and-white film behind alternating red and green filters.
1914 – HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, was launched at Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
1917 – The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first jazz record, for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York.
1920 – The first German Expressionist film and early horror movie, Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, receives its première in Berlin.
1935 – Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which led directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.
1946 – Finnish observers report the first of many thousands of sightings of ghost rockets, missile-shaped unidentified flying objects sighted in 1946, mostly in Sweden and nearby countries. The first reports of ghost rockets were made on 26 February 1946, by Finnish observers. About 2,000 sightings were logged between May and December 1946, with peaks on 9 and 11 August 1946. Two hundred sightings were verified with radar returns, and authorities recovered physical fragments which were attributed to ghost rockets. Debate continues as to the origins of the ghost rockets, however, it was likely that they originated from the former German rocket facility at Peenemünde, and were long-range tests by the Russians of captured German V-1 or V-2 missiles, or perhaps another early form of cruise missile because of the ways they were sometimes seen to maneuver.
1966 – Apollo Program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket
Today's birthday crew:
1808 – Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor.
1829 – Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co.
1846 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier, hunter, and creator of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
1852 – John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes.
1887 – William Frawley, American actor (Fred Mertz).
1908 – Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor.
1916 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer (Ralph Kramden).
1918 – Theodore Sturgeon, American science fiction and horror writer and critic. Sturgeon wrote the screenplays for the Star Trek episodes "Shore Leave" (1966) and "Amok Time" (1967, written up and published as a Bantam Books "Star Trek Fotonovel" in 1978). The latter is known for its invention of pon farr, the Vulcan mating ritual; first use of the sentence "Live long and prosper"; and first use of the Vulcan hand symbol. Sturgeon also wrote several episodes of Star Trek that were never produced. One of these was notable for having first introduced the Prime Directive. He also wrote an episode of the Saturday morning show Land of the Lost, "The Pylon Express", in 1975. Two of Sturgeon's stories were adapted for The New Twilight Zone. One, "A Saucer of Loneliness", was broadcast in 1986 and was dedicated to his memory. Another short story, "Yesterday was Monday", was the inspiration for the The New Twilight Zone episode "A Matter of Minutes". His 1944 novella "Killdozer!" was the inspiration for the 1970s made-for-TV movie, Marvel comic book, and alternative rock band of the same name. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s he was the most anthologized English-language author alive.
1928 – Fats Domino, American singer-songwriter and pianist.
1945 – Marta Kristen, Norwegian-American actress (Judy Robinson).
1998 - Rohan Gotobed, English actor who portrayed eleven-year-old Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. He has two younger sisters, Melissa and Hattie, who both appear in the same film. Melissa played a first-year Hogwarts student and Hattie played an extra.
Happy birthday guys!