| The first English colony in North America was founded by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, an English navigator and explorer. He sighted the Newfoundland coast and took possession of the area around St. John's harbor in the name of the Queen. He was later lost at sea in a storm off the Azores on his return trip to England. |  |
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| The first recorded ascent of Mt. Marcy was made in 1837 by ProfessorEbenezer Emmons and his party, there
were no trails or guide posts. They struggled through virgin forests which, especially in the dense alpine growth of
pure scrubby balsam near the top of the mountain, made for tough-going. It was named after state governor William Marcy. Emmons named the peak Marcy on making the first recorded ascent of the mountain in 1837. Marcy has in the past been referred to with the Indian word Tahawus, meaning "cloud-splitter." |
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| On August 4, the Niagara reached Newfoundland, and the Agamemnon sighted Valentia a day later.
Field soon telegraphed his wife from Newfoundland: "All well. The Atlantic telegraph cable successfully laid." Field
later wrote that "every man on board the telegraph fleet has exerted himself to the utmost to make the expedition
successful. By the blessing of Divine Providence it has succeeded."
At the family home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Field's father "rejoiced like a boy... Bells were rung, guns fired; children let out of school... The village was in a tumult of joy." But this joy would prove short-lived. From the beginning, messages sent through the cable took agonizingly long to receive, and within a few short weeks, the first cable had failed. |
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| Northerners and Southerners fought each other to a standstill on the issues of naval disciplinary reform that came before Congress; and with the exception of one major victory for the reformers (the abolition of flogging), nothing could be done to straighten out the Navy’s system of justice in any comprehensive way. The cause of reform was not helped by the fact that most of the Navy’s officers opposed any liberalization of the treatment of enlisted men and some were secretly satisfied with the confused and inefficient system of officer discipline which seemed unable to weed out incompetents. Perversely there was even some resistance to the abolition of flogging from the enlisted seamen, who endured the customary twelve lashes as a mark of honor. |
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| The first federal income tax in American history actually preceded the Internal Revenue Act of 1862. Passed in August 1861, it had helped assure the financial community that the government would have a reliable source of income to pay the interest on war bonds. Initially, Salmon Chase and Thaddeus Stevens, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, wanted to implement an emergency property tax similar to the one adopted during the War of 1812. |
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| He took the last Confederate stronghold on the Gulf of Mexico in the celebrated Battle of Mobile Bay. The heavily guarded bay entrance was filled with mines, then known as torpedoes. Farragut's cry of "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" is now the stuff of legend, but it was also good tactics. All but one of the fleet's 18 ships passed safely through the channel, and in August 1864, Mobile Bay's forts fell. "Old Salamander" returned to Union territory a hero. |  |
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| Donati was first to observe the spectrum of a comet (Comet 1864 II). This observation indicated correctly that comet tails contain luminous gas and do not shine merely by reflected sunlight. |  |
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| Harold Arlin, a twenty-five year old Westinghouse foreman and nighttime studio announcer, took his place in Baseball History, from a ground-level box seat in Forbes Field. Using only a converted telephone as a microphone and some jerry-rigged equipment set up behind home plate, Arlin called the world's first baseball game broadcast--on KDKA, the nation's first commercial radio station. |  |
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| American Henry Sullivan made the slowest crossing in 1923 in 26 hours 50 minutes. Henry F. Sullivan of Lowell, Mass., swam the English Channel from Dover to Calais. Although the distance was only 22.5 miles as the crow flies, he swam approximately 56 miles miles. Sullivan, 31, made his first unsuccessful attempt to swim the channel ten years ago and has made five other unsuccessful attempts since then. The crossing consumed 26 hours, 50 minutes of his time. In 1875 Captain Mathew Webb swam the channel in 21 hours, 45 minutes. In 1911 Thomas Burgess did it in 22 hours, 35 minutes. |
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| Little Orphan Annie was not an original name — it was the title of an 1885 poem by James Whitcomb Riley and a photo that has hung in a Philadelphia gallery since 1909, among other things. Nor was the idea of a self-reliant kid, alone against the world, a new one. Gray's art style was stiff and primitive, and his characterizations unsubtle in the extreme. He has been accused, by almost everyone commenting on his work, of injecting a great deal of his very conservative political point of view into the strip. About the only thing he had going for him was an amazing ability to grab the reader's interest, drag him into the story, and make him come back the next day for another installment. |
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| Houdini often placed himself in dangerous situations that would cause anxiety in most people. He had to learn to overcome his fear of closed spaces, water, and heights. Houdini stayed calm by controlling his breathing and heart rate. |  |
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| Williams was a power hitting center fielder, leading the National League in home runs four times during his career. He was the first NL player to hit 200 career home runs. |  |
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| Starting out as a local radio production of WGN in Chicago, Backstage Wife is the story of Mary Noble, a small Iowa girl who came to the big city for her future. So identified is the characters name with this series, many today remember its title as Mary Noble, Backstage Wife, which of course is not the case. Mutual acquired this series and aired it from 08/05/35 to 03/27/36 before it moved to NBC (03/30/36 - 07/01/55) and finally landing on the CBS network from 07/04/55 until its last broadcast on 01/02/59. |
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| "Little Boy" is the nick name given to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
It was Monday morning. Little Boy was dropped from the Enola Gay, one of the B-29 bombers that flew over Hiroshima on
that day. After being released, it took about a minute for Little Boy to reach the point of explosion. Little Boy exploded at approximately 8:15 a.m. (Japan Standard Time) when it reached an altitude of 2,000 ft above the building that is today called the "A-Bomb Dome." |
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| Les Baxter was also assisting in the making of some classic Cole hit recordings at this time
such as Mona Lisa, The Magic Tree, Always You, Too Young, Early American and Because Of Rain, as was Stan Kenton with
the song Orange Coloured Sky. Another of the myths about Nat is that by making one of his many hits, The Christmas Song, Too Young, Mona Lisa or whatever, he was suddenly transformed from rags to riches. Certainly he was elevated to millionaire status but not from poverty, for even in the early forties Nat was earning around 50,000 dollars per year which, fifty years later, is still not an unreasonable income. |
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| Bandstand began as a local program on WFIL-TV (now WPVI), Channel 6 in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952. Then it was hosted by Bob Horn and was called Bob Horn's Bandstand.On July 9 of 1956 the show got a new host, a clean-cut 26 year old named Dick Clark. When ABC picked the show up, it was renamed American Bandstand, airing it's first national show on August 5, 1957. |  |
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| Frank Lane trades managers with Detroit's GM Bill DeWitt. The Indians Joe Gordon (49-46) is dealt to the Tigers for Jimmy Dykes (44-52). For one game, until the pair can change places, Jo-Jo White pilots the Indians and Billy Hitchcock guides the Tigers. |
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| Bobby Lewis is one of those talented performers whose recognition is confined to a single monster hit, "Tossin' and Turnin'." Released in early 1961, the single rode the charts to 23 weeks, eventually hitting the number one spot on both the pop and R&B charts. |  |
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| In 1962, a lunar occultation on August 5 enabled Australian radio astronomers to more precisely fix the location of the previously known radio source 3C 273, in Virgo. In 1963 this became the first member of a new class of object eventually to be called quasars or "quasi-stellar radio sources." Maarten Schmidt, using the Hale optical telescope, saw it as a faint star-like object with a visible jet. Its spectrum featured unusual emission lines, which he identified as ordinary hydrogen lines shifted toward longer wavelengths (redshifted) by 16%. If the shift is due to velocity, it is moving away at one-sixth the speed of light and one of the most distant objects visible. Quasars radiate as much energy per second as a hundred or more galaxies. 3C273 is the brightest quasar known. |
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| In 1963, Britain, America and Russia signed a Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty at Moscow to prohibit nuclear weapons tests "or any other nuclear explosion" in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. Underground nuclear explosions must not cause "radioactive debris to be present outside the territorial limits" their own country. The nuclear powers thus demonstrated a common goal to "an end to the contamination of man's environment by radioactive substances." |
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| Some said his Spirit of America was not a car but a motorcycle because it had only three wheels. Others said its jet engine meant it wasn't a car or a motorcycle, but something that defied existing classifications. Everyone agreed that Breedlove had driven this 38-ft.-long tricycle in both directions across Bonneville's measured mile at an average speed of 407.45 mph, clearly a record for wheeled vehicles. |  |
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| Revolver was The Beatles' seventh album in three years, released on August 5, 1966. The album showcased a number of new stylistic developments which would become more pronounced on later albums. It reached #1 on both the UK and US charts. |  |
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| The Beatles had never intended to write songs for an animated film, as the four new songs that appear on Yellow Submarine were originally designed to be released as a Beatles' EP (Extended Play single). These songs are: Only A Northern Song, All Together Now, Hey Bulldog, and It's All Too Much. Upon approving the film, Lennon and McCartney got together and wrote one song for the film, titled Yellow Submarine in Pepperland. Other songs on this album by The Beatles are the title track, which first appeared on the album Revolver; and All You Need Is Love, which had and altogether different purpose. | |
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| Best-known for her crossover smash "Ode to Billie Joe," she was one of the first female country artists to write and produce much of her own material. Gentry continued performing in clubs in the years to follow before an early 1967 recording a demo found its way to Capitol Records producer Kelly Gordon; upon signing to the label, she issued her debut single, "Mississippi Delta." However, disc jockeys began spinning the B-side, the self-penned "Ode to Billie Joe" -- with its eerily spare production and enigmatic narrative detailing the suicide of Billie Joe McAllister, who flings himself off the Tallahatchie Bridge, the single struck a chord on country and pop radio alike, topping the pop charts for four weeks in August 1967 and selling three million copies. |
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| Before this was released, The Doors were an underground band popular in the Los Angeles area.
This got the attention of a mass audience. It sold over one million copies and was the first
#1 hit for their record label Elektra. Elektra thought this was too long to get radio play,
so the guitar solos were edited down for the single to make it considerably shorter. Since the single was a
shortened version, fans had to buy the album to get the extended mix, which helped spur sales of the album.
The song topped the chart for the first three weeks in July 1967. The producers of The Ed Sullivan Show asked the band to change the line "Girl we couldn't get much higher" for their appearance in 1967. Morrison said he would, but sung it anyway. Afterwards, he told Sullivan that he was nervous and simply forgot to change the line. This didn't fly, and The Doors were never invited back. The Doors sold the recording rights to Jose Feliciano. His version reached #3 in 1968. |
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| The eight-sided body of the spacecraft carried seven electronic compartments. A small rocket engine, used for trajectory corrections, protruded through one of the sides. The planetary experiments aboard the spacecraft were two television cameras, an infrared radiometer, an infrared spectrometer and an ultraviolet spectrometer. The spacecraft were launched in February and March 1969, and flew past Mars in July and August 1969. |  |
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| In the 7th inning, Pirate Willie Stargell hits the first home run completely out of Dodger Stadium. The 512-foot blast (another account has 480 feet) breaks a deadlock and comes in an 113 Pittsburgh rout of Los Angeles. The Bucs score seven in the 9th, climaxed by a Bill Mazeroski 2-run homer. |  |
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| This album, and its singles "Nights in White Satin" and "Tuesday Afternoon," hooked directly
into the musical sides of the Summer of Love and its aftermath. In Search of the Lost Chord (1968) abandoned the
orchestra in favor of the Mellotron, which quickly became a part of their signature sound. In 1967 the Moodies made use not only of the many instruments playable by the members but of an entire symphony orchestra to produce "Days Of Future Past", which contained the hits "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights In White Satin." |
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| In 1971, he finally broke through to the American market with the ballad "Alone Again (Naturally)," which topped the U.S. pop charts and sold over a million copies. Around this time, he quickly jettisoned his so-called "Bisto Kid" image in favor of a series of embossed letter "G" sweaters. In late 1972, Gilbert scored his first British number one with "Clair." |  |
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| The title character (it is not known whether Tank is a nickname or a given name, but fitting due to his large physique) is a local sports television reporter who used to be a defensive lineman in the National Football League. He played college football for "Enormous State University" (ESU), which serves the role of a generic NCAA Division I university with problem-plagued athletic programs. | |
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| The first seven Phillies hit safely—good for 15 bases—against Bill Bonham (108)and the Cubs, in setting a ML record. No pitcher has ever started a game by allowing seven straight hits. Dave Cash leads off with a single, and Larry Bowa matches it. Garry Maddox homers over the LF fence. Greg Luzinski singles, and Jay Johnstone and Tommy Hutton follow with doubles to make it 50. Mike Schmidt then hits his 22nd homer to finally drive Bonham out of the game. His replacement, Ken Crosby (making his ML debut) gives up a single to Johnny Oates for the 8th straight hit. Dick Ruthven lays down a sac bunt for the first out, but three walks, two hits and a balk make it 100. As historian Lyle Spatz notes, the Phils last scored 10 runs in a frame on August 13, 1948. Schmidt adds a 2nd homer to help push the final to 135. |
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| The band reconvened in 1978 to record Some Girls, an energetic response to punk, new wave, and disco. The record and its first single, the thumping disco-rocker "Miss You," both reached number one, and the album restored the group's image. |  |
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| Expos manager Dick Williams wins his 1,000th career game 115 over the Mets, at Olympic Stadium. He is 3rd in wins among active managers behind Gene Mauch and Earl Weaver. The Expos overcome the offense of Doug Flynn, who ties the modern major-league record with three triples. It was last done in the National League by Ernie Banks, in 1966. |  |
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| On August 5, 1981, President Ronald Reagan begins firing 11,359 air-traffic controllers striking in violation of his order for them to return to work. The executive action, regarded as extreme by many, significantly slowed air travel for months. |
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| Toronto's Cliff Johnson hits his 19th career pinch home run, breaking the major-league record of 18 he had shared with Jerry Lynch. Johnson's 8th-inning blast gives the Blue Jays a 43 win over the Orioles. |  |
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| The owners proposed a plan that would prevent rich clubs from signing free agents, players walked off the job. |
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| Prince would record the soundtrack for Batman which would return him to the top of the US album charts and the single 'Batdance' would reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and be a worldwide hit. |  |
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| An automatic talking potty apparatus included a receptacle support assembly and a receptacle supported by the receptacle support assembly. A seating surface is positioned over the receptacle. A seated-child sensor assembly senses when a child has been seated on the seating surface. A control assembly is electrically connected to the seated-child sensor assembly. A gender-selection switch is electrically connected to the control assembly. A female-gender message device and a male-gender message device are selectively responsive to the gender-selection switch. The receptacle support assembly includes a set of legs and a receptacle-support ledge supported by the legs. The seating surface is a portion of a seat unit which includes an access slot and a retention groove for receiving a portion of the receptacle. What more could you ask for? |
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| New York Mets' pitcher Glavine won his 300th game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. In this game, he also was 1 for 2 with a run batted in and a walk. He won 8-3 and pitched 6 1/3 innings. His lifetime record at this point was 300-197. Glavine is the fifth left handed pitcher to win 300 games, joining Eddie Plank, Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn and Steve Carlton, and the 23rd pitcher overall. Will he be the last 300 game winner? Diamondbacks Randy Johnson is closest with 284 wins, but a bad back and his age is working against him. |
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1583 The first English colony in North America
founded
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1837 First ascent of Mt Marcy (5,344') highest
in Adirondack, NY
More ...
1858 Cyrus W Field completes first transatlantic
telegraph cable
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1861 US Army abolishes flogging
More ...
1861 US levies its 1st Income Tax (3% of incomes
over $800)
More ...
1864 Union Adm. David G. Farragut
orders "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"
More ...
1864 Spectrum of a comet observed for 1st time,
by Giovanni Donati
More ...
1884 Cornerstone for Statue of Liberty laid on
Bedloe's Island (NYC)
1921 First radio baseball broadcast Pirates-8,
Phillies-0 (KDKA, Pitts)
More ...
1923 First American to swim the English Channel
(Henry Sullivan)
More ...
1924 Comic strip "Little Orphan Annie,"
by Harold Gray, debuts
More ...
1926 Houdini stays in a coffin under water for
1.5 hrs
More ...
1927 Phillies Cy Williams hits for the cycle in
just 4 at bats
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1935 The radio drama "Backstage Wife"
was first aired on Mutual
More ...
1945 Atom Bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Aug 6th in
Japan)
More ...
1950 "Mona Lisa" by Nat 'King' Cole
topped the charts
More ...
1957 "American Bandstand" goes on network
TV (ABC)
More ...
1960 Detroit trades mgr Jimmy Dykes for Cleve's
mgr Joe Gordon
More ...
1961 State record high temperature of 118°
in Ice Harbor Dam, WA
1961 "Tossin' & Turnin'" by Bobby
Lewis topped the charts
More ...
1962 First quasar located by radio
More ...
1963 Nuclear test ban treaty signed in Moscow
More ...
1963 Craig Breedlove sets world auto speed record
at 407.45 MPH
More ...
1966 Beatles release "Revolver" album
in US and
"Yellow Submarine" & "Eleanor Rigby" in UK
1967 First time an AFL team beats an NFL team,
Broncos beats Detroit 13-7
1967 Bobby Gentry releases her only hit "Ode
to Billy Joe"
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1967 "Light My Fire" by the Doors topped
the charts
More ...
1969 The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 flew by Mars
More ...
1969 Willie Stargell is first to hit a HR outside
of Dodger Stadium
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1972 Moody Blues release "Nights in White
Satin"
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1972 "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert
O'Sullivan topped the charts
More ...
1974 The comic strip "Tank McNamara"
premiered in 75 newspapers
More ...
1975 Phillies first 8 batters get hits for a major
league record
More ...
1978 "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones
topped the charts
More ...
1980 NY Met Doug Flynn ties record of 3 triples
in a game
More ...
1981 President Reagan fires 11,500 air traffic
controllers who struck 2 days ago
More ...
1984 Toronto Blue Jay Cliff Johnson sets record
with 19 pinch hit HRs
More ...
1985 Baseball players go on strike for 2 days
More ...
1985 Flexible-wing glider altitude record (214,250')
set by Larry Tudor
1986 It's revealed Andrew Wyeth had, secretly
created 240 drawings & paintings of his neighbor Helga Testorf, in Chadds
Ford, Pa
1989 "Batdance (From Batman)" by Prince
topped the charts
More ...
1997 Patent for an automatic talking potty apparatus
was issued to Glory Hoskin
More ...
2007 Mets' Tom Glavine notches 300th win
More ...