Fun On this date in history...

Time to get caught up...

ON JULY 22nd:

In 1298, King Edward I of England and his longbowmen defeated William Wallace and his Scottish schiltrons outside the town of Falkirk.

In 1587, an English colony fated to vanish under mysterious circumstances was established on Roanoke Island off North Carolina.

In 1686, Albany, NY was formally chartered as a municipality by Governor Thomas Dongan.

In 1706, The Acts of Union 1707 were agreed upon by commissioners from the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which, when passed by each countries' Parliaments, led to the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

In 1796, Cleveland, Ohio, was founded by General Moses Cleaveland.

In 1893, Wellesley College professor Katharine Lee Bates visited the summit of Pikes Peak, where she was inspired to write the original version of her poem "America the Beautiful."

In 1916, a bomb went off during a Preparedness Day parade in San Francisco, killing 10 people.

In 1934, bank robber John Dillinger was shot to death by federal agents outside Chicago's Biograph Theater, where he had just seen the Clark Gable movie "Manhattan Melodrama."

In 1936, the film-noir “Satan Met a Lady”, starring Warren William and Bette Davis, was released in the U.S. It was the second film adaptation of The Maltese Falcon; most viewers have only seen the third one.

In 1937, the U.S. Senate voted down President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s proposal to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, an effort many viewed as an attempt to “pack the Court”.

In 1937, actress Adrienne Hill was born. She played short-lived Companion Katarina during the Hartnell era on “Doctor Who”.

In 1938, actor Terrence Stamp was born in Stepney, London, England. Feel free to kneel before Zod in observance.

The answer is, “In 1940, he was born in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.” (“Who is Alex Trebek?”)

In 1942, The United States government began compulsory civilian gasoline rationing due to the wartime demands.

In 1943, during World War II, Allied forces captured the Italian city of Palermo.

In 1944, pitcher “Sparky” Lyle was born in DuBois, PA. A major league player for sixteen years, he is currently Manager Emeritus of the Somerset Patriots, frequent champions of the Atlantic League.

In 1946, Jewish extremists blew up a wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, killing 90 people.

In 1957, Walter "Fred" Morrison applied for a patent for a "flying toy" which became known as the Frisbee.

In 1959, “Plan 9 from Outer Space”, directed by Ed Wood, was released in the U.S. It has since gained some…notoriety.

In 1962, Jackie Robinson became the first African American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1963, Sonny Liston knocked out Floyd Patterson in the first round of their rematch in Las Vegas to retain the world heavyweight title.

In 1964, actress/dancer Bonnie Langford was born in Hampton Court, Surrey, England. She’d later play one of the Doctor’s companions, though we never actually saw her character first meet him.

Also in 1964, the Hitchcock suspense movie “Marnie”, starring Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery, was released in the U.S.

In 1965, the pilot episode of the Brit-com “Til Death Do Us Part” was broadcast on BBC 1. The U.S. version would start six years later.

In 1967, the science fiction adventure “King Kong Escapes” was released in Japan, where it was made.

In 1975, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in voting to restore the American citizenship of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. (President Gerald R. Ford signed the measure on August 5.)

In 1995, Susan Smith was convicted by a jury in Union, South Carolina, of first-degree murder for drowning her two sons. (She was later sentenced to life in prison, and will not be eligible for parole until 2024.)

In 2005, the sci-fi adventure movie “The Island”, starring Ewan MacGregor and Scarlett Johansson, went into wide release in the U.S. Its similarity to “Clonus” was the subject of a later legal action and out-of-court settlement.

In 2011, a right-wing extremist massacred 69 people at a Norwegian island youth retreat after detonating a bomb in nearby Oslo that killed eight others in the nation's worst violence since World War II.

In 2014, the book Good Night, Darth Vader by Jeffrey Brown was published by Chronicle Books.

In 2016, nine people were killed and at least sixteen wounded in a shooting incident at the Olympia Shopping Centre in Munich, Germany. The suspected gunman was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In 2019, engineer Christopher C. Kraft, Jr. died in Houston at age 95. Affiliated with the American manned space program since the 1940s, he served as NASA’s first Flight Director, and later as Director of the Johnson Space Center.

 

If I may...

ON JULY 23rd:

In 1840, The Province of Canada was created by the Act of Union.

In 1885, Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the U.S., died in Mount McGregor, NY at age 63.

In 1886, a legend was born as Steve Brodie claimed to have made a daredevil plunge from the Brooklyn Bridge into New York's East River. (However, there are doubts about whether the dive actually took place.)

In 1888, author/screenwriter Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago.

In 1914, Austria-Hungary presented a list of demands to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serb assassin; Serbia's refusal to agree to the entire ultimatum led to the outbreak of World War I.

In 1942, the Treblinka extermination camp was opened in occupied Poland.

In 1945, French Marshal Henri Petain, who had headed the pro-Axis Vichy government during World War II, went on trial, charged with treason. (He was convicted and condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted to life in prison.)

In 1951, Henri Petain died in prison at age 95.

In 1952, Egyptian military officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser launched a successful coup against King Farouk I.

In 1955, the Warner Brothers cartoon “Double or Mutton”, starring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, was released in the U.S. While it was the third cartoon to feature the characters, it was the first to fully name them and establish the series’ format.

In 1962, Telstar relayed the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.

In 1967, a week of deadly race-related rioting that claimed 43 lives erupted in Detroit.

In 1968, in Cleveland, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization and the Cleveland Police Dept. occurred. During the shootout, a riot began and lasted for five days.

In 1969, James Brown walked out of Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty's office when the mayor failed to show up on time to present the singer with a proclamation for "James Brown Day."

In 1977, a jury in Washington D.C. convicted 12 Hanafi Muslims of charges stemming from the hostage siege at three buildings the previous March.

In 1982, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors, 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, were killed when a helicopter crashed on top of them during filming of a Vietnam War scene for "Twilight Zone: The Movie." (Director John Landis and four associates were later acquitted of manslaughter.)

In 1983, Air Canada Flight 143 ran out of fuel and safely made a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba. There were no fatalities or serious injuries, and the plane was later nicknamed the “Gimli Glider”.

In 1984, Vanessa Williams became the first Miss America to resign her title, after nude photographs of her taken in 1982 were published in Penthouse magazine.

In 1986, in London, England, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey.

In 1995, Comet Hale-Bopp was discovered independently by observers Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp; it became visible to the naked eye on Earth nearly a year later.

In 1999, Woodstock '99 began in Rome, NY. The three-day festival started off peacefully but ended in fires, looting and accusations of rape.

In 2004, a sneak preview of Pixar animated movie “The Incredibles” was shown at Comic-Con in San Diego.

In 2012, physicist/astronaut Sally Ride died in La Jolla, CA at age 61.

In 2014, the graphic novel The Star Wars, based on George Lucas’ original story treatment for the original “Star Wars” movie, was published.

In 2018, a wildfire in East Attica, Greece caused the death of 102 people. It was the deadliest wildfire in Greece’s history.

 

If I may...

ON JULY 24th:

In 1725, sailor/clergyman/hymnwriter John Newton was born in Wapping, London.

In 1783, Latin American revolutionary Simon Bolivar was born in Caracas, Venezuela.

In 1847, after 17 months of travel, Brigham Young led 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City.

In 1862, Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the U.S., and the first to have been born a U.S. citizen, died at age 79 in Kinderhook, NY, the town where he was born in 1782.

In 1866, Tennessee became the first state to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War.

In 1897, aviatrix/author Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, KS.

In 1915, the SS Eastland, a passenger ship carrying more than 2,500 people, rolled onto its side while docked at the Clark Street Bridge on the Chicago River; an estimated 844 people died in the disaster.

In 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne, which settled the boundaries of modern Turkey, was concluded in Switzerland.

In 1935, the Dust Bowl heat wave reached its peak, sending temperatures to 109 °F (43 °C) in Chicago and 104 °F (40 °C) in Milwaukee.

In 1937, the state of Alabama dropped charges against four of the nine young black men accused of raping two white women in the "Scottsboro Case."

In 1943, during World War II, British and Canadian airplanes began bombing Hamburg by night, and American planes bombed it by day during Operation Gomorrah.

In 1950, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station began operations with the launch of a Bumper rocket.

In 1951, actress/singer Lynda Carter was born in Phoenix, AZ. Piloting the invisible plane would come later.

In 1952, the Western "High Noon," starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, premiered in New York City.

In 1959, during a visit to Moscow, Vice President Richard Nixon engaged in his famous "Kitchen Debate" with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific.

In 1971, the kaiju movie “Gojira tai Hedora” (re-titled “Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster” in the U.S.) was released in Japan, its country of origin.

In 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon had to turn over subpoenaed White House tape recordings to the Watergate special prosecutor.

In 1975, the Apollo CSM-111 spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific, completing the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, which included the first-ever docking with a Soyuz capsule (Soyuz 19) from the Soviet Union.

In 1978, Billy Martin was fired for the first of three times as the manager of the New York Yankees baseball team.

In 1980, actor/comedian Peter Sellers, CBE died in London at age 54.

In 1981, the horror movie “Wolfen”, starring Albert Finney, was released in the U.S.

In 1983, George Brett, batting for the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees, had a game-winning home run nullified in the "Pine Tar Incident".

In 1985, the Disney animated fantasy “The Black Cauldron” was released in the U.S.

In 1996, Trace Beaulieu announced that he would not be rejoining the cast of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” when the series moved to the Sci-Fi Channel.

In 1998, a gunman burst into the U.S. Capitol, killing two police officers before being shot and captured. (The shooter is being held in a federal mental facility.)

In 1998, the World War II drama “Saving Private Ryan”, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, was released in the U.S.

In 2002, nine coal miners became trapped in a flooded tunnel of the Quecreek Mine in western Pennsylvania; the story ended happily 77 hours later with the rescue of all nine.

In 2014, Air Algere Flight 5017 lost contact with air traffic controllers 50 minutes after takeoff, during a flight between Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Algiers. (The wreckage of the plane was later found in Mali. All 116 people onboard were killed.)

Also in 2014, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice received a two-game suspension from the NFL following his offseason arrest for domestic violence after an altercation with then-fiancee (later wife) Janay Palmer in Atlantic City, NJ.

In 2019, at Buckingham Palace, Theresa May officially tendered her resignation as Prime Minister of Great Britain. Afterwards, Queen Elizabeth II asked Boris Johnson, the new Prime Minister-designate, to form a government, thus officially beginning his term of office.

 

Shall we try again?

ON JULY 25th:

In 1554, Queen Mary I of England married Philip II, future King of Spain.

In 1814, the Battle of Lundy's Lane, one of the bloodiest battles of the War of 1812, took place in present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario, with no clear victor.

In 1868, Wyoming became a United States territory.

In 1920, chemist/X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin was born in Notting Hill, London, England. Her work has become regarded as central to the understanding of DNA’s role in biology, and the discovery of its double helical structure.

In 1934, Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss was assassinated by pro-Nazi Austrians in a failed coup attempt.

In 1941, cinematographer Peter Suschitzsky was born in London, England. He’s known for his work on several films for director David Cronenberg, and on “Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back”.

In 1943, Benito Mussolini was dismissed as premier of Italy by King Victor Emmanuel III, and placed under arrest. (However, Mussolini was later rescued by the Nazis, and re-asserted his authority.)

In 1946, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis began their partnership as a nightclub song and comedy act with a performance at Club 500 in Atlantic City.

Also in 1946, as part of Operation Crossroads, an atomic bomb was detonated underwater in the lagoon of Bikini Atoll. Rumors that the detonation was part of a secret action against Godzilla persist.

In 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the United States.

In 1953, the Merrie Melodies cartoon “Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½ Century” was released in the U.S.

In 1956, the Italian liner Andrea Doria collided with the Swedish passenger ship Stockholm off the New England coast late at night and began sinking; at least 51 people were killed.

In 1965, Bob Dylan drew boos from some spectators at the Newport Folk Festival as he performed with a rock band.

In 1968, in the encyclical Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life) Pope Paul VI restated the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to artificial birth control.

In 1969, voice actor James Arnold Taylor was born in Santa Barbara, CA. He’s known to “Star Wars” fans for providing the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in several animated projects and video games.

In 1975, the musical "A Chorus Line" opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre, beginning a run of 6,137 performances.

In 1978, Louise Brown, the world's first "test tube baby" was born.

In 1985, a spokeswoman for Rock Hudson confirmed that the actor, hospitalized in Paris, was suffering from AIDS.

In 1990, comedian Roseanne Barr sang the National Anthem in San Diego before a major league baseball game, spit, then scratched herself. The crowd booed, and she later apologized.

In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein signed a declaration at the White House ending their countries' 46-year-old formal state of war.

In 1999, fires began burning out of control during the Red Hot Chili Peppers' set at Woodstock '99. Fans began looting the vendors and pelting police with bottles and fruit.

In 2000, a New York-bound Air France Concorde crashed outside Paris shortly after takeoff, killing all 109 people on board and four people on the ground; it was the first-ever crash of the supersonic jet.

In 2010, WikiLeaks published classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, one of the largest information leaks in U.S. military history.

 

If I may...

ON JULY 26th:

In 1775, Benjamin Franklin became America's first Postmaster-General.

In 1788, New York became the 11th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1861, George B. McClellan assumed command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run (a.k.a. First Manassas).

In 1863, Morgan’s Raid ended at Salineville, OH, when Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers were captured by Union forces.

In 1882, the Richard Wagner opera "Parsifal" premiered in Bayreuth, Germany.

In 1895, actress/comedienne Gracie Allen was born in San Francisco, CA.

In 1908, U.S. Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte ordered creation of a force of special agents that was a forerunner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In 1909, actress/singer Vivian Vance was born in Cherryvale, KS.

In 1921, author/humorist/radio host Jean Shepherd was born in Chicago, IL. Both Orange Nehi and Blatz Beer are acceptable for a celebratory toast.

In 1922, producer/director/screenwriter Blake Edwards was born in Tulsa, OK.

In 1923, author/illustrator Jan Berenstain, co-creator of the Berenstain Bears, was born in Philadelphia, PA.

In 1925, five days after the end of the Scopes Trial in Dayton, TN, prosecutor William Jennings Bryan died at age 65. (Although Bryan had won a conviction against John T. Scopes for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution, the verdict was later overturned.)

In 1928, filmmaker Stanley Kubrick was born in the Bronx.

In 1943, singer/songwriter/actor Mick Jagger was born in Dartford, Kent, England.

In 1944, the Soviet Army entered Lviv, a major city in western Ukraine, capturing it from the Nazis. Only 300 Jews survived out of 160,000 living in Lviv prior to occupation.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek issued the Potsdam Declaration, which called upon Imperial Japan to unconditionally surrender, or face "prompt and utter destruction."

Also in 1945, Churchill resigned as Britain's prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labour Party; Clement Attlee succeeded him.

In 1947, U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, creating the Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Dept. of Defense, U.S. Air Force, the Joint Cheifs of Staff, and the U.S. National Security Council.

In 1948, U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 desegregating the military of the United States.

Also in 1948, the biographical movie “The Babe Ruth Story”, starring William Bendix in the title role, premiered in New York City. The real Babe Ruth attended the premiere, his last public appearance before his death.

In 1951, the full-length Disney cartoon “Alice in Wonderland” premiered in London.

In 1952, Argentina's first lady, Eva Peron, died in Buenos Aires at age 33.

Also in 1952, King Farouk I of Egypt abdicated in the wake of a coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.

In 1956, the Italian liner Andrea Doria sank off New England, some 11 hours after colliding with the Swedish liner Stockholm; at least 51 people died.

Also in 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal.

In 1957, actress Nana Visitor was born in New York City. The hostility against the Cardassians would come later.

In 1959, Lt. Col. William H. Rankin, USMC, was piloting an F-8 Crusader jet fighter when the plane’s engine failed over North Carolina. Without a pressure suit, he was forced to eject at 47,000 feet. His parachute opened, but his fall took him through a cumulonimbus thunderstorm cloud. He survived, but suffered from frostbite, decompression and bruises. And his book on his experience, The Man Who Rode the Thunder, was shelved with my Dad’s other books for many years.

In 1961, the thriller “Homicidal”, produced and directed by William Castle, premiered in New York City (though it had been in release in other U.S. locations since June).

In 1965, the Maldives became independent of Britain.

In 1966, the sci-fi movie “Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.”, starring Peter Cushing as Dr. Who, was released in the U.K. Please note that some sources list it as not being released until August, and that’s just one of the many disputes Whovians have over the movie.

In 1971, Apollo 15 was launched from Cape Kennedy on America's fourth successful manned mission to the moon.

In 1973, the martial arts movie “Enter the Dragon”, starring Bruce Lee, was released in Hong Kong. It would premiere in the U.S. the following month.

In 1989, Mark Wellman, a 29-year-old paraplegic, reached the summit of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park after hauling himself up the granite cliff six inches at a time over nine days.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In 2005, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Discovery, the first manned mission following the destruction of Space Shuttle Columbia 2 ½ years earlier.

In 2010, a U.N.-backed tribunal sentenced the Khmer Rouge's chief jailer, Kaing Guek Eav, to 35 years for overseeing the deaths of up to 16,000 people in Cambodia, with 16 years shaved off for time already served, reducing his sentence to 19 years.

In 2012, actress Mary Tamm, best known for playing the first incarnation of Romana on “Doctor Who”, died in London at age 62.

In 2016, two men armed with knives took a priest, two nuns and two parishioners hostage in a church near Rouen in the French region of Normandy. French police killed the hostage takers after the 86-year-old priest was killed.

Also in 2016, at least 19 people were killed and 26 others were injured in a knife attack at a care center for disabled people in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

In addition in 2016, Hillary Clinton was nominated as the Democratic Party candidate for the 2016 presidential election, becoming the first woman ever to be nominated for president by a major party in the U.S.

In 2017, President Donald Trump announced that transgender Americans would not be permitted to serve “in any capacity” in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Also in 2017, voice actress June Foray died in Los Angeles at age 99.

 

If I may...

ON JULY 27th:

In 1694, a Royal Charter was granted to the Bank of England.

In 1789, President George Washington signed a measure establishing the Department of Foreign Affairs, forerunner of the Department of State.

In 1919, the Chicago Race Riot erupted after a racial incident occurred on a South Side beach, leading to 38 fatalities and 537 injuries over a five-day period.

In 1921, Canadian researcher Frederick Banting and his assistant, Charles Best, succeeded in isolating the hormone insulin at the University of Toronto.

In 1940, Bugs Bunny made his official debut when Warner Brothers released the animated short "A Wild Hare."

Also in 1940, Billboard magazine published its first "music popularity chart" listing best-selling retail records (in first place was "I'll Never Smile Again" recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with featured vocalist Frank Sinatra).

In addition in 1940, producer Gary Kurtz was born in Los Angeles.

In 1949, the adventure movie “Mighty Joe Young”, featuring stop-motion effects by Willis O’Brien and Ray Harryhausen, premiered in New York City.

In 1950, actor Simon Jones was born in Charlton Park, Wiltshire, England. The hitchhiking would come later on.

In 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.

In 1960, Vice President Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president on the first ballot at the Republican national convention in Chicago.

In 1965, Shirley Ann Lawson of Auckland gave birth to four girls and a boy, the first quintuplets born in New Zealand.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to assess the causes of urban rioting, the same day black militant H. Rap Brown said in Washington that violence was "as American as cherry pie."

Also in 1967, the sale of Desilu Studios to Gulf + Western was finalized.

In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted 27-11 to adopt the first of three articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon.

In 1976, John Lennon was granted permanent U.S. residency following a lengthy battle with immigration officials.

In 1978, the comedy “National Lampoon’s ‘Animal House’”, starring John Belushi, premiered in New York City.

In 1980, on day 267 of the Iranian hostage crisis, the deposed Shah of Iran died at a military hospital outside Cairo, Egypt, at age 60.

In 1981, Adam Walsh, 6-year-old son of John Walsh, was kidnapped in Hollywood, FL and was found murdered two weeks later.

In 1986, Greg LeMond of the U.S. became the first non-European to capture the Tour de France cycling race.

In 1995, the Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington by President Bill Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young-sam.

In 1996, at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, a pipe bomb exploded at the public Centennial Olympic Park. One person was killed and more than 100 were injured.

In 2003, actor/comedian/singer Bob Hope died in Toluca Lake, CA at age 100.

In 2012, the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place at the Olympic Stadium in London. Reports of a dark-haired man wearing a long coat unexpectedly picking up the Olympic torch and carrying it the last few yards remain unconfirmed.

In 2016, actor/program host/commentator Jerry Doyle, well-known to fans of “Babylon 5” for playing Michael Garbaldi, died in Las Vegas at age 60.

 

If I may...

ON JULY 28th:

In 1540, King Henry VIII's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed, the same day Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

In 1655, French dramatist and novelist Cyrano de Bergerac, the inspiration for a play by Edmond Rostand, died in Paris at age 36.

In 1794, Maximilien Robespierre, a leading figure of the French Revolution, was sent to the guillotine.

In 1821, Peru declared its independence from Spain.

In 1866, author/illustrator Beatrix Potter was born in Kensington, London, England.

In 1868, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was certified, establishing African American citizenship and guaranteeing due process of law.

In 1896, the city of Miami, FL was incorporated.

In 1901, singer/actor/band leader Rudy Vallee was born in Island Pond, VT.

In 1914, World War I began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

In 1915, more than 300 American sailors and Marines arrived in Haiti to restore order following the killing of Haitian President Vibrun Guillaume Sam by rebels, beginning a 19-year U.S. occupation.

In 1929, journalist/editor Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, 37th First Lady of the U.S., was born in Southampton, NY.

In 1932, federal troops forcibly dispersed the so-called "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans who had gathered in Washington to demand payments they weren't scheduled to receive until 1945.

In 1935, the first flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress took place.

In 1945, a U.S. Army bomber crashed into the 79th floor of New York's Empire State Building, killing 14 people.

Also in 1945, the U.S. Senate ratified the United Nations Charter by a vote of 89-2.

In addition in 1945, cartoonist Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield, was born in Marion, IN.

In 1954, the drama film “On the Waterfront”, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando, premiered in New York City.

In 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis made his television debut on "The Steve Allen Show."

In 1959, in preparation for statehood, Hawaiians voted to send the first Chinese-American, Republican Hiram L. Fong, to the U.S. Senate and the first Japanese-American, Democrat Daniel K. Inouye, to the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he was increasing the number of American troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000 "almost immediately."

Also in 1965, filming was completed on “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, the second pilot episode for the original “Star Trek” series.

In 1973, the Skylab 3 mission, crewed by Alan L. Bean (Mission Commander), Owen P. Garriott (Science Pilot), and Jack R. Lousma (Pilot), was launched.

In 1976, an earthquake devastated northern China, killing at least 242,000 people, according to an official estimate.

In 1984, the Los Angeles Summer Olympics opened.

In 1993, the Mel Brooks comedy “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” was released in the U.S.

In 1995, a jury in Union, South Carolina, rejected the death penalty for Susan Smith, sentencing her to life in prison for drowning her two young sons (Smith will be eligible for parole in 2024).

In 2000, Kathie Lee Gifford made her final appearance as co-host of the ABC talk show "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee."

In 2002, nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, PA were rescued after 77 hours underground.

In 2005, The Provisional IRA called an end to its thirty-year-long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.

In 2017, Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, was disqualified for life by Supreme Court of Pakistan finding him guilty of corruption charges.

In 2019, a gunman opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, CA, killing three people and wounding at least twelve others before being fatally shot by police.

 

If I (belatedly may)...

ON JULY 29th:

In 1588, the English attacked the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Gravelines, resulting in an English victory.

In 1775, General George Washington appointed William Tudor as Judge Advocate of the Continental Army.

In 1848, in Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule was put down by police.

In 1890, artist Vincent van Gogh died at age 37 of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in Auvers-sur-Oise, France.

In 1905, actress Clara Bow, “The ‘It’ Girl”, was born in Brooklyn.

In 1914, transcontinental telephone service in the U.S. became operational with the first test conversation between New York and San Francisco.

Also in 1914, Massachusetts' Cape Cod Canal, offering a shortcut across the base of the peninsula, was officially opened to shipping traffic.

In addition in 1914, comedian/actor/activist “Professor” Irwin Corey, the World’s Foremost Authority, was born in Brooklyn.

In 1921, Adolf Hitler became the leader ("fuehrer") of the National Socialist German Workers Party.

In 1933, wrestler/manager/actor “Captain” Lou Albano was born in Rome, Italy.

In 1938, journalist Peter Jennings was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In 1941, actor David Warner was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England.

In 1945, The BBC Light Programme radio station was launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.

In 1948, Britain's King George VI opened the Olympic Games in London.

In 1953, producer/director Ken Burns was born in Brooklyn.

In 1953, the sci-fi movie “War of the Worlds” premiered in Atlantic City. It was produced by George Pal, and starred Gene Barry as the original Dr. Clayton Forrester.

In 1957, Jack Paar made his debut as host of NBC's "Tonight" show.

Also in 1957, The International Atomic Energy Agency was established.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA.

In 1959, the horror movie “The Tingler”, produced & directed by William Castle and starring Vincent Price, was released in the U.S. And you’d better start screaming, just in case the Tingler gets loose in this website.

In 1965, The Beatles' second feature film, "Help!," had its world premiere at the London Pavilion.

In 1966, Bob Dylan was involved in a motorcycle accident near Woodstock, NY. He suffered critical injuries and took months to recover.

In 1972, actor/writer Wil Wheaton was born in Burbank, CA. Saving the Enterprise-D several times would come later.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford became the first U.S. president to visit the site of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland.

In 1976, in New York City, David Berkowitz shot two people, killing one and seriously wounding another, in the first of the “Son of Sam” attacks.

In 1981, Britain's Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. (However, the couple divorced in 1996.)

In 1981, the animated sci-fi anthology “Heavy Metal” premiered in the U.S.

In 1983, the comedy “National Lampoon’s ‘Vacation’”, starring Chevy Chase, was released in the U.S.

Also in 1983, actor/author David Niven died in Switzerland at age 73.

In 1987, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France Francois Mitterand signed the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel, later known as the Eurotunnel.

In 1993, The Supreme Court of Israel acquitted alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he was set free.

In 1994, abortion opponent Paul Hill shot and killed Dr. John Bayard Britton and Britton's bodyguard, James H. Barrett, outside the Ladies Center clinic in Pensacola, Florida. (Hill was executed in September 2003.)

In 2004, Sen. John Kerry accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Boston.

In 2005, The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a U.S.-sponsored resolution expanding U.N. sanctions against al-Qaida terrorists and Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers to affiliates and splinter groups.

Also in 2005, astronomers announced their discovery of the “dwarf” planet Eris.

In 2015, Microsoft released the Windows 10 operating system.

 

If I may...

ON JULY 30th:

In 762, the city of Baghdad, now the capitol of Iraq, was founded.

In 1619, in Jamestown, VA, the first representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convened for the first time.

In 1729, Baltimore, MD was founded.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union forces tried to take Petersburg, VA by exploding a gunpowder-laden mine shaft beneath Confederate defense lines; the attack failed.

In 1890, baseball player/manager Casey Stengel was born in Kansas City, MO. His career as player and later manager would include stints with four New York teams: the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York (baseball) Giants, the Yankees, and the Mets.

In 1916, the Black Tom Island explosion occurred near Jersey City, NJ, when German saboteurs destroyed 1 kiloton of munitions stored on the island. The explosion resulted in $20 million in damages and seven reported deaths.

In 1918, poet Joyce Kilmer, a sergeant in the 165th U.S. Infantry Regiment, was killed during the Second Battle of the Marne in World War I.

In 1929, producer/puppeteer Sid Krofft was born in Montreal. He’d later create and produce a lot of kids’ shows watched by your humble correspondent.

In 1930, in Montevideo, Uruguay won the first FIFA World Cup.

In 1932, the Summer Olympic Games opened in Los Angeles.

Also in 1932, the Disney cartoon “Flowers and Trees” premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. It was the first animated short in full color, and was later the first to win an Academy Award.

In 1939, filmmaker/actor/film historian Peter Bogdanovich was born in Kingston, NY.

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill creating a women's auxiliary agency in the Navy known as "Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service" — WAVES for short.

In 1943, the East Side Kids comedy “Ghosts on the Loose”, also starring Bela Lugosi, was released in the U.S.

In 1945, the Portland class heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, having just delivered components of the atomic bomb to Tinian in the Mariana Islands, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine; only 317 out of nearly 1,200 men survived.

In 1947, actor/producer/bodybuilder/politician Arnold Schwarzeneggar was born in Thal, Austria.

In 1953, the Small Business Administration was founded.

In 1954, Elvis Presley made his professional debut in Memphis. It was his first concert to be advertised.

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure making "In God We Trust" the national motto, replacing "E Pluribus Unum" ("Out of many, one").

In 1958, the horror/sci-fi “War of the Colossal Beast” opened in Brooklyn; it had been in release elsewhere in the U.S. since June. The sequel to “The Amazing Colossal Man”, it was also produced & directed by Bert I. Gordon.

In 1961, the Toho kaiju movie “Mosura” opened in Japan. It would be re-titled “Mothra” when it reached the U.S.

In 1963, the Soviet Union announced it had granted political asylum to Harold "Kim" Philby, the "third man" of a British spy ring.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a measure creating Medicare, which began operating the following year.

In 1966, the movie “Batman”, based on the TV series, premiered in Austin, TX.

In 1969, during the Vietnam War, President Richard Nixon made an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam and met with President Nguyen Van Thieu and U.S. military commanders.

In 1970, The Beatles closed their Apple Boutique.

In 1971, during the Apollo 15 mission, David Scott and James Irwin landed on the Moon in the LM Falcon, while Alfred Worden remained in Lunar orbit in the CSM Endevour.

In 1974, U.S. President Richard Nixon released subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1975, former Teamsters union president Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in suburban Detroit; although presumed dead, his remains have never been found.

In 1980, Israel's Knesset passed a law reaffirming all of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state.

In 1990, British Conservative Party lawmaker Ian Gow was killed in a bombing claimed by the Irish Republican Army.

Also in 1990, George Steinbrenner was forced by Commissioner Fay Vincent to resign as principal partner of New York Yankees for hiring Howie Spira to "get dirt" on Dave Winfield.

In 1992, artist Joe Shuster, co-creator of Superman, died in Los Angeles at age 78.

In 2006, the world's longest running music show “Top of the Pops” was broadcast for the last time on BBC 2. The show had aired for 42 years.

 

If I (belatedly) may...

ON JULY 31st:

In 1715, a fleet of Spanish ships carrying gold, silver and jewelry sank during a hurricane off the east Florida coast, scattering most of their treasure along the ocean floor. Of some 2,500 crew members, more than 1,000 died.

In 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was made a major-general in the American Continental Army.

In 1856, Christchurch, New Zealand was chartered as a city.

In 1875, Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the U.S., died in Carter County, TN at age 66.

In 1919, Germany's Weimar Constitution was adopted by the republic's National Assembly.

Also in 1919, sportscaster Curt Gowdy was born in Green River, WY.

In 1928, Leo the Lion roared for the first time at the beginning of MGM's first talking picture, "White Shadows in the South Seas."

In 1930, the radio character The Shadow made his debut as narrator of the "Detective Story Hour" on CBS Radio. The character would be retooled into a crime fighter the following year.

In 1932, actor Ted Cassidy was born in Pittsburgh, PA, long before he started working at the Addams home.

In 1933, the radio series "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy," made its debut on CBS radio station WBBM in Chicago. (It would run until 1950, and be heard over three different networks, respectively.)

In 1942, Oxfam International had its beginnings as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief was founded in England.

In 1948, the battleship USS Nevada was sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships.

In 1954, Pakistan's K2 was conquered as two members of an Italian expedition, Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, reached the summit.

In 1963, the BBC formally announced the regular cast of the upcoming series “Doctor Who”.

In 1964, the American space probe Ranger 7 reached the moon, transmitting pictures back to Earth before impacting the lunar surface.

In 1965, author J.K. Rowling was born in Yate, Gloucestershire, England. Sometime later, I’d check out her books to library patrons over and over and over again.

In 1966, the kaiju movie “Furankenshutain no kaiju: Sanda tai Gaira” was released in Japan, where it was made. Retitled “The War of the Gargantuas”, it would reach the U.S. in 1970.

In 1968, the Western “Hang ‘Em High”, starring Clint Eastwood, was released in the U.S.

Also in 1968, the Brit-com “Dad’s Army” premiered on BBC 1.

In 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts Scott and Irwin become the first to ride in a Lunar Rover.

In 1972, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton withdrew from the ticket with George McGovern following disclosures that Eagleton had once undergone psychiatric treatment.

In 1973, Delta Air Lines Flight 723, a DC-9, crashed while trying to land at Boston's Logan International Airport, killing all 89 people on board.

In 1989, a pro-Iranian group in Lebanon released a grisly videotape showing the body of American hostage William R. Higgins, a Marine lieutenant-colonel, dangling from a rope.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in Moscow.

Also in 1991, the comedy “Hot Shots!” was released in the U.S.

In 1999, the animated sci-fi movie “The Iron Giant”, directed by Brad Bird, premiered in the U.S.

In 2006, in Cuba, Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother Raul Castro.

In 2007, Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, came to an end.

In 2012, Michael Phelps broke the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics, with 22 medals over three Olympiads.

In 2015, June S. Morgan passed away in Scranton, PA at age 87. She had earlier had a long career with the United States Government, and is sorely missed by her family.

 

If I (still belatedly) may...

ON AUGUST 1st:

In 1800, The Acts of Union of 1800 was passed in which the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

In 1834, slavery was abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 came into force.

In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state.

In 1907, the U.S. Army Signal Corps established an aeronautical division, the forerunner of the U.S. Air Force.

In 1913, the Joyce Kilmer poem "Trees" was first published in "Poetry: A Magazine of Verse."

In 1936, the Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.

In 1944, an uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation; the revolt lasted two months before collapsing.

Also in 1944, the Sherlock Holmes mystery “The Pearl of Death”, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, was released in the U.S.

In 1949, businessman/producer/philanthropist Steve Kalafer was born in West Caldwell, NJ. He’s best-known in the Garden State as the owner of Flemington Car & Truck Country, and the Somerset Patriots baseball team.

In 1953, the comedy “Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, featuring Boris Karloff as Jekyll & Hyde, was released in the U.S.

In 1957, the United States and Canada agreed to create the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).

In 1958, the Tom & Jerry cartoon “Tot Watchers” was released in the U.S. It was the last Tom & Jerry theatrical short produced or directed by Hanna & Barbera.

In 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman, age 25, went on a shooting rampage at the University of Texas in Austin, killing 14 people. Whitman, who had also slain his wife and mother hours earlier, was gunned down by police.

In 1968, the monster movie “Kaiju soshingeki”, featuring an all-star Toho cast, was released in Japan. Nearly a year later, it would be released in the U.S. as “Destroy All Monsters”.

In 1971, the Concert for Bangladesh, organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, took place at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Also in 1971, the post-apocalypse thriller “The Omega Man”, starring Charlton Heston, was released in the U.S.

In addition in 1971, during the Apollo 15 mission, astronaut Dave Scott confirmed Galileo’s theory that falling objects in a given gravity field will fall at the same rate, regardless of mass. Scott demonstrated this by dropping a hammer and a falcon feather on the Lunar surface.

In 1973, the comedy/drama “American Graffiti” had its U.S. premiere. It featured a soon-to-be-famous cast and a soon-to-be-famous director.

In 1975, a 35-nation summit in Finland concluded with the signing of a declaration known as the Helsinki Accords dealing with European security, human rights and East-West contacts.

In 1981, the rock music video channel MTV made its debut. The first video played was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles.

In 1986, the sci-fi adventure “Howard the Duck” was released in the U.S. It would develop a somewhat notorious reputation, which has eased a bit in recent years.

In 1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley confirmed they'd been secretly married 11 weeks earlier. (Presley filed for divorce from Jackson in January 1996, citing irreconcilable differences.)

In 1997, the family comedy “Air Bud” was released in the U.S.

In 2007, the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.

 

If I (yet again belatedly) may...

ON AUGUST 2nd:

In 1776, members of the Continental Congress began attaching their signatures to the Declaration of Independence.

In 1790, the first United States Census was conducted.

In 1873, inventor Andrew S. Hallidie successfully tested a cable car he had designed for the city of San Francisco.

In 1876, frontiersman "Wild Bill" Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker at a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, by Jack McCall, who was later hanged. Ever since, the poker hand Hickok supposedly held (two pair, back aces & eights) has been known as “The Dead Man’s Hand”.

In 1892, film executive Jack L. Warner, co-founder of Warner Brothers, was born in London, Ontario, Canada.

In 1905, actress Myrna Loy was born in Helena, MT. Nick and Asta came along later.

In 1909, the original Lincoln "wheat" penny first went into circulation, replacing the "Indian Head" cent.

In 1917, artist/animator/designer Wah Chang was born in Honolulu. He’s best-known for his work on the original series “Star Trek” and on films for producer George Pal.

In 1920, writer/producer/voice actor Bill Scott was born. He’s best-known for his work on cartoons from UPA and on TV with producer Jay Ward.

In 1921, eight White Sox players were acquitted of throwing the 1919 World Series.

In 1923, Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the U.S., died in San Francisco at age 57; Vice President Calvin Coolidge became president.

In 1934, German President Paul von Hindenburg died in East Prussia at age 86, paving the way for Adolf Hitler's complete takeover.

In 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed in the U.S., the effect of which was to render marijuana and all its by-products illegal.

In 1939, Albert Einstein signed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt urging creation of an atomic weapons research program.

Also in 1939, President Roosevelt signed the Hatch Act, which prohibited civil service employees from taking an active part in political campaigns.

In 1943, during World War II, U.S. Navy boat PT-109, commanded by Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy, sank after being rammed in the middle of the night by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri off the Solomon Islands. Two crew members were killed.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and Britain's new Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, concluded the Potsdam conference.

In 1961, The Beatles began an engagement as the regular headliners at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. The band performed more than 300 times in the course of two years.

In 1964, the destroyer USS Maddox suffered light damage during a skirmish with North Vietnamese patrol torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. (This and an alleged second incident two days later led to congressional approval of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that propelled America deep into war.)

In 1967, the mystery drama “In the Heat of the Night”, starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, premiered in New York City.

In 1969, Badfinger recorded “Come and Get It”, written & produced by Paul McCartney.

In 1970, actor/filmmaker Kevin Smith was born in Red Bank, NJ.

In 1974, former White House counsel John W. Dean III was sentenced to one to four years in prison for obstruction of justice in the Watergate coverup. (Dean ended up serving four months.)

In 1979, Yankee catcher Thurman Munson died in a plane crash in Akron, OH at age 32.

In 1985, 137 people were killed when Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, crashed while attempting to land at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate. (The Iraqis were later driven out in Operation Desert Storm.)

In 1999, the mystery thriller “The Sixth Sense” premiered in Philadelphia, PA. Written & directed by M. Night Shyamalan, it starred Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment.

In 2005, an Air France jetliner from Paris skidded off a runway while landing at Toronto's Pearson International Airport during a storm and burst into flames; all 309 people aboard survived.

In 2015, the spy-fi movie “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, based on the TV series, premiered in Barcelona.

In 2017, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, retired from public appearances at age 96.

In 2020, the SpaceX/NASA mission Crew Dragon Demo-2 was completed when the spacecraft Endeavour, crewed by NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, returned to Earth via splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the first water landing by astronauts since the Apollo spacecraft of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 3rd:

In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on a voyage that took him to the present-day Americas.

In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr went on trial before a federal court in Richmond, VA, charged with treason. (He was acquitted less than a month later.)

In 1852, Harvard University won the first Boat Race between Yale University and Harvard. The race was also the first American intercollegiate athletic event

In 1863, the first thoroughbred horse races took place at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, NY.

In 1900, journalist Ernie Pyle was born near Dana, IN.

In 1914, Germany declared war on France at the onset of World War I.

In 1921, the day after being acquitted of charges they threw the 1919 World Series, Baseball Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned eight White Sox players from organized baseball for life.

In 1926, singer Tony Bennett was born in Astoria, Queens, NY.

In 1933, the Mickey Mouse Watch was introduced.

In 1934, wrestler Haystacks Calhoun was born in McKinney, TX.

In 1936, Jesse Owens won the first of his four Olympic gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he took the 100-meter sprint.

In 1943, Gen. George S. Patton slapped a private at an army hospital in Sicily, accusing him of cowardice. (Patton was later ordered by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to apologize for this and a second, similar episode.)

In 1949, The National Basketball Association (NBA) was formed. The league was formed by the merger between the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League.

In 1955, voice actor Corey Burton was born in Los Angeles. I really don’t have room to list his credits here.

In 1955, the Alfred Hitchcock thriller “To Catch a Thief”, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, premiered in Los Angeles.

In 1958, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater.

In 1963, The Beatles appeared at the Cavern Club in Liverpool for the last time.

In 1966, comedian Lenny Bruce was found dead in his Los Angeles home at age 40.

In 1971, Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new group Wings, featuring his wife Linda and former Moody Blues guitarist and singer Denny Laine.

In 1972, the U.S. Senate ratified the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. (The U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the treaty in 2002.)

In 1977, Tandy Corporation announced the TRS-80, one of the world's first mass-produced personal computers. And your humble correspondent would later use one in his high school computer class.

In 1979, the disaster sequel “The Concorde…Airport ’79” premiered in New York City.

In 1981, U.S. air traffic controllers went on strike, despite a warning from President Ronald Reagan they would be fired, which they were.

In 1982, actor/comedian/writer Jonah Ray was born in Honolulu. He’d later end up as a crewmember of the Satellite of Love.

In 1992, the Western “Unforgiven” premiered in Los Angeles. Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, it also starred Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris.

In 2004, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reopened after being closed since the September 11th attacks.

In 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became President of Iran.

In 2014, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 617 people and injured more than 2,400 in Yunnan, China.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 4th:

In A.D. 70, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

In 1735, a jury found John Peter Zenger of the “New York Weekly Journal” not guilty of committing seditious libel against the colonial governor of New York, William Cosby.

In 1790, the U.S. Coast Guard had its beginnings as President George Washington signed a measure authorizing a group of revenue cutters to enforce tariff and trade laws and prevent smuggling.

In 1821, “The Saturday Evening Post” was published for the first time as a weekly newspaper.

In 1830, plans for the city of Chicago were laid out.

In 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were axed to death in their home in Fall River, MA. Lizzie Borden, Andrew's daughter from a previous marriage, was accused of the killings, but acquitted at trial.

In 1901, singer/musician Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans.

In 1914, Britain declared war on Germany for invading Belgium; the United States proclaimed its neutrality in the mushrooming world conflict.

In 1915, English nurse Edith Cavell was arrested by German authorities in occupied Belgium; she was executed later that year.

In 1932, the horror movie “White Zombie”, starring Bela Lugosi, was released in the U.S.

In 1936, Jesse Owens of the U.S. won the second of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he prevailed in the long jump over German Luz Long, who was the first to congratulate him.

In 1944, 15-year-old diarist Anne Frank was arrested with her sister, parents and four others by the Gestapo after hiding for two years inside a building in Amsterdam. (Anne and her sister, Margot, died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.)

In 1947, the fantasy/comedy movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, starring Danny Kaye, premiered in Chicago.

In 1954, the Hitchcock thriller “Rear Window” premiered in New York City.

In 1957, the Everly Brothers introduced their upcoming single "Wake Up Little Susie" on the "Ed Sullivan Show." The song created a controversy, and some radio stations banned it.

In 1961, Barak Obama, 44th President of the U.S., was born in Honolulu.

In 1964, the bodies of missing civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney were found buried in an earthen dam in Mississippi.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a measure establishing the Department of Energy.

In 1979, the musical comedy "Rock and Roll High School", featuring The Ramones, premiered in New York City.

In 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began work on the album "Double Fantasy." It ended up being Lennon's last studio effort; he was shot to death later that year.

In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission voted to abolish the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and television stations to present balanced coverage of controversial issues.

In 1991, the Greek luxury liner Oceanos sank in heavy seas off South Africa's southeast coast; all the passengers and crew members survived.

In 1993, a Federal judge sentenced Los Angeles Police Dept. officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King’s civil rights.

In 2007, NASA launched the unmanned Phoenix spacecraft on a mission to Mars.

In 2012, the Rifftrax version of the Blaxploitation movie “The Guy from Harlem” was released on DVD. And I’ve got TWO REASONS why this happened. One is…kinda personal, and the other… that surprised me.

In 2013, the TV special “Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the formal announcement that Peter Capaldi had been cast as the Twelfth Doctor.

In 2019, a mass-shooting occurred at a Wal-Mart in El Paso, TX. 23 people were killed, with a further 23 injured. Later that day, there was a second mass-shooting incident in Dayton, OH. Nine people were killed, with 17 others wounded.

In 2020, several explosions in the port of Beirut, Lebanon killed more than 70 people, injured more than 2,500 others, and caused damage to homes as far as ten miles away.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 5th:

In 1861, in order to help pay for the war effort, the U.S. government levied the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Adm. David G. Farragut led his fleet to victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, AL.

In 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty's pedestal was laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

In 1906, actor/director/screenwriter John Huston was born in Nevada, MO.

In 1914, what's believed to be the first electric traffic light system was installed in Cleveland, OH at the intersection of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue.

Also in 1914, Montenegro declared war on Austria-Hungary at the start of World War I.

In addition in 1914, actor Parley Baer was born in Salt Lake City, UT. Among his numerous radio roles, he’s best-remembered as Chester Proudfoot on “Gunsmoke”. And among his equally numerous TV roles, he’s well-remembered as Mayor Stoner on “The Andy Griffith Show”.

In 1921, the first play-by-play broadcast of a baseball game was done by Harold Arlin. KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh, PA described the action between the Pirates and Philadelphia.

In 1924, the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie" by Harold Gray made its debut.

In 1925, Plaid Cymru was formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that was at the time in danger of dying out.

In 1930, engineer/pilot/astronaut Neil Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta, OH. He served as Command Pilot on Gemini 8, and Mission Commander on Apollo 11.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Labor Board, which was later replaced with the National Labor Relations Board.

In 1936, actor John Saxon was born in Brooklyn.

In 1941, actor/director/producer/screenwriter Bob Clark was born in New Orleans. His prolific career included the raunchy comedy “Porky’s”, the Sherlock Holmes mystery “Murder by Decree”, the slasher movie “Black Christmas”, and the Jean Shepherd classic “A Christmas Story”.

In 1944, The Nazis began a week-long massacre of anywhere between 40,000 and 100,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.

In 1953, Operation Big Switch began as remaining prisoners taken during the Korean War were exchanged at Panmunjom.

Also in 1953, the drama “From Here to Eternity” premiered in New York City.

In 1957, the teenage dance show "American Bandstand," hosted by Dick Clark, made its network debut on ABC-TV.

In 1959, the Isley Brothers recorded "Shout" at RCA Victor’s Music Center of the World in New York. The covers by the Beatles and Otis Day & the Knights, among others, would come later.

Also in 1960, the horror comedy “Little Shop of Horrors”, directed by Roger Corman and featuring Jack Nicholson, was released in the U.S.

In 1962, South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was arrested; it was the beginning of 27 years of imprisonment.

Also in 1962, actress/model/singer Marilyn Monroe died in Los Angeles at age 36. (Some sources list the date of her death as August 4th.)

In 1965, during the Vietnam War, "The CBS Evening News" sparked controversy as it aired a report by correspondent Morley Safer showing a group of U.S. Marines torching huts in the village of Cam Ne, considered a Viet Cong stronghold, using flamethrowers and Zippo cigarette lighters.

In 1966, The Beatles released their "Revolver" album in Britain. It was released in the U.S. four days later.

In 1969, the U.S. space probe Mariner 7 flew by Mars, sending back photographs and scientific data.

In 1974, the White House released transcripts of subpoenaed tape recordings showing that President Richard Nixon and his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, had discussed a plan in June 1972 to use the CIA to thwart the FBI's Watergate investigation; revelation of the tape sparked Nixon's resignation.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.

In 1984, actor Richard Burton, CBE died in Geneva, Switzerland, at age 58.

In 2000, actor Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE died in Paddington, London England at age 86.

In 2010, ten members of a Christian medical team from the International Assistance Mission were gunned down in Afghanistan by unknown attackers.

In 2015, The Environmental Protection Agency at the Gold King Mine waste water spill released 3 million gallons of heavy metal toxin tailings and waste water into the Animas River in Colorado.