History offers
a chance
to truly
understand
how the past
impacts the now.

Follow our
daily timelime
of historical
events to
discover the
role The Beatles
played in changing
the modern world.

1533--England's King Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn.

1741--Benedict Arnold, history’s best-known traitor, is born.

1915--The inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, inaugurates US transcontinental telephone service.

1949--The first Emmys, the awards presented each year in recognition of excellence in television performance and production, are presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club. The event actually is the 1st Annual Los Angeles Emmy Awards (for programming which appeared in 1948) and is presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

1959--American Airlines opens the jet age in the US with the first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707.

1961--The Beatles perform at Hambleton Hall, Huyton, Liverpool. Also appearing are Derry and the Seniors and Faron and the Tempest Tornadoes.

1963--The Beatles perform at Co-operative Hall, Darwen, Lancashire, for a dance promoted by a local Baptist church youth club. Supporting groups are The Electones, The Mike Taylor Combo, and The Mustangs with Ricky Day.

1963--Cilla Black debuts as a vocalist at Liverpool's Cavern Club.

1964--The Beatles perform two shows at the Olympia Theatre in Paris, France.

1964--Producer Phil Spector appears as a panelist on the British rate-a-record TV program "Juke Box Jury."

1967--The Beatles in the recording studio (Studio One, EMI Studios, London). A last-minute remix of Penny Lane is made before the pressing of The Beatles' next single, Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane. A few promotional copies of Penny Lane, using the earlier mix, have already been pressed in the US, but all commercially released singles in the US are pressed from this day's remix. Both songs, originally intended for The Beatles' next album, are issued as a single instead, so two additional songs will be needed for the album that will shake the musical / cultural world, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane single will be released in the UK on February 17, 1967.

1968--After repeatedly vowing that they wanted nothing to do with the project, The Beatles film their live-action cameo appearance that comes at the end of the animated film "Yellow Submarine."

1969--The Beatles in the recording studio (Apple Studios, London). Recording Untitled Jamming, Bye Bye Love, Let It Be, and George's Blues (working title for For You Blue). For You Blue will not be completed until January 8, 1970. The Beatles Anthology 3 contains a version of For You Blue completed during this day's session (Disc two, Track 5). An early recording of Let It Be is also included on The Beatles Anthology 3 (Disc two, Track 21).

1969--The sale of John and Yoko's Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins is banned in Union County, New Jersey, and in the city of Cleveland, Ohio (due to the pictures of John and Yoko naked on the front and the back of the album cover). Police in Mountainside, New Jersey, confiscate 20,000 copies of the album.

1970--John Lennon and Yoko Ono return to London from Denmark.

1971--George Harrison, through his solicitor, pleads guilty to “driving without reasonable consideration” in the West End of London on September 3, 1969, when he drove his Mercedes car against the legs of a policeman who was signaling him to stop. The magistrate postponed sentencing until February 23, because Mr. Harrison had “lost his driving license.”

1971--Charles Manson and three of his family members (all women) are found guilty of conspiracy and seven counts of murder. Manson was a mentally ill Beatles fan who discerned bizarre messages in The Beatles' lyrics (especially Piggies, Helter Skelter, and Revolution 9). Manson believed that a fierce race war would break out in the United States, the time of chaos to be known as "Helter Skelter."

1980--After spending 10 days in a Tokyo jail, Paul McCartney is released and deported back to England. As Paul leaves the dentention cell, he says: “Japanese fans are so great. I want to come back again if I’m allowed.” Later on the plane journey home, Paul fights back tears as he explains, “This is the longest time I have ever been away from Linda and the kids in ten years. I don’t ever want a separation like it again.” Followed by reporters every step of the way home, Paul comments to them: “I sang Yesterday to a killer in the bath! I joined my fellow inmates for a dip in the baths and they asked for a sing-song. I gave them the old ones like Red Red Robin and Take This Hammer. I communicated with the other prisoners by knocking on the walls and shouting. I became quite matey with the chap next door. He could speak a bit of English. We told each other the worst jokes in the world. Discipline in the prison was very strict, but I made friends among the prisoners and guards. But I was never allowed to see sunlight or get a breath of fresh air. That was depressing!” Subsequently, Paul is held personally accountable for the losses suffered by the concert promoters and the ticket holders, which adds up to several million dollars. Due to an oversight, Paul’s tour insurance had lapsed just prior to the Japanese visit.

1983--Yoko Ono’s single Never Say Goodbye (briefly featuring John shouting), backed by Loneliness, is released in America.

1991--Paul McCartney records a performance for MTV's “Unplugged.” The audience in the Limehouse Studios in London, consisted of around 200 specially invited guests.

1993--Sears announces it is closing its catalog sales department after 97 years of operation.

1994--Accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, Michael Jackson settles a civil lawsuit out of court.

1999--Paul McCartney launches a crusade against British radio and TV stations over the banning of The Light Comes From Within, the final song by his late wife, Linda, because it contains language deemed offensive.

2000--A lacquered aluminum record from 1930 is discovered, on which Frank Sinatra sings Roses of Picardy. It is believed to be the first ever solo recording made by Sinatra.

For more day-by-day history go to HistoryUnlimited.net