RIP Pluto . . . August 24: In 79 Mount Vesuvius erupts and the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic ash (traditional date - some scholars believe it was actually October 24); in 1456 the printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed; in 1662 the Act of Uniformity requires England to accept the Book of Common Prayer; in 1682 William Penn receives the area that is now the state of Delaware, and adds it to his colony of Pennsylvania; in 1814 British troops invade Washington, D.C. and during the Burning of Washington the White House, the Capitol, and many other buildings are set ablaze; in 1821 the Treaty of Córdoba is signed in Córdoba, now in Veracruz, Mexico, concluding the Mexican War of Independence from Spain; the Panic of 1857 begins setting off one of the most severe economic crises in United States history; in 1875 Captain Matthew Webb became first person to swim the English Channel; in 1891 Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera; in 1932 Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop; in 1942 during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō is sunk and the US carrier USS Enterprise heavily damaged; in 1948 the treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization goes into effect; in 1950 Edith Sampson becomes the first black U.S. delegate to the United Nations; in 1989 Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose is banned from baseball for gambling by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti; in 1992 Hurricane Andrew makes landfall just south of Miami as a Category 5 hurricane; in 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term planet such that Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet. Birthdays: surfer Duke Kahanamoku (1890); historian/author Howard Zinn (1922); Jefferson Airplane bassist David Freiberg (1938); guitarist Mason Williams (1938); Uriah Heep keyboardist Ken Hensley (1945); French keyboardist/composer Jean Michele Jarre (1948); baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr. (1960); actress Marlee Matlin (1965). Music: In 1967 John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison attend a lecture by the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the lobby of the London Hilton; in 1967 The Whos Keith Moon drives a Lincoln Continental into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn in Flint, MI to celebrate his 21st birthday, earning the entire band a lifetime ban from the chain; in 1969 Arlo Guthries film Alices Restaurant, based on his hit song of the same name, premieres in both Los Angeles and New York; in 1975 Queen begins recording Bohemian Rhapsody at Rockfield Studio 1 near Monmouth, Wales; in 1989 The Who perform a special 20th anniversary charity concert of their rock opera Tommy at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, featuring guests Elton John (as the Pinball Wizard), Patti Labelle (as the Acid Queen), Steve Winwood (as the Hawker), Phil Collins (as Uncle Ernie), and Billy Idol (as Cousin Kevin); in 1964 The Beatles, Matchbox b/w Slow Down.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 13:32:15 +0000
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