2 August: JFK Run Over By Nips In Pacific; Other Yellow Perilers Attack USN Off Vietnam

By The Associated Press Today is Sunday, Aug. 2, the 214th day of 2009. There are 151 days left in the year.AP A/V. UPI Almanac.Today's Highlight in History: One hundred years ago, on Aug. 2, 1909, the original Lincoln penny (with two ears of wheat on the reverse side) first went into circulation, replacing the "Indian Head" cent. On this date: In 1776, members of the Continental Congress began attaching their signatures to the Declaration of Independence. [Once again giving the lie to "history," which is bunk anyway. — Ed.] In 1873, inventor Andrew S. Hallidie successfully tested a cable car he had designed for the city of San Francisco. In 1876, frontiersman "Wild Bill" Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker at a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, by Jack McCall, who was later hanged. In 1923, the 29th president of the United States, Warren G. Harding, died in San Francisco; Vice President Calvin Coolidge became president. In 1927, four years after becoming president, Calvin Coolidge issued a written statement to reporters: "I do not choose to run for President in nineteen twenty-eight." Seventy-five years ago, in 1934, German President Paul von Hindenburg died, paving the way for Adolf Hitler's complete takeover. Seventy years ago, in 1939, Albert Einstein signed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt urging creation of an atomic weapons research program. President Roosevelt signed the Hatch Act, which prohibited civil service employees from taking an active part in political campaigns. In 1943, during World War II, Navy boat PT-109, commanded by Lt. John F. Kennedy, sank after being rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri off the Solomon Islands. In 1964, the destroyer USS Maddox suffered light damage from North Vietnamese patrol torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. In 1968, a major earthquake in the Philippines rocked Manila, killing 307 people. In 1974, John Dean, counsel to U.S. President Richard Nixon, was sentenced to 1-to-4 years in prison for his part in the Watergate cover-up. In 1985, 135 people were killed when a Delta Air Lines jetliner crashed while attempting to land at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

In 1990, Iraq invaded and overran neighboring Kuwait after weeks of tension over disputed land and oil production quotas. Ten years ago: Launching another salvo in a war of nerves with rival Taiwan, China announced it had test-fired a new long-range missile. A train collision in India claimed nearly 300 lives. Five years ago: President George W. Bush urged creation of a national intelligence director to coordinate the war on terrorism but without the sweeping powers for hiring, firing and spending recommended by the September 11th commission. Turkish truckers stopped hauling goods for U.S. forces in Iraq after the shooting of a Turkish hostage was shown on the Internet. Police in Salt Lake City arrested Mark Hacking, whose wife, Lori, had disappeared. (Hacking later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.) One year ago: Police in southern Afghanistan reported a bus carrying a wedding party had struck a mine, killing 10 people, including the bride and groom; meanwhile, two French humanitarian aid workers kidnapped on July 18 were released. Today's Birthdays: Former Sen. Paul Laxalt, R-Nev., is 87. Actor Peter O'Toole is 77. Country singer Hank Cochran is 74. Rock musician Garth Hudson (The Band) is 72. Movie director Wes Craven is 70. Singer Kathy Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 66. Actor Max Wright is 66. Actress Joanna Cassidy is 64. Actress Kathryn Harrold is 59. Singer Andrew Gold is 58. Actor Butch Patrick ("The Munsters") is 56. Singer Mojo Nixon is 52. Actress Victoria Jackson is 50. Actress Apollonia is 50. Actress Cynthia Stevenson is 47. Actress Mary-Louise Parker is 45. Baseball pitcher Tim Wakefield is 43. Rock musician John Stanier is 41. Writer-actor-director Kevin Smith is 39. Actor Sam Worthington is 33. Figure skater Michael Weiss is 33. Actor Edward Furlong is 32. Rock musician Devon Glenn is 29. Cleveland Indians All-Star center fielder Grady Sizemore is 27. Today In Entertainment History -- On August second, 1958, Johnny Cash's contract with Sun Records expired. He switched labels to Columbia and stayed with them for 28 years. In 1961, The Beatles began an engagement as the regular headliners at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. The band performed more than 300 times in the course of two years. In 1969, Bob Dylan showed up unexpectedly to his 10th year high school reunion in Hibbing, Minn. He and his wife left early after a drunk tried to pick a fight with him. In 1972, original Association member Brian Cole died in Los Angeles of a heroin overdose. In 1974, a funeral was held in Hollywood for Mama Cass Elliot. Her body was cremated and her ashes were buried in Maryland. In 1982, singer Jose Feliciano married Susan Omillian in California. In 1987, Billy Joel played a concert in Leningrad. Audience members carried Joel out on their shoulders at the end, and about 200 chairs were destroyed by concert-goers who jumped up and down on them. In 1991, Rick James and his girlfriend, Tanya Hijazi, were arrested in Los Angeles and charged with sexually assaulting and torturing a woman. In 1998, puppeteer Shari Lewis died of uterine cancer in Los Angeles. She was 65. Her best known puppets were Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse. Thought for Today: "The trouble with this country is that there are too many people going about saying, 'The trouble with this country is...'" — Sinclair Lewis, American author (1885-1951). VARIOUS ADDITIONS made 1300ish, & then @ 2030 or so, 3 August 2009.