Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Wednesday, August 31

This Day In History

  • 1886   An earthquake rocked Charleston, S.C., killing up to 110 people.
  • 1852   The United States Congress passed legislation creating the first prestamped envelopes.
  • 1887   Thomas A. Edison received a patent for his ''Kinetoscope,'' a device that produced moving pictures.
  • 1888   Mary Ann Nicholls was found murdered in London's East End. She is generally regarded as the first victim of Jack the Ripper.
  • 1903   The first automobile trip from San Francisco to New York City was completed. A Packard made the trip in 52 days.
  • 1935   President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an act prohibiting the export of U.S. arms to belligerents.
  • 1954   Hurricane Carol hit the northeastern United States, resulting in nearly 70 deaths and millions of dollars in damage.
  • 1962   The Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago became independent within the British Commonwealth.
  • 1963   Walter Cronkite started showing up in living rooms during the dinner hour as anchor of the "CBS Evening News", a job he took over from Douglas Edwards on April 16, 1962. Previous to this night, "CBS Evening News" had been shown from 7:30-7:45 p.m. and 7:15-7:30 p.m.
  • 1964   California officially became the most populated of the United States.
  • 1969   Boxer Rocky Marciano died in a light airplane crash in Iowa, the day before his 46th birthday.
  • 1980   Poland's Solidarity labor movement was born with an agreement signed in Gdansk that ended a 17-day strike.
  • 1985   Richard Ramirez, later convicted of California's ''Night Stalker'' killings, was captured by residents of an East Los Angeles neighborhood.
  • 1986   An Aeromexico jetliner and a small private plane collided over Cerritos, Calif., killing 82 people.
  • 1992   White separatist Randy Weaver surrendered to authorities in Naples, Idaho, ending an 11-day siege by federal agents that claimed the lives of Weaver's wife, son and a deputy U.S. marshal.
  • 1994   The Irish Republican Army declared a cease-fire.
  • 1994   Russia officially ended its military presence in the former East Germany and the Baltics after half a century.
  • 1997   Diana, Britain’s Princess of Wales, was killed in an early-morning car crash in Paris, France. Also killed was her millionaire companion, Harrods department store heir, Dodi Fayed. The couple was being chased by aggressive paparazzie (photographers) on motorcycles at the time of the crash.
  • 2001   A Bronx, N.Y., team's third-place finish in the Little League World Series was ruled invalid because pitching star Danny Almonte was found to be two years older than the age limit of 12.
  • 2002   Jazz musician and bandleader Lionel Hampton died at age 94.
Happy Birthday To

  • 1870   Maria Montessori (educator: first woman to attend medical school, first female Doctor of Medicine in Italy, worked with handicapped and socially deprived children, developed unique educational method known as the Montessori method; Montessori Schools named for her; died May 6, 1952)
  • 1903   Arthur (Morton) Godfrey (ukulele playing, TV/radio entertainer: Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, Arthur Godfrey and Friends; Lipton Tea commercials; died Mar 16, 1983)
  • 1908   William Saroyan (Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright)
  • 1916   Daniel Schorr (journalist)
  • 1924   Buddy Hackett (Leonard Hacker) (comedian, actor)
  • 1928   James Coburn (actor)
  • 1935   Eldridge Cleaver (black activist; died May 1, 1998)
  • 1945   Itzhak Perlman (violinist: recorded with Andre Previn and Scott Joplin)
  • 1949   Richard Gere (actor)

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