Post by farmgal on Aug 6, 2012 19:52:37 GMT -5
August 7 is the 220th day of this leap year in the Gregorian calendar.
There are 146 days remaining until the end of the year.
Days until Election Day, Tuesday November 6, 2012: 91
Countdown until Obama leaves Office www.obamaclock.org/
U.S. Debt Clock: www.usdebtclock.org/
Map showing support for Avignon (red) and Rome (blue) during the Western Schism; this breakdown is accurate until the Council of Pisa (1409), which created a third line of claimants.
1409 The Council of Pisa closed. Convened to end the Great Schism (1378-1417) caused by two rival popes, the Council in fact elected a third pope, Alexander V (afterwards regarded as an antipope).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Pisa
1498 Columbus arrives in Caribbean. On Columbus' third voyage to the new world, the fleet obtained water on the south coast of Trinidad, and in the process sighted the coast of South America, the first Europeans to see that continent. Between South America and Trinidad lies the Gulf of Paria, which Columbus explored between August 4th and August 12th. On the morning of the 13th, the fleet sailed out of the Gulf of Paria at its northern entrance and coasted west along the mainland for the next three days, reaching the island of Margarita.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus#Third_voyage
1560 Ratification of the Scots Confession by the Scottish Parliament marked the triumph of the Reformation in Scotland, under the leadership of John Knox. (In 1647, the Scots Confession was superseded by the Westminster Confession.)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_Confession
Woodcut of Le Griffon
1679 The brigantine Le Griffon, commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the south-eastern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes of North America.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Griffon
1771 Francis Asbury Tackled America. Francis Asbury was converted at 15 in his father's barn. Reared in a Christian home, he had been raised staunchly Church of England. But, as with so many others, it took the Methodist revivals to capture his soul. From the instant that he was converted he saw the marks of salvation in himself. He was "...happy, free from guilt and fear, had power over sin, and felt great inward joy." His conversion also led him to read the scriptures, pray and to reach out to others. He began meetings with other young men and taught them the way.
At the time of his conversion, Asbury had settled into work as a saddler. His family was very poor and he had even had to take work at age 11 in order to support himself. Now he was not content merely to exercise his hands, however skillfully, but walked a considerable distance to exercise his soul at an evangelical church where revivalists spoke. He became a Methodist helper and exhorted where he could, even when he was persecuted. At 17 he was licensed by the Methodists as a local preacher. As soon as he turned 21, he gave up his saddler's work and devoted himself to preaching.
Like John Wesley, Asbury worked out a system to use his time to the best advantage and develop steady habits. In short, he became methodical, and this blessed his work in later years. Teaching himself, he corrected serious deficiencies in his education. At four each morning he rose to read and study for two hours. Ten hours of each sixteen that he was awake he gave to reading and study. For instance, at one point he gave an hour each day to studying the Old Testament in Hebrew, a language he taught himself. In America he carried books in his saddle bags and read as he rode. He made it a rule to read at least 100 pages a day.
One August the young man, then 26 years old, attended a Methodist Conference held in Bristol. For months he had felt the American need. On this day, August 7, 1771, when Wesley said, "Our brethren in America call aloud for help. Who are willing to go over and help them?" Asbury offered himself. Several other candidates also stepped forth, but Wesley sensed that Asbury was the man for the job.
Wesley's choice was vindicated. No man could have labored harder than Asbury. He came to small, widely scattered congregations. To meet their needs he rode incessantly--5,000 miles a year. He preached 17,000 sermons, ordained 3,000 preachers, founded five schools and distributed thousands of pieces of literature. His organizational skills divided America into circuits and his circuit riders learned the hard life from him. Many, such as Peter Cartwright, became famous in their own right. At Asbury's death the Methodist Episcopal Church was the largest denomination in the United States. So hard did Asbury work that his health often suffered. But in him Christ once again showed what he could do with a single dedicated life.
www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11630283/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Asbury
1782 George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle. It is later renamed to the more poetic Purple Heart. At his headquarters in Newburgh, New York, on August 7, 1782, General George Washington devised two new badges of distinction for enlisted men and noncommissioned officers. To signify loyal military service, he ordered a chevron to be worn on the left sleeve of the uniform coat for the rank and file who had completed three years of duty "with bravery, fidelity, and good conduct"; two chevrons signified six years of service. The second badge, for "any singularly meritorious Action," was the "Figure of a Heart in Purple Cloth or Silk edged with narrow Lace or Binding." This device, the Badge of Military Merit, was affixed to the uniform coat above the left breast and permitted its wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge and to have his name and regiment inscribed in a Book of Merit. The Badge specifically honored the lower ranks, where decorations were unknown in contemporary European Armies. As Washington intended, the road to glory in a patriot army is thus open to all."
During World War II, nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were manufactured in anticipation of the estimated casualties resulting from the planned Allied invasion of Japan. To the present date, total combined American military casualties of the sixty-five years following the end of World War II — including the Korean and Vietnam Wars — have not exceeded that number.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Heart
Line drawing of the Department of War's seal.
1789 The United States War Department is established. During the American Revolution, military affairs were largely supervised by the Continental Congress, and under the Articles of Confederation a secretary of war was put in charge of defense matters. In August, 1789, the U.S. War Dept., headed by the Secretary of War with cabinet rank, was created to organize and maintain the U.S. army : under the command of the President in time of peace and war.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_War_Department
1791 United States troops destroy the Miami town of Kenapacomaqua near the site of present-day Logansport, Indiana in the Northwest Indian War.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kenapacomaqua
1794 U.S. President George Washington invokes the Militia Law of 1792 to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania.
1807 Robert Fulton's North River Steam Boat (also known as the Clermont) began chugging its way up New York's Hudson River on its successful round-trip from New York City to Albany 150 miles apart in 32 hours. The Clermont ushered in a new era in the history of transportation. In addition to his work with steamboats, Fulton made many important contributions to the development of naval warfare, the submarine, the technology of mine warfare, the design and construction of the first steam-powered warship, and to canal transportation.
At the test in 1807, the Clermont initially failed; however, after a few adjustments to the engine, the boat carried on its way to Albany, arriving thirty-two hours later. It had moved against the Hudson current at an average of five miles an hour.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fulton
1819 Simón Bolívar triumphs over Spain in the Battle of Boyacá.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Boyac%C3%A1
1820 First potatoes planted in Hawaii
1878 Missouri Synod Lutheran Church founder C. F. W. Walther wrote in a letter: 'Do not deny the Word of God when it speaks to you.'
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._F._W._Walther
1882 Hatfields of south WV & McCoys of east Ky feud, 100 wounded or die. The feud reached a peak on Aug. 7, 1882. That day a special election was held in Kentucky, to vote for county and state officers and an increase in the school tax. Hatfields and McCoys showed up early at the polls along Blackberry Creek, and it was soon evident that some of them carried grudges. Whiskey jugs scarcely had been tilted before Tolbert McCoy picked a fight with Preacher Anse's brother, "Bad 'lias," who he claimed owed him money for a fiddle. It was the preacher who intervened and quieted the ruckus.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfields_and_McCoys
1888 Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia patents revolving door. Revolving doors are expensive and relatively few restaurants have them. They are common, however, in skyscrapers, where they serve several important purposes. Their major function in a skyscraper has to do with equalization of air pressure. When a tall building is heated, the hot air rises, reducing the air pressure at ground level and on the lower floors. Swinging doors in such buildings allow higher-pressure cold air to enter, creating their own wind and blowing around papers, hats, and anything else that is not tied down. Revolving doors not only make the lobbies of these buildings more pleasant, they reduce energy costs by preventing cold air from entering.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolving_door
1904 A flash flood near Pueblo, CO, washed a train from the tracks killing 89 passengers. A bridge, weakened by the floodwaters sweeping through the valley below, gave way under the weight of the train dashing all but the sleeping cars into the torrent drowning the occupants. Rail service was frequently interrupted in the Rocky Mountain Region and southwestern U.S. that summer due to numerous heavy downpours which washed out the railroad beds delaying trains as much as five days.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_train_wreck
1906 Flexible Flyer was trademark registered.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible_Flyer
1909 Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, taking 59 days to travel from New York City to San Francisco.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Huyler_Ramsey
1912 Progressive (Bull Moose) Party nominates Theodore Roosevelt for president. Most of Roosevelt's delegates walked out of the Republican convention and held a mass meeting, where it was decided to bolt the Republican Party and found a new party. Roosevelt agreed to lead a new party if nominated. In August 1912 the national convention of the new Progressive Party met in Chicago, and nominated TR for President and Governor Hiram W. Johnson of California for Vice President. In November the Republicans for the first and only time in history came in third in both the popular and electoral vote for President. TR came in second, and because of the split in the normal Republican vote, Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Moose_Party
1918 Philadelphia, PA, established an all-time record with a high of 106 degrees. New York City experienced its warmest day and night with a low of 82 degrees and a high of 102 degrees. Afternoon highs of 108 degrees at Flemington NJ and Somerville NJ established state records for the month of August.
1926 The midwife toad work done by Paul Kammerer was debunked in an article published by G. Kingsley Noble in Nature*. Kammerer was a Viennese biologist who alleged his researches supported the Lamarckian theory of inheritance. In 1918 that he claimed that in his experiments with midwife toads, he had induced nuptial pads that were subsequently hereditary. Noble was a curator herpetology at the American Museum of Natural History. Noble had examined a preserved specimen of Kammerer's midwife toad Noble found that the nuptial pad had been simulated with injected Indian ink. This set off an academic bombshell. Kammerer took his own life in 1926, but claimed that he was personally innocent .
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kammerer
1927 The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York. On August 7, 1927 an estimated 100,000 American and Canadian citizens witnessed the splendor and spectacle of the Peace Bridge's opening ceremony. For the 75 years that have followed, the Peace Bridge has been a major international link, serving as a primary economic conduit for trade and tourism between the U.S. and Canada. Furthermore, the bridge -- which was dedicated as a symbol of the peace and friendship between the U.S. and Canada -- still stands as a tribute to the relationship between our great countries.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Bridge
1930 The last confirmed lynching of blacks in the Northern United States occurs in Marion, Indiana. Two men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, are killed.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_Indiana#Aftermath
1933 The Simele massacre: The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Sumail. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simele_massacre
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
1938 The Holocaust: The building of Mauthausen concentration camp begins.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauthausen-Gusen_concentration_camp
1940 World War II: Alsace Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich.
1942 World War II: the Battle of Guadalcanal begins – United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.
1944 IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).
1947 Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.
1949 "Martin Kane, Private Eye" was first heard on Mutual radio. Sponsored on both radio and television by U.S. Tobacco, Kane hung out at, and alwayys found a reason to pass though Happy McMann's Tobacco Shop, all the better to plug the sponsor's products. Played by actor William Gargan in both media, Kane was a easy-going, affable man, sporting a bowtie and smoking a pipe, and looked for all the world like somebody's uncle, but under the veneer, he was hard and determined, and nobody's patsy. He may have been cooperative with the cops, and he may have tried to avoid violence, but he was the real deal, from all accounts, even if the medium wasn't.
1955 Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, sells its first transistor radios in Japan.
1959 The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny goes into circulation. It replaces the "sheaves of wheat" design, and was minted until 2008.
1959 Explorer program: Explorer 6 launches from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1964 Vietnam War: the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving US President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces.
1964 Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world's oldest tree, is cut down.
1965 The infamous first Reyes party between Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters and motorcycle gang the Hells Angels takes place at Kesey's estate in La Honda, California introducing psychedelics to the gang world and forever linking the hippie movement to the Hell's Angels.
1966 Race riots occur in Lansing, Michigan.
1967 Vietnam War: the People's Republic of China agrees to give North Vietnam an undisclosed amount of aid in the form of a grant.
1970 First computer chess tournament
1970 California judge Harold Haley is taken hostage in his courtroom and killed during in an effort to free George Jackson from police custody.
1974 Philippe Petit performs a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center 1,368 feet (417 m) in the air. A hundred thousand people gathered on the ground to watch in awe as twenty-four-year-old high wire artist Philippe Petit made eight crossings between the all-but-completed towers, a quarter mile above the earth, over the course of nearly an hour.
1976 Viking program: Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars. Viking 2 was launched September 9, 1975 and entered Mars orbit on August 7, 1976. Viking Lander 2 touched down at Utopia Planitia on September 3, 1976. The Orbiters imaged the entire surface of Mars at a resolution of 150 to 300 meters, and selected areas at 8 meters. Viking Orbiter 2 was powered down on July 25, 1978 after 706 orbits, and Viking Orbiter 1 on August 17, 1980, after over 1,400 orbits.
1978 U.S. President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal due to toxic waste that had been negligently disposed of.
1981 The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.
1983 First World Track & Field Championships The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) held the first world track and field championships in 1983, in Helsinki, Finland. The championships were originally held every four years, in the year preceding the Olympics. Since 1991, they've been held every two years.
1984 El Paso, TX, normally receives 1.21 inches of rain in August. They got it in forty-five minutes, with four more inches to boot, during a storm which left Downtown El Paso under five feet of water.
1984 Jim Deshales becomes 1,000th playing Yankee
1985 Baseball players end a 2 day strike
1986 Daniel Buettner, Bret Anderson, Martin Engel & Anne Knabe begin cycling journey of 15,266 miles from Prudhoe Bay Alaska to Argentina
1986 A rare outbreak of seven tornadoes occurred in New England. One tornado carved its way through Cranston RI and Providence RI causing twenty injuries. Rhode Island had not reported a tornado in twelve years, and three touched down in 24 hours.
1987 Lynne Cox swims 2.7 miles from US to USSR. Lynne Cox, 30, took two hours and six minutes to cross the Bering Strait which separates the Arctic and Pacific oceans - and the two superpowers. She swam the 2.7 miles (4.3 km) from Alaska to Siberia in a bathing suit despite warnings the temperature of the water - which is frozen for most of the year - was dangerously low at around 5oC. Experts believe she succeeded because of a combination of determination and her own body fat which insulated her like a seal.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynne_Cox
1987 Morning thunderstorms drenched Goldsboro, NC, with 3.37 inches of rain. Late morning thunderstorms in Arizona produced dime size hail, wind gusts to 50 mph, and two inches of rain, at Sierra Vista.
1988 A dozen cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Waco, TX, with a reading of 107 degrees. The record high of 88 degrees at Marquette, MI, was their twenty-third of the year. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms produced severe weather in Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin, with wind gusts to 81 mph reported at McCool, NE.
1989 U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Leland
1989 Forty cities in the central U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, including Valentine, NE, with a reading of 40 degrees, and Belcourt ND with a low of 37 degrees. Martin SD was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 30 degrees. Unseasonably hot weather prevailed over Florida and Washington State, with record highs of 100 degress at Daytona Beach, FL, 101 degrees at Walla Walla, WA, and 103 degrees at Hanford, WA.
1998 The United States embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania , and Nairobi, Kenya kill approximately 212 people.
1999 The Chechnya-based Islamic International Brigade invades the neighbouring Russian Republic of Dagestan.
2007 Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks baseball great Hank Aaron's record by hitting his 756th home run.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Births ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1726 James Bowdoin, (d 1790) American founder and first president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1780). He was a scientist prominent in physics and astronomy, and wrote several papers including one on electricity with Benjamin Franklin, a close friend. In one of his letters to Franklin, Bowdoin suggested the theory, since generally accepted, that the phosphorescence of the sea, under certain conditions, is due to the presence of minute animals. Bowdoin was also a political leader in Massachusetts during the American revolution (1775-83), and governor of Massachusetts (1785-87). His remarkable library of 1,200 volumes, ranged from science and math to philosophy, religion, poetry, and fiction. He left it in his will to the Academy.
1742 Nathanael Greene, American Revolutionary general (d. 1786)
1852 Franklin L. Sheppard, Presbyterian organist and hymnbook editor. It was Sheppard who composed the hymn tune TERRA PATRIS, to which we sing "This is My Father's World."
1871 John A. Davis (d 1934) born near Afton, New York. Davis became an evangelist of note and felt the need for a training institute where young ministers could be educated at minimal cost. Hence he founded the Practical Bible Training School. In the early days, the course were limited to Bible classes. A student came, took as many classes as he could, and when he had opportunity to enter the Lord's service as pastor, evangelist or missionary, left the school. A few years later, a regular curriculum was established, from which hundreds of Bible students have been graduated, who are presently ministering or have ministered around the world. The school became known as Practical Bible College.
1876 Mata Hari aka Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" Zelle dancer/courtesan/spy (WW I) who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Hari
1884 Billie Burke, (d 1970) American actress.[2] She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performancr as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live. Burke was also the wife of Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., of Ziegfeld Follies fame, from 1914 until his death.
1886 (Louis) Alan Hazeltine (d 24 May 1964 age 77) American electrical engineer and physicist who invented the neutrodyne circuit, which made commercial radio possible. As one of the few experts in radio engineering at the outbreak of WW I, he designed a radio receiver for the U.S. Navy. In 1922, Hazeltine invented the "neutrodyne" receiver to eliminate the squeaks and howls of the early radio receivers, using neutralizing capacitors to in effect siphon off the high pitched squeals. The Hazeltine amplifier neutralized the grid-to-plate capacitative coupling which was a cause of oscillation in triode amplifiers. The neutrodyne was the first commercial receiver suited to general public reception. By 1927 some ten million of these receivers were being used by listeners in the U.S
1901 Ann Harding, American actress (d. 1981)
1904 Ralph Bunche, (d 1971) American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize.[5] He was involved in the formation and administration of the United Nations and in 1963, received the Medal of Freedom from President John F. Kennedy.
1907 Albert Kotin, American abstract painter (d. 1980)
1911 Nicholas Ray, American director and scenarist (d. 1979)
1918 Gordon Zahn, American sociologist and pacifist (d. 2007)
1913 George Van Eps, American guitarist (d. 1998)
1925 Felice Bryant, American country songwriter and singer (d.
1926 Stan Freberg, American voice comedian
1927 Edwin W. Edwards, served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996), twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards, a Democrat, was also Louisiana's first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century. A colorful, powerful and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001, he was sentenced to ten years in prison on racketeering charges. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_W._Edwards
1927 Art Houtteman, American baseball player (d. 2003)
1927 Carl Switzer, American child actor (d. 1959)
1928 Betsy Byars, American author
1928 Romeo Muller, American screenwriter (d. 1992)
1928 James Randi, Canadian-American magician
1929 Don Larsen, American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. During a 15-year MLB career, he pitched from 1953–1967 for seven different teams. Larsen pitched for the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1953–1954; 1965), New York Yankees (1955–1959), Kansas City Athletics (1960–1961), Chicago White Sox (1961), San Francisco Giants (1962–1964), Houston Colt .45's / Houston Astros (1964–1965), and Chicago Cubs (1967). Larsen pitched the sixth perfect game in MLB history, doing so in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. It is the only perfect game in MLB postseason and World Series history and is one of only two no hitters in MLB postseason history. He won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award and Babe Ruth Award in recognition of his 1956 postseason.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Larsen
1931 Charles E. Rice, American legal scholar and author
1932 Maurice Rabb, Jr., American ophthalmologist
1933 Jerry Pournelle, American writer
1936 Rahsaan Roland Kirk, American saxophonist (d. 1977)
1937 William Ross Maples (d 27 Feb 1997 age 59) American forensic anthropologist who examined and identified the skeletons of a number of historical figures, including Tsar Nicholas II and other members of the Romanov family killed in 1918 by the Bolsheviks, Vietnam MIAs, conquistador Francisco Pizarro, and in 1994 helped convict Byron De La Beckwith of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. At the University of Florida, the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory was created through Maples' energetic fundraising. This sophisticated, unique facility, dedicated to forensic anthropology opened its doors in 1986. Maples wrote Dead Men Do Tell Tales (1994, with Michael Browning).
1939 Anjanette Comer, American actress
1942 Tobin Bell, American actor
1942 Garrison Keillor, American writer and radio host
1942 B.J. Thomas, American singer
1943 Lana Cantrell, Australian-American singer and entertainment lawyer
1944 – John Glover, American actor
1944 – Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
1944 – David Rasche, American actor
1945 Alan Page, American football player and Minnesota Supreme Court justice
1946 Ed Seykota, American commodities and futures trader
1948 Marty Appel, American public relations executive and author
1950 Alan Keyes, American diplomat and political activist
1953 – Anne Fadiman, American writer; daughter of Clifton Fadiman
1954 – Jonathan Pollard, Israeli spy
1955 – Diane Downs, American convicted murderer
1955 – Wayne Knight, American actor
1955 – Greg Nickels, American politician
1956 – Sharon Isbin, American classical guitarist, founder of Juilliard guitar department
1957 – Caroline Aaron, American actress
1958 – Russell Baze, Canadian-born American horse racing jockey
1958 – Alberto Salazar, American distance runner
1960 – David Duchovny, American actor
1962 – Alison Brown,banjo player and guitarist
1963 – Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (d. 1963)
1963 – Harold Perrineau Jr., American actor
1963 – Marcus Roberts, American jazz musician
1964 – Michael Weishan, American TV host
1966 – Kristin Hersh, American singer and guitarist (Throwing Muses)
1966 – Jimmy Wales, American internet entrepreneur
1967 – Jason Grimsley, American baseball player
1968 – Lynn Strait, American singer (Snot) (d. 1998)
1970 – Eric Namesnik, American swimmer (d. 2006)
1971 – Sydney Penny, American actress
1971 – Rachel York, American actress and singer
1972 – Greg Serano, American actor
1973 – Danny Graves, American baseball player
1974 – Chico Benymon, American actor
1974 – Michael Shannon, American actor
1976 – Shane Lechler, American football player
1978 – Jamey Jasta, American singer (Hatebreed)
1978 – Cirroc Lofton, American actor
1979 – Eric Johnson, American actor
1980 – Anomie Belle, American musician
1987 – Ryan Lavarnway, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox)
1988 – Melody Oliveria, American internet blogger
1988 – Beanie Wells, American football player
1989 – DeMar DeRozan, American basketball player
1991 – Mike Trout, American baseball player (Los Angeles Angels)
1991 – Mitchell te Vrede, Dutch footballer
0117 Marcus Trajan, 65, Roman emperor from A.D. 98-117. His attitude toward Christianity gradually changed from toleration to persecution. It was during Trajan's rule that Apostolic Father Ignatius of Antioch was martyred.
1898 James Hall Jr. age 86 (b 12 Sep 1811) American geologist and paleontologist who is considered one of the founders of American geology. He invented the term geosyncline and the geosyncline theory for mountain building, which proposed that as sediment is increasingly deposited in a shallow basin, the basin will sink, causing the adjacent area to rise. (This was superseded in the 1960's by the new theories of Plate Tectonics.) In paleontology, he studied the Silurian and Devonian fossils (345 million - 430 million years old) found in New York, and recorded his results in a 13-volume series, The Paleontology of New York (1847-94). Hall was a charter member of the Academy of Sciences
1953 Abner Powell, American baseball player (b. 1860)
1957 Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (b. 1892)
1958 Herbert Osborne Yardley age 69 (b 13 Apr 1889) American cryptographer who organized and directed the U.S. government's first formal code-breaking efforts during and after World War I. He began his career as a code clerk in the State Department. During WW I, he served as a cryptologic officer with the American Expeditionary Forces in France during WWI. In the 1920s, when he was chief of MI-8, the first U.S. peacetime cryptanalytic organization, he and a team of cryptanalysts exploited nearly two dozen foreign diplomatic cipher systems. MI-8 was disbanded in 1929 when the State Department withdrew funding. Jobless, Yardley caused a sensation in 1931 by publishing his memoirs of MI-8, The American Black Chamber, which caused new security laws to be enacted.
1970 Harold Haley, American judge (b. 1904)
1970 Jonathan Jackson, instigator of the Marin County Civic Center shootout and brother of Black Panther George Jackson (b. 1953)
1972 Joi Lansing, American model and actress (b. 1929)
1974 Virginia Apgar age 65 (b 7 Jun 1909) American physician, anesthesiologist and medical researcher who developed the Apgar Score System, a method of evaluating an infant shortly after birth to assess its well-being and to determine if any immediate medical intervention is required.
1983 Bart Jan Bok age 77 (b 28 Apr 1906) Dutch-American astronomer whose name remains associated with the "Bok globules" for being the first to investigate these dark clouds of dense gas and dust visible against a background of bright nebulae. Bok globules have a mass of 10 to 50 times the mass of the Sun and are about a light year across. He began their observation in the 1940's and in a 1947 paper with E.F. Reilly proposed that these were sites of new star formation as the gas clouds underwent gravitational collapse. Bok's other important work was on the structure and evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy. His enthusiasm for astronomy began as a young boy. Bok bicycled to Norway to observe the solar eclipse of 1927. He moved to the U.S. in 1929.
1984 Esther Phillips, American singer (b. 1935)
1985 Grayson Hall, American actress (b. 1923)
1989 Mickey Leland, American politician, United States Congressman from Texas (b. 1944)
1992 John Anderson, American actor (b. 1922)
1999 Brion James, American actor (b. 1945)
2003 Mickey McDermott, baseball player (b. 1929)
2004 Red Adair, American oil field firefighter (b. 1915)
2005 Peter Jennings, Canadian-born news anchor (b. 1938)
2006 Mary Anderson Bain, American New Deal politician (b. 1911)
2007 Hal Fishman, American television personality (b. 1931)
2008 Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent/manager and producer (b. 1931)
2009 Louis E. Saavedra, American mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico (b. 1933)
2009 Mike Seeger, American folk musician (b. 1933)
2011 Nancy Wake, British war agent (b. 1912)
2011 Mark Hatfield, American politician, U.S. Senator from Oregon and Governor of Oregon (b. 1922)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hatfield
Holidays and observances
Christian Feast Day: Albert of Trapani
Cajetan of Thienna
Carpophorus
Dometius of Persia
Donatus of Arezzo
Pope Sixtus II
August 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Saints
Saint Dometius of Persia and his two disciples (363)
Saints Marinus the Soldier and Asterius the Senator at Caesarea in Palaestina (260)
Saint Poemen the much-ailing of the Kiev Caves (1110)
Saint Hor of the Thebaid (390)
Saint Pimen of Kiev Caves the faster (12th century)
Saint Potamia
Saint Dometius of Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos (16th century)
Saint Mercurius of Smolensk, bishop from the Kiev Caves (1239)
Saint Anthony of Optina Monastery (1865)
Hieromartyr Narcissus of Jerusalem, bishop c. 216
Saint Hyperechius of the "Paradise"
Saint Sozon of Nicomedia
Saint Theodosius of Peloponnesus, the new healer
Saint Nicanor of Mt. Calistratus, wonderworker
Other commemorations
Afterfeast of the Transfiguration of Jesus
Finding of the relics of Saint Metrophanes of Voronezh, the first bishop there (1832)
Repose of Elder Adrian of South Dorotheus Monastery (1853)
Repose of Schemamonk John the Blind of Valaam (1894)
Repose of Elder Callinicus the Hesychast of Mount Athos (1930)
Repose of Archimandrite Vladimir of Jordanville (1988)
www.christianity.com/churchhistory/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_7
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_7_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics)
www.amug.org/~jpaul/aug07.html
www.todayinsci.com/8/8_07.htm
www.scopesys.com/cgi-bin/today2.cgi
www.daysuntil.com/Election-Day/index.html
www.weatherforyou.com/cgi-bin/weather_history/today2S.pl
There are 146 days remaining until the end of the year.
Days until Election Day, Tuesday November 6, 2012: 91
Countdown until Obama leaves Office www.obamaclock.org/
U.S. Debt Clock: www.usdebtclock.org/
Map showing support for Avignon (red) and Rome (blue) during the Western Schism; this breakdown is accurate until the Council of Pisa (1409), which created a third line of claimants.
1409 The Council of Pisa closed. Convened to end the Great Schism (1378-1417) caused by two rival popes, the Council in fact elected a third pope, Alexander V (afterwards regarded as an antipope).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Pisa
1498 Columbus arrives in Caribbean. On Columbus' third voyage to the new world, the fleet obtained water on the south coast of Trinidad, and in the process sighted the coast of South America, the first Europeans to see that continent. Between South America and Trinidad lies the Gulf of Paria, which Columbus explored between August 4th and August 12th. On the morning of the 13th, the fleet sailed out of the Gulf of Paria at its northern entrance and coasted west along the mainland for the next three days, reaching the island of Margarita.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus#Third_voyage
1560 Ratification of the Scots Confession by the Scottish Parliament marked the triumph of the Reformation in Scotland, under the leadership of John Knox. (In 1647, the Scots Confession was superseded by the Westminster Confession.)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_Confession
Woodcut of Le Griffon
1679 The brigantine Le Griffon, commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the south-eastern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes of North America.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Griffon
1771 Francis Asbury Tackled America. Francis Asbury was converted at 15 in his father's barn. Reared in a Christian home, he had been raised staunchly Church of England. But, as with so many others, it took the Methodist revivals to capture his soul. From the instant that he was converted he saw the marks of salvation in himself. He was "...happy, free from guilt and fear, had power over sin, and felt great inward joy." His conversion also led him to read the scriptures, pray and to reach out to others. He began meetings with other young men and taught them the way.
At the time of his conversion, Asbury had settled into work as a saddler. His family was very poor and he had even had to take work at age 11 in order to support himself. Now he was not content merely to exercise his hands, however skillfully, but walked a considerable distance to exercise his soul at an evangelical church where revivalists spoke. He became a Methodist helper and exhorted where he could, even when he was persecuted. At 17 he was licensed by the Methodists as a local preacher. As soon as he turned 21, he gave up his saddler's work and devoted himself to preaching.
Like John Wesley, Asbury worked out a system to use his time to the best advantage and develop steady habits. In short, he became methodical, and this blessed his work in later years. Teaching himself, he corrected serious deficiencies in his education. At four each morning he rose to read and study for two hours. Ten hours of each sixteen that he was awake he gave to reading and study. For instance, at one point he gave an hour each day to studying the Old Testament in Hebrew, a language he taught himself. In America he carried books in his saddle bags and read as he rode. He made it a rule to read at least 100 pages a day.
One August the young man, then 26 years old, attended a Methodist Conference held in Bristol. For months he had felt the American need. On this day, August 7, 1771, when Wesley said, "Our brethren in America call aloud for help. Who are willing to go over and help them?" Asbury offered himself. Several other candidates also stepped forth, but Wesley sensed that Asbury was the man for the job.
Wesley's choice was vindicated. No man could have labored harder than Asbury. He came to small, widely scattered congregations. To meet their needs he rode incessantly--5,000 miles a year. He preached 17,000 sermons, ordained 3,000 preachers, founded five schools and distributed thousands of pieces of literature. His organizational skills divided America into circuits and his circuit riders learned the hard life from him. Many, such as Peter Cartwright, became famous in their own right. At Asbury's death the Methodist Episcopal Church was the largest denomination in the United States. So hard did Asbury work that his health often suffered. But in him Christ once again showed what he could do with a single dedicated life.
www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11630283/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Asbury
1782 George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle. It is later renamed to the more poetic Purple Heart. At his headquarters in Newburgh, New York, on August 7, 1782, General George Washington devised two new badges of distinction for enlisted men and noncommissioned officers. To signify loyal military service, he ordered a chevron to be worn on the left sleeve of the uniform coat for the rank and file who had completed three years of duty "with bravery, fidelity, and good conduct"; two chevrons signified six years of service. The second badge, for "any singularly meritorious Action," was the "Figure of a Heart in Purple Cloth or Silk edged with narrow Lace or Binding." This device, the Badge of Military Merit, was affixed to the uniform coat above the left breast and permitted its wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge and to have his name and regiment inscribed in a Book of Merit. The Badge specifically honored the lower ranks, where decorations were unknown in contemporary European Armies. As Washington intended, the road to glory in a patriot army is thus open to all."
During World War II, nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were manufactured in anticipation of the estimated casualties resulting from the planned Allied invasion of Japan. To the present date, total combined American military casualties of the sixty-five years following the end of World War II — including the Korean and Vietnam Wars — have not exceeded that number.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Heart
Line drawing of the Department of War's seal.
1789 The United States War Department is established. During the American Revolution, military affairs were largely supervised by the Continental Congress, and under the Articles of Confederation a secretary of war was put in charge of defense matters. In August, 1789, the U.S. War Dept., headed by the Secretary of War with cabinet rank, was created to organize and maintain the U.S. army : under the command of the President in time of peace and war.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_War_Department
1791 United States troops destroy the Miami town of Kenapacomaqua near the site of present-day Logansport, Indiana in the Northwest Indian War.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kenapacomaqua
1794 U.S. President George Washington invokes the Militia Law of 1792 to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania.
1807 Robert Fulton's North River Steam Boat (also known as the Clermont) began chugging its way up New York's Hudson River on its successful round-trip from New York City to Albany 150 miles apart in 32 hours. The Clermont ushered in a new era in the history of transportation. In addition to his work with steamboats, Fulton made many important contributions to the development of naval warfare, the submarine, the technology of mine warfare, the design and construction of the first steam-powered warship, and to canal transportation.
At the test in 1807, the Clermont initially failed; however, after a few adjustments to the engine, the boat carried on its way to Albany, arriving thirty-two hours later. It had moved against the Hudson current at an average of five miles an hour.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fulton
1819 Simón Bolívar triumphs over Spain in the Battle of Boyacá.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Boyac%C3%A1
1820 First potatoes planted in Hawaii
1878 Missouri Synod Lutheran Church founder C. F. W. Walther wrote in a letter: 'Do not deny the Word of God when it speaks to you.'
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._F._W._Walther
1882 Hatfields of south WV & McCoys of east Ky feud, 100 wounded or die. The feud reached a peak on Aug. 7, 1882. That day a special election was held in Kentucky, to vote for county and state officers and an increase in the school tax. Hatfields and McCoys showed up early at the polls along Blackberry Creek, and it was soon evident that some of them carried grudges. Whiskey jugs scarcely had been tilted before Tolbert McCoy picked a fight with Preacher Anse's brother, "Bad 'lias," who he claimed owed him money for a fiddle. It was the preacher who intervened and quieted the ruckus.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfields_and_McCoys
1888 Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia patents revolving door. Revolving doors are expensive and relatively few restaurants have them. They are common, however, in skyscrapers, where they serve several important purposes. Their major function in a skyscraper has to do with equalization of air pressure. When a tall building is heated, the hot air rises, reducing the air pressure at ground level and on the lower floors. Swinging doors in such buildings allow higher-pressure cold air to enter, creating their own wind and blowing around papers, hats, and anything else that is not tied down. Revolving doors not only make the lobbies of these buildings more pleasant, they reduce energy costs by preventing cold air from entering.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolving_door
1904 A flash flood near Pueblo, CO, washed a train from the tracks killing 89 passengers. A bridge, weakened by the floodwaters sweeping through the valley below, gave way under the weight of the train dashing all but the sleeping cars into the torrent drowning the occupants. Rail service was frequently interrupted in the Rocky Mountain Region and southwestern U.S. that summer due to numerous heavy downpours which washed out the railroad beds delaying trains as much as five days.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_train_wreck
1906 Flexible Flyer was trademark registered.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible_Flyer
1909 Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, taking 59 days to travel from New York City to San Francisco.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Huyler_Ramsey
1912 Progressive (Bull Moose) Party nominates Theodore Roosevelt for president. Most of Roosevelt's delegates walked out of the Republican convention and held a mass meeting, where it was decided to bolt the Republican Party and found a new party. Roosevelt agreed to lead a new party if nominated. In August 1912 the national convention of the new Progressive Party met in Chicago, and nominated TR for President and Governor Hiram W. Johnson of California for Vice President. In November the Republicans for the first and only time in history came in third in both the popular and electoral vote for President. TR came in second, and because of the split in the normal Republican vote, Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Moose_Party
1918 Philadelphia, PA, established an all-time record with a high of 106 degrees. New York City experienced its warmest day and night with a low of 82 degrees and a high of 102 degrees. Afternoon highs of 108 degrees at Flemington NJ and Somerville NJ established state records for the month of August.
1926 The midwife toad work done by Paul Kammerer was debunked in an article published by G. Kingsley Noble in Nature*. Kammerer was a Viennese biologist who alleged his researches supported the Lamarckian theory of inheritance. In 1918 that he claimed that in his experiments with midwife toads, he had induced nuptial pads that were subsequently hereditary. Noble was a curator herpetology at the American Museum of Natural History. Noble had examined a preserved specimen of Kammerer's midwife toad Noble found that the nuptial pad had been simulated with injected Indian ink. This set off an academic bombshell. Kammerer took his own life in 1926, but claimed that he was personally innocent .
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kammerer
1927 The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York. On August 7, 1927 an estimated 100,000 American and Canadian citizens witnessed the splendor and spectacle of the Peace Bridge's opening ceremony. For the 75 years that have followed, the Peace Bridge has been a major international link, serving as a primary economic conduit for trade and tourism between the U.S. and Canada. Furthermore, the bridge -- which was dedicated as a symbol of the peace and friendship between the U.S. and Canada -- still stands as a tribute to the relationship between our great countries.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Bridge
1930 The last confirmed lynching of blacks in the Northern United States occurs in Marion, Indiana. Two men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, are killed.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_Indiana#Aftermath
1933 The Simele massacre: The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Sumail. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simele_massacre
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
1938 The Holocaust: The building of Mauthausen concentration camp begins.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauthausen-Gusen_concentration_camp
1940 World War II: Alsace Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich.
1942 World War II: the Battle of Guadalcanal begins – United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.
1944 IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).
1947 Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.
1949 "Martin Kane, Private Eye" was first heard on Mutual radio. Sponsored on both radio and television by U.S. Tobacco, Kane hung out at, and alwayys found a reason to pass though Happy McMann's Tobacco Shop, all the better to plug the sponsor's products. Played by actor William Gargan in both media, Kane was a easy-going, affable man, sporting a bowtie and smoking a pipe, and looked for all the world like somebody's uncle, but under the veneer, he was hard and determined, and nobody's patsy. He may have been cooperative with the cops, and he may have tried to avoid violence, but he was the real deal, from all accounts, even if the medium wasn't.
1955 Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, sells its first transistor radios in Japan.
1959 The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny goes into circulation. It replaces the "sheaves of wheat" design, and was minted until 2008.
1959 Explorer program: Explorer 6 launches from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1964 Vietnam War: the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving US President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces.
1964 Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world's oldest tree, is cut down.
1965 The infamous first Reyes party between Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters and motorcycle gang the Hells Angels takes place at Kesey's estate in La Honda, California introducing psychedelics to the gang world and forever linking the hippie movement to the Hell's Angels.
1966 Race riots occur in Lansing, Michigan.
1967 Vietnam War: the People's Republic of China agrees to give North Vietnam an undisclosed amount of aid in the form of a grant.
1970 First computer chess tournament
1970 California judge Harold Haley is taken hostage in his courtroom and killed during in an effort to free George Jackson from police custody.
1974 Philippe Petit performs a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center 1,368 feet (417 m) in the air. A hundred thousand people gathered on the ground to watch in awe as twenty-four-year-old high wire artist Philippe Petit made eight crossings between the all-but-completed towers, a quarter mile above the earth, over the course of nearly an hour.
1976 Viking program: Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars. Viking 2 was launched September 9, 1975 and entered Mars orbit on August 7, 1976. Viking Lander 2 touched down at Utopia Planitia on September 3, 1976. The Orbiters imaged the entire surface of Mars at a resolution of 150 to 300 meters, and selected areas at 8 meters. Viking Orbiter 2 was powered down on July 25, 1978 after 706 orbits, and Viking Orbiter 1 on August 17, 1980, after over 1,400 orbits.
1978 U.S. President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal due to toxic waste that had been negligently disposed of.
1981 The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.
1983 First World Track & Field Championships The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) held the first world track and field championships in 1983, in Helsinki, Finland. The championships were originally held every four years, in the year preceding the Olympics. Since 1991, they've been held every two years.
1984 El Paso, TX, normally receives 1.21 inches of rain in August. They got it in forty-five minutes, with four more inches to boot, during a storm which left Downtown El Paso under five feet of water.
1984 Jim Deshales becomes 1,000th playing Yankee
1985 Baseball players end a 2 day strike
1986 Daniel Buettner, Bret Anderson, Martin Engel & Anne Knabe begin cycling journey of 15,266 miles from Prudhoe Bay Alaska to Argentina
1986 A rare outbreak of seven tornadoes occurred in New England. One tornado carved its way through Cranston RI and Providence RI causing twenty injuries. Rhode Island had not reported a tornado in twelve years, and three touched down in 24 hours.
1987 Lynne Cox swims 2.7 miles from US to USSR. Lynne Cox, 30, took two hours and six minutes to cross the Bering Strait which separates the Arctic and Pacific oceans - and the two superpowers. She swam the 2.7 miles (4.3 km) from Alaska to Siberia in a bathing suit despite warnings the temperature of the water - which is frozen for most of the year - was dangerously low at around 5oC. Experts believe she succeeded because of a combination of determination and her own body fat which insulated her like a seal.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynne_Cox
1987 Morning thunderstorms drenched Goldsboro, NC, with 3.37 inches of rain. Late morning thunderstorms in Arizona produced dime size hail, wind gusts to 50 mph, and two inches of rain, at Sierra Vista.
1988 A dozen cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Waco, TX, with a reading of 107 degrees. The record high of 88 degrees at Marquette, MI, was their twenty-third of the year. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms produced severe weather in Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin, with wind gusts to 81 mph reported at McCool, NE.
1989 U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Leland
1989 Forty cities in the central U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, including Valentine, NE, with a reading of 40 degrees, and Belcourt ND with a low of 37 degrees. Martin SD was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 30 degrees. Unseasonably hot weather prevailed over Florida and Washington State, with record highs of 100 degress at Daytona Beach, FL, 101 degrees at Walla Walla, WA, and 103 degrees at Hanford, WA.
1998 The United States embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania , and Nairobi, Kenya kill approximately 212 people.
1999 The Chechnya-based Islamic International Brigade invades the neighbouring Russian Republic of Dagestan.
2007 Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks baseball great Hank Aaron's record by hitting his 756th home run.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Births ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1726 James Bowdoin, (d 1790) American founder and first president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1780). He was a scientist prominent in physics and astronomy, and wrote several papers including one on electricity with Benjamin Franklin, a close friend. In one of his letters to Franklin, Bowdoin suggested the theory, since generally accepted, that the phosphorescence of the sea, under certain conditions, is due to the presence of minute animals. Bowdoin was also a political leader in Massachusetts during the American revolution (1775-83), and governor of Massachusetts (1785-87). His remarkable library of 1,200 volumes, ranged from science and math to philosophy, religion, poetry, and fiction. He left it in his will to the Academy.
1742 Nathanael Greene, American Revolutionary general (d. 1786)
1852 Franklin L. Sheppard, Presbyterian organist and hymnbook editor. It was Sheppard who composed the hymn tune TERRA PATRIS, to which we sing "This is My Father's World."
1871 John A. Davis (d 1934) born near Afton, New York. Davis became an evangelist of note and felt the need for a training institute where young ministers could be educated at minimal cost. Hence he founded the Practical Bible Training School. In the early days, the course were limited to Bible classes. A student came, took as many classes as he could, and when he had opportunity to enter the Lord's service as pastor, evangelist or missionary, left the school. A few years later, a regular curriculum was established, from which hundreds of Bible students have been graduated, who are presently ministering or have ministered around the world. The school became known as Practical Bible College.
1876 Mata Hari aka Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" Zelle dancer/courtesan/spy (WW I) who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Hari
1884 Billie Burke, (d 1970) American actress.[2] She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performancr as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live. Burke was also the wife of Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., of Ziegfeld Follies fame, from 1914 until his death.
1886 (Louis) Alan Hazeltine (d 24 May 1964 age 77) American electrical engineer and physicist who invented the neutrodyne circuit, which made commercial radio possible. As one of the few experts in radio engineering at the outbreak of WW I, he designed a radio receiver for the U.S. Navy. In 1922, Hazeltine invented the "neutrodyne" receiver to eliminate the squeaks and howls of the early radio receivers, using neutralizing capacitors to in effect siphon off the high pitched squeals. The Hazeltine amplifier neutralized the grid-to-plate capacitative coupling which was a cause of oscillation in triode amplifiers. The neutrodyne was the first commercial receiver suited to general public reception. By 1927 some ten million of these receivers were being used by listeners in the U.S
1901 Ann Harding, American actress (d. 1981)
1904 Ralph Bunche, (d 1971) American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize.[5] He was involved in the formation and administration of the United Nations and in 1963, received the Medal of Freedom from President John F. Kennedy.
1907 Albert Kotin, American abstract painter (d. 1980)
1911 Nicholas Ray, American director and scenarist (d. 1979)
1918 Gordon Zahn, American sociologist and pacifist (d. 2007)
1913 George Van Eps, American guitarist (d. 1998)
1925 Felice Bryant, American country songwriter and singer (d.
1926 Stan Freberg, American voice comedian
1927 Edwin W. Edwards, served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996), twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards, a Democrat, was also Louisiana's first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century. A colorful, powerful and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001, he was sentenced to ten years in prison on racketeering charges. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_W._Edwards
1927 Art Houtteman, American baseball player (d. 2003)
1927 Carl Switzer, American child actor (d. 1959)
1928 Betsy Byars, American author
1928 Romeo Muller, American screenwriter (d. 1992)
1928 James Randi, Canadian-American magician
1929 Don Larsen, American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. During a 15-year MLB career, he pitched from 1953–1967 for seven different teams. Larsen pitched for the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1953–1954; 1965), New York Yankees (1955–1959), Kansas City Athletics (1960–1961), Chicago White Sox (1961), San Francisco Giants (1962–1964), Houston Colt .45's / Houston Astros (1964–1965), and Chicago Cubs (1967). Larsen pitched the sixth perfect game in MLB history, doing so in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. It is the only perfect game in MLB postseason and World Series history and is one of only two no hitters in MLB postseason history. He won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award and Babe Ruth Award in recognition of his 1956 postseason.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Larsen
1931 Charles E. Rice, American legal scholar and author
1932 Maurice Rabb, Jr., American ophthalmologist
1933 Jerry Pournelle, American writer
1936 Rahsaan Roland Kirk, American saxophonist (d. 1977)
1937 William Ross Maples (d 27 Feb 1997 age 59) American forensic anthropologist who examined and identified the skeletons of a number of historical figures, including Tsar Nicholas II and other members of the Romanov family killed in 1918 by the Bolsheviks, Vietnam MIAs, conquistador Francisco Pizarro, and in 1994 helped convict Byron De La Beckwith of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. At the University of Florida, the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory was created through Maples' energetic fundraising. This sophisticated, unique facility, dedicated to forensic anthropology opened its doors in 1986. Maples wrote Dead Men Do Tell Tales (1994, with Michael Browning).
1939 Anjanette Comer, American actress
1942 Tobin Bell, American actor
1942 Garrison Keillor, American writer and radio host
1942 B.J. Thomas, American singer
1943 Lana Cantrell, Australian-American singer and entertainment lawyer
1944 – John Glover, American actor
1944 – Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
1944 – David Rasche, American actor
1945 Alan Page, American football player and Minnesota Supreme Court justice
1946 Ed Seykota, American commodities and futures trader
1948 Marty Appel, American public relations executive and author
1950 Alan Keyes, American diplomat and political activist
1953 – Anne Fadiman, American writer; daughter of Clifton Fadiman
1954 – Jonathan Pollard, Israeli spy
1955 – Diane Downs, American convicted murderer
1955 – Wayne Knight, American actor
1955 – Greg Nickels, American politician
1956 – Sharon Isbin, American classical guitarist, founder of Juilliard guitar department
1957 – Caroline Aaron, American actress
1958 – Russell Baze, Canadian-born American horse racing jockey
1958 – Alberto Salazar, American distance runner
1960 – David Duchovny, American actor
1962 – Alison Brown,banjo player and guitarist
1963 – Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (d. 1963)
1963 – Harold Perrineau Jr., American actor
1963 – Marcus Roberts, American jazz musician
1964 – Michael Weishan, American TV host
1966 – Kristin Hersh, American singer and guitarist (Throwing Muses)
1966 – Jimmy Wales, American internet entrepreneur
1967 – Jason Grimsley, American baseball player
1968 – Lynn Strait, American singer (Snot) (d. 1998)
1970 – Eric Namesnik, American swimmer (d. 2006)
1971 – Sydney Penny, American actress
1971 – Rachel York, American actress and singer
1972 – Greg Serano, American actor
1973 – Danny Graves, American baseball player
1974 – Chico Benymon, American actor
1974 – Michael Shannon, American actor
1976 – Shane Lechler, American football player
1978 – Jamey Jasta, American singer (Hatebreed)
1978 – Cirroc Lofton, American actor
1979 – Eric Johnson, American actor
1980 – Anomie Belle, American musician
1987 – Ryan Lavarnway, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox)
1988 – Melody Oliveria, American internet blogger
1988 – Beanie Wells, American football player
1989 – DeMar DeRozan, American basketball player
1991 – Mike Trout, American baseball player (Los Angeles Angels)
1991 – Mitchell te Vrede, Dutch footballer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Deaths~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0117 Marcus Trajan, 65, Roman emperor from A.D. 98-117. His attitude toward Christianity gradually changed from toleration to persecution. It was during Trajan's rule that Apostolic Father Ignatius of Antioch was martyred.
1898 James Hall Jr. age 86 (b 12 Sep 1811) American geologist and paleontologist who is considered one of the founders of American geology. He invented the term geosyncline and the geosyncline theory for mountain building, which proposed that as sediment is increasingly deposited in a shallow basin, the basin will sink, causing the adjacent area to rise. (This was superseded in the 1960's by the new theories of Plate Tectonics.) In paleontology, he studied the Silurian and Devonian fossils (345 million - 430 million years old) found in New York, and recorded his results in a 13-volume series, The Paleontology of New York (1847-94). Hall was a charter member of the Academy of Sciences
1953 Abner Powell, American baseball player (b. 1860)
1957 Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (b. 1892)
1958 Herbert Osborne Yardley age 69 (b 13 Apr 1889) American cryptographer who organized and directed the U.S. government's first formal code-breaking efforts during and after World War I. He began his career as a code clerk in the State Department. During WW I, he served as a cryptologic officer with the American Expeditionary Forces in France during WWI. In the 1920s, when he was chief of MI-8, the first U.S. peacetime cryptanalytic organization, he and a team of cryptanalysts exploited nearly two dozen foreign diplomatic cipher systems. MI-8 was disbanded in 1929 when the State Department withdrew funding. Jobless, Yardley caused a sensation in 1931 by publishing his memoirs of MI-8, The American Black Chamber, which caused new security laws to be enacted.
1970 Harold Haley, American judge (b. 1904)
1970 Jonathan Jackson, instigator of the Marin County Civic Center shootout and brother of Black Panther George Jackson (b. 1953)
1972 Joi Lansing, American model and actress (b. 1929)
1974 Virginia Apgar age 65 (b 7 Jun 1909) American physician, anesthesiologist and medical researcher who developed the Apgar Score System, a method of evaluating an infant shortly after birth to assess its well-being and to determine if any immediate medical intervention is required.
1983 Bart Jan Bok age 77 (b 28 Apr 1906) Dutch-American astronomer whose name remains associated with the "Bok globules" for being the first to investigate these dark clouds of dense gas and dust visible against a background of bright nebulae. Bok globules have a mass of 10 to 50 times the mass of the Sun and are about a light year across. He began their observation in the 1940's and in a 1947 paper with E.F. Reilly proposed that these were sites of new star formation as the gas clouds underwent gravitational collapse. Bok's other important work was on the structure and evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy. His enthusiasm for astronomy began as a young boy. Bok bicycled to Norway to observe the solar eclipse of 1927. He moved to the U.S. in 1929.
1984 Esther Phillips, American singer (b. 1935)
1985 Grayson Hall, American actress (b. 1923)
1989 Mickey Leland, American politician, United States Congressman from Texas (b. 1944)
1992 John Anderson, American actor (b. 1922)
1999 Brion James, American actor (b. 1945)
2003 Mickey McDermott, baseball player (b. 1929)
2004 Red Adair, American oil field firefighter (b. 1915)
2005 Peter Jennings, Canadian-born news anchor (b. 1938)
2006 Mary Anderson Bain, American New Deal politician (b. 1911)
2007 Hal Fishman, American television personality (b. 1931)
2008 Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent/manager and producer (b. 1931)
2009 Louis E. Saavedra, American mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico (b. 1933)
2009 Mike Seeger, American folk musician (b. 1933)
2011 Nancy Wake, British war agent (b. 1912)
2011 Mark Hatfield, American politician, U.S. Senator from Oregon and Governor of Oregon (b. 1922)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hatfield
Holidays and observances
Christian Feast Day: Albert of Trapani
Cajetan of Thienna
Carpophorus
Dometius of Persia
Donatus of Arezzo
Pope Sixtus II
August 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Saints
Saint Dometius of Persia and his two disciples (363)
Saints Marinus the Soldier and Asterius the Senator at Caesarea in Palaestina (260)
Saint Poemen the much-ailing of the Kiev Caves (1110)
Saint Hor of the Thebaid (390)
Saint Pimen of Kiev Caves the faster (12th century)
Saint Potamia
Saint Dometius of Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos (16th century)
Saint Mercurius of Smolensk, bishop from the Kiev Caves (1239)
Saint Anthony of Optina Monastery (1865)
Hieromartyr Narcissus of Jerusalem, bishop c. 216
Saint Hyperechius of the "Paradise"
Saint Sozon of Nicomedia
Saint Theodosius of Peloponnesus, the new healer
Saint Nicanor of Mt. Calistratus, wonderworker
Other commemorations
Afterfeast of the Transfiguration of Jesus
Finding of the relics of Saint Metrophanes of Voronezh, the first bishop there (1832)
Repose of Elder Adrian of South Dorotheus Monastery (1853)
Repose of Schemamonk John the Blind of Valaam (1894)
Repose of Elder Callinicus the Hesychast of Mount Athos (1930)
Repose of Archimandrite Vladimir of Jordanville (1988)
www.christianity.com/churchhistory/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_7
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_7_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics)
www.amug.org/~jpaul/aug07.html
www.todayinsci.com/8/8_07.htm
www.scopesys.com/cgi-bin/today2.cgi
www.daysuntil.com/Election-Day/index.html
www.weatherforyou.com/cgi-bin/weather_history/today2S.pl