Friday August 15, 2014 Today is: National Lemon Meringue Pie Day, Best Friends Day, Chauvin Day, Check The Chip Day, Mens Grooming Day, National Relaxation Day This Week is: National Aviation Week 15-21 For my Catholic friends Today is a Feast Day for: St. Tarsicius,St. Alipius, St. Altfrid, St. Arduinus, St. Limbania, St. Neopolus, Bl. Claudio Granzotto On This Day in History: 1780 - American Lieutenant Colonel Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, and his irregular cavalry force of 250 rout a party of Loyalists commanded by Major Micajah Gainey at Ports Ferry, South Carolina. Meanwhile, General Horatio Gates men consumed half-baked bread, which sickened them overnight and contributed to their disastrous performance at the Battle of Camden, also in South Carolina, the following day. 1835 - C.H. Farnham was issued a patent for a hand cranked rotary washing machine. 1848 - M. Waldo Hanchett patented a dental chair. 1899 - In Detroit, Michigan, Henry Ford resigns his position as chief engineer at the Edison Illuminating Companys main plant in order to concentrate on automobile production. In the summer of 1898, Ford was awarded his first patent, in the name of his investor and Detroits mayor, William C. Maybury, for a carburetor he built the previous year. By the middle of the following summer Ford had produced his third car. A much more advanced model than his two previous efforts, it had a water tank and brakes, among other new features. Mayburys support, combined with Fords bold ideas and charisma, helped assemble a group of investors who contributed some $150,000 to establish the Detroit Automobile Company in early August 1899. Ten days later, Ford left Edison, where he had worked for the previous eight years. He turned down a considerable salary offer of $1,900 per year and the title of general superintendent to become mechanical superintendent of the new auto company, with a salary of $150 per month. The Detroit Automobile Company was one of some 60 aspiring automakers in America at the time, and it struggled to keep up with the stiff competition provided by the likes of Packard of Ohio and Olds Motor Works of Lansing, Michigan. The company began to collapse in the middle of its second year of operation and ceased doing business in November 1900. Maybury and others retained their faith in Ford, however, and in late 1901 they backed him as chief engineer of the Henry Ford Company. This effort failed as well, and Ford put all of his hopes into a make-or-break third effort. The Ford Motor Company, founded in mid-June 1903, rolled out its first car--a Model A--that July and continued to grow steadily over the next several years. The release of the now-legendaryModel T or Tin Lizzie in 1908 catapulted Ford Motor Company into the leading ranks of American automakers and turned its founder, a farm boy from Dearborn, into one of the worlds richest men. 1911 - Crisco is introduced by Procter & Gamble. Crisco is a hydrogenated shortening made from vegetable oil, which keeps its solid form even in warm weather. 1914 - The American-built waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is inaugurated with the passage of the U.S. vessel Ancon, a cargo and passenger ship. 1914 - The government of Japan sends an ultimatum to Germany, demanding the removal of all German ships from Japanese and Chinese waters and the surrender of control of Tsingtao—the location of Germany’s largest overseas naval bases, located on China’s Shantung Peninsula—to Japan by noon on August 23. 1930 - President Herbert Hoover gives a press conference in which he offers plans for relief of individuals and businesses affected by a series of devastating droughts. The droughts, combined with a major stock market crash in October 1929, resulted in dire economic conditions in the country that lasted throughout the early to mid-1930s, an era known as the Great Depression. 1943 - Sgt. Edward Dzuba received the Legion of Merit award because of his talent to use food scraps in unusual and appetizing recipes. 1945 - Emperor Hirohito broadcasts the news of Japans surrender to the Japanese people. Although Tokyo had already communicated to the Allies its acceptance of the surrender terms of the Potsdam Conference several days earlier, and a Japanese news service announcement had been made to that effect, the Japanese people were still waiting to hear an authoritative voice speak the unspeakable: that Japan had been defeated. That voice was the emperors. In Japans Shinto religious tradition, the emperor was also divine; his voice was the voice of a god. And on August 15, that voice—heard over the radio airwaves for the very first time—confessed that Japans enemy has begun to employ a most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is indeed incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. This was the reason given for Japans surrender. Hirohitos oral memoirs, published and translated after the war, evidence the emperors fear at the time that the Japanese race will be destroyed if the war continues. A sticking point in the Japanese surrender terms had been Hirohitos status as emperor. Tokyo wanted the emperors status protected; the Allies wanted no preconditions. There was a compromise. The emperor retained his title; Gen. Douglas MacArthur believed his at least ceremonial presence would be a stabilizing influence in postwar Japan. But Hirohito was forced to disclaim his divine status. Japan lost more than a war—it lost a god. 1947 - The Indian Independence Bill, which carves the independent nations of India and Pakistan out of the former Mogul Empire, comes into force at the stroke of midnight. The long-awaited agreement ended 200 years of British rule and was hailed by Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi as the noblest act of the British nation. However, religious strife between Hindus and Muslims, which had delayed Britains granting of Indian independence after World War II, soon marred Gandhis exhilaration. In the northern province of Punjab, which was sharply divided between Hindu-dominated India and Muslim-dominated Pakistan, hundreds of people were killed in the first few days after independence. 1961 - Two days after sealing off free passage between East and West Berlin with barbed wire, East German authorities begin building a wall--the Berlin Wall--to permanently close off access to the West. For the next 28 years, the heavily fortified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War--a literal iron curtain dividing Europe. 1968 - Heavy fighting intensifies in and around the DMZ, as South Vietnamese and U.S. troops engage a North Vietnamese battalion. In a seven and a half hour battle, 165 enemy troops were killed. At the same time, U.S. Marines attacked three strategic positions just south of the DMZ, killing 56 North Vietnamese soldiers. 1969 - The Woodstock Music Festival opens on a patch of farmland in White Lake, a hamlet in the upstate New York town of Bethel. Promoters John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield and Michael Lang originally envisioned the festival as a way to raise funds to build a recording studio and rock-and-roll retreat near the town of Woodstock, New York. The longtime artists colony was already a home base for Bob Dylan and other musicians. Despite their relative inexperience, the young promoters managed to sign a roster of top acts, including the Jefferson Airplane, the Who, the Grateful Dead, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival and many more. Plans for the festival were on the verge of foundering, however, after both Woodstock and the nearby town of Wallkill denied permission to hold the event. Dairy farmer Max Yasgur came to the rescue at the last minute, giving the promoters access to his 600 acres of land in Bethel, some 50 miles from Woodstock. Early estimates of attendance increased from 50,000 to around 200,000, but by the time the gates opened on Friday, August 15, more than 400,000 people were clamoring to get in. Those without tickets simply walked through gaps in the fences, and the organizers were eventually forced to make the event free of charge. Folk singer and guitarist Richie Havens kicked off the event with a long set, and Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie also performed on Friday night. Somewhat improbably, the chaotic gathering of half a million young hippies lived up to its billing of Three Days of Peace and Music. There were surprisingly few incidents of violence on the overcrowded grounds, and a number of musicians performed songs expressing their opposition to the Vietnam War. Among the many great moments at the Woodstock Music Festival were career-making performances by up-and-coming acts like Santana, Joe Cocker and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; the Whos early-morning set featuring songs from their classic rock opera Tommy; and the closing set by Hendrix, which climaxed with an improvised solo guitar performance of The Star Spangled Banner. Though Woodstock had left its promoters nearly bankrupt, their ownership of the film and recording rights more than compensated for the losses after the release of a hit documentary film in 1970. Later music festivals inspired by Woodstocks success failed to live up to its standard, and the festival still stands for many as a example of Americas 1960s youth counterculture at its best. 1979 - Apocalypse Now, the acclaimed Vietnam War film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, opens in theaters around the United States. The film, inspired in part by Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, among other sources, told the story of an Army captain (played by Martin Sheen) and crew of men who are sent into the Cambodian jungle to kill a U.S. Special Forces colonel (Marlon Brando) who has gone AWOL and is thought to be crazy. Apocalypse Now,which co-starred Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper, became notorious for its long, difficult production, which included budget problems, shooting delays due to bad weather on the Philippines set, a heart attack for Sheen and a nervous breakdown for Coppola. Despite the production hurdles, the film became a commercial success and won two Academy Awards (Best Cinematography and Best Sound); it received six other Oscar nominations, including Best Director, Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Duvall). The film included such memorable lines as “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” and “The horror…the horror!” 2009 -In Detroit, Michigan, GourmetGiftBaskets set a new record for the worlds largest cupcake at 1,224 pounds. Born on This Day: 1769 - Napoleon Bonaparte, A French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the French Revolution and its associated wars in Europe. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814 and again in 1815. He implemented a wide array of liberal reforms across Europe, including the abolition of feudalism and the spread of religious toleration.[2] His legal code in France, the Napoleonic Code, influenced numerous civil lawjurisdictions worldwide. Napoleon is remembered for his role in leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won the majority of his battles and seized control of most of continental Europe in a quest for personal power and to spread the ideals of the French Revolution. Widely regarded as one of the greatest commanders in history, his campaigns are studied at military academies worldwide. He remains one of the most studied political and military leaders in all of history 1796 - John Torrey, An American botanist who did extensive studies of North American flora. He was the first professional botanist in the New World. 1859 - Charles Albert The Old Roman Comiskey, An American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also founding owner of the Chicago White Sox. Comiskey Park, the White Sox storied baseball stadium, was built under his guidance and named for him. Comiskeys reputation was permanently tarnished by his teams involvement in the Black Sox Scandal, a conspiracy to throw the 1919 World Series which some have excused by allegations that his poor treatment of White Sox players fueled the conspiracy. Comiskey was inducted as an executive into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. 1875 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, An English composer of Creole descent who achieved such success that he was once called the African Mahler 1898 - Bessie Lillian Gordy Carter, The mother of former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. She is also known for contribution to nursing in her home state of Georgia and as a Peace Corps volunteer in India as well as writing two books during the Carter presidency. 1912 - Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams), An American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook,Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which premiered in 1963. 1918 - Wilbur Hardee, The founder of theAmerican fast-food restaurant chain Hardees, located mostly in the Midwestand Southeast regions. 1924 - Phyllis McAlpin Stewart Schlafly, An American constitutional lawyer, conservative activist, author, and founder of the Eagle Forum. She is known for her staunch social and political conservatism, her opposition to modern feminism and for her campaign against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. Her self-published book, A Choice, Not an Echo, was published in 1964 from her home in Alton, Illinois, across theMississippi River from her native St. Louis. She formed Pere Marquette Publishers company. She has co-authored books on national defense and was highly critical of arms-control agreements with the Soviet Union. Schlafly founded the Eagle Forum in the 1970s and the Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, St. Louis. As of 2013, she remains the president of both organizations and maintains a presence on the lecture circuit. Since 1967, she has published a newsletter, the Phyllis Schlafly Report. 1925 -Mike Connors (Born Krekor Ohanian), An American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. In the 1959–1960 television season, he had played a crime-fighting investigator known only as Nick in another CBS series, Tightrope. 1972 - Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt (aka Ben Affleck), An American actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He first came to attention for his performances in Dazed and Confused (1993) and theKevin Smith films Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), and Dogma (1999). Affleck gained recognition as a writer when he won the Academy Award andGolden Globe Award for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting(1997), which he co-wrote and starred in alongside childhood friend Matt Damon. He later achieved international recognition for appearing in films such as Armageddon (1998), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001),Changing Lanes (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002), Daredevil (2003),Hollywoodland (2006) and State of Play (2009). He will star in David FinchersGone Girl in late 2014 and will portray Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). 1974 - Natasha T. Henstridge, A Canadian actress and former fashion model. In 1995, she came to prominence with her debut movie role as the genetically engineered human-alien hybrid Sil in the science-fiction thriller Species, then the human-alien hybrid Eve in Species II, and Species III. Other notable on-screen roles include The Whole Nine Yards, The Whole Ten Yards, It Had To Be You, Ghosts of Mars, She Spies, the TV series Eli Stone, and the Canadian TV mini-series Would Be Kings, for which she won theGemini Award for best actress. Her most recent role is as Dawn Chamberlain in the TV series The Secret Circle. 1990 - Jennifer Shrader Lawrence, An American actress. Her first major role was as a lead cast member on the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show (2007–09). She subsequently appeared in the independent films The Burning Plain (2008) and Winters Bone (2010), for which she received her first Academy Award for Best Actress nomination; at the time, she was the second youngest person to receive a nomination in the category. Died on This Day: 1910 - Constantin Fahlberg, A Russian chemist, codiscoverer in 1879 (with Ira Remsen) of the artificial sweetener, Saccharin. 1935 - Wiley Hardeman Post, A famed American aviator during the period known as the Golden Age of Aviation, the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high-altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits and discovered thejet stream. On August 15, 1935, Post and American humorist Will Rogers were killed when Posts aircraft crashed on takeoff from a lagoon near Point Barrowin the Territory of Alaska. Posts Lockheed Vega aircraft, the Winnie Mae, was on display at the National Air and Space Museums Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center from 2003 to 2011. It is now featured in the Time and Navigation gallery on the second floor of theNational Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. 1935 - William Penn Adair Will Rogers, An American cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist, social commentator and motion picture actor. He was one of the worlds best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s. Known as Oklahomas Favorite Son, Rogers was born to a prominentCherokee Nation family in Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma). He traveled around the world three times, made 71 movies (50 silent films and 21 talkies), wrote more than 4,000 nationally syndicated newspaper columns,and became a world-famous figure. By the mid-1930s, the American people adored Rogers. He was the leading political wit of theProgressive Era, and was the top-paid Hollywood movie star at the time. Rogers died in 1935 with aviator Wiley Post, when their small airplane crashed in Alaska. If you were borrn on this day in 1973 your parents may have been listening to the radio when Maureen McGovern was riding hig on the top position of Billboard Magazines Hot 100 with her hit single The Morning After. https://youtube/watch?v=msgxhVgUc6I The Morning After (aka The Song from The Poseidon Adventure) is a song first released in May 1973. It was the first success for singer Maureen McGovern and used as the love theme for the film The Poseidon Adventure, which was released late the year before. The song was written in March 1972 by 20th Century Fox songwriters Al Kashaand Joel Hirschhorn, who were asked to write the love theme for The Poseidon Adventure in one night. In the end, the finished product was called Why Must There Be a Morning After? but changes by the record labelresulted in the songs more optimistic lyric of theres got to be a morning after. In the end titles of the film, it is called The Song from The Poseidon Adventure, though it would become best known by the title of the single, The Morning After. The song is performed in the film by the character of Nonnie, played by Carol Lynley, but is actually sung by a vocal double,Renee Armand. It appears twice, during a warm-up rehearsal and then later during the New Years Eve party early in the film. The lyrics relate to the themes of the film, as a band of passengers survive the capsizing of the ship SS Poseidon and have to escape the sinking wreck. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1972.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 14:47:10 +0000
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