Celebrating Black History Month: Jimmie Lee Jackson, murdered civil rights activist

 

Jimmie Lee Jackson, a peaceful, unarmed demonstrator, died February 26, 1965, eight days after being beaten and shot by Alabama State Troopers. Jackson was an African American civil rights activist, born December 16, 1938 in Marion, Alabama, and a deacon in the Baptist church.

On February 18, 1965, about 500 people conducted a peaceful walk from Zion United Methodist Church to the Perry County jail, about half a block away.  The demonstration was organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from Selma, Alabama, to protest the arrest of a civil rights worker James Orange was being held.

The police stated they believed the crowd was going to attempt a jail break and began beating the demonstrators.  Jackson and his family, including his 82-year-old grandfather, fled to a cafe for safety, but the police pursued them there.  They began to beat the family, and when Jackson tried to protect them, he was shot twice in the abdomen by Officer James Fowler. 

Despite his injuries, he managed to flee, but was beaten further by the police.  He finally collapsed, and was taken to the hospital. He died eight days later.  

Martin Luther King spoke at one of two funerals held for Jackson.  Jackson's death inspired the first march from Selma to Montgomery.

The officer who shot Jackson, Jim Fowler, was not brought up on charges at the time, claiming self-defense.  However, in 2010, Fowler admitted to shooting Jackson and plead guilty to manslaughter.  He was sentenced to six months in prison. 

Seriously?

He served only five months before being released due to health reasons.  

The Murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson

Happy birthday, taikonaut Fei Junlong!

Chinese astronaut Fei Junlong, born May 5, 1965, has been in space twice.  

His first mission was aboard Shenzhou 6 as commander in October 2005.  The spaceflight lasted almost 5 days before he returned to Earth.

His second mission was aboard Shenzhou 15 as commander launched in November 2022 to the Tiangong space station.  Fei Junlong performed 4 EVAs during the mission.  He spent about 6 months in space before returning to Earth in June 2023.

Luna 6 launched 1965

Luna 6, launched June 8, 1965, was a Soviet spacecraft, intended to land on the moon.  The next day, Luna 6's main engine ignited for a planned mid-course correction.  However, it failed to cut off and continued to fire, until its fuel had been depleted.  Luna 6 passed by the moon on June 11 at a distance of almost 100K miles.

Celebrating Pride Month: Dewey's sit-ins, early LGBT demonstration advocating for equal rights 1965

Advocates for LGBT rights organized two sit-ins at the popular Dewey's Restaurant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On April 25, 1965, about 150 LGBT demonstrators walked into Dewey's and refused to leave in the name of civil rights.  This was in response to Dewey's recent policy claiming it would not serve homosexuals, masculine women, or feminine men. Nor would they serve persons wearing "nonconformist clothing".   Three people were arrested.

On May 2, 1965, protestors staged a second sit-in at Dewey's. No arrests happened this time and Dewey's reversed their policy.  The incidents helped forge a path toward the gay rights movement.

In October 2018, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission erected a historical marker to commemorate the sit-in. 

"Doctor Zhivago" wins 5 Golden Globes 1965

David Lean's historical-romance drama Doctor Zhivago, set during WWI and the Russian Civil War, took home five Golden Globes at the 23rd annual ceremony February 28, 1965.  It won all categories for which it was nominated. It was by far the biggest winner of the night.

Doctor Zhivago won Best Picture - Drama.  Omar Sharif won Best Actor for his work in the titular role.  David Lean won Best Director.  Maurice Jarre won for Best Original Score, beating Henry Mancini for his work on The Great Race. Robert Bolt won for Best Screenplay.  

The only other movie to win more than one award was The Sound of Music, who won two of four nominations.  It won Best Film - Musical or Comedy and Julie Andrews won Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.  Robert Wise was nominated for Best Director but lost to Lean.  Peggy Wood was nominated for Best Supporting Actress but lost to Ruth Gordon.  

The Great Race, one of my favorites, received four nominations, but failed to win any awards. 

Happy birthday, Nightcrawler actor Alan Cumming!

Versatile actor Alan Cumming, born January 27, 1965 in Perthshire, Scotland, has won numerous awards for his acting including two Tony awards. He has been nominated numerous times for his work on The Good Wife, but my favorite performance of his will always be as Nightcrawler in X-2: X-Men United.  He declined appearing in any of the sequels because he didn't want to go through the entire makeup sessions again.  

Fair enough.

Cumming has come out and has appeared in several gay movies and won a TLC Releasing Award for Best Lead Actor in a Gay Movie.

Luna 8 launched 1965

 

Luna 8, launched December 3, 1965, was the Soviet Union's eleventh attempt to achieve a soft landing on the moon.  For three days, Luna 8 performed satisfactorily and seemed that it would succeed.  Prior to landing, a command ordered the cushioning air bags around the landing probe to inflate.  A plastic mounting bracket apparently pierced one of the two air bags, causing the spacecraft to spin.  A retrorocket firing nine seconds long, managed to help stabilize Luna 8 but it did not have enough retrorocket burn to reduce its velocity.

Luna 8 crashed onto the moon's surface December 6 on the west side of Oceanus Procellarum.  

Happy birthday, Chinese astronaut Fei Julong!

Fei Julong, born May 5, 1965 in China, went into space aboard Shenzhou 6, the second manned spaceflight of the Chinese National Space Administration.  He spent over four days in space.  

An asteroid, 9512 Feijulong, is named after him.

"The Sound of Music" released 1965

One of the most successful movies of all time, The Sound of Music, was released April 1, 1965.  It starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, in the story of the Von Trapp family in the days before WWII.

It won 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, and two Golden Globes, for Best Picture and Best Actress for Julie Andrews.

Agnes Moorehead wins Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress 1965

Agnes Moorehead won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte at the 22nd ceremony February 8, 1965.  It was her second Golden Globe, her first being awarded in 1945, also for Best Supporting Actress in Mrs. Parkington.

She was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte.

Happy birthday, Godzilla actor Don Frye!

Don Frye, born November 23, 1965 in Sierra Vista, Arizona, made his film debut in Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004.  He began as a wrestler, wrestling for Arizona State University and Oklahoma State University.  He gained success in Mixed Martial Arts and competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Robert Satcher!

Dr. Robert Satcher, born September 22, 1965 in Hampton, Virginia, went to the International Space Station aboard Atlantis (STS-129) in November 2009.  During the mission, he performed two EVAs with fellow astronauts Michael Foreman and Randy Bresnik for a total of 12 hours 19 minutes.

He has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT, and an MD from Harvard Medical School, specializing in orthopedics.  

Happy birthday Space Shuttle astronaut Stanley Love!

Stanley Love, born June 8, 1965 in San Diego, California, went into space aboard Atlantis (STS-122) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in February 2008. During the mission he conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut Rex Walheim.

Happy birthday, astronaut Shannon Walker!

Shannon Walker, born June 4, 1965 in Houston, Texas, went into space aboard Soyuz TMA-19 to the International Space Station in June 2010.  She participated in Expeditions 24 and 25 before returning to Earth in November after more than 163 days in space.

She is scheduled to return to the ISS in August of this year aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft USCV-1.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut John "Danny" Olivas!

John "Danny" Olivas, born May 25, 1965 in North Hollywood, California, is a veteran of two space shuttle missions.

His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-117) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in June 2007.  He conducted two EVAs during the mission with fellow astronaut James Reilly.

His second and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-128) as mission specialist to the ISS in August-September 2009.  He conducted three EVAs with fellow astronauts Nicole Stott and Christer Fuglesang.

"Mary Poppins" wins 5 Academy Awards 1965

Walt Disney's bround-breaking motion picture Mary Poppins took home five Academy Awards on April 5, 1965, being nominated for thirteen, the most for any movie that year.  It won for Best Actress for Julie Andrews, Best Song for Chim Chim Cher-ee, Best Music Score - Substantially Original, Best Film Editing and Best Special Visual Effects.

It had been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; Best Scoring of Music - Adaption or Treatment; Best Sound; Best Art Direction, Color; Best Cinematography, Color, and;Best Costume Design, Color.

My Fair Lady was nominated for 12 Oscars and took home eight.  Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte was nominated for seven, including Best Supporting Actress for Agnes Moorehead, but did not win any.  Ms. Moorehead was robbed.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut, William Oefelein!

William Oefelein, born March 29, 1965 in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, went into space once aboard Discovery (STS-116) as pilot to the International Space Station in December 2006. 

The following fellow astronaut Lisa Nowak drove from Houston to Orlando and attacked Oefelein's girlfriend at the time Colleen Shipman.  Both Nowak and Oefelein were dismissed from the astronaut program. 

Oefelein and Shipman married in 2010 and now reside in Alaska.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov!

Yury Lonchakov, born March 4, 1965 in Kazakhstan, is a veteran of three space flights.  His first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-100) as mission specialist in April-May 2001.  The objective of the mission was to install the Canadarm2 to the International Space Station.

His second trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-1 to the ISS.  He stayed aboard for almost 11 days before returning to Earth via Soyuz TM-34.

His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-13 as commander to the ISS.  He was part of the crew of Expedition 18.  He returned to Earth in April 2009.

Happy birthday, Ensign Ro!

Michelle Forbes, born January 8, 1965, is best known by Trekkies as Ensign Ro Laren on Star Trek: The Next Generation.  She had appeared previously on an earlier episode with David Ogden Stiers.  She starred in 8 episodes as Ensign/Lieutenant Ro.  She was offered a full-time role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but turned it down since she wanted to have some variety in her early career.

Happy birthday, NASA astronaut Scott Tingle!

Scott Tingle, born July 19, 1965 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, went into space aboard Soyuz MS-07 in December 2017. He stayed on the International Space Station until June 2018 as part of Expeditions 54 and 55. He performed his first EVA in January 2018 with fellow astronaut Mark Vande Hei.