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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 11, 2011 8:09:22 GMT -5
Aug 10th Birthdays: 1923—Rhonda Fleming [aka Marilyn Louis], actress (Spellbound, The Spiral Staircase, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral) & operates a cancer clinic for women 1931--Tom Laughlin, actor-director (Billy Jack) 1943—[Veronica Yvette] Ronnie Spector [née Bennett], 2007 Rock Hall of Fame singer & lead singer of The Ronettes who is known as the “original bad girl of rock & roll” 1947—Ian Scott Anderson, Scottish rock lead singer, songwriter & multi-instrumentalist (Jethro Tull) 1949--country musician Gene Johnson (Diamond Rio) 1959—Rosanna Lauren Arquette, actress (Desperately Seeking Susan. New York Stories, Pulp Fiction, Crash; TV: The Executioner’s Song), film director-producer (documentaries: Searching for Debra Winger, As We Are Saying). She’s the daughter of Lewis Arquette (actor & director) and the granddaughter of comedian Cliff Arquette. 1960—Antonio Banderas [José Antonio Domínguez Banderas], Spanish film actor (Assassins, Evita, Interview with a Vampire, Philadelphia, Desperado, The Mask of Zorro, Spy Kids trilogy, The Mambo Kings, stage: Nine revival), voice actor (Puss in Boots in Shrek sequels); director (Crazy in Alabama, El camino de los ingleses), producer, singer & the husband of actress Melanie Griffith since 1996. 1961—Jon Farriss, rock drummer & singer (INXS) is 50. 1964—Neneh Cherry [aka Neneh Mariann Karlsson], Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ 1965—Claudia Christian, actress (The Calendar Girl Murders, A Wing and a Prayer, The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All, Atlantis: The Lost Empire; TVs: Babylon 5, Dallas) 1967—Riddick Bowe, 1992 World Heavyweight Boxing Champion 1967--Lorraine Pearson, R&B singer (Five Star) 1968—Michael Bivins, singer-producer (New Edition, Bell Biv DeVoe) 1972—[Angela Michelle] Angie Harmon, actress (Lawn Dogs; TVs: Rizzoli & Isles, Baywatch Nights, Baywatch, Law & Order) & fashion model 1979—JoAnna Leanna Garcia, actress (Not Another Teen Movie; TV: Gossip Girl, Reba, Party of Five, Freaks and Greeks; Revenge of the Bridesmaids)
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 11, 2011 8:14:51 GMT -5
...---... DAY The international distress call, SOS, which replaced CQD (All stations -- distress!), was first used by an American ship on August 11th in 1909. The ocean liner Arapahoe found itself in trouble off Cape Hatteras, NC. The ship’s wireless operator, T. D. Haubner, radioed for help when his ship lost its screw propeller near the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’, Diamond Shoals. The call was heard by the United Wireless station at Hatteras. Contrary to popular opinion, SOS (which has no stops between the letters, the signal being a continuous signal of three dots, three dashes and three dots) is not an acronym for any series of words such as Save Our Ship or Save Our Souls. The original call for distress began with the British CQ, meaning “All Stations”, used by telegraph and cable operators worldwide. The D for ’distress’ was added to CQ by the Marconi company in 1904. In 1906, at the Berlin Radiotelegraphic Conference, the German’s general inquiry call, SOE, was suggested as an international distress signal. Changing the E to S gave the signal its unmistakeable character, and SOS was officially ratified as the international distress signal in 1908, although it was not officially adopted by the USA until 1912 (prompted by the Titanic tragedy). It is interesting to note that the Titanic’s radio operator sent Marconi’s CQD code several times before using the four-year-old international SOS signal some twenty minutes later ... as Marconi waited in NY to make the return trip to England on the ill-fated ship. Globe Wireless, a Louisiana company, began operation that same year, as rules and regulations following the sinking of the Titanic included the requirement that all ships carry equipment capable of sending and receiving Morse code messages. On July 12, 1999, Globe Wireless broadcast its last Morse code message to ships, five months after Morse code was no longer an internationally acceptable form of communication for ships at sea. Globe’s was the last service of its kind in North America. Morse code and its SOS signal began its demise in the 1960s as faster more efficient forms of transmission became available. Today, most ships use mobile phones, fax machines, and e-mail to communicate. The Global Maritime Distress and Safety system, which uses the satellite-based Global Positioning System, is now the internationally accepted manner in which to transmit a ship’s exact location and problem ... instantly. In comparison, SOS and other Morse code transmissions which were the high tech methods of 1909, were “very slow, unreliable ... if you’re lucky, you can send 25 words a minute”, stated Globe Wireless Manager Karl Halvorsen. His and other similar companies around the world now provide the instant message services to ships that are used on land. SOS ...---... Morse code is sinking.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 12, 2011 0:24:30 GMT -5
11 Aug Good evening to my fellow history buffs from Tuxy and me. Today is 223rd day of 2011 with 142 days left in the year. Today in History: 991—Danes under Olaf Tryggvason killed Ealdorman Brihtnoth and defeated the Saxons at Maldon. 1492—Rodrigo Borgia was elected the the papacy as Pope Alexander VI. 1792—a revolutionary commune is formed in Paris, France. 1810—a major earthquake shook the island of St. Michael in the Azores. 1856—a band of rampaging settlers in California kill four Yokut Indians. The settlers had heard unproven rumors of Yokut atrocities. 1860—the nation's first successful silver mill began operation near Virginia City, Nev. 1862—Pres. Lincoln appointed Union Gen. Henry Halleck tot the position of general in chief of the Union Army. 1864—Confederate Gen. Jubal Early pulled out of Winchester, Va., in advance of the arrival of Union Gen. Philip Sheridan. 1874—a patent for a sprinkler head was given to Harry S. Parmelee of New Haven, Conn. 1877—the two moons of Mars were discovered by Asaph Hall, an American astronomer who named them Phobos and Deimos. 1896—Harvey Hubbell of Bridgeport, Conn. received a patent for the electric light bulb socket with a pull-chain.
1904—German Gen. Lothar von Trotha defeated the Hereros tribe near Waterberg, South Africa. 1906—in France, Eugene Lauste received the first patent for a talking film. 1908—Britain’s King Edward VII meets with Kaiser Wilhelm II, his first cousin, to protest the growth of the German navy. 1909—the steamship SS Arapahoe became the first ship in North America to issue an S.O.S. distress signal, off North Carolina's Cape Hatteras. 1912—Moroccan Sultan Mulai Hafid abdicated his throne in the face of internal dissent. 1916—the Russia army took Stanislau, Poland, from the Germans. 1924—newsreel pictures were taken of US presidential candidates for the first time. 1929—Babe Ruth hits his 500th major league home run against the Cleveland Indians. 1934—the first federal prisoners arrived at Alcatraz Island (a former military prison) in San Francisco Bay. 1941—the Atlantic Charter was signed by Pres. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill. 1941—Soviet bombers raided Berlin but did little damage. 1942—Pierre Laval publicly announced "the hour of liberation for France is the hour when Germany wins the war." 1942—the German submarine U-73 attacked a Malta-bound British convoy and sank HMS Eagle, one of the world's first aircraft carriers. 1943—Benjamin F. White became the first four-time winner of the Hambletonian, riding Volo Song to the win in a field of 11 racehorses. 1944—German troops abandoned Florence, Italy, as Allied troops closed in on the historic city. 1945—the Allies informed Japan that they would determine Emperor Hirohito's future status after Japan's surrender. 1949—Pres. Truman nominated Gen. Omar Bradley t become the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 1951—the first MLB game to be televised in color was broadcast by WCBS-TV in New York City with the Brooklyn Dodgers defeating the Boston Braves 8-1 and they didn’t stop thee. They were also the first to broadcast two games in color, as this was a doubleheader at Ebbets Field with the Braves wining the nightcap 8-4. 1952—Hank Williams was fired from the Grand Ole Opry and told not to return until he was sober. 1952—Hussein bin Talal was proclaimed King of Jordan, beginning a reign that lasted 47 years. 1954—a formal peace took hold in Indochina, ending more than seven years of fighting between the French and the Communist Viet Minh. 1956—abstract artist Jackson Pollack died in an automobile accident in East Hampton, NY. 1961—Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves got his 300th win, beating the Chicago Cubs 2-1. 1962—the Soviet Union launched cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev on a 94-hour flight, becoming the 3rd Russian to go into space. 1963—Egyptian Pres. Nasser called Israel a threat to the Arab world. 1965—a small clash between the California Highway Patrol and two black youths set off six days of deadly rioting and looting that claimed 34 lives in the predominantly black Watts section of Los Angles. In addition, over 1,000 were injured, 3,000 were arrested and over $40 million in damage was done. 1965—the US conducted a second launch of Surveyor-SD 2 for a landing on the Moon surface test. 1965—the Beatles’ movie Help! premiered in New York City. 1970—Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies (later became a US Senator) became the first pitcher since Cy Young to win 100 games in each of two major leagues, beating the Houston Astros 6-5. 1971—Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins got his 500th and 501st home runs of his MLB career. 1972—the last US ground troops withdrew from Vietnam. 1972—Elvis and Pricilla Presley filed for divorce (they married in May, 1967). 1975—the US vetoed the proposed admission of North and South Korea to the UN, following the Security Council’s refusal to consider South Korea’s application. 1984—Pres. Reagan was preparing for his weekly radio broadcast when, during testing of the microphone, he said of the Soviet Union, "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you that I just signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." 1984—Carl Lewis won his fourth gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. 1988—Dick Thornburgh was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate to be the next attorney general, succeeded Edwin Meese III. 1990—Egyptian and Moroccan troops joined US forces in Saudi Arabia to help protect from a possible Iraqi attack. 1991—Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon released two Western captives: Edward Tracy, an American held nearly five years, and Jerome Leyraud, a Frenchman who'd been abducted by a rival group three days earlier. 1991—the space shuttle Atlantis ended its nine-day journey by landing safely. 1992—in Bloomington, Minn., the Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the US, opened. 1994—a US federal jury awarded $286.8 million to about 10,000 commercial fishermen for losses as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. 1994—the 10th International Conference on AIDS ended in Japan. 1995—all US nuclear tests were banned by Pres. Clinton. 1995—a federal investigation was opened concerning the deadly siege at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992. The investigation was to find out whether FBI officials approved a "shoot on sight" order. 1997—Pres. Clinton made the first use of the line-item veto approved by Congress, rejecting three items in spending and tax bills. 1998—British Petroleum (BP) purchased Amoco for $49 billion, the largest foreign takeover of an American company, to become NO. 3 among oil companies..
2000—Pat Buchanan won the Reform Party presidential nomination. 2001—in his weekly radio address, Pres. Bush said his decision to restrict but not forbid federal financing of embryonic stem cell research placed him at the crossroads between protecting and enhancing human life. 2002—US Airways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 2003—NATO took command of the 5,000-strong peacekeeping force in Afghanistan. 2003—Charles Taylor resigned as Liberia's president and went into exile in Nigeria. 2006—the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) banned all liquids, gels and aerosols from passenger cabins on airliners one day after a thwarted terrorist attack. 2006—the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. 2006—BP PLC announced it would keep one side of the Prudhoe Bay oil field open as it replaced corroded pipes, averting a larger crimp in the nation's oil supply. 2006—Mike Douglas, TV talk show host (The Mike Douglas Show) & “Big Band” era singer, died on his 81st birthday of unspecified cause at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 2009—Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, sister of Pres. John F. Kennedy, Robert Kenned & Ted Kennedy, wife of Sargent Shriver and mother of Maria Shriver, died at age 88 of undisclosed cause at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Mass. 2010—in Baton Rouge, La., police and FBI agents captured Michael Francis Mara, suspected of being the so-called "Granddad Bandit" who'd held up two dozen banks in 13 states for about two years. (Mara later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.) 2010—Dan Rostenkowski, a former Illinois congressman (1959-1995) who'd wielded enormous power on Capitol Hill as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee (1981-94), died at age 82 from lung cancer at his summer home in Genoa City, Wis. In 1996, he pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was fined and sentenced to 17 months in prison.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 12, 2011 3:32:09 GMT -5
Yesteryear’s Birthdays: 1778—Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, German nationalist & “father of gymnastics”, died 1852 at age 74 at Freyburg on the Unstrut. 1801—[Philipp] Eduard Devrient, German operatic baritone (1819-34), librettist (Marschner’s Hans Heiling, Wilhelm Taubert’s Die Kirmes and Der Zigeuner), playwright, actor, director of the Hoftheater in Karlsruhe (1852-70) & theater historian, died 1877 at age 76 in Karlsruhe in the Bundesland Baden-Württemberg. 1833—Robert Green Ingersoll, orator, politician, advocate of scientific realism & humanistic philosopher known as “the Great Agnostic”, died at age 65 of congestive heart failure at Dobbs Ferry, NY. 1861—James Bryan Herrick, cardiologist who studied sickle-cell anemia and myocardial infarction mechanism & professor at Rush Medical College (1900-27), died 1954 at age 92 in Chicago, Ill. 1862—Carrie Minetta Jacobs-Bond, 1970 Songwriters Hall of Fame songwriter (“I Love You Truly”, “A Perfect Day”, “Just Awearyin’ for You”), singer & pianist, died 1946 at age 84 of a heart attack in Hollywood, Calif. 1867—[Joseph Morris] Joe Weber, vaudevillian comedian & part of the comedy team of Weber and Fields (Lew Fields), died 1942 at age 74 in Los Angeles 1873—Bertram (Wagstaff) Mills, English circus entrepreneur (Bertram Mills International Circus), died 1938 at age 64 of pneumonia 1882—Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli, Italian field marshal (military expeditions in Africa), an adherent of Mussolini who was an alleged war criminal (used poison gas & indiscriminate massacre and imprisonment of Ethiopian civilians), died 1955 at age 72 of natural causes in Rome 1892—Hugh MacDiarmid [aka Christopher Murray Grieve], Scottish poet (A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle, Stony Limits) & founder of the National Party of Scotland, died 1978 at age 86 at Brownsbank, Scotland 1897—Louise Bogan, poet (Body of This Death, Dark Summer, The Sleeping Fury, The Blue Estuaries: Poems 1923-1968) , 4th Poet Laureate Consultant (1945-47), translator (Goethe, Jules Renard) & literary critic (reviewer for The New Yorker), died 1970 at age 72 of a heart attack in New York City 1902—Lloyd (Benedict) Nolan, Emmy-winning TV (Julia; Michael Shayne, Private Detective, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial), film (Ebb Tide, Every Day's A Holiday; Wells Fargo; Guadalcanal Diary, Bataan; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Lemon Drop Kid, A Hatful of Rain, Peyton Place, Ice Station Zebra) & stage actor, chairman of the annual Save Autistic Children Telethon & founder of the Jay Nolan Autistic Center, died 1985 at age 83 of lung cancer in Los Angeles 1921—Alex Haley, Pulitzer Prize author (Roots: The Saga of an American Family [1976], The Autobiography of Malcolm X) & chronicler of generations of struggles and accomplishments of American blacks, died 1992 at age 70 of heart attack at Swedish Hospital Medical Center, Seattle, Wash. 1933—Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr., evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist (Thomas Road Baptist Church), founder of Liberty University & co-founder of the conservative political lobby called the Moral Majority, died 2007 of cardiac arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death at Lynchburg General Hospital in Lynchburg, Va. 1949—Ian Charleson, Scottish actor of stage (Guys and Dolls, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Fool for Love, Hamlet) & screen (Chariots of Fire, Gandhi), died 1990 at age 40 of AIDS in London. He was the first show business death attributed to AIDS in the UK.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 12, 2011 10:53:47 GMT -5
CAST OF THOUSANDS DAY
Important Hollywood film innovations -- the first use of indoor lighting on an actor, the first film to publicize its stars’ names, the sneak preview, the concept of different versions of the same movie -- were the creations of moviedom’s Cecil B. (Blount) DeMille.
DeMille, born on this day in 1881 in Ashfield, Massachusetts is, however, better known for producing the film spectacular. On that large scale were over seventy films including The Crusades, The Sign of the Cross, King of Kings, Cleopatra, The Plainsman, Reap the Wild Wind, The Buccaneer, and his Academy Award-winner, The Greatest Show on Earth [1952].
Cecil B. DeMille’s all-time greatest show was The Ten Commandments. His first production of this biblical story was in 1923. Then, in 1956, he presented a new epic version (which is shown annually on TV) with the famous cast of thousands.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 13, 2011 8:08:19 GMT -5
12 Aug Good evening to my fellow history buffs from Tuxy and me. Today is 224th day of 2011 with 141 days left in the year. Today in History: 1099—at the Battle of Ascalon 1,000 Crusaders, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, routed an Egyptian relief column heading for Jerusalem, which had already fallen to the Crusaders. 1676—King Philip’s War came to an end with the killing of Indian chief King Phillip. The war between the Indians and the Europeans lasted for two years. 1687—at the Battle of Mohacs, Hungary, Charles of Lorraine defeated the Turks. 1762—the British captured Cuba from Spain after a two month siege. 1797—black slaves on the island of Santo Domingo rose up against their white masters. 1812—the Duke of Wellington, the British commander, occupied Madrid, Spain, forcing out Joseph Bonaparte. 1851—Isaac Singer was granted a patent on his double-treadle sewing machine. 1862—Confederate cavalry Gen. John Hunt Morgan captured a federal garrison in Gallatin, Tenn. 1863—Confederate raider William Quantrill led a massacre of 150 men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas. 1864—after a week of heavy raiding, the Confederate cruiser Tallahassee claimed six Union ships captured. 1865—disinfectant was used for the first time during surgery by Joseph Lister. 1 867—Pres. Johnson sparked a move to impeach him as he defied Congress by suspending Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. 1877—Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and made the first sound recording. 1879—the first National Archery Association tournament took place in Chicago, Ill. 1896—gold was discovered near Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada. After word reaches the US in June of 1897, thousands of Americans head to the Klondike to seek their fortunes. 1898—the peace protocol ending the Spanish-American War was signed after three months and 22 days of hostilities. 1898—Hawaii was formally annexed to the US and was later given territorial status and was given Statehood in 1959. 1908—Henry Ford’s first Model T rolled off the assembly line. 1915— Of Human Bondage by William Somerset Maugham, was first published. 1918—regular airmail service began between Washington, DC and New York City. 1922—the home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. was dedicated as a memorial. 1935—Press. Roosevelt signed the Social Security bill. 1937—Red Skelton appeared on network radio for the first time on the Rudy Vallee Show on NBC. 1938—the German army was mobilized 1939— The Wizard of Oz premiered in Oconomowoc, Wis. and Judy Garland became famous for the movie's song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The movie premiered in Hollywood on August 15th. 1941—Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, head of the government of Vichy France, called on his countrymen to give full support to Nazi Germany. 1944—Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., eldest son of Joseph & Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, was killed with his co-pilot when their explosives-laden Navy plane blew up over England during World War II. 1944—in France, Pierre Laval released Edouard Herriot, 3-5im3 Prime Minister of the 3rd Republic. 1953—the USSR conducted a secret test of its first hydrogen bomb. 1955—Pres. Eisenhower increased the minimum wage to $1 an hour. 1960—the first satellite, Echo 1, was launched by the US from Cape Canaveral, Fla. 1961—the erection of the Berlin Wall began, preventing access between East and West Germany. 1962—one day after launching Andrian Nikolayev into orbit, the Soviet Union also sent up cosmonaut Pavel Popovich; both men landed safely Aug. 15. 1964—Mickey Mantle set a major league baseball record when he hit home runs from both the left and ride sides of the plate in the same game for the 10th time. 1966—the last tour for the Beatles began at the International Amphitheater in Chicago; and John Lennon apologized at a news conference in Chicago for saying "the Beatles are more popular than Jesus." 1969—the Boston Celtics were sold for $6 million. At the time it was the highest price paid for a pro basketball team. 1969—US installations at Quan-Loi, Vietnam, came under Viet Cong attack. 1972—the Festival of Hope was the first rock festival to raise funds for an established charity. 1972—as US troops left Vietnam, B-52's made their largest strike of the war. 1973—Jack Nicklaus won his 14th major golf title (PGA for the 3rd time), breaking the record that had been held by Bobby Jones for nearly 50 years. 1977—the space shuttle Enterprise passed its first solo flight test by taking off atop a Boeing 747, separating and then touching down in California's Mojave Desert. 1977—Steve Biko, leader of the black consciousness movement in South Africa, was arrested. 1978—Pope Paul VI, who had died Aug. 6 at age 80, was buried in St. Peter's Basilica. 1981—IBM introduced its first personal computer, the model 5150, at a press conference in New York. The 5150 that was presented had an Intel 8088 microprocessor running at 4.77 MHz (megahertz), 16 kb (kilobytes) of random-access memory (RAM), no disk drives, and a price tag of $1,565 (allowing for inflation, that would be nearly $4,000 today. 1985—the world's worst single-aircraft disaster occurred as a crippled Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 on a domestic flight crashed into a mountain, killing 520 people. (Four people survived.) 1986—NASA announced that they had selected a new rocket design for the space shuttle. The move was made in an effort at correcting the flaws that were believed to have been responsible for the Challenger disaster. 1988— The Last Temptation of Christ, the controversial movie directed by Martin Scorsese, opened despite demonstrations and protestations by religious groups. 1990—the first US casualty occurred during the Persian Gulf crisis when Air Force Staff Sergeant John Campisi died after being hit by a military truck. 1992—the US, Canada, and Mexico announced that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had been concluded after 14 months of negotiations, creating the world’s wealthiest trade bloc. 1993—Pres. Clinton signed a relief package for the flooded areas of the Midwest —- Pres. Clinton lifted the ban on rehiring air traffic controllers that had been fired for going on strike in 1981. 1994—MLB players went on strike rather than allow team owners to limit their salaries. The strike lasted for 232 days. As a result, the World Series was wiped out for the first time in 90 years. 1994—Woodstock ’94 began in Saugerties, NY (it ran thru August 14). 235,000-350,000 rockers attended the show, which featured 30+ bands, included Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith, Metallica and Nine Inch Nails. 1998—Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion as restitution to Holocaust survivors to settle claims for their assets. 2000—the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk and its 118-man crew were lost during naval exercises in the Barents Sea. 2001—a suicide bomber blew himself up on the patio of a restaurant near the northern Israeli coastal town of Haifa, killing himself and wounding 21 people. 2004—New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey announced his resignation and proclaimed himself "a gay American." 2004—the California Supreme Court voided the nearly 4,000 same-sex marriages sanctioned in San Francisco earlier in the year. 2006—1000s of people gathered across from the White House, even though Pres. Bush was out of town, to condemn U.S. and Israeli policies in the Middle East. 2008—Russia halted its devastating five-day assault on Georgia that left homes in smoldering ruins and uprooted 100,000 people. 2010—GM chief Ed Whitacre announced he was stepping down as CEO on Sept. 1, 2010, saying his mission was accomplished as the company reported its second straight quarterly profit. (Whitacre was succeeded as CEO by GM board member Daniel Akerson.)
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 13, 2011 8:17:40 GMT -5
HOUND DOG DAY
On this day in 1952, the original version of "Hound Dog" was recorded by Willie Mae (Big Mama) Thornton. It was the first hit for the song-writing team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. (Among their other famous hits: "Kansas City" [Wilbert Harrison], "On Broadway" [The Drifters], and "Stand By Me" [Ben E. King]. Four years later, "Hound Dog" got the world’s attention when it was recorded by Elvis Presley.
Musician-composer Johnny Otis (Willie and the Hand Jive) said he helped Leiber and Stoller with the writing of "Hound Dog". All was fine as long as Big Mama Thornton was doin’ the singing (Otis was her producer); but as soon as the Elvis version started bringing in the bucks, Otis was cut out of the picture. Otis went to court but lost the suit.
We think the judge said, “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog, a-cryin’ all the time.” And Leiber and Stoller chimed in, “You ain’t no friend of mine.”
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 14, 2011 0:03:58 GMT -5
13 Aug Good evening to my fellow history buffs from Tuxy and me. Today is 225th day of 2011 with 140 days left in the year. Today in History: 1521—Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured Tenochtitlan, present-day Mexico City, from the Aztecs. 1587—in Roanoke, Va., Manteo becomes the first Native American to be baptized as a Protestant, into the Church of England. He was converted by members of Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to the New World. 1624—Louis XIII, King of France, appointed Cardinal Richelieu his first minister. 1630—Emperor Ferdinand II dismissed Gen. Albert Eusebius van Wallenstein, his most capable general. 1642—Christian Huygens discovered the Martian south polar cap. 1654—Folli performed the first blood transfusion (between animals). 1660—Charles II of England ordered the suppression of pamphlets written by John Milton. 1680—war starts when the Spanish are expelled from Santa Fe, N/M., by Indians under Chief Pope. 1682—the first Welsh immigrants to the American colonies arrived in Pennsylvania—Quakers who settled near Philadelphia. 1704—the battle Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English under the Duke of Marlborough and Austrian forces led by Prince Eugene over the French and Bavarian armies. 1784—the US Congress met for the final time in Annapolis, Md. 1787—the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia. 1792—French revolutionaries captured the entire French royal family and imprisoned them. 1846—the US flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles. 1862—Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest defeated a Unino army under Thomas Crittenden at Murfreesboro, Tenn. 1864—Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant began the Deep Bottom Run campaign by shipping parts of three corps across the James River. The attacks along the Confederate fortifications began the next day. 1867—Under the Gaslight by Augustine Daly opened in New York City to become one of the most popular melodramas ever staged in America. 1876—the Reciprocity Treaty between the US and Hawaii was ratified. 1881—the first African-American nursing school opened at Spellman College in Atlanta, Ga. 1889—a patent for a coin-operated telephone was issued to William Gray. 1892—the first issue of the Afro American newspaper was published in Baltimore, Md. 1898—Manila, the capital of the Philippines, fekk to the US Army.
1907—the first taxicab began operating on the streets of New York City 1910—Florence Nightingale, Crimean War nurse & the founder of modern nursing, died at age 90 in her sleep in Park Lane, London. 1912—the first experimental radio license was issued to St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia, Pa. 1931—the first community hospital in the US was dedicated in Elk City, Okla. 1932—Adolf Hitler rejected the post of Franz von Papen’s vice-chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out "for all or nothing." 1934—the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner by Al Capp made its debut. In those early days, the cartoon strip was carried in eight newspapers. Eventually, it would be in more than 500, and would be the basis for a Broadway play and a Hollywood movie, too. 1935—the first roller derby match was held at the Coliseum in Chicago, Ill. 1938—renowned blues artist Robert Johnson played a show at a roadhouse outside Greenwood, Miss. It is speculated that Johnson was poisoned by the bar owner. Johnson died several days later. 1940—Germany began bombing airfields and factories in England. 1942—Walt Disney's animated feature Bambi premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York. 1948—Cleveland Indians rookie pitcher Satchel Paige threw his first complete game in the major leagues. He allowed the Chicago White Sox only five hits in the 5-0 shutout. Incidentally, the rookie pitcher was 42 years old. 1948—during the Berlin Airlift, the weather over Berlin became so stormy that American planes had their most difficult day landing supplies. They deemed it 'Black Friday.' 1952—the original version of "Hound Dog" was recorded by Willie Mae (Big Mama) Thornton. 1957—Syria asked for the eviction of three US Embassy officials for plotting to overthrow their government. 1959—in New York, ground was broken on the $320 million Verrazano Narrows Bridge. 1960—the first 2-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1, a balloon satellite. 1960—the Central African Republic became totally independent of French rule. 1961—Berlin was divided by a barbed wire fence as East Germany sealed off the border between the city’s eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees. Even regular telephone and postal service between the sectors was stopped. Several days later, the barbed wire was reinforced with a concrete wall between official crossing points. It would stand for 38 years until it finally came down in 1989. 1963—a 17-year-old Buddhist monk burns himself to death in Saigon, South Vietnam. 1967—the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Joan Baez to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. because of her opposition to the Vietnam War. 1979—Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals got his 3,000th career hit. 1981—Pres. Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions in a ceremony at his California ranch. 1989—searchers in Ethiopia found the wreckage of a plane which had disappeared almost a week earlier while carrying Texas Congressman Mickey Leland and 14 other people — there were no survivors. 1990—soul singer-songwriter Curtis Mayfield (“Superfly”, “Freddie’s Dead”) was paralyzed from the neck down after a light rack fell on him before a concert in Brooklyn, NY. He died 26 Dec 1999. 1990—Iraq transferred $3-4 billion in bullion, currency, and other goods seized from Kuwait to Baghdad. 1992—Woody Allen began legal action to win custody of his three children from Mia Farrow. A judge ruled against Allen in 1993. 1992—a gunmen dressed in military fatigues shot and killed three people and wounded four others before killing himself. The shootings took place in a plant nursery in Watsonville, Calif. 1994—a report stated that aspirin not only helps reduce the risk of heart disease, but also helps prevent colon cancer. 1995—MLB Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle (NY Yankees) died at age 63 of liver cancer at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Tex. 1998—Pres. Clinton led the U.S. in mourning twelve Americans killed in a pair of US embassy bombings in Africa. Standing before black hearses carrying ten of the bodies, the president pledged to seek justice “for these evil acts.”
2001—Macedonia’s rival political leaders signed a landmark peace accord aimed at ending six months of bloody conflict and clearing the way for NATO troops to disarm ethnic Albanian rebels. 2001—Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi tried, with little apparent success, to ease the anger of Asian neighbors by visiting a controversial war shrine two days before the actual anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender. 2002—Iraqi Kurdish leader Jala Talabani announced that US troops would be "welcomed" in northern Iraq to stage attacks against Saddam Hussein's regime. 2003—in southern Afghanistan, 15 people were killed and 5 were injured when a bus exploded. It was believed that al-Qaeda and remnants of the Taliban militia carried out the attack. 2003—Israeli troops demolished the West Bank home of a teenage suicide bomber and rounded up Palestinian terrorists suspects in the wake of two bombing attacks the day before. 2003—Libya agreed to set up a $2.7 billion fund for families of 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Am bombing. The step was key to U.N. sanctions being lifted against Libya. 2004—the 28th summer Olympic games opened in Athens, Greece. 2006—Fidel Castro sent Cubans a sober greeting on his 80th birthday, saying he faced a long recovery from surgery. 2006—Israel’s Cabinet became the final party to sign on to a UN cease-fire deal with Hezbollah. 2008—Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th and 11th career gold medals. 2009—Les Paul, electric guitar genius inventor, songwriter & musician, died at age 94 from complications of pneumonia in White Plains, NY 2010—weighing in for the first time on a controversy gripping New York City and the nation, Pres. Obama endorsed allowing a mosque near ground zero, telling a White House dinner celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that the country's founding principles demanded no less. 2010—Edwin Newman, veteran NBC newsman, journalist & author (I Must Say, Sunday Punch, A Civil Tongue, Strictly Speaking: Will America be the Death of English?), died at age 91 of pneumonia in Oxford, England.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 14, 2011 9:57:32 GMT -5
YOU'RE ONLY A NUMBER DAY
Those who are American citizens can thank or blame Franklin D. Roosevelt for being identified by a number. It was on Aug. 14th in 1935 that President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. Your Social Security number is the only number that identifies you and only you. How did this numbering of Americans come to pass? Social security was a campaign promise in the 1932 presidential election. Democrats pledged: “We advocate unemployment and old-age insurance under state laws.” FDR proposed the bill in June 1934. Conservatives fought it, some believing it would “threaten the integrity of our institutions.” Most supported it, hoping that it would address the long-range problem of economic security for the aged through a system in which workers contributed to their own future retirement.
The original Act, signed by FDR, benefited only retiring workers. In 1939, amendments were added to the Social Security Act providing for dependents benefits and survivors benefits, plus the start of monthly benefits. The original payments were in lump sums. The first to receive the lump-sum benefit was Ernest Ackerman, a retired Cleveland motorman. He retired one day after the program began and his five-cent contribution turned into a lump-sum, 17-cent benefit. Mr. Ackerman was the first to benefit, but he was not the first to receive a Social Security number. In fact, no one knows who received the first SSN.
The U.S. Postal Service distributed the applications beginning in November 1936, numbers to be assigned at local post offices. The first three digits, the Area Number, assigned by geographical region, first represented the state in which they were issued, and since 1972, represent the ZIP code on the applicant’s mailing address ... not necessarily the state of residence. The second two numbers are the Group Number, further defining the Area Number, but were and are not assigned in consecutive order. Go figure... The last four numbers, the Serial Number, further define the Group Number and are distributed consecutively. Huh?
Are you still wondering why the Social Security system is in a mess today?
Since even newborns now have to have a Social Security Number, it is safe to say, “you’re only a number.”
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 14, 2011 21:55:07 GMT -5
14 Aug Good evening to my fellow history buffs from Tuxy and me. Today is 226th day of 2011 with 139 days left in the year.
Today in History: 1040—Duncan I, King of Scotland, was murdered by MacBeth. 1248—the rebuilding of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, began after being destroyed by fire. 1457—the first book ever printed was published by a German astrologer named Faust. He was thrown in jail while trying to sell books in Paris. Authorities concluded that all the identical books meant Faust had dealt with the devil. 1464—Pope Pius II died at Ancona leading a crusade against the Turks. 1498—Columbus landed at the mouth of the Orinoco River, Venezuela. 1559—Spanish explorer Tristan de Luna y Arellano entered Pensacola Bay, Fla. 1605—the Popham expedition reached the Sagadahoc River in present-day Maine and settled there. 1756—Daniel Boone married 16-year-old Rebecca Bryan. 1756—French commander Louis Montcalm took Fort Oswego, New England, from the British. 1793—republican troops in France laid siege to the city of Lyons. 1805—a peace treaty between the US and Tunis was signed on board the USS Constitution. 1814—a comic opera by Rossini, Turk in Italy, premiered at La Scala, Milan. 1842—the Seminole War ended and the Indians were removed from Florida to Oklahoma. 1846—Henry David Thoreaucwas jailed for tax resistance. 1848—the Oregon Territory was established made up of today’s Oregon, Washingotn, Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming. 1862—Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith began his invasion of Kentucky. He moved his troops out of Knoxville, Tenn., and toward Cumberland Gap. The plan was to draw Union troops away from Chattanooga, Tenn. 1862—a temporary Union jail in Kansas City collapsed. Confederate guerrilla leader William 'Bloody Bill" Anderson's 14-year-old sister was killed and his other two sisters were injured. Pro-Confederate William C. Quantrill exacted revenge on Lawrence, Kan. on August 21. The band killed 150 residents and much of the town was burned. 1864—Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's troops began attacking Confederate fortifications around Deep Bottom Run. 1873—Field and Stream magazine was first published. 1880—the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany was completed after 632 years of rebuilding, only to be damaged again during World War II. The largest Gothic style cathedral in Northern Europe was first built on the same site in 873 A.D., but was destroyed by fire in 1248. 1888—a patent for the electric meter was granted to Oliver B. Shallenberger of Rochester, Pa.. 1896—gold was discovered in Canada's Yukon Territory. Within the next year more than 30,000 people rushed to the area to look for gold.
1900—international forces consisting of eight nations, including 2,000 US Marines, entered Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreigners. 1908—a race riot erupted in Springfield, Ill., as a white mob began setting black-owned homes and businesses on fire; at least two blacks and five whites were killed in the violence. 1909—the newly opened Indianapolis Motor Speedway held its first event, a series of motorcycle races 1917—the Chinese Parliament declared war on Germany and Austria during World War I. 1919—about 1 million tons of ice and rock broke off of a glacier near Mont Blanc, France. Nine people were killed in the incident. 1936—Rainey Bethea became the last man to be publicly executed in the US as he was hanged in Owensboro, Ky., for raping 70-year-old Lischia Edwards. 1936—basketball was held in the Olympic Games for the firct time in Berlin, Germay. The US defeated Canada 19-8. 1941—The US Congress appropriated the funds to construct the Pentagon (approximately $83 million). The building was the new home of the US War Department. 1941—Pres. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, a statement of principles that renounced aggression, endorsed the right of people to choose their form of government and called for improving the economic well-being of nations. 1942—Dwight D. Eisenhower was named the Anglo-American commander for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. 1944—the federal government allowed the manufacture of certain domestic appliances to resume on a limited basis. 1945—Pres. Truman announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending the war. 1947—Mildred ‘Babe’ Didrikson Zaharias turned golfing professional in order to accept $300,000 for a series of golf movies. 1947—Pakistan became independent of British rule. 1951—William Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher, died at age 88 in Beverly Hill, Calif. 1953—the whiffle ball was invented when David N. Mullany tried to come up with a ball that would curve every time it was thrown. You can still buy the fat-and-ball set for a few dollars. 1959—the first meeting was held to organize the American Football League (now part of the NFL as the American Football Conference.) 1959—Jordan and the United Arab Republic reopened diplomatic relations. 1961—the Brandenburg Gate was closed between East and West Berlin. 1962—a US mail truck was held up in Plymouth, Mass. and the robbers got away with more that $1.5 million dollars. 1969—the New York Mets were 9-1/2 games behind the league-leading Chicago Cubs and began a comeback that launched the phrase, “You Gotta Believe,” as they began a drive that took them to the National League pennant and the World Series Championship (over the Baltimore Orioles). It was the first championship for the “Amazing” Mets franchise which began in 1962. 1969—British troops arrived in Northern Ireland to intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics. 1971—the ruler of Bahrain, HH Shaikh Isa bin Salman AlKhalifa, declared Bahrain's independence. He announced the termination of all political and military treaties with Great Britain. 1973—the “secret” US bombing of Cambodia came to a halt. The halt marked the official end to 12 years of combat in Indochina by the US. 1976—a charity softball game began for the Community General Hospital in Monticello, NY. The game was eventually called off after 30 hours and 356 innings, beginning at 10 a.m. and called because of ran and fog at 4 p.m. the next day. The final score was Gager's Diner's 491 to Bend 'n Elbow Tavern's 467. 1980—People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was incorporated. 1980—workers went on strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland - a job action that resulted in the creation of the Solidarity labor movement. 1981—Pope John Paul II left a Rome hospital, three months after being wounded in an attempt on his life. 1981—five members of Liberia's People's Redemption Council were executed for participating in the attempted assassination of their head of state Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe. 1981—Karl Boehm, conductor, died in Salzburg, Austria, two weeks before his 87th birthday 1986—US officials announced that Victor Cortez Jr., a US Drug Enforcement agent, had been abducted, interrogated and tortured by Mexican police. 1987—Mark McGwire set the record for major league home runs by a rookie when he connected for his 49th home run of the season. 1989—Bon Jovi's New Jersey album became the first US album to be released legally in the Soviet Union. The Russian label Melodiya paid the group with a truckload of firewood since rubles can't leave Russia. 1989—South African President P.W. Botha announced his resignation after losing a bitter power struggle within his national party. 1991—the Justice Department accused General Electric of fraud for billing the Pentagon $30 million for the non-existent sale of F-16 parts to the Israeli military. 1992—the US announced that emergency airlifts of food to Somalia would begin. The action was being taken to stop mass deaths due to starvation. 1992—Wayne Newton filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 1992—Tony Williams of The Platters, died at age 64 from diabetes and emphysema. 1992—John J. Sirica, the federal judge who presided over the Watergate trials in the 1970s, died at age 88 in Washington, D.C. 1993—Pope John Paul II denounced abortion and euthanasia as well as sexual abuse by American priests in a speech at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colo. 1994—eight children who were left alone died in an early morning house fire in Carbondale, Il. 1994—international terrorist "Carlos the Jackal" was captured in Sudan and the next day was extradited to France. 1995—Shannon Faulkner became the first female cadet in the history of The Citadel, S.C. 's state military college, but quit the school less than a week later. 1995—the Grateful Dead decided to cancel their fall our in the wake of Jerry Garcia’s death. 1996—the Republican National Convention in San Diego nominated Bob Dole for president and Jack Kemp for vice president. 1996—in Peru, 35 people were electrocuted when a high tension line was knocked down by a rocket during a fireworks show. 1997—an unrepentant Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing. 1998—a US federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., ruled that the Food and Drug Administration had no authority to regulate tobacco. The FDA had established rules to make it harder for minors to buy cigarettes. 1999—[Harold Peer Henry] Pee Wee Reese, 1984 Hall of Fame shortstop (Brooklyn/LA Dodgers, 1940-58) & sportscaster (CBS, NBC), died at age 81 of prostate & lung cancer in Louisville, Ky.
2000—Valujet was ordered to pay $11 million in fines and restitution for hazardous waste violations in the crash that killed 110 people in 1996. 2000—the Los Angeles police fired pepper spray and rubber bullets to clear a crowd of 9,000 people when a free concert by Rage Against the Machine turned violent. 2000—a Russian submarine Kursk sank to the bottom of the Barrent Sea. There were 118 sailors on the nuclear-powered vessel and all of the crew were pronounced dead on August 22nd. 2001—the Red Hot Chili Peppers canceled a concert planned in Israel. The concert had been planned for August 28th, but was canceled due to security concerns. The U.S. State Department had issued an advisory the recommended that U.S. citizens not travel to Israel. 2001—20 people detained in riots at the Group of Eight summit in Italy the previous month were ordered released by a Genoa court — 15 Austrians, three Americans, a Slovak and a Swede. 2002—in Texas, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin surrendered to San Antonio police. A warrant had been issued for his arrest stemming from a domestic violence complaint on June 15, 2002. 2002—Israel indicted Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian political leader, on charges of orchestrating attacks that killed dozens of Israelis. 2003—the most extensive blackout in North American history hit the northeastern US and part of Canada; 50 million people lost power. 2005—a Cypriot plane with 121 on board crashed in Greece. 2006—Cuban state television aired the first video of Fidel Castro since he stepped down as president to recover from surgery, showing the bedridden Cuban leader talking with his brother Raul as well as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez., 2006—Israel halted its offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas as a UN-imposed cease-fire went into effect after a month of warfare that killed more than 900 people. 2006—two Fox News journalists were kidnapped in Gaza. 2007—Typhoon Flossie threatened the Big Island of Hawaii with winds and rain just hours after a 5.3 magnitude earthquake rock Hawaii. 2007—a bomb blast derailed a Russian train, terrorism was suspected. 2008—Russian troops advance into Georgia in violation of a truce. 2009—Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a Charles Manson follower who tried to assassinate Pres. Ford in 1975, was released from a Texas prison hospital after more than three decades behind bars.. 2010—a day after weighing in on the issue, Pres. Obama repeated that Muslims had the right to build a mosque near New York's ground zero, but said he was not commenting on the "wisdom" of such a choice. 2010—eight people leaving a party at a downtown Buffalo, N.Y., restaurant were shot, four fatally, including a Texas man who'd returned to his hometown to celebrate his first wedding anniversary. (Former gang member Riccardo McCray was later convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder, and sentenced to life without parole.) 2010—a truck overturned during an off-road race in the Mojave Desert, killing eight spectators. 2010—a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook the Mariana Islands in the Pacific. 2010—Manmohan Singh became the 3rd longest serving Prime Minister of India.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 15, 2011 13:26:51 GMT -5
WOODSTOCK DAY
They came by the thousands. They came from every corner of the U.S. and many came from other countries. It was a pilgrimage to a farm owned by Max Yasgur in an area of Sullivan County, New York called Bethel in the Catskill Mountains. In a manner of speaking, this was a religious experience. It was a pilgrimage for love, and peace. And throughout it all, the music played.
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened on this day in 1969. Two dozen bands came to play on a wooden stage in the middle of a pasture. It was a happening unlike any other before it ... and, probably like none after. 450,000 people formed a love-in for three days and nights. Jimi Hendrix was there, Joan Baez, and Arlo Guthrie, too. Country Joe and the Fish, Santana, Crosby, Stills and Nash. Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, and so many more. There were hippies, and bikers, Viet Nam war vets, and high school kids ... college kids and college grads, longhaired and short, young and old ... and the world watched and joined in through the magic of the media.
They came by the thousands. The music played, people danced and sang. And the memories went home with them. Woodstock marked an era.
Groovy! Far out! Like, wow, man! Power to the people! And, of course... Peace, brother!
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 15, 2011 23:27:14 GMT -5
15 Aug Good evening to my fellow history buffs from Tuxy and me. Today is 227th day of 2011 with 138 days left in the year.
Today in History: 778—Charlemagne’s rear guard on its return from Spain was attacked by Basques, causing the death of Roland. 1038—St. Stephen, King of Hungary, died. 1057—Macbeth, the King of Scots, was slain in battle by Malcolm, eldest son of King Duncan, whom Macbeth had slain. 1070—Lanfranc became Archbishop of Canterbury. 1079—Malcolm III, King of Scotland, invaded England. 1096—the First Crusade set out for Jerusalem. 1209—surrender of Carcassonne during the Albigensian ‘Crusade’ 1261—Constantinople fell to Michael VIII of Nicaea and his army usurping the Byzantine throne. 1281—the Kami Kaze, the "Divine Wind," destroyed the invading Mongol fleet off Japan. 1385—John of Portugal defeated John of Castile at the Battle of Aljubarrota. 1534—the Jesuits were founded. 1598—Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, led an Irish force to victory over the British at the Battle of Yellow Ford. 1760—Frederick II defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Liegnitz. 1848—the dental chair was patented by M. Waldo Hanchett of Syracuse, NY. 1864—the Confederate raider Tallahassee captured six Federal ships off New England. 1872—the first vote by ballot in England was conducted. 1877—Thomas Edison wrote to the president of the Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh, Pa. The letter stated that the word, "hello" would be a more appropriate greeting than "ahoy" when answering the telephone.
1911—Crisco hydrogenated shortening was introduced by Procter & Gamble Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914—the Panama Canal was officially opened to commercial traffic as an American ship sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. 1918—diplomatic ties between the US and Russia were severed. 1935—comedian & “cowboy philosopher” Will Rogers and aviator pioneer Wiley Post were killed when their airplane crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska. 1939—The Wizard of Oz premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood and Judy Garland became famous for the movie’s song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” 1942—the Japanese submarine I-25 departed Japan with a floatplane in its hold which would be assembled upon arriving off the West Coast of the US, and used to bomb US forests. 1943—because of his special talent to use food scraps in both unusual and appetizing recipes, the US War Department awarded Sgt. Edward Dzuba the Legion of Merit.. 1944—the allied forces landed on the southern coast of France, between Toulon and Cannes, in Operation Dragoon. 1945—the allies proclaimed V-J Day, one day after Japan agreed to surrender unconditionally — in a radio address, Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced that his country had accepted terms of surrender. 1945—gasoline and fuel oil rationing ended in the US. 1947—India became independent from Britain and was divided into the countries of India and Pakistan. India had been under British about 200 years. 1948—CBS-TV inaugurated the first nightly news broadcast with anchorman Douglas Edwards. 1948—the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was proclaimed. 1949—in San Francisco, a stunt leap off the Golden Gate Bridge was performed for the first time. 1960—two US divisions were badly mauled by the North Korean Army at the Battle of the Bowling Alley in South Korea, which raged for five more days. 1960—the Republic of the Congo became independent of French rule. 1961—as workers began constructing a Berlin Wall made of concrete, East German soldier Conrad Schumann leapt to freedom over a tangle of barbed wire in a scene captured in a famous photograph. 1969—the Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened in on a farm in Bethel, NY in the Catskill Mountains. The 3-day concert featured 24 bands and drew over 400,000 people. 1969—Three Dog Night (Danny Hutton, Cory Wells and Chuck Negron) was awarded a gold record for the album, Three Dog Night. Where’d the name of the group come from? In Australia, the aborigine tribes of several regions slept outside all year. As the temperatures got colder, the tribesmen would sleep with a dog to keep warm. In colder weather, they would huddle with two dogs. It must have been an extremely cold night when the group was formed... 1970—Mrs. Pat Palinkas became the first woman to ‘play’ in a pro football game when she held the ball for the Orlando, Fla, Panthers. 1971—Pres. Nixon announced a 90-day freeze on wages, prices and rents. 1971—Bahrain declared its independence from Great Britain. 1974—a gunman attempted to shoot South Korean Pres. Park Chung-hee during a speech; although Park was unhurt, his wife was struck and killed, along with a teenage girl. (The gunman was later executed.) 1983—six-month-old Lisa Harap of Queens Village, NY became the youngest identifiable living person to appear on a cover of Time magazine. 1984—New York City turned out to honor the Team USA Olympic medalists. An estimated two million people lined the streets during the 10-block-long ticker-tape parade. 1986—the US Senate approved a package of economic sanctions against South Africa. The ban included the importing of steel, uranium, textiles, coal, and produce from South Africa. 1987—$100 million in damage was done in the Chicago area when 13 1/2 inches of rain fell. 1987—on the 10th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley thousands of people marched past his grave in Memphis, Tenn. 1991—Paul Simon played a free concert at New York's Central Park in front of an estimated 750,000 people. 1992—four people were killed and 20 were injured in a shooting spree outside a club in Miami, Fla. 1992—Vietnam blamed Hollywood for creating the "myth" concerning the issue of US servicemen still being held prisoner in Indochina. 1993—Pope John Paul II conducted mass for up to 400,000 people at the World Youth Day festival south of Denver. 1994—the Social Security Administration became an independent US government agency. It had been a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. 1994—Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal was captured in Sudan, taken to Paris and jailed. (He was sentenced to life imprisonment for three murders and held responsible for numerous terrorist attacks.) 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. 1995—John Cameron Swayze, pioneering TV journalist & Timex watch pitchman, died at age 89 in Sarasota, Fla. 1996—Frederick Martin Davidson, a graduate student at San Diego State University, shot and killed three engineering professors (Davidson was later sentenced to three life terms in prison.) 1997—the Justice Department decided not to prosecute FBI officials in connection with the deadly 1992 Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho. The investigation dealt with an alleged cover-up. 1997—the US government expanded its recall of ground beef sold under the Hudson brand name to 1.2 million pounds because of new evidence of possible contamination by E. coli bacteria. 1998—a car bomb in Omagh killed 29 people and injured 370, making it the single deadliest act of violence in 30 years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. A splinter group calling itself the Real IRA claimed responsibility. 1999—Pres. Clinton and his family went house hunting in Westchester County, N.Y. (They later settled on a house in Chappaqua.)
2000—100 people from North Korea arrived in South Korea for temporary reunions with relatives they had not seen for half a century; 100 South Koreans visited the North. 2001—a Texas appeals court halted the execution of Napoleon Beazley just hours before he was scheduled to die for a murder he'd committed as a teenager. (Beazley was executed in May 2002.) 2001—the US Air Force gave the go-ahead to build its new F-22 fighter. 2001—Robert R. Courtney, a Kansas City, Mo., pharmacist accused of diluting chemotherapy drugs, surrendered to the FBI. (He was later sentenced to 30 years in prison.) 2001—astronomers announced the discovery of the first solar system outside our own — two planets orbiting a star in the Big Dipper. 2006—Dell recalled potentially incendiary laptop batteries 2006—Israel began withdrawing its forces from southern Lebanon. 2006—Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, the queen of New Zealand's indigenous Maori population, died at age 75 on North Island, New Zealand. 2010—former medical student Philip Markoff, charged with killing Julissa Brisman, a masseuse he'd met through Craigslist, was found dead in his Boston jail cell, a suicide.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 16, 2011 8:36:22 GMT -5
ELVIS REMEMBERED DAY Still mourning Elvis.
Elvis Presley was rushed from Graceland to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. on August 16th in 1977. Doctors’ efforts to revive him were fruitless and he was pronounced dead (coronary arrhythmia) at 3:30 p.m. He was 42 years old.
Thousands of mourning fans kept a vigil outside Graceland, the home of the King of Rock and Roll, for three days before his burial. Thousands more lined the streets of Presley’s hometown on the day of his funeral. The city, the nation, the music world and fans from around the world were in shock over his passing. Even to this day, some say that Elvis didn’t die -- he just wanted to get away from it all. Fans from all over have reported sightings of Elvis -- from a hamburger joint in Kalamazoo, Mich., to California.
Elvis had an unprecedented 107 hits on the pop music charts and an unprecedented number of fans. His first hit was "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956 and his last, one of two RCA hits released after his death, was "Guitar Man" in 1981. Presley had 28 gold records, 12 number one songs and 38 top-ten hits.
Presley is buried at Graceland, now a major tourist attraction.
We remember him well.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 16, 2011 8:40:53 GMT -5
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 17, 2011 1:40:13 GMT -5
16 Aug Good evening to my fellow history buffs from Tuxy and me. Today is 228th day of 2011 with 137days left in the year.
Today in History: 1513—Henry VIII of England and Emperor Maximilian defeated the French at Guinegatte, France, in the Battle of the Spurs. 1650—Charles II, exiled King of England and Scotland, signed the National Covenant of Scotland. 1777—During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Bennington took place with New England's minutemen routing the British regulars. 1777—France declared a state of bankruptcy. 1780—US troops were badly defeated by the British at the Battle of Camden, S.C. 1812—US Gen. William Hull surrendered without resistance to a smaller British and Indian force under Gen. Isaac Brock in the War of 1812. 1829—the "Siamese twins," Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston, Mass. from their home in Banesau, Siam. They had come to the Western world to be exhibited by P.T. Barnum. They were 18 years old and joined at the waist. 1858—a telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to Pres. Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable. 1861—Pres. Lincoln issued Proclamation 86, which prohibited the states of the Union from engaging in commercial trade with states that were in rebellion — i.e., the Confederacy. 1861—Union and Confederate forces clashed near Fredericktown and Kirkville, Mo. 1863—Union Gen. William S. Rosecrans moved his army south from Tullahoma, Tenn. to attack Confederate forces in Chattanooga. 1864—Union Gen. Philip Sheridan pulled back from Winchester, Va. to wait for reinforcements. 1864—Confederate Gen. John Chambliss was killed during a cavalry charge at Deep Bottom Run. 1896—gold was discovered by Skookum Jim, Dawson Charlie and George Carmack found gold in Rabbit Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River in the Klondike of Canada's Yukon Territory, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.
1906—an earthquakes hit Valparaiso, Chile, that no stranger to disaster (the Dutch destroyed it in 1600, the Spanish in 1866, the Chilean civil war in 1891, earthquakes in 1731, 1822, 1839, 1873), and was once more devastated by an earthquake. This one struck after a night of unusually violent thunderstorms. It destroyed two thirds of the city, the coastline was raised three feet, and 1,500 died. 1914—Liege, Belgium fell to the German army. 1920—the only fatality to occur in a major league baseball history happened. Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was struck in the head by a pitch thrown by Carl Mays of the NY Yankees; Chapman died the following morning. 1923—Carnegie Steel Corp. put into place the eight-hour workday for its employees. 1930—the first British Empire Games were held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event is now called the British Commonwealth Games. 1937—Harvard University became the first school to have graduate courses in traffic engineering and administration. 1939—the famous vaudeville house, Hippodrome, in New York City, was used for the last time. 1945—Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright was freed by Russian forces from a POW camp in Manchuria, China. He had been captured by the Japanese on the island of Corregidor, in the Philippines on 6 May 1942. 1948—George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Hall of Fame outfielder, died at age 53 of throat cancer in New York City. 1951—the US and Britain asked Egypt to lift a blockade of the Suez Canal on Israel. 1954—Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc. 1954—comedian Jack Paar replaced Walter Cronkite as host of The Morning Show on CBS-TV. Cronkite came back as host in October, 1955, when Paar didn’t pan out. Television found Paar’s forte three years later as the host of The Tonight Show. 1956—Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 1958—in Tel Aviv, 14 Israelis were seized as Syrian spies. 1960—the free-fall world record was set by Joseph Kittinger. He fell more than 16 miles (about 84,000 feet) before opening his parachute over New Mexico. 1960—Great Britain granted independence to Cyprus. 1962—Ringo Starr was picked to replace Pete Best as the drummer for the Beatles. Best had been with the group for about 2 1/2 years. 1965—the Watts riots ended in south-central Los Angeles after six days. 1975—Peter Gabriel announced that he was leaving the group Genesis. Phil Collins would be the new lead singer after the group auditioned more than 400 potential musicians. 1977—Elvis Presley, rock superstar, died at age 42 of a heart attack brought on my multiple drug use at Graceland Mansion, Memphis, Tenn. 1978—Xerox was fined for excluding Smith-Corona Mfg. from the copier market. The fine was $25.6 million. 1984—John DeLorean was acquitted on eight counts of a $24 million dollar cocaine conspiracy indictment. 1984—the US Jaycees voted to admit women to full membership in the organization. 1986—the US Congress approved sweeping legislatin to extensively restructure the federal income tax alw. 1987—1000s of people worldwide began a two-day celebration of the "harmonic convergence," the exact alignment of planets in the solar system, which believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind. 1987—156 people were killed when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed while trying to take off from Detroit. 1988—Vice Pres. George H. W. Bush tapped Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle to be his running mate on the Republican ticket. 1991—Pope John Paul II began the first-ever papal visit to Hungary. 1993—Harvey Weinstein was rescued from a covered 14-foot-deep pit by New York Police. He had been there for nearly two weeks while being held for ransom. 1993—Stewart Granger, English-born leading man actor (King Solonom’s Mines, Scaramouche, The Prisoner of Zenda, Bhowani Junction. North to Alaska), died at age 80 from prostate cancer in Santa Monica, Calif. 1995—voters in Bermuda rejected independence from Great Britain. 1999—in Russia, Vladimir V. Putin was confirmed as Russia’s 5th prime minister (appointed by Pres. Boris Yeltsin on Aug 9th) by the lower house of parliament.
2000—delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles nominated Vice President Al Gore for president. 2001—Paul Burrell, trusted butler of Princess Diana for many years, was charged with the theft of 100s of royal family items, a charge he denied. (The case collapsed when Queen Elizabeth II told prosecutors that Burrell had told her he was holding some of Diana's things for safekeeping.) 2002—Friedrich Engel, a former Nazi SS major, was sentenced to seven years in prison for his part in the shooting of Italian prisoners on a mountain pass above Genoa during World War II. 2002—Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix told the Associated Press that he couldn't say with certainty that Iraq actually had weapons of mass destruction. Blix said that inspectors still have "many open questions" about Iraq's capability — terrorist Abu Nidal was found shot to death in Baghdad, Iraq. 2003—a US postage stamp featuring Henry Mancini was unveiled. The design showed Mancini conducting while titles of his works scroll past on a screen behind him. 2003—Idi Amin, the former dictator of Uganda, died in exile in Saudi Arabia. 2006—john Mark Karr was arrested in Thailand as a suspect in the slaying of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. (Karr's confession that he had killed JonBenet was later discredited.) 2006—New York City officials released new tapes of 100s of heart-wrenching phone calls from the World Trade Center on 9/11, along with other emergency transcripts. 2006—Alfredo Stroessner, the anti-communist general who'd ruled Paraguay for decades, died at age 93 in Brasilia, Brazil. 2007—Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held for 3-1/2 years as an enemy combatant, was convicted in Miami of helping Islamic extremists and plotting overseas attacks. (He was sentenced to 17 years, four months in prison.) 2008—Michael won the 100-meter butterfly by a hundredth of a second for his 7th gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, tying Mark Spitz's 1972 record. 2008—talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and actress Portia de Rossi were married at their Beverly Hills, Calif. home. 2009—Britain assumed direct rule over the Turks and Caicos Islands. 2009—three earthquakes strike Sumatra, Indonesia. 2010—an Apple manager was charged with taking over $1 million in kickbacks from suppliers. 2010—Bobby Thomson, whose 1951 "Shot Heard 'Round the World" clinched the National League pennant for the New York Giants against the Brooklyn Dodgers, died at age 86i n Savannah, Ga. 2010—China eclipsed Japan as the world's second biggest economy after three decades of blistering growth. 2010—a Boeing 737 jetliner filled with vacationers crashed in a thunderstorm and broke apart as it slid onto the runway on Colombia's San Andres Island; all but two of the 131 people on board survived.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 17, 2011 11:54:41 GMT -5
WIZARD OF OZ DAY
“Follow the Yellow Brick Road ... There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home ... Oh, Auntie Em, Auntie Em ... and Toto, too!” Theatre goers first saw the magical The Wizard of Oz in a gala premiere on this night in 1939. The first movie to use the combination of black and white and color film starred Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale; Bert Lahr as both the Cowardly Lion and Zeke; Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow and Hunk; and Jack Haley as both the Tin Woodsman and Hickory. Originally, Buddy Ebsen was in the role of the Tin Man; but he became ill and had to leave the production before its completion.
The movie was based on L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which he wrote in 1900 and adapted into a musical play. Directed by Victor Fleming, the Hollywood version took an Oscar for best movie score (Harold Arlen and E.Y. ‘Yip’ Harburg), and for best song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." With its superb acting, special effects, singing midgets and wonderful songs like "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" (the wicked witch was delightfully played by Margaret Hamilton while Billie Burke was equally charming as the good witch); Munchkinland, and "Follow the Yellow Brick Road", The Wizard of Oz would probably have won the Best Picture Oscar. As fate would have it, there was another show-stopper filmed that year, Gone with the Wind, and only one film could win.
The Wizard of Oz turned into such a triumph that television later clamored to get the rights to show it. William. S. Paley of CBS made sure his network (which also gave Garland the spotlight with her own show in the 1950s) was the one to bring The Wizard of Oz to new generations of viewers. The movie, now released on video, is still shown on TV and remains a popular favorite of young and old alike.
“Oh, we’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz. We hear he is a wiz of a wiz, if ever a wiz there was...”
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Post by susala on Aug 17, 2011 21:12:56 GMT -5
Smokey Joe's Cafe, a musical revue of Leiber and Stoller songs, was one of the best Broadway shows that I ever saw. I had no idea who they were before I saw the show.
Thanks for posting pictures of young and gorgeous Elvis, Peg! I finally got to Graceland five or six years ago. It was unexpected. It sits right on a four-lane highway and the interior looks just like any upper-middle class house from the '70's. I'd heard that it was really tasteless but I didn't think so. The real surprise was when I discovered that Elvis actually is buried in the backyard.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 17, 2011 21:49:07 GMT -5
sus- -I saw no reason to use older pics of Elvis. The ones I picked are the ones I remember him being. My favorite all-time pics are those in the black leathers. He was mature and gorgeous!! People pass a certain age have no idea what a gorgeous hunk he was!! I can't think of any since that comes close to him in looks. Which , of course, was why he was successful in movies.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 17, 2011 22:36:52 GMT -5
17 Aug Good evening to my fellow history buffs from Tuxy and me. This is the 229th day of 2011 with 136days left in the year.
Today in History: 1743—by the Treaty of Abo, Sweden ceded southeast Finland to Russia, ending Sweden's failed war with Russia. 1790—the capital city of the US moved to Philadelphia from New York City. 1807—Robert Fulton's Folly, a North River Steamboat began heading up the Hudson River on its successful round trip between New York and Albany, a 150-mile journey that took 32 hours. (Contrary to popular belief, the vessel was not called the "Clermont” until later.) 1812—Napoleon Bonaparte's army defeated the Russians at the Battle of Smolensk during the Russian retreat to Moscow. 1815—Napoleon began serving his exile when he arrived at the island of St. Helena. 1833—the first steam ship to cross the Atlantic entirely on its own power, the Canadian ship Royal William, began its journey from Nova Scotia to The Isle of Wight. 1835—Soloman Merrick patented the wrench. 1838—138 singing teachers traveled to Boston, Mass., to attend the first music convention. 1859—a hot air balloon was used to carry mail for the first time. John Wise left Lafayette, Ind. for New York City with 100 letters. He had to land after only 27 miles. 1862—in Minnesota, Dakota Indians (Sioux) attacked white settlements along the Minnesota River. (The US military overwhelmed the Dakota six weeks later after 500 white settlers and 150 Sioux warriors had been killed. Pres. Lincoln dispatched Gen. John Pope to organize the Military Department of the Northwest.) 1863—federal batteries and gunships began bombarding Fort Sumter in secessionist Charleston, S.C. harbor but the Confederates managed to hold on despite several days of pounding. 1877—blacksmith F.P. Cahill became the first person to be killed by "Billy the Kid." 1894—pitcher John Wadsworth of Louisville set a major league record when he gave up 28 base hits (all singles) in a single game.
1903—Joseph Pulitzer donated a million dollars to Columbia University to fund the Pulitzer Prizes in his name. 1915—a mob in Cobb County, Ga., 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.) 1915—Charles F. Kettering of Detroit, Mich. patented the electric automobile self-starter. 1918—the famous race horse, Man o’ War, was sold at auction for $5,000 with Samuel Riddle his new owner. 1938—Henry Jackson Armstrong defeated Lou Ambers at Madison Square Garden in New York City to win the lightweight boxing championship and becoming the first fighter to hold three titles at one time — the feather, welter, and lightweight crowns. 1940—Adolf Hitler declared a blockade of the British Isles. 1942—US 8th Air Force bombers attacked Rouen, France. 1942—US Marine raiders attacked Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands from two submarines. 1943—the Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as US and British forces entered Messina. 1944—the mayor of Paris, Pierre Charles Tattinger, met with the German commander Dietrich von Choltitz to protest the explosives being deployed throughout the city. 1945—upon hearing confirmation that Japan had surrendered, Indonesian (formerly the Dutch East Indies) nationalist leader Sukarno declared independence from the Netherlands. 1954—Pres. Eisenhower committed the US 7th Fleet to protect Taiwan from invasion. 1960—newly renamed Beatles (formerly the Silver Beetles) began their first gig in Hamburg, West Germany, at the Indra Club — their first engagement outside of England. 1960—the West African country of Gabon became independent of France. 1961—the US and 19 Latin American countries signed the Charter of Punta del Este in Uruguay, creating the Alliance for Progress aimed at promoting economic growth and social justice. 1961—the Communist East German government completed the construction of the Berlin Wall. 1962—East German border guards shot and mortally wounded 18-year-old Peter Fechter, who had attempted to cross over the Berlin Wall into the western sector. 1969—Hurricane Camille slammed into the Mississippi coast as a Category 5 storm that was blamed for 256 US deaths, three in Cuba. 1969—the Woodstock Music and Art Fair concluded near Bethel, NY in the Catskill Mountains. 1970—Christine McVie joined Fleetwood Mac as the group's first female member. 1973—Paul Williams of the Temptations was found dead by police and ruled a suicide. 1977—Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) reported that in one day the number of orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland had surpassed the number for any other event in the company's history. 1978—the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II outside Paris from Presque Isle, Maine. 1981—Secretary of State Alexander Haig announced that the U.S. would no longer hold up the delivery of promised F-16s and F-15s to Israel. 1982—the US Senate approved an immigration bill that granted permanent resident status to illegal aliens who had arrived in the United States before 1977. 1985—more than 1,400 meatpackers walked off the job at the Geo. A. Hormel and Co.'s main plant in Austin, Minn., in a bitter strike that lasted just over a year. 1986—Rick Allen played his first concert with Def Leppard since losing his left arm in a car accident — 42 people were beaten or stabbed at a Run D.M.C. concert in Long Beach, Calif. 1987—Steffi Graf replaced Martina Navratilova as the number one tennis player in the Women’s International Tennis Association. The 18-year-old had won eight tournaments in 1987, including the French Open. 1987—Rudolf Hess, the last member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle, died at Spandau prison in West Berlin at age 93, apparently a suicide. He had been the only inmate at Spandau for 21 years. 1987—Charles Glass, American journalist, escaped his kidnappers and was rescued after being held for 62 days in Lebanon. 1988—Pres. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan and US Ambassador Arnold Raphel were killed in a plane crash under suspicion of assassination. 1991—at a shopping mall in Strathfield, Australia, a man killed seven people before killing himself. He had been armed with a rifle and a machete. 1992—actor-director Woody Allen admitted being romantically involved with Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of his longtime companion, actress Mia Farrow. 1993—Dr. Jack Kevorkian was charged in Wayne County, Mich. with assisting in the suicide of Thomas Hyde. (Kevorkian was later acquitted.) 1995—security guards carried Courtney Love offstage after she began fighting with Hole fans because they weren't cheering loud enough during the last night of the Lollapalooza tour in Mountain View, Calif. 1996—a military cargo plane crashed in Wyoming killing eight crewmembers and a Secret Service employee. The plane was carrying gear for Pres. Clinton. 1996—Ross Perot was named the Reform Party's presidential candidate, the party's first-ever candidate. 1997—the old CN (Canadian National) train station in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, home town of country singing legend Hank Snow, was dedicated as the Hank Snow Country Music Centre, featuring personal memorabilia of Nova Scotia’s "native son", including his 1947 Cadillac and pieces from other Canadian country music stars (including Carroll Baker, Wilf Carter, Ronnie Prophet, George Hamilton IV, Lucille Starr). (Snow died December 20, 1999 at the age of 85.) 1998—the FBI announced that it was questioning a suspect concerning the bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya on 7 Aug 1998. 1998—Pres. Clinton underwent grand jury questioning in the Monica Lewinsky scandal and admitted to having an improper relationship with her. 1998—NationsBank and BankAmerica merged to create the largest US bank. 1998—Russia devalued the ruble. 1999—more than 15,000 people were killed in a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Turkey, close to the town of Izmit. Several cities were devastated.
2001—millionaire Steve Fossett's 5th attempt to fly solo around the world ended in Brazil after his helium balloon ran into bad weather. 2002—in Santa Rosa, Calif., the Charles M. Schulz Museum opened to the public. 2002—Iraq’s ambassador said that Iraq and Russia were close to signing a $40 billion economic cooperation plan. 2002—Pope John Paul II arrived in Krakow, Poland, for the ninth and final visit to his native country during his papacy. 2004—in Najaf, Iraq, radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan that called for his militiamen to disarm and leave their hideout in a Shiite shrine. 2004—in Israel, a Likud convention voted overwhelmingly to bar Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from inviting the opposition Labor Party into the government. This was considered a setback to Sharon's plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. 2004—Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat refused to sign anti-corruption legislation demanded by lawmakers. He admitted making "mistakes" and pledged to clean up the Palestinian Authority. 2005—Israeli security forces began the forcible removal of Jews from four settlements in the Gaza Strip. 2006—in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU, a federal judge in Detroit ruled that Pres. Bush's warrantless surveillance program was unconstitutional. (A divided federal appeals court threw out the lawsuit in July 2007, and the US Supreme Court later let the appeals court decision stand.) 2006—Pres. Bush signed new rules to prod companies into shoring up their pension plans. 2006—the Israeli army began handing over positions in southern Lebanon to the UN. 2006—Jordan became the first Arab state to send a fully accredited ambassador to Iraq. 2006—in Lebanon, Beirut's international airport reopened to commercial traffic for the first time since July 13. The closure was due to damage as a result of a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. 2008—swimmer Michael Phelps and three US teammates won the 400-meter medley relay for Phelps' record-breaking eighth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. 2010—a mistrial was declared on 23 corruption charges against ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was accused of trying to sell Pres. Obama's old Senate seat; the jury convicted him on one charge, that of lying to the FBI. (Blagojevich was convicted of 17 counts of corruption in a retrial; a sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2011.) 2010—a suicide bomber in Iraq detonated nail-packed explosives strapped to his body, killing 61 people, many of them army recruits.
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Post by Flying Horse on Aug 17, 2011 23:22:02 GMT -5
Today’s Birthdays: 1920—Maureen O'Hara, Irish-born actress (Jamaica Inn, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, How Green Was My Valley, Miracle on 34th Street, w/ John Wayne: Rio Grande, The Qubgiet Man, The Wings of Eagles, McLintock!, Big Jake) & Tony-winning singer-actress (stage: Christine [1960]) 1923—Larry Rovers [aka Yitzroch Grossberg], artist (painter & sculptor: 9 Kinds of French Money, The Bike Girl, Downtown Lion, Head of an English Girl, Lenin?, Sky Music at Carnegie Hall, Wounded Civil War Soldier) 1926—Jiang Zemin, former Chinese president 1932—John “Red” Kerr, NBA player (Syracuse Nationals, Philadelphia Warriors, Baltimore Bullets) & coach (Chicago Bulls Coach of the Year -1966], Phoenix Suns) 1932—Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad “V.S.” Naipaul, 2001 Nobel Prize-winning Trinidadian-British author known for his novels focusing on the legacy of colonialism (In a Free State [1971 Booker Prize], The Mystic Masseur, The Suffrage of Elvira, Miguel Street), travel writer (An Area of Darkness, India: A Wounded Civilization, India: Million Mutinies Now) & essayist (The Middle Passage) 1943—Robert DeNiro, 2-time Oscar-winning actor (The Godfather Part II [1975], Raging Bull [1981], Bang the Drum Slowly, Mean Streets, New York, New York, Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, Midnight Run, The Deer Hunter, Analyze This, Awakenings, Goodfellas, Meet the Parents), director (A Bronx Tale, The Good Shepherd) & producer 1947—Gary Talley, rock guitarist (The Box Tops, Big Star) 1949—Sib Hashian, rock musician (Boston) 1951—Robert Joy, actor (Harriet the Spy, Waterworld, Longtime Companion, Big Shots, Desperately Seeking Susan, Atlantic City, Amityville 3: The Demon, The Lawrenceville Stories) 1952—Guillermo Apolinario Vilas, 1991 International Tennis Hall of Fame Argentine former No. 2 player in the world (Australian Open [1976, 1979], French Open [1977], US Open [1977]) 1953—Kevin Rowland, English singer-songwriter (Dexy's Midnight Runners: “Geno”, “Come On Eileen”) 1955—Colin Moulding, rock songwriter (“Making Plans for Nigel”, “Sgt. Rock [Is Going to Help Me]”, “Senses Working Overtime”), bassist & singer (XTC) 1956—Robin Cousins, 1980 British Olympic gold medal figure skater, actor (London: Cats, Cinderella, The Rocky Horror Show) & judge on ITV’s Dancing on Ice. 1958—Belinda Jo Carlisle, lead vocalist (The Go-Gos), soloist (“Mad About You”, “Summer Ran”, “I Get Weak”, “Leave a Light On”, “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”) & author (Lips Unsealed autobiography) 1959—Jonathan Franzen, novelist (The Corrections [2002 Nat’l Bk Award], Freedom) & essayist (The New Yorker, “Perchance to Dream”) 1960—Sean Justin Penn, 2-time Oscar-winning actor (Mystic River [2003], Milk [2008], Dead Men Walking, She’s So Lovely, Hurlyburly, Sweet and Lowdown, I Am Sam, 21 Grams), screenwriter & director (The Indian Runner, The Crossing Guard, The Pledge, Into the Wild) who is also a social & political activist. He is the son of director Leo Penn. 1962—[Gilbert] Gilby Clarke, hard rock rhythm guitarist-backing vocals (Guns N’ Roses, 1991-94, Slash’s Snakepit, Rock Star Supernova) & record producer (LA Guns, Bullets and Octane, The Bronx & Vains of Jenna) 1963—Jon David Gruden, NFL head coach (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders) & ESPN sports analyst (Monday Night Football) 1964—Maria Luisa McKee, cowpunk/country rock singer (Lone Justice) & songwriter (“Show Me Heaven”) 1965—Steve Gorman, rock drummer (The Black Crowes) 1966—Jill Cunniff, rock vocalist & bassist (Luscious Jackson, duo w/ Vivian Trimble: Kostars) 1967—David Conrad, actor (Return to Paradise; TV: Roswell, Boston Public, Ghost Whisperer, A Season for Miracles; stage: The Deep Blue Sea, Troilus and Cressida, Richard II, Indian Ink). 1969—[Donald Edward] Donnie Wahlberg Jr., singer (New Kids on the Block), actor (The Sixth Sense, Boomtown, Righteous Kill; TV: Band of Brothers, Blue Bloods) & film producer. He’s the brother of Marky Mark. 1969—Posdnuos [aka Kelvin Mercer], rapper MC (hip hop trio De La Soul), producer 1970—[James Spencer] Jim Courier Jr., International Tennis Hall of Fame tennis champion (Australian Open [1992-93], French Open [1991-92]) & former world No. 1 in 1992 who holds the record for being the youngest person to have reached the finals of all four Grand Slam singles. He also won five Masters 1000 series titles. 1971—Jorge Posada, MLB catcher (NY Yankees) & designate hitter 1979—Antwaan Randle El, NFL wide receiver/punt receiver (Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins) 1982—Mark Salling, actor (TV: Glee) & musician 1983—Dustin Pedroia, MLB 2nd baseman (Boston Red Sox) 1986—Bryton Eric McClure [also known as Bryton and Bryton James), actor (TV: Family Matters, The Young and the Restless) 1988—Brady (James Monson) Corbet, actor (Thirteen, Mysterious Skin, Thunderbirds, Funny Games; TV: 24)
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