Saturday, August 18, 2007

On This Date. . .

▪ Mongol Genghis Khan died, in 1227.

▪ Pope Adrian V died, in 1276.

▪ Pope Alexander VI died, in 1503.

▪ Pope Paul IV died, in 1559.

▪ Virginia Dare (granddaughter of Gov. John White of the Colony of Roanoke) became the first English child born in the Americas, in 1587.

▪ Italian composer Antonio Salieri was born, in 1750.

▪ American explorer Meriwether Lewis was born, in 1774.

▪ The Spanish established a presidio at a location that came to be called Tucson, Arizona, in 1775.

▪ French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen discovers helium during an eclipse, in 1868.

▪ A. Montgomery Ward issued the first mail-order catalog, in 1872.

▪ Cosmetics entrepreneur Max Factor, in 1904.

▪ Tokyo mayor Yukio Ozaki presented Washington, D.C. with 2,000 cherry trees, which President Taft decides to plant near the Potomac River, in 1909.

▪ Former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger was born, in 1917.

▪ American actress Shelley Winters was born, in 1920.

▪ Tennessee ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing women's voting rights, in 1920.

▪ First Lady Rosalynn Carter was born, in 1927.

▪ Former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was born, in 1928.

▪ Academy Award-winning film director Roman Polanski was born, in 1933.

▪ American attorney and author Vincent Bugliosi was born, in 1934. Bugliosi is perhaps best known for prosecuting Charles Manson and other defendants accused of the Tate-LaBianca murders. Sharon Tate, wife of Roman Polanski, was eight-months pregnant when murdered.

▪ Robert Redford was born, in 1936.

▪ The FCC issued the first FM radio station construction permit (W1X0J (WGTR) in Boston MA), in 1937.

▪ The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York State, United States with Ontario, Canada over the St. Lawrence River, was dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1938. Nearly 54 years later (short by a few days), Doc Larry drove across the bridge.

▪ Comedian Martin Mull was born, in 1943.

▪ Comedian Elayne Boosler was born, in 1952.

▪ Actor Patrick Swayze was born, in 1952.

▪ Actor and comedian Denis Leary was born, in 1957.

▪ Betsy Palmer joined the Today Show panel, in 1958.

▪ Verne Gagne beat Edouard Carpentier in Omaha, to become National Wrestling Alliance champ, in 1958.

▪ Actress Madeleine Stowe was born, in 1958.

▪ Floyd Patterson TKOed Roy Harris in 13 rounds for the heavyweight boxing title, in 1958.

▪ The TV quiz show scandal investigation began, in 1958.

▪ Blogger Doc Larry was born, in 1958.

▪ Collins Radio (in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) bounced a photograph off a satellite for the first time, in 1960.

▪ Construction of the Berlin Wall was completed, in 1961.

▪ James Meredith became the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi, in 1963.

▪ The first major American ground battle of the Vietnam War (Operation Starlite) began, in 1965.

▪ California Angels pitcher Jack Hamilton threw a pitch which hit Red Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro in the face, severely damaging his left retina, in 1967. Hamilton later opened restaurants in Morning Sun and Washington, Iowa. He now operates Jack's Plaza View Restaurant in Branson.

▪ Jimi Hendrix played the unofficial last day of Woodstock, in 1969.

▪ Musician Everlast was born, in 1969.

▪ Actor Edward Norton was born, in 1969.

▪ Actor Christian Slater was born, in 1969.

▪ Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner was born, in 1970.

▪ Ohio nurse Donald Harvey, after poisoning 24 people, received triple life sentences, in 1987.

▪ Republicans selected the Bush-Quayle ticket at their national convention in New Orleans, in 1988.

▪ Psychologist B.F. Skinner died, in 1990.

▪ Dennis Rader received 175 years in prison for the BTK serial killings, in 2005.