Today's History & Birthdays - Fri. 08/16
LandonEx
Today is Friday, August 16, the 228th day of 2002. There are 137 days left in
the year. On this date:
In 1777, in the Revolutionary War, American troops, led by General John Stark,
defeated a Hessian force under British command near Bennington, Vermont.
In 1812, the city of Detroit fell to British and Indian forces in the War of
1812.
In 1829, the original "Siamese twins," Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston,
Massachusetts, to be exhibited to the Western world.
In 1845, French physicist Gabriel Lippman, inventor of color photography, was
born.
In 1858, a telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to U.S. President
James Buchanan was transmitted over the recently installed transatlantic cable.
In 1861, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln prohibited the states of the Union from
trading with the seceding states of the Confederacy.
In 1881, British bacteriologist Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin,
was born.
In 1894, George Meany, first president of the AFL-CIO, was born in New York
City.
In 1896, the North Country Gold Rush began with the discovery of gold at
Bonanza Creek in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory.
In 1914, the British Expeditionary Force landed in France in World War I.
In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth died of cancer in New York at age 53.
In 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine was first published by Time Inc.
In 1956, Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for U.S. president at the Democratic
National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1960, Britain granted independence to the crown colony of Cyprus.
In 1976, former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka was charged in Tokyo with
having accepted $1.6 million in bribes to arrange purchases of Lockheed L-1011
TriStar aircraft by All Nippon Airways.
In 1977 (25 years ago), Elvis Presley died at his Memphis mansion, Graceland,
at age 42. (See also "music" entry below.)
In 1982, the Saturday Review literary magazine ended publication after 58
years.
In 1983, the United States expressed "deep regrets" that the Army had hidden
former Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie after World War II and employed him as a
spy.
In 1984, a federal jury in Los Angeles acquitted automaker John DeLorean on all
counts on cocaine conspiracy charges.
In 1987, upon takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport with its wing slats and
flaps set incorrectly, a Northwest Airlines MD-82 jetliner struck several light
poles, clipped the roof of a rental car agency and crashed onto an airport
perimeter road, killing 154 persons on board the aircraft and two motorists
driving along the roadway. The sole survivor of the crash was a 4-year-old
girl aboard the jet who was traveling with her parents. In other news,
thousands of people worldwide began a two-day celebration of the "harmonic
convergence," which heralded what believers called the start of a new, purer
age of humankind.
In 1990, U.S. naval forces were ordered to prevent ships from reaching or
leaving the ports of Iraq and Iraqi-occupied Kuwait.
In 1991, Pope John Paul II began the first-ever papal visit to Hungary. In
Moscow, Alexander Yakovlev, a top adviser to Soviet President Mikhail S.
Gorbachev, resigned from the Communist Party, warning that hard-liners were
plotting "a party and state coup."
Ten years ago (1992): On the eve of the U.S. Republican national convention in
Houston, Texas, President George H.W. Bush and party officials denied a New
York Times report that a confrontation with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was
motivated partly by political concerns.
In 1996, a jubilant Bob Dole set out from the U.S. Republican convention,
promoting his tax-cut plan as a boon to working families.
Five years ago (1997): Vasily Tsibliyev and Alexander Lazutkin, two Russian
cosmonauts who had just returned from the aging, problem-plagued "Mir" space
station, held a news conference in which they rejected criticism that they were
to blame for its many troubles. In Memphis, Tennessee, thousands of Elvis
Presley fans thronged Graceland on the 20th anniversary of his death.
In 2000, delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles
formally nominated Al Gore for president. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) was
diagnosed with a second bout of melanoma; the cancer was later surgically
removed, with no sign that it had spread.
One year ago (2001): Paul Burrell, the trusted butler of Princess Diana for
many years, was charged with the theft of hundreds of royal family items, a
charge he denied.
////////// Today in Music History:
In 1935, Patsy Montana recorded "I Wanna Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart."
In 1938, blues musician Robert Johnson died at age 27.
In 1958, Madonna (Madonna Louise Ciccone) was born in Detroit, Michigan. She
was the top female pop artist of the 1980s, with seven No. 1 hits, the biggest
of which was "Like a Virgin," a million selling record that topped Billboard's
Hot 100 for six weeks.
In 1962, the Beatles fired drummer Pete Best and hired Ringo Starr. "Little"
Stevie Wonder released his debut single, titled "I Call It Pretty Music But the
Old Folks Call It the Blues (Parts 1 and 2)"; it was not a hit.
In 1965, lead singer Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five suffered two broken ribs
when he was pulled off the stage by fans at a Chicago, Illinois, concert.
In 1966, The Monkees' first single -- "Last Train to Clarksville" -- was
released; it sold more than 1 million copies and reached No. 1 on Billboard's
Hot 100 chart.
In 1974, punk rock was launched in the United States when the Ramones played
its first gig at CBGB in New York.
In 1975, Peter Gabriel announced he was leaving Genesis; he was replaced as
lead singer by drummer Phil Collins.
In 1977 (25 years ago), Elvis Presley, 42, was found dead in a bathroom at his
mansion, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee; his death was attributed to a heart
attack. The "King of Rock 'n' Roll" earned him gold, platinum or
multi-platinum awards for 131 different albums and singles, far more than any
other artist; he also received 14 Grammy nominations (with three wins) as well
as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He also starred in 33 films, made
history with his television appearances and specials, and performed
record-breaking live concerts, tours and in Las Vegas.
In 1983, musician Paul Simon married "Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher, the
daughter of 1950s hitmakers Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, at Simon's duplex
overlooking New York's Central Park; the two, who had been a couple for five
years, split up less than a year after the marriage, divorcing in 1985.
In 1985, Madonna married actor Sean Penn in Malibu, California; the marriage
ended in divorce in 1989.
In 1986, Nashville songwriter John Hurley, whose songs included "Son Of A
Preacher Man" and "Love Of The Common People," died of liver failure at age 45.
In 1991, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Joseph "Run" Simmons, of the
rap group Run-DMC, who was accused of raping a Cleveland woman following a
concert a week earlier.
In 1994, Reba McEntire topped the nomination list -- with six nominations --
for the 28th annual Country Music Awards.
In 1996, thousands of Elvis fans flocked to Memphis to mark the 19th
anniversary of Presley's death. Meanwhile, close to 1,000 Madonna fans flocked
to a Southfield, Michigan, motel for the fifth annual Madonna Fest.
In 1997, Grand Ole Opry member Jerry Clower and wife Homerline celebrated their
50th anniversary at Percy Quinn State Park in McComb, Mississippi; the couple
met as teenagers and never dated another person from that day forward.
In 1998, the Goo Goo Dolls, Dishwalla, Joan Osborne, Marcy Playground and Third
Eye Blind were among the acts who performed at the second day of "A Day in the
Garden," a two-day event commemorating the 29th anniversary of the original
Woodstock and held at what used to be Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York.
In 1999, Mariah Carey's new single "Heartbreaker" premiered exclusively on
MSN's WindowsMedia.com; it was the first single from Carey's ninth album
"Rainbow." In Detroit, Michigan, the Thides Leasing Corporation sued The
Artist Formerly Known As Prince, claiming the musician owed more than $150,000
for a rented tour bus -- $42,109 for days he used the bus, and $116,600 for
seven months that he promised to use it, but didn't.
In 2000, 'N Sync unveiled a room dedicated in its honor at the Orlando,
Florida, branch of the Ronald McDonald house; Orlando Mayor Glenda E. Hood
presented the boy band with ceremonial keys to the city.
////////// Today's Birthdays (born under the sign of Leo):
-- Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is 79.
-- Actor Fess Parker ("Old Yeller," TV's "Davy Crockett") is 77.
-- Actress Ann Blyth ("Mildred Pierce," "The Student Prince") is 74.
-- Actor Robert Culp ("Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," TV's "I Spy") is 72.
-- Sportscaster Frank Gifford ("NFL Monday Night Football") is 72.
-- Actress Julie Newmar ("Li'l Abner," TV's "Batman") is 69.
-- Actor John Standing ("Walk, Don't Run," "The Legacy") is 68.
-- Actress Anita Gillette (TV's "Another World" and "Quincy") is 66.
-- Actress Carole Shelley (TV's "All My Children," "The Odd Couple") is 63.
-- Country singer Billy Joe Shaver ("Honky Tonk Heroes") is 63.
-- Film director Bruce Beresford ("Driving Miss Daisy") is 62.
-- Actor Bob Balaban ("Close Encounters of the Third Kind") is 57.
-- Acclaimed ballerina Suzanne Farrell ("Don Quixote") is 57.
-- Actress Lesley Ann Warren ("Victor/Victoria") is 56.
-- Rock singer-musician Joey Spampinato (NRBQ) is 52.
-- Actor Reginald VelJohnson (TV's "Family Matters") is 50.
-- TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford ("Live with Regis & Kathie Lee") is 49.
-- Rhythm-and-blues singer J.T. Taylor (Kool & The Gang) is 49.
-- Film director James Cameron ("The Terminator," "Titanic") is 48.
-- Rock musician Tim Farriss (INXS) is 45.
-- Singer Madonna ("Vogue," "Music," "Evita") is 44.
-- Actress Angela Bassett ("What's Love Got to Do With It?") is 44.
-- Actress Laura Innes ("Deep Impact," TV's "ER") is 43.
-- Actor Timothy Hutton ("Ordinary People," "The Temp") is 42.
-- Actor Donovan Leitch ("And God Created Woman") is 34.
-- Country singer Emily Robison (The Dixie Chicks) is 30.
////////// Thought for Today:
"The most persistent threat to freedom, to the rights of Americans, is fear."
-- George Meany, American labor leader (1894-1980)
AP / Reuters / E! Online / Zap2it
=L=