August 11

Scott Winters, Realtor

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

 

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1874 – A patent for the sprinkler head was given to Harry S. Parmelee.

1877 – The two moons of Mars were discovered by astronomer Asaph Hall. He named the moons Phobos and Deimos.

1896 – Harvey Hubbell received a patent for the electric light bulb socket with a pull-chain.

1909 – The S.O.S. distress signal was first used by an American ship, the Arapahoe, off Cape Hatteras, NC.

1924 – Newsreel pictures were taken of U.S. Presidential candidates for the first time.

1929 – Babe Ruth became the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, OH. He ended up with a career 714 homers.

1934 – The first Federal prisoners arrived at Alcatraz, in San Francisco Bay, CA.

1942 – Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil received a patent for a frequency hopping spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and wi-fi.

1951 – The first major league baseball game to be televised in color was broadcast. The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Boston Braves 8-1.

1965 – Race riots (the Watts Riots) begin in the Watts area of Los Angeles, CA.

1965 – The U.S. conducted a second launch of “Surveyor-SD 2” for a landing on the Moon surface test.

1972 – The last United States ground combat unit left South Vietnam.

1984 – President Ronald Reagan was preparing for his weekly radio broadcast when, while testing of the microphone, the President said of the Soviet Union, “My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you that I just signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.”

1988 – Dick Thornburgh was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the next Attorney General. He succeeded Edwin Meese III.

1991 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis ended its nine-day journey by landing safely.

1992 – The Mall of America opened in Bloomington, MN. It was the largest shopping mall in the U.S.

1994 – A U.S. federal jury awarded $286.8 million to about 10,000 commercial fishermen for losses as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

1995 – All U.S. nuclear tests were banned by President Bill Clinton.

1998 – British Petroleum purchased Amoco for $49 billion. In doing so, BP became No. 3 among oil companies.

1999 – The band KISS received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2002 – US Airways filed for bankruptcy.

2002 – Jason Priestly crashed his car during practice for a race in the Infiniti Pro Series. He suffered a spinal fracture, a moderate concussion, a broken nose, facial lacerations and broken bones in both feet.

2020 – Candidate Joe Biden announced California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, the first woman of color selected by a major party

 

BIRTHDAYS:

Mike Hugg – 82 years old (1942) – Drummer, vibraphonist, vocalist, keyboardist (Manfred Mann)

Jim Kale – 81 years old (1943) – Bassist (The Guess Who)

Steve Wozniak – 74 years old (1950) – Apple Computers co-founder.

Bob Mothersbaugh – 72 years old (1952) – Guitarist (Devo)

Hulk Hogan – 71 years old (1953) – Ex-wrestler/reality show star (TV’s “Hogan Knows Best”)

Joe Jackson – 70 years old (1954) – Singer, songwriter (“Is She Really Going Out With Him?”, “Steppin’ Out”)

Richie Ramone – 67 years old (1957) – Drummer (The Ramones)

Viola Davis – 59 years old (1965) – Actress (“The Help”, “Doubt”, TV’s “City of Angels”, “Century City”, “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”)

Anna Gunn – 56 years old (1968) – Actress (TV’s “Gracepoint”, “Breaking Bad”)

Will Friedle – 48 years old (1976) – Actor (Played Eric Matthews on TV’s “Boy Meets World”)

Chris Hemsworth – 41 years old (1983) – Actor (“Thor”, “Rush”, “The Avengers”, “Snow White and the Huntsman”)

 

TODAY IS:

Global Kinetic Sand Day

Ingersoll Day

Mountain Day

National Presidential Joke Day

National Raspberry Bombe Day

National Son and Daughter Day

Play in the Sand Day

 

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.comwww.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.

My goal is to keep you informed and/or entertained on a regular basis. Maybe you'll learn something new, or just get that much needed laugh. My topics will include a wide range of subjects....from what's going on in the world, to places I've been, things I've seen, or even just a fun video that I've found online. Check back often to see what I've posted.

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