AUGUST

August 1

–  birthdays:  10 B.C. – Emperor Claudius  /  1744 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (French naturalist)  /  1770 –  William Clark  /  1779 – Francis Scott Key  /  1809 – William Travis (Alamo leader)  /  1818 – Maria Mitchell (first American female astronomer)  /  1819 – Herman Melville (author – “Moby Dick”)  /  1933 –  Dom DeLuise  /  1936 – Yves Saint Laurent  /  1942 – Jerry Garcia (singer – “The Grateful Dead”)  /  1963 –  Coolio (biggest hit =  “Gangsta’s Paradise”)  /  1965 – Sam Mendes (director)  /  1979 – Jason Mamoa (“Aquaman”) 

–  527 –  Justinian I becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire

–  1498 –  Columbus lands in Venezuela

–  1774 –  Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen

–  1781 –  Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown

–  1794 –  Whiskey Rebellion begins

–  1798 –  Nelson wins the Battle of the Nile

–  1831 –  London Bridge opens for traffic

–  1834 –  British Empire abolishes slavery

–  1914 –  Marcus Garvey founds the Universal Negro Improvement Association

–  1933 –  National Recovery Administration is created

–  1936 –  Hitler opens the Berlin Olympics

–  1941 –  first jeep is manufactured

–  1944 –  Anne Frank’s last diary entry (she is arrested three days later)

–  1944 –  the Warsaw Uprising begins

–  1956 –  the polio vaccine becomes available

–  1964 –  The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” goes #1 (first time a song and album of the same name were #1 at the same time in Great Britain and the U.S.)

–  1996 –  George R.R. Martin publishes “A Game of Thrones”    

Quote:   America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room.  Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair.  –  Arnold Toynbee

August 2

–  birthdays:  1754 – Pierre L’Enfant (architect who designed Washington, D.C.  /  1834 –  Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi  (French sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty)  /  1905 – Myrna Loy (actress – “The Thin Man” series)   /  1923 – Shimon Peres (Israeli Prime Minister and Nobel Prize winner)  /  1924 –  James Baldwin (author –  “Go Tell It on the Mountain”)  /  1932 –  Peter O’Toole  /  1937 –  Billy Cannon (Heisman Trophy winner)  /  1939 – Wes Craven  /  1970 –  Kevin Smith (director – “Clerks”) 

–  338 B.C. –  Battle of Chaeronea –  Philip of Macedonia defeats an Athenian/Theban army

–  216 B.C. –  Battle of Cannae –  Hannibal destroys a Roman army

–  47 B.C. –  Caesar reports a victory as “veni, vidi, vici”

–  1610 –  Henry Hudson enters Hudson Ba

–  1776 –  56 delegates sign the Declaration of Independence

–  1790 –  first census reveals population of almost 4 million including almost 700,000 slaves

–  1865 –  Lewis Carroll publishes “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

–  1909 –  first Lincoln penny issued

–  1920 –  Marcus Garvey proposes his “Back to Africa” movement

–  1934 –  Hitler declares himself “der Fuhrer”

–  1943 –  Kennedy’s PT-109 sinks

–  1945 –  316 survivors of the USS Indianapolis are rescued

–  1945 –  Potsdam Conference ends

–  1964 –  first Gulf of Tonkin attack on American warship

–  1973 –  “American Graffiti” premieres

–  1974 –  John Dean is sentenced to one to four years in prison for his role in Watergate

–  1990 –  Iraq invades Kuwait

Quote:   The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.  –  Leonardo da Vinci

August 3

–  birthdays:  1811 –  Elisha Otis (inventor of the elevator)  /  1900 – Ernie Pyle (war correspondent)  /  1900 – John Scopes (the “Monkey Trial”)  /  1926 –  Tony Bennett (“I Left My Heart in San Francisco”)  /  1940 – Martin Sheen  /  1941 –  Martha Stewart  /  1963 –  James Hetfield (singer for Metallica –  biggest hit =  “Enter Sandman”)  /  1977 –  Tom Brady 

–  1492 –  Columbus sets sail

–  1900 –  Harvey Firestone founds his tire company

–  1923 –  Pres. Harding dies and Coolidge becomes President

–  1933 –  first Mickey Mouse watch is sold for $2.75

–  1936 –  in front of Hitler, Jesse Owens wins gold medal in the 100 meter dash

–  1943 –  Patton slaps a soldier in a hospital, accusing him of cowardice

–  1948 – Whittaker Chambers accuses Alger Hiss of being a communist

–  1958 –  nuclear sub USS Nautilus completes first underwater voyage to the North Pole

–  1975 –  Louisiana Superdome is dedicated

–  1976 –  Mary Lou Retton wins gold medal in the all-around in gymnastics

–  1977 –  Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80, the first affordable computer ($600)

Quote:   Failure is unimportant.  It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.  –  Charlie Chaplin

August 4

–  birthdays:  1792 –  Percy Shelley (British poet)  /  1901 –  Louis Armstrong  (biggest hit = “Hello, Dolly”  /  1912 – Raoul Wallenberg (Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews)  /  1955 –  Billy Bob Thornton  /  1961 –  Barack Obama  /  1962 –  Roger Clemens  /  1971 –  Jeff Gordon  /  1981 – Meghan Markle 

–  1265 –  Battle of Evesham –  Prince Edwards defeats Simon de Montfort

–  1735 –  freedom of the press is established in the Zenger case

–  1892 –  Lizzie Borden arrested for hacking her father and stepmother to death

–  1918 –  Corporal Adolf Hitler receives the Iron Cross for bravery on the Western Front

–  1944 –  Anne Frank and her family arrested

–  1956 –  Elvis releases “Hound Dog”

–  1962 –  Nelson Mandela arrested by South African police

–  1964 –  bodies of Civil Rights activists Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney discovered in Mississippi

–  1964 –  Gulf of Tonkin Incident

–  1984 –  Prince’s “Purple Rain” goes #1 and stays 24 weeks

Quote:   Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power.  –  Shirley MacLaine

August 5

–  birthdays:  1624 –  William (first black child born in the 13 Colonies – Jamestown)  /  1906 – John Huston (director –  African Queen)  /  1911 – Robert Taylor (actor)  /  1930 – Neil Armstrong  /  1956 – Maureen McCormick (actress –  Marcia of the Brady Bunch)  /  1962 – Patrick Ewing (NBA Hall of Famer)  /  1964 – Adam Yauch (MCA of the Beastie Boys – biggest hit =  “Fight for Your Right”)

–  1305 –  William Wallace captured

–  1846 –  Oregon Territory divided between the U.S. and Great Britain along the 49^th Parallel

–  1848 –  Cyrus Field completes the first transatlantic telegraph c

–  1861 –  Pres. Lincoln signs into law the first federal income tax (3% on income above $800)

–  1864 –  Battle of Mobile Bay –  Admiral Farragut:  “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”

–  1882 –  Standard Oil Company created by John D. Rockefeller

–  1924 –  “Little Orphan Annie” debuts in New York Daily News

–  1957 –  “American Bandstand” premiers on TV

–  1957 –  “Andy Capp” debuts

–  1962 –  Marilyn Monroe found dead

–  1964 –  U.S. begins bombing North Vietnam

–  1974 –  Joan Jett forms The Runaways

Quote:   A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.  –  David Hume

August 6

–  birthdays:  1809 –  Alfred Lord Tennyson  /  1861 –  Edith Roosevelt (Teddy’s wife)  /  1881 – Alexander Fleming (inventor of penicillin)  /  1911 – Lucille Ball  /  1917 –  Robert Mitchum  /  1928 –  Andy Warhol  /  1965 –  David Robinson (NBA Hall of Famer)  /  1990 –  Jon Benet Ramsey

–  1497 –  John Cabot become first European since the Vikings to return to Europe from North America

–  1762 –  the Earl of Sandwich has the sandwich invented by having a slice of beef put between two slices of bread so he could keep playing cards

–  1918 –  Second Battle of the Marne ends

–  1926 –  Gertrude Ederle swims the English Chann

–  1945 –  Hiroshima atomic bombed

–  1965 –  Lyndon Johnson signs the Voting Rights

–  1996 –  The Ramones perform for the last time

–  2015 –  Jon Stewart hosts “The Daily Show” for the last time

Quote:   Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.  –  Horace Mann

August 7

–  birthdays:  1742 –  Nathanael Greene  /  1876 –  Mata Hari  /  1903 –  Louis Leakey (paleoanthropologist)  /  1904 –  Ralph Bunche  /  1942 –  Garrison Keillor  (humorist –  “Prairie Home Companion”)  /  1960 –  David Duchovney (“X-Files”)  /  1975 – Charlize Theron

–  1606 –  possible first performance of “Macbeth”

–  1782 –  Gen. Washington creates the Purple Heart medal for wounded soldiers

– 1794 – the Whiskey Rebellion begins

–  1861 –  Thaddeus Lowe becomes first to use a balloon to spy on the Confederate army

–  1912 –  Teddy Roosevelt nominated by the Progressive Party

–  1942 –  Marines land on Guadalcanal

–  1990 –  U.S. troops arrive in Saudi Arabia to begin Operation Desert Shield

–  2007 –  Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron’s home run record with his 756^th home run

–  2016 –  Michael Phelps wins his record 19^th gold medal

Quote:   A minute’s success pays the failure of years.  –  Robert Browning

August 8

–  birthdays:  1839 –  Nelson Miles (Indian-fighting general)  /  1866 –  Matthew Henson (aide to Robert Peary on his trip to the North Pole)  /  1932 –  Mel Tillis (country singer)  /  1937 –  Dustin Hoffman  /  1981 –  Roger Federer

–  117  –  Hadrian becomes emperor of Rome

–  1848 –  Brigham Young takes over as head of the Mormons

–  1876 –  Edison receives a patent for the mimeograph machine

–  1899 –  A.T. Marshall patents the refrigerator

–  1925 –  largest-ever Ku Klux Klan rally in Washington as 40,000 march down Pennsylvania Ave.

–  1940 –  Battle of Britain begins

–  1945 –  Truman signs the United Nations Charter

–  1960 –  “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini” hits #1

–  1963 –  the Great Train Robbery in Great Britain

–  1974 –  Nixon announces his resignation

–  1995 –  Coolio releases “Gangsta’s Paradise”

Quote:   The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.  –  Churchill

August 9

–  birthdays:  1648 –  Johann Bach  /  1928 –  Bob Cousy (NBA Hall of Famer)  /  1957 –  Melanie Griffith  /  1963 – Whitney Houston (biggest hit =  “I Will Always Love You”)  /  1967 – Deion Sanders  /  1968 –  Gillian Anderson (“X-Files”) 

–  480 B.C. –  Battle of Thermopylae

–  48 B.C. –  Battle of Pharsalus –  Caesar defeats Pompey

–  378 –  Battle of Adrianople –  Visigoths defeat and kill Roman Emperor Valens

–  1854 –  John David Thoreau published “Walden”

–  1930 –  Betty Boop debuts in “Dizzy Dishes”

–  1936 –  Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics

–  1944 –  Smokey Bear debuts

–  1945 –  Nagasaki atomic bombed

–  1969 –  members of the Manson cult murder five at the home of director Roman Polanski

–  2012 –  Usain Bolt wins the 200 meter dash to become the first to win the 100/200 combination in two straight Olympics

–  2016 –  Michael Phelps wins hit 20^th gold medal

Quote:   If we don’t stand for something, we may fall for anything.  –  Malcolm X

August 10

 – birthdays:  1814 –  Henri Nestle  /  1874 – Herbert Hoover  /  1959 – Rosanna Arquette  /  1960 – Antonio Banderas  /  1997 – Kyle Jenner 

–  843 –  Treaty of Verdun

–  1519 –  Magellan sets sail with five ships

–  1921 –  FDR stricken with polio

–  1949 –  Truman signs the National Security Act

–  1960 –  Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” premieres

–  1993 –  Ruth Bader Ginsberg sworn in as Supreme Court justice

Quote:   To err is human, to forgive divine.  –  Alexander Pope

August 11

–  birthdays:  1921 –  Alex Haley (author – “Roots”)  /  1933 –  Jerry Falwell  /  1950 –  Steve Wozniak  (co-founder of Apple)  /  1953 –  Hulk Hogan  /  1965 –  Viola Davis  /  1967 – Joe Rogan  /  1983 – Chris Hemsworth 

–  1919 –  Weimar Republic begins

–  1929 –  Babe Ruth becomes the first to hit 500 home

–  1934 –  first civilian prisoners arrive in Alcatraz

–  1956 –  Elvis releases “Don’t Be Cruel”

–  1965 –  Watts Riots begin

–  1973 –  “American Graffiti” premieres

–  1984 –  Carl Lewis ties Jesse Owens with his fourth track gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics

Quote:   The test of democracy is freedom of criticism.  –   David Ben-Gurion

August 12

–  birthdays:  1881 – Cecil B. DeMille  (director –  “The Ten Commnadments”)  /  1887 – Erwin Schrodinger (Austrian scientist –  wave mechanics)  /  1910 –  Jane Wyatt  /  1912 – Samuel Fuller (director –  “The Big Red 1”)  /  1939 –  George Hamilton (actor –  “Love at First Bite”)  /  1949 – Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits –  biggest hit =  “Money for Nothing”)  /  1963 –  Sir Mix A Lot  (biggest hit =  “Baby Got Back”)  /  1971 –  Pete Sampras (tennis champ)  /  1975 –  Casey Affleck 

–  1851 –  Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine

–  1877 –  Edison completes his first model of the phonograph

–  1908 –  Henry Ford completes his first Model T

–  1930 –  Clarence Birdseye gets patent for quick freezing of food

–  1955 –  Eisenhower signs law raising minimum wage from .75 to $1.00

–  1961 –  construction of the Berlin Wall begins

–  1988 –  “Last Temptation of Christ” released

–  1992 –  NAFTA is formed

Quote:   A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.  –  Ralph Waldo Emerson

August 13

–  birthdays:  1818 –  Lucy Stone (abolitionist)  /  1860 –  Annie Oakley  /  1895 –  Bert Lahr (the Lion in “The Wizard of Oz”)  /  1899 –  Alfred Hitchcock  /  1912 – Ben Hogan (golfer)  /  1926 – Fidel Castro

–  1521 –  Cortes captures Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capita

–  1704 –  Battle of Blenheim

–  1792 –  Marie Antoinette imprisoned during the French Revolution

–  1907 –  first taxi in NYC

–  1942 –  the Manhattan Project begins

–  1967 –  “Bonnie and Clyde” is released to theaters

Quote:   The soul is nurtured by want as much as by plenty.  –  Thomas Moore

AUGUST 14

–  birthdays:  1851 – Doc Holliday  /  1941 –  David Crosby (rock n’ roller)  /  1945 – Steve Martin  /  1947 –  Danielle Steel  (romance novelist)  /  1950 –  Gary Larson (cartoonist – The Far Side)  /  1959 – Magic Johnson  /  1961 –  Susan Olson (Cindy of The Brady Bunch)  /  1966 –  Halle Berry  /  1983 – Mila Kunis  /  1987 –  Tim Tebow

–  1040 –  Macbeth murders King Duncan to become ruler of Scotland

–  1846 –  Henry David Thoreau jailed for not paying taxes

–  1898 –  Admiral George Dewey captures Manila during the Spanish-America

–  1900 –  an international force relieves Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion

international troops arrive in Beijing

–  1932 –  Guglielmo Marconi completes work on the first short-wave radio

–  1935 –  Social Security Act is passed

–  1941 –  FDR and Churchill issue the Atlantic Charter

–  1945 –  Japan surrenders

Quote:   Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.  –  JFK

August 15

–  birthdays:  1769 – Napoleon Bonaparte  /  1771 –  Walter Scott  (author and poet)  /   1912 –  Julia Child (chef)  /  1924 – Phyllis Schlafly  (anit-ERA activist)  /  1964 – Melinda Gates  /  1968 –  Debra Messing  /  1972 –  Ben Affleck  /  1990 – Jennifer Lawrence

–  1057 –  Macbeth is killed in battle with King Duncan’s son

–  1620 –  Mayflower sets sail from England

–  1824 –  Liberia is founded by freed American slaves

–  1852 –  croquet is introduced to the U.S. from England

–  1939 –  “The Wizard of Oz” premieres

–  1965 –  the Beatles play famous concert at Shea Stadium in NYC

–  1969 –  Woodstock opens

–  1979 –  “Apocalypse Now” is released

–  1995 –  “Macarena” is released

Quote:   We are each other’s harvest;  we are each other’s business;  we are each other’s magnitude and bond.  –  Gwendolyn Brooks

August 16

–  birthdays:  1862 –  Amos Alonzo Stagg (football pioneer)  /  1888 – T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)  /  1913 – Menachem Begin  /  1925 –  Fess Parker (Davy Crockett on TV)  /  1930 –  Robert Culp (actor – “I, Spy”)  /  1933 – Julie Newmar (Catwoman on TV’s “Batman”)  /  1953 –  Cathie Lee Gifford  /  1954 – James Cameron  /  1958 –  Madonna (biggest hit =  “Like a Virgin”)  /  1962 – Steve Carrell  /  1988 –  Rumer Willis

–  1777 –  Battle of Bennington

–  1896 –  George Cormack discovers gold in the Klondike in Alaska

–  1898 –  Edwin Prescott patents the roller coaster

–  1954 –  Sports Illustrated begins publishing

–  1962 –  Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best as The Beatles’ drummer

–  1977 –  Elvis dies

–  1974 –  Ramones first concert (CBGB in NYC) 

Quote:    Fatigue makes cowards of us all.  –  Vince Lombardi

August 17

–  birthdays:  1786 –  Davy Crockett  /  1887 –  Marcus Garvey  /  1893 –  Mae West  /  1896 –  Leslie Groves (head of the Manhattan Project)  /  1921 –  Maureen O’Hara  /  1943 –  Robert De Niro  /  1960 – Sean Penn  /  1963 –  Jon Grudden  /  2000 –  Lil Pump

–  1807 –  Robert Fulton’s steamboat The Clermont makes its maiden voyage on the Hudson River

–  1835 –  Solyman Merrick patents the wrench

–  1877 –  Billy the Kid mortally wounds his first victim

–  1933 –  Lou Gehrig plays his record 1,308^th straight game

–  1943 –  Patton beats Montgomery to Messina on Si

–  1946 –  George Orwell publishes “Animal Farm” in Great Britain

–  1960 –  trial of Francis Gary Powers opens in Moscow

–  2008 –  Michael Phelps wins his record 8^th gold medal at the Beijing Olympics

Quote:    Be a first-rate version of yourself, not a second-rate version of somebody else.  –  Judy Garland

August 18

–  birthdays:  1587 –  Virginia Dare (first baby born in the 13 Colonies)  /  1774 –  Meriwether Lewis  /  1920 –  Shelley Winters  /  1933 –  Roman Polanski (director)  /  1934 –  Roberto Clemente  /  1936 – Robert Redford  /  1952 – Patrick Swayze  /  1969 –  Christian Slater  /  1969 –  Edward Norton  /  1978 –  Andy Samberg 

–  1590 –  Governor John White returns from England to find no trace of the Roanoke colony

–  1920 –  19^th Amendment is ratified

–  1960 –  the Beatles play their first concert in Hamburg, West Germany

–  1963 –  James Meredith becomes first African-American to graduate the University of Mississippi

–  1969  –  Jimi Hendrix closes Woodstock

Quote:    A lie gets halfway around the world while the truth is putting its shoes on.  –  Mark Twain

August 19

–  birthdays:  1870 – Bernard Baruch  /  1871 –  Orville Wright  /  1883 –  Coco Chanel  /  1902 –  Ogden Nash  /  1906 –  Philo T. Farnsworth (inventor of TV)  /  1919 –  Malcolm Forbes  /  1921 –  Gene Roddenberry (creator of Star Trek)  /  1931 –  Bill Shoemaker (Hall of Fame jockey)  /  1934 –  Renee Richards (trans-sexual tennis player)  /  1940 –  Jill St. John  /  1946 –  Bill Clinton  /  1969 –  Matthew Perry 

–  1692 –  five more people hanged for witchcraft in Salem

–  1812 –  USS Constitution defeats HMS Guerriere

–  1856 –  Gail Borden gets a patent for condensed milk

–  1895 –   American gunfighter John Wesley Hardin is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas

John Wesley Hardin

–  1909 –  Indianapolis 500 track opens

–  1960 –  Soviet Sputnik 5 carries 2 dogs, 2 rats, 40 mice, 1 rabbit and fruit flies into orbit, – 1st animals to return alive from obit

–  1960 –  Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years in a Soviet prison

–  1979 –  “My Sharonna” by the Knack goes #1

Quote:   What is the freedom of expression?  Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.  –  Salman Rushdie

August 20

–  birthdays:  1785 –  Oliver Perry (hero of the Battle of Lake Erie)  /  1833 –  Benjamin Harrison  /  1890 –  H.P. Lovecraft (horror author)  /  1918 –  Jacqueline Susann (author –  “Valley of the Dolls”)  /  1931 –  Don King (boxing promoter)  /  1942 –  Isaac Hayes  /  1948 –  Robert Plant (singer for Led Zeppelin –  biggest hit =  “Stairway to Heaven”)  /  1954 –  Al Roker  /  1974 –  Amy Adams  /  1983 –  Andrew Garfield  /  1992 –  Demi Lavato (biggest hit =  “Give Your Heart a Break”)

–  1667 –  John Milton publishes “Paradise Lost”

–  1882 –  Tchaikovsky debuts his “1812 Overture”

–  1896 –  dial telephone patented

–  1940 –  Churchill says “never in the field of human conflict was so much been owed by so many to so few” about the RAF in the Battle of Britain

–  1964 –  LBJ signs the Economic Opportunity Act

–  1965 –  the Rolling Stones release “Satisfaction”

–  1968 –  Warsaw Pact invades Czechoslovakia

Quote:   I long to accomplish a great and noble task;  but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.  –  Helen Keller

August 21

–  birthdays:  1165 –  Philip Augustus (Capetian King)  /  1754 –  Banastre Tarleton  /  1904 –  Count Basie  /  1936 –  Wilt Chamberlain  /  1938 –  Kenny Rogers (biggest hit =  “Lady”)  /  1952 –  Joe Strummer (lead singer for The Clash – biggest hit =  “Rock the Casbah”)  /   1956 –  Kim Cattrall  /  1962 –  Matthew Broderick  /  1988 –  Kasey Musgraves  (biggest hit =  “Merry Go ‘round”)  /  1989 –  Hayden Panattiere

–  1831 –  Nat Turner begins his rebellion

–  1841 –  John Hampton patents Venetian blinds

–  1858 –  first Lincoln-Douglas debate

–  1863 –  Lawrence, Kansas is attacked by William Quantrill’s guerrilla band and over 50 citizens are killed

–  1903 –  Tom Fetch and M.C. Karrup win the first transcontinental car race from NYC to San Francisco in 51 days

–  1911 –  Vincenzo Peruggia walks into the Louvre and walks out with the “Mona Lisa” hidden in his clothes (it is not recovered for two years)

–  1935 –  Benny Goodman begins the “Swing Era” with a concert broadcast nationally

–  1942 –  “Bambi” is released

–  1959 –  Hawaii becomes the 50^th state

Quote:   Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.  –  Ann Landers

August 22

–  birthdays:  1904 –  Deng Xiaoping (leader of China 1978-1992)  /  1917 –  John Lee Hooker (blues musician)  /  1920 –  Ray Bradbury  (sci-fi author –  “Fahrenheit 451”) /  1934 –  Norman Schwarzkopf  /  1939 –  Carl Yastrzemski (Baseball Hall of Fame)  /  1947 –  Cindy Williams (Shirley of “Laverne and Shirley”)  /  1967 –  Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”)  /  1973 –  Kristen Wiig 

–  1485 –  Battle of Bosworth Field –  Henry Tudor defeats Richard III

–  1642 –  English Civil War begins

–  1864 –  International Red Cross is founded

–  1902 –  Teddy Roosevelt becomes first President to ride in a car

–  1941 –  the siege of Leningrad begins

–  1992 –  Hurricane Andrew hits Florida

Quote:   Belief gets in the way of learning.  –  Robert Heinlein

August 23

–  birthdays:  1754 –  Louis XVI of France  /  1912 –  Gene Kelly  /  1931 –  Barbara Eden  /  1946 –  Keith Moon (drummer for the Who)  /  1949 –  Rick Springfield (biggest hit =  “Jessie’s Girl”) & Shelley Long (Diane on “Cheers”)  /  1970 –  River Phoenix  /  1978 –  Kobe Bryant 

–  1305 –  William Wallace executed

–  1852 –  “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is published

–  1939 –  Russo-German Non-Aggression Pact

Quote:   Experience is not what happens to a man;  it is what a man does with what happens to him.  –  Aldous Huxley

August 24

–  birthdays:  1922 –  Howard Zinn (historian –  “A People’s History of the U.S.)  /  1933 – Yasser Arafat  /  1955 –  Mike Huckabee  /  1958 –  Steve Guttenberg (“Police Academy”)  /  1960 –  Cal Ripken, Jr.   /  1965 –  Marlee Matlin (only deaf person to win an Academy Award –  “Children of a Lesser God”)  /  1973 –  Dave Chappelle  /  1988 –  Rupert Gint (“Harry Potter” series)

–  79 –  Mt. Vesuvius erupts

–  410 –  Alaric and the Visigoths sack Rome

–  1572 –  St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

–  1814 –  British forces capture Washington, D.C.

–  1853 –  1st potato chips prepared by chef George Crum at Moon’s Lake House, near Saratoga Springs, New York

–  1857 –  Panic of 1857 begins

–  1869 –  Cornelius Swarthout patents the waffle iron

–  1891 –  Edison patents the motion picture camera

–  1932 –  Amelia Earhart starts the first transatlantic flight by a woman

–  1968 –  France explodes an atomic bomb to become the fifth nuclear power

–  1979 –  “Rock ‘n Roll High School” is released

Quote:   You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.  –  Henry Ford

August 25

–  birthdays:  1530 –  Ivan the Terrible  /  1819 –  Allan Pinkerton (detective)  /  1836 –  Bret Harte (author)  / 1911 – Vo Nguyen Giap  (North Vietnamese general)  /  1918 –  Elmer Bernstein  /  1919 –  George Wallace  /  1921 –  Monty Hall (host of “Let’s Make a Deal”)  /  1927 –  Althea Gibson (African-American tennis champ)  /  1930 –  Sean Connery  /  1931 –  Regis Philbin  /  1933 –  Tom Skerritt  /  1949 –  Gene Simmons (bass guitarist for Kiss –  biggest hit =  “Beth”)  /  1954 –  Elvis Costello (biggest hit =  “Veronica”)  /  1958 –  Tim Burton  /  1961 –  Billy Ray Cyrus (biggest hit =  “Achy Braky Heart”)  /  1968 –  Rachael Ray  /  1970 – Jo Dee Messina (biggest hit =  “That’s the Way”)  /  1976 –  Alexander Skarsgard (“True Blood”) 

–  325 –   Council of Nicaea ends with adoption of the Nicene Creed establishing the doctrine of the Holy Trinity   

–  1718 –  city of New Orleans is founded

–  1875 –  Matthew Webb becomes the first to swim the English Channel

–  1932 –  Amelia Earhart completes her transatlantic flight

–  1944 –  Paris is liberated

–  1968 –  Arthur Ashe become first African-American to win the U.S. Open tennis championship

Quote:   A kind and compassionate act is often its own reward.  –  William Bennett

August 26

–  birthdays:  1838 –  John Wilkes Booth  /  1910 –  Mother Teresa  /  1918 –  Katherine Johnson, American NASA mathematician (portrayed in film Hidden Figures)  /  1935 –  Geraldine Ferraro (first woman nominated for Vice President for a major party)  /  1968 –  Mary McCarthy  /  1980 –  Macauley Culkin  & Chris Pine

–  55 B.C. –  Julius Caesar invades Britain

–  1071 –  Battle of Manzikert –  Turks defeat the Byzantines

–  1346 –  Battle of Crecy –  King Edward III defeats the French in the Hundred Years’ War

–  1914 –  Battle of Tannenberg begins

–  1920 –  19^th Amendment is formally adopted into the Constitution

–  1968 –  the Beatles release “Hey, Jude”

–  1968 –  police riot against anti-war protesters In Chicago for the Democratic convention

–  1996 –  Pres. Clinton signs welfare reform

–  2016 –  Colin Kaepernick kneels during the National Anthem to protest police brutality

Quote:   The more we study the more we discover out ignorance.  –  Percy Shelley

August 27

–  birthdays:  551 B.C. –  Confucius  /  1871 –  Theodore Dreiser (author –  “Sister Carie”)  /  1899 –  C.S. Forester  /  1908 –  Lyndon Johnson  /  1947 –  Barbara Bach  /  1952 –  Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman)  /  1979 –  Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”) 

–  479 B.C. –  Battle of Plataea –  Greeks defeat the Persians to end the Persian Wars

–  479 B.C.  –  Battle of Mycale –  Greek fleet defeats Persian fleet

–  1776 –  Battle of Long Island

–  1859  –  Edwin Drake strikes oil at Titusville, Pa.

–  1914 –  Battle of Tannenberg continues

–  1928 –  Kellogg-Briand Pact

–  1964 –  “Mary Poppins” premieres

Quote:   If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.  –  Henry Ford

August 28

–  birthdays:  1749 –  Johann von Goethe (writer and philosopher)  /  1774 –  Elizabeth Seton (first American saint)  /  1943 –  David Soul (Starsky of “Starsky and Hutch”)  /  1965 –  Shania Twain (biggest hit =  “You’re Still the One”)  /  1969 –  Jack Black  /  1982 –  LeAnn Rimes (biggest hit =  “How Do I Live”) 

Peter Cooper’s Tom Thumb

–  1830 –  1st American built locomotive, “Tom Thumb” races a horse-drawn car, due to mechanical problems the horse won!

–  1867 –  Midway is annexed by the U.S

–  1955 –  Emmitt Till is abducted

–  1963 –  the March on Washington

–  1981 –  John Hinckley, Jr. shoots Pres. Reagan

Quote:   If you want to lift up yourself up, lift up someone else.  –  Dorothy Parker

August 29

–  birthdays:  1632 –  John Locke  /  1915 – Ingrid Bergman  /  1923 –  Richard Attenborough  /  1936 –  John McCain  /  1940 –  James Brady, U.S. press secretary (wounded during Reagan assassin attempt)  /  1953 –  Speedy Gonzales (first cartoon – “Cat-Tails for Two”)  /  1958 –  Michael Jackson (biggest hit =  “Billie Jean”)  /  1967 –  Neil Gorsuch

–  1533 –  the 300 year old Incan Empire ends with the killing of Atahuallpa by Pizarro’s conquistadors

–  1786 –  Shays’ Rebellion

–  1831 –  Michael Faraday demonstrates his electrical transformer

–  1862 –  Second Battle of Bull Run

–  1885 –  Gottlieb Daimler gets German patent for motorcycle

–  1898 –  Goodyear Tire company founded

–  1966 –  the last Beatles concert

–  1991 –  the Communist Party is banned in the Soviet Union

–  1997 –  Netflix is founded

–  2005 –  Hurricane Katrina hits Louisiana

Quote:   Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone may be looking.  –  H. L. Mencken

August 30

–  birthdays:  1797 –  Mart Shelley  /  1871 –  Ernest Rutherford (Father of Nuclear Physics)  /  1908 –  Fred MacMurray  /  1918 –  Ted Williams  /  1930 –  Warren Buffett  /  1972 –  Cameron Diaz 

–  30 B.C. –  Cleopatra commits suicide

–  1682 –  William Penn sets sail for Amer

–  1800 –  Gabriel Prosser leads a slave rebellion

–  1862 –  Second Battle of Bull Run ends in a Confederate victory

–  1893 –  Mrs. Grover Cleveland becomes the first First Lady to give birth in the White House – a girl named Ester

–  1914 –  Battle of Tannenberg ends

–  1918 –  Lenin is shot twice by Fanya Kaplan

–  1963 –  the Hot Line is installed connecting the White House and the Kremlin

–  1967 –  Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African-American on the Supreme Court

–  1983 –  Guian Bluford becomes the first African-American in space on the space shuttle Challenger

Quote:  Experience is not what happens to a man;  it is what a man does with what happens to him.  –  Aldous Huxley

August 31

–  birthdays:  12 –  Emperor Caligula  /  161 –  Emperor Commodus  /  1924 –  Buddy Hackett  /  1928 –  James Coburn  /  1935 –  Frank Robinson (Baseball Hall of Fame)  /  1948 –  Richard Gere  /  1953 –  Marcia Clark (DA in the OJ Simpson case) 

–  1888 –  body of Jack the Ripper’s first victim is found

–  1897 –  Edison patents the Kinetoscope

–  1907 –  Great Britain, France, and Russia form the Triple Entente

–  1910 –  Teddy Roosevelt gives a speech calling for a “square deal”

–  1946 –  Foghorn Leghorn debuts in “Walky Talky Hawky”

–  1965 –  Department of Housing and Urban Development created

–  1997 –  Princess Diana dies in a car accident

Quote:  A kind and compassionate act is often its own reward.  –  William Bennett