Friday, August 14, 2009

14 August: China: Boxer Rebellion, War & Lead Toys; More American "Socializing"

By The Associated Press (1 hr 4 mins ago) & the UPI Almanac. Today is Friday, Aug. 14, the 226th day of 2009. There are 139 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History: On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.On this date: In 1784, Grigory Shelikhov, a Russian fur trader, founded the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska on Kodiak Island. In 1848, the Oregon Territory was created. In 1900, international forces, including U.S. Marines, entered Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreign influence. In 1908, a race riot erupted in Springfield, Ill. as a white mob began setting black-owned homes and businesses on fire; at least two blacks and five whites were killed in the violence. In 1917, China declared war on Germany and Austria during World War I. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, a statement of principles that renounced aggression. In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II. In 1947, Pakistan became independent of British rule. In 1951, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst died at age 88. In 1956, German dramatist Bertolt Brecht died at age 58.
In 1966, the unmanned U.S. Orbiter 1 spacecraft began orbiting the moon. In 1969, British troops went to Northern Ireland to intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics. In 1973, the U.S. bombing of Cambodia came to a halt effective at midnight. In 1980, workers went on strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, in a job action that resulted in the creation of the Solidarity labor movement. President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale were nominated for a second term at the Democratic National Convention in New York. In 1996, the Republican National Convention in San Diego nominated Bob Dole for president and Jack Kemp for vice president. In 1997, an unrepentant Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing. Ten years ago: Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush won a convincing victory in the Iowa straw poll. Death claimed former AFL-CIO president Lane Kirkland at age 77, and Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Pee Wee Reese at age 81. In 2003, a huge blackout hit the northeastern United States and part of Canada; 50 million people lost power.Five years ago: A visibly weak Pope John Paul II joined thousands of other ailing pilgrims at a cliffside shrine in Lourdes, France, telling them he shared in their physical suffering and assuring them the burden was part of God's "wondrous plan." Nobel Prize-winning poet Czeslaw Milosz died in Krakow, Poland, at age 93. Fifteen-term congressman William D. Ford died in Ypsilanti Township, Mich. at age 77. In 2006, Israel halted its offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas as a U.N.-imposed cease-fire went into effect after a month of warfare that killed more than 900 people. In 2007, toy company Mattel recalled 18.6 million lead-tainted, Chinese-made toys worldwide. One year ago: President George W. Bush signed consumer-safety legislation that banned lead from children's toys, imposing the toughest standard in the world. Today's Birthdays: Broadway lyricist Lee Adams ("Bye Bye Birdie") is 85. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Russell Baker is 84. Singer Buddy Greco is 83. Baseball Hall of Fame coach Earl Weaver is 79. Former NFL player John Brodie is 74. Singer Dash Crofts is 71. Rock singer David Crosby is 68. Country singer Connie Smith is 68. Comedian-actor Steve Martin is 64. Actor Antonio Fargas is 63. Singer-musician Larry Graham is 63. Actress Susan Saint James is 63. Actor David Schramm is 63. Author Danielle Steel is 62. Rock singer-musician Terry Adams (NRBQ) is 59. "Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson is 59. Actor Carl Lumbly is 58. Olympic gold medal swimmer Debbie Meyer is 57. Film composer James Horner is 56. Actress Jackee Harry is 53. Actress Marcia Gay Harden is 50. Former basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson is 50. Singer Sarah Brightman is 49. Actress Susan Olsen is 48. Rock musician Keith Howland (Chicago) is 45. Actress Halle Berry is 43. Actress Catherine Bell is 41. Country musician Cody McCarver (Confederate Railroad) is 41. Rock musician Kevin Cadogan is 39. Actor Scott Michael Campbell is 38. Actress Lalanya Masters is 37. Actor Christopher Gorham is 35. Football player Greg Ellis is 34. Football player Mike Vrabel is 34. Football player Roy L. Williams is 29. Actress Mila Kunis is 26. Today In Entertainment History -- On August 14th, 1958, Elvis Presley's mother, Gladys, died of a heart attack. In 1970, singer Stephen Stills was arrested on cocaine possession charges at a motel in La Jolla, California. He was released on $2,500 bail. In 1971, Rod Stewart released "Maggie May." In 1974, "(You're) Having My Baby" by Paul Anka was awarded a gold record. Feminists objected to the word "my," saying it should have been "our." In 1985, Michael Jackson outbid Paul McCartney for the ATV music publishing catalog, which included many Beatles songs. Jackson paid $47.5 million dollars. In 1989, Bon Jovi's "New Jersey" was the first American album to be released legally in what was then the Soviet Union. In 2003, nineteen musicals and three stage plays on Broadway were shut down when New York and much of the Northeast suffered a massive power failure.
Thought for Today: "The old forget. The young don't know." — Japanese proverb.

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