1. 1962: The Beatles released their first single
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It was on this date in 1962 that the hit song “Love Me Do” was released in the United Kingdom. This was the first single from the legendary group, The Beatles, and it actually didn’t get the greatest response right away. The highest it reached on the charts that year was #17. However, it was later released in the United States on April 27, 1964, and immediately went straight to the top as the #1 single. The majority of the song was said to be written by a 16-year-old Paul McCartney, long before the Beatles became a group. McCartney later gave partial credit to John Lennon for his additions to the song. The Beatles quickly became one of the most popular music acts in the entire world and it all started with the hit song, “Love Me Do”.
2. 1947: First Presidential speech broadcast on television
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President Harry S. Truman addressed the American public during the frist televised Presidential speech on this date in 1947. Truman was asking the American people to cut back on their food usage in hopes of being able to provide aid to the parts of Europe still recovering from World War II. Some of the requests were quite specific, for example saving a slice of bread each day, or forgoing eggs and poultry on Thursdays and meat altogether on Mondays. Truman and his administration were concerned that if they didn’t provide food to the parts of Europe that were struggling, the Marshall Plan for European economic recovery would fall apart. However, this food-saving plan was only short lived because the Marshall Plan put in place by the Truman administration was actually somewhat successful. President Truman was at the forefront of the White House telecast, and every speech of his from that point on was televised.
3. 1974 American man completed his walk around the entire world
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It was on this date in 1974 that American David Kunst became the first person to complete an around the world journey entirely on foot. Kunst’s journey is said to be the first third-party verified trip around the world. It took him roughly 4 years to complete the 14,500 miles trek, and he went through 21 pairs of shoes in the process! Kunst left the small town of Waseca, Minnesota on June 20, 1970, to begin this massive undertaking. His reasoning for doing so: “I was tired of Waseca, tired of my job, tired of a lot of little people who don’t want to think, and tired of my wife.”