| Seeking a westerly route to the Far East, he instead landed on October 12 in the Bahamas, thinking it was an outlying Japanese island. Columbus set sail from the bar of Saltes at 8 o'clock with his three ships, Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, and proceeded with a strong breeze till sunset, sixty miles or fifteen leagues south, afterwards southwest and south by west, which is the direction of the Canaries. |
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| Mira was discovered (or at least noted as special for the first time) after a series of observations by the astronomer David Fabricius beginning on August 3, 1596. Observing the planet Mercury, he needed a reference star for comparing positions and picked a previously unremarked third-magnitude star nearby. By August 21, however, it had increased in brightness by one magnitude, then by October had faded from view. Fabricius assumed it was a nova - interesting enough - but then saw it again on February 16, 1609. |
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| In Canada, LaSalle constructed a fort on the Niagara River (between Ontario and New York) and built a ship called the Griffon, which they used to explore the Great Lakes. They sailed on August 7, 1679, traveling across Lake Erie and Lake Huron. They traveled across land to Lake Michigan, which they paddled across in canoes. Returning, they discovered that the Griffon was lost, the fort at Niagara had burned down, and many men had deserted their posts, robbing supply stores. |
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| He called it "A Simple and Thoroughly Prepared School Management," one of the earliest treatises on pedagogy in this country. Having taught school in Germany, Dock contrasts with his experience there the welcome freedom of the voluntary schools provided by Pennsylvania German farmers and weavers for their children. Here no legislated compulsion stood behind the teacher; he must win his pupils' affection while he taught them their ABCs. |
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| On August 3, 1863 Lizzie W. became the first thoroughbred to cross the finish line at Saratoga Race Course. |  |
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| The establishment of the American Canoe Association in 1880 and the Canadian Canoe Association two decades later reflected the canoe's new status as a "gentleman's plaything"; members held annual races and debates. The development of such materials as fiberglass and Kevlar in the mid-1900s allowed increased production, again fueling its ever-growing popularity as a recreational vehicle. |
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| The controller of an electric railway vehicle is the equivalent of the gas pedal of an auto. The controller was operated by the motorman with his left hand. He set the crank-shaped controller handle in any of several positions or points. One position, calling for no power, caused the car to coast. Each of the other points applied power to the traction motors that propelled the car. |
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| Against Detroit in the 2nd inning, Les Nunamaker, Yankees catcher, becomes the only man in the 20th century to throw out three would-be base stealers in an inning, nipping Donie Bush, George Moriarty and Hugh High. New York still loses to Detroit, 4-1. |
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| The first known use of a heavier than air machine occurred on 3 August 1921 when as the result of advocacy by Dr B.R. Coad, a USAAC Curtiss JN4 Jenny piloted by John MacReady was used to spread lead arsenate to kill catalpha sphinx caterpillars near Troy, Ohio in the United States. |
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| Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis bans the eight Black Sox for life. Landis issues this
statement: "Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player that throws a ballgame; no player that undertakes or
promises to throw a ballgame; no player that sits in a conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers
where the ways and means of throwing games are planned and discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it,
will ever play professional baseball." The seven Chicago players who were acquitted and banned are Shoeless Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Buck Weaver, Swede Risberg, Chick Gandil, Happy Felsch and Lefty Williams. The eighth man out is Fred McMullin, whose case didn't go to trial. |
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| An actor by the name of Edward H. Smith is credited with first suggesting the idea of real
radio drama. In the summer of 1922, approached WGY Program Director Kolin Hager with the idea of doing radio
adaptations of some popular plays.
Smith immediately went to work on an adaptation of a play by Eugene Walter, entitled "The Wolf." This three act drama was cut down to exactly forty minutes by focusing on the action of the second act, adding just enough of the material from the first and third acts to make the story comprehensible. In agreeing to allow the adaptation, the playwright insisted that the presentation be given with a full cast. The play was aired following several rehearsals in September 1922, and the station received more than two thousand letters from within a five-hundred mile radius. One letter from Pittsfield, Massachusetts claimed that the screams of the character "Hilda" were so real, that a policeman overhearing the program thru a window burst into the writer's home to stop the "assault." |
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| In the 1st of two in a doubleheader sweep over the Braves, Chuck Klein hits safely in his 26th consecutive game, the 2nd time this season he has run a streak to this length. He will hit safely in 135 of his team's 156 games in 1930. Klein, who hit .434 in the stretch, is stopped in the 2nd game of the doubleheader. The Phils win, 11-5 and 4-1. |
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| The Yankees are shut out by the A's and Lefty Grove, 7-0, for their first scoreless game since August 2, 1931. They had tallied in 308 games in a row, during which they scored 1,986 runs (6.5 per game) to 1,434 for the opposition, which New York hurlers blanked 22 times. | |
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| In 1933, the first Mickey Mouse watch was introduced in a department store in Chicago. Thousands upon thousands of these watches were sold during the thirties. The timepiece sold for $2.75. A Mickey Mouse Clock sold for $1.50. |
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| The Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the NBA. The BAA included the Boston Celtics, Minneapolis Lakers (later LA Lakers), New York Knicks, Philadelphia Warriors (later Golden State Warriors), and the Rochester Royals (later Sacramento Kings). The NBL included the Syracuse Nationals (later Philadelphia 76ers) and the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (later Atlanta Hawks). |
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| Frank Blair was brought in to replace newscaster Jack Fleming who quit in disgust at having to share the screen with a chimp (J. Fred Muggs). Frank Blair stayed for the next twenty-two years as the news reader. |
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| British test pilot R.T. Shepherd completes the first flight of the experimental Rolls-Royce "Flying Bedstead" VTOL test bed. Developed to examine the potential of using jet engines to attain vertical flight, the ungainly-looking machine rises on two Rolls-Royce Nene jet engines. This pioneering VTOL vehicle subsequently furnishes much usefulinformation for future VTOL development. |
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| AAA was a sanctioning organization for automobile racing in the United States until 1956. It sanctioned many races, including the Indianapolis 500. After the Le Mans 1955 disaster, AAA decided that auto racing distracted from its primary goals, and the United States Automobile Club was formed to take over the race sanctioning/officiating. |
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| Elvis' second motion picture, Loving You, premiered in July and quickly reaches the top ten at the box office. Hit records include the title song and the classic smash "Teddy Bear". |
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| On July 23, 1958, NAUTILUS departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii under top secret orders to conduct "Operation Sunshine," the
first crossing of the north pole by a ship. At 11:15 pm on August 3, 1958, NAUTILUS' second Commanding Officer,
Commander William R. Anderson, USN, announced to his crew "For the world, Our Country, and the Navy - the North
Pole." With 116 men aboard, NAUTILUS had accomplished the "impossible," reaching the geographic North Pole--90
degrees north. At 2315 EDST, on August 3, 1958, Commander William R. Anderson announced to the crew "For the world, Our Country and the Navy - the North Pole". With 116 men on board, NAUTILUS had accomplished the "impossible" - reaching the geographic North Pole, 90-degrees North. |
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| The debut and the following two albums all reached number 1 in the US album charts, this record, for a comedian, is unlikely to be beaten. Sherman's success was immediate, with numerous appearances on major USA television programmes and a headlining concert at Carnegie Hall. The formula of the first album was repeated on the subsequent My Son, The Celebrity and My Son, The Nut. The third album also produced a number 2 single, "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp)", based on Ponchielli's "Dance Of The Hours". |
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| The Cavern Club was an old wine cellar/basement with three tunnels connected by archways. On 7 August, 1957 the Quarry Men appeared at the Cavern Club and played some Elvis Presley numbers. The owner sent them a note to "Cut out the bloody rock." The Beatles first lunchtime appearance in the Cavern was on 21 February, 1961 and their first evening session on 21 March, 1961. They played a total of 292 times through August 3, 1963 for about 25 shillings a session. |
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| The group began as Kenny and the Cadets, Carl and the Passions, and finally the Pendletones. Brian a fan of the Four Freshman, began teaching the others intricate Freshman styled harmonies. The next surfing/drag racing hits were the groups' first ballad "Surfer Girl", along with Little Deuce Coupe". |
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| "So Much In Love" (1962), a gorgeously simple performance which recalled the bygone doo-wop era while anticipating the sweet harmonies of 70s Philly soul hit #1 in August. Their follow-up singles, a cover of Johnny Mathis' "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and "Somewhere", were also major hits. |
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| The Doors, one of the most influential and controversial rock bands of the 1960s, were formed in Los Angeles in 1965 by UCLA film students Ray Manzarek, keyboards, and Jim Morrison, vocals; with drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger. The group never added a bass player, and their sound was dominated by Manzarek's electric organ work and Morrison's deep, sonorous voice, with which he sang and intoned his highly poetic lyrics. |
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| The Players Negotiating Committee and the NFL Players Association announced a four-year agreement guaranteeing approximately $4,535,000 annually to player pension and insurance benefits. |
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| At the end of July, Paul asks ex-Moody Blues Denny Laine to join his new band. Secret rehearsals
and recordings are carried out in London and Scotland in August. This leads to the first formation of Wings. Paul McCartney unveils his new band, Wings, comprising Paul McCartney and Linda with Denny Laine (guitar) and Denny Seiwell (drums). Though there will be personnel changes, Paul McCartney and Linda remain loyal to the Wings rubric for the next ten years. |
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| John Denver experienced his first major break in the music industry when he was chosen from 250
other hopefuls as lead singer for the popular Mitchell Trio. Less than two years later, after the trio disbanded, John himself was climbing up the Pop charts with songs like "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Rocky Mountain High," "Sunshine On My Shoulders," "Annie's Song," "Back Home Again," "Thank God I'm A Country Boy," and "Calypso," solidifying his position as one of the top stars of the decade. |
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| The Superdome is a massive structure located on 52 acres (210,000 sq. m) of land; the dome has an interior space of 125,000,000 sq. ft. (3,500,000 sq. m), a height of 253 feet (82.3 meters), a dome diameter of 680 feet (210 meters), and a total floor area of 269,000 sq ft (25,000 sq m). It is the largest fixed domed structure in the world, but it lost its title as the largest domed structure when the Georgia Dome in Atlanta was completed in 1992. |
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| Affectionately called the "trash-80," it had a far more portable appearance, its circuitry contained below its keyboard in a rectangular slab tilted slightly towards the user. A comparison of TRS-80 and Apple II advertisements reveals the degree to which Apple was emphasizing accessibility to a broad public audience. While the Apple II was declared both useful "and just plain fun" (Apple ad in Byte, April 1979, p. 5), the TRS-80 was said to have "advanced features like comprehensive string handling, multi-dimension arrays, multi-letter variable names" along with other esoteric capabilities. |
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| On August 3, 1981 almost 13,000 air traffic controllers went on strike after months of
negotiations with the federal government. During the contract talks, Robert Poli, president of the Professional Air
Traffic Controllers Association (PATCO), explained the union's three major demands as a $10,000 across the board
raise, a 32-hour workweek (down from 40), and a better retirement package. While the press and hearings in Congress
focused almost exclusively on the demand for a pay raise, certain commentators recognized that the air
controllers' walkout was not solely, or even primarily, an economic issue. On August 5, an angry President Reagan carried out his threat, and the federal government began firing the 11,359 air-traffic controllers who had not returned to work. |
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| In 1984, the group released Songs From the Big Chair, which demonstrated a more streamlined and soul-influenced sound. Songs From the Big Chair became a huge hit in America, rocketing to the top of the charts on the strength of the singles "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout," which both hit number one, and the number three "Head Over Heels," which were all supported by clever, stylish videos that received heavy MTV airplay. |
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| Skip Storch set a new record on August 25, 2005, when he finished his swim from Albany to the bottom of Manhattan in 41 hours and 30 minutes, beating the old record of 50 hours and 6 minutes, set by George Creegan in 1927. Skip's swim was spread out over the course of 10 days, mostly taking place from 5:00 - 7:00 am and 5:00 - 7:00 pm. |
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| Except for injury-torn 1987, he led the league every year from 1980-91 -- but leg injuries ranging from hamstring strains ("my hammies," he called them) to a sprained knee to frostbite slowly began to limit his playing time. |
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| The Reds score 14 runs in the first inning of an 18-2 demolition of the Astros. ML records set during the onslaught include most hits in an inning (16), most players with two hits in an inning (7), and most singles in an inning (12). Mariano Duncan and Luis Quinones each tie the major-league record by batting three times and the team ties the National League and ML mark with most players scoring twice (6). Tom Browning is the easy complete game winner while Jim Clancy, who gives up seven runs while recording no outs, is the loser. Bob Forsch, allows 10 runs on 18 hits in seven innings, and Juan Agosto, one run in one inning. |
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| Spawning one of the hottest dance crazes of the '90s, the duo of Antonio Romeo Monge and Rafael Ruiz released "Macarena" in 1993, but had to wait almost three years for the song to become a worldwide hit. Monge and Ruiz had recorded Spanish flamenco-pop as Los del Rio for decades, and were inspired to record "Macarena" by a dancer they saw in Venezuela. The single was originally released in April 1993 on a Spanish label, and became a hit in that country. |
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1492 Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos,
Spain
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1596 David Fabricius discovers light variation
of Mira
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1678 Robert LaSalle builds 1st ship in America,
Griffon
More ...
1750 Christopher Dock completed
the first book of teaching methods
More ...
1863 Saratoga Racetrack (NY) opens
More ...
1880 American Canoe Association founded at Lake
George NY
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1897 The StreetCar Controller was patented by
Walter Knight and William Potter
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1914 Yankee catcher Nunamaker throws out 3 would
be stealers in 1 inning
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1921 First aerial cropdusting (Troy, Ohio to kill
caterpillars)
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1921 Eight "Black Sox" thrown out
More ...
1922 WGY radio in Schenectady, NY presented the
first full-length melodrama
More ...
1930 Second time in 1930, Chuck Klein of Phillies
hits in 26 straight games
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1933 Yanks are shut out for first time after 308
games
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1933 The world-famous Mickey Mouse Watch was introduced.
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1943 Gen. George S. Patton slapped a private at
an army hospital in Sicily, accusing him of cowardice. Patton was later ordered
by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to apologize.
1948 Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist, publicly
accused former State Department official Alger Hiss of having been part of
a Communist underground, a charge Hiss denied.
1949 Two basketball leagues merge to form the NBA
More ...
1953 Frank Blair becomes news anchor of the Today
Show
More ...
1954 First VTOL (Vertical Take-off & Land)
flown
More ...
1955 Automobile Association of America ends support
of auto racing
More ...
1957 "Teddy Bear" by Elvis Presley topped
the charts
More ...
1958 USS Nautilus begins 1st crossing of Arctic
Ocean under icecap
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1958 James Robert Sordelet of Fort Wayne, IN,
became the first person to reenlist in the U.S. Navy while under the North
Pole! He did so while serving on the submarine "Nautilus" as it
crossed under the Arctic ice.
1963 Allan Sherman releases "Hello Mudda,
Hello Fadda"
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1963 Beatles final performance at the Cavern Club
in Liverpool
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1963 The Beach Boys’ "Surfer Girl"
was released on Capitol Records
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1963 "So Much in Love" by the Tymes
topped the charts
More ...
1968 "Hello, I Love You" by the Doors
topped the charts
More ...
1970 4 day NFL strike ends
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1970 Mairiam Hargrave of Yorkshire, passes her
driving test on 40th try
1971 Paul McCartney announces the formation of
his group Wings
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1974 “Annie's Song" by John Denver topped
the charts
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1975 Louisiana Superdome is dedicated
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1977 TRS-80 computer introduced by Radio Shack
More ...
1979 Fastest jai-alai shot (188 mph), Jose Arieto
at Newport Jai Alai, RI
1981 Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) begin their
strike
More ...
1983 John Sain of South Bend, Ind builds 12.9
foot house of cards
1985 "Shout" by Tears for Fears topped
the charts
More ...
1985 Mail service returned to Paradise Lakes,
FL -- a nudist colony. Residents promised that they’d wear clothes or
stay out of sight when the mailperson came to deliver.
1988 Skip Storch swims 153 miles of Hudson River
from Albany to NYC
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1989 Fifth jockey to win 6,000 races (Jorge Valesquez)
1989 Rickey Henderson sets AL mark of 50 steals
in 9 seasons
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1989 Cincinnati Reds send record 20 men to bat
in the 1st inning
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1992 The Senate voted to sharply restrict - and
eventually end - U.S. testing of nuclear weapons.
1996 "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" by
Los Del Rio topped the charts
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