August 22
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Events on This Day
1485 - England’s King Richard III was defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last of the Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York.1770 - Captain James Cook, having landed at Australia, claimed it for the British Crown.
1847 - The Mormon Tabernacle Choir had it beginnings on this day, about a month after Brigham Young decided to settle with his flock in Utah.
1851 - The Hundred Guinea Cup, a silver trophy, was presented by the Royal Yacht Squadron to the U.S. schooner America, the winner of an international race around the Isle of Wight. The trophy was eventually turned over to the New York Yacht Club and is now known as the America’s Cup.
1865 - William Sheppard of New York City patented liquid soap. Take a rubber ducky to lunch today.
1906 - The Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, New Jersey began to manufacture the Victrola (record player). The hand-cranked unit, with horn cabinet, sold for $200. Records sold separately.
1911 - Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, Mona Lisa, was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris this night. Those who visited the Louvre stared at the blank space on the wall where the world’s most famous painting had hung. Was it the work of a madman? A professional thief couldn’t sell the world’s most famous painting ... so it must have been someone who had lost their mental faculties ... or was it? On December 13, 1913, "Mona Lisa" was found, undamaged, in the city of its origin. It seems that another Florence artist, this one of the 20th century, Vincenzo Perugia, had been arrested for stealing the painting. Vincenzo had tried to sell the painting to an antique dealer.
1932 - The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began its first experimental TV broadcast in England.
1938 - Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared, dancing, on the cover of LIFE magazine, published on this day.
1938 - Count Basie recorded the classic swing tune, Jumpin’ at the Woodside, for Decca Records.
1942 - Brazil declared war on Germany and Italy after the sinking of several Brazilian ships by Axis forces. Brazil was the only South American country to send combat troops to Europe in World War II.
1947 - Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy was heard for the last time as a 15-minute daily serial on this day. The show became a 30-minute feature on ABC radio the following week. Remember, if you want to grow up to be big and strong like Jack Armstrong, keep these three rules in mind: Get plenty of sleep, fresh air and exercise. Make a friend of soap and water, because dirt breeds germs -- and germs can make people sickly and weak. And for sound nourishment and keen flavor, eat a big bowlful of Wheaties, the Breakfast of Champions, with plenty of milk or cream and some type of fruit.
1951 - The largest crowd to see a basketball game to that time -- 75,052 -- looked on as the Harlem Globetrotters performed before a non-paying crowd in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
1954 - Native Dancer, with career earnings of $785,240, was retired from horse racing. A foot ailment put the famous horse -- fourth on the all-time thoroughbred winner’s list -- out to pasture.
1963 - NASA civilian test pilot Joe Walker, making his last X-15 flight, took the experimental aircraft to an altitude of 354,300 feet; that's 67.1 miles (108 km).
1967 - President Lyndon B. Johnson welcomed the Shah of Iran to the U.S. for a two-day visit. Two months later, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlevi was crowned King of Kings. One of the Shah’s major proclamations provided for a general amnesty for political prisoners overflowing Iran’s jails.
1972 - The Republican party renominated Richard M. Nixon (President of U.S.) and Spiro T. Agnew (Vice President) in Miami, FL.
1973 - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon named Henry Kissinger as Secretary of State, replacing William Rogers. Kissinger served until 1977.
1978 - Kenya’s President Jomo Kenyatta died. Vice President Daniel Arap Moi was sworn in as acting president. Kenyatta had been a leading figure in the country’s struggle for independence.
1987 - Madonna’s single Who’s that Girl hit #1 in the U.S for a short and sweet one-week stay at the top.
1989 - Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers fanned Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics to become the first pitcher to strike out 5,000 batters. It happened in the fifth inning at 8:51 p.m. on a 3-2, 96-mph fastball. Ryan’s accomplishment prompted a one-minute, 25-second standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 42,869 at Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
1991 - Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev returned to Moscow following the collapse of the hard-liners’ coup. Later in the day, he purged his government of the men who had tried to oust him.
1995 - U.S. Congressman Mel Reynolds (Democrat, Illinois) was convicted in Chicago of sexual misconduct involving an underage campaign volunteer. But wait, there’s more: Reynolds was later convicted of lying to obtain loans and of illegally siphoning campaign money for personal use. He was sentenced to six and a-half years in federal prison.
1997 - Motion pictures opening in the U.S.: Leave It to Beaver with Christopher Mcdonald, Janine Turner, Erik von Detten, Adam Zolotin, Barbara Billingsley, Ken Osmond, Erika Christensen and Cameron Finley as the Beav; Masterminds, starring Patrick Stewart, Vincent Kartheiser, Brenda Fricker, Bradley Whitford, Matt Craven, Annabelle Gurwitch, Katie Stuart and Michael Macrae; Mimic, with Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Giancarlo Giannini, Charles S. Dutton, Josh Brolin, F. Murray Abraham and Alexander Goodwin; and Money Talks, starring Charlie Sheen, Chris Tucker, Paul Sorvino, Heather Locklear, Gerard Ismael, Paul Gleason and Elise Neal.
1999 - A China Airlines jet burst into flames at Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport. The fire killed three people and injured more than 200.
2000 - Publishers Clearing House agreed to pay $18 million to 24 states and the District of Columbia to settle allegations it had used deceptive promotions.
2001 - The space shuttle Discovery returned to Earth and brought with it Yuri Usachev, Susan Helms, and Jim Voss, who had spent nearly six months on the International Space Station.
2003 - The Medallion opened in U.S. movie theatres. The action/comedy stars Jackie Chan, Claire Forlani, Lee Evans, Julian Sands, Anthony Wong and John Rhys-Davies.
2003 - Also opening in the U.S.: Marci X, starring Lisa Kudrow, Damon Wayans, Richard Benjamin, Jane Krakowski and Christine Baranski; and My Boss’s Daughter, with Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, Jeffrey Tambor, Andy Richter, Michael Madsen, Jon Abrahams, David Koechner, Carmen Electra, Terence Stamp, Molly Shannon and Ever Carradine.
2004 - At the Athens Olympics, Justin Gatlin of the U.S. won the 100-meter dash in 9.85 seconds.
2004 - Armed men stormed into an art museum in Oslo, Norway, threatened staff members at gunpoint and stole Edvard Munch’s famous paintings, The Scream and Madonna before the eyes of stunned museum-goers.
2005 - Eric Rudolph was sentenced to three more life terms without possibility of parole (he had pled guilty earlier to numerous homicide charges) for the Centennial Olympic Park bombing of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In all, Rudolf was given five consecutive life sentences in exchange for avoiding a trial and the death penalty.
2006 - U.S. sprinter Justin Gatlin agreed to an 8-year ban for doping. As a result, Gatlin forfeited his his 100m world-record tie, set May 12 at the Qatar Super Grand Prix in Doha.
2006 - A Russian passenger jet with 170 people aboard crashed in Ukraine. The Pulkovo airlines, en route from the Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa to St. Petersburg, crashed near the Ukrainian city of Donetsk. Forty-five of the passengers were children. Analysis of the crash placed the blame on the pilot, who had tried to fly over a massive thunderstorm. As the Tupolev-154 approached its maximum operating altitude of 39,400 feet it stalled, went into an uncontrollable spin and slammed into the ground.
2007 - Hannah Takes the Stairs debuted in the U.S. The drama features Greta Gerwig, Kent Osborne and Andrew Bujalski.
2007 - The Wall Street Journal reported that some lawyers in New York City were charging more than $1,000 per hour.
2008 - New films in U.S theatres: Death Race, with Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Joan Allen, Ian McShane, Natalie Martinez and Jason Clarke; The House Bunny, starring Anna Faris, Emma Stone, Rumer Willis, Kat Dennings, Sarah Wright, Dana Goodman, Katharine McPhee, Colin Hanks, Christopher McDonald and Beverly D’Angelo; the documentary I.O.U.S.A.; The Longshots, starring Ice Cube, Tasha Smith, Keke Palmer, Jill Marie Jones and Earthquake; and Trouble the Water, with Kimberly Roberts, Scott Roberts and Larry Simms.
2008 - The Outside Lands rock festival opened in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park to a capacity crowd of some 60,000. In all, 150,000 attended the 3-day event.
2009 - The European Union published a list of 4,000 airlines that would be banned from European airports if they did not reduce their impact on the environment [from 2012].
2010 - An intense rescue effort in Chile reached 33 miners trapped since Aug 5. Rescuers heard hammering noises when they sent a probe into the mine. When the probe was retrieved it had a note tied to it saying: “All 33 of us are fine in the shelter.” (The actual rescue of all 33 miners was not completed until Oct 13, 2010.)
2011 - Top executives at Australia’s BlueScope steel were attacked for pocketing ‘obscene’ bonuses worth $3.0 million, after they sacked 1,000 workers and abandoned their export business.
2012 - Nude photos posted by celebrity gossip website TMZ of Britain’s 27-year-old Prince Harry were doing little to tarnish his generally positive, party-prince image. Interviews with Londoners yielded few critics of the prince’s naked romp.
2013 - San Diego Mayor Bob Filner agreed to resign as part of a mediation deal. At least 18 women accused Filner of sexual harassment with reports of his unwanted sexual advances.
2013 - The New York City Council voted to override Mayor Bloomberg’s earlier vetoes of two measures designed to curtail the city’s use of stop-and-frisk police practices. The bills would create an external watchdog for the police dept.
2014 - Motion pictures opening in the U.S. included: If I Stay, with Chloë Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos and Jamie Blackley; Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, starring Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke and Rosario Dawson; When the Game Stands Tall, with Jim Caviezel, Alexander Ludwig and Michael Chiklis; Are You Here, starring Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis and Amy Poehler; The Possession of Michael King, with Shane Johnson, Ella Anderson and Cara Pifko; The Prince, starring Bruce Willis, John Cusack and Jessica Lowndes; and the documentary, To Be Takei, featuring George Takei, Brad Takei and Walter Koenig.
2014 - The United Nations reported the death toll from three years of Syria’s civil war had risen to 191,000.
2015 - North and South Korea held their first high-level talks in a year at a border village. The meeting was in response to mounting tensions that had pushed the rivals to the brink of military confrontation.
2016 - Some 7,000 students in Miami-Dade County started the new school year in a Zika zone (Zika is the virus carried by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes in south Florida). To the race out the door, forgotten lunches, goodbye hugs and more than a few tears was added something new: bug spray. Many parents carried cans of insect repellent as they lugged book bags and plastic bins with school supplies.
2017 - 54-year-old former doctor Larry Nassar (54), accused of molesting girls while working as the USA Gymnastics national team doctor and osteopathic physician at Michigan State University, pleaded guilty to multiple charges of sexual assault. Nassar lost his license to practice on Dec 7 and was sentenced to 40-175 years in federal prison.
2018 - A man in Germany died after a AA battery-charging device exploded, firing an object into his chest. The 26-year-old died while at work in an office building in Hamburg’s St. Pauli Quarter.
2018 - The U.S. State Department rejected an invitation to join Russia-led talks on Afghanistan because they were “unlikely to help bring peace.” Russia said the Taliban would be joining the Sep 4 talks in Moscow along with representatives of several neighboring countries.
2019 - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reported Deutsche Bank had been fined more than $16 million to settle charges that it violated U.S.corruption laws. The bank had hired relatives of foreign government officials in order to win -- or retain -- business. Between 2006 and 2014, Deutsche had employed relatives of executives working at state-owned enterprises in China and Russia with the “primary goal” of generating business for the company -- such as initial public offerings.
2020 - Demonstrators faced off in Portland, Oregon -- some aligned with a Back the Blue rally and others with a Black Lives Matter counter-demonstration. Department of Homeland Security officers eventually deemed the gatherings unlawful and moved through the plaza, forcing the crowd to disperse.
2020 - COVID-19 update (just more bad news): There were some 5.6 million cases of coronavirus in the U.S. with at least 176,070 people having died from the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University. 34,020 new cases and 707 deaths had been reported in the previous 24 hours. The totals included cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories.
2021 - Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III ordered six commercial airlines to provide passenger jets to help with evacuating Americans and Afghan allies from Kabul. The activation was for 18 aircraft: three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines.
2021 - In Afghanistan: The Taliban fired shots in the air and used batons to force people desperate to flee the country to form orderly queues outside Kabul airport. This, a day after seven people were killed in a crush at the gates.
2022 - Emergency responders conducted dozens of high-water rescues in and around Dallas after heavy rains caused widespread flooding. The National Weather Service said some areas got more than 10 inches of rain — a whole summer’s worth — in less than 24 hours, and some parts of eastern Dallas got more than 13 inches. The flooding came amid a ‘flash drought’ in an extremely dry year across Texas.
and more...
Birthdays on This Day August 22
1834 - Samuel Langley
pioneer in aviation: Langley Air Force Base [in Virginia] bears his name; died Feb 27, 19061836 - Archibald M. Willard
artist: The Spirit of ’76; died Oct 11, 19181848 - Melville Stone
journalist: founder/publisher: Chicago Daily News, Associated Press; autobiography: Fifty Years a Journalist; died Feb 15, 19291862 - Claude Debussy
composer: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, La Mer, Clair de Lune, Nocturnes, String Quartet in G minor; died Mar 25, 19181880 - George Herriman
cartoonist: comic strips: Krazy Kat, Krazy Kat and Ignatz, The Dingbat Family; died Apr 25, 19441893 - Dorothy Parker (Rothschild)
author: News Item: Men seldom make passes/At girls who wear glasses; Enough Rope, Sunset Gun, Death and Taxes, Here Lies; New Yorker columnist; died June 7, 19671902 - Tex Terry
actor: Posse From Hell, The Oregon Trail, The Road to Denver, Sweethearts on Parade, Surrender, Stars in My Crown, Jesse James Rides Again; died May 18, 19851905 - Wade Crosby
actor: John Hus, Secret of Outlaw Flats, Old Overland Trail, Tales of Robin Hood, Rose of the Yukon, Along the Oregon Trail, Bandits of the West; died Oct 2, 19751914 - Connie B. Gay
radio broadcaster, promoter: Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzell, Carl Smith, Hank Snow, Flatt and Scruggs, Wheeler Brothers, Clyde Moody, Radio Ranchmen, Billy Grammer, Grandpa and Ramona Jones; died Dec 4, 19891916 - John Slater
actor: Passport to Pimlico, Dickens of London, The Yellow Hat, The Night We Got the Bird, The Devil’s Pass, Star of India, The Faithful City; died Jan 9, 19751917 - John Lee Hooker
singer: Boom, Boom, I Don’t Want To Go to Viet Nam, Boogie Chillen’, One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer; in film: The Blues Brothers; died June 21, 20011920 - Ray Bradbury
writer: Fahrenheit 451, The Toynbee Convector, Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man; died Jun 5, 20121920 - Denton Cooley
heart surgeon: pioneered many techniques used in cardiovascular surgery; died Nov 18, 20161925 - Honor Blackman
actress: Goldfinger, The Avengers, Jason and the Argonauts, Columbo: Dagger of the Mind, Doctor Who [1986], Cockneys vs Zombies, Casualty; died Apr 5, 20201926 - Bob Flanigan
singer: group: The Four Freshmen: It’s a Blue World; died May 15, 20111929 - Elmo Langley
auto racer: NASCAR pace car driver and official: died of heart attack while preparing for race at Suzuka Circuitland race course, Japan Nov 21, 19961933 - Sylva Koscina
actress: Lisa and the Devil, The Slasher, Deadly Sanctuary, Hercules Unchained, Hercules; died Dec 26, 19941934 - Diana Sands
actress: A Raisin in the Sun, Doctors’ Wives, Honeybaby, Honeybaby; died Sep 21, 19731934 - Norman Schwarzkopf
U.S. Army General: Desert Storm [1990-91]; author: It Doesn’t Take a Hero; died Dec 27, 20121935 - Morton Dean
TV news anchor: CBS, ABC News1936 - Dale Hawkins
musician: guitar; songwriter, singer: Suzie Q, La Do Da Da; produced hits by Bruce Channel, The Five Americans, Ronnie Self, James Bell; died Feb 13, 20101938 - Paul Maguire
football: SD Chargers, Buffalo Bills; NBC, ESPN TV NFL color analyst1939 - Valerie Harper
Emmy Award-winning actress: Rhoda [1974-75], The Mary Tyler Moore Show [1970-1973]; City, Valerie; died Aug 30, 20191939 - Carl (Michael) Yastrzemski
‘Yas’: Baseball Hall of Famer: Boston Red Sox outfielder [all-star: 1963, 1965 thru 1979, 1982, 1983/World Series: 1967, 1975/Baseball Writers’ Award: 1967]1941 - Bill (Duane) Parcells
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach: Air Force Academy, NY Giants [Sporting News Coach of the Year: 1986], New England Patriots, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys1942 - Joe Chambers
musician: guitar; singer: group: The Chambers Brothers: Time Has Come Today1944 - Tom Mitchell
football: Baltimore Colts tight end: Super Bowl: III, V; died Jul 16, 20171945 - Steve Kroft
TV journalist, correspondent: 60 Minutes1947 - Cindy Williams
actress: Laverne & Shirley, Normal Life, Getting By, The Funny Side, American Graffiti, Rude Awakening; died Jan 25, 20231948 - Delles Howell
football: NO Saints, NY Jets1948 - Sam Neely
singer: Love You Just Crossed My Mind; died July 19, 20061950 - (Bertram) Ray Burris
baseball: pitcher: Chicago Cubs, NY Mets, NY Yankees, Montreal Expos, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, SL Cardinals1951 - Ike (Isaac Bernard) Hampton
baseball: NY Mets, California Angels1952 - Gary (Ray) Beare
baseball: pitcher: Milwaukee Brewers1956 - Paul (Leo) Molitor
baseball: Milwaukee Brewers [all-star: 1980, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992/World Series: 1982]; Toronto Blue Jays [all-star: 1993, 1994/World Series: 1993: MVP: only player to hit 5 for 5 in World Series; designated hitter record for stolen bases [24]]; Minnesota Twins1958 - Ian Mitchell
musician: guitar: group: Bay City Rollers: I Only Want to Be With You, Money Honey, Rock and Roll Love Letter, The Way I Feel Tonight, Yesterday’s Hero, Dedication1959 - Mark Williams
actor: Harry Potter film series, A Cock and Bull Story, Stardust, Flutter, Albert Nobbs1960 - Collin Raye
singer: In This Life, Little Rock, My Kind of Girl, One Boy, One Girl, On the Verge, What the Heart Wants, I Can Still Feel You1961 - Roland Orzabal
singer, musician: guitar: duo: Tears For Fears: Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Head Over Heels, Suffer the Children, Mad World, Change, Pale Shelter1961 - Debbi Peterson
musician: drums, singer: group: The Bangles: Walk like an Egyptian, Manic Monday1961 - Rachel Ryan
actress [1984-1998]: X-rated films: Insatiable Immigrants, Hot Nights Hard Bodies, Graduation Ball, Sinset Boulevard, Splendor in the Ass1963 - Tori Amos
singer: Little Earthquakes, Crucify, Cloud on My Tongue, Hey Jupiter, Horses, Liquid Diamonds, Bells for Her, 1,000 Oceans, Spark, Cruel1964 - Mats Wilander
tennis champion: Australian Open [1983, 84, 88], French Open [1982, 85, 88], U.S. Open [1988]1964 - Andrew Wilson
actor: House of Pain, The Big Bounce, Calvin Marshall, The Big Year; big brother of actors Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson1967 - Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
actor: Oz, Lost, The Mummy Returns, The Bourne Identity, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Monk, The Thing [2011]1967 - Ty Burrell
Emmy Award-winning actor: Modern Family [2011, 2014]; Black Hawk Down, Leaves of Grass, Fair Game, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Muppets Most Wanted1967 - Layne Staley
singer: group: Alice in Chains: Man in the Box, Them Bones, Rooster, Angry Chair, Would?, No Excuses, I Stay Away, Grind, Heaven Beside You, Again; died Apr 5, 2002: his body was not discovered until Apr 19, 20021968 - Michael Curry
basketball [forward, guard]: Georgia Southern Univ; NBA: Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers; NBA executive: VP Basketball Operations1971 - Richard Armitage
actor: The Hobbit film series, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Into the Storm, Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew1972 - Steve Kline
baseball [pitcher]: Univ of West Virginia; Cleveland Indians, Montreal Expos, SL Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles1973 - Howie Dorough
musician: guitar; singer: group: The Backstreet Boys: I Want It That Way, As Long As You Love Me, Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely, Quit Playing Games [With My Heart], All I Have To Give1973 - Kristen Wiig
actress, comedienne: Saturday Night Live, Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of the Conchords, Adventureland, Paul; voice actor: How to Train Your Dragon, Despicable Me, The Looney Tunes Show; more1974 - Jenna Leigh Green
actress: Broadway: Wicked; films/TV: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Friends ’Til the End, Cover Me, First Shot, Open House, You Again1976 - Jeff Weaver
baseball [pitcher]: Fresno State Univ; Detroit Tigers, NY Yankees, LA Dodgers1976 - Randy Wolf
baseball [pitcher]: Pepperdine Univ; Philadelphia Phillies1978 - James Corden
comedian, TV host: The Late Late Show with James Corden, A League of Their Own, Gavin & Stacey, One Man, Two Guvnors, The Prom1979 - Brandon Quintin Adams
actor: Empty Nest, A Different World, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Moesha, Martin, Polly, The Mighty Ducks, The Sandlot, MacArthur Park1984 - Missy Monroe
actress [2003-2011]: X-rated films: Farmer’s Daughters Take It Off, Pornstar Playhouse, Anal Biker Bitches, Celebrity Porno Poker, Violation of Missy Monroe1986 - Lacie Heart
actress [2005-2013]: X-rated films: Virtual Sex with Lacie Heart, Stripper School Orgy, POV Suckoffs 1, Incumming 9, Everybody Loves Lucy, Big Mouthfuls 10, 2wice As Nice1992 - Ari Stidham
actor: Scorpion, Kidnap Party, The Crazy Ones, Con Man, Huge
and still more...
Hit Music on This Day August 22
1952Walkin’ My Baby Back Home (facts) - Johnnie Ray
Auf Wiedersehn, Sweetheart (facts) - Vera Lynn
1961
1970
1979
1988
1997
2006
2015
and even more...
Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...
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