Today In History

Singer, Film Star and Animal Lover… Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff was born on April 3rd, 1924. She would later come to be known as Doris Day, a singer and actress who won over the American public, and then the world. As a singer, Day released 29 albums, with many of the songs spending time in the Top 40 (a total for 460 weeks on the charts). Day’s singing career has earned her a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Legend Award from the Society of Singers. Day had a long lasting relationship with Colombia Records from 1947-1967. Although her musical accolades are impressive, Doris Day went on to become a darling of the silver screen with appearances in 39 films, including ‘Pillow Talk’. She is the top-ranking female box office star of all time and ranks sixth out of the top 10 performers when we include men and women. Adding to her list, Day has received a lifetime achievement award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures in 1989. Day demonstrated her commitment to animal rights in 1971 when she co-founded ‘Actors and Others for Animals’. Years later, she started non-profit organizations called ‘The Doris Day Animal Foundation’ and ‘The Doris Day Animal League’. Today, though long retired from music and film, she continues to support animal rights. In 2004, Day was acknowledged by President George W. Bush in recognition of her distinguished service to the country with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Yellowstone National Park - A vast wilderness of natural beauty On March 1, 1872 President Ulysses Grant signed into existence the world's first national park, Yellowstone National Park. The 2.2 million acres of wilderness was "set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." Yellowstone's name is historically credited to the Native Americans. The name is derived from the Yellowstone River, which has high yellow rock cliffs along its banks. In 1872 the vast wilderness of the west was viewed by most Americans as something to be tamed, to be explored, settled, mined, logged, ranched and farmed. The west was not valued for its wilderness. It is remarkable that during such an age Yellowstone was set aside as the world's first national park, clearly an illustrative indicator of how unique and magnificent Yellowstone was perceived to be, even then. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited Yellowstone and was awed at the beauty and wildness of the Park. The railroads were catering to Yellowstone tourists, taking visitors by the carloads to the Park. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed into existence a new government agency, the National Park Service, forever changing the administration of our national parks. In 1917, only two years after the first automobile entered the Park, some 5000 people entered Yellowstone during the summer season.