Fun On this date in history...

Sorry, my finishing my vacation put me behind schedule...

ON AUGUST 3th:

In 1624, King Louis XIII of France appointed Cardinal Richelieu his first minister.

In 1779, the Royal Navy defeated the Penobscot Expedition with the most significant loss of United States naval forces prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1792, French revolutionaries imprisoned the royal family.

In 1846, the American flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles.

In 1876, “Der Ring des Nibelungen” by Richard Wagner premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. The Bugs Bunny version would premiere decades later.

In 1899, producer/director Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England.

In 1906, the all-black infantrymen of the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Regiment were accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer in Brownsville, TX despite exculpatory evidence; all were later dishonorably discharged.

In 1910, Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, died in London at age 90.

In 1932, artist John Berkey was born in Edgley, ND.

In 1934, the satirical comic strip "Li'l Abner," created by Al Capp, made its debut.

In 1946, author H.G. Wells died in London at age 79.

In 1947, the film noir “Kiss of Death”, starring Victor Mature and Richard Widmark, premiered in Los Angeles.

In 1952, writer/comedian/author Tom Davis was born in St. Paul, MN. He’s best-known for his work on the “Saturday Night Live”, usually partnered with comedian Al Franken.

In 1957, the biopic “Man of a Thousand Faces”, starring James Cagney as Lon Chaney, premiered in New York City.

In 1961, East Germany sealed off the border between Berlin's eastern and western sectors; within days, the Communist authorities began building a wall that would stand for the next 28 years.

In 1964, Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans were hanged for the murder of John Alan West becoming the last people executed in the U.K., to date.

In 1968, the suspense film “Targets”, starring Boris Karloff, premiered in New York City.

In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts were released from a three-week quarantine to enjoy a ticker tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon.

In 1975, the fantasy adventure “The Land that Time Forgot”, starring Doug McClure, was released in the U.S. It would later be MSTed by Jonah & the ‘bots.

In 1987, twin brothers Devin & Jason McCourty were born in Nyack, NY. Both would later play for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team, both as cornerback. Devin is currently a safety with the New England Patriots, while Jason retired in July, 2022 after a 12-year career.

In 1989, searchers in Ethiopia found the wreckage of a plane which had disappeared almost a week earlier while carrying Rep. Mickey Leland, D-Texas, and 14 other people — there were no survivors.

In 1995, Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died in Dallas, TX at age 63.

In 1997, the animated series “South Park” premiered on Comedy Central.

In 2015, at least 76 people were killed and 212 others were wounded in a truck bombing in Baghdad, Iraq.

In 2016, actor/musician Kenny Baker, well-known to “Star Wars” fans for his role as R2-D2, died in Preston, England at age 81.

 

If I (belatedly) may...

ON AUGUST 14th:

In 1040, King Duncan I was killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. The latter succeeded him as King of Scotland. These events would be the basis for Shakespeare’s Scottish play.

In 1848, the Oregon Territory was created.

In 1893, France became the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration. No information is available regarding how long motorists had to wait in line to register.

In 1900, international forces, including U.S. Marines, entered Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreign influence.

In 1916, businessman Wellington Mara, co-owner of the New York Giants football team, was born in Rochester, NY.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.

In 1941, Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter, stating their postwar aims.

In 1944, the federal government allowed the manufacture of certain domestic appliances, such as electric ranges and vacuum cleaners, to resume on a limited basis.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced that Imperial Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.

Also in 1945, the radio program “14 August”, marking the occasion of V-J Day, was broadcast on CBS. It was written by Norman Corwin and narrated by Orson Welles.

In addition in 1945, actor/comedian/writer/producer/musician Steve Martin was born in Waco, TX.

In 1947, Pakistan became independent of British rule.

In 1951, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst died in Beverly Hills, CA at age 88.

In 1953, composer/conductor/orchestrator James Horner was born in Los Angeles.

Also in 1953, the wiffle ball was invented.

In 1959, the American Football League was founded.

In 1969, British troops went to Northern Ireland to intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics.

In 1973, the U.S. bombing of Cambodia came to a halt.

In 1975, the cult classic movie musical "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick, had its world premiere in London.

In 1980, workers went on strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, in a job action that resulted in creation of the Solidarity labor movement.

In 1989, South African President P.W. Botha announced his resignation after losing a bitter power struggle within his National Party.

In 1993, on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, the misleadingly-titled fantasy movie “The Magic Voyage of Sinbad” was broadcast on Comedy Central.

In 1995, Shannon Faulkner officially became the first female cadet in the history of The Citadel, South Carolina's state military college. (However, Faulkner quit the school less than a week later, citing the stress of her court fight, and her isolation among the male cadets.)

In 2003, a widespread power blackout affected the northeast United States and Canada.

In 2015, the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba re-opened after 54 years of being closed when relations were broken off between Cuba and the U.S.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 15th:

In 1483, the Sistine Chapel was consecrated by Pope Sixtus IV.

In 1534, Ignatius of Loyola founded “the company of Jesus”; it would later be known as the Jesuits.

In 1812, the Battle of Fort Dearborn took place as Potawatomi warriors attacked a U.S. military garrison of about 100 people. (Most of the garrison was killed, while the remainder were taken prisoner.)

In 1914, the Panama Canal officially opened as the SS Ancon crossed the just-completed waterway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

In 1919, actor Huntz Hall was born in New York City. Hanging around Louie Dombrowski’s malt shop would come later.

In 1933, actress Barbara Shelley, best-known for her roles in Hammer horror movies, was born in Marylebone, London, England.

In 1935, actor/humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post were killed after their aircraft developed engine problems and crashed during takeoff in Barrow, AK.

In 1939, the fantasy movie “The Wizard of Oz” premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles.

In 1945, Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced in a recorded radio address that his country had accepted terms of surrender for ending World War II.

In 1946, singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb was born in Elk City, OK.

In 1947, India became independent after some 200 years of British rule.

In 1948, CBS-TV inaugurated the first nightly news broadcast with anchorman Douglas Edwards.

In 1965, The Beatles played to a crowd of more than 55,000 at New York's Shea Stadium.

In 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened in upstate New York.

In 1972, sound editor/sound designer Matthew Wood was born in Walnut Creek, CA. He’s better-known to fans for providing the voice of General Grievous in “Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith” and the animated “The Clone Wars” TV series.

In 1974, a gunman attempted to shoot South Korean President Park Chung-hee during a speech; although Park was unhurt, his wife, Yuk Young-soo, was struck and killed, along with a teenage girl. (The gunman was later executed.)

In 1983, filming began for “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock”.

Also in 1983, the action movie “Fuga dal Bronx” was released in Italy. Under the title “Escape 2000”, it would be MSTed some years later.

In 1989, F.W. de Klerk was sworn in as acting president of South Africa, one day after P.W. Botha resigned as the result of a power struggle within the National Party.

In 1995, the Justice Department agreed to pay $3.1 million to white separatist Randy Weaver and his family to settle their claims over the killing of Weaver's wife and son during a 1992 siege by federal agents at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.

In 1998, the Omagh Bombing, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles, occurred in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The car bombing, carried out by an IRA splinter group, killed 29 people and injured 220 others.

Also in 1998, Apple introduced the iMac computer.

In 2013, at least 27 people were killed and 226 injured in an explosion in southern Beirut near a complex used by Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. A previously unknown Syrian Sunni group claimed responsibility in an online video.

In 2021, In Afghanistan, Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban as Ashraf Ghani, then-president of the Republic of Afghanistan, fled the country along with local residents and foreign nationals, thus effectively reestablishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 16th:

In 1777, the American forces led by General John Stark routed British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, NY.

In 1812, American General William Hull surrendered Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.

In 1841, U.S. President John Tyler vetoed a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members rioted outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.

In 1858, a telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.

In 1884, author/publisher/inventor Hugo Gernsback was born in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The publisher of the first science fiction magazine, the awards presented at the annual World Science Fiction Convention are named “Hugos”, after him.

In 1896, Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discovered gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.

In 1899, actor Glenn Strange was born in Weed, Otero County, New Mexico Territory. He’s best-known for his Western roles (including on the TV series “Gunsmoke”) and for playing the Frankenstein Monster in three Universal Horror movies.

In 1929, riots broke out in Mandatory Palestine between Palestinian Arabs and Jews and continued until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.

In 1933, actress/singer/dancer/Catwoman Julie Newmar was born in Los Angeles.

Also in 1933, engineer/pilot/astronaut Stuart Roosa, CM Pilot for Apollo 14, was born in Durango, CO.

In 1940, the Alfred Hitchcock thriller “Foreign Correspondent” was released in the U.S.

In 1942, during World War II, the two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappeared without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifted without her crew, then crash-landed in Daly City, CA.

In 1948, Yankee Hall of Famer Babe Ruth died in New York City at age 53.

In 1954, the first issue of “Sports Illustrated” was published.

In 1956, actor Bela Lugosi died in Los Angeles at age 73.

In 1956, Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In 1959, Fleet Adm. William F. Halsey, Jr., popularly known as “Bull” Halsey, died on Fishers Island, NY at age 76. One of four men to achieve the rank of Fleet Admiral, he served with the U.S. Navy during World Wars I and II.

In 1960, Britain ceded control of the crown colony of Cyprus.

Also in 1960, as part of Project Excelsior, Capt. Joseph Kittinger parachuted from a balloon over the Tularosa Valley in New Mexico at 102,800 feet, setting three records that held until 2012: high-altitude jump, free fall (4 minutes 36 seconds), and highest speed by a human without an aircraft (614 m.p.h.).

In addition in 1960, actor/director/producer Timothy Hutton was born in Malibu, CA. Years later, he’d co-star in a TV series based on the “Nero Wolfe” stories; fans still appreciate how faithful they were to the source material.

In 1962, The Beatles fired their original drummer, Pete Best, replacing him with Ringo Starr.

In 1975, Peter Gabriel publicly announced that he was leaving Genesis.

In 1977, actor/singer/musician/King of Rock & Roll Elvis Presley died in Memphis, TN at age 42.

In 1987, 156 people were killed when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed while trying to take off from Detroit; the sole survivor was 4-year-old Cecelia Cichan.

Also in 1987, people worldwide began a two-day celebration of the "harmonic convergence," which heralded what believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind.

In 1997, on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, the movie “Prince of Space” was broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel. MSTies liked it very much.

In 2014, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, where police and protesters repeatedly clashed in the week since a black teenager was shot to death by a white police officer.

In 2018, singer/songwriter Aretha Franklin died in Memphis, TN at age 76.

In 2019, actor Peter Fonda died in Los Angeles at age 79.

In 2020, the August Complex wildfire in Northern California was reported on this day. (It would go on to burn more than one million acres of land.)

 

If I (late again!) may...

ON AUGUST 17th:

In 1807, Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat began heading up the Hudson River on its successful round trip between New York and Albany.

In 1863, Federal batteries and ships began bombarding Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor during the Civil War, but the Confederates managed to hold on despite several days of pounding.

In 1893, actress Mae West was born in Brooklyn, NY.

In 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Georgia, lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment. (Frank, who'd maintained his innocence, was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986.)

In 1920, actress Maureen O'Hara was born in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1930, producer/screenwriter Harve Bennett was born in Chicago, IL. Years later, he'd say that he could, indeed, make a "Star Trek" movie for less than 45 ****ing million dollars.

In 1933, actor Glenn Corbett was born in El Monte, CA. He's best known for playing the original incarnation of Zefram Cochrane on the original "Star Trek" TV series, and for playing Linc Case on the "Route 66" TV series, cited as the first Vietnam War veteran to be a lead character in an American TV series.

Also in 1933, NASA flight director Gene Kranz was born in Toledo, OH. While he never actually said "Failure is not an option", he did use it as the title of his autobiography.

In 1943, the Allied conquest of Sicily during World War II was completed as U.S. and British forces entered Messina.

In 1951, Muppeteer Richard Hunt was born in the Bronx, NY.

In 1962, East German border guards shot and killed 18-year-old Peter Fechter, who had attempted to cross the Berlin Wall into the western sector.

In 1969, Hurricane Camille slammed into the Mississippi coast as a Category 5 storm that was blamed for 256 U.S. deaths, three in Cuba.

Also in 1969, at Woodstock, Yippie Abbie Hoffman attempted to address the crowd during a set by the Who. Accounts vary on whether Who guitarist Pete Townsend merely shouted at him to leave, or physically struck him with his guitar.

In 1978, the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II outside Paris.

In 1982, the first commercially produced compact discs, a recording of ABBA's "The Visitors," were pressed at a Philips factory near Hanover, West Germany.

In 1983, lyricist Ira Gershwin died in Beverly Hills at age 86.

In 1990, singer/actress Pearl Bailey died in Philadelphia, PA at age 72.

Also in 1990, producer/script editor/screenwriter Graham Williams, best-known for producing "Doctor Who" in the late 1970's, died in Tiverton, Devon, England at age 45.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton admitted in taped testimony that he had an “improper physical relationship” with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On the same day, he admitted before the nation that he “misled people” about the relationship.

In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey.

In 2005, the first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, started.

In 2008, American swimmer Michael Phelps became the first person to win eight gold medals in one Olympic Games.

In 2017, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, a van was driven into pedestrians in La Rambla, killing 14 and injuring at least 100. It was one of several terrorist attacks in Spain around that time.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 18th:

In 1587, Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, became the first English child born in the America.

In 1590, John White, the governor of the Roanoke Colony, returned from a supply trip to England and found his settlement deserted.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued his Proclamation of Neutrality, aimed at keeping the United States out of World War I.

In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage, as Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it.

In 1952, actor/dancer Patrick Swayze was born in Houston, TX.

In 1954, the feature film version of the TV series “Dragnet”, starring Jack Webb and Ben Alexander, was released in the U.S.

In 1956, composer/conductor John Debney was born in Glendale, CA. His credits include “The Passion of the Christ”, “Iron Man 2” and the McGann movie.

In 1957, comedian/actor/producer/screenwriter Denis Leary was born in Worcester, MA.

In 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with The Beatles at the horticultural society Dance, Birkenhead, England, having had a two-hour rehearsal in preparation. This was the first appearance of The Beatles as the world would come to know them: John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

In 1963, James Meredith became the first black student to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

In 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, NY wound to a close after three nights with a mid-morning set by Jimi Hendrix.

In 1976, two U.S. Army officers were killed in Korea's demilitarized zone as a group of North Korean soldiers wielding axes and metal pikes attacked U.S. and South Korean soldiers.

In 1977, Steve Biko was arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 in King William’s Town, South Africa. He later died from injuries sustained during this arrest bringing attention to South Africa's apartheid policies.

In 1983, Hurricane Alicia slammed into the Texas coast, leaving 21 dead and causing more than a billion dollars' worth of damage.

In 1988, Vice President George H.W. Bush accepted the presidential nomination of his party at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans.

In 1992, filming began on “Emissary”, the first episode of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”.

In 1998, actress/model/author Persis Khambatta died in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India at age 49.

In 2004, composer/conductor/songwriter Elmer Bernstein died in Ojai, CA at age 82.

In 2005, a massive power blackout hit the Indonesian island of Java, affecting almost 100 million people. It was one of the largest and most widespread power failures in history.

In 2006, the thriller “Snakes on a Plane” was released in the U.S. And moviegoers are still waiting to see those $%^&*($#@ snakes on another $%^&*($#@ airplane.

In 2014, announcer/voice actor Don Pardo died in Tuscon, AR at age 96.

In 2018, archeologists from Cairo University and the University of Catania reported the discovery of one of the oldest known examples of cheese. It was discovered at a tomb in the Saqqara necropolis and is the first known evidence of ancient Egyptian cheese production.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 19th:

In A.D. 14, Caesar Augustus, Rome's first emperor, died at age 76 after a reign lasting four decades; he was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius.

In 1692, in Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, five people, one woman and four men, including a clergyman, were executed after being convicted of witchcraft.

In 1812, the USS Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere off Nova Scotia during the War of 1812, earning the nickname "Old Ironsides."

In 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces landed at Benedict, MD with the objective of capturing Washington D.C.

In 1909, the first car race to be run on brick occurred at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In 1921, screenwriter/producer/Great Bird of the Galaxy Gene Roddenberry was born in El Paso, TX.

In 1924, actor/director/singer William Marshall, best-known for his film roles as Blacula, was born in Gary, IN.

In 1934, a plebiscite in Germany approved the vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler.

In 1935, physician/astronaut F. Story Musgrave was born in Boston, MA. He’d later become only the second astronaut to fly six missions, and is the only astronaut to fly on all five Space Shuttles.

In 1936, the first of a series of show trials orchestrated by Soviet leader Josef Stalin began in Moscow as 16 defendants faced charges of conspiring against the government (all were convicted and executed).

In 1938, actress Diana Muldaur was born in Brooklyn. Her guest shots on TOS and regular status on TNG would come later.

In 1942, during World War II, about 6,000 Canadian and British soldiers launched a disastrous raid against the Germans at Dieppe, France, suffering more than 50-percent casualties.

In 1946, Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the U.S., was born in Hope, AR.

In 1952, actor/author/director/Number One Jonathan Frakes was born in Bellefonte, PA.

In 1953, the CIA and MI6 helped to overthrow the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran and reinstated the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

In 1955, torrential rains caused by Hurricane Diane resulted in severe flooding in the northeastern U.S., claiming some 200 lives.

In 1972, the musical variety “The Midnight Special” was first aired as (appropriately) a special on NBC-TV. It would begin its regular run the following February.

In 1973, voice actor/musician Ahmed Best was born in New York City. He’d later play one of the more noteworthy characters from “Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace”.

In 1974, U.S. Ambassador Rodger P. Davies was fatally wounded by a bullet that penetrated the American embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus, during a protest by Greek Cypriots.

In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford won the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in Kansas City.

In 1977, actor/comedian Groucho Marx died in West Hollywood, CA at age 86.

In 1980, 301 people aboard a Saudi Arabian L-1011 died as the jetliner made a fiery emergency return to the Riyadh airport.

In 1991, Soviet hard-liners made the stunning announcement that President Mikhail S. Gorbachev had been removed from power. (The coup attempt collapsed two days later.)

Also in 1991, during a series of riots, African-American groups targeted Hasidic Jews on the streets of Crown Heights in New York City for three days, after two black children were hit by a car driven by a Hasidic man

In 2010, Operation Iraqi Freedom ended, when the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossed the border to Kuwait.

In 2017, comedian/actor/activist Dick Gregory died in Washington, D.C. at age 84.

Also in 2017, the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis, torpedoed and sunk in 1945 after delivering parts for the Little Boy atomic bomb, was discovered on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 20th:

In 1833, Benjamin Harrison, 23rd president of the U.S., was born in North Bend, OH.

In 1866, President Andrew Johnson formally declared the Civil War over, months after fighting had stopped.

In 1882, Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" had its premiere in Moscow.

In 1907, actor/voice artist Alan Reed was born in New York City. In addition to many radio roles, he’s best known for providing the original voice of Fred Flintstone.

In 1910, a series of forest fires swept through parts of Idaho, Montana and Washington, killing at least 85 people and burning some 3 million acres.

In 1914, German forces occupied Brussels, Belgium, during World War I.

In 1920, the first commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ-AM), begins operations in Detroit.

Also in 1920, The National Football League was organized as the American Professional Football Conference in Canton, OH. (Canton would later be the home for the NFL Hall of Fame.)

In 1926, Japan's public broadcasting company, Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) was established.

In 1932, actor Anthony Ainley was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, England, years before earning his Masters.

In 1940, during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill paid tribute to the Royal Air Force before the House of Commons, saying, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

Also in 1940, exiled Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky was attacked and mortally wounded in Coyoacan, Mexico by Ramon Mercader, a Spanish Communist agent working at the behest of Josef Stalin. (Trotsky died the next day.)

In 1942, singer/songwriter/actor/producer Isaac Hayes was born in Covington, TN.

In 1943, Sylvester McCoy was born in Dunoon, Scotland, years before earning his Doctorate.

In 1953, the Soviet Union publicly acknowledged it had tested a hydrogen bomb.

In 1962, actress Sophie Aldred was born in Greenwich, England. The Nitro-9 would come along later.

In 1963, filming began on the original series “Doctor Who” when the title sequence was shot.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act, a nearly $1 billion anti-poverty measure.

In 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations began invading Czechoslovakia to crush the "Prague Spring" liberalization drive.

In 1969, all four Beatles worked together in-studio for the last time. They were there for post-production work on “Abbey Road”.

In 1972, the Wattstax concert took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

In 1975, NASA launched the unmanned spacecraft Viking 1 on a mission to Mars. The spacecraft’s lander would touch down on Mars the following July.

In 1977, the U.S. launched Voyager 2, an unmanned spacecraft carrying a 12-inch copper phonograph record containing greetings in dozens of languages, samples of music and sounds of nature.

In 1982, the fantasy movie “The Beastmaster”, starring Marc Singer and Tanya Roberts, went into wide release in the U.S. The many, many re-runs on TBS would come later.

In 1989, entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife, Kitty, were shot to death in their Beverly Hills mansion by their sons, Lyle and Erik.

Also in 1989, fifty-one people died when a pleasure boat sank in the River Thames in London after colliding with a dredger.

In 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Quebec could not legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval.

Also in 1998, the United States launched cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7th bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

In 2017, actor/comedian/filmmaker Jerry Lewis died in Las Vegas at age 91.

 

- could. not. resist.

 

If I (It's still this date somewhere in the Universe) may...

ON AUGUST 21st:

In 1770, James Cook formally claimed eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.

In 1831, Nat Turner led black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion in Southampton County, VA, which would claim the lives of 55 to 65 whites and about twice that number of blacks.

In 1858, the first of seven debates between Illinois senatorial contenders Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas took place.

In 1863, during the Civil War, Lawrence, KS was destroyed by the Confederate guerrilla force Quantrill’s Raiders in the Lawrence Massacre.

In 1897, Oldsmobile was founded.

In 1904, musician/composer/bandleader Count Basie was born in Red Bank, NJ.

In 1906, animator/producer/director Friz Freling was born in Kansas City, MO. He’s best-known for his work with the Warner Bros. animation unit during the “Termite Terrace” era.

In 1918, during World War I, the Second Battle of the Somme began.

In 1935, the Benny Goodman Orchestra played a highly-successful concert at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles that's now considered to be the beginning of the Swing Era.

In 1944, the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and China opened talks at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington that helped pave the way for establishment of the United Nations. (The talks concluded on October 7.)

Also in 1944, Canadian and Polish units captured the strategically important town of Falaise, Calvados, France.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman ended the Lend-Lease program that had shipped some $50 billion in aid supplies to America's allies during World War II.

Also in 1945, physicist Harry K. Daghlian, Jr. was fatally irradiated in a criticality accident during an experiment with the Demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

In addition in 1945, composer/conductor Basil Poledouris was born in Kansas City, MO.

In 1956, actress Kim Catrall was born in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It would be some time later that a golden robot would become infatuated with her.

In 1957, The Soviet Union successfully conducted a long-range test flight of the R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile.

In 1959, Hawaii officially became the 50th state of the union.

In 1961, singer Patsy Cline recorded her hit song “Crazy”, written by Willie Nelson.

Also in 1961, marine biologist/animator/writer/voice artist Stephen Hillenberg, creator of “SpongeBob SquarePants”, was born in Lawton, OK.

In 1963, martial law was declared in South Vietnam as police and army troops began a violent crackdown on Buddhist anti-government protesters.

In 1964, the Hammer Horror movie “The Gorgon”, starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, premiered in London.

In 1968, James Anderson, Jr. posthumously received the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African-American U.S. Marine.

In 1971, Laura Baugh, at the age of 16, won the United States Women's Amateur Golf tournament. She was the youngest winner in the history of the tournament.

In 1983, Philippine opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., ending a self-imposed exile in the United States, was shot dead moments after stepping off a plane at Manila International Airport.

In 1984, Victoria Roche, a reserve outfielder, became the first girl to ever compete in a Little League World Series game.

In 1991, the hard-line coup against Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev collapsed in the face of a popular uprising led by Russian Federation President Boris N. Yeltsin.

In 1992, the Ruby Ridge standoff between survivalists the Weaver family and U.S. Marshals and the FBI began.

In 1993, in a serious setback for NASA, engineers lost contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft as it was about to reach the red planet on a $980 million mission. (Speculation regarding Marvin’s involvement in the mishap remains inconclusive.)

In 1995, ABC News settled a $10 billion libel suit by apologizing to Philip Morris for reporting the tobacco giant had manipulated the amount of nicotine in its cigarettes.

In 2000, golfer Tiger Woods won the 82nd PGA Championship and became the first golfer since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win 3 majors in a calendar year.

In 2010, a Vincent van Gogh painting, "Poppy Flowers," was stolen in broad daylight from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum. (Although Egyptian authorities initially said they'd recovered the painting the same day at the Cairo airport, that report turned out to be erroneous; the painting remains missing.)

In 2013, hundreds of people were reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria, the deadliest use of chemical weapons since the Iran-Iraq War.

In 2017, for the first time since 1918, a total solar eclipse was visible within a band across the entire contiguous U.S.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 22nd:

In 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth Field, Richard III, the last English king from the House of York, was killed in battle, marking the end of the Plantagenet dynasty.

In 1642, King Charles I raised his standard in Nottingham, marking the beginning of the English Civil War.

In 1654, Jacob Barsimson arrived in New Amsterdam, the first known Jewish immigrant to America.

In 1770, James Cook named and landed on Possession Island, and claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain as New South Wales.

In 1787, inventor John Fitch demonstrated his steamboat on the Delaware River to delegates from the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

In 1846, Gen. Stephen W. Kearny proclaimed all of New Mexico a territory of the United States.

In 1851, the schooner America outraced more than a dozen British vessels off the English coast to win a trophy that came to be known as the America's Cup.

In 1864, twelve nations signed the First Geneva Convention, establishing the rules of protection of the victims of armed conflicts.

In 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war against Belgium.

In 1920, author Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan, IL.

In 1922, Irish revolutionary Michael Collins was shot to death, apparently by Irish Republican Army members opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty that Collins had co-signed.

In 1925, actress Honor Blackman was born in Plaistow, West Ham, London. Sometime later, one of her characters would take an interesting trip to Fort Knox.

In 1932, the British Broadcasting Corp. conducted its first experimental television broadcast, using a 30-line mechanical system.

Also in 1932, astronaut/engineer Gerald P. Carr, commander of the Skylab 4 mission, was born in Denver, CO.

In 1941, during World War II, German troops began the Siege of Leningrad.

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon were nominated for second terms in office by the Republican National Convention in San Francisco.

In 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle survived an attempt on his life in suburban Paris.

In 1967, filming began on the “Star Trek” TOS episode “The Trouble with Tribbles”.

In 1968, Pope Paul VI arrived in Bogota, Colombia, for the start of the first papal visit to South America.

Also in 1968, Ringo Starr quit The Beatles during the White Album sessions when the constant bickering and tension became too much for him. The news of Ringo's departure was kept secret, and he rejoined the sessions on September 3rd.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon was nominated for a second term of office by the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach.

In 1985, 55 people died when fire broke out aboard a British Airtours charter jet on a runway at Manchester Airport in England.

In 1989, Black Panthers co-founder Huey P. Newton was shot to death in Oakland, California. (The gunman was later sentenced to 32 years to life in prison.)

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed welfare reform into law, representing a major shift in US welfare policy

In 2004, versions of “The Scream” and “Madonna”, two paintings by Edvard Munch, were stolen at gunpoint from a museum in Oslo, Norway.

In 2007, The Texas Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles 30-3, the most runs scored by a team in modern Major League Baseball history, with the combined run total also an MLB record.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 23rd:

In 1305, Scottish rebel leader Sir William Wallace was executed by the English for treason.

In 1775, Britain's King George III proclaimed the American colonies to be in a state of "open and avowed rebellion."

In 1831, Nat Turner’s slave rebellion was suppressed.

In 1912, actor/dancer/singer/director/choreographer Gene Kelly was born in Pittsburgh, PA.

In 1914, Japan declared war against Germany in World War I.

In 1921, British airship R-38 experienced structural failure over Hull in England and crashed in the Humber estuary. Of her 49 British and American training crew, only four survived.

In 1926, silent film star Rudolph Valentino died in New York at age 31.

In 1927, amid protests, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston for the murders of two men during a 1920 robbery.

In 1929, an Arab attack on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine, continuing until the next day, resulted in the death of 65–68 Jews and the remaining Jews being forced to leave the city.

In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, in Moscow. In a secret addition to the pact, the Baltic states, Finland, Romania, and Poland were divided between the two nations.

In 1942, during World War II, the Battle of Stalingrad began.

In 1944, Romanian Prime Minister Ion Antonescu was dismissed by King Michael, paving the way for Romania to abandon the Axis in favor of the Allies.

In 1946, the film noir “The Big Sleep”, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, was released in the U.S.

In 1948, the Hitchcock thriller “Rope”, starring James Stewart, was released in Canada. Its U.S. premiere would occur on August 26th.

In 1970, actor River Phoenix was born in Madras, OR.

In 1973, a bank robbery-turned-hostage-taking began in Stockholm, Sweden; the four hostages ended up empathizing with their captors, a psychological condition now referred to as "Stockholm Syndrome."

In 1974, actor/martial artist Ray Park was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He’d gain his Sith title later on.

In 1982, Lebanon's parliament elected Christian militia leader Bashir Gemayel president. (However, Gemayel was assassinated some three weeks later.)

In 1989, in a case that inflamed racial tensions in New York, Yusuf Hawkins, a 16-year-old black youth, was shot dead after he and his friends were confronted by a group of white youths in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. (Gunman Joey Fama was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.)

Also in 1989, Pete Rose, the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball after being accused of gambling on baseball.

In 1994, Eugene Bullard, the only African-American pilot in World War I, was posthumously commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

In 2005, actor Brock Peters died in Los Angeles at age 78. Best-known for playing Tom Robinson in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, he’s known to Trekkers for his roles in two “Star Trek” movies and on “Deep Space Nine”, and to “Star Wars” fans for playing Darth Vader in the NPR radio adaptations of the Original Trilogy.

In 2011, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces took control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the Libyan Civil War.

In 2012, Muppeteer Jerry Nelson died in Cape Cod, MA at age 78.

In 2013, cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, who won on Oscar for his work on “Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope”, died in Newport, Isle of Wight at age 99.

In 2014 the “Doctor Who” episode “Deep Breath” was broadcast on BBC 1. It was the first full episode featuring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, and included the first appearance of Michelle Gomez as Missy, and the last appearance (to date) of Matt Smith as the Doctor.

In 2016, actor Steven Hill died in Monsey, NY at age 94.

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 24th:

In A.D. 79, long-dormant Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash; an estimated 20,000 people died. (Some scholars, however, believe this event occurred in October.)

In 1349, six thousand Jews were killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague.

In 1456, the printing of the Gutenberg Bible was completed.

In 1572, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of French Protestants at the hands of Catholics began in Paris.

In 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces invaded Washington D.C., setting fire to the Capitol (which was still under construction) and the White House, as well as other public buildings.

In 1821, the Treaty of Cordoba was signed, granting independence to Mexico from Spanish rule.

In 1857, The Panic of 1857 began, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in United States history.

In 1875, Captain Matthew Webb became the first person to swim the English Channel.

In 1912, Congress passed a measure creating the Alaska Territory.

Also in 1912, the U.S. Congress approved legislation establishing Parcel Post delivery by the U.S. Post Office Department, slated to begin on January 1, 1913.

In 1916, actor/voice artist Hal Smith, best-known for playing Otis Campbell on “The Andy Griffith Show”, was born in Petoskey, MI.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart embarked on a 19-hour flight from Los Angeles to Newark, NJ, making her the first woman to fly solo, non-stop, from coast to coast.

In 1934, actor/musician Kenny Baker was born. He’d later appear as one of the Time Bandits. And he’d also play a robot in a movie series that was rather successful.

In 1942, during World War II, at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo was sunk and US carrier USS Enterprise was heavily damaged.

In 1942, the Disney cartoon anthology “Saludos Amigos” premiered in Rio de Janeiro. It starred Donald Duck and Goofy, and featured the first appearance of Jose “Joe” Carioca.

In 1946, the Bowery Boys movie “Spook Busters” was released in the U.S.

In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty came into force.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party in the United States.

In 1957, actor/comedian/writer Stephen Fry was born in Hampstead, London.

In 1964, the first Roman Catholic Mass celebrated in English took place at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis.

In 1966, the science fiction movie “Fantastic Voyage” was released in the U.S.

In 1970, an explosives-laden van left by anti-war terrorists blew up outside the University of Wisconsin's Sterling Hall in Madison, killing 33-year-old researcher Robert Fassnacht, injuring three others, and causing over $2 million dollars in damages.

In 1970, the horror movie “House of Dark Shadows”, based on the TV soap opera, premiered in New York City.

In 1989, Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti officially banned Pete Rose from the game for gambling.

In 1991, Ukraine declared itself independent from the Soviet Union.

Also in 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida, causing $30 billion in damage; 43 U.S. deaths were blamed on the storm.

In 2004, eighty-nine passengers died after two airliners exploded after flying out of Domodedovo International Airport, near Moscow. The explosions were caused by suicide bombers (reportedly female) from the Russian Republic of Chechnya.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union, in highly-controversial decision, declared that Pluto was no longer a planet, demoting it to the status of a "dwarf planet."

In 2016, an earthquake struck Central Italy with a magnitude of 6.2, with aftershocks being felt as far as Rome and Florence.

 

Happy Independence Day Ukraine

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 25th:

In 1609, Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.

In 1814, on the second day of the Burning of Washington, British troops torched the Library of Congress, the U.S. Treasury, the Dept. of War, and other public buildings.

In 1825, Uruguay declared independence from Brazil.

In 1835, the first Great Moon Hoax article was published in The New York Sun, announcing the discovery of life and civilization on the Moon.

In 1875, Capt. Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, traveling from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 21 hours and 45 minutes.

In 1913, animator/cartoonist Walt Kelly, creator of the comic strip “Pogo”, was born in Philadelphia, PA.

In 1916, the National Park Service was established within the Department of the Interior.

In 1918, composer/conductor/musician Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, MA.

In 1921, the United States signed a peace treaty with Germany.

Also in 1921, actor/singer/TV host Monty Hall was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He’d later spend a lot of time asking if people wanted to keep what they already had or trade it for what was behind the curtain.

In 1930, actor/producer Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. His 00 status would be granted later on.

In 1933, actor Tom Skerritt was born in Detroit, MI. He’d later captain the ill-fated Nostromo on its unplanned voyage to LV-426.

In 1940, the R.A.F. bombed Berlin for the first time.

In 1944, Romania declared war on former ally Germany.

In 1945, ten days after World War II ended with Japan announcing its surrender, armed supporters of the Chinese Communist Party killed missionary/U.S. intelligence officer John Birch. The American conservative organization the John Birch Society was later named in his honor.

In 1946, Ben Hogan won the PGA in Portland, OR. It was his first major golf title.

In 1950, President Harry Truman ordered the U.S. Army to seize control of the nation's railroads to avert a strike.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure providing pensions for former U.S. presidents and their widows.

In 1960, The Games of the XVII Olympiad, popularly known as the 1960 Summer Olympics, began in Rome.

In 1972, the horror movie “Blacula”, starring William Marshall, was released in the U.S.

In 1975, the Bruce Springsteen album "Born to Run" was released by Columbia Records. (The title song would later be named New Jersey’s “Unofficial Youth Rock Anthem” by the NJ State Assembly. Take from this what you will.)

In 1980, the Broadway musical "42nd Street" opened. (Producer David Merrick stunned the cast and audience during the curtain call by announcing that the show's director, Gower Champion, had died earlier that day.)

In 1981, the U.S. unmanned Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Saturn.

In 1985, Samantha Smith, age 13, the schoolgirl whose letter to Yuri V. Andropov resulted in her famous peace tour of the Soviet Union, died with her father, Arthur, and six other people in a commuter plane crash in Auburn, ME.

In 1989, Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, its final planetary target.

In 1991, Belarus gained its independence from the Soviet Union.

In 2000, author/cartoonist Carl Barks, best-known for his Donald Duck comics and for creating Scrooge McDuck, died in Grants Pass, OR at age 99.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Florida with 80 mph winds and headed into the Gulf of Mexico.

Also in 2005, the Congressional base closing commission voted to shut down the Army's historic Walter Reed hospital and move much of its staff and services to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.

In 2009, politician Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy died at age 77 in Hyannis Port, MA.

In 2012, aviator/astronaut/engineer Neil Armstrong died in Cincinnati, OH at age 82.

Also in 2012, the U.S. unmanned Voyager 1 spacecraft entered interstellar space, becoming the first man-made object to do so.

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas as a powerful Category 4 hurricane. (Over the next few days, the storm would cause catastrophic flooding throughout much of eastern Texas, 106 deaths, and $125 billion in damages.)

 

If I may...

ON AUGUST 26th:

In 1768, Captain James Cook set sail from England on board HMS Endeavour.

In 1789, France's National Assembly adopted its Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

In 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa began cataclysmic eruptions, leading to a massive explosion the following day.

In 1920, cartoonist Brant Parker, co-creator of “The Wizard of Id”, was born in Los Angeles.

Also in 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect, giving women the right to vote.

In 1930, actor/director/screenwriter Lon Chaney, Sr. died in Los Angeles at age 47.

In 1939, the first televised major league baseball games were shown on experimental station W2XBS: a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. (The Reds won the first game, 5-2, the Dodgers the second, 6-1.)

In a world…exactly like our own in 1940, voice actor/announcer Don LaFontaine was born in Duluth, MN.

In 1944, French Gen. Charles de Gaulle braved the threat of German snipers as he led a victory march in Paris, which had just been liberated by the Allies from Nazi occupation.

In 1946, Norma Jean Baker was signed to a contract with 20th Century Fox, who changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.

In 1948, the Western “Red River” premiered in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. It starred John Wayne, Montgomery Clift and Walter Brennan, and was directed by Howard Hawks.

In 1957, the Hammer horror/sci-fi movie “The Abominable Snowman”, starring Peter Cushing and Forrest Tucker, was released in the UK.

In 1958, Alaskans went to the polls to overwhelmingly vote in favor of statehood.

In 1961, The International Hockey Hall of Fame in opened in Toronto, Canada.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a term of office in his own right at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, NJ.

In 1968, the Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago.

Also in 1968, the song “Hey, Jude” by the Beatles (with “Revolution” on the B-side) was released by Apple Records.

In 1970, Jimi Hendrix played what proved to be his last concert, at the Isle of Wight Pop Festival off the English coast.

In 1972, the summer Olympic games opened in Munich, West Germany.

In 1974, aviator/author/inventor Charles A. Lindbergh died in Kipahulu, Hawaii at age 72.

In 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice was elected pope following the death of Paul VI. The new pontiff took the name Pope John Paul I.

In 1980, cartoonist/animator Fred “Tex” Avery died in Burbank, CA at age 72.

In 1985, 13-year-old AIDS patient Ryan White began "attending" classes at Western Middle School in Kokomo, IN via a telephone hook-up at his home after school officials had barred Ryan from participating in person.

In 1991, the original pilot episode of “Doctor Who”, which had been rejected by the BBC and remade as the series’ first episode (“An Unearthly Child”), was finally broadcast on BBC 2.

In 1994, the crime novel One for the Money by Janet Evanovich was published by St. Martin’s Press. It was the first book in the Stephanie Plum series.

In 1996, Democrats opened their 42nd national convention in Chicago.

In 2009, authorities in California solved the 18-year disappearance of Jaycee Lee Dugard after she appeared at a parole office with her children and the Antioch couple who'd kidnapped her when she was 11.

In 2015, reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward of WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, VA were shot and killed while doing a live interview. (The gunman, a disgruntled former station employee, committed suicide later that day.)

In 2018, three people were killed and eleven wounded during a mass shooting at a Madden NFL ’19 video game tournament in Jacksonville, FL.

In 2021, during the 2021 Kabul airlift, a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport killed 13 US military personnel and at least 169 Afghan civilians.