Today in History

1880
Cologne Cathedral which began construction in 1248 is finally completed. Its the largest Gothic Cathederal in Northern Europe
1937
The Appalachian Trail is formally completed,its 2,000 miles going thru 14 states. It starts in Maine and ends in Georgia. The hikers who are experienced can complete it in 5-7 months depending on the weather
1965
Sonny&Cher's single' I Got You Babe' written by Sonny Bono hits #1 on music charts. It stayed there for 3 weeks, sold a million copies
1997
Oklahoma City bomber/ terriorist, Timothy McVeigh is sentenced to death
2015
Patrick Hardson,a Mississippi fire fighter who was injured in a house fire had extensive facial reconstruction at a NYC hosptial. He lost his eyelids,ears, lips,most of his nose.The operation took 12 hrs
 

Aug 14th Birthdays:
1851
Doc Holliday- gambler/ gunfighter in American Old West{Gunfight at the O.K. Corral}
1928
Lina Wertmiller- Italian screenwriter/director, became the 1st female director to be nominated for an Oscar the movie Seven Beauties
1945
Steve Martin -comedian/actor/banjo player 'The Jerk, The Three Amigos, Parenthood, Father of the Bride,Roxanne. In the 80's had a hit single'King Tut'
1953
James Horner- film composer 'Alien,Deep Impact, Cocoon,Field of Dreams, Titantic,Avatar won 2 Oscars for Titantic orginal score, co writer with Will Jennings orginal song'My Heart Will Go On'
Deaths:
1951
William Randolph Hearst- U.S. publisher 'San Francisco Examiner' 88
1972
Oscar Levant- actor' An American in Paris,Dance of Life 65
1992
John Sirica- U.S federal judge who presided at the 'Watergate' hearings 88
1999
'Pee Wee' Reese MLB shortstop with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers 1940-1958 81
2012
Ron Paillio- actor best known TV role 'Arnold Horshack' on sitcom 'Welcome Back Kotter' 63{heart attack}
 
On This Day In History, August 15th

2015 North Korea Introduces Pyongyang Time
The East Asian country introduced the time change to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Japanese occupation of Korea. Before the change, North Korea was UTC+09:00. Since this day, the time in the country is UTC+08:30.

1973 US involvement in Vietnam ends
The Case–Church Amendment passed by the US Congress set August 15 as the deadline for the end of the US military involvement in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Because of this, the US ended all military offensives in Vietnam on this day.

1969 The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens its doors to participants and spectators
The iconic music festival, popularly known as Woodstock was held in Bethel, New York at the 600-acre farm of farmer Max B. Yasgur. Over 400,000 people attended the festival, which is often thought to be a key moment in the anti-establishment movement that was gaining popularity in the United States.

1960 Congo gains its Independence
The Central African country came under French control in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century, the French consolidated their territories in Central Africa to create French Equatorial Africa, with Brazzaville as its capital. During the Second World War, when the Nazis occupied France, Brazzaville acted as the temporary capital of Free France. After violent protests and riots, the country became independent with Fulbert Youlou as its first President.

1947 India Becomes Independent From British Rule
British control of the South Asian country began in the mid-1800s with the East India Company. The company initially established itself in the subcontinent for trading purposes, and then slowly took control over the princely states that separately ruled the country. A violent rebellion in 1857 prompted the British Crown to take over the direct rule of India. The time between then and independence in 1945 was marked by violent and nonviolent movements targeted toward gaining independent rule. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a key figure in the nonviolent civil disobedience movement against the British. Independence came with the country being partitioned into India and Pakistan. Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India, while Liaquat Ali Khan became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan.
 

Births On This Day, August 15th 🎂

1968 Debra Messing
American actress

1954 Stieg Larsson
Swedish writer

1912 Julia Child
American chef, author

1872 Sri Aurobindo
Indian philosopher

1769 Napoleon
Corsican/French military officer, political leader

Deaths On This Day, August 15th 🪦

2011 Rick Rypien
Canadian ice hockey player

1975 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Bangladeshi politician, 1st President of Bangladesh

1935 Will Rogers
American actor

1907 Joseph Joachim
Austrian violinist

1118 Alexios I Komnenos
Byzantine Emperor
 
1843
Tivoli Gardens amusement park opens in Copenhagen,world's 2nd oldest
1911
Proctor&Gamble unveil Crisco shortening
1939
movie' Wizard of Oz' directed by Victor Fleming is released, based on book by L.Frank Baum. The cast Judy Garland"Dorothy', Ray Bolger'Scarecrow', Jack Haley"Tin Man', Bert Lahr'Cowardly Lion", Billie Burke'Glinda- good witch',Margaret Hamilton' wicked witch' songs by Harold Arlen&Yip Harburg. The movie won 2 Oscars, song' Over the Rainbow', film scoring by Herbert Stothart
1965
The Beatles played to the largest crowd of 55,000 at Shea Stadium in NYC. In attendance were the future wives of Paul McCartney{Linda Eastman}, Ringo Starr{Barbara Bach}
1991
750,000 people attended a free Paul Simon concert in Central Park in NYC
2017
scientists gentic study of the apple reveal its orgin was in Kazakhstan
 
Aug 15th Birthdays:
1771
Walter Scott- Scottish historical novelist/poet'The Lady of the Lake, Rob Roy
1904
Bil Baird- U.S. puppeteer 'Kukla, Fran &Ollie', 'The Muppet Show'
1948
Tom Johnston- guitarist/vocalist with group 'The Doobie Brothers' '70-'77 Listen to the Music, China Grove
1972
Ben Affleck- actor/director/screenwriter "Pearl Harbor, Gone Girl, Good Will Hunting, Argo, The Tender Bar,The Town,has 2 Oscars co wrote best original screenplay with Matt Damon' Good Will Hunting', producer of Best Picture 'Argo' he also directed it
Deaths:
1935
Will Rogers- humorist 55 {plane crash}
2015
Julian Bond- U. S. civil rights leader 75
 
On This Day In History, August 16th

1987 First Day of Harmonic Convergence
The largest worldwide meditation event lasted for 2 days and was organized by new-age author José Argüelles. The dates for the event were chosen because of their astrological significance – on these days the Sun, the Moon, and 6 of the planets were aligned in a triangular position as seen from the Earth.

1960 Cyprus Attains Freedom From the British
The Mediterranean island country first came under British control in the early 20th century as a strategic British outpost. In 1925, it was formally added to the British Empire. the London and Zurich Agreements signed in February 1959 gave independence to Cyprus and set up a system of governance based on ethnicity.

1954 First Issue of Sports Illustrated Hits the Newsstands
The sports magazine which is famous for its annual swimsuit issue was not profitable for the first few years of its existence. The boost in spectator sports eventually helped it become successful.

1898 Patent for Loop-the-Loop Roller Coaster is Awarded
The United States patent office awarded the patent for the loop-the-loop roller coaster to American inventor Edwin Prescott. First installed in Coney Island, New York, the roller coaster was able to carry only 4 people at a time.

1858 The First Transatlantic Telegraph Message is sent
The message sent by Britain’s Queen Victoria to American President James Buchanan, read ‘Europe and America are united by telegraphic communication. Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill to men.’ The cable, which cut down the time of communication between the two continents was successful only for a few months. Technical difficulties led to the cable being closed in October of 1858.
 
Births On This Day, August 16th 🎂

1991 G.E.M.
Hong Kong singer-songwriter, actress

1958 Madonna
American singer-songwriter, actress, producer, director

1954 James Cameron
Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer

1913 Menachem Begin
Israeli politician, 6th Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate

1815 John Bosco
Italian priest, educator

Deaths On This Day, August 16th 🪦

2003 Idi Amin
Ugandan dictator

2002 Abu Nidal
Palestinian militant leader

1977 Elvis Presley
American singer, guitarist, actor

1959 William Halsey, Jr.
American Admiral

1938 Robert Johnson
American singer-songwriter, guitarist
 
16th August

1743 The earliest prize-ring code of boxing rules was formulated in England by the champion fighter Jack Broughton.

1819 The Peterloo massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester when militia, with sabres drawn, charged on a crowd of 60,000–80,000 gathered to hear discussion on the reform of parliamentary representation. 15 people were killed and 650 injured.

1930 The first British Empire Games (now the Commonwealth Games) were held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

2004 Flash floods devastated the north Cornwall coastal village of Boscastle after the area's average August rainfall fell in just two hours.
 
1896
gold 1st discovered in Klondike found at Bonanza Creek in Yukon,Canada by George Carmack
1954
The 1st issue of Sports Illustrated debuts,on cover was Eddie Matthews, future MLB Hall of Fame third baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers
1962
Ringo Starr replaces original Beatles drummer, Pete Best. The reason Pete was good in live concerts but not in studio recordings.Their 1st concert with Ringo happened 2 days later
1975
Peter Gabriel announces he's leaving rock band, Genesis for a solo career
2018
the world's 1st floating dairy farm opens at Merwehaven Harbour in Rotterdam,Netherlands. 40 cows are milked by robots
 
August 16th Birthdays:
1862
Amos Alonzo Stagg-U.S football pioneer
1931
Forrest E. Mars, Jr- candy manufacturer"Mars Candy"
1953
'JT' Taylor R&B singer with band' Kool&The Gang' Ladies Night,Celebration, Joanna
1954
James Cameron- Canadian film director, Titantic, The Terminator, Aviatar He wrote/directed Titantic won Oscar for directing,film editing
1960
Timothy Hutton -actor 'Ordinary People,,The Falcon&TheSnowman,Taps,The Generals' Daughter won Oscar best supp actor Ordinary People' when he was 20
Deaths:
1940
Henri Degrange- French cyclist, founder of Tour de France bicycle race 75
1949
Margaret Mitchell -author' Gone With the Wind' 48
1989
Amanda Blake- actress, best known TV role' Miss Kitty' on CBS long running Western'Gunsmoke' 60
2012
William Windom- actor 'To kill a Mockingbird,Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains&Automobiles. His best known TV roles' cartoonist John Monroe' TV show' My World&Welcome To It' '69-'72 loosely based on James Thurber,semi regular role 'Dr Seth Hazlett' on 'Murder She Wrote' '84-'96 88{heart failure}
2019
Peter Fonda- actor 'Easy Rider, Ulee's Gold, 79
 
On This Day In History, August 17th

2008 Michael Phelps Earns his 8th Gold Medal in the 2008 Olympics
The American champion swimmer won the medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay race at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. With this medal, he broke the record for the most gold medals won by a person in a single Olympic game, a record previously held by American swimmer Mark Spitz.

1978 Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman become the first people to complete the world's First Transatlantic Balloon Flight
The feat was accomplished in a balloon called the Double Eagle II. It took Abruzzo, Anderson, and Newman 6 days to fly from Presque Isle, Maine to a barley field near Paris.

1970 Venera 7 launched by the Soviet Union
Launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Venera 7 became the first spacecraft to land on another planet, Venus, and send data back to Earth. It entered Venus’ atmosphere in December 1970.

1960 Gabon gained independence from the French
France had occupied Gabon since the latter part of the 1800s. In 1910, the Equatorial country was added to French Equatorial Africa, a federation of France's Central African colonies. From 1934 to 1958, French Equatorial Africa was considered by France as a unified colony.
 
Births On This Day, August 17th 🎂

1960 Sean Penn
American actor, director

1949 Norm Coleman
American politician

1943 Robert De Niro
American actor

1911 Mikhail Botvinnik
Russian chess player

1786 Davy Crockett
American soldier, politician

Deaths On This Day, August 17th 🪦

1988 Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Pakistani politician, 6th President of Pakistan

1935 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
American sociologist, novelist

1880 Ole Bull
Norwegian violinist, composer

1850 José de San Martín
Argentinian general, politician, 1st President of Peru

1786 Frederick the Great
Prussian king
 
1891
Charles F. Kettering,co founder of Dayton Engineering Labratories in Dayton Ohio received 1st patent for 'self starter device' for automobiles
1903
Joseph Pulitzer donates $1 mil to Columbia Univ in NYC, begins the Pulitizer Prizes. There are 22 catagories inc fiction/nonfiction/ music,photography,drama ,music Each winner receives $15,000 cash award, and certificate
1957
Philadelphia baseball player, Richie Ashburn fouls&hits a fan, Alice Roth twice in the same game. The 1st time her nose is broken, 2nd while she's on the stretcher
1969
Woodstock Music Festival closes with Jimi Hendrix/Band of Gypsys as final act. Other performers were Joe Cocker, Sha, Na,Na Crosby,Stills,Nash&Young, The Band
2015
discovery of a 7,000 yr old mass grave in Central Germany,26 bodies were found bearing evidence of violent conflict
 
Aug 17th Birthdays:
1786
Davy Crockett- American frontiersman/adventurer
1920
Maureen O'Hara- Irish actress 'How Green Was My Valley, The Quiet Man, Spencer's Mountain, won an Honorary Oscar in 2014
1943
Robert deNiro- actor' Bang the Drum Slowly Raging Bull,Godfather 2,Goodfellas, Taxi Driver,Cape Fear, Meet the Parents. has 2 Oscars, Best Actor' Bull' supp actor 'Godfather'
1969
Donnie Wallberg - pop singer with group New Kids on The Block/actor co stars in CBS drama'Blue Bloods'
1970
Jim Courier- retired tennis player won 4 Grand Slam titles/ TV tennis commentator
Deaths:
1940
Billy Fiske- U.S.pilot,1st serviceman to be killed in action in WWII 29
1979
Vivan Vance- actress best known TV role' Ethel Mertz' in CBS sitcom 'I Love Lucy' 70
1983
Ira Gershwin- lyricist 'Embraceable You,I Got Rhythm,They Can't Take that Away From Me' 86
2016
Arthur Hiller- Canadian film director 'Love Story, Americanization of Emily, PLaza Suite, Silver Streak 92
 
On This Day In History, August 18th

2005 Indonesia suffers a Massive Power Outage
Thought to be one of the biggest power outages in recent history, the Java-Bali outage affected about 100 million people. Electricity was restored to most areas within 6 hours.

1958 Lolita is First Published in the US
The highly controversial novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabakov detailed an adult man’s obsession over 12-year-old Dolores Haze, who he secretly calls Lolita.

1920 The State of Tennessee Passes the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution
This action by the Tennessee legislature brought the number of states passing the 19th amendment to 36 and provided the necessary majority to ratify the amendment, which extended universal suffrage to women.

1877 Martian Moon Phobos is Discovered
One of the two natural satellites of Mars, Phobos, was discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall. Hall also discovered Deimos, the other Martian Moon. Named after the Greek God of fear, Phobos orbits only 3700 miles from the surface of Mars, making it the Moon to orbit closest to its planet in the Solar System. Because of this, Phobos completes an orbit around Mars in 7 hours and 39 minutes.

1612 The Pendle witch trials begin
11 people - 9 women and 2 men - are tried for practicing witchcraft in one of the UK's most well-documented and followed witch trials. The trial lasts for two days and 10 of the accused are found guilty and executed on August 20.
 

Births On This Day, August 18th 🎂

1983 Cameron White
Australian cricketer

1962 Felipe Calderón
Mexican politician, 56th President of Mexico

1933 Roman Polanski
French/Polish director, producer, writer, actor

1910 Herman Berlinski
Polish/American composer

1750 Antonio Salieri
Italian composer

Deaths On This Day, August 18th 🪦

2009 Kim Dae-Jung
South Korean politician, 8th President of South Korea Nobel laureate

1990 B. F. Skinner
American psychologist, author

1945 Subhas Chandra Bose
Indian politician, activist

1850 Honoré de Balzac
French author, playwright

1227 Genghis Khan
Emperor
 
1872
a traveling salesman, Aaron Montgomery issues the 1st mail order catalogue. It had 1 page with 162 items
1956
Elvis Presley had 2 hit singles with one record "A" side had'Hound Dog' which was #1 for 11wks, 'B'side had 'Dont' Be Cruel' which was # 2
1967
Boston Red Sox player,Tony Congilaro was seriously injured when Angles pitcher,Jack Hamelin hit him.Tony's injuries inc fractured cheekbone, dislocated jaw, eye damage. He returned to playing a yr 1/2 later .This incident led to improvements in batting helmets
2017
civilan researchers led by Paul Allen rediscovered USS Indianapolis 18,000ft below Pacific surface,72 yrs after it was sunk by Japanese torpeodoes
 
Aug 18th Birthdays:
1908
Max Factor- CEO of Max Factor Cosmetics
1920
Shelley Winters- actress 'A PLace in The Sun, A Patch of Blue, The Poseidon Adventure
1936
Robert Redford-actor/director/ producer 'Butch Cassidy&Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Natural, The Way We Were, The Horse Whisper, All The President's Men.,Out of Africa He directed these movies;
'Ordinary People{won Oscar for best director}, The Horse Whisperer, A River Runs Through It
He won 2nd Oscar in 2002 for Lifetime Achievement, he's co-founder of Sundance Film Festival
1969
Christian Slater- 'Robin Hood,Prince of Thieves,Heathers, Untamed Heart
Deaths:
1981
Anita Loos- screenwriter/ novelist 'Gentleman Prefer Blondes' 88
2004
Elmer Bernstein -film composer 'To Kill A Mockingbird,The Age of Innocence' Throughly Modern Millie 82
2018
Kofi Annan- Ghanian diplomat, 7th Sec-General at United Nations '97-'06 80
 
On This Day In History, August 19th

1991 Race riots break out in the Crown Heights area of New York City
The violent race riots broke out between African-American and Orthodox Jewish residents of Crown Heights after 2 children were accidentally run down by the motorcade of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a leader of the Orthodox Jews. This resulted in a 3-day long riot that ended in the death of 2 men and several injuries.

1978 A fire at the Rex Cinema in Abadan, Iran, kills over 400 people
The incident which is considered to be a run-up to the Iranian Revolution occurred during the screening of The Deers, a film by Iranian director Masoud Kimiai. It is thought that 4 extremists locked the gates of the theater and set it on fire. Many people at the time believed that the fire was started by SAVAK, the Iranian intelligence agency.

1964 World’s First Geostationary Satellite is Launched
Syncom 3, a communications satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. A geostationary satellite is a manmade object that follows the Earth’s rotation around its axis. Because of this, it looks like it is not moving in the sky for observers on Earth. Like all geostationary satellites, Syncom 3 was placed in orbit about 22,00 miles from Earth, above the Equator, and near the International Date Line. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics were broadcast to the United States with the help of this satellite.

1960 Sputnik 5 is launched by USSR
The Soviet spacecraft carried two dogs, Strelka and Belka, who became the first living beings to survive in space.

1919 Afghanistan Gains Independence From the United Kingdom
The Central Asian country came under British control in 1859, The country was considered to be a buffer for the British trade in opium and as a frontier to protect their interests in India. Despite trying several times to consolidate their rule over Afghanistan, the Afghan people remained hostile to British control and in 1919, King Amanullah declared Afghanistan to be independent of Britain’s protection. The declaration launched a war called the Third Anglo-Afghan War, which ended with the signing of the Rawalpindi Treaty on this day. The treaty granted Afghanistan independence from the British.
 
Births On This Day, August 19th 🎂

1946 Bill Clinton
American politician, 42nd President of the United States

1942 Fred Thompson
American politician, actor

1919 Malcolm Forbes
American publisher

1883 Coco Chanel
French fashion designer founded the Chanel Company

1871 Orville Wright
American aviation pioneer

Deaths On This Day, August 19th 🪦

1994 Linus Pauling
American chemist, activist, Nobel Prize laureate

1977 Groucho Marx
American comedian, actor

1936 Federico García Lorca
Spanish poet, playwright, director

1895 John Wesley Hardin
American outlaw, gunfighter

14 Augustus
Roman Emperor
 
19th August

1612 Three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury were put on trial, accused of practising witchcraft. It was one of the most famous witch trials in English history as all three - Jane Southworth, Jennet Bierley, and Ellen Bierley were acquitted. The charges against the women included child murder and cannibalism.

1685 The beginning of the 'Bloody Assizes' in England with Judge Jeffreys regularly sentencing people to death.

1897 The London Electric Cab Company began operating the electric-powered taxi cabs in London's West End and the City. They had a range of up to 30 miles, and a top speed of 9 miles an hour. The cabs prove uneconomical and were withdrawn in 1900.

1953 The England cricket team, under captain Len Hutton, won The Ashes against Australia for the first time since the tour of 1932-1933.

1987 27 year old gunman Michael Ryan shot dead 16 people during a rampage through Hungerford, Berkshire. 14 people were wounded, and one of the dead was Ryan’s own mother. He proceeded to set fire to his mother’s house, and the worst civil massacre in modern British history ended when he shot himself.
 
1909
Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the annual Indy 500 race takes place opens in Speedway,Indiana
1919
after 100 yrs of British control,Afghanistan declares independence
1960
CIA pilot, Francis Gary Powers convicted of spying in Russia is sentenced to 3yrs in prison and 7 yrs in hard labor. He served 17 months and was exchanged for Soviet-KGB spy, Rudolph Abel
1993
toy companies,Mattel&Fisher Price merge
2008
Lady Gaga's debut album'The Fame' is released contains hit singles'Poker Face,Just Dance'
 
Aug 19th Birthdays:
1871
Orvill Wright- American aviator with his brother, Wilbur
1902
Ogden Nash- U.S humor poet
1921
Gene Roddenberry- creator of' StarTrek' TV shows
1930
Frank Mc Court author of Pulitzer Prize book'Angela's Ashes'/teacher in NYC school system
1952
Jonathan Frakes- actor best known TV role'Commander Riker' in Star Trek,Next Generation'
1965
Kyra Sedwick- actress best known TV role' Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson' in TNT police drama'The Closer' 05-'12 married to actor,Kevin Bacon
Deaths:
1977
Alistair Sim-Scottish actor'Christmas Carol' 75
1987
Hayden Rorke- actor best known TV role' Dr Bellows' in NBC sitcom'I Dream of Jeannie' '65-'70 76
2009
Don Hewitt- TV news producer/director, creator of CBS news magazine' 60 minutes' 87
2012
Tony Scott- British film director/producer'Top Gun,Revenge, Days of Thunder' 68{suicide}
 

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