Today in History

25th August

1537 The Honourable Artillery Company was formed. It is the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior.

1830 Robert Stephenson’s locomotive 'Northumbrian' took a trial run to prepare for the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Actress Fanny Kemble rode on the footplate, the first woman to do so.

1919 AT&T began the world's first daily international passenger air service launched, from London to Paris. The aircraft took off from Hounslow Heath not far from what is now London's Heathrow Airport and landed at Le Bourget. The service was operated using a two-seat Airco 4a and a four-seater Airco 16.

1928 The opening of the famous Kop End at Liverpool Football Club's ground at Anfield. It was most likely named after the Battle of Spion Kop during the Boer War, the word 'Kopje' meaning 'small hill'.
 

1916
National Park Service which oversees U.S. parks is formed by U.S. Dept of Interior
1936
Ralph W. Kerr patents ordorless cornstarch
1952
Puerto Rico becomes U. S. commonwealth,its located in North Caribbean Sea, 1,000 miles from Miami, Fla. The residents became U.S. citizens in 1917
1975
Columbia Records releases Bruce Springsteen's 3rd album'Born To Run' It peaked at # 3 on music charts, sold 6 million copies Its considered by many one of the greatest albums of all time
2006
The world's tallest Redwood tree'Hyperion' at 379 ft is discovered in Redwood National Park in Calif
Its off limits now to visitors, because so many people have seen it over the yrs, has caused damage to the surrounding forest. If you are caught visiting it you will be fined $5,000 or 6 months in jail
 
Aug 25th Birthdays:
1909
Michael Rennie- British actor 'The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Robe
1921
Monty Hall- Canadian TV game show host' Lets Make a Deal'
1930
Sean Connery- Scottish actor, original'James Bond'{starred in 7 movies}, Indiana Jones&the Last Crusade',The Man Who Would Be King, The Russia House,The Untouchables{won best supp actor Oscar},The Hunt for Red October,The Rock
1958
Tim Burton- film director 'Beetle Juice, Edward Scissorhands'
Deaths:
1967
Paul Muni- actor'Good Earth,Scarface,,Stage Door Canteen' 71
1979
Stan Kenton- musician,jazz pianist,arranger 67
1984
Truman Capote-author' Breakfast at Tiffany's, In Cold Blood' 59
2012
Neil Armstrong-NASA astronaut 1st man on the moon 82
 

On This Day In History, August 26th

1978 First German to go into Space
Sigmund Jähn, a pilot from the East German Air Force joined the crew of Soyuz 31, a Soviet manned space flight to the Salyut 6 space station.

1966 Namibian War of Independence Begins
The 24-year-long rebellion against the South African government began with an attack by the South African Defence Force on the members of the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) at Omugulugwombashe. Namibia gained independence on 21 March 1990. Namibians observe Heroes Day annually on August 26.

1955 First Tennis Match to be Telecast in Color
The Davis Cup match between Australia and the US from the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York, was telecast on NBC.

1920 19th Amendment to the US Constitution Takes Effect
The amendment extended universal suffrage to women in the United States. Before this, women in some states could vote in local and state elections. The Amendment was first introduced in Congress 42 years ago in 1878 by Senator Aaron A. Sargent. In 1919, Congress approved the amendment and sent it to the states to be ratified.

1768 James Cook Sails off on HMS Endeavour
The British explorer was the first European in recorded history to have visited the eastern shores of Australia. The ship reached Botany Bay in April 1770 and was back on British shores on July 12, 1771.
 
Births On This Day, August 26th 🎂

1971 Thalía
Mexican singer-songwriter, actress

1970 Melissa McCarthy
American actress, writer, producer

1966 Shirley Manson
Scottish singer-songwriter, actress

1910 Mother Teresa
Macedonian/Indian missionary, Nobel Prize laureate

1819 Albert, Prince Consort
of the United Kingdom

Deaths on this day, August 26th 🪦

1974 Charles Lindbergh
American pilot, activist

1958 Ralph Vaughan Williams
English composer

1910 William James
American psychologist, philosopher

1850 Louis Philippe I
French king

1666 Frans Hals
Dutch painter
 
1682
British astronomer,Edmond Halley 1st observes the comet named after him
1873
1st free kindergarten in U.S. started by educator, Susan Blow in St. Louis, Missouri
1961
The International Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ont officially opens
2005
U.S. Postal Service christens a Los Angeles facilty as the 'Ray Charles Station' in honor of the singer
2016
San Francsico 49'er football player, Colin Kaepernick kneels during the U.S. anthem at San Diego Stadium where 49'ers were playing San Diego Chargers. He objected to racial injustice/ police brutality
 
Aug 26th Birthdays:
1906
Albert Sabin Polish/American physican/scientist who invented oral polio vaccine
1921
Ben Bradlee- journalist/, editor of Washington Post during 'Watergate' scandal
1960
Brandon Marsalis- U.S. jazz/ funk/ classical saxophonist
1970
Melissa Mc Carthy- comedy actress- best known TV role' Molly' on CBS sitcom' Mike&Molly' her movies;
St Vincent, Bridesmaids, Spy, The Heat,Tammy
Deaths:
1930
Lon Channey- actor' Huntchback of Notre Dame, Phantom of the Opera 47
1958
Ralph Vaughan Williams British composer, 'The Lark Ascending, Fantasia on Greensleeves 85
1986
Ted Knight- comedic actor best known TV roles' Ted Baxter' on Mary Tyler Moore Show, 'Henry Rush 'Too Close For Comfort' 62
2009
Ellie Greenwich- singer/ songwriter 'Da-Doo Ron Ron, Leader of the Pack 68
 
August 27 - 1979 Lord Mountbatten was assassinated by an IRA bomb placed on his boat in Ireland.

He was of the "Lost Generation" - early adulthood during World War l.
"Lost" in this context refers to the "disoriented, wandering, directionless" spirit of many of the war's survivors in the early post war period.

The IRA used terror tactics to drive British forces from Northern Ireland in an attempt to force a united Ireland.

Lord Mountbatten had been an IRA target since the early 1960s, and there had been “several attempts to kill him in the past”
In 1978, an attempt to shoot him on board Shadow V was aborted when “choppy seas prevented the sniper lining up his target”.

Lord Mountbatten was killed at the height of “The Troubles”, which would go on for another 19 years before the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998 and nationalist and loyalist ceasefires were initiated.
 
Last edited:
Often said to be the Greatest cricketer to ever walk onto a cricket ground, Australian Don Bradman was born on August 27 - 1908 at Cootamundra, New South Wales.
He ended his career with a batting average of 99.94. (next closest being Adam Voges with 61.87)
He scored 29 centuries, 12 double centuries and 2 triple centuries ( one inning of 299 not out)


 
On This Day In History, August 27th

2003 Mars approaches closest to the Earth since 57,617 BC
The next time the two planets will be this close will be in 2287.

2003 World’s Biggest Battery is Plugged in
The battery, which takes up about 2,000 square meters of space and weighs about 1,300 tonnes is set up to provide emergency electricity to the residents of Fairbanks in Alaska, for about 7 minutes.

1991 Moldova gains its Independence
The Eastern European country was part of the Soviet Union since August 2, 1940, from parts of Romania and parts of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1991, after the dissolution of the USSR, the country gained its independence.

1985 Military coup in Nigeria
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida took over the government after overthrowing Muhammadu Buhari in a bloodless coup.

1962 NASA Launches Mariner 2
Part of NASA’s Mariner program, the unmanned space probe was the first man-made object to fly by another planet – it encountered Venus on December 14, 1962. The space probe made its last contact with scientists on Earth on January 3, 1963.
 
Births On This Day, August 27th 🎂

1976 Mark Webber
Australian race car driver

1952 Paul Reubens
American actor

1908 Donald Bradman
Australian cricketer

1908 Lyndon B. Johnson
American politician, 36th President of the United States

1770 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
German philosopher

Deaths On This Day, August 27 🪦

1990 Stevie Ray Vaughan
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer

1979 Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
British statesman, naval officer

1975 Haile Selassie I
Ethiopian Emperor

1967 Brian Epstein
English talent manager

1963 W. E. B. Du Bois
American sociologist, historian, activist
 
1883
Krakatoa volcano west of Java in Indonesia erupts with force of 1,300 megatons killing 40,000 people
1927
Parks Air College, oldest U.S. aviation school opens in East St. Louis Missouri
1955
Guiness Book of World records is published for the 1st time
1964
movie 'Mary Poppins' directed by Robert Stevenson is released. The movie is based on P.L.Travers book about a 'perfect' nanny who changes the lives of the Banks family in London around 1910 It stars Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson,Glynis Johns, Matthew Garber, Karen Dotrice{Banks children}. The movie won Oscars for score, visual effects, editing. Andrews in her debut won Best Actress Oscar
 
Aug 27th Birthdays:
1929
Ira Levin- author Rosemary's Baby, Boys From Brazil
1944
G.W. Bailey- actor best known TV role 'Detective Louie Provenza' in TNT police drama' The Closer' and in spinoff 'Major Crimes'
1961
Tom Ford- fashion designer
Deaths:
1963
W.E.B. duBois- U.S civil rights activist, founder of NAACP 95
1967
Brian Epstein- British music manager of The Beatles 32
1996
Greg Morris- actor best known TV role'Barney Collier',electronics expert in CBS drama'Mission Impossible' 62
 
27th August

1660 John Milton's books were burned in London, because of the author's attacks on King Charles II.

1896 The little known Anglo-Zanzibar War took place. It is generally considered to be the shortest war in history, lasting for a grand total of just 38 minutes.

1950 The BBC transmitted the first ever live television pictures across the Channel. A two-hour programme was broadcast live from Calais in northern France to mark the centenary of the first message sent by submarine telegraph cable from England to France. "In spite of formidable difficulties, this pioneer venture was successful, though the picture quality was far from perfect." Edward Pawley BBC Engineer. British viewers were able to watch the town of Calais "en fete", with a torchlight procession, dancing and a firework display all taking place in the Place de l'Hotel de Ville.

1997 A Cambridgeshire family who sold everything to sail around the world were rescued from their crippled yacht by the Royal Navy in the Bay of Biscay.
 
On This Day In History, August 28th

1963 Martin Luther King Makes His "I Have a Dream" Speech
The historic speech that was a call to end racism in the United States was given in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, a political rally organized by human and political rights groups. Over 200,000 people gathered in Washington DC to demand jobs and equality for African-Americans. The I Have a Dream speech by Dr. King became a symbol of the American civil rights movement and is one of the most recognizable speeches in recorded history.

1963 Evergreen Bridge Opens for Traffic for the First Time
The longest floating bridge in the world, the Evergreen Point Bridge or the Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge, is on Route 520 in the state of Washington. It is built on Lake Washington and connects Seattle with the city of Medina. The bridge is 4,750 meters long, half of which is over the water.

1955 Emmett Till is Murdered in Mississippi
The 14-year-old African-American boy was brutally killed by white men after he was allegedly reported to have flirted with a white woman a day before. Till, who was from Chicago, was visiting family in Money, Mississippi, when he was kidnapped, mutilated, and his body dumped into the river.

1937 Toyota Motor Corporation is Formed
The car company was first founded in 1933 as a subsidiary of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. The division was headed by Kiichiro Toyoda, the son of the Toyota founder, Sakichi Toyoda.

1845 First Issue of Scientific American hits the newsstands
The science magazine was founded by American inventor and artist Rufus M. Porter. The magazine began as a weekly newsletter and is now the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States.
 
Births On This Day, August 28th 🎂

1986 Gilad Shalit
Israeli soldier

1965 Shania Twain
Canadian singer-songwriter

1943 Surayud Chulanont
Thai politician, 24th Prime Minister of Thailand

1913 Lindsay Hassett
Australian cricketer

1749 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
German writer, scientist


Deaths On This Day, August 28th 🪦

1990 Willy Vandersteen
Belgian writer, illustrator

1987 John Huston
American director

1955 Emmett Till
American murder victim

1903 Frederick Law Olmsted
American journalist, and landscape designer, co-designed Central Park

430 Augustine of Hippo
Algerian bishop, theologian
 
1830
The 1st American built train'Tom Thumb' raced a horse drawn car from Stockton Stokes stage coach company from Baltimore-Elliott Mills, MD The horse drawn car won due to mechinal problems with the train
1837
pharmicists,John Lea&William Perrins manufacture Worchester Sauce
1939
journalist, Care Hollingsworth observed large numbers of troops, armored cars, hundreds of tanks at the Polish border, three days later Hitler invades Poland the start of WWII
1972
U.S. swimmer, Mark Spitz wins 7 gold medals all in world record time at Munich Olympic Summer Games. His record stood until 2008 when U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals at Beijing Olympics
1986
U.S. Navy officer, Jerry Whitworth was convicted of selling classified Navy communications/crypto materials to the Russians with his co conspirator, John Walker, Jr. he was sentenced to 365 yrs in prison fined $410,000.He is still in prison today
 
Aug 28th Birthdays:
1921
Nancy Kulp- actress, best known TV role' Jane Hathaway in CBS sitcom'Beverly Hillbillies'
1925
Donald O'Connor- actor/ dancer/ singer-Singing in the Rain Frances the Talking Mule, Anything Goes
1943
David Soul- actor/ singer his best known TV role' Det Ken Hutch in ABC police drama' Strasky&Hutch' co stars with Paul Michael Glaser.He had a hit single 'Dont Give Up On Us' in '77 was # 1 on music charts for 4 weeks
1965
Shania Twain- Canadian country music singer 'Man I Feel Like A Woman, I'm Going Getcha Good, You're Still The One
1986
Florence Welch- British jazz/blues singer with band Florence&The Machine
Deaths:
1903
Frederick Law Olmstead- U.S. landscape architech 81
1985
Ruth Gordon- actress,'Harold&Maude, Adam's Rib,Where's Poppa,Rosemary's Baby 88
2015
Al Arbour- Canadian Hall of Fame Hockey defenceman with Detroit Redwings, coach of NY Islanders 82
 
On This Day In History, August 29th

1988 Abdul Mohmand becomes the first person from Afghanistan to Visit Space
Mohmand, an Afghan Air Force pilot was a crew member of the Soyuz TM-6, a Soviet spacecraft. He was in space for 9 days, which were spent at the Mir Space Station.

1982 Meitnerium is Synthesized for the First time
The radioactive synthetic element with an atomic number of 109 and the symbol Mt was first created at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt, Germany. Named after Austrian physicist and discoverer of nuclear fission, Lise Meitner, the element, which is not found naturally, was discovered by a team headed by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg.

1966 Beatles’ Last Commercial Performance
Popular British rock group, the Beatles, played their last live concert in front of a paying public at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. The band came together one last time for an unannounced performance in January 1969 on the rooftop of the Apple building in London.

1949 Soviet Union Tests its First Atomic Bomb
Code named Izdeliye 501 or First Lightening, the 22-kiloton atomic bomb was detonated at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan. It is thought that the bomb was a replica of the Fat Man bomb, the plans for which were brought to the USSR by spies at the Manhattan Project. The US called the Soviet bomb, Joe-1.

1831 Michael Faraday Discovers Electromagnetic Induction
Michael Faraday experimentally demonstrated that a changing magnetic field can induce a voltage in a conductor. The discovery of electromagnetic induction helped in the creation of electric generators, transformers, and even induction cooktops. An English scientist, Faraday was a prolific researcher and inventor. In addition to discovering electromagnetic induction, he also discovered Benzene and electrolysis. The farad, an International System of Units (SI) measurement of capacitance – the ability of an object to hold an electric charge was named after Faraday.
 
Births On This Day, August 29th 🎂

1958 Michael Jackson
American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, actor

1936 John McCain
American politician

1923 Richard Attenborough
English director

1915 Ingrid Bergman
Swedish actress

1632 John Locke
English philosopher, physician

Deaths On This Day, August 29th 🪦

1982 Ingrid Bergman
Swedish actress

1976 Kazi Nazrul Islam
Indian flute player, poet

1975 Éamon de Valera
Irish politician, 3rd President of Ireland

1966 Sayyid Qutb
Egyptian theorist, author, poet

1877 Brigham Young
American religious leader 2nd President of The Church of Jesus Christ
 
1838
Jacob&Wilhelm Grimm announce they will publish a German dictionary,it was completed 123 yrs later in 1961
1896
Chop Suey was invented by a chef in NYC of a visiting Chinese ambassador
1950
International Olympic Committee votes to admit West Germany&Japan in 1952
1967
the final episode of TV show'The Fugitive' starring David Janssen was watched by 78 mill viewers- a record at the time
1997
Netflix founded by Marc Randolph&Reed Hastings in Scott Valley, Calif as an online DVD rental business
2005
Hurricane Katrina makes 2nd,3rd landfall as a category 3 hurricane, which devasted much of the Gulf Coast region from Louisana-Fla Panhandle. New Orleans was hardest hit, sections of the city were badly damaged/flooded 1,386 people died $115 billion in damages
 
Aug 29th Birthdays:
1637
John Locke- English philosopher
1915
Ingrid Bergman- Swedish actress Casablanca, Gaslight,Cactus Flower
1920
Charlie' Bird' Parker- jazz saxophonist/composer
1935
William Friedkin- film director The French Connection, The Exorcist,Boys in the Band
1938
Elliot Gould- actor M*A*S*H, Bob& Carol&Ted&Alice,Nashville,Oceans Eleven,Oceans Thirteen
Deaths:
1976
Anissa Jones -actress, best known TV role' Buffy' on sitcom' Family Affair' 18{drug overdose}
1987
Lee Marvin -actor 'The Dirty Dozen, Cat Ballou,Paint Your Wagon, won Best Actor Oscar for Ballou in a dual role 63{heart attack}
2016
Gene Wilder- actor' Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Silver Streak, Willie Wonka&Chocolate Factory 83
 
On This Day In History, August 30th

1999 People in East Timor Vote in a Referendum
The referendum was to decide whether East Timor should get more autonomy within Indonesia or whether independence should be granted. In 1976, East Timor, which had been a Portuguese colony since 1769, was taken over by Indonesia. The referendum, which came on the heels of mass violence in the region during the Indonesian occupation, passed in favor of independence which was finally gained on May 20, 2002.

1991 Azerbaijan Declares its Independence
The Central Asian country had been a part of the Soviet Union since 1920. In December 1991, a referendum was held to make the country’s independence from the USSR official.

1983 Guion Stewart Bluford is launched into Space
Bluford, a fighter pilot for the US Air Force and part of the crew of STS-8, the third flight of NASA’s space shuttle Challenger, was the first African-American to go into space.

1967 First African-American justice is Appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court
The United States Senate confirmed Thurgood Marshall to the country’s highest court of justice. Marshall was also the first African-American to have held the post of Solicitor General of the United States.

1963 Telephone hotline Between Washington DC and Moscow is Established
The system of direct communication between the heads of the Soviet Union and now Russia and the United States was set up during the height of the Cold War when the Cuban Missile Crisis almost led the two countries to the brink of an active war. The hotline was used for the first time in 1967 during the 6-day long Arab–Israeli War.
 
Births On This Day, August 30th 🎂

1982 Andy Roddick
American tennis player

1954 Alexander Lukashenko
Belarusian politician, 1st President of Belarus

1943 Tal Brody
American/Israeli basketball player

1930 Warren Buffett
American businessman, philanthropist

1893 Huey Long
American politician

Deaths On This Day, August 30th 🪦

2015 Oliver Sacks
British/American neurologist, author

2013 Seamus Heaney
Irish poet, playwright, Nobel Prize laureate

2004 Indian Larry
An American motorcycle rider, builder

2003 Charles Bronson
American actor

1879 John Bell Hood
American general
 
August 30 - 1835
Melbourne - Capital city of the Australian State of Victoria was founded on this day by settlers who sailed from Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) aboard the schooner Enterprize.
They landed on the north bank of the Yarra River and established the first permanent settlement.
The settlers came from Launceston in search of sheep-grazing land.

Land had become expensive and there had long been stories told by whalers and sealers working in Bass Strait of fertile land to the north.
This was the southern part of the colony of New South Wales, which the Colonial Government did not want settled at that time.
After the Henty family crossed Bass Strait and settled at Portland in 1834 others quickly followed.
The north bank was chosen because a small waterfall, or rapids, at Queensbridge Bridge stopped further progress up the river.

Enterprize set sail on her historic voyage from Launceston on July 21, 1835, stopping at George Town in northern Tasmania.
The party first considered Western Port and the eastern side of Port Phillip for a place to settle, before deciding on the Yarra’s north bank - known today as Enterprize Park.
On Sunday, August 30, they disembarked and began to erect shelter, build a store and clear land to grow food, thus starting the permanent European settlement of Melbourne.
The settlement quickly grew. Less than a year later, by June 1836, the population was 177: 142 men and 35 women.
The 1851 Census put the population at 77,345.
 

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