November 28 in Pop Culture History

November 28 History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

November 28 History Highlights

  • 1895 – The first automobile race in The United States took place, over 54 miles, from Jackson Park in Chicago to Evanston, Illinois. Frank Duryea won in about 10 hours.
  • 1942 – Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire, Boston Massachusettes. Nearly 500 people were killed in the blaze. This fire was probably the single biggest reason ‘EXIT’ signs are now in (US) public places.
  • 1967 – The first pulsar (PSR B1919+21, in the constellation of Vulpecula) was discovered by astronomers Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish.
  • If you were born on November 28th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… March 6th (same year)

November 28 is…

Letter Writing Day
National French Toast Day
Red Planet Day

November 28 Birthday Quotes

“You can get awful famous in this country in seven days.”
– Gary Hart

“A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.”
– William Blake

“Editing is where movies are made or broken. Many a film has been saved and many a film has been ruined in the editing room.”
– Joe Dante

“One must be very naïve or dishonest to imagine that men choose their beliefs independently of their situation.”
– Claude Lévi-Strauss

Let it go, let it go!
I am one with the wind and sky!
Let it go, let it go!
You’ll never see me cry…

Let it go, let it go!
And I’ll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go!
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand
In the light of day!
Let the storm rage on!
The cold never bothered me anyway!

– Queen Elsa, Frozen

Hey, hey baby
I wanna know
If you’ll be my girl

Hey, hey baby
I wanna know
If you’ll be my girl

– Bruce Channel

November 28 Birthdays

1682 – Betty Parris (Witch Accuser from Salem, died in 1760)
1757 – William Blake, English poet (died in 1827)
1866 – Henry Bacon, American architect (designed the Lincoln Memorial died in 1924)
1908 – Claude Lévi-Strauss, French Anthropologist
1929 – Berry Gordy, Jr., American songwriter and producer (founded Motown Records)
1933 – Hope Lange, American actress (died in 2003)
1936 – Gary Hart, American lawyer, and politician
1940 – Bruce Channel, American Singer/Songwriter
1941 – Laura Antonelli, Italian actress (died in 2015)
1943 – R.B. Greaves, Guyanese-American Singer/Songwriter (died in 2012)
1943 – Randy Newman, American Singer/Songwriter, and composer (Toy Story, Monk)
1946 – Joe Dante, American director, and producer (Gremlins)
1948 – Dick Morris, American political consultant
1952 – S. Epatha Merkerson, American actress (Law and Order)
1959 – Judd Nelson, American actor (The Breakfast Club)
1961 – Alfonso Cuarón, Mexican director/producer and screenwriter (Gravity)
1962 – Jon Stewart, American comedian, and TV host
1967 – Anna Nicole Smith, American model, actress, and television personality (died in 2007)
1983 – Tyler Glenn, American Singer/Songwriter and keyboard player (Neon Trees)
1984 – Trey Songz, American R&B Singer/Songwriter, and actor
1984 – Mary Elizabeth Winstead, American actress, and producer
1987 – Karen Gillan, Scottish actress (Doctor Who, Nebula)
1992 – Adam Hicks, American actor

November 28 History

2348 BC – A supposed comet, under divine guidance, passed near Earth, causing the Great Flood, in the opinion of Anglican priest and mathematician, William Whiston. They did not know much about comets in 1696.

1582 – William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway (not the ‘our’ Anne Hathaway)

1660 – The Royal Society, a scientific academy, was founded at Gresham College, London.

1717 – Blackbeard attacked a French merchant vessel called La Concorde, which he captured and renamed as the Queen Anne’s Revenge.

1811 – Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, premiered at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig.

1895 – America’s first auto race started: 6 cars, 55 miles, the winner averaged 7 MPH, from Chicago’s Jackson Park to Evanston, Illinois.

1925 – The Grand Ole Opry made its (weekly) radio debut on station WSM, in Nashville, Tennessee.

1907 – In Haverhill, Massachusetts, scrap-metal dealer Louis B. Mayer opened his first movie theater, The Orpheum. It was a renovated 600 seat burlesque house.

1922 – The first skywriting in the US was demonstrated over Times Square, New York City, by Capt. Cyril Turner of the Royal Air Force. Flying at 10,000 feet, he wrote letters in white smoke a half-mile high: Hello, U.S.A. Call Vanderbilt 7200. It was an advertisement for the American Tobacco Company.

1934 – Infamous bank robber George “Baby Face” Nelson was killed by FBI agents near Barrington, Illinois.

1948 – The Polaroid Land Camera went on sale, at a Boston department store. The 40 series, model 95 roll film camera sold for $89.75.

1960 – #1 Hit November 28, 1960 – January 8, 1961: Elvis Presley – Are You Lonesome Tonight?

1964 – Mariner 4 was launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida.

1964 – #1 Hit November 28, 1964 – December 4, 1964: The Shangri-Las – Leader of the Pack

1967 – The first pulsar known as PSR B1919+21, in the constellation of Vulpecula, was discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish.

1975As the World Turns and The Edge of Night aired their last ‘live’ episodes, switching to pre-recorded programs.

November 28, 1979 Birthday (fictional) Tia Landry and Tamara Campbell, Sister, Sister, TV

1984 – William Penn and his wife Hannah Callowhill Penn were made Honorary Citizens of the United States.

1987 – #1 Hit November 28, 1987 – December 4, 1987: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes – (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life

1992 – #1 Hit November 28, 1992 – March 5, 1993: Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You

1994 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer died of injuries received after he was attacked by other prisoners while cleaning a prison toilet. Or maybe one other prisoner. ‘Nobody saw nothin’, it was reported.

1995 – President Bill Clinton ended the federal 55 mph speed limit that began in 1974, as an energy-saving measure.

1997 – The last episode of Beavis and Butt-Head aired on MTV. The series was later resumed again briefly in 2011.

1998 – #1 Hit November 28, 1998 – December 4, 1998: Divine – Lately

2001 – Enron Corporation, once the world’s largest energy trader, covering major electricity, natural gas, communications, pulp, and paper, and with over 20,000 employees, essentially went out of business.

2009 – #1 Hit November 28, 2009 – January 1, 2010: Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind

On Nov. 28, 2012, not a single murder, shooting, stabbing, or other incidents of violent crime in NYC was reported for an entire day.

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

It’s actually quite amazing that we all have a standardized unit of time. We can’t seem to agree on units of distance or speed but time, we got that.

“Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous. A spark is fine, as long as it’s contained.” – President Snow #moviequotes

TV Ratings: In 1951, the first year Nielsen released television ratings, the most-watched series was Texaco Star Theater with a 61.6 rating. The 2017 winner (Sunday Night Football) scored only a 12.2.

“Like a game show contestant with a parting gift, I could not believe my eyes!” #songlyrics

In the Curious George book series, the Man with the Yellow Hat remained unnamed for six decades. In the 2006 movie adaptation, he was named Ted Shackleford.

A group of Quotations is called a Rosary.

In Disney’s Frontierland you can see a wooden leg with “Smith” written on it in the lost and found. This is a tribute to “Mary Poppins” when Bert says, “I knew a man with a wooden leg named Smith.”

A group of Impalas is called a Herd.

One of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World: Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Ephesus, Turkey was constructed ~550-540 BC. It was burned down by Herostratus in 356 BC because he wanted to be famous.

The longest named place on Earth is “Taumatawhakatangi­ hangakoauauotamatea­ turipukakapikimaunga­ horonukupokaiwhen­ uakitanatahu” (no spaces) containing 85 letters and located in New Zealand.

The Capital of Cape Verde is Praia

TV Quotes… “…if it weren’t for you meddling kids!” (The bad guy) on “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?”

Things I Learned At The Movies: All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they are going to go off.

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