Today in History: Movies, music and more

1489 Christopher Columbus proposes his plan to search for a western route to India in an audience with Spanish monarch, Isabella I. Full support is granted 3 years later, in 1492

1841 First emigrant wagon train leaves Independence, Missouri, for California

1863 Confederate “National Flag” replaces “Stars & Bars”

1886 US general strike for 8-hour working day begins

1931 Empire State Building opens in New York City

1939 Batman first appears in Detective Comics #27

1943 Food rationing begins in the United States during World War II

1952 Mr Potato Head introduced

1961 Pulitzer prize awarded to Harper Lee for her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”

1963 Gloria Steinem’s expose on Playboy bunny working conditions published in “Show” magazine

TV & Movies

1941 “Citizen Kane”, directed by Orson Welles and starring himself, Joseph Cotten and Dorothy Corningore, premieres at the Palace Theater in New York City

1978 Jackie Chan’s breakthrough film “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” directed by Yuen Woo-ping, is released in Hong Kong

1999 Animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants”, created by Stephen Hillenburg, debuts on Nickelodeon

2000 “Gladiator” directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix premieres in LA (Best Picture 2001)

Music

1786 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera “Marriage of Figaro” premieres in Vienna with Mozart himself directing

1950 Pulitzer prize awarded to Rodgers & Hammerstein for musical “South Pacific”

1966 Last British concert by Beatles (Empire Pool in Wembley)

1979 Elton John becomes 1st pop star to perform in Israel

2000 Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli sings for Pope John Paul II in Rome

Sports

1884 Catcher Moses Walker is acknowledged as the first African-American to play major league baseball joining the Toledo Blue Stockings

1891 Legendary pitcher Cy Young wins first game played at Cleveland’s League Park; Cleveland Spiders 12, Cincinnati Redlegs 3

1920 Legendary slugger Babe Ruth smashes his 50th MLB career home run, his first for the NY Yankees in 6-0 win over the Boston Red Sox

1955 American golfer Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins the Peach Blossom LPGA Tournament in Spartanburg, South Carolina, her final victory before her death the following year

1988 After scoring 50 points in Game 1, NBA Eastern Conference playoff series, Michael Jordan has 55 in Chicago Bulls 106-101 win vs Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2; first to score 50+ points in consecutive playoff games

1991 Texas Rangers starter Nolan Ryan pitches MLB record 7th no hitter; beats Toronto, 3-0; at 44, Ryan is oldest to throw no-hitter