August 19th is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 134 days remaining until the end of the year. → 295 BC - The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges during the Third Samnite War. → 0043 - B.C. - Octavian, also known as Augustus Caesar, convinces Senate to elect him Consul.→ 1691 - Henry Kelsey of the Hudsons Bay Company views herds of buffalo on the Canadian Prairies. → 1561 - 18-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France. → 1612 - The Samlesbury witches, three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, England, are put on trial, accused of practicing witchcraft, one of the most famous witch trials in British history. → 1692 - Salem witch trials: in Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, five people, one woman and four men, including a clergyman, are executed after being convicted of witchcraft. → 1782 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Blue Licks – the last major engagement of the war, almost ten months after the surrender of the British commander Charles Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown. → 1809 - John Molson launches his wooden paddle-wheel steamboat ‘Accomodation’ for service on the St. Lawrence River between Montréal and Québec starting in October; a side-wheeler built entirely in Montreal by the Eagle Foundry, the boat carried 10 passengers; the first Canadian steamship, it was the first successful steamboat built entirely in North America. → 1812 - War of 1812: American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerrière off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada earning the nickname Old Ironsides. → 1818 - Oregon Territory is taken possession & incorporated into U.S. by James Biddle. → 1826 - Scottish novelist/land agent John Galt gets a charter for the Canada Company, to colonize lands in the western part of Upper Canada (Ontario). Galt was an agent of those seeking losses from the Crown for damages suffered in the War of 1812. In 1824, he convinced the British Treasury to provide half the funds, with half coming from the Government of Upper Canada, using proceeds from land sales. Galts Company acquired almost 2.5 million acres of Crown land. He founded the town of Guelph and built a road through the Queens Bush he called Goderich. → 1831 - Disaster - Sailing ship ‘Lady Sherbrooke’ wrecked off Cape Bay; 273 persons drown, Cape Bay, Newfoundland. → 1848 - The first report of the California gold strike was published in the New York Herald newspaper. → 1854 - The First Sioux War begins when United States Army soldiers kill Lakota chief Conquering Bear and in return are massacred. → 1856 - Gail Borden of Brooklyn, NY patented his process for condensed milk. You’ve heard of Borden’s condensed milk ... “The milk from contented cows.” This slogan was used in one of the great American advertising campaigns. The familiar flat- topped cans of Borden’s condensed milk are still available, as are Borden’s ice cream, cheese and other products, all with the seal of approval by Borden’s famous mascot, Elsie, the cow. → 1862 - Dakota Indians bypass Fort Ridgely. On the third day of the Dakota (Sioux) uprising in Minnesota, warriors debate whether they should attack a garrison inside of Fort Ridgely. Concluding that the fort was too strong, the Dakota moved on to the settlement of New Ulm, killing settlers along the way. → 1871 - Orville Wright born, aviation pioneer who, with his brother, Wilbur Wright, invented three-axis control and flew the first successful, albeit brief, flying machine in 1903; dies Jan 30, 1948. → 1883 - Coco (Gabriel Bonheur) Chanel born, fashion designer; perfume creator: Chanel #5; dies Jan 10, 1971. → 1895 - American Frontier murderer and outlaw John Wesley Hardin is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas. → 1902 - (Frederic) Ogden Nash born, poet; dies May 19, 1971. → 1909 - Louis Schwitzer wins first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In front of some 12,000 spectators, automotive engineer Louis Schwitzer wins the two-lap, five-mile inaugural race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. → 1913 - Farming - Thousands of young men travel west to help bring in the harvest on prairie farms; railroads charge only a penny a mile; men placed by farmers organizations, Nova Scotia/New Brunswick. → 1916 - Marie (Katherine Elizabeth) Wilson born, actress: My Friend Irma, Babes in Toyland [1934], Rookies on Parade, Shine On, Harvest Moon, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation; dies Nov 23, 1972. → 1918 - Sgt. Irving Berlin’s musical about army life in World War I opened at the Century Theatre in New York City. ‘Yip Yip Yaphank’ included songs, such as ‘Mandy’ and ‘Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning’. → 1919 - “HOSTESS” was trademark registered by William B. Ward. → 1919 - Malcolm Forbes Sr. born, publishing magnate: Forbes magazine; dies Feb 24, 1990. → 1919 - Afghanistan gains independence from the United Kingdom. → 1921 - Gene (Eugene Wesley) Roddenberry born, creator, producer: Star Trek; writer: Have Gun Will Travel; dies Oct 24, 1991. → 1929 - The comedy Amos n Andy made its network radio debut on NBC. → 1931 - Willie Shoemaker born, jockey: holds record for most wins in a career: 8,833 out of 40,350 mounts; dies Oct 12, 2003. → 1933 - Debra Paget (Griffin) born, actress: Love Me Tender, Tales of Terror, The Ten Commandments, Omar Khayyam, Prince Valiant. → 1934 - The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio. → 1934 - World War II - On this day, Adolf Hitler, already chancellor, is also elected president of Germany in an unprecedented consolidation of power in the short history of the republic. → 1935 - Maritimers swelter through record heat wave; Nova Scotia has its warmest day on record - 38.3 degrees Celsius; also Prince Edward Islands warmest day, at 38.7 degrees Celsius. → 1938 - Diana Muldaur born, actress: A Year in the Life, The Tony Randall Show, The Survivors, Star Trek: The Next Generation, McCloud, L.A. Law, Born Free. → 1939 - The Dick Jurgens Orchestra recorded Day Dreams Come True at Night on Okeh Records. Eddy Howard was the vocalist on the piece. It became Jurgens’ theme song. → 1940 - The B-25 Mitchell medium bomber had its first flight. → 1940 - The new Civil Aeronautics Administration awarded honorary license #1 to Orville Wright. → 1940 - Jill St. John (Oppenheim) born, actress: Diamonds are Forever, Come Blow Your Horn, Burke’s Law. → 1942 - Allies raid Dieppe. During World War II, an Allied force of 7,000 men carry out a large daytime raid against German positions at the French seaport of Dieppe. Aided by tanks and aircraft, the commando force--made up of approximately 5,000 Canadians, 2,000 British soldiers, and a handful of American and Free French troops--gained a foothold on the beach in the face of a furious German defense. During nine hours of fighting, the Allies failed to destroy more than a handful of their targets and suffered the death of 3,600 men. More than 100 aircraft, a destroyer, 33 landing craft, and 30 tanks were also lost. Despite its high costs, the Dieppe raid provided valuable logistical information later used in planning the successful 1944 Allied landing at Normandy. → 1943 - Billy J. Kramer (William Ashton) born, singer: group: The Dakotas: Little Children, Bad to Me. → 1944 - World War II: Liberation of Paris – Paris, France rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops. → 1945 - Under the control of Ho Chi Minh, the Viet Minh (also known as League for the Independence of Vietnam) takes power in Hanoi, Vietnam. → 1946 - William Jefferson Clinton born, 42nd U.S. President [1993-2001]; married to U.S. Senator [NY] Hillary Rodham Clinton [one daughter: Chelsea]; nickname: Bill. → 1947 - Gerald McRaney born, actor: Simon & Simon, Major Dad, Murder by Moonlight, Blind Vengeance, Take Me Home: The John Denver Story. → 1950 - ABC begins Saturday morning kid shows (Animal Clinic & Acrobat Ranch). → 1950 - Goodnight Irene by the Weavers with Gordon Jenkins topped the charts. → 1952 - Jonathan Frakes born, actor: Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction?, Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series, ; director: Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Klingon, Star Trek: Insurrection, Total Recall 2. → 1953 - CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran. The Iranian military, with the support and financial assistance of the United States government, overthrows the government of Premier Mohammed Mosaddeq and reinstates the Shah of Iran. Iran remained a solid Cold War ally of the United States until a revolution ended the Shahs rule in 1979. → 1957 - Tammy by Debbie Reynolds topped the charts. → 1960 - Sputnik program: Korabl-Sputnik 2 – the Soviet Union launches the satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants. → 1961 - Tossin & Turnin by Bobby Lewis topped the charts. → 1962 - Homero Blancas shot a 55 at the Premier Invitational Golf Tournament held at Longview, TX. It was the lowest score in U.S. competitive golf history. → 1962 - Chart Toppers - ‘Breaking Up is Hard to Do’ - Neil Sedaka; ‘The Loco-Motion’ - Little Eva; ‘You Don’t Know Me’ - Ray Charles; ‘Wolverton Mountain’ - Claude King. → 1963 - John Stamos (Stamotopoulos) born, actor: General Hospital, Full House, You Again?, Born to Ride, The Disappearance of Christina, Never Too Young to Die. → 1964 - The Beatles began their first North American concert tour. They would visit 26 cities. → 1965 - Kevin Dillon born, actor: Platoon, Remote Control, No Escape, A Midnight Clear, The Blob, actor Matt Dillon’s brother. → 1967 - Beatles All You Need is Love, single goes #1. → 1972 - NBC-TV presented ‘The Midnight Special’ for the first time. John Denver was the host for the first show. Wolfman Jack was the show’s announcer. The Midnight Special proved to be a ratings success. → 1972 - Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert OSullivan topped the charts. → 1973 - Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge were married in Los Angeles, CA. → 1977 - Groucho Marx dies, American comedian, actor, and singer (b. 1890). → 1978 - Three Times a Lady by the Commodores topped the charts. → 1979 - The crew of Soyuz 32 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 34. → 1981 - Charlie’s Angels, starring Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and the voice of John Forsythe as Charlie, was seen for the last time on ABC-TV. The show went into syndication and is still seen on cable TV. → 1981 - Riot - Rocker Alice Cooper cancels his concert at the Canadian National Exhibition at the last minute, touching off a riot; police arrest 31 after fans hurl debris at the stage; $25,000 damage done to CNE Exhibition Stadium, Toronto, Ontario. → 1984 - Lee Trevino won the 66th PGA Championship -- by four strokes. Trevino took home $125,000 for his first victory in three years. → 1987 - Hungerford massacre: in the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a semi-automatic rifle and then commits suicide. → 1989 - Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx topped the charts. → 1989 - Authorities from four European countries boarded the offshore rock station Radio Caroline (on the ship Ross Revenge) in international waters in the North Sea and forced it to shut down. Disc jockeys relayed a blow-by-blow account of events to the astonished listeners right up to the end. → 1991 - Hurricane Bob was located 30-35 miles east of Cape Hatteras NC, and was at its peak intensity of 115 mph. Damage from Bob was estimated at $1.5 billion, making it the 15th most costly hurricane in U.S. History. A total of 18 people dies in the storm: six in Connecticut, three in both New York and Maine, two in both Nova Scotia and New Hampshire, and one in both North and South Carolina. → 2004 - Google goes public with shares prices at $85 a share. Google uses an unique online auction format to allow investors to purchase shares. → 2005 - Former New Brunswick cabinet minister Vaughan Blaney leads team into CFB Gagetown to investigate claims of Agent Orange being used. → 2005 - A series of strong storms lashes Southern Ontario spawning several tornadoes as well as creating extreme flash flooding within the city of Toronto and its surrounding communities. In Toronto, it is also dubbed the Toronto Supercell. → 2011 - West Memphis Three released from prison after 18 years. On this day, three men, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, who were convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the murders of three boys in Arkansas, are released from prison in a special legal deal allowing them to maintain their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to convict them. → 2013 - A train accident in India kills at least 37 people and injures over a dozen. → Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...Ω
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 10:39:09 +0000
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