Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 1907

Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar.

Events[link]

January–April[link]

January 14: Earthquake in Jamaica.

• January 6 – The first Montessori school and daycare center for working class children opens in Rome.
• January 14 – An earthquake, in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000.
• March – The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt results in possibly as many as 11,000 deaths.
• March 5 – At the opening of the new State Duma in St. Petersburg, Russia 40,000 demonstrators are dispersed by Russian troops.
• March 15–March 16 – Elections to the new Parliament of Finland are the first in the world with woman candidates, as well as the first elections in Europe where universal suffrage is applied. Nineteen women are elected.
• March 22 – The first taxicabs with taxi meters begin operating in London.

May–August[link]

• June 15 – The Second Hague Peace Conference is held.
• July 21 – The SS Columbia sinks after colliding with the lumber schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, U.S.A., resulting in 88 deaths.
• July 25 – Korea becomes a protectorate of Japan.
• August 1–August 9 – Robert Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, England.
• August 29 – The partially completed superstructure of the Quebec bridge collapses entirely, claiming the lives of 76 workers.
• August 31 – Count Alexander Izvolsky and Sir Arthur Nicolson sign the St. Petersburg Convention, which results in the establishment of the Triple Entente.

September–December[link]

• September 7 – The passenger liner RMS Lusitania makes its maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City.
• September 26 – New Zealand and Newfoundland become dominions.
• October – A committee of the Delegation for the Adoption of an International Auxiliary Language, made up of academics including Otto Jespersen, Wilhelm Ostwald and Roland Eotvos meet in Paris to select a language for international use. The committee ultimately decides to reform Esperanto.
• October 17 – Guglielmo Marconi initiates commercial transatlantic radio communications between his high power longwave wireless telegraphy stations in Clifden Ireland and Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.
• October 18 – Hague Convention revised by (second) Hague Peace Conference (effective 26 January 1910).
• October 27 – Černová tragedy: Fifteen people are shot during the consecration of a Catholic church in Hungary.
• November – The new & largest passenger liner RMS Mauretania makes its maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City.
• December 6 – Monongah Mining Disaster: A coal mine explosion kills 362 workers in Monongah, West Virginia, United States.
• December 8 – Upon the death of Oscar II, he is succeeded by his son Gustaf V as king of Sweden.
• December 19 – An explosion in a coal mine in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania kills 239.
• December 21 – Santa María School massacre. In Chile soldiers fire at striking mineworkers gathered in the Santa María School in Iquique, over 2000 are killed.

Date unknown[link]

• The Diamond Sutra of 868, a Buddhist scripture later dated as earliest example of block printing, is discovered in the Mogao Caves.
• The triode thermionic amplifier invented by Lee DeForest, starting the development of electronics as a practical technology.
• The Autochrome Lumière is the first commercial colour photography process.
• The Moine Thrust Belt in Scotland becomes the first thrust belt to be discovered in the world.

Births[link]

January–February[link]

• January 3 – Ray Milland, Welsh actor (d. 1986)
• January 12 – Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1966)
• January 18 – Lina Haag, German WWII resistance fighter
• January 20 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
• January 22 – Dixie Dean, English football player (d. 1980)
• January 23 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
• February 1 – Günter Eich, German writer (d. 1972)
• February 5 – Pierre Pflimlin, French politician (d. 2000)
• February 9 – Truong Chinh, President of Vietnam (d. 1988)
• February 12 – Clifton C. Edom, American photojournalism educator (d. 1991)
• February 13 – Katy de la Cruz, Filipino singer (d. 2004)
• February 15
  • Jean Langlais, French composer and organist (d. 1991)
  • Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)
• February 17 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (d. 1983)
• February 18 – Oscar Brodney, American screenwriter (d. 2008)
• February 21 – W. H. Auden, English poet (d. 1973)
• February 22
  • Sheldon Leonard, American actor, writer, director, and producer (d. 1997)
  • Robert Young, American actor (d. 1998)
• February 25 – Kathryn Wasserman Davis, American philanthropist
• February 26 – Dub Taylor, American actor (d. 1994)
• February 27 – Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)
• February 28 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (d. 1988)

March–April[link]

• March 8 – Constantine Karamanlis, Greek politician (d. 1998)
• March 9 – Mircea Eliade, Romanian religious historian and writer (d. 1986)
• March 12
  • Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer (d. 2007)
  • Arthur Hewlett, British actor (d. 1997)
• March 15 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (d. 1981)
• March 16 – Hans Kleppen, Norwegian ski jumper (d. 2009)
• March 17 – Takeo Miki, former Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1988)
• March 18 – John Zachary Young, English biologist (d. 1997)
• March 22 – Lucia dos Santos, Portuguese nun and visionary (d. 2005)
• March 23 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born scientist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
• March 27 – Mary Treen, American actress (d. 1989)
• March 29 – "Braguinha", Brazilian songwriter (d. 2006)
• March 30 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German Luftwaffe officer (d. 1994)
• April 1 – Dr. Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji, Indian born social reformer
• April 11 – Ivor Spencer-Thomas, English farmer, entrepreneur and inventor (d. 2001)
• April 12 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-born sculptor (d. 2003)
• April 13 – Harold Stassen, American politician (d. 2001)
• April 15 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
• April 18 – Bert Hazell, British politician (d. 2009)
• April 21 – Wade Mainer, American singer and banjoist (d. 2011)
• April 23
  • Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (d. 1975)
  • James Hayter, British actor (d. 1983)
• April 24 – William Sargant, British psychiatrist (d. 1988)
• April 29
  • Tino Rossi, French singer (d. 1983)
  • Fred Zinnemann, Austrian director (d. 1997)

May–June[link]

• May 1 – Oliver Hill, American lawyer (d. 2007)
• May 2 – Pinky Lee, American comedian (d. 1993)
• May 3 – Dorothy Young, American entertainer (d. 2011)
• May 9 – Baldur von Schirach, Nazi official (d. 1974)
• May 11 – Rose Ausländer, German poet (d. 1988)
• May 12 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)
• May 13 – Dame Daphne du Maurier, English author (d. 1989)
• May 14
  • Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 1974)
  • Johnny Moss, American poker player (d. 1995)
• May 22
  • Hergé, Belgian comics author (d. 1983)
  • Lord Laurence Olivier, English stage and screen actor and director (d. 1989)
• May 25 – U Nu, Burmese politician (d. 1995)
• May 26
  • John Wayne, American actor (d. 1979)
  • Rachel Carson, American environmental writer (d. 1964)
• May 30
  • Elly Beinhorn, German pilot (d. 2007)
  • Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist, member of French Resistance (d. 2008)
• June 1 – Frank Whittle, British jet engine developer (d. 1996)
• June 4 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (d. 1976)
• June 14
  • Nicolas Bentley, British writer and illustrator (d. 1978)
  • René Char, French poet (d. 1988)
• June 19 – Clarence Wiseman, Salvation Army general (d. 1985)
• June 23 – James Meade, English economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
• June 24 – Jean Schlumberger (jewelry designer) (d. 1987)
• June 25 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
• June 28 – Franciszka Themerson, Polish-born British artist and filmmaker (d. 1989)

July–August[link]

• July 5 – Yang Shangkun, President of the People's Republic of China (d. 1998)
• July 6 – Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (d. 1954)
• July 7 – Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction author (d. 1988)
• July 16
  • Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (d. 1990)
  • Orville Redenbacher, American botanist and popcorn businessman (d. 1995)
• July 19 – Paul Magloire, President of Haiti (d. 2001)
• July 22 – Zubir Said, Singaporean composer of Singapore's national anthem (d. 1987)
• July 27
  • Richard Beesly, British Olympic gold medal rower (d. 1965)
  • Ross Alexander, American actor (d. 1937)
• August 2 – Mary Hamman, American writer and editor (d. 1984)
• August 3 – Irene Tedrow, American actress (d. 1995)
• August 7 – Albert Kotin, American painter (d. 1980)
• August 8 – Benny Carter, American musician (d. 2003)
• August 12 – Joe Besser, American comedian (d. 1988)
• August 13 – Viscount William Waldorf Astor, British politician (d. 1966)
• August 20 – Alan Reed, American actor and voice actor (d. 1977)
• August 21 – Hy Zaret, American lyricist and composer (d. 2007)
• August 24 – Bruno Giacometti, Swiss architect
• August 29 – Lurene Tuttle, American character actress (d. 1986)
• August 31
  • Argentina Brunetti, Argentinian actress and writer (d. 2005)
  • Augustus F. Hawkins, American politician and civil rights lawmaker (d. 2007)

September–October[link]

• September 2
  • Evelyn Hooker, American psychologist (d. 1996)
  • Miriam Seegar, American actress (d. 2011)
• September 3 – Loren Eiseley, American author (d. 1977)
• September 4 – Frances Griffiths, Cottingley Fairies girl (d. 1986)
• September 12
  • Spud Chandler, American baseball player (d. 1990)
  • Louis MacNeice, Northern Irish poet (d. 1963)
• September 15
  • Jimmy Wallington, American radio personality (d. 1972)
  • Fay Wray, Canadian-born actress (d. 2004)
• September 18
  • Leon Askin, Austrian actor (d. 2005)
  • Edwin McMillan, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
• September 23 – Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, Pretender to the throne of Portugal (d. 1976)
• September 26 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (d. 1992)
• September 27 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and writer (d. 2003)
• September 29
  • Gene Autry, American actor, singer, and businessman (d. 1998)
  • George W. Jenkins, American businessman (d. 1996)
• October 1 – Ödön Pártos, Hungarian-Israeli violist and composer (d. 1977)
• October 2
  • Víctor Paz Estenssoro, President of Bolivia (d. 2001)
  • Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
• October 5 – Mrs. Miller, American singer (d. 1997)
• October 6 – Francisco Gabilondo Soler, (d. 1990)
• October 9 – Lord Hailsham, British politician (d. 2001)
• October 15 – Varian Fry, American journalist and rescuer (d. 1967)
• October 19 – Roger Wolfe Kahn, American bandleader (d. 1962)
• October 28 – John Hewitt, Irish poet (d. 1987)
• October 30 – Sol Tax, American anthropologist (d. 1995)

November–December[link]

• November 1 – Homero Manzi, Argentine Tango lyricist and author (d. 1951)
• November 4 – Draga Matkovic, German concert pianist
• November 6 – Charles W. Yost, American ambassador (d. 1981)
• November 10 – John Moore, British author (d. 1967)
• November 14
  • Howard W. Hunter, American religious leader (d. 1995)
  • Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children's writer (d. 2002)
  • William Steig, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
• November 15 – Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, German aristocrat and military officer (d. 1944)
• November 16 – Burgess Meredith, American actor (d. 1997)
• November 18
  • Compay Segundo, Cuban musician (d. 2003)
  • Gustav Nezval, Czech actor (d. 1998)
• November 23 – Run Run Shaw, Hong Kong media mogul
• November 26 – Ruth Patrick, American botanist
• November 27 – L. Sprague de Camp, American writer (d. 2000)
• November 28 – Alberto Moravia, Italian novelist (d. 1990)
• November 30 – Jacques Barzun, French born historian
• December 5 – Lin Biao, Chinese communist leader (d. 1971)
• December 7 – Arch Oboler, American actor, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, and director (d. 1987)
• December 10 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer (d. 2005)
• December 12 – Roy Douglas, British composer
• December 15 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect
• December 19 – Jimmy McLarnin, Irish-born boxer (d. 2004)
• December 22 – Peggy Ashcroft, British actress (d. 1991)
• December 23 – James Roosevelt, American businessman and politician (d. 1991)
• December 25 – Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (d. 1988)
• December 27 – Johann Wilhelm Trollmann, German boxer (d. 1943)

Date unknown[link]

• Rafael Godoy, Colombian composer (d. 1973)
• Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian singer and composer (d. 1991)
• Zhang Chongren, Chinese artist (d. 1998)
• probable – Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah, King of Malaysia (d. 1979)

Deaths[link]

January–June[link]

• January 13 – Jakob Hurt, Estonian folklorist, theologian, and linguist (b. 1839)
• January 14 – Hermann Iseke, German doctor (b. 1856)
• January 21 – Bertram Fletcher Robinson, English journalist, editor and author (b. 1870)
• January 31 – Timothy Eaton, Canadian department store founder (b. 1834)
• February 2 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (b. 1834)
• February 16
  • Giosuè Carducci, Italian writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1835)
  • Clémentine of Orléans, daughter of King Louis-Philippe of France (b. 1817)
• February 20 – Henri Moissan, French chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1852)
• February 26 – C. W. Alcock, English footballer, journalist, and football promoter (b. 1842)
• March 10 – George Douglas-Pennant, 2nd Baron Penrhyn, industrialist (b. 1836)
• March 11 – Jean Casimir-Perier, President of France (b. 1847)
• March 19 – Thomas Bailey Aldrich, American poet and novelist (b. 1836)
• March 23 – Konstantin Pobedonostsev, statesman (b. 1827)
• March 25 – Ernst von Bergmann, Baltic German surgeon (b. 1836)
• April 23 – Alferd Packer, American cannibal (b. 1842)
• May 12 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author (b. 1848)
• May 19 – Sir Benjamin Baker, English civil engineer (b. 1840)
• May 26 – Ida Saxton McKinley, American First Lady (b. 1847)
• June 6 – J. A. Chatwin, English architect (b. 1830)
• June 25 – John Hall, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1824)

July–December[link]

• July 13 – Heinrich Kreutz, astronomer (b. 1854)
• August – Dinqinesh Mercha, empress consort of Ethiopia (b. 1815)
• August 3 – Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Irish-American Beaux-Arts sculptor (b. 1848)
• August 15 – Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (b. 1831)
• August 16 – James Hector, Scottish geologist (b. 1834)
• August 25 – Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, British poet and novelist (b. 1861)
• August 30
  • Ilia Chavchavadze, Georgian writer and saint of the Georgian Orthodox Church (b. 1837)
  • Richard Mansfield, Anglo-American actor (b. 1857)
• September 4 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (b. 1843)
• September 6 – Sully Prudhomme, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1839)
• September 9 – Ernest Roland Wilberforce, English bishop (b. 1840)
• September 19 – Jacob Morenga, Namibian rebel leader (b. c. 1875)
• November 16 – Robert I, Duke of Parma, last ruling Duke of Parma (b. 1848)
• November 28 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish writer, painter, and architect (b. 1869)
• December 8 – King Oscar II of Sweden (b. 1829)
• December 15 – Carola of Vasa, queen consort of Saxony (b. 1833)
• December 17 – Lord Kelvin, Irish-born physicist and engineer (b. 1824)
• December 21 – Klara Hitler, Austrian mother of Adolf Hitler (b. 1860)

Nobel Prizes[link]

• Physics – Albert Abraham Michelson
• Chemistry – Eduard Buchner
• Medicine – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran
• Literature – Rudyard Kipling
• Peace – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Louis Renault

References[link]

• International Year Book: 1907 (1908) 1002pp, worldwide coverage online edition

Jay Leno
Leno in July 2008
Birth name	James Douglas Muir Leno
Born	(1950-04-28) April 28, 1950 (age 62)[1] New Rochelle, New York, U.S.[1]
Medium	Television, Film, Stand up
Nationality	American
Years active	1973–present
Genres	Observational comedy, Political satire
Subject(s)	American culture, Everyday life
Influences	Johnny Carson, Robert Klein, Alan King, George Carlin,[2] Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Rodney Dangerfield
Influenced	Dennis Miller[3]
Spouse	Mavis Leno (1980–present)
Notable works and roles	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (host, 1992–2009, 2010–) The Jay Leno Show (host, 2009–2010)
Signature
Website	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series 1995 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno /ˈlɛnoʊ/ (born April 28, 1950)^[1] is an American stand-up comedian and television host.

From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time, UTC-5), also on NBC. After The Jay Leno Show was canceled in January 2010 amid a host controversy, Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010.^[4]

Early life[link]

James "Jay" Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy.^[5] Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973.^[6] Leno's siblings include his late older brother, Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran^[7] and a lawyer.^[6]

Career[link]

During the 1970s, Leno appeared in minor roles in several television series and films, first in the 1976 episode "J.J. in Trouble" of Good Times and the same year in the pilot of Holmes & Yo-Yo. After an uncredited appearance in the 1977 film Fun with Dick and Jane, he played more prominent parts in 1978 in American Hot Wax and Silver Bears. Other films and television series from that period include Almost Heaven (1978), "Going Nowhere" (1979) from One Day at a Time, Americathon (1979), Polyester (1981), "The Wild One" (1981) from Alice, "Feminine Mistake" (1979) and "Do the Carmine" (1983) from Laverne & Shirley.

[edit] The Tonight Show

Leno in 1993, shortly after becoming host of The Tonight Show

Starting in 1987, Leno was a regular substitute host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. In 1992, he replaced Carson as host^[8] amid controversy with David Letterman, who had been hosting Late Night with David Letterman since 1982 (aired after The Tonight Show), who many had expected to be Carson's successor. The story of this turbulent transition was later turned into a book and a movie. Leno continued to perform as a stand-up comedian throughout his tenure on The Tonight Show.

In 2004, Leno signed a contract extension with NBC which would keep him as host of The Tonight Show until 2009.^[9] Later in 2004, Conan O'Brien signed a contract with NBC under which O'Brien would become the host of The Tonight Show in 2009, replacing Leno at that time.^[10]

During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, Leno was accused of violating WGA guidelines by writing his own monologue for The Tonight Show. While NBC and Leno claim there were private meetings with the WGA where there was a secret agreement allowing this, the WGA denied such a meeting.^[11] Leno answered questions in front of the Writers Guild of America, West trial committee in February 2009 and June 2009, and when the WGAW published its list of strike-breakers on 11 August 2009, Leno was not on the list.^[12][13]

In 1998, Leno competed in a tag-team match at the WCW's "Road Wild" pay-per-view . In 2001, he voiced The Crimson Chin, a superhero in the Nickelodeon animated series The Fairly OddParents and continues to do so today.

Leno said in 2008 that he was saving all of his income from The Tonight Show and living solely off his income from stand-up comedy.^[14]

On April 23, 2009, Leno checked himself into a hospital with an undisclosed illness.^[15] He was released the following day and returned to work on Monday, April 27. The two subsequently cancelled Tonight Show episodes for April 23 and April 24 were Leno's first in 17 years as host.^[16][17] Initially, the illness that caused the absence was not disclosed, but later Leno told People magazine that the ailment was exhaustion.^[17][18]

Michael Jackson trial[link]

In the 2005 trial of Michael Jackson over allegations of child molestation, Leno appeared as a defense witness (many celebrity defense witnesses had been expected, but Leno was one of the few whose testimony was actually needed). In his testimony regarding a call by the accuser, Leno testified that he never called the police, that no money was asked for, and there was no coaching — but that the calls seemed unusual and scripted.^[19]

Leno in 2006.

As a result, Leno was initially not allowed to continue telling jokes about Jackson or the case, which had been a fixture of The Tonight Show's opening monologue in particular. But he and his show's writers used a legal loophole by having Leno briefly step aside while stand-in comedians took the stage and told jokes about the trial. Stand-ins included Roseanne Barr, Drew Carey, Brad Garrett, and Dennis Miller among others.^[20]

[edit] Succession by Conan O'Brien and The Jay Leno Show

Because Leno's show continued to lead all late-night programming in the Nielsen ratings, the pending expiration of Leno's contract led to speculation about whether he would become a late-night host for another network after his commitment to NBC expired.^[21] Leno left The Tonight Show on Friday May 29, 2009,^[22][23] and Conan O'Brien took over on June 1, 2009.

On December 8, 2008, it was reported that Leno would remain on NBC and move to a new hour-long show at 10 p.m. Eastern Time (9 p.m. Central Time) five nights a week.^[24] This show follows a similar format to The Tonight Show, tapes at the same lot, and retains many of Leno's most popular segments. Late Night host Conan O'Brien was his successor on The Tonight Show.^[25]

Jay Leno's new show, titled The Jay Leno Show, debuted on September 14, 2009. It was announced at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that it would feature one or two celebrities, the occasional musical guest, and keep the popular "Headlines" segments, which would air near the end of the show. First guests included Jerry Seinfeld, Oprah Winfrey (via satellite), and a short sit-down with Kanye West discussing his controversy at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.^[26]

[edit] Timeslot conflict and return to The Tonight Show

Wikinews has related news: US TV host Conan O'Brien rejects NBC's offer to switch his show's time slot

In their new roles, neither O'Brien nor Leno succeeded in delivering the viewing audiences the network anticipated. On January 7, 2010, multiple media outlets reported that beginning March 1, 2010, Jay Leno would move from his 10pm weeknight time slot to 11:35pm, due to a combination of pressure from local affiliates whose newscasts were suffering, and both Leno's and O'Brien's poor ratings.^[27][28] Leno's show would be shortened from an hour to 30 minutes. All NBC late night programming would be preempted by the 2010 Winter Olympics between February 15 and February 26. This would move The Tonight Show to 12:05am, a post-midnight timeslot for the first time in its history. O'Brien's contract stipulated that NBC could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty (a clause put in primarily to accommodate sports preemptions).^[29]

On January 10, NBC confirmed that they would move Jay Leno out of primetime as of February 12 and intended to move him to late night as soon as possible.^[30][31] TMZ reported that O'Brien was given no advance notice of this change, and that NBC offered him two choices: an hour-long 12:05am time slot, or the option to leave the network.^[32] On January 12, O'Brien issued a press release that stated he would not continue with Tonight if it moved to a 12:05am time slot,^[33] saying, "I believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t The Tonight Show."

On January 21, it was announced that NBC had struck a deal with O'Brien. It was decided that O'Brien would leave The Tonight Show. The deal was made that O'Brien would receive a $33 million payout and that his staff of almost 200 would receive $12 million in the departure. O'Brien's final episode aired on Friday, January 22.^[34][35][36] Leno returned as host of The Tonight Show following the 2010 Winter Olympics on March 1, 2010.

On July 1, 2010, Variety reported that total viewership for Jay Leno's Tonight Show had dropped from 5 million to 4 million for the second quarter of 2010, compared to the same period in 2009. Although this represented the lowest second-quarter ratings for the show since 1992, Tonight was still the most-watched late night program, ahead of ABC's Nightline (3.7 million) and David Letterman's Late Show (3.3 million).^[37] Ratings over the following summer, when compared to the same period in 2009 with O'Brien hosting The Tonight Show (including O'Brien's highly rated debut), showed that while total viewership was 12% higher for Leno, viewership in the important "adults aged 18–49" demographic was 23% lower.^[38] NBC ratings specialist Tom Bierbaum commented that due to the host being out of late night television for a period of time and the subsequent 2010 Tonight Show conflict, Leno's ratings fall was "not a surprise at all".^[39]

Public image[link]

Criticism of Leno[link]

Leno on The Tonight Show in 2005

Leno has faced heated criticism and some negative publicity for his perceived role in the 2010 Tonight Show timeslot conflict.^[40][41] Critics have pointed to a 2004 Tonight Show clip, wherein Leno claimed he would allow O'Brien to take over without incident.^[41][42] At the time, Leno stated he didn't want O'Brien to leave for a competing network, adding, "I'll be 59 when [the switch occurs], that's five years from now. There's really only one person who could have done this into his 60s, and that was Johnny Carson; I think it's fair to say I'm no Johnny Carson."^[42] Leno also described The Tonight Show as a dynasty, saying "you hold it and hand it off to the next person. And I don't want to see all the fighting..." At the end of the segment, he said, "Conan, it's yours! See you in five years, buddy!"^[43]

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt was among the first celebrities to openly voice disappointment with Leno, saying, "Comedians who don't like Jay Leno now, and I'm one of them, we're not like, 'Jay Leno sucks;' it's that we're so hurt and disappointed that one of the best comedians of our generation... willfully has shut the switch off."^[44] Rosie O'Donnell has been among O'Brien's most vocal and vehement supporters,^[45][46] calling Leno a "bully" and his recent actions "classless and kind of career-defining."^[47]

Bill Zehme, the co-author of Leno's autobiography Leading with My Chin, told the Los Angeles Times: "The thing Leno should do is walk, period. He's got everything to lose in terms of public popularity by going back. People will look at him differently. He'll be viewed as the bad guy."^[48]

Support for Leno[link]

NBC Sports head executive and former Saturday Night Live producer Dick Ebersol spoke out against all who had recently mocked Leno, calling them "chicken-hearted and gutless."^[49]

Jeff Gaspin also defended Leno: "This has definitely crossed the line. Jay Leno is the consummate professional and one of the hardest-working people in television. It's a shame that he's being pulled into this."^[48]

Paul Reiser and Jerry Seinfeld are two of the number of celebrities to have voiced support for Leno.^[50][51]

Responding to the mounting criticism, Leno claimed that NBC had assured him that O'Brien was willing to accept the proposed arrangement and then would not let either host out of his contract.^[52] Leno also said that the situation was "all business."^[52] He appeared on the January 28 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in an attempt to repair some of the damage done to his public image.^[53][54]

Personal life[link]

Leno with President Barack Obama in March 2009

Leno has been married since 1980 to Mavis Leno; they have no children.^[55]

He is known for his prominent jaw, which has been described as mandibular prognathism.^[56] In the book Leading with My Chin he stated that he is aware of surgery that could reset his mandible, but does not wish to endure a prolonged healing period with his jaws wired shut.

Leno is dyslexic.^[6] He claims to sleep only four to five hours each night.^[57] Leno does not drink or smoke, nor does he gamble.^[58] He spends most of his free time visiting car collections or working in his private garage.^[58]

Leno reportedly earns $32 million each year;^[59] his total net worth is unknown, but has been estimated to be at least $150 million.^[60]

Charity[link]

In 2001, along with his wife, he donated $100,000 to the Feminist Majority's campaign to stop gender apartheid in Afghanistan, to educate the public regarding the plight of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Mavis Leno is on the board of the Feminist Majority.^[61][62]

In 2009, he donated $100,000 to a scholarship fund at Salem State College in honor of Lennie Sogoloff. Mr. Sogoloff gave Leno his start at his jazz club, Lennie's-on-the-Turnpike.^[63]

Love Ride[link]

Since 1985 Jay Leno has been the grand marshal for the Love Ride, a motorcycle charity event which since its founding in 1984 has raised nearly $14 million dollars for charities benefiting muscular dystrophy research and, in 2011, Autism Speaks.^{[citation needed]}

Leno arriving at the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards in his Hispano-Suiza Aero^[64]

Vehicle collection[link]

Leno owns approximately 100 vehicles, not including about 90 motorcycles.^[65] He also has a website called "Jay Leno's Garage," which contains video clips and photos of his automobiles in detail.^[66]

He has a regular column in Popular Mechanics which showcases his car collection and gives advice about various automotive topics, including restoration and unique models, such as his jet-powered motorcycle and solar-powered hybrid. Leno also writes occasional "Motormouth" articles for The Sunday Times,^[67] reviewing high-end sports cars and giving his humorous take on automotive matters.

References[link]