Re: Off Topic Bullsh*t Thread Volume XXII

[Krandall]

Where be the noose?

[Krandall]

 

[socalrappy700]

Sorry I'm late, busy day.

August 13 is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 140 days remaining until the end of the year.

Today in history

3114 BC – According to the Lounsbury correlation, the start of the Maya calendar.
1516 – The Treaty of Noyon between France and Spain is signed. Francis recognises Charles's claim to Naples, and Charles recognises Francis's claim to Milan.
1521 – Tenochtitlán (present day Mexico City) falls to conquistador Hernán Cortés.
1536 – Buddhist monks from Kyōto's Enryaku Temple set fire to 21 Nichiren temples throughout Kyoto in the Tenbun Hokke Disturbance. (Traditional Japanese date: July 27, 1536).
1553 – Michael Servetus is arrested by John Calvin in Geneva as a heretic.
1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Blenheim – English and Austrians victorious over French and Bavarians.
1792 – Louis XVI of France is formally arrested by the National Tribunal, and declared an enemy of the people.
1814 – The Convention of London, a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United Provinces, is signed in London.
1831 – Nat Turner sees a solar eclipse, which he believes is a sign from GERD. Eight days later he and 70 other slaves kill approximately 55 whites in Southampton County, Virginia.
1889 – German Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his "Navigable Balloon"
1913 – Otto Witte, an acrobat, is purportedly crowned King of Albania.
1913 – Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley.
1918 – Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha Mae Johnson is the first woman to enlist.
1918 – Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) established as a public company in Germany.
1920 – Polish-Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw begins, lasts till August 25. The Red Army is defeated.
1937 – Battle of Shanghai begins.
1940 – World War II: Battle of Britain begins – the Luftwaffe launches a series of attacks on British fighter bases and radar installations.
1954 – Radio Pakistan broadcasts the National Anthem of Pakistan for the first time.
1960 – The Central African Republic declares independence from France.
1961 – The German Democratic Republic closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin, to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West.
1968 – Alexandros Panagoulis attempts to assassinate the Greek dictator Colonel G. Papadopoulos in Varkiza, Athens.
1978 – Terrorist attack killed 150 Palestinians in Beirut.
1979 – The roof of the uncompleted Rosemont Horizon near Chicago, Illinois collapses, killing 5 workers and injuring 16.
2004 – Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm, strikes Punta Gorda, Florida and devastates the surrounding area.
2004 – 156 Congolese Tutsi refugees massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.
2008 – Michael Phelps sets the Olympic record for most the gold medals won by an individual in Olympic history with his win in the men's 200m butterfly.

Births

582 – Arnulf of Metz, French bishop and saint (d. 640)
1311 – King Alfonso XI of Castile and Leon (d. 1350)
1584 – Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, English politician (d. 1640)
1625 – Rasmus Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and physicist (d. 1698)
1662 – Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, English politician (d. 1748)
1666 – William Wotton, English scholar (d. 1727)
1700 – Heinrich, count von Brühl, German statesman (d. 1763)
1717 – Louis François I, Prince of Conti, French military leader (d. 1776)
1752 – Marie Caroline of Austria, queen of the Two Sicilies (d. 1814)
1764 – Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers, French general (d. 1816)
1790 – William Wentworth, Australian explorer and politician (d. 1872)
1792 – Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen consort of William IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1849)
1803 – Vladimir Odoevsky, Russian philosopher and writer (d. 1869)
1814 – Anders Jonas Ångström, Swedish physicist (d. 1874)
1818 – Lucy Stone, American suffragette (d. 1893)
1819 – George Gabriel Stokes, Irish physicist (d. 1903)
1820 – Sir George Grove, English music historian (d. 1900)
1823 – Goldwin Smith, English-born historian and journalist (d. 1910)
1841 – Johnny Mullagh, Australian First Class cricketer (d. 1891)
1851 – Felix Adler, German-born educator (d. 1933)
1860 – Annie Oakley, American sharpshooter (d. 1926)
1866 – Giovanni Agnelli, Italian industrialist (d. 1945)
1872 – Richard Willstätter, German chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1942)
1879 – John Ireland, English composer (d. 1962)
1884 – Harry Dean, England cricketer (d. 1957)
1887 – Julius Freed, American inventor and banker (d. 1952)
1888 – John Logie Baird, Scottish television pioneer (d. 1946)
1888 – Gleb W. Derujinsky, Russian-American sculptor (d. 1975)
1889 – Camillien Houde, Quebec politician, mayor of Montreal (d. 1958)
1890 – Ellen Osiier, Danish Olympic champion fencer (d. 1962)
1895 – Bert Lahr, American actor (d. 1967)
1899 – Alfred Hitchcock, English film director (d. 1980)
1902 – Felix Wankel, German engineer and inventor (d. 1988)
1904 – Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, American actor (d. 1999)
1907 – Sir Basil Spence, Scottish architect (d. 1976)
1908 – Gene Raymond, American actor (d. 1998)
1911 – William Bernbach, Famous Advertiser (d. 1982)
1912 – Ben Hogan, American golfer (d. 1997)
1912 – Salvador Luria, Italian-born biologist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1991)
1913 – Fred Davis, English snooker player (d. 1998)
1913 – Makarios III, Archbishop and first President of Cyprus (d. 1977)
1914 – Luis Mariano, Basque operetta singer (d. 1970)
1917 – Sid Gordon, American baseball player (d. 1975)
1918 – Frederick Sanger, English chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate
1919 – Rex Humbard, American television evangelist (d. 2007)
1919 – Sir George Shearing, British jazz pianist
1920 – Neville Brand, American actor (d. 1992)
1926 – Fidel Castro, Cuban revolutionary and politician
1930 – Don Ho, American musician (d. 2007)
1930 – Bernard Manning, English comedian (d. 2007)
1930 – Wilmer David Mizell, American baseball player (d. 1999)
1933 – Joycelyn Elders, American physician, 15th Surgeon General of the United States
1935 – Mudcat Grant, American baseball player
1935 – Rod Hull, British television entertainer (d. 1999)
1938 – Dave "Baby" Cortez, American pop keyboardist
1940 – Bill Musselman, American basketball head coach (d. 2000)
1941 – Erin Fleming, Canadian actress (d. 2003)
1943 – Michael Willetts, English George Cross recipient (d. 1971)
1944 – Divina Galica, British athlete and racing driver
1944 – Kevin Tighe, American actor
1945 – Lars Engqvist, Swedish politician
1945 – Robin Jackman, England cricketer
1947 – John Stocker, Canadian actor
1947 – Margareta Winberg, Swedish politician
1948 – Kathleen Battle, American soprano
1949 – Bobby Clarke, Canadian ice hockey player
1949 – Philippe Petit, French high wire artist
1951 – Dan Fogelberg, American singer/songwriter (d. 2007)
1952 – Herb Ritts, American photographer (d. 2004)
1952 – Hughie Thomasson, American musician (d. 2007)
1954 – Nico Assumpção, Brazilian musician (d. 2001)
1955 – Keith Ahlers, British racing driver
1955 – Hideo Fukuyama, Japanese racing driver
1955 – Paul Greengrass, English film director
1958 – Fergal Sharkey, musician
1958 – Randall Shughart, American Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1993)
1959 – Danny Bonaduce, American actor
1959 – Tom Niedenfuer, American baseball player
1959 – Bruce French, England cricketer
1960 – Phil Taylor, English darts player
1960 – Kōji Kondō, Japanese composer
1961 – Dawnn Lewis, American actress
1961 – Stuart Maconie, English music writer and broadcaster
1961 – Tom Perrotta, American novelist
1961 – Sunil Shetty, Indian Actor, Producer
1961 – Neil Mallender, England cricketer
1962 – John Slattery, American actor
1963 – Sridevi, Indian actress
1964 – Jay Buhner, American baseball player
1964 – Hank Cheyne, American actor
1965 – Mark Lemke, American baseball player
1965 – Hayato Matsuo, Japanese composer
1966 – Shayne Corson, Canadian ice hockey player
1967 – Amélie Nothomb, Belgian writer
1967 – Quinn Cummings, American actress
1969 – Midori Ito, Japanese figure skater
1970 – Will Clarke, American novelist
1970 – Elvis Grbac, American football player
1970 – Matt Hyson, American professional wrestler
1970 – Alan Shearer, English footballer
1971 – Moritz Bleibtreu, German actor
1971 – Patrick Carpentier, Quebec racing driver
1971 – Rolando Molina, Salvadoran-born actor
1972 – Kevin Plank, American entrepreneur (Under Armour)
1972 – John Safran, Australian television presenter.
1973 – Brittany Andrews, American pornographic actress
1973 – Molly Henneberg, American journalist
1973 – Eric Medlen, American drag racer and rodeo star (d. 2007)
1974 – Jarrod Washburn, American baseball player
1974 – Sam Endicott, American singer (The Bravery)
1975 – Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistani cricketer
1975 – James Carpinello, American actor
1975 – Joe Perry, English snooker player
1975 – Marty Turco, Canadian ice hockey player
1977 – Michael Klim, Australian swimmer
1978 – Benjani Mwaruwari, Zimbabwean footballer
1979 – Román Colón, Dominican baseball player
1979 – Corey Patterson, American baseball player
1979 – Taizō Sugimura, Japanese politician
1982 – Shani Davis, American speed skater
1982 – Gary McSheffrey, English footballer
1983 – Ales Hemsky, Czech ice hockey player
1983 – Ľubomír Michalík, Slovakian footballer
1983 – Sebastian Stan, Romanian/American actor
1984 – Niko Kranjčar, Croatian footballer
1984 – Boone Logan, American baseball player
1984 – Heath Pearce, American footballer
1986 – Joseph Lapira, American footballer

Deaths

586 – Radegund, consort of Clotaire I
900 – King Zwentibold of Lotharingia (b. 870)
1134 – Piroska of Hungary, consort of John II Comnenus (b. 1088)
1382 – Eleanor of Aragon, consort of John I of Castile (b. 1358)
1523 – Gerard David, Flemish painter
1617 – Johann Jakob Grynaeus, Swiss Protestant clergyman (b. 1540)
1667 – Jeremy Taylor, Irish author and bishop (b. 1613)
1686 – Louis Maimbourg, French historian (b. 1610)
1721 – Jacques Lelong, French bibliographer (b. 1665)
1744 – John Cruger, Dutch-born American politician and mayor of New York City (b. 1678)
1749 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (b. 1719)
1755 – Francesco Durante, Italian composer (b. 1684)
1826 – René Laënnec, French physician (b. 1781)
1863 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter (b. 1798)
1865 – Ignaz Semmelweis, Austro-Hungarian physician (b. 1818)
1910 – Florence Nightingale, English nurse (b. 1820)
1912 – Jules Massenet, French composer (b. 1842)
1917 – Eduard Buchner, German chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1860)
1937 – Arthur Plunkett, Australian civil engineer (b. unknown)
1946 – H. G. Wells, English writer (b. 1866)
1948 – Elaine Hammerstein, American actress (b. 1897)
1958 – Otto Witte, German acrobat who claimed to have been crowned King of Albania (b. 1868)
1965 – Ikeda Hayato, Japanese politician and the 58th, 59th and 60th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1899)
1982 – Joe Tex, American singer and songwriter (b. 1933)
1984 – Tigran Petrosian, Soviet-Armenian chess player (b. 1929)
1986 – Way Bandy, American make-up artist (b. 1941)
1989 – Tim Richmond, American race car driver (b. 1955)
1989 – Larkin Smith, American politician and U.S. Representative from Mississippi (b. 1944)
1991 – Jack Ryan, American designer (Barbie) (b. 1926)
1995 – Jan Křesadlo, Czech writer (b. 1926)
1995 – Mickey Mantle, American baseball player (b. 1931)
1995 – Rob Slater mountain climber (1960)
1996 – António de Spínola, Portuguese general and politician (b. 1910)
1996 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (b. 1926)
1998 – Nino Ferrer, French-Italian singer and composer (b. 1934)
1998 – Julien Green, American novelist (b. 1900)
1999 – Jaime Garzón, Colombian journalist and comedian (b. 1960)
2000 – Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer (b. 1965)
2001 – Otto Stuppacher, Austrian race car driver (b. 1947)
2003 – Ed Townsend, American songwriter and producer (b. 1929)
2004 – Julia Child, American chef and television personality (b. 1912)
2005 – David Lange, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1942)
2006 – Tony Jay, English actor (b. 1933)
2006 – Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish vocalist for Death Metal band Dissection (band) (b. 1975)
2006 – Payao Poontarat, Thai Olympic boxer (b. 1957)
2007 – Brian Adams, aka Demolition Crush, American professional wrestler (b. 1964)
2007 – Brooke Astor, American philanthropist (b. 1902)
2007 – Yone Minagawa, Japanese supercentenarian aged 114 years and 221 days (b. 1893)
2007 – Phil Rizzuto, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1917)
2008 – Bill Gwatney, American political figure (b. 1959)
2008 – Dino Toso, American Formula-1 engineer (b. 1969)
2008 – Jack Weil, American businessman (b. 1901)
2008 – Sandy Allen, American tallest woman in the world (b. 1955)
2008 – Henri Cartan, French mathematician (b. 1904)
2009 – Les Paul, virtuoso guitarist (b. 1915)

Holidays and observances

International Lefthanders Day.
Laos – Lao Issara, Day of the Free Laos.

[disco]

2007 – Brian Adams, aka Demolition Crush, American professional wrestler (b. 1964)

The wrong Brian Adams died.   



 

[Peelz]

lol


Have A great weekend all.

[dragonz]

Random whore!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just passing thru sorry, did ya miss me?

nobody wants to play the "change my nappies game" since you left.


fairies! 

There that should keep you happy for a while

[dragonz]

What up phil! you back in NZ finally?!

Been home a couple of months now, but was really tied up with sorting out my seperation from Kirsten, who I will now post more pics of in VIP.
You want her she's yours.............

I also have posted 1 pic of new girlfriend 
Sorry, she's too good to share any more of..................
am still trying to offload the other girl I started going out with, but that is working out slowly.
May post a pic or 2 of her, but don't have any good ones

[Krandall]

 

glad the separation is working out for ya thus far.

[socalrappy700]

August 14 is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 139 days remaining until the end of the year.

Today in history

1183 – Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures and flee to western Japan to escape pursuit by the Minamoto clan. (Traditional Japanese date: Twenty-fifth Day of the Seventh Month of the Second Year of Juei).
1385 – Portuguese Crisis of 1383–1385: Battle of Aljubarrota – Portuguese forces commanded by King João I and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira defeat the Castilian army of King Juan I.
1598 – Nine Years War: Battle of the Yellow Ford – Irish forces under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, defeat an English expeditionary force under Henry Bagenal.
1842 – Indian Wars: Second Seminole War ends, with the Seminoles forced from Florida to Oklahoma.
1846 – The Cape Girardeau meteorite, a 2.3 kg chondrite-type meteorite strikes near the town of Cape Girardeau in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.
1848 – Oregon Territory is organized by Act of U.S. Congress.
1880 – Construction of Cologne Cathedral, the most famous landmark in Cologne, Germany, is completed.
1885 – Japan's first patent is issued to the inventor of a rust-proof paint.
1893 – France introduces motor vehicle registration.
1897 – The town of Anosimena is captured by French troops from Menabe defenders in Madagascar.
1900 – A joint European-Japanese-United States force (Eight-Nation Alliance) occupies Beijing, in a campaign to end the bloody Boxer Rebellion in China.
1901 – The first claimed powered flight, by Gustave Whitehead in his Number 21.
1908 – The first beauty contest is held in Folkestone, England.
1911 – United States Senate leaders agree to rotate the office of President pro tempore of the Senate among leading candidates to fill the vacancy left by William P. Frye's death.
1912 – United States Marines invade Nicaragua to support the U.S.-backed government installed there after José Santos Zelaya had resigned three years earlier.
1921 – Tannu Tuva, later Tuvinian People's Republic is established as a completely independent country (which is supported by Russia).
1925 – The original Hetch Hetchy Moccasin Powerhouse is completed and goes on line.
1933 – Loggers cause a forest fire in the Coast Range of Oregon, later known as the first forest fire of the Tillamook Burn. It is extinguished on September 5, after destroying 240,000 acres (970 km²).
1935 – United States Social Security Act passes, creating a government pension system for the retired.
1936 – Rainey Bethea is hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last public execution in the United States.
1937 – Chinese Air Force Day: The beginning of air-to-air combat of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II in general, when 6 Imperial Japanese Mitsubishi G3M bombers are shot down by the Nationalist Chinese Air Force while raiding Chinese air bases.
1941 – World War II – Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt sign the Atlantic Charter of war stating postwar aims.
1945 – Japan accepts the Allied terms of surrender in World War II and the Emperor records the Imperial Rescript on Surrender (August 15 in Japan standard time).
1947 – Pakistan gains Independence from the British Indian Empire under the administration of United Kingdom and joins the British Commonwealth.
1967 – UK Marine Broadcasting Offences Act declares participation in offshore pirate radio illegal.
1969 – British troops are deployed in Northern Ireland.
1972 – An East German Ilyushin Il-62 crashes during takeoff from East Berlin, killing 156.
1973 – The constitution of 1973 comes into effect in Pakistan
1976 – The Senegalese political party PAI-Rénovation is legally recognized. PAI-Rénovation thus becomes the third legal party in the country.
1979 – 15 sailors are killed when a severe storm strikes during the Fastnet Yacht Race.
1980 – Lech Wałęsa leads strikes at the Gdańsk, Poland shipyards.
1987 – All the children held at Kia Lama, a rural property on Lake Eildon, Australia, run by the Santiniketan Park Association, are released after a police raid.
1994 – Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, the terrorist known as "Carlos the Jackal", is captured.
2003 – Widescale power blackout in the northeast United States and Canada.
2006 – Chencholai bombing in which 61 Tamil girls are killed in Sri Lankan Airforce bombing.
2007 – The 2007 Kahtaniya bombings kills at least 400 people.

Births

1297 – Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Japan (d. 1348)
1473 – Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury, daughter of George, Duke of Clarence (d. 1541)
1479 – Princess Catherine of York (d. 1527)
1575 – Robert Hayman, English-born poet (d. 1629)
1586 – William Hutchinson, Rhode Island colonist (d. 1642)
1599 – Méric Casaubon, English classical scholar (d. 1671)
1625 – François de Harlay de Champvallon, Archbishop of Paris (d. 1695)
1642 – Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1723)
1653 – Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, English statesman (d. 1688)
1688 – Frederick William I of Prussia (d. 1740)
1714 – Claude Joseph Vernet, French painter (d. 1789)
1727 – Henriette-Anne of France, daughter of king Louis XV (d. 1752)
1727 – Louise-Elisabeth of France, daughter of king Louis XV (d. 1759)
1740 – Pope Pius VII (d. 1823)
1758 – Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, French painter (d. 1835)
1777 – Francis I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1830)
1777 – Hans Christian Ørsted, Danish physicist (d. 1851)
1817 – Alexander H. Bailey, American politician (d. 1874)
1840 – Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German psychologist (d. 1902)
1847 – Robert Comtesse, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1922)
1851 – Doc Holliday, American gambler and dentist (d. 1887)
1857 – Max Wagenknecht, German composer (d. 1922)
1863 – Ernest Thayer, American poet (d. 1940)
1865 – Guido Castelnuovo, Italian mathematician (d. 1952)
1866 – Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician (d. 1962)
1867 – John Galsworthy, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1933)
1867 – Cupid Childs, American baseball player (d. 1912)
1876 – Aleksandar Obrenović, King of Serbia (d. 1903)
1881 – Francis Ford, American actor (d. 1953)
1882 – Gisela Richter, British-born art historian (d. 1972)
1887 – Marija Leiko, Latvian film actress (d. 1937)
1895 – Jack Gregory, Australian cricketer (d. 1973)
1908 – Manos Katrakis, Greek actor (d. 1984)
1910 – Pierre Schaeffer, French composer (d. 1995)
1913 – Paul Dean, American baseball player (d. 1981)
1915 – B.A. Santamaria, Australian political activist and journalist (d. 1998)
1916 – Fumio Fujimura, Japanese baseball player (d. 1992)
1916 – Wellington Mara, Co-Owner of the New York Giants (d. 2005)
1924 – Georges Prêtre, French conductor
1924 – Holger Juul Hansen, Danish actor
1925 – Russell Baker, American columnist
1926 – Alice Ghostley, American actress (d. 2007)
1926 – René Goscinny, French comic-strip author (d. 1977)
1926 – Lina Wertmüller, Italian film director
1929 – Dick Tiger, Nigerian boxer (d. 1971)
1930 – Earl Weaver, American baseball manager
1932 – Lee Hoffman, American author (d. 2007)
1933 – Richard R. Ernst, Swiss chemist and Nobel Prize Laureate
1935 – John Brodie, American football player
1936 – Trevor Bannister, British actor
1940 – Dash Crofts, American musician
1940 – Galen Hall, American football coach
1941 – David Crosby, American musician
1941 – Connie Smith, American singer
1942 – Jackie Oliver, British Formula One driver
1943 – Jimmy Johnson, American football coach
1945 – Steve Martin, American actor and comedian
1945 – Wim Wenders, German-born film director
1946 – Antonio Fargas, American actor
1946 – Susan Saint James, American actress
1946 – Larry Graham, American musician
1947 – Peter Christian, British actor
1947 – Bruce Nash, American television producer
1947 – Maddy Prior, British folk singer
1947 – Danielle Steel, American novelist
1947 – Jiro Taniguchi, Japanese manga artist
1948 – Terry Adams, American musician (NRBQ)
1949 – Bob Backlund, American wrestler
1950 – Gary Larson, American cartoonist (The Far Side)
1951 – Peter Blegvad, American musician (Slapp Happy)
1952 – Carl Lumbly, American actor
1952 – Debbie Meyer, American swimmer
1953 – James Horner, American composer
1953 – Cliff Johnson, American computer game author
1954 – Mark Fidrych, American baseball player (d. 2009)
1956 – Jackée Harry, American actress
1956 – Andy King, English footballer
1956 – Johnny Lever, Indian actor
1956 – Rusty Wallace, American race car driver
1957 – Peter Costello, Australian politician
1957 – Gino Hernandez, American professional wrestler (d. 1986)
1958 – Bobby Eaton, American professional wrestler
1958 – Marcia Gay Harden, American actress
1959 – Magic Johnson, American basketball player
1960 – Sarah Brightman, British soprano
1960 – Cecilia Gasdia, Italian soprano
1961 – Susan Olsen, American actress
1961 – "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert, American wrestler (d. 1995)
1962 – Rameez Raja, Pakistani cricketer
1964 – Brannon Braga, American scriptwriter
1965 – Emmanuelle Béart, French actress
1966 – Halle Berry, American actress
1966 – Karl Petter Løken, Norwegian footballer
1968 – Catherine Bell, American actress
1968 – Darren Clarke, Northern Irish golfer
1968 – Adrian Lester, British actor
1968 – Billy Mavreas, Greek-Canadian cartoonist
1968 – Pravin Amre, Indian cricketer
1969 – Tracy Caldwell, American astronaut
1969 – DJ Uncle Al, American hip-hop DJ (d. 2001)
1969 – Stig Tøfting, Danish footballer
1971 – Raoul Bova, Italian actor
1971 – Pramodya Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan cricketer
1972 – Jay Manuel, Canadian make-up artist
1972 – Yu Jae-seok, South Korean entertainer
1973 – Jared Borgetti, Mexican footballer
1973 – Daisuke Ishiwatari, Japanese game developer and composer
1973 – Jay-Jay Okocha, Nigerian footballer
1973 – Kieren Perkins, Australian swimmer
1974 – Chucky Atkins, American basketball player
1974 – Martin Bulloch, Scottish musician (Mogwai)
1974 – Christopher Gorham, American actor
1974 – Ana Matronic, American singer (Scissor Sisters)
1975 – Mike Vrabel, American football player
1976 – Alex Albrecht, American actor
1976 – Maya Nasri, Lebanese actress and singer
1976 – Steve Braun, Canadian actor
1977 – Juan Pierre, American baseball player
1978 – Anastasios Kyriakos, Greek footballer
1978 – Kate Ritchie, Australian actress
1979 – Paul Burgess, Australian athlete
1979 – Yoichiro Morikawa, Japanese film director
1980 – Estrella Morente, Spanish flamenco singer
1980 – Roy Williams, American football player
1981 – Matthew Etherington, English footballer
1981 – Julius Jones, American football player
1983 – Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian/British tennis player
1983 – Mila Kunis, Ukrainian/American actress
1983 – Leo Núñez, Dominican baseball player
1984 – Clay Buchholz, American baseball player
1984 – Josh Gorges, Canadian ice hockey player
1984 – Nick Grimshaw, British radio DJ and television presenter
1984 – Robin Söderling, Swedish tennis player
1985 – Christian Gentner, German footballer
1985 – Ashlynn Brooke, American Pornographic Actress
1986 – Terin Humphrey, American gymnast
1987 – Tim Tebow, American football player
1987 – Chrystina Sayers, American singer and dancer (Girlicious)
1988 – Shahd Barmada, Syrian singer
1989 – Kyle Turris, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 – Jaydee Bixby, Canadian singer

Deaths

582 – Tiberius II Constantine, Byzantine Emperor
1167 – Rainald of Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne
1204 – Minamoto no Yoriie, Japanese shogun (b. 1182)
1390 – John FitzAlan, 2nd Baron Arundel, English soldier (b. 1364)
1430 – Philip I, Duke of Brabant (b. 1404)
1433 – King John I of Portugal (b. 1357)
1464 – Pope Pius II (b. 1405)
1573 – Saitō Tatsuoki, Japanese warlord (b. 1548)
1691 – Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnel, Irish rebel (b. 1630)
1704 – Roland Laporte, French Protestant leader (b. 1675)
1727 – William Croft, English composer (b. 1678)
1774 – Johann Jakob Reiske, German physician (b. 1716)
1784 – Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born painter (b. 1718)
1856 – Constant Prévost, French geologist (b. 1787)
1860 – André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist (b. 1774)
1870 – David Farragut, American officer of the United States Navy (b. 1801)
1874 – Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, American politician (b. 1821)
1905 – Simeon Solomon, British artist (b. 1840)
1928 – Alfred Henschke, ps. Klabund, German writer, poet (b. 1890)
1926 – John H. Moffitt, American politician (b. 1843)
1938 – Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer (b. 1876)
1941 – Paul Sabatier, French chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1854)
1941 – Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Polish martyr (b. 1894)
1943 – Joe Kelley, American baseball player (b. 1871)
1951 – William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper magnate (b. 1863)
1955 – Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress (b. 1861)
1956 – Bertolt Brecht, German writer (b. 1898)
1958 – Frédéric Joliot, French physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900)
1958 – Konstantin von Neurath, German diplomat (b. 1873)
1964 – Johnny Burnette, American Rockabilly singer (b. 1934)
1966 – Tip Snooke, South African cricketer (b. 1881)
1967 – Bob Anderson, British racing driver (b. 1931)
1972 – Pierre Brasseur, French actor (b. 1905)
1972 – Oscar Levant, American actor (b. 1906)
1972 – Jules Romains, French author (b. 1885)
1978 – Nicolas Bentley, British writer (b. 1907)
1980 – Dorothy Stratten, Canadian actress and model (b. 1960)
1981 – Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (b. 1894)
1981 – Dudley Nourse, South African cricketer (b. 1910)
1982 – Patrick Magee, Irish actor (b. 1922)
1984 – Spud Davis, American baseball player (b. 1904)
1984 – J. B. Priestley, British playwright (b. 1894)
1985 – Gale Sondergaard, American actress (b. 1899)
1988 – Roy Buchanan, American guitarist (b. 1939)
1988 – Robert Calvert, South African singer (Hawkwind) (b. 1945)
1988 – Enzo Ferrari, Italian car maker (b. 1898)
1989 – Ricky Berry, American basketball player (b. 1964)
1991 – Alberto Crespo, Argentine racing driver (b. 1920)
1992 – John Sirica, American judge (b. 1904)
1992 – Tony Williams, American singer (The Platters) (b. 1928)
1994 – Elias Canetti, British-Austrian novelist (b. 1905)
1996 – Tom Mees, American sportscaster (b. 1949)
1999 – Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player (b. 1918)
2000 – Alain Fournier, French-born computer graphics researcher (b. 1943)
2000 – Cuan McCarthy, South African cricketer (b. 1929)
2002 – Dave Williams, American singer (Drowning Pool) (b. 1972)
2003 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer (b. 1929)
2004 – Czesław Miłosz, Polish-born writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1911)
2004 – Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-born British politician (b. 1918)
2005 – Coo Coo Marlin, American race car driver (b. 1932)
2006 – Bruno Kirby, American actor (b. 1949)
2007 – Tikhon Khrennikov, Russian composer (b. 1913)

Holidays and observances

Pakistan – Independence Day (From United Kingom, 1947) Was part of India before that.

[Krandall]

1945 – Japan accepts the Allied terms of surrender in World War II and the Emperor records the Imperial Rescript on Surrender (August 15 in Japan standard time).

BOOOM!

I think I'd surrender too..

[dragonz]

Glad we're NO-NUKES here!
Someone needs to say that use of that kind of weapon is not OK in this world!

[socalrappy700]

August 15 is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 138 days remaining until the end of the year.

Today in history

778 – The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed.
927 – The Saracens conquer and destroy Taranto.
982 – Holy Roman Emperor Otto II is defeated by the Saracens in the battle of Capo Colonna, in Calabria
1018 – Byzantine general Eustathios Daphnomeles blinds and captures Ibatzes of Bulgaria by a ruse, thereby ending Bulgarian resistance against Emperor Basil II's conquest of Bulgaria.
1040 – King Duncan I is killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. The latter succeeds him as King of Scotland.
1057 – King Macbeth is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.
1185 – The cave city of Vardzia is consecrated by Queen Tamar of Georgia.
1248 – The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral, built to house the relics of the Three Wise Men, is laid. (Construction is eventually completed in 1880.)
1261 – Michael VIII Palaeologus is crowned Byzantine emperor in Constantinople.
1309 – The city of Rhodes surrenders to the forces of the Knights of St. John, completing their conquest of Rhodes. The knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves the Knights of Rhodes.
1430 – Francesco Sforza, lord of Milan, conquers Lucca.
1461 – The Empire of Trebizond surrenders to the forces of Sultan Mehmet II. This is regarded by some historians as the real end of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor David is exiled and later murdered.
1483 – Pope Sixtus IV consecrates the Sistine Chapel.
1517 – Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.
1519 – Panama City, Panama, is founded.
1534 – Saint Ignatius of Loyola and six classmates take initial vows, leading to the creation of the Society of Jesus in September 1540.
1537 – Asunción, Paraguay, is founded.
1540 – Arequipa, Peru, is founded.
1549 – Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier comes ashore at Kagoshima (Traditional Japanese date: July 22, 1549).
1599 – Nine Years War: Battle of Curlew Pass – Irish forces led by Hugh Roe O'Donnell successfully ambush English forces, led by Sir Conyers Clifford, sent to relieve Collooney Castle.
1760 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Liegnitz – Frederick the Great's victory over the Austrians under Ernst von Laudon.
1824 – Freed American slaves found Liberia.
1843 – The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii is dedicated. Now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, it is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.
1843 – Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.
1863 – The Anglo-Satsuma War begins between the Satsuma Domain of Japan and the United Kingdom (Traditional Japanese date: July 2, 1863).
1869 – The Meiji government in Japan establishes six new ministries, including one for Shinto.
1891 – San Sebastian Church in Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed.
1909 – A group of mid-level Greek Army officers launches the Goudi coup, seeking wide-ranging reforms.
1914 – A male servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright sets fire to the living quarters of the architect's Wisconsin home, Taliesin, murders seven people and burns the living quarters to the ground.
1914 – The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship Ancon.
1914 – The First Russian Army, led by Pavel Rennenkampf, enters Eastern Prussia.
1920 – Polish-Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw – Poles defeat the Red Army.
1935 – Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed after their aircraft develops engine problems during takeoff in Barrow, Alaska.
1939 – 13 Stukas dive into the ground during a disastrous air-practice at Neuhammer. No survivors.
1939 Academy Award winning film The Wizard of Oz premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
1940 – An Italian submarine torpedoes and sinks the Greek cruiser Elli at Tinos harbour during peacetime, marking the most serious Italian provocation prior to the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War in October.
1942 – World War II: Operation Pedestal – The SS Ohio reaches the island of Malta barely afloat carrying vital fuel supplies for the island's defenses.
1944 – World War II: Operation Dragoon – Allied forces land in southern France.
1945 – World War II: Victory over Japan Day – Japan surrenders.
1945 – World War II: Korean Liberation Day.
1947 – India gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes an independent nation within the Commonwealth.
1947 – Founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah is sworn in as first Governor General of Pakistan at Karachi.
1948 – The Republic of Korea is established south of the 38th parallel north.
1954 – Alfredo Stroessner begins his dictatorship in Paraguay.
1950 – Srikakulam district is formed in Andhra Pradesh, India.
1952 – Devon, United Kingdom A flashflood drenches the town of Lynmouth, killing 34 people.
1960 – Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) becomes independent from France.
1961 – Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany while on duty guarding the construction of the Berlin Wall.
1961 – Keiyo Road is specified as the first driveway in Japan.
1962 – James Joseph Dresnok defects to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea after running across the Korean DMZ. Dresnok still resides in the capital, Pyongyang.
1965 – The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City, in an event later seen as marking the birth of stadium rock.
1968 – 40,000 people protest in Mexico City against the repression in the country.
1969 – The Woodstock Music and Art Festival opens.
1971 – President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors.
1973 – Vietnam War: The United States bombing of Cambodia ends.
1974 – Yuk Young-soo, First Lady of South Korea, is killed during an apparent assassination attempt upon President of South Korea, Park Chung-hee.
1975 – Military coup in Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujibur Rehman is killed along with all the members of his family except Haseena Wajid.
1975 – Miki Takeo makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II.
1977 – The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "Wow! signal" from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.
1984 – The PKK in Turkey starts a campaign of armed attacks upon the Turkish military
1995 – In South Carolina, Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet matriculated at The Citadel (she drops out less than a week later).
1998 – Omagh bomb in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles
1999 – Beni Ounif massacre in Algeria; some 29 people are killed at a false roadblock near the Moroccan border, leading to temporary tensions with Morocco.
2003 – Nicanor Duarte Furos is elected President of Paraguay, succeeding to Luis Ángel González Macchi.
2007 – An 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast devastates Ica and various regions of Peru killing 514 and injuring 1,090.

Births

1171 – King Alfonso IX of Leon (d. 1230)
1195 – Anthony of Padua, Portuguese saint (d. 1231)
1432 – Luigi Pulci, Italian poet (d. 1484)
1575 – Bartol Kašić, Croatian writer and linguist (d. 1650)
1613 – Gilles Ménage, French scholar (d. 1692)
1717 – Blind Jack, English roadbuilder (d. 1810)
1740 – Matthias Claudius, German poet (d. 1815)
1769 – Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France (d. 1821)
1771 – Sir Walter Scott, Scottish novelist and poet (d. 1832)
1785 – Thomas De Quincey, English author (d. 1859)
1813 – Jules Grévy, 2nd President of the French Third Republic (d. 1891)
1844 – Thomas-Alfred Bernier, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1908)
1856 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian writer (d. 1916)
1857 – Albert Ballin, German shipping tycoon (d. 1918)
1858 – E. Nesbit, English author (d. 1924)
1859 – Charles Comiskey, American baseball owner (d. 1931)
1860 – Henrietta Vinton Davis, American elocutionist (d. 1941)
1860 – Florence Harding, American First Lady (d. 1924)
1863 – Alexei Krylov, Russian engineer and mathematician (d. 1945)
1865 – Usui Mikao, Japanese founder of Reiki (d. 1926)
1872 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian writer and philosopher (d. 1950)
1875 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English composer (d. 1912)
1876 – Stylianos Gonatas, Greek military officer and Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1966)
1878 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian counter-revolutionary (d. 1928)
1879 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (d. 1959)
1881 – Alfred Wagenknecht, German-born American activist (d. 1956)
1883 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (d. 1962)
1885 – Edna Ferber, American novelist (d. 1968)
1886 – Bill Whitty, Australian cricketer (d. 1974)
1890 – Elizabeth Bolden, American Supercentenarian (d. 2006)
1890 – Jacques Ibert, French composer (d. 1962)
1892 – Louis, 7th duc de Broglie, French physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1987)
1893 – Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and computing pioneer (d. 1950)
1896 – Gerty Cori, Austrian-born biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1957)
1896 – Catherine Doherty, Russian-born Canadian activist (d. 1985)
1896 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (d. 1958)
1896 – Leon Theremin, Russian inventor (d. 1993)
1898 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet (d. 1966)
1901 – Pyotr Sergeyevich Novikov, Russian mathematician (d. 1975)
1904 – George Klein, Canadian inventor (d. 1992)
1909 – Hugo Winterhalter, American composer and bandleader (d. 1973)
1910 – Signe Hasso, Swedish actress (d. 2002)
1912 – Julia Child, American cook (d. 2004)
1912 – Dame Wendy Hiller, English actress (d. 2003)
1914 – Paul Rand, American graphic designer (d. 1996)
1916 – Aleks Çaçi, Albanian writer (d. 1989)
1917 – Jack Lynch, Irish politician (d. 1999)
1917 – Oscar Romero, El Salvador Roman Catholic priest (d. 1980)
1919 – Huntz Hall, American actor (d. 1999)
1919 – Benedict Kiely, Irish author (d. 2007)
1922 – Lukas Foss, German-born composer (d. 2009)
1923 – Rose Marie, American actress
1924 – Robert Bolt, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1995)
1925 – Mike Connors, American actor
1925 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist (d. 2007)
1925 – Bill Pinkney, American baritone singer (d. 2007)
1926 – Costis Stephanopoulos, Greek politician
1927 – Eddie Leadbeater, England cricketer
1928 – Nicolas Roeg, English film director
1930 – Ageeda Paavel, Estonian freedom fighter
1933 – Bobby Helms, American pop singer (d. 1997)
1933 – Jim Lange, American game show host
1934 – Bobby Byrd, American soul/funk singer (d. 2007)
1934 – Nino Ferrer, French-Italian singer (d. 1998)
1934 – Reginald Scarlett, West Indian cricketer
1935 – Jim Dale, English actor
1935 – Vernon Jordan Jr., American presidential advisor
1935 – Lionel Taylor, American football player
1938 – Maxine Waters, American politician
1938 – Janusz A. Zajdel, Polish writer
1940 – Gudrun Ensslin, German terrorist
1940 – Rita Shane, American soprano
1942 – Larry Hartsell, American martial arts instructor (d. 2007)
1943 – María Rojo, Mexican actress and politician
1944 – Linda Ellerbee, American journalist
1944 – Tom Murphy, American politician
1944 – Dimitris Sioufas, Greek lawyer and politician
1944 – Sylvie Vartan, Bulgarian pop singer
1945 – Gene Upshaw, American football player and union leader (d. 2008)
1945 – Begum Khaleda Zia, Bangladeshi politician
1946 – Tony Robinson, English actor and television presenter
1946 – Jimmy Webb, American musician and composer
1947 – Raakhee Gulzar, Indian actress
1947 – Jenny Hanley, British TV presenter
1948 – Uschi Digard, American pornographic actress and model
1948 – Patsy Gallant, Canadian pop singer
1948 – George Ryton, British engineer
1949 – Beverly Lynn Burns, American pilot
1949 – Richard Deacon, Welsh sculptor
1949 – Garry Disher, Australian author
1950 – Tommy Aldridge, American musician
1950 – The Princess Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom
1950 – Tom Kelly, American baseball manager
1951 – Ann Biderman, American film and television writer
1951 – Bobby Caldwell, American singer and musician
1951 – John Childs, England cricketer
1951 – Daba Diawara, Malian politician
1951 – Ranjan Gunatilleke, Sri Lankan cricketer
1954 – Mary Jo Salter, American poet
1956 – Lorraine Desmarais, French-Canadian jazz pianist and composer
1957 – Željko Ivanek, Slovenian-American actor
1958 – Craig MacTavish, Canadian ice hockey player/coach
1958 – Victor Shenderovich, Russian satirist
1958 – Rondell Sheridan, American actor and comedian
1961 – Ed Gillespie, American White House counsel to George W. Bush
1961 – Gary Kubiak, American football coach
1962 – Tom Colicchio, American chef
1963 – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexican film director
1963 – Jack Russell, England cricketer
1964 – Melinda French Gates, American wife of Bill Gates
1964 – Debi Mazar, American actress
1965 – Rob Thomas, American writer
1966 – Scott Brosius, American baseball player
1966 – Shirley Kwan, Hong Kong singer
1967 – Peter Hermann American actor
1968 – Debra Messing, American actress
1969 – Kevin Cheng, Hong Kong actor and singer
1969 – Cris Judd, American actor/choreographer
1970 – Anthony Anderson, American comedian and actor
1970 – Maddie Corman, American actress
1970 – Ben Silverman, American TV executive
1972 – Ben Affleck, American actor
1972 – Chris Morrissey, American film director/actor
1972 – Matthew Wood, American actor and sound editor
1972 – Jennifer Alexander, Canadian ballet dancer (d. 2007)
1973 – Adnan Sami, music composer, singer
1974 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress
1975 – Bertrand Berry, American football player
1975 – Vijay Bharadwaj, Indian cricketer
1975 – Brendan Morrison, Canadian hockey player
1975 – Kara Wolters, American basketball player
1976 – Boudewijn Zenden, Dutch football player
1977 – Martin Biron, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
1977 – Igor Cassina, Italian gymnast
1977 – Nicole Paggi, American actress
1978 – Tim Foreman, American bassist (Switchfoot)
1978 – Lilia Podkopayeva, Ukrainian gymnast
1978 – Stavros Tziortziopoulos, Greek footballer
1978 – Kerri Walsh, American beach volleyball player
1979 – Carl Edwards, American NASCAR driver
1980 – Nathalie Press, English actress
1981 – Brendan Hansen, American swimmer
1981 – Song Ji-hyo, South Korean actress
1981 – Oliver Perez, American baseball player
1982 – Casey Burgener, American weightlifter
1989 – Belinda, Mexican singer
1989 – Tiffanie Anderson, American performer (Girlicious)
1989 – Joe Jonas, American singer (Jonas Brothers)

Deaths

423 – Flavius Honorius, Western Roman Emperor (b. 384)
778 – Roland, Frankish commander
1038 – King Stephen I of Hungary
1040 – King Duncan I of Scotland
1057 – King Macbeth of Scotland
1118 – Alexius I Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1048)
1196 – Conrad II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1173)
1274 – Robert de Sorbon, French theologian and founder of the Sorbonne (b. 1201)
1369 – Philippa of Hainault, Queen consort of Edward III of England
1528 – Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, French military leader (b. 1485)
1552 – Hermann of Wied, German Catholic archbishop (b. 1477)
1621 – John Barclay, Scottish writer (b. 1582)
1666 – Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German Jesuit missionary (b. 1591)
1714 – Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia (b. 1654)
1728 – Marin Marais, French composer and viol player (b. 1656)
1758 – Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician (b. 1698)
1799 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet (b. 1729)
1852 – Johan Gadolin, Finnish scientist (b. 1760)
1859 – Nathaniel Claiborne, U.S. politician (b. 1777)
1880 – Adelaide Neilson, English Actress (b. 1848)
1907 – Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (b. 1831)
1909 – Euclides da Cunha, Brazilian writer and sociologist (b. 1866)
1917 – Thomas J. Higgins, decorated Union Army soldier (b. 1831)
1925 – Konrad Mägi, Estonian artist (b. 1878)
1931 – Nigar Shikhlinskaya, Azerbaijani WWI nurse (b. ca. 1878)
1935 – Wiley Post, American pilot (airplane crash) (b. 1898)
1935 – Will Rogers, American humorist and actor (airplane crash) (b. 1879)
1936 – Grazia Deledda, Italian writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1871)
1945 – Korechika Anami, Japanese War Minister (b. 1887)
1951 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (b. 1882)
1953 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist (b. 1875)
1959 – Blind Willie McTell, American singer (b. 1901)
1962 – Lei Feng, Chinese revolutionary (b. 1940)
1967 – René Magritte, Belgian painter (b. 1898)
1971 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian-born actor (b. 1887)
1975 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (b. 1920)
1975 – Clay Shaw, alleged John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracist & businessman (b. 1913)
1982 – Hugo Theorell, Swedish scientist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1903)
1989 – Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, Greek Army officer who served in World War I, the Minor Asia Campaign and World War II (b. 1897)
1990 – Viktor Tsoi, Russian musician (b. 1962)
1995 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (b. 1906)
1999 – Sir Hugh Casson, British architect and artist (b. 1910)
2001 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan athlete (b. 1972)
2003 – Gösta Sundqvist, Finnish songwriter and singer (heart attack) (b. 1957)
2004 – Semiha Berksoy, first Turkish opera singer (b. 1910)
2004 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1916)
2004 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician (b. 1941)
2005 – Bendapudi Venkata Satyanarayana, Indian dermatologist (b. 1927)
2006 – Te Atairangi Kaahu, Māori queen (b. 1931)
2006 – Rick Bourke, Australian rugby league player (b. c. 1955)
2006 – Coenraad Bron, Dutch computer scientist (b. 1937)
2006 – Faas Wilkes, Dutch international footballer (b. 1923)
2007 – Richard Bradshaw, British opera conductor, (b. 1944)
2007 – John Gofman, American Manhattan Project scientist and advocate (b. 1918)
2007 – Geoffrey Orbell, New Zealand bush walker (b. 1908)
2007 – Sam Pollock, Canadian sports executive (b. 1925)
2008 – Jerry Wexler, music producer and coiner of the term "Rhythm & Blues" (b. 1917)
2008 – James Orthwein, American businessman (b. 1924)
2008 – Leroy Sievers, American journalist (b. 1955)
2008 – Vic Toweel, South African boxer, bantamweight world champion (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances

Christianity. Feast day of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Holy Day of Obligation. Public Holiday in: Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, East Timor, France, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mauritius, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu.
VJ Day / VP Day
India – Independence Day (from the United Kingdom, 1947).
Egypt – Flooding of the Nile Day, a commemoration of the belief that the star Sirius would appear when the Nile River flooded
Italy, Ferragosto, Assumption Day and remembrance of an ancient Roman holiday in honor of Augustus.
Korea – Gwangbokjeol (Liberation Day).
Costa Rica– Mother's Day.
Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism – Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, the commemoration of the death of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
National Acadian Day

[socalrappy700]

August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 137 days remaining until the end of the year.

Today in history

1513 – Battle of Guinegate (Battle of the Spurs) – King Henry VIII of England defeats French Forces who are forced to retreat.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark routed British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.
1780 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden – The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.
1792 – Maximilien Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal.
1812 – War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.
1819 – Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured by cavalry charges at the Peterloo Massacre at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England.
1841 – U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.
1858 – U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal will force a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.
1865 – Restoration Day in the Dominican Republic: The Dominican Republic regains its independence after 4 years of fighting against the Spanish Annexation.
1868 – Arica, Peru (now Chile) is devastated by a tsunami which followed a magnitude 8.5 earthquake in the Peru-Chile Trench off the coast. The earthquake and tsunami killed an estimated 25,000 people in Arica and perhaps 70,000 people in all.
1869 – Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguay battalion made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the War of the Triple Alliance.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-La-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.
1896 – Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.
1913 – Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tōhoku University) admits its first female students.
1914 – World War I: Battle of Cer begins.
1915 – World War I: Should victory be achieved over the Central Powers, the Triple Entente promises the Kingdom of Serbia: the Austro-Hungarian territories of Baranja, Srem, Slavonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina; and the eastern ⅔ of Dalmatia (from the river of Krka to the city of Bar).
1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit in the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. To date, Chapman is the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909.
1920 – The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens. The congress would call for armed revolution.
1929 – The 1929 Palestine riots break out in the British Mandate of Palestine between Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.
1930 – The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, is made by Ub Iwerks.
1940 – World War II: The Communist Party is banned in German-occupied Norway.
1941 – HMS Mercury, Royal Navy Signals School and Combined Signals School opens at Leydene, near Petersfield, Hampshire, England.
1942 – World War II: The two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappears without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifts without her crew and crash-lands in Daly City, California.
1944 – First flight of the Junkers Ju 287.
1945 – An assassination attempt is made on Japan's prime minister, Kantaro Suzuki.
1945 – Puyi, the last Chinese emperor and ruler of Manchukuo, is captured by Soviet troops.
1954 – The first edition of Sports Illustrated is published.
1960 – Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1960 – Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,330 m), setting three records that still stand today: High-altitude jump, free-fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.
1962 – Pete Best replaced by Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) as drummer for The Beatles.
1964 – Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces Duong Van Minh with General Nguyen Khanh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.
1966 – Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.
1972 – The Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon, in an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.
1977 – Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll dies from a drug overdose in his home in Graceland at age 42.
1987 – A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 carrying Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes on take-off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan (Detroit), killing 155 passengers and crew. The sole survivor is four-year-old Cecelia Cichan.
1989 – A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market.
1992 – In response to an appeal by President Fernando Collor de Mello to wear green and yellow as a way to show support for him, thousands of Brazilians take to the streets dressed in black.
2003 – U.S. Representative from South Dakota Bill Janklow hits and kills a motorcyclist with his car at a rural intersection near Trent, South Dakota; he will eventually be convicted of manslaughter and will resign from Congress.
2005 – West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes near Machiques, Venezuela, killing the 160 aboard.

Births

1355 – Philippa Plantagenet, Countess of Ulster
1378 – Hongxi Emperor of China (d. 1425)
1401 – Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut, dauphine of France (d. 1436)
1557 – Agostino Carracci, Italian artist (d. 1602)
1573 – Anna of Austria, queen of Poland (d. 1598)
1596 – Frederick V, Elector Palatine (d. 1632)
1637 – Emilie Juliane of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, German countess and poet (d. 1706)
1645 – Jean de La Bruyère, French writer (d. 1696)
1650 – Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian cartographer and encylopedist (d. 1718)
1682 – Louis, duc de Bourgogne, heir-apparent to the French throne (d. 1712)
1761 – Yevstigney Fomin, Russian composer (d. 1800)
1815 – John Bosco, Italian priest and educator (d. 1888)
1820 – Andrew Rainsford Wetmore, Canadian politician (d. 1892)
1831 – John Jones Ross, Quebec politician (d. 1901)
1832 – Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (d. 1920)
1842 – Jakob Rosanes, German mathematician (d. 1922)
1845 – Gabriel Lippmann, French physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1921)
1858 – Arthur Achleitner, German writer (d. 1927)
1860 – Jules Laforgue, French poet (d. 1887)
1860 – Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke, England cricketer (d. 1938)
1862 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American coach (d. 1965)
1868 – Bernarr McFadden, American publisher (d. 1955)
1876 – Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator (d. 1942)
1876 – Julian Ashby Burruss, American academic (d. 1947)
1882 – Christian Mortensen, Danish-American supercentenarian (d. 1998)
1884 – Hugo Gernsback, Luxembourg-born editor and publisher (d. 1967)
1884 – Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (d. 1942)
1888 – T. E. Lawrence, English writer and soldier (d. 1935)
1888 – Armand J. Piron, American musician (d. 1943)
1892 – Otto Messmer, American cartoonist (d. 1983)
1894 – George Meany, American labor union leader (d. 1980)
1895 – Albert Cohen, Swiss novelist (d. 1981)
1895 – Liane Haid, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
1902 – Georgette Heyer, English novelist (d. 1974)
1904 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)
1908 – William Maxwell, American novelist and editor (d. 2000)
1911 – E. F. Schumacher, German economist and statistician (d. 1977)
1912 – Ted Drake, English footballer (d. 1995)
1913 – Menachem Begin, 6th Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel laureate (d. 1992)
1915 – Al Hibbler, American singer (d. 2001)
1916 – Iggy Katona, American race car driver (d. 2003)
1920 – Charles Bukowski, American poet (d. 1994)
1922 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist and arranger (d. 2001)
1923 – Millôr Fernandes, Brazilian playwright
1924 – Fess Parker, American actor
1925 – Willie Jones, American baseball player (d. 1983)
1928 – Ann Blyth, American actress
1929 – Bill Evans, American jazz pianist (d. 1980)
1929 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer (d. 2003)
1929 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American civil rights activist
1929 – Fritz Von Erich, American professional wrestler (d. 1997)
1930 – Robert Culp, American actor
1930 – Frank Gifford, American football player and announcer
1930 – Tony Trabert, American former tennis player
1931 – Eydie Gormé, American singer
1933 – Julie Newmar, American actress
1933 – Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (d. 1994)
1934 – Diana Wynne Jones, British author
1934 – Ketty Lester, American singer
1934 – Pierre Richard, French actor
1935 – Andreas Stamatiadis, Greek footballer and coach
1935 – Cliff Fletcher, Canadian National Hockey League executive
1937 – David Anderson, Canadian politician
1939 – Sir Trevor Mcdonald, Trinidadian-born British television newsreader
1939 – Seán Brady, Cardinal-Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
1940 – Bruce Beresford, Australian film director
1942 – Barbara George, American singer and songwriter (d. 2006)
1943 – Sharon Baird, American actress and tap dancer
1945 – Suzanne Farrell, ballet dancer
1946 – Massoud Barzani, Iraqi Kurdish politician
1946 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress
1946 – Dick Murdoch, American professional wrestler (d. 1996)
1947 – Carol Moseley Braun, American politician and lawyer
1947 – Katharine Hamnett, English fashion designer
1947 – Marc Messier, Canadian actor
1948 – Mike Jorgensen, American baseball player
1948 – Pierre Reid, Canadian politician and teacher
1948 – Barry Hay, Indian-born Dutch singer (Golden Earring)
1949 – Scott Asheton, American musician (The Stooges)
1950 – Hasely Crawford, Trinidadian athlete
1950 – Marshall Manesh, Iranian-born American actor
1950 – Stockwell Day, Canadian politician
1950 – Jeff Thomson, Australian cricketer
1951 – Richard Hunt, American puppeteer (d. 1992)
1951 – Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigerian politician
1952 – Reginald VelJohnson, American actor
1952 – Mahes Goonatilleke, Sri Lankan cricketer
1953 – Kathie Lee Gifford, American singer and actress
1953 – James "J.T." Taylor, American singer (Kool & The Gang)
1954 – George Galloway, British politician
1954 – James Cameron, Canadian film director
1956 – Daniel Willems, Belgian cyclist
1957 – Tim Farriss, Australian musician (INXS)
1957 – Randhir Singh, Indian cricketer
1958 – Angela Bassett, American actress
1958 – Madonna, American singer and actress
1958 – José Luis Clerc, Argentine tennis player
1958 – Michael Harkin, American anthropologist
1959 – Laura Innes, American actress
1959 – Marc Sergeant, Belgian cyclist
1960 – Timothy Hutton, American actor
1961 – Christian Okoye, American football player
1961 – Michaela Dornonville de la Cour, Swedish singer (Army of Lovers)
1962 – Steve Carell, American actor and comedian
1964 – Jimmy Arias, American tennis player
1966 – Barry Lather, American choreographer, musician and actor
1967 – Ulrika Jonsson, Swedish television personality
1967 – Pamela Smart, American convicted murderess
1968 – Mateja Svet, Slovenian alpine skier
1969 – Andy Milder, American voice actor
1970 – Bonnie Bernstein, American sportscaster
1970 – Fabio Casartelli, Italian cyclist (d. 1995)
1970 – Killah Priest, American rapper
1970 – Manisha Koirala, Nepalese Bollywood actress
1970 – Saif Ali Khan, Indian actor
1971 – Rulon Gardner, American Greco-Roman wrestler
1971 – Stefan Klos, German footballer
1972 – Stan Lazaridis, Australian footballer
1972 – Emily Robison, American country singer (Dixie Chicks)
1972 – Frankie Boyle, Scottish comedian
1973 – Damian Jackson, American baseball player
1974 – Roger Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player
1974 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Guyanese cricketer
1974 – Krisztina Egerszegi, Hungarian swimmer
1974 – Iván Hurtado, Ecuadorian footballer
1975 – Didier Agathe, French footballer
1975 – George Stults, American actor
1976 – Jonatan Johansson, Finnish footballer
1976 – Dave Ockun, American concert producer
1977 – Tamer Hosny, Egyptian singer/actor
1978 – Fu Mingxia, Chinese female diver
1978 – Eddie Gill, American basketball player
1979 – Monder Rizki, Belgian athlete
1979 – Michael Stahlman, American rower and coach
1980 – Vanessa Carlton, American singer/songwriter
1980 – Robert Hardy, English musician (Franz Ferdinand)
1981 – Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguayan footballer
1981 – Taylor Rain, American pornographic actress
1982 – Cam Gigandet, American actor
1982 – Joleon Lescott, English footballer
1983 – Colin Griffiths, English TV presenter and DJ
1983 – Nikos Zisis, Greek basketball player
1983 – Colt Brennan, American football player
1984 – Candice Dupree, American basketball player
1985 – Agnes Bruckner, American actress
1986 – Yu Darvish, Japanese baseball player
1986 – Shawn Pyfrom, American actor
1987 – Evan Berger, Australian footballer
1987 – Kyal Marsh, Australian actor
1988 – Kevin Schmidt, American actor
1988 – Rumer Willis, American actress
1991 – Evanna Lynch, Irish actress
1991 – Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, Canadian actress

Deaths

1027 – Giorgi I, King of Georgia (b. 998)
1297 – John II of Trebizond (b. 1262)
1327 – Roch, French saint (b. 1295)
1358 – Duke Albert II of Austria (b. 1298)
1419 – Wenceslaus, King of the Romans, King of Bohemia (b. 1361)
1443 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1434)
1445 – Margaret of Scotland, consort of Louis XI (b. 1424)
1518 – Loyset Compère, French composer (b. circa 1445)
1532 – John, Elector of Saxony (b. 1468)
1661 – Thomas Fuller, English churchman and historian (b. 1608)
1678 – Andrew Marvell, English poet (b. 1621)
1705 – Jakob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and scientist (b. 1654)
1733 – Matthew Tindal, English deist (b. 1657)
1791 – Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec, French soldier and diplomat (b. 1719)
1836 – Marc-Antoine Parseval, French mathematician (b. 1755)
1855 – Henry Colburn, British publisher (b. ?)
1886 – Sri Ramakrishna, Bengali saint, guru of Swami Vivekananda (b. 1836)
1888 – John Pemberton, American druggist and inventor of Coca-Cola (b. 1831)
1893 – Jean-Martin Charcot, French neurologist (b. 1825)
1899 – Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, German chemist (b. 1811)
1900 – Eça de Queiroz, Portuguese writer (b. 1845)
1907 – James Hector, Scottish geologist (b. 1834)
1921 – King Peter I of Serbia (b. 1844)
1938 – Robert Johnson, American blues singer and guitarist (b. 1911)
1938 – Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and priest (b. 1864)
1948 – Babe Ruth, American baseball player (b. 1895)
1949 – Margaret Mitchell, American novelist (b. 1900)
1951 – Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (b. 1887)
1952 – Lydia Field Emmet, American painter (b. 1866)
1956 – Bela Lugosi, Hungarian actor (b. 1882)
1957 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1881)
1959 – William Halsey Jr., American Navy Admiral (b. 1882)
1959 – Wanda Landowska, Polish harpsichordist (b. 1879)
1961 – Maulvi Abdul Haq, Indian educator and linguist, Father of Modern Urdu (b. 1870)
1971 – Spyros Skouras, Greek-born American movie executive, chairman of the Twentieth Century Fox (b. 1893)
1972 – Pierre Brasseur, French actor (b. 1905)
1973 – Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-born American biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1888)
1975 – Vladimir Kuts, Ukrainian-born Soviet distance runner (b. 1927)
1977 – Elvis Presley, American singer, actor, and guitarist (b.1935)
1978 – Alidius Stachouwer, Dutch lawyer and politician (b. 1888)
1979 – John Diefenbaker, Canadian politician and 13th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1895)
1983 – Earl Averill, American baseball player (b. 1902)
1986 – Jaime Saenz, Bolivian poet and novelist, and short story writer (b. 1921)
1989 – Amanda Blake, American actress (b. 1929)
1990 – Pat O'Connor, New Zealand professional wrestler (b. 1925)
1991 – Shamu, killer whale and SeaWorld attraction (b. 1975)
1991 – Luigi Zampa, Italian film director (b. 1905)
1993 – Stewart Granger, British film actor (b. 1913)
1995 – J.P. McCarthy, American radio personality (b. 1933)
1997 – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani musician & singer (b. 1948)
1997 – Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright and actor (b. 1915)
1999 – Pee Wee King, American country musician and songwriter (b. 1914)
2002 – Jeff Corey, American actor (b. 1914)
2002 – Abu Nidal, Palestinian political leader (b. 1937)
2002 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (b. 1933)
2003 – Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator (b. 1928)
2004 – Ivan Hlinka, Czech ice hockey coach (b. 1950)
2004 – Carl Mydans, American photographer (b. 1907)
2004 – Robert Quiroga, American boxer (b. 1969)
2005 – Joe Ranft, American animator (b. 1960)
2005 – Frère Roger, Swiss monk and mystic (b. 1915)
2005 – Vassar Clements, American musician (b. 1928)
2005 – William Corlett, English children's author (b. 1938)
2005 – Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (b. 1943)
2005 – Tonino Delli Colli, Italian cinematography (b. 1922)
2006 – Alex Buzo, Australian playwright and author (b. 1944)
2006 – Herschel Green, American pilot (b. 1920)
2006 – Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish musician (b. 1975)
2006 – Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan politician and President of Paraguay (b. 1912)
2007 – Max Roach, American percussionist, drummer, and composer (b. 1924)
2007 – Bahaedin Adab, Iranian politician (b. 1945)
2007 – Dewey Robertson, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1939)
2008 – Ronnie Drew, Irish singer (The Dubliners) (b. 1934)
2008 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer and songwriter (b. 1914)
2008 – Elena Leuṣtean, Romanian gymnast and Olympic medalist (b. 1935)
2008 – Masanobu Fukuoka, Japanese sustainable farmer and author (b. 1913)

Holidays and observances

Xicolatada is celebrated in Palau-de-Cerdagne
Eastern Orthodox: commemoration of the translation of the Acheiropoietos icon which means "Not made by hands", (also known as the Mandelion) from Edessa to Constantinople on 16 August 944 This "Shroud of Constantinople" is believed to be the Shroud of Turin today by many scholars.

[dragonz]

So much for the news, whats the weather going to be like?

[Krandall]

I'm back nukkas.