From The Associated Press, 1 hr 47 mins ago, & the UPI Almanac. Also: The AP A/V.
Today is Monday, Aug. 17, the 229th day of 2009. There are 136 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History: Forty years ago, on Aug. 17, 1969, Hurricane Camille slammed into the Mississippi coast as a Category 5 storm with top sustained winds estimated at nearly 200 mph. The hurricane and resulting flash floods were blamed for 256 U.S. deaths, three in Cuba.
On this date: In 1807, Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat began heading up the Hudson River on its successful round-trip between New York and Albany.
In 1863, federal batteries and ships began bombarding Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, but the Confederates managed to hold on despite several days of pounding.
In 1896, a prospecting party discovered gold in Alaska, a finding that touched off the Klondike gold rush.In 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Ga., lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment. (Frank, who'd maintained his innocence, was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986.) A hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, killing 275 people.
In 1942, U. S. 8th Air Force bombers attacked Rouen, France.
In 1943, the Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as U. S. and British forces entered Messina.
In 1945, Indonesian nationalists declared their independence from the Netherlands.
In 1948, former State Department official Alger Hiss faced his chief accuser, Whittaker Chambers, during a closed-door meeting of the House Un-American Activities Committee in New York. Hiss repeated his denial that he'd ever been a Communist agent.In 1962, East German border guards shot and mortally wounded 18-year-old Peter Fechter, who had attempted to cross the Berlin Wall into the western sector.
In 1978, the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II outside Paris.
In 1987, Rudolf Hess, the last member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle, died at Spandau prison in West Berlin at age 93, having apparently committed suicide by strangling himself with an electrical cord. He had been the only inmate at Spandau for 21 years.
In 1988, Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel were killed in a mysterious plane crash.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton underwent grand jury questioning in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Russia devalued the ruble.
Ten years ago: More than 17,000 people were killed when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey.
Five years ago: British police charged eight terrorism suspects. (The leader of the group, al-Qaida operative Dhiren Barot, later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mass murder and was sentenced to life in prison, although the term was subsequently reduced to 30 years; the other seven received sentences ranging up to 26 years.) At the Athens games, Romania won its second straight Olympic gold medal in women's gymnastics; the United States took silver while Russia won the bronze.
One year ago: At the Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps and three teammates won the 400-meter medley relay for Phelps' eighth gold medal. In tennis, Venus and Serena Williams defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain in women's doubles; Rafael Nadal defeated Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in the men's singles; Elena Dementieva defeated fellow Russian Dinara Safina in the women's singles. Matamoros, Mexico, pitcher Jesus Sauceda had the fifth perfect game in Little League World Series history as he struck out all 12 batters in a 12-0 win over Emilia, Italy.
Those born on this date who will not walk this earth again include: Frontiersman Davy Crockett, 1786;movie producer Samuel Goldwyn, 1882; black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, 1887;actors Monty Woolley, 1888, & Mae West, 1893; publisher/diplomat John Hay Whitney, 1904; U. S. spy plane aviator Francis Gary Powers, 1929, & British poet laureate Ted Hughes, 1930.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Maureen O'Hara is 89. Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin is 83. Author V.S. Naipaul is 77. Baseball All-Star Boog Powell is 68. Actor Robert DeNiro is 66. Movie director Martha Coolidge is 63. Rock musician Gary Talley (The Box Tops) is 62. Rock musician Sib Hashian is 60. Tennis Hall of Famer Guillermo Vilas is 57. Rock singer Kevin Rowland (Dexy's Midnight Runners) is 56. Rock musician Colin Moulding (XTC) is 54. Singer Belinda Carlisle is 51. Author Jonathan Franzen is 50. Actor Sean Penn is 49. Jazz musician Everette Harp is 48. Rock musician Gilby Clarke is 47. Singer Maria McKee is 45. Former NFL player John Offerdahl is 45. Rock musician Steve Gorman (The Black Crowes) is 44. Rock musician Jill Cunniff is 43. Singer Donnie Wahlberg is 40. Former NBA player Christian Laettner is 40. Rapper Posdnuos is 40. Tennis player Jim Courier is 39. New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada is 38. Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is 26.
Today In Entertainment History -- On Aug. 17, 1964, the single "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks was released in Britain.
In 1969, the three-day Woodstock Music and Art Fair concluded in upstate New York. One of the day's memorable moments was Pete Townshend of The Who knocking Yippie Abbie Hoffman off the stage during the performance of "Tommy."
In 1973, original Temptations member Paul Williams was found dead by police with a single bullet wound to the head. The death was later ruled a suicide. Williams had left The Temptations in 1971.
In 1974, keyboardist Patrick Moraz replaced Rick Wakeman in the band Yes.
In 1983, lyricist Ira Gershwin died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 86. With his composer brother George, they wrote such classic songs as "'S Wonderful" and "The Man I Love."
In 1986, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen played his first concert with the band since losing his left arm in a car accident in 1984. 42 people were beaten or stabbed at a Run-DMC concert in Long Beach, Calif.
In 1992, actor-director Woody Allen admitted being romantically involved with Soon-Yi Previn, the 21-year-old adopted daughter of Allen's longtime companion, actress Mia Farrow. Singer Wayne Newton filed for bankruptcy. He owed about $20 million to 200 creditors.
In 1994, actor David Caruso quit the cast of "NYPD Blue" to pursue a movie career. He was replaced on the show by Jimmy Smits. [Best move ever. It's so cool to be the world's biggest movie star! "Book 'em, Dano!" — Ed.]
Thought for Today: "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it." — Edith Wharton, American author (1862-1937). [Or just light the whole goddamn house on fire w/ the candle, after breaking the mirror for good luck. — Ed.]
In 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Ga., lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment. (Frank, who'd maintained his innocence, was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986.) A hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, killing 275 people.
In 1942, U. S. 8th Air Force bombers attacked Rouen, France.
In 1943, the Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as U. S. and British forces entered Messina.
In 1945, Indonesian nationalists declared their independence from the Netherlands.
In 1948, former State Department official Alger Hiss faced his chief accuser, Whittaker Chambers, during a closed-door meeting of the House Un-American Activities Committee in New York. Hiss repeated his denial that he'd ever been a Communist agent.
In 1962, East German border guards shot and mortally wounded 18-year-old Peter Fechter, who had attempted to cross the Berlin Wall into the western sector.
In 1978, the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II outside Paris.
In 1987, Rudolf Hess, the last member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle, died at Spandau prison in West Berlin at age 93, having apparently committed suicide by strangling himself with an electrical cord. He had been the only inmate at Spandau for 21 years.
In 1988, Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel were killed in a mysterious plane crash.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton underwent grand jury questioning in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Russia devalued the ruble.
Ten years ago: More than 17,000 people were killed when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey.
Five years ago: British police charged eight terrorism suspects. (The leader of the group, al-Qaida operative Dhiren Barot, later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mass murder and was sentenced to life in prison, although the term was subsequently reduced to 30 years; the other seven received sentences ranging up to 26 years.) At the Athens games, Romania won its second straight Olympic gold medal in women's gymnastics; the United States took silver while Russia won the bronze.
One year ago: At the Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps and three teammates won the 400-meter medley relay for Phelps' eighth gold medal. In tennis, Venus and Serena Williams defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain in women's doubles; Rafael Nadal defeated Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in the men's singles; Elena Dementieva defeated fellow Russian Dinara Safina in the women's singles. Matamoros, Mexico, pitcher Jesus Sauceda had the fifth perfect game in Little League World Series history as he struck out all 12 batters in a 12-0 win over Emilia, Italy.
Those born on this date who will not walk this earth again include: Frontiersman Davy Crockett, 1786;
movie producer Samuel Goldwyn, 1882; black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, 1887;
actors Monty Woolley, 1888, & Mae West, 1893; publisher/diplomat John Hay Whitney, 1904; U. S. spy plane aviator Francis Gary Powers, 1929, & British poet laureate Ted Hughes, 1930.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Maureen O'Hara is 89. Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin is 83. Author V.S. Naipaul is 77. Baseball All-Star Boog Powell is 68. Actor Robert DeNiro is 66. Movie director Martha Coolidge is 63. Rock musician Gary Talley (The Box Tops) is 62. Rock musician Sib Hashian is 60. Tennis Hall of Famer Guillermo Vilas is 57. Rock singer Kevin Rowland (Dexy's Midnight Runners) is 56. Rock musician Colin Moulding (XTC) is 54. Singer Belinda Carlisle is 51. Author Jonathan Franzen is 50. Actor Sean Penn is 49. Jazz musician Everette Harp is 48. Rock musician Gilby Clarke is 47. Singer Maria McKee is 45. Former NFL player John Offerdahl is 45. Rock musician Steve Gorman (The Black Crowes) is 44. Rock musician Jill Cunniff is 43. Singer Donnie Wahlberg is 40. Former NBA player Christian Laettner is 40. Rapper Posdnuos is 40. Tennis player Jim Courier is 39. New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada is 38. Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is 26.
Today In Entertainment History -- On Aug. 17, 1964, the single "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks was released in Britain.
In 1969, the three-day Woodstock Music and Art Fair concluded in upstate New York. One of the day's memorable moments was Pete Townshend of The Who knocking Yippie Abbie Hoffman off the stage during the performance of "Tommy."
In 1973, original Temptations member Paul Williams was found dead by police with a single bullet wound to the head. The death was later ruled a suicide. Williams had left The Temptations in 1971.
In 1974, keyboardist Patrick Moraz replaced Rick Wakeman in the band Yes.
In 1983, lyricist Ira Gershwin died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 86. With his composer brother George, they wrote such classic songs as "'S Wonderful" and "The Man I Love."
In 1986, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen played his first concert with the band since losing his left arm in a car accident in 1984. 42 people were beaten or stabbed at a Run-DMC concert in Long Beach, Calif.
In 1992, actor-director Woody Allen admitted being romantically involved with Soon-Yi Previn, the 21-year-old adopted daughter of Allen's longtime companion, actress Mia Farrow. Singer Wayne Newton filed for bankruptcy. He owed about $20 million to 200 creditors.
In 1994, actor David Caruso quit the cast of "NYPD Blue" to pursue a movie career. He was replaced on the show by Jimmy Smits. [Best move ever. It's so cool to be the world's biggest movie star! "Book 'em, Dano!" — Ed.]
Thought for Today: "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it." — Edith Wharton, American author (1862-1937). [Or just light the whole goddamn house on fire w/ the candle, after breaking the mirror for good luck. — Ed.]
No comments:
Post a Comment