TODAY IN HISTORY AUGUST 24

THE HISTORY OF AUGUST 24

WORLD EVENTS

Today is National Peach Pie Day

1456  The printing of the Gutenberg Bible was completed

1814  British forces invaded Washington, DC setting fire to the White House and Capitol and most public buildings before a major rain storm squelched many of the fires

1853  The 1^st potato chips were made by Chef George Crum in Saratoga Springs

1869  Cornelius Swartout received patent # 94,093 – a waffle iron

1891  Edison filed a patent for the motion picture camera

1932  Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly non-stop across the U.S. – trip from California to New Jersey took 19 hours

1945  Wrestling promoter Vince McMahon was born

1949  The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) went into effect

1954  President Eisenhower signed the Communist Control Act – outlawed the Communist Party in the U.S.

1968  France became the world’s 5^th nuclear power

1973  Comedian Dave Chappelle was born

1981  Mark David Chapman was sentenced to prison for the killing of John Lennon

1982  800 Marines land in Beirut as part of a joint U.S.-French peace keeping force

1990  Iraq troops surround foreign embassies in Kuwait

1992  Hurricane Andrew hit Florida and the Gulf coast – 55 dead, $15 billion in damages

1993  NASA’s Mars Observer was declared lost – was supposed to map the surface of Mars at a cost of over $950 billion

1995  Microsoft’s “Windows 95” went on sale

2004  Osama Bib Laden’s chauffer was arraigned at the 1^st U.S. military commission hearing since WWII

2006  Pluto was disqualified from being a planet – it was reclassified as being a “dwarf planet”

2009  Reader’s Digest filed for bankruptcy – founded in 1922

SPORTS HISTORY on AUGUST 24

2005  Mets beat Arizona 18-4 – rookie Mike Jacobs gets 2 HRs – 1^st player in MLB history to get 4 HRs in 4 days since he made his debut

2003  Oakland hits 2 grand slams in the game – 1^st time in the 103 year history of the organization- had not hit one all year

2002  Baltimore loses to Toronto – will finish the rest of the season with a 4-31 record

1991  Seattle’s Rob Murphy pitches in his 121^st straight game without a win

1989  Pete Rose is suspended for life for gambling on baseball

1983  Baltimore infielder Lenn Sakata catches in the 10^th inning vs. Toronto – his only time as a catcher – Baltimore’s pitcher Tippy Martinez comes in as a relief pitcher, but Toronto manages to get 3 runners to 1^st base and Tippy picks them all off – Sakata hits a 3 run HR in the bottom of the inning for the win

1982  Royal catcher John Walthan steals his 31^st base – MLB record for catchers (1916) – ends season with 36

1975  Lou Brock steals his 800^th base – ends with 938

1974  Dodgers Davey Lopes steals 5 bases in the game

1972  Gordie Howe enters the NHL Hall of Fame

1971  Ernie Banks hits his 512^th and final HR

1963  John Pennel becomes the 1^st to pole vault 17 feet

1960  Cal Ripken born

1940  Ted Williams pitched the last 2 innings in a 12-1 loss to Detroit – gave up 3 hits and 1 run

#1 SONGS on AUGUST 24

1960  It’s Now or Never – Elvis Presley

1965  I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher

1966  Summer in the City – The Lovin’ Spoonful

1967  Ode to Billie Joe – Bobbie Gentry

1969  Honky Tonk Woman – The Rolling Stones

1970  War – Edwin Starr

1971  How Can You Mend a Broken Heart – The Bee Gees

1972  Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) – Looking Glass

1973  Brother Love - Stories

1974  Having My Baby – Paul Anka with Odia Coates

1976  Don’t Go Breaking My Heart – Elton John & Kiki Dee

1979  My Sharona – The Knack

1980  Magic – Olivia Newton-John

1981  Endless Love – Diana Ross & Lionel Richie

1982  Eye of the Tiger - Survivor

1983  Every Breathe You Take – The Police

1984  Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr.

1985  The Power of Love – Huey Lewis & the News

1987  La Bamba – Los Lobos

1990  Vision of Love – Mariah Carey

1991  Every Thing I Do – Bryan Adams

1992  End of the Road – Boyz II Men

1994  I’ll Make Love to You – Boyz II Men

1995  Kiss From a Rose - Seal

1996  Macarena – Los Del Rio

1999  Genie in a Bottle – Christina Aguilera