The Gong Show

General Chat => Events => Topic started by: Bob on August 16, 2004, 05:57:13 PM

Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 16, 2004, 05:57:13 PM
That's right, here is the spinoff of Mike's famed word of the day that he has let fall completely out of use.



 :woot:
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 16, 2004, 06:02:51 PM
ELVIS LEAVES THE BUILDING: :crying:
August 16, 1977


Popular music icon Elvis Presley dies in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 42. The death of the "King of Rock and Roll" brought legions of mourning fans to Graceland, his mansion in Memphis. Doctors said he died of a heart attack, largely brought on by his addiction to prescription barbiturates, but some labeled it suicide.

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jesse, died during the birth. Elvis grew up dirt-poor in Tupelo and Memphis and found work as a truck driver after high school. When he was 19, he walked into a Memphis recording studio and paid $4 to record a few songs as a present to his mother. Sam Philips, the owner of the studio, was intrigued by the rough, soulful quality of his voice and invited Presley back to practice with some local musicians. After Philips heard Elvis sing the rhythm-and-blues song "That's All Right," which Presley imbued with an accessible country-and-western flavor, he agreed to release the rendition as a single on his Sun Records label. The recording went to the top of the local charts, and Presley's career was launched.

During the next year, Elvis attracted a growing following in the South, and in 1955 Sun Records sold his contract to a major record label, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), for a record $40,000. His first record for RCA was "Heartbreak Hotel," which made him a national sensation in early 1956. He followed this up with the double-sided hit record "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel." In September 1956, Elvis appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, a national variety television show, and teenagers went into hysterics over his dynamic stage presence, good looks, and simple but catchy songs. Many parents, however, were appalled by his sexually suggestive pelvic gyrations, and by his third appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis was filmed from only the waist up.

From 1956 through 1958, Elvis dominated the music charts and ushered in the age of rock and roll, opening doors for both white and black rock artists. During this period, he starred in four successful motion pictures, all of which featured his soundtracks: Love Me Tender (1956), Jailhouse Rock (1957), Loving You (1957), and King Creole (1958).

In 1958, Presley was drafted into the U.S. Army and served an 18-month tour of duty in West Germany as a Jeep driver. Teenage girls were overcome with grief, but Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, kept American youth satiated with stockpiled recordings that Presley made before his departure. All five singles released during this period eventually became million-sellers.

After being discharged as a sergeant in 1960, Elvis underwent a style change, eschewing edgy, rhythm-and-blues-inspired material in favor of romantic, dramatic ballads such as "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" He retired from concerts to concentrate on his musical films, and he made 27 in the 1960s, including G.I. Blues (1960), Blue Hawaii (1961), Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962), Viva Las Vegas (1964), and Frankie and Johnny (1966). In 1967, he married Priscilla Beaulieu, and the couple had a daughter, Lisa Marie, in 1968.

By the end of the 1960s, rock and roll had undergone dramatic changes, and Elvis was no longer seen as relevant by American youth. A 1968 television special won back many of his fans, but hits were harder to come by. His final Top 10 entry, "Burning Love," was in 1972. Still, he maintained his sizable fortune through lucrative concert and television appearances.

By the mid 1970s, Elvis was in declining physical and mental health. He divorced his wife in 1973 and developed a dangerous dependence on prescription drugs. He was also addicted to junk food and gained considerable weight. In the last two years of his life, he made erratic stage appearances and lived nearly as a recluse. On the afternoon of August 16, 1977, he was found unconscious in his Graceland mansion and rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was buried on the grounds of Graceland, which continues to attract fans and has been turned into a highly successful tourist attraction
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 17, 2004, 02:33:52 PM
:pistols: 1877 Billy the Kid kills his first man  :2gun:  


Though only a teenager at the time, Billy the Kid wounds an Arizona blacksmith who dies the next day. He was the famous outlaw's first victim.

Just how many men Billy the Kid killed is uncertain. Billy himself reportedly once claimed he had killed 21 men-"one for every year of my life." A reliable contemporary authority estimated the actual total was more like nine-four on his own and five with the aid of others. Other western outlaws of the day were far more deadly. John Wesley Hardin, for example, killed well over 20 men and perhaps as many as 40.

Yet, William Bonney (at various times he also used the surnames Antrim and McCarty) is better remembered today than Hardin and other killers, perhaps because he appeared to be such an unlikely killer. Blue-eyed, smooth-cheeked, and unusually friendly, Billy seems to have been a decent young man who was dragged into a life of crime by circumstances beyond his control.

Such seems to have been the case for his first murder. Having fled from his home in New Mexico after being jailed for a theft he may not have committed, Billy became an itinerant ranch hand and sheepherder in Arizona. In 1877, he was hired on as a teamster at the Camp Grant Army Post, where he attracted the enmity of a burly civilian blacksmith named Frank "Windy" Cahill. Perhaps because Billy was well liked by others in the camp, Cahill enjoyed demeaning the scrawny youngster.

On this day in 1877, Cahill apparently went too far when he called Billy a "pimp." Billy responded by calling Cahill a "son of a bitch," and the big blacksmith jumped him and easily threw him to the ground. Pinned to the floor by the stronger man, Billy apparently panicked. He pulled his pistol and shot Cahill, who died the next day. According to one witness, "[Billy] had no choice; he had to use his equalizer." However, the rough laws of the West might have found Billy guilty of unjustified murder because Cahill had not pulled his own gun.

Fearing imprisonment, Billy returned to New Mexico where he soon became involved in the bloody Lincoln County War. In the next four years, he became a practiced and cold-blooded killer, increasingly infatuated with his own public image as an unstoppable outlaw. Sheriff Pat Garrett finally ended Billy's bloody career by killing him on July 14, 1881.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 18, 2004, 02:53:59 PM
1958 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is published  :newspaper:


On this day in 1958, Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the U.S.

The novel, about a man's obsession with a 12-year-old girl :hitit: , had been rejected by four publishers before G.P. Putnam's Sons accepted it. The novel became a bestseller that allowed Nabokov to retire from his career as college professor.

Nabokov was born in 1899 in St. Petersburg, Russia, into a wealthy and privileged family. He lived in a St. Petersburg townhouse and on a country estate, and learned boxing, tennis, and chess. He grew up speaking both English and Russian, attended Cambridge, and inherited $2 million from an uncle. However, his family lost much of their wealth when the Russian Revolution forced them to flee to Germany. Nabokov earned money by teaching boxing and tennis, and creating Russian crossword puzzles. He worked during the day and wrote at night, sometimes in the bathroom so the light wouldn't bother his family. He wrote many novels and short stories in Russian. In 1939, the tall, athletic scholar was invited to Stanford to lecture on Slavic languages. He stayed in the U.S. for 20 years, teaching at Wellesley and Cornell, and pursuing an avid interest in butterflies. (In fact, he was a research fellow at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology and discovered several species and subspecies of butterflies.) He and his wife, Vera, spent summers driving around the U.S., staying in motels, and looking for butterflies. The motels, the American landscape, and butterflies all figure prominently in various works.

Nabokov's first novel in English was The Real Life of Sebastian Knight. His most successful books in the U.S. were Lolita and Ada (1969), a family chronicle about a childhood romance between two close relations, which becomes a lifelong obsession between the characters.

Nabokov and his wife returned to Europe in 1959, and he died in Switzerland in 1977.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Pornomonkey on August 18, 2004, 11:36:54 PM
August 18, 1996: Emilee Klein wins LPGA Weetabix Women's British Golf Open
August 18, 1991: Hurricane Bob hits NC with 115 MPH wind
August 18, 1977: 2 girls are killed by a runaway car outside of Graceland
August 18, 1961: Construction on Berlin Wall completed
August 18, 1943: Final convoy of Jews from Salonika Greece arrive at Auschwitz

I couldn't choose which to post, so I posted the ones most interesting to me :)
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 20, 2004, 03:04:58 PM
1962 Birth Of The T-Bird

The first 1963 Ford Thunderbird was produced on this day. Originally conceived as Ford's answer to the Corvette, the Thunderbird has enjoyed an illustrious place among American cars. It was promoted as a "personal" car rather than a sports car, so it never had to compete against imports and so experienced enormous success. Its name was eventually shortened to "T-Bird," as mentioned in the famous Beach Boys song, "I Get Around."
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Slaughter on August 20, 2004, 03:10:49 PM
August 20, 1997 Shelly Moore, 18, of Tenn, crowned 15th Miss Teen USA
August 20, 1996 India defeat Pakistan in Under-15 World Challenge Final at Lord's
August 20, 1995 "Play's the Thing" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 75 perfs
August 20, 1995 Indians' Jose Mesa sets record with his 37th consecutive save
August 20, 1995 Kerrie Webb wins LPGA Weetabix Women's British Golf Open
August 20, 1994 109.8¯F (43.2¯C) in Cordoba Spain
August 20, 1994 Archbishop Quarracino wants all homosexuals to leave Argentina
August 20, 1994 Ferry boat sinks at Chandpur Bangladesh, 300-350 killed
August 20, 1993 Colin Jackson runs world record 110m hurdles (12.91)
August 20, 1993 Howard Stern is fired from WLUP-AM, Chicago
August 20, 1993 Mother Teresa hospitalized with malaria
August 20, 1992 England get 7-363 in 55 overs vs Pakistan, then world ODI record
August 20, 1992 Rocker Sting weds Trudie Styler
August 20, 1991 After the attempted coup in the Soviet Union, Estonia declares
August 20, 1991 Norbert Rosza swims world record 100m breast stroke (1:01.29)
August 20, 1991 Dolphin Dan Marino surpasses Joe Montana as the highest paid NFL player with a 5-year extension for $25 million
August 20, 1991 Estonia declares it's independence from USSR itself independent
August 20, 1990 Gene Michael names NY Yankee VP/GM replacing Harding Peterson
August 20, 1990 George Steinbrenner steps down as NY Yankee owner
August 20, 1990 Iraq moves Western hostages to military installations (human shields)
August 20, 1990 NY Yankee Kevin Mass is quickest to reach 15 HRs (approx 132 at bat)
August 20, 1989 Aak crashes into pleasure boat The Margin on the Thames, 51 killed
August 20, 1989 Howard Johnson joins B Bonds & W Mays to hit 30 HRs & steal 30 bases
August 20, 1989 Janet B Evans swims female world record 800m freestyle (8:16.22)
August 20, 1989 Said Aouita runs world record 3000 m (7:29.45)
August 20, 1988 6.5 earthquake strikes India/Nepal, 1,000s killed
August 20, 1988 Yordanka Donkova of Bulgaria sets 100m hurdle woman's record (12.21)
August 20, 1986 Mail carrier Patrick Sherrill, Edmond Ok, shot 14 fellow workers dead
August 20, 1986 Phils Don Carmen perfect game bid is broken in 9th
August 20, 1985 1st NL pitcher to strike out 200+ in 1st 2 seasons (Dwight Gooden)
August 20, 1985 Israel ships 96 TOWs to Iran on behalf of US
August 20, 1985 Libya throws out 1000s Tunisian/Egyptian gas workers
August 20, 1985 Met Dwight Gooden strikes out 16 on way to his 13th consecutive win
August 20, 1985 Hanspeter Beck of South Australia, finishes a 3,875 mile, 51 day trip from Western Australia to Melbourne on a unicycle
August 20, 1983 Miss National Teen-Ager
August 20, 1982 Don Lever becomes 1st captain of NJ Devils
August 20, 1982 US marines land in Beirut Lebanon
August 20, 1980 Mt Everest climbed by Italian Reinhold Messner, alone
August 20, 1980 NY Yankee Bob Watson hits Seattle Kingdome speaker, 2nd straight day
August 20, 1980 Pitts Omar Moreno steals record 70 bases for 3rd consecutive season
August 20, 1980 Reinhold Messner of Italy is 1st to solo ascent Mt Everest
August 20, 1980 Cleve Dan Spillner, 545 ERA, is 2 outs from a no-hitter when White Sox rookie Leo Sutherland singles
August 20, 1980 UN Security Council condemns (14-0, US abstains) Israeli declaration that all of Jersualem is it's capital
August 20, 1979 India premier Charan Singh resigns
August 20, 1979 Singer Vikki Carr & Michael Nilsson wed
August 20, 1978 Gunmen open fire on an Israeli El Al Airline bus in London
August 20, 1978 Mark Vinchesi of Amherst Mass keeps a frisbee aloft 15.2 seconds
August 20, 1978 Sandra Post wins LPGA Lady Stroh's Golf Open
August 20, 1978 Tatyana Providokhina runs female world record 1k (2:30.6)
August 20, 1977 NASA launches Voyager 2 towards Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune
August 20, 1975 Il-62 crashes south of Damascus, Syria, killing 126
August 20, 1975 Viking 1 launched to orbit around Mars, soft landing
August 20, 1974 Brooklyn pitcher Dan Bankhead is 1st black to homer in his 1st at bat
August 20, 1974 Nelson Rockefeller becomes VP
August 20, 1974 Nolan Ryan pitch measured at record 161.6 kph (100.4 mph)
August 20, 1974 Pres Gerald Ford, assumes office after Richard Nixon's resignation
August 20, 1972 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Southgate Ladies Golf Open
August 20, 1972 USSR performs underground nuclear test
August 20, 1971 FBI begins covert investigation of journalist Daniel Schorr
August 20, 1970 Hurricane Dorothy, kills 42 in Martinique
August 20, 1969 69 cm rainfall in Nelson Co., Virginia (state record)
August 20, 1968 650,000 Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia
August 20, 1968 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
August 20, 1967 Alvin Dark (52-69) is fired, rehired, & fired again as manager of A's
August 20, 1967 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Women's Western Golf Open
August 20, 1966 Beatles pelted with rotten fruit during Memphis concert
August 20, 1965 Rolling Stones release "Satisfaction" (their 1st #1 US hit)
August 20, 1965 Eddie Mathews & Hank Aaron (1954-65) pass Babe Ruth-Lou Gehrig hitting 772 HRs while playing together on the same team
August 20, 1964 LBJ signs anti-poverty measure totaling nearly $1 billion
August 20, 1964 President Johnson signs Economic Opportunity Act
August 20, 1964 Rex Sellers bowls 5-1-17-0 v India in only Test Cricket innings
August 20, 1964 Yankee Phil Linz plays harmonica on bus despite Yogi Berra's orders
August 20, 1962 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
August 20, 1961 Phillies set then dubious record of 23 straight loses, beat Braves
August 20, 1961 East Germany begins erecting 5' high wall along the border with the west to replace the barbed wire put up Aug 13
August 20, 1960 Senegal breaks from Mali federation, declaring independence
August 20, 1960 USSR recovers 2 dogs, 1st living organisms to return from space
August 20, 1959 Belgium shortens conscription to 12 months
August 20, 1958 Cubs use 1st baseman Dale Long as their 1st lefty catcher since 1906
August 20, 1958 Dale Long becomes 1st major league lefty catcher in 52 years
August 20, 1958 Detroit Tiger Jim Bunning no-hits Boston Red Sox, 3-0
August 20, 1957 "Simply Heavenly" opens at Playhouse Theater NYC for 62 performances
August 20, 1957 Chic White Sox Bob Keegan no-hits Wash Senators, 6-0
August 20, 1957 USAAF ballon breaks an altitude record at 102,000' (310,896 m)
August 20, 1957 White Sox Bob Keegan no-hits Senators 6-0
August 20, 1956 Republicans convene at Cow Palace
August 20, 1955 1st airplane to exceed 1800 mph (2897 kph)-HA Hanes, Palmdale Ca
August 20, 1955 Hundreds killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco & Algeria
August 20, 1953 General Fazlollah Zahedi arrests premier Mossadeq of Persia
August 20, 1953 Russia publicly acknowledges hydrogen bomb test detonation
August 20, 1952 Stalin meets Chou Enlai
August 20, 1949 78,382 watch White Sox play Indians at Cleveland
August 20, 1949 Hungary (Magyar People's Republic) accepts constitution
August 20, 1948 15th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Chi Cards 28, All-Stars 0 (101,220)
August 20, 1948 US expels Soviet Consul General in New York, Jacob Lomakin
August 20, 1947 Boston Braves hit a million attendance for 1st time
August 20, 1947 Turner Caldwell in D-558-I sets aircraft speed record, 1131 kph
August 20, 1945 Dodgers Tommy Brown, 17, is youngest player to hit a HR
August 20, 1945 Robert Hamilton wins PGA golf tournament
August 20, 1945 Russian troops occupy Harbin & Mukden
August 20, 1945 Tommy Brown, Bkln Dodger becomes youngest HR hitter (17)
August 20, 1944 "Anna Lucasta," opens on Broadway
August 20, 1944 26th PGA Championship: Bob Hamilton at Manito G & CC Spokane Wash
August 20, 1944 Gen de Gaulle returns to France
August 20, 1944 Russian offensive at Jassy & Kisjinev
August 20, 1944 US & British forces destroy German 7th Army at Falaise-Argentan Gap
August 20, 1942 Dim-out regulations implemented in SF
August 20, 1941 Police raid 11th district of Paris, takes 4,000+ Jewish males
August 20, 1940 1st Polish squadrons fight along in the Battle of Britain
August 20, 1940 Leon Trotsky, revolutionary, icepicked by Frank Jackson, dies Aug 21
August 20, 1940 British PM Churchill says of Royal Air Force, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"
August 20, 1939 1st black bowling league formed (National Bowling Assoc)
August 20, 1939 Russ offensive under gen Zjoekov against Jap invasion in Mongolia
August 20, 1938 Lou Gehrig hits record 23rd & last grand slam
August 20, 1935 Milt coup by General Pons & president Ibarra in Ecuador
August 20, 1934 Ponsford out for 266 in his final Test Cricket match
August 20, 1931 45th US Womens Tennis: Helen Moody beats Eileen Whitingstall (64 61)
August 20, 1930 Bradman scores 232 in 5th Test Cricket at The Oval
August 20, 1930 Dumont's 1st TV broadcast for home reception (NYC)
August 20, 1929 1st airship flight around Earth flying eastward completed
August 20, 1926 Uprising against Reza Shah Pahlawi in Persia
August 20, 1925 WJR-AM in Detroit MI begins radio transmissions
August 20, 1923 London harbor strike ends
August 20, 1922 1st world championship athletics for women, held in Paris
August 20, 1921 35th US Womens Tennis: Molla B Mallory beats M Browne (46 64 62)
August 20, 1920 1st US coml radio, 8MK (WWJ), Detroit began daily broadcasting
August 20, 1920 Allen Woodring wins Oympic 200 m dash wearing borrowed shoes
August 20, 1920 Israel publishes it's 1st medical journal "Ha-Refuah"
August 20, 1920 Preliminary meeting in Akron to form American Pro Football League
August 20, 1920 Red Sox-Indians game postponed in Boston to allow Indian players to attend Ray Chapman's funeral in Cleveland
August 20, 1919 Wichita outfielder Joe Wilhoit (Western League) fails to get a hit, ending a 69-game streak (155 hits in 299 at bats for a .505 avg)
August 20, 1918 Britain opens offensive on Western front during WW I
August 20, 1915 Italy declares war on Turkey
August 20, 1915 White Sox obtain Joe Jackson from Cleve in exchange for Robert Roth, Larry Chappell, Ed Klepfer, & $31,500
August 20, 1914 Battle of Bounderies: Lorraine, Ardennen, Sambre & Meuse, Mons
August 20, 1914 Battle at Gumbinnen, East-Prussia: Russian beat Germans
August 20, 1914 Battle at Morhange: German troops chase French, killing 1000s
August 20, 1914 Bavarian troops kill 50 inhabitants of Nomeny France
August 20, 1914 German army captured Brussels as the Belgian army retreated to Antwerp
August 20, 1913 1st pilot to parachute from an aircraft (Adolphe PÇgoud-France)
August 20, 1913 Piotr Nesterow 1st flight (Kiev Ukraine)
August 20, 1912 Plant Quarantine Act goes into effect
August 20, 1912 Wash Senator Carl Cushion no-hits Cleve Indians, 2-0 in 6 innings
August 20, 1910 US supported opposition brings down Madriz in Nicaragua
August 20, 1908 Congo Free State becomes Belgian Congo
August 20, 1901 Fawcett committee visits Mafeking concentration camp in Cape Colony
August 20, 1900 Great Britain beats France in cricket in Olympic Games
August 20, 1896 Dial telephone patented
August 20, 1895 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Norwood Builder" (BG)
August 20, 1893 Shechita (ritual slaughtering) prohibited in Switzerland
August 20, 1888 Longest US men's single tournament match Palmer Presbrey defeats T S Tailer, 19-21, 8-6, 6-1, 6-4, an 80-game 1st-round contest
August 20, 1882 Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" opens in Moscow
August 20, 1879 Govt Kappeijne of Coppello resigns
August 20, 1866 Pres Andrew Johnson formally declares Civil War over
August 20, 1865 Pres Johnson proclaims an end to "insurrection" in Tx
August 20, 1864 8th/last day of battle at Deep Bottom Run Va (about 3900 casualties)
August 20, 1861 Skirmish at Jonesboro MO
August 20, 1856 Wilberforce University forms in Ohio
August 20, 1852 Steamer "Atlantic" collided with fishing boat, sinks with 250 aboard
August 20, 1795 Joseph Haydn returns to Vienna from England
August 20, 1794 Gen Mad Anthony Wayne defeated the Indians at Fallen Timbers Ohio
August 20, 1791 Danish navigator Vitus Jonas Bering discovers Alaska
August 20, 1781 George Washington begins to move his troops south to fight Cornwallis
August 20, 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie reaches Blair Castle Scotland
August 20, 1741 Alaska discovered by Danish explorer Vitus Bering
August 20, 1648 Battle of Lens: French duke d'Enghien defeats Spaniards
August 20, 1641 Britain & Scotland sign Treaty of Pacification
August 20, 1619 1st Black slaves brought by Dutch to colony of Jamestown Virginia
August 20, 1604 Spanish garrison of Sluis surrenders to count Maurice
August 20, 1597 1st Dutch East India Company ships returned from Far East
August 20, 1585 English queen Elizabeth I signs Treaty of Nonsuch: aid to Netherland
August 20, 1566 Iconoclasm reaches Antwerp Belgium
August 20, 1534 Turkish Admiral Chaireddin"Barbarossa" occupies Tunis
August 20, 1191 Crusader King Richard I kills 3,000 muslim prisoners in Akko
August 20, 917 Battle at Anchialus: Bulgaria army counter attacks Byzantines
August 20, 636 Battle at Yarmuk: Moslems beat Byzantines [or August 15]
August 20, 573 Gregory of Tours selected bishop of Tours
August 20, 2 Venus-Jupiter in conjunction-Star of Bethlehem(?)
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Drew on August 20, 2004, 07:49:43 PM
Okay we get it, you know how to use google.  Oh and on topic:

August 20, 2004:  Drew makes various sarcastic posts on www.humpfest.ca
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 21, 2004, 04:08:05 PM
1911 The Mona Lisa is stolen :ph34r:  :batman:


In perhaps the most brazen art theft of all time, Vincenzo Peruggia walks into the Louvre, in France, heads straight for the infamous Mona Lisa, removes it from the wall, hides it beneath his clothes, and escapes. When an amateur painter set up his easel a few minutes later, he noticed that Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece was missing and notified the guards.

While the entire nation of France was stunned, theories abounded as to what could have happened to the invaluable artwork. Most believed that professional thieves could not have been involved because they would have realized that it would be too dangerous to try to sell the world's most famous painting. A popular rumor in Paris was that the Germans had stolen it to humiliate the French.

Investigators and detectives searched for the painting for more than two years without finding any decent leads. Then, in November 1913, Italian art dealer Alfredo Geri received a letter from a man calling himself Leonard. It indicated that the Mona Lisa was in Florence and would be returned for a hefty ransom. When Peruggia attempted to receive the ransom, he was captured. The painting was unharmed.

Peruggia, a former employee of the Louvre, claimed that he had acted out of a patriotic duty to avenge Italy on behalf of Napoleon. But prior robbery convictions and a diary with a list of art collectors led most to think that he had acted solely out of greed. Peruggia served seven months of a one-year sentence and later served in the Italian army during the First World War. The Mona Lisa is back in the Louvre, where better security measures now protect it.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 23, 2004, 03:11:20 PM
1979 Aleksandr Godunov defects to United States


Russian ballet star Aleksandr Godunov defects to the United States after a performance in New York City. He became the first dancer to defect from the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet.

Godunov was the latest in a string of Soviet ballet dancers to defect to the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. Rudolf Nureyev (1961), Natalia Makarova (1970), and Mikhail Baryshnikov (1974) had all sought and received asylum in the United States and went on to pursue successful dance careers in America and around the world. Godunov was in a different class, however. A New York Times article discussing his defection stated that "with his mane of long blond hair and powerful tall build, Mr. Godunov may well be the premier danseur of the rock generation. ...Young audiences identify with him totally." That may have been the problem for Godunov. Beginning in 1974, he was banned from performing anywhere outside of Russia for four years because his "hippie-like demeanor both on and offstage may have been too flamboyant." Godunov's defection in August 1979 was also noteworthy because he was the first dancer from the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet to seek asylum in America. The previous defectors had been from the Kiev opera company. For decades, the Bolshoi had been Russia's cultural jewel, touring the world numerous times. Godunov's departure was a serious blow. His wife, Ludmila Vlasova, did not join her husband in defecting and returned with the Bolshoi Company to Russia.

For the next three years, Godunov danced with some of the most impressive dance companies in America, including the American Ballet Theater and the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. He also pursued an acting career in Hollywood, appearing in many films, including Die Hard and Witness. Godunov died in 1995.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 24, 2004, 08:08:59 PM
VESUVIUS ERUPTS:
August 24, 79 A.D.   :burn:  :flamed:


After centuries of dormancy, Mount Vesuvius erupts in southern Italy, devastating the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing thousands. The cities, buried under a thick layer of volcanic material and mud, were never rebuilt and largely forgotten in the course of history. In the 18th century, Pompeii and Herculaneum were rediscovered and excavated, providing an unprecedented archaeological record of the everyday life of an ancient civilization, startlingly preserved in sudden death.

The ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum thrived near the base of Mount Vesuvius at the Bay of Naples. In the time of the early Roman Empire, 20,000 people lived in Pompeii, including merchants, manufacturers, and farmers who exploited the rich soil of the region with numerous vineyards and orchards. None suspected that the black fertile earth was the legacy of earlier eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. Herculaneum was a city of 5,000 and a favorite summer destination for rich Romans. Named for the mythic hero Hercules, Herculaneum housed opulent villas and grand Roman baths. Gambling artifacts found in Herculaneum and a brothel unearthed in Pompeii attest to the decadent nature of the cities. There were smaller resort communities in the area as well, such as the quiet little town of Stabiae.

At noon on August 24, 79 A.D., this pleasure and prosperity came to an end when the peak of Mount Vesuvius exploded, propelling a 10-mile mushroom cloud of ash and pumice into the stratosphere. For the next 12 hours, volcanic ash and a hail of pumice stones up to 3 inches in diameter showered Pompeii, forcing the city's occupants to flee in terror. Some 2,000 people stayed in Pompeii, holed up in cellars or stone structures, hoping to wait out the eruption.

A westerly wind protected Herculaneum from the initial stage of the eruption, but then a giant cloud of hot ash and gas surged down the western flank of Vesuvius, engulfing the city and burning or asphyxiating all who remained. This lethal cloud was followed by a flood of volcanic mud and rock, burying the city.

The people who remained in Pompeii were killed on the morning of August 25 when a cloud of toxic gas poured into the city, suffocating all that remained. A flow of rock and ash followed, collapsing roofs and walls and burying the dead.

Much of what we know about the eruption comes from an account by Pliny the Younger, who was staying west along the Bay of Naples when Vesuvius exploded. In two letters to the historian Tacitus, he told of how "people covered their heads with pillows, the only defense against a shower of stones," and of how "a dark and horrible cloud charged with combustible matter suddenly broke and set forth. Some bewailed their own fate. Others prayed to die." Pliny, only 17 at the time, escaped the catastrophe and later became a noted Roman writer and administrator. His uncle, Pliny the Elder, was less lucky. Pliny the Elder, a celebrated naturalist, at the time of the eruption was the commander of the Roman fleet in the Bay of Naples. After Vesuvius exploded, he took his boats across the bay to Stabiae, to investigate the eruption and reassure terrified citizens. After going ashore, he was overcome by toxic gas and died.

According to Pliny the Younger's account, the eruption lasted 18 hours. Pompeii was buried under 14 to 17 feet of ash and pumice, and the nearby seacoast was drastically changed. Herculaneum was buried under more than 60 feet of mud and volcanic material. Some residents of Pompeii later returned to dig out their destroyed homes and salvage their valuables, but many treasures were left and then forgotten.

In the 18th century, a well digger unearthed a marble statue on the site of Herculaneum. The local government excavated some other valuable art objects, but the project was abandoned. In 1748, a farmer found traces of Pompeii beneath his vineyard. Since then, excavations have gone on nearly without interruption until the present. In 1927, the Italian government resumed the excavation of Herculaneum, retrieving numerous art treasures, including bronze and marble statues and paintings.

The remains of 2,000 men, women, and children were found at Pompeii. After perishing from asphyxiation, their bodies were covered with ash that hardened and preserved the outline of their bodies. Later, their bodies decomposed to skeletal remains, leaving a kind of plaster mold behind. Archaeologists who found these molds filled the hollows with plaster, revealing in grim detail the death pose of the victims of Vesuvius. The rest of the city is likewise frozen in time, and ordinary objects that tell the story of everyday life in Pompeii are as valuable to archaeologists as the great unearthed statues and frescoes. It was not until 1982 that the first human remains were found at Herculaneum, and these hundreds of skeletons bear ghastly burn marks that testifies to horrifying deaths.

Today, Mount Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the European mainland. Its last eruption was in 1944 and its last major eruption was in 1631. Another eruption is expected in the near future, would could be devastating for the 700,000 people who live in the "death zones" around Vesuvius.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 26, 2004, 02:58:16 PM
August 26

1980 A 1,000-pound bomb is discovered in a Nevada casino   :help:


Workers at Harvey's Resort and Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, discover a 1,000-pound bomb disguised as a copy machine in an executive suite. A ransom note that had been attached to the massive explosive demanded $3 million to be paid in return for instructions on how to defuse the bomb.

As experts from the bomb squad examined the complex, handmade explosive containing a control box with 28 switches, the hotel was evacuated and the adjoining streets shut down. However, the nearby casino remained open to the skeptical gamblers who refused to leave.

The extortionist demanded that a helicopter fly $3 million in cash to an area south of the Lake Tahoe airport where a strobe light would give further coded instructions. But when the FBI violated the ransom instructions by contacting the helicopter by radio, the plan went awry and the bomb squad was left to dismantle the bomb.

From the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, experts tried to disassemble the bomb with robots. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful: The bomb exploded, demolishing the hotel. Luckily, none of the gamblers were killed.

After remaining at large for nearly a year, the four perpetrators were arrested by FBI agents in 1981. John Waldo Birges, who had lost a large amount of money at the casino in the months before the bomb exploded, orchestrated the plan with the help from his girlfriend, Ella Williams, and two other men. His sons later testified that he stole the TNT from a construction site. Birges was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Harvey's Resort and Casino was eventually rebuilt
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 27, 2004, 04:51:00 PM
1963 A 15-year-old murders his grandparents  :evilhappy:  :evilhappy:  :evilhappy:


Fifteen-year-old Edmund Kemper kills his grandparents with a rifle. Kemper, whose later crimes would be even more horrific, then called his mother and told her, "I just wondered how it would feel to shoot Grandma."

Seriously disturbed from an early age, Kemper chopped off the heads of his sister's dolls and tortured his family's cats. He buried one cat alive, then dug up the body, decapitated it, and displayed the head in his bedroom. Rather than seek professional care for the child, his mother shipped him off to live with his grandparents.

Following the murder of his grandparents, Kemper was sent to the Atascadero State Hospital, where he tried to convince psychiatrists that he should never be released. However, for reasons never explained, Kemper was released in 1969, then standing 6 feet, 9 inches tall and weighing over 300 pounds.

Three years later, Kemper picked up two college girls who were hitchhiking in northern California. He stabbed them to death and then mutilated their bodies. Over the next year, Kemper found four more young female victims. He cut off each of their heads and kept some of them at his home. He often committed unspeakable acts with the dead bodies, and purportedly ate parts of his victims.

When police began looking for the "Coed Killer," Kemper was so bold as to befriend some of them. On Easter in 1973, he went back to his mother's house and beat her to death with a hammer before having sex with her body. He then called her friend and invited her over to dinner. She, too, met the same fate.

After this double murder, Kemper drove to Colorado and called the Santa Cruz police department to confess. They hung up on him at first, not believing his tale. But he persisted until his story was checked out. In 1973, Kemper was convicted of eight counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison, despite his own testimony that "death by torture" was the most appropriate punishment.

Interviewers looking for a glimpse into Kemper's twisted mind found some disturbing evidence. When asked what he thought when he saw a pretty girl, he said, "One side of me says, I'd like to talk to her, date her. The other side of me says, I wonder how her head would look on a stick."
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 28, 2004, 02:27:57 PM
KING'S "I HAVE A DREAM" SPEECH:   :blahblah:
August 28, 1963


On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the African American civil rights movement reaches its high-water mark when Martin Luther King, Jr., speaks to more than 200,000 people attending the March on Washington. The demonstrators--black and white, poor and rich--came together in the nation's capital to demand voting rights and equal opportunity for African Americans and to appeal for an end to racial segregation and discrimination.

The peaceful rally was the largest assembly for a redress of grievances that the capital had ever seen, and King was the last speaker. With the statue of Abraham Lincoln--the Great Emancipator--towering behind him, King evoked the rhetorical talents he had developed as a Baptist preacher to articulate how the "Negro is still not free." He told of the struggle ahead, stressing the importance of continued action and nonviolent protest. Coming to the end of his prepared text (which, like other speakers that day, he had limited to seven minutes), he was overwhelmed by the moment and launched into an improvised sermon.

He told the hushed crowd, "Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettoes of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed." Continuing, he began the refrain that made the speech one of the best known in U.S. history, second only to Lincoln's 1863 "Gettysburg Address":

"I have a dream," he boomed over the crowd stretching from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, "that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today."

King had used the "I have a dream" theme before, in a handful of stump speeches, but never with the force and effectiveness of that hot August day in Washington. He equated the civil rights movement with the highest and noblest ideals of the American tradition, and for many Americans--white and black--the importance of racial equality was seen with a new and blinding clarity. He ended his stirring, 16-minute speech with his vision of the fruit of racial harmony:

"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'"

In the year after the March on Washington, the civil rights movement achieved two of its greatest successes: the ratification of the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished the poll tax and thus a barrier to poor African American voters in the South; and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education and outlawed racial segregation in public facilities. In October 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr., was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 4, 1968, he was shot to death while standing on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee; the gunman was escaped convict James Earl Ray.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 30, 2004, 12:19:57 AM
1949 Soviets explode atomic bomb


At a remote test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, the USSR successfully detonates its first atomic bomb, code name "First Lightning." In order to measure the effects of the blast, the Soviet scientists constructed buildings, bridges, and other civilian structures in the vicinity of the bomb. They also placed animals in cages nearby so that they could test the effects of nuclear radiation on human-like mammals. The atomic explosion, which at 20 kilotons was roughly equal to "Trinity," the first U.S. atomic explosion, destroyed those structures and incinerated the animals.

According to legend, the Soviet physicists who worked on the bomb were honored for the achievement based on the penalties they would have suffered had the test failed. Those who would have been executed by the Soviet government if the bomb had failed to detonate were honored as "Heroes of Socialist Labor," and those who would have been merely imprisoned were given "The Order of Lenin," a slightly less prestigious award.

On September 3, a U.S. spy plane flying off the coast of Siberia picked up the first evidence of radioactivity from the explosion. Later that month, President Harry S. Truman announced to the American people that the Soviets too had the bomb. Three months later, Klaus Fuchs, a German-born physicist who had helped the United States build its first atomic bombs, was arrested for passing nuclear secrets to the Soviets. While stationed at U.S. atomic development headquarters during World War II, Fuchs had given the Soviets precise information about the U.S. atomic program, including a blueprint of the "Fat Man" atomic bomb later dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, and everything the Los Alamos scientists knew about the hypothesized hydrogen bomb. The revelations of Fuchs' espionage, coupled with the loss of U.S. atomic supremacy, led President Truman to order development of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon theorized to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan.

On November 1, 1952, the United States successfully detonated "Mike," the world's first hydrogen bomb, on the Elugelab Atoll in the Pacific Marshall Islands. The 10.4-megaton thermonuclear device instantly vaporized an entire island and left behind a crater more than a mile wide. Three years later, on November 22, 1955, the Soviet Union detonated its first hydrogen bomb on the same principle of radiation implosion. Both superpowers were now in possession of the so-called "superbomb," and the world lived under the threat of thermonuclear war for the first time in history.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Jami on August 30, 2004, 11:16:26 PM
Since Bobby seems to be slacking today...

August 30, 1968 - The Beatles recorded their first songs for their own Apple label. The initial session included the big hits Revolution and Hey Jude
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 31, 2004, 01:02:27 AM
CLEOPATRA COMMITS SUICIDE:
August 30, 30 B.C.


Cleopatra, queen of Egypt and lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, takes her life following the defeat of her forces against Octavian, the future first emperor of Rome.

Cleopatra, born in 69 B.C., was made Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, upon the death of her father, Ptolemy XII, in 51 B.C. Her brother was made King Ptolemy XIII at the same time, and the siblings ruled Egypt under the formal title of husband and wife. Cleopatra and Ptolemy were members of the Macedonian dynasty that governed Egypt since the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. Although Cleopatra had no Egyptian blood, she alone in her ruling house learned Egyptian. To further her influence over the Egyptian people, she was also proclaimed the daughter of Re, the Egyptian sun god. Cleopatra soon fell into dispute with her brother, and civil war erupted in 48 B.C.

Rome, the greatest power in the Western world, was also beset by civil war at the time. Just as Cleopatra was preparing to attack her brother with a large Arab army, the Roman civil war spilled into Egypt. Pompey the Great, defeated by Julius Caesar in Greece, fled to Egypt seeking solace but was immediately murdered by agents of Ptolemy XIII. Caesar arrived in Alexandria soon after and, finding his enemy dead, decided to restore order in Egypt.

During the preceding century, Rome had exercised increasing control over the rich Egyptian kingdom, and Cleopatra sought to advance her political aims by winning the favor of Caesar. She traveled to the royal palace in Alexandria and was allegedly carried to Caesar rolled in a rug, which was offered as a gift. Cleopatra, beautiful and alluring, captivated the powerful Roman leader, and he agreed to intercede in the Egyptian civil war on her behalf.

In 47 B.C., Ptolemy XIII was killed after a defeat against Caesar's forces, and Cleopatra was made dual ruler with another brother, Ptolemy XIV. Julius and Cleopatra spent several amorous weeks together, and then Caesar departed for Asia Minor, where he declared "Veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered), after putting down a rebellion. In June 47 B.C., Cleopatra bore a son, whom she claimed was Caesar's and named Caesarion, meaning "little Caesar."

Upon Caesar's triumphant return to Rome, Cleopatra and Caesarion joined him there. Under the auspices of negotiating a treaty with Rome, Cleopatra lived discretely in a villa that Caesar owned outside the capital. After Caesar was assassinated in March 44 B.C., she returned to Egypt. Soon after, Ptolemy XIV died, likely poisoned by Cleopatra, and the queen made her son co-ruler with her as Ptolemy XV Caesar.

With Julius Caesar's murder, Rome again fell into civil war, which was temporarily resolved in 43 B.C. with the formation of the second triumvirate, made up of Octavian, Caesar's great-nephew and chosen heir; Mark Antony, a powerful general; and Lepidus, a Roman statesman. Antony took up the administration of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, and he summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus, in Asia Minor, to answer charges that she had aided his enemies.

Cleopatra sought to seduce Antony, as she had Caesar before him, and in 41 B.C. arrived in Tarsus on a magnificent river barge, dressed as Venus, the Roman god of love. Successful in her efforts, Antony returned with her to Alexandria, where they spent the winter in debauchery. In 40 B.C., Antony returned to Rome and married Octavian's sister Octavia in an effort to mend his strained alliance with Octavian. The triumvirate, however, continued to deteriorate. In 37 B.C., Antony separated from Octavia and traveled east, arranging for Cleopatra to join him in Syria. In their time apart, Cleopatra had borne him twins, a son and a daughter. According to Octavian's propagandists, the lovers were then married, which violated the Roman law restricting Romans from marrying foreigners.

Antony's disastrous military campaign against Parthia in 36 B.C. further reduced his prestige, but in 34 B.C. he was more successful against Armenia. To celebrate the victory, he staged a triumphal procession through the streets of Alexandria, in which he and Cleopatra sat on golden thrones, and Caesarion and their children were given imposing royal titles. Many in Rome, spurred on by Octavian, interpreted the spectacle as a sign that Antony intended to deliver the Roman Empire into alien hands.

After several more years of tension and propaganda attacks, Octavian declared war against Cleopatra, and therefore Antony, in 31 B.C. Enemies of Octavian rallied to Antony's side, but Octavian's brilliant military commanders gained early successes against his forces. On September 2, 31 B.C., their fleets clashed at Actium in Greece. After heavy fighting, Cleopatra broke from the engagement and set course for Egypt with 60 of her ships. Antony then broke through the enemy line and followed her. The disheartened fleet that remained surrendered to Octavian. One week later, Antony's land forces surrendered.

Although they had suffered a decisive defeat, it was nearly a year before Octavian reached Alexandria and again defeated Antony. In the aftermath of the battle, Cleopatra took refuge in the mausoleum she had commissioned for herself. Antony, informed that Cleopatra was dead, stabbed himself with his sword. Before he died, another messenger arrived, saying Cleopatra still lived. Antony had himself carried to Cleopatra's retreat, where he died after bidding her to make her peace with Octavian. When the triumphant Roman arrived, she attempted to seduce him, but he resisted her charms. Rather than fall under Octavian's domination, Cleopatra committed suicide on August 30, 30 B.C., possibly by means of an asp, a poisonous Egyptian serpent and symbol of divine royalty.

Octavian then executed her son Caesarion, annexed Egypt into the Roman Empire, and used Cleopatra's treasure to pay off his veterans. In 27 B.C., Octavian became Augustus, the first and arguably most successful of all Roman emperors. He ruled a peaceful, prosperous, and expanding Roman Empire until his death in 14 A.D. at the age of 75.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on August 31, 2004, 03:34:01 PM
1888 Jack the Ripper claims first victim


Prostitute Mary Ann Nichols, the first victim of London serial killer "Jack the Ripper," is found murdered and mutilated in Whitechapel's Buck's Row. The East End of London saw four more victims of the murderer during the next few months, but no suspect was ever found.

In Victorian England, London's East End was a teeming slum occupied by nearly a million of the city's poorest citizens. Many women were forced to resort to prostitution, and in 1888 there were estimated to be more than 1,000 prostitutes in Whitechapel. That summer, a serial killer began targeting these downtrodden women. On September 8, the killer claimed his second victim, Annie Chapman, and on September 30 two more prostitutes--Liz Stride and Kate Eddowes--were murdered and carved up on the same night. By then, London's police had determined the pattern of the killings. The murderer, offering to pay for sex, would lure his victims onto a secluded street or square and then slice their throats. As the women rapidly bled to death, he would then brutally mutilate them with the same six-inch knife.

The police, who lacked modern forensic techniques such as fingerprinting and blood typing, were at a complete loss for suspects. Dozens of letters allegedly written by the murderer were sent to the police, and the vast majority of these were immediately deemed fraudulent. However, two letters--written by the same individual--alluded to crime facts known only to the police and the killer. These letters, signed "Jack the Ripper," gave rise to the serial killer's popular nickname.

On November 7, after a month of silence, Jack took his fifth and last victim, Irish-born Mary Kelly, an occasional prostitute. Of all his victims' corpses, Kelly's was the most hideously mutilated. In 1892, with no leads found and no more murders recorded, the Jack the Ripper file was closed.


On another note Princess Dianna died in 1997 on this day.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 01, 2004, 08:30:32 PM
1981 A teenage boy murders his father


Fifteen-year-old Eric Witte shoots his father, 43-year-old volunteer firefighter Paul Witte, in the family's Indiana home. Although Eric admitted to shooting his father, he claimed that the gun had accidentally gone off when he tripped on a rug. The bullet hit his father, who was lying on a couch across the room, in the head. The shooting was ruled an accident, and Eric was released.

Three years later, Eric's grandmother, Elaine Witte, 74, was killed with a crossbow. A few months after the murder, the entire family was arrested in California for forging Elaine's signature on her Social Security checks. In the subsequent trial, the bizarre story behind the murders came to light.

Eric's mother, Marie Witte, had tried to kill her husband, Paul, by lacing his food with rat poison and Valium. When this proved unsuccessful, she convinced her son to shoot his father by telling him that Paul was going to divorce her and that they would end up living in the streets. She later persuaded John "Butch" Witte, Eric's younger brother, to kill his grandmother by convincing him that Elaine planned to kick them out of the house. John, who witnessed his father's murder at the age of 11, was 14 when he killed Elaine Witte. At the trial, John stated, "My mom said I could strangle her or use my crossbow. It was up to me."

A few hours after killing his grandmother, John went to court with his mother to inquire about receiving disability benefits from his father's death. When they returned home that night, they began cutting up Elaine's body with a knife and a chainsaw. Marie and her two boys then scattered the dismembered body throughout California.

John and Eric, who received 20- and 25-year sentences, respectively, were released in 1996. Marie Witte is currently serving a 90-year sentence.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Aquabat on September 01, 2004, 08:45:24 PM
Wow, suddenly, my family doesn't seem so bad.
:2gun:  :chainsaw:  :evilno:  :pistols:
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Jami on September 03, 2004, 05:04:52 AM
No event of the day again I see...

September 2, 2004 - Jami has four of her teeth brutally ripped out while unconscious. Teeth are still missing and presumed stolen.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Drew on September 03, 2004, 05:38:53 AM
Unconscious???  Heck my dentist just gave me a couple shots of tequila and went at em.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 03, 2004, 05:39:25 AM
With that sob story out of the way.

Here is a [span style=\'font-size:14pt;line-height:100%\']REAL [/span]event of the day

1990 Bush prepares for summit with Gorbachev


President George Bush prepares for his first summit meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The theme of the meeting was cooperation between the two superpowers in dealing with the Iraqi crisis in the Middle East.

In August 1990, Iraqi forces attacked the neighboring nation of Kuwait, setting off a crisis situation in the Middle East. Many U.S. officials were concerned about the Soviet attitude toward the Iraqi attack. Russian military advisers were known to be in Iraq, and previous crises in the Middle East--the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Six-Day War of 1967, and the Yom Kippur War of 1973--had nearly brought the United States and Russia to blows. By 1990, however, relations between the two Cold War enemies had changed dramatically. Since coming to power in 1985, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made it one of the keynotes of his regime to improve diplomatic relations with America. He and President Ronald Reagan engaged in a series of highly publicized summits, and tremendous progress was made in the area of arms control. When George Bush took over as president in 1989, he was faced with two policy options. The first came from a group of his advisers who suggested that the Soviets could not be trusted and that Gorbachev was, as Vice President Dan Quayle put it, a hard-line Stalinist "in Gucci shoes." They recommended that Bush break from the Reagan-era diplomacy, and take a tougher stand with the Soviets. Other Bush advisers cautioned the president to continue to take a cooperative approach. They believed that Gorbachev was the only man who could lead the Soviet Union to greater political and economic reforms. Bush's first summit with Gorbachev in September 1990 would be a demonstration of which policy position Bush would take.

The summit suggested that Bush would stay with the Reagan-era diplomatic approach. Although no groundbreaking agreements emerged from the Bush-Gorbachev meeting in Helsinki, the two nations agreed to cooperate in handling the Iraqi crisis. The Soviets, for their part, agreed to stand aside as the United States applied increasing pressure on Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. When the United States military launched an assault on Iraq in January 1991, the Soviets refrained from taking action. In the United Nations, the Soviet Union did nothing to block U.S. efforts to have U.N. forces help in the battle against Iraq. From being Cold War antagonists, the United States and Soviet Union had come to work together as international peacekeepers.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 05, 2004, 06:18:31 PM
1992 Prince becomes top-paid singer


Newspapers report that recording artist Prince has signed a $100 million contract with Warner Bros., making him the highest-paid pop artist in the country.

Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis, was the son of a jazz musician. He began learning piano as a child, and by his teenage years he had also learned guitar and drums. He played with several bands during his high school years. After his parents divorced, Prince lived with various family members and finally moved into the basement of a friend's house. His mastery of multiple instruments soon brought him a gig working on a local radio commercial in exchange for free studio time. He cut a demo and landed a record contract with Warner Bros. in 1978.

Prince released one album a year from 1978 to 1982. His 1982 album, 1999, included two Top 10 hits, "Delirious" and "Little Red Corvette." With the video for the latter, Prince became one of the first black performers on MTV. In 1984, Prince starred in a partly autobiographical film, Purple Rain. The movie's soundtrack, recorded with his band, the Revolution, was an enormous success. In addition to ringing up huge sales, it won two Grammys. "When Doves Cry," the first single released from the album, became the best-selling single of 1984, while the album topped the charts for 24 weeks and sold more than 10 million copies.

Prince not only sang but also produced his first five albums and played all the instruments. He continued his frenetic pace, writing songs for other performers in addition to releasing an album a year; he would have liked to release more, but his record company refused to accelerate the pace.

By 1993, he was feeling highly restricted by the terms of his contract with Warner Bros. He changed his name from Prince to an unpronounceable glyph combining the symbol for male and female. For the next seven years, journalists referred to him as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince." After Prince's Warner Bros. contract expired in 1996, he released an album called Emancipation. When his publishing contract with Warner-Chappell expired in 2000, he changed his name back to Prince.

In his battles against the record industry, Prince has sought out new ways to distribute his music. An avid supporter of Napster, he launched his own music subscription service in 2001.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 07, 2004, 06:21:17 PM
1936 Buddy Holly is born


Rock pioneer Buddy Holly is born on this day in Lubbock, Texas. Holly popularized the standard rock band format of two guitars, a bass, and drums. Legendary artists Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney were among the many musicians who have named Holly as a major influence.

1996 Tupac Shakur is shot


Actor and hip-hop recording artist Tupac Shakur is shot several times in Las Vegas, Nevada, after attending a boxing match. Shakur was riding in a black BMW with Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight when a white Cadillac sedan pulled alongside and fired into Shakur's car. Knight was only grazed in the head, but Shakur was hit several times. He died in a hospital several days later.


Coincidence? I think not. :evilhappy:
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 08, 2004, 04:35:09 PM
1966 Star Trek premieres  :starwars:  :starwars:


On this day in 1966, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise takes off on its mission to "boldly go where no man has gone before," with the premiere of Star Trek.

Although Star Trek ran for only three years (starting in 1966) and never placed better than No. 52 in the ratings, Gene Roddenberry's series became a cult classic and spawned four television series and nine movies.

The first Star Trek spin-off was a Saturday morning cartoon, The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, which ran from 1973 to 1975 (original cast members supplied the voices). The TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation first aired in 1987 and was set in the 24th century, starring the crew of the new, larger U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D, captained by Jean-Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart). This series became the highest-rated syndicated drama on television and ran until 1994.

Another spin-off, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, premiered in 1992, featuring a 24th-century crew that lived in a space station rather than a starship. Star Trek: Voyager, which debuted in 1995 and ran until 2001, was the first to feature a female captain, Kathryn Janeway (played by Kate Mulgrew). In this series, the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager is stranded more than 70,000 light years from Federation space and is trying to find its way home.

Meanwhile, the cast of the original Star Trek voyaged onto the big screen, starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. The first film yielded disappointing returns at the box office, but its sequel, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, in 1982 was more successful and ensured more movies in the franchise. Subsequent films included Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country; Star Trek: Generations; Star Trek: First Contact; and Star Trek: Insurrection. The Star Trek books have been translated into more than 15 languages, and Star Trek conventions are held all over the United States.

In 1992, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., opened an exhibit honoring the original Star Trek television series. The exhibit featured more than 80 costumes, props, and models from the show, including Mr. Spock's pointy ears and a replica of the deck of the starship Enterprise.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 08, 2004, 04:35:54 PM
Yeah I know it said Trek, I love the lightsabre guys though.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Jami on September 09, 2004, 11:05:09 PM
September 9, 1971

Inmates at the state prison in Attica, New York, take 30 guards hostage in a revolt over prison conditions. Fourty-three prisoners and guards will die in the revolt, which was violently suppressed four days later.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Drew on September 09, 2004, 11:07:19 PM
It's gonna be like that eh??

September 9/04:   Drew surpasses Jami's post count on the humpfest forums.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Jami on September 09, 2004, 11:21:37 PM
I was simply updating the event forum. I wasn't just being a post whore to beat someone else in a silly competition unlike SOME people around here. heh. :evilno:
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 10, 2004, 12:34:34 AM
Here is proper explaination of Jami's sub-standard Event of the Day


September 9, 1971


Prisoners riot and seize control of the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York. Later that day, state police retook most of the prison, but 1,281 convicts occupied an exercise field called D Yard, where they held 39 prison guards and employees hostage for four days. After negotiations stalled, state police and prison officers launched a disastrous raid on September 13, in which 10 hostages and 29 inmates were killed in an indiscriminate hail of gunfire. Eighty-nine others were seriously injured.

By the summer of 1971, the state prison in Attica, New York, was ready to explode. Inmates were frustrated with chronic overcrowding, censorship of letters, and living conditions that limited them to one shower per week and one roll of toilet paper each month. Some Attica prisoners, adopting the radical spirit of the times, began to perceive themselves as political prisoners rather than convicted criminals.

On the morning of September 9, the eruption came when inmates on the way to breakfast overpowered their guards and stormed down a prison gallery in a spontaneous riot. They broke through a faulty gate and into a central area known as Times Square, which gave them access to all the cellblocks. Many of the prison's 2,200 inmates then joined in the rioting, and prisoners rampaged through the facility beating guards, acquiring makeshift weapons, and burning down the prison chapel. One guard, William Quinn, was severely beaten and thrown out a second-story window. Two days later, he died in a hospital from his injuries.

Using tear gas and submachine guns, state police regained control of three of the four cellblocks held by the rioters without loss of life. By 10:30 a.m., the inmates were only in control of D Yard, a large, open exercise field surrounded by 35-foot walls and overlooked by gun towers. Thirty-nine hostages, mostly guards and a few other prison employees, were blindfolded and held in a tight circle. Inmates armed with clubs and knives guarded the hostages closely.

Riot leaders put together a list of demands, including improved living conditions, more religious freedom, an end to mail censorship, and expanded phone privileges. They also called for specific individuals, such as U.S. Representative Herman Badillo and New York Times columnist Tom Wicker, to serve as negotiators and civilian observers. Meanwhile, hundreds of state troopers arrived at Attica, and New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller called in the National Guard.

In tense negotiations, New York Correction Commissioner Russell Oswald agreed to honor the inmates' demands for improved living conditions. However, talks bogged down when the prisoners called for amnesty for everyone in D Yard, along with safe passage to a "non-imperialist country" for anyone who desired it. Observers pleaded with Governor Rockefeller to come to Attica as a show of good faith, but he refused and instead ordered the prison to be retaken by force.

On the rainy Monday morning of September 13, an ultimatum was read to the inmates, calling on them to surrender. They responded by putting knives against the hostages' throats. At 9:46 a.m., helicopters flew over the yard, dropping tear gas as state police and correction officers stormed in with guns blazing. The police fired 3,000 rounds into the tear gas haze, killing 29 inmates and 10 of the hostages and wounding 89. Most were shot in the initial indiscriminate barrage of gunfire, but other prisoners were shot or killed after they surrendered. An emergency medical technician recalled seeing a wounded prisoner, lying on the ground, shot several times in the head by a state trooper. Another prisoner was shot seven times and then ordered to crawl along the ground. When he didn't move fast enough, an officer kicked him. Many others were savagely beaten.

In the aftermath of the bloody raid, authorities said the inmates had killed the slain hostages by slitting their throats. One hostage was said to have been castrated. However, autopsies showed that these charges were false and that all 10 hostages had been shot to death by police. The attempted cover-up increased public condemnation of the raid and prompted a Congressional investigation.

The Attica riot was the worst prison riot in U.S. history. A total of 43 people were killed, including the 39 killed in the raid, guard William Quinn, and three inmates killed by other prisoners early in the riot. In the week after its conclusion, police engaged in brutal reprisals against the prisoners, forcing them to run a gauntlet of nightsticks and crawl naked across broken glass, among other tortures. The many injured inmates received substandard medical treatment, if any.

In 1974, lawyers representing the 1,281 inmates filed a $2.8 billion class-action lawsuit against prison and state officials. It took 18 years before the suit came to trial, and five more years to reach the damages phase, delays that were the fault of a lower-court judge opposed to the case. In January 2000, New York State and the former and current inmates settled for $8 million, which was divided unevenly among about 500 inmates, depending on the severity of their suffering during the raid and the weeks following.

Families of the slain correction officers lost their right to sue by accepting the modest death-benefit checks sent to them by the state. The hostages who survived likewise lost their right to sue by cashing their paychecks. Both groups attest that no state officials apprised them of their legal rights, and they were denied compensation that New York should have paid to them.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 10, 2004, 04:32:27 PM
1897 First DWI

Even without Breathalyzers and line tests, George Smith's swerving was enough to alarm British police and make him the first person arrested for drunken driving. Unfortunately, Smith's arrest did nothing to discourage the many other drunk drivers who have taken to the road since. Although drunk driving is illegal in most countries, punished by heavy fines and mandatory jail sentences, it continues to be one of the leading causes of automobile accidents throughout the world. Alcohol-related automobile accidents are responsible for approximately one-third of the traffic fatalities in the United States - 16,000 deaths each year, and also account for over half a million injuries and $1 billion of property damage annually.


And a love story..

1977 Serial-killing couple meets


Charlene Williams meets Gerald Gallego at a poker club in Sacramento, California, resulting in one of the worst serial killing teams in American history. Before they were finally caught, the Gallegos killed and sexually assaulted at least 10 people over a two-year period.

Within a week of their first encounter, Charlene moved in with Gerald. The son of the first man to be executed in Mississippi's gas chamber, Gerald had amassed seven felony convictions by the age of 32. He had also been married seven times and was wanted for sexually abusing his six-year-old daughter. By the time Charlene met Gerald, she had already gone through two marriages and had acquired a hard-drug habit.

Gerald, who had a taste for multiple women in his bed, brought home a teenage runaway so that he could indulge in a threesome shortly after Charlene moved in with him. However, he became extremely angry when he found out that Charlene and the girl were engaging in sex without him.

The couple soon decided to find victims that could keep Gerald sexually satisfied. After two months of planning, they abducted their first victims in September 1978: two teenage girls, whom they sexually assaulted, beat with a tire iron, and then shot in the head.

The couple, now married, waited until the following June before striking again, grabbing two young girls in Reno, Nevada. However, this time Charlene became mad at Gerald because he started raping the girls without her, while she was driving the van. When she began firing shots at him, he quickly killed the victims.

The pace of the couple's killings quickened in 1980. In April, they kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered two girls from a mall in Reno. Two months later, they found another victim during a vacation in Oregon. This time they buried their victim alive.

In July, the Gallegos kidnapped and killed a couple as they were leaving a fraternity party. However, partygoers got the license plate of their car, and a manhunt was instituted. The Gallegos managed to elude authorities for a few months but were finally caught in November in Omaha, Nebraska. While awaiting trial, Charlene agreed to testify to save her own life. Gerald Gallego was tried in both Nevada and California and received death sentences in both states. Charlene got a 20-year sentence in return for her testimony.

 :flower:
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 15, 2004, 02:43:33 AM
1974 A song about crime hits the charts


"I Shot the Sheriff" hits No. 1 on the music charts. While the song had been written by reggae legend Bob Marley the previous year, it was Eric Clapton's version that ascended to the top of the charts.

Crime and murder have been the subject of popular recorded music since the invention of the phonograph. "Stakalee," also known and performed as "Stagger Lee," was one of the 20th century's first hits. The lyrics, in which the theft of a Stetson hat leads to the death of a self-professed family man, were based on an actual murder that occurred in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1895. Over the years, it has been recorded by hundreds of artists, including, more recently, the Grateful Dead and Nick Cave.

Another early hit was "White House Blues," which recounted the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. It has since become a bluegrass standard. Country and folk songs often feature murder as a theme as well. The Louvin Brothers had a huge hit in the 1950s with "Knoxville Girl," a story-song in which the protagonist cannot help but kill his girlfriend, and Johnny Cash sang of killing a man "just to watch him die" in "Folsom Prison Blues."

In the 1990s, crime became a common theme of rap music too. Ice-T's "Cop Killer" caused a big controversy when opponents pressured Warner Brothers to stop the release of the record. And, in two separate murder trials, young men claimed that the violent imagery of Tupac Shakur's lyrics provoked them to kill police officers. Both juries, however, rejected the arguments.

 :batman:
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 16, 2004, 02:44:04 PM
1845 Mormons commit an act of "blood atonement"  :hug:


Phineas Wilcox is stabbed to death by fellow Mormons in Nauvoo, Illinois, because he is believed to be a Christian spy. Wilcox was one of the first victims of "blood atonement," an old Mormon doctrine conceived of by Brigham Young that taught that murder is sometimes necessary in order to save a sinful soul.

The murder of Wilcox reflected the serious and often violent conflict between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the surrounding communities. Joseph Smith, who founded the Mormon Church in 1830, had been living with his followers in Missouri, where they had various conflicts with locals, including an armed skirmish with the state militia. In 1838, Governor Lilburn Boggs, who was wounded four years later by an unidentified sniper at his home, signed a military order directing that the Mormons be expelled or exterminated: "The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary, for the public good."

Smith and the Mormons fled across the Mississippi to Nauvoo, Illinois, which quickly became the second most populous town in the state. But there were conflicts and tensions in Nauvoo as well. When a local newspaper printed editorials claiming that the religious leader was a fraud, Smith sent a group of followers to destroy the newspaper office. He was then arrested and sent to jail, where a lynch mob tracked him down and killed him.

Brigham Young, who quickly took command of the church and its followers, tried to stifle any dissent and banish his rivals. The killing of Phineas Wilcox was part of his consolidation of power. Tensions with other communities continued to escalate, and, a year later, over 2,000 armed anti-Mormons marched on Nauvoo. Young decided that it no longer was wise to stay in the area. He led his flock west and settled in the Salt Lake Valley, where he and his followers would become instrumental in founding the state of Utah.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 17, 2004, 04:19:32 PM
1862 Antietam: The bloodiest day in American history  :2gun:  :usa:  :chair:  :pistols:


Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac fight to a standstill along a Maryland creek on the bloodiest day in American history. Although the battle was a tactical draw, it forced Lee to end his invasion of the North and retreat back to Virginia.

After Lee's decisive victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 30, 1862, the Confederate general had steered his army north into Maryland. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis believed that another Rebel victory might bring recognition and aid from Great Britain and France. Lee also sought to relieve pressure on Virginia by carrying the conflict to the North. His ragtag army was in dire need of supplies, which Lee hoped to obtain from Maryland farms that were untouched by the war.

Lee split his army as he moved into Maryland. One corps marched to capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia, while the other two searched for provisions. Although a copy of Lee's orders ended up in the hands of McClellan, the Union general failed to act quickly, allowing Lee time to gather his army along Antietam Creek at Sharpsburg, Maryland. McClellan arrived on September 16 and prepared to attack.

The Battle of Antietam actually consisted of three battles. Beginning at dawn on September 17, Union General Joseph Hooker's men stormed Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's troops around the Dunker Church, the West Woods, and David Miller's cornfield. The Federals made repeated attacks, but furious Rebel counterattacks kept the Yankees in check. By early afternoon, the fighting moved south to the middle of the battlefield. Union troops under General Edwin Sumner inflicted appalling casualties on the Confederates along a sunken road that became known as "Bloody Lane" before the Southerners retreated. McClellan refused to apply reserves to exploit the opening in the Confederate center because he believed Lee's force to be much larger than it actually was. In the late afternoon, Union General Ambrose Burnside attacked General James Longstreet's troops across a stone bridge that came to bear Burnside's name. The Yankees crossed the creek, but a Confederate counterattack brought any further advance to a halt.

The fighting ended by early evening, and the two armies remained in place throughout the following day. After dark on September 18, Lee began pulling his troops out of their defenses for a retreat to Virginia. The losses for the one-day battle were staggering. McClellan lost a total of 12,401 men, including 2,108 dead, 9,540 wounded, and 753 missing. Lee lost 10, 406, including 1,546 dead, 7,752 wounded, and 1,108 missing.

Although the Union army drove Lee's force back to Virginia, the battle was a lost opportunity for the Yankees. McClellan had an overwhelming numerical advantage, but he did not know it. Another attack on September 18 may well have scattered the Confederates and cut off Lee's line of retreat.

A week later, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and changed the Northern goal from a war for reunification into a crusade for the end of slavery.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 20, 2004, 03:46:06 PM
What a shitty day for events, had to settle with this.

1984 Marvin Gaye's father accepts a plea bargain


On September 20, 1984, Marvin Gay Sr. agrees to a plea bargain agreement that will keep him out of jail for shooting his son, singer Marvin Gaye, during an argument on April 1. Originally charged with first-degree murder, Gaye's 70-year-old father agreed to plead no contest to involuntary manslaughter after an investigation into the shooting revealed that he had received massive bruises from the violent argument. In addition, Gaye, who was to turn 45 the next day, had cocaine in his system.

Marvin Gaye, who added the "e" to his name when he broke into show business, was one of Motown's biggest stars with massive hits such as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "What's Going On," and "Sexual Healing." He was also the third acclaimed soul singer of the 1960s to die a premature and tragic death. Sam Cooke ("You Send Me," "Cupid"), who had just crossed over into becoming a mainstream star, was shot to death in December 1963 outside a Los Angeles motel. And Otis Redding, one of the finest rhythm and blues singers, perished in a 1967 plane crash, right before his "Dock of the Bay" became a No. 1 hit.

A popular singer throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Gaye's career hit a lull during the disco era. But, just prior to his death, he had made a comeback with one of his biggest-selling albums, Midnight Love.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 21, 2004, 07:52:50 PM
1942 The Superfortress takes flight


On this day in 1942, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress makes its debut flight in Seattle, Washington. It was the largest bomber used in the war by any nation.

The B-29 was conceived in 1939 by Gen. Hap Arnold, who was afraid a German victory in Europe would mean the United States would be devoid of bases on the eastern side of the Atlantic from which to counterattack. A plane was needed that would travel faster, farther, and higher than any then available, so Boeing set to creating the four-engine heavy bomber. The plane was extraordinary, able to carry loads almost equal to its own weight at altitudes of 30,000 to 40,000 feet. It contained a pilot console in the rear of the plane, in the event the front pilot was knocked out of commission. It also sported the first radar bombing system of any U.S. bomber.

The Superfortress made its test run over the continental United States on September 21, but would not make its bombing-run debut until June 5, 1944, against Bangkok, in preparation for the Allied liberation of Burma from Japanese hands. A little more than a week later, the B-29 made its first run against the Japanese mainland. On June 14, 60 B-29s based in Chengtu, China, bombed an iron and steel works factory on Honshu Island. While the raid was less than successful, it proved to be a morale booster to Americans, who were now on the offensive.

Meanwhile, the Marianas Islands in the South Pacific were being recaptured by the United States, primarily to provide air bases for their new B-29s-a perfect position from which to strike the Japanese mainland on a consistent basis. Once the bases were ready, the B-29s were employed in a long series of bombing raids against Tokyo. Although capable of precision bombing at high altitudes, the Superfortresses began dropping incendiary devices from a mere 5,000 feet, firebombing the Japanese capital in an attempt to break the will of the Axis power. One raid, in March 1945, killed more than 80,000 people. But the most famous, or perhaps infamous, use of the B-29 would come in August, as it was the only plane capable of delivering a 10,000-pound bomb--the atomic bomb. The Enola Gay and the Bock's Car took off from the Marianas, on August 6 and 9, respectively, and flew into history.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on September 24, 2004, 02:40:35 PM
1948 Honda Starts Its Engines

The Honda Motor Company, one of the world's leading automobile manufacturers, began as a research institute founded by engineer Honda Soichiro. The institute focused on creating small, efficient internal-combustion engines, before it began incorporating these engines into motorcycles under the Honda name. It was on this day that the Honda Technical Research Institute officially became the Honda Motor Company, establishing a corporation that would become the leading producer of motorcycles in the world. Still, while Honda is the unchallenged leader in motorcycle production, the bulk of the company's revenue comes from its automobiles. Popular models like the Civic and Accord, and its dedication to lightweight, fuel-efficient cars, have made Honda a leader in the automotive industry.


Although I doubt they ever forsaw this.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on October 06, 2005, 04:26:29 PM
Hmmm a little over a year since the last update.  Guess I wont worry too much about repeats for a bit.


October 6

1866 The Reno brothers carry out the first train robbery in U.S. history


On this day in 1866, the brothers John and Simeon Reno stage the first train robbery in American history, making off with $13,000 from an Ohio and Mississippi railroad train in Jackson County, Indiana.

Of course, trains had been robbed before the Reno brothers' holdup. But these previous crimes had all been burglaries of stationary trains sitting in depots or freight yards. The Reno brothers' contribution to criminal history was to stop a moving train in a sparsely populated region where they could carry out their crime without risking interference from the law or curious bystanders.

Though created in Indiana, the Reno brother's new method of robbing trains quickly became very popular in the West. Many bandits, who might otherwise have been robbing banks or stagecoaches, discovered that the newly constructed transcontinental and regional railroads in the West made attractive targets. With the western economy booming, trains often carried large amounts of cash and precious minerals. The wide-open spaces of the West also provided train robbers with plenty of isolated areas ideal for stopping trains, as well as plenty of wild spaces where they could hide from the law. Some criminal gangs, like Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, found that robbing trains was so easy and lucrative that for a time they made it their criminal specialty.

The railroad owners, however, were not about to sit back and let Cassidy or any other bandit freely pillage their trains. To their dismay, would-be train robbers increasingly found that the cash and precious metals on trains were well protected in massive safes watched over by heavily armed guards. Some railroads, such as the Union Pacific, even began adding special boxcars designed to carry guards and their horses. In the event of an attempted robbery, these men could not only protect the train's valuables, but could also quickly mount their horses and chase down the fleeing bandits--hopefully putting a permanent end to their criminal careers. As a result, by the late 19th century, train robbery was becoming an increasingly difficult--and dangerous--profession.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on November 08, 2005, 04:25:29 PM
LOUVRE MUSEUM OPENS:
November 8, 1793


After more than two centuries as a royal palace, the Louvre is opened as a public museum in Paris by the French revolutionary government. Today, the Louvre's collection is one of the richest in the world, with artwork and artifacts representative of 11,000 years of human civilization and culture.

The Louvre palace was begun by King Francis I in 1546 on the site of a 12th-century fortress built by King Philip II. Francis was a great art collector, and the Louvre was to serve as his royal residence. The work, which was supervised by the architect Pierre Lescot, continued after Francis' death and into the reigns of kings Henry II and Charles IX. Almost every subsequent French monarch extended the Louvre and its grounds, and major additions were made by Louis XIII and Louis XIV in the 17th century. Both of these kings also greatly expanded the crown's art holdings, and Louis XIV acquired the art collection of Charles I of England after his execution in the English Civil War. In 1682, Louis XIV moved his court to Versailles, and the Louvre ceased to be the main royal residence.

In the spirit of the Enlightenment, many in France began calling for the public display of the royal collections. Denis Diderot, the French writer and philosopher, was among the first to propose a national art museum for the public. Although King Louis XV temporarily displayed a selection of paintings at the Luxembourg Palace in 1750, it was not until the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 that real progress was made in establishing a permanent museum. On November 8, 1793, the revolutionary government opened the Musée Central des Arts in the Grande Galerie of the Louvre.

The collection at the Louvre grew rapidly, and the French army seized art and archaeological items from territory and nations conquered in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Much of this plundered art was returned after Napoleon's defeat in 1815, but the Louvre's current Egyptian antiquities collections and other departments owe much to Napoleon's conquests. Two new wings were added in the 19th century, and the multi-building Louvre complex was completed in 1857, during the reign of Napoleon III.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Grand Louvre, as the museum is officially known, underwent major remodeling. Modern museum amenities were added and thousands of square meters of new exhibition space were opened. The Chinese American architect I.M. Pei built a steel-and-glass pyramid in the center of the Napoleon courtyard. Traditionalists called it an outrage. In 1993, on the 200th anniversary of the museum, a rebuilt wing formerly occupied by the French ministry of finance was opened to the public. It was the first time that the entire Louvre was devoted to museum purposes.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Bob on November 21, 2005, 04:54:48 PM
1877 Edison's first great invention

The American inventor announces his invention of the phonograph, a way to record and play back sound.

Edison stumbled on one of his great inventions--the phonograph--while working on a way to record telephone communication at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. His work led him to experiment with a stylus on a tinfoil cylinder, which, to his surprise, played back the short song he had recorded, "MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB". Public demonstrations of the phonograph made the Yankee inventor world famous, and he was dubbed the "Wizard of Menlo Park."

Edison set aside this invention in 1878 to work on the incandescent light bulb, and other inventors moved forward to improve on the phonograph. In 1887, Edison resumed work on the device, using the wax-cylinder technique developed by Charles Tainter. Although initially used as a dictating machine, the phonograph proved to be a popular tool for entertainment, and in 1906 Edison unveiled a series of musical and theatrical selections to the public through his National Phonograph Company. Continuing to improve on models and cylinders over the years, the Edison Disc Phonograph debuted in 1912 with the aim of competing in the popular record market. Edison's discs offered superior sound quality but were not compatible with other popular disc players.

During the 1920s, the early record business suffered with the growth of radio, and in 1929 recording production at Edison ceased forever. Edison, who acquired an astounding 1,093 patents in his 84 years, died in 1931.
Title: Event of the Day
Post by: Mikal on December 17, 2005, 08:07:27 PM
Events that happened today:
324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor.
1187 - Pope Clement III elected
1732 - Benjamin Franklin publishes Poor Richard's Almanack
1777 - George Washington's army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
1828 - John C. Calhoun pens South Carolina Exposition and Protest, protesting the Tariff of 1828.
1835 - Toledo Blade newspaper begins publishing.
1842 - United States recognizes the independence of Hawaii
1912 - William H. Van Schaick, captain of the steamship General Slocum which killed over 1,000 people was pardoned by President Taft after 3 1/2 years in Sing Sing prison .
1916 - The Battle of Verdun ended.
1928 - First autogiro flight in the United States
1945 - Austria becomes a republic for the second time, the first having been founded in 1918 and interrupted by the Austro-fascist dictatorship from 1934 onwards and the Nazi invasion of Austria in 1938.
1946 - Ho Chi Minh attacks French in Hanoi
1961 - The Indian Army invades the Portuguese province of Estado da India Portuguesa (Portuguese State of India) which will become part of India.
1962 - Nyasaland secedes from Rhodesia and Nyasaland
1963 - Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom to become a constitutional monarchy under the sultan.
1965 - Prisoners Ronald Ryan and Peter Walker escape from Pentridge Prison, Melbourne. During the escape a guard is killed. Ryan would hang for his death, in 1967.
1972 - Apollo 17, the last manned lunar flight, returns to Earth.
1974 - Australian Prime Minister, Harold Holt is pronounced dead.
1974 - The Altair 8800, the first personal computer, goes on sale
1978 - John Wayne Gacy is arrested for the killings of 33 boys and young men
1980 - Anguilla is made a dependency of the United Kingdom separate from Saint Kitts and Nevis
1982 - In Venezuela, the storage tanks of an oil-fired power plant catches fire killing 154 people.
1984 - The United Kingdom and People's Republic of China sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which handed Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
1988 - Lawn darts are banned from sale in the United States.
1997 - A Silkair Boeing 737-300 crashes into the Musi River, in Sumatra, Indonesia killing 104
1997 - Titanic (the highest-grossing movie ever as of 2005) opens in U.S. theaters.
1998 - The U.S. House of Representatives passes articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton over the Lewinsky scandal.
2000 - The Leninist Guerrilla Units attack a party office of the far-right MHP in Istanbul, Turkey. One MHP member is killed and several wounded.
2001 - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first film in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, opens in theaters.
2001 - A new world-record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is set at Tosontsengel, Hövsgöl Aymag, Mongolia.
2001 - The Argentine economic crisis burst into street riots after the announcement by the economy minister of the measures of holding back the bank deposits.