Today in History

August 12th
1949 Big Ben ran at its slowest for 90 years as flocks of starlings took roost on the minute hands, slowing it by four and a half minutes.

1964 A massive manhunt got under way across Britain after Charlie Wilson, one of the gang involved in the Great Train Robbery, broke out of the high-security Winson Green prison in Birmingham. He was on the run for four years, before being finally re-captured in Canada and returned to jail in Britain, where he served out the rest of his sentence. Wilson then moved to the Costa del Sol in Spain, was alleged to have become involved in drugs dealing and was shot dead by a hitman on 23rd April 1990 as he relaxed by his swimming pool.

1964 The death of Ian Fleming, the English novelist best known for his James Bond series of spy novels.
 

1851
U.S inventor,Isaac Singer gets patent for the sewing machine
1908
Henry Ford Company builds 1st Model T Ford
1930
Clarence Birdseye granted patent for his method of freezing food quickly
1981
IBM unveils its first PC
2015
London archaelogists discover a mass grave of 30 bodies from the 1655 plague
 
1865 Joseph Lister performs 1st antiseptic surgery

1869 Self-proclaimed Emperor Joshua Abraham Norton of the USA issues edict abolishing the Democratic and Republican parties

1936 120°F (49°C), Seymour, Texas (state record)
 

1809 The birth, in Much Wenlock (Shropshire) of William Penny Brookes, English surgeon who was especially known for inspiring the modern Olympic Games, the Wenlock Olympian Games and for his promotion of physical education and personal betterment. There is this memorial to him (see ©BB picture) in the parish church and much more information in the Much Wenlock Museum (see ©BB picture).
http://www.wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk/
 
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August 14th
The 52nd anniversary of the Marine Offences Act which closed down most of the so called Pirate stations broadcasting from ships in the North Sea
 
1880
The Cologne Cathedral,the largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe is completed,construction started in 1248
1937
The Appalacian Trail is completed spanning 2,000 miles thru 14 states,Georgia- Maine
1985
Michael Jackson buys 251 copyrighted songs written by Lennon&McCartney
 
1620
The Mayflower leaves Southhampton,England with 102 pilgrims on board
1911
Crisco shortening is introduced by Proctor&Gamble
1965
The Beatles play in front of 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium in NYC
1969
Woodstock Music&Arts Festival opens on Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel,NY
 
1896
gold was discovered by George Carmack in Klondike,Alaska
1898
Edwin Prescott patents the roller coaster
1954
Sports Illustrated Magazine debuts
1962
Ringo Starr replaces original Beatles drummer,Pete Best
 
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1903
Joseph Pulitzer donates $1 million to Columbia University,the beginning of awarding Pulitzer Prizes in America
1945
Korea was divided into North and South along the 38th parallel
 
On This Day - 18th August
1587 An expedition led by Sir Walter Raleigh landed at what is now Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Seven days later, Virginia Dare, granddaughter of governor John White, became the first child of English parentage to be born in America.

1783 A huge fireball meteor was seen across Britain. Analysis of observations indicated that the meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere over the North Sea, before passing over the east coast of Scotland and England and the English Channel. It finally broke up, after a passage within the atmosphere of around a thousand miles over south-western France or northern Italy.

1825 Scottish explorer Alexander Gordon Laing became the first European to reach Timbuktu, now in Mali. He was murdered there the following month.
 
1587
Virginia Dare 1st child to be born on America soil of English parents
1894
U.S. Congress creates Bureau of Immigration
1969
last day of Woodstock Music Festival with Jimi Hendrix& Band of Gypsys as the final act
 
Aug 19th
1856
Gail Borden received patent for his process of condensing milk by vacuum
1993
Mattel and Fisher Price toy companies merge
1995
Shannon Faulkner,1st woman to attended the Citadel,quits after 5 days
 
1866
Pres Andrew Johnson formally declares Civil War is over
1920
In Canton,Ohio the American Professional Football Assoc forms,later changed to National Football League
 


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