12:01
/*
1913 1st drive-up gasoline station opens, in Pittsburgh.
1922 1st skywriting over the US - "Hello U.S.A." - by Capt Turner, RAF
1951 Golden Gate Bridge closed because of high winds.
*/
12:02
/*
1906 Peter Carl Goldmark, developed color TV & LP records.
1816 1st savings bank in US opens as the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society
1823 President James Monroe declares his doctrine.
1942 1st controlled nuclear reaction at University of Chicago.
1981 Moscone Convention Center opens at 11:30 AM.
1982 1st permanent artificial heart successfully implanted.
*/
12:03
/*
1729 Antonio Soler, famed late 18th century Spanish composer.
1621 Galileo invents the telescope.
1866 Paid Fire Department takes over from volunteer companies.
1952 1st television broadcast in Hawaii.
1954 Joseph McCarthy goes too far in his attacks and is condemned
     by the U.S. Senate.
1967 1st human heart transplant performed, in Capetown, South Africa
*/
12:04
/*
1783 Gen. Washington bids his officers farewell at Fraunce's Tavern, NYC
1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition opens.
*/
12:05
/*
1782 Martin Van Buren, 8th President (1837-1841)
1839 General George A. Custer
1901 Walter Elias Disney, father of Mickey Mouse.
1776 Phi Beta Kappa, 1st American scholastic fraternity, founded.
*/
12:06
/*
1822 John Eberhard, built 1st large scale pencil factory in US.
1870 William S. Hart, star of silent Western movies
1876 City of Anaheim incorporated for a second time.
1917 Finland gains it's independence.
Independence Day, celebrated in Finland
*/
12:07
/*
1787 Delaware is the first state to ratify the Constitution.
1941 Pearl Harbor was attacked.
1972 Apollo 17, last of the Apollo moon series, launched.
*/
12:08
/*
1861 William Durant, founded General Motors Corp.
1865 Jean Sibelius, major Scandinavian composer.
1894 James Thurber
1913 Construction starts on Palace of Fine Arts.
1941 San Francisco has 1st blackout, at 6:15PM.
*/
12:09
/*
1848 Joel Chandler Harris, created the Uncle Remus stories
1886 Clarence Birdseye, became the frozen vegatable king.
1793 Noah Webster establishes New York's 1st daily newspaper.
1907 1st Christmas Seals sold, in the Wilmington Post Office.
1941 300 Montgomery opens as new Bank of America headquarters.
*/
12:10
/*
1830 Emily Dickinson, poet
1851 Melvil Dewey, created the Dewey Decimal System for libraries
1901 1st distribution of Nobel Peace Prizes
1962 Hunters Point jitney ends service after 50 years.
Human Rights Day, a United Nations observance.
*/
12:11
/*
1918 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
1914 Stockton Street Tunnel completed.
1932 Snow falls in San Francisco.
1975 First Class Mail now costs 13 cents (had been 10 cents).
*/
12:12
/*
1805 Henry Wells, founded American Express Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.
1821 Gustave Flaubert, novelist, 'Madame Bovary'.
1915 Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra.
1901 Marconi receives 1st trans-Atlantic radio signal from England to US.
1963 Kenya gains it's independence.
Independence Day, celebrated in Kenya
National Ding-a-ling Day
*/
12:13
/*
1903 Wright brothers first airplane flight at Kittyhawk.
1918 Wilson becomes 1st to make a foreign visit while President.
1968 Playland at the Beach reopens.
1976 Golden Gate Bridge District starts ferry service to Larkspur.
1978 Susan B. Anthony dollar, 1st US coin to honor a woman, issued.
*/
12:14
/*
1546 Tycho Brahe, astronomer
1819 Alabama admitted to the Union.
1911 South Pole 1st reached by Amundsen.
1971 Golden Gate Bridge lights out all night from power failure.
*/
12:15
/*
1832 Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, built a tower in Paris.
1861 Charles Edgar Duryea, with his brother, invented 1st auto to be
     built and operated in US.
1791 Bill of Rights ratified when Virginia gave its approval.
1877 Patent granted to Mr. Edison for the phonograph.
1965 1st rendevous in space: Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 link up.
1969 SF Fire Dept. replaces leather helmets with plastic ones.
Bill of Rights Day
*/
12:16
/*
1770 Ludwig von Beethoven
1863 George Santayana, philosopher, poet, humanist.
1899 Sir Noel Coward, playwright
1917 Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction author ('2001').
1773 Big Tea Party in Boston Harbor.  Indians welcome.
1905 "Variety", covering all phases of show business, 1st published.
1907 Great White Fleet sails from Hampton Downs on it's World Cruise
*/
12:17
/*
1778 Sir Humphry Davy, discovered several chemical elements
     Arthur Fiedler
1791 New York City traffic regulation creates the 1st one-way street
1852 first Hawaiian cavalry organized.
1860 Anaheim Township created in Los Angeles County.
1903 at 10:35AM, for 12 seconds, 1st sustained motorized aircraft
     flight by Wright Brothers.
1933 1st professional football game: Chicago Bears vs. NY Giants.
1944 M-OceanView streetcar resumes service & is extended to Market St.
*/
12:18
/*
1886 Ty Cobb
1890 Edwin Armstrong, radio pioneer (invented FM).
1974 San Francisco Visitors Center at City Hall opens.
*/
12:19
/*
1849 Henry Clay Frick, industrialist; worked for Carnegie.
1732 Benjamin Frankin begins publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack"
1777 Washington settles his troops at Valley Forge for the winter.
1859 Grading started for Market Street Railroad.
1889 Bishop Museum founded in Hawaii.
1962 Street signs in Golden Gate Park approved by Park Commission.
Underdog Day
*/
12:20
/*
1805 Thomas Graham, the father of colloid chemistry
1819 John Geary, 1st Postmaster, 1st Mayor (May 1, 1850).
1868 Harvey Firestone
1803 Louisiana Purchase officially transferred.
1850 Hawaiian post office established.
1929 Mt. Davidson dedicated as city park.
*/
12:21
/*
1911 Josh Gibson, in professional baseball, the "Negro Babe Ruth"
1620 the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock
1913 1st crossword puzzle (with 32 clues), printed in New York World
1937 1st feature-length cartoon with color and sound premieres...
     "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
1952 Broadway Tunnel opens.
The Winter Solstice (at 2:21 PM PDT), shortest day of the year.
*/
12:22
/*
1858 Giacomo Puccini, composer
1850 Hawaiian Post Office established.
*/
12:23
/*
1790 Jean-Francois Champollion, deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics
1947 transistor invented by Bardeen, Brattain & Shockley in Bell Labs
*/
12:24
/*
1809 Kit Carson, Western scout.
1905 Howard Hughes, reclusive billionaire.
1814 Treaty of Ghent signed, ending War of 1812 (this news did not
     arrive until after the Battle of New Orleans).
1906 1st known radio program in US is broadcast.
1910 Luisa Tetrazzini sings to 250,000 people at Lotta's Fountain.
Christmas Eve
*/
12:25
/*
1899 Humphrey Bogart.  Here's looking at you, kid.
1918 Anwar Sadat
1776 Washington crosses the Delaware and surprises the Hessians.
Christmas Day. Peace on Earth, good will towards men.
Constitution Day, celebrated in Republic of China (Taiwan).
*/
12:26
/*
1865 James Mason invents the 1st American coffee percolator.
1925 1st East-West football game at Ewing Park before 25,000 fans.
*/
12:27
/*
1571 Johannes Kepler, discovered planets travel in eliptical orbits.
1831 Darwin begins his voyage onboard the HMS Beagle.
1850 Hawaiian Fire Department established.
1903 "Sweet Adaline", a barbershop quartet favorite, is 1st sung.
1932 Radio City Music Hall in New York City opens.
*/
12:28
/*
1856 Woodrow Wilson, 28th President (1912-1921)
1669 a patent for chewing gum is granted to William Semple.
1902 Trans-Pacific cable links Hawaii to US.
1912 San Francisco Municipal Railway starts operation at Geary St.
     (MUNI was the 1st municpally-owned transit system)
1915 City Hall dedicated by Mayor James Rolph.
*/
12:29
/*
1800 Charles Goodyear, invented vulcanization process for rubber
1808 Andrew Johnson, 17th President (1865-1869)
1809 William Ewart Gladstone, British statesman
1876 Pablo Casals, cellist
1864 Fire Dept celebrates 1st annual ball.
1911 San Francisco Symphony formed.
1937 Pan Am starts San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand service.
*/
12:30
/*
1817 first coffee planted in Hawaii.
1853 Gadsden Purchase signed.
*/
12:31
/*
1879 Cornerstone laid for Iolani Palace (only royal palace in US).
1879 Edison gives public demonstration of his incandescent lamp.
1921 Last San Francisco firehorses retired.
*/