Off Topic Bullsh*t Thread Volume XXIII

[Krandall]

Today's Highlights in History

On August 5, 1963 the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater.

On Aug. 5, 1906, John Huston, the American motion-picture director, was born. Following his death on Aug. 28, 1987, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
   
On August 5, 1882, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the gubernatorial campaign of Alexander Stephens, the former Confederate vice president.



On this date in:

1861    The federal government levied an income tax for the first time.

1884    The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

1924    The comic strip "Little Orphan Annie" by Harold Gray made its debut.

1957    "American Bandstand," hosted by Dick Clark, made its network TV debut on ABC.

1962    Actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home at age 36. (Her death was ruled a probable suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills.)

1966    The album "Revolver" by the Beatles was released.

1969    The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 flew by Mars, sending back photographs and scientific data.

1981    The federal government began firing striking air traffic controllers.

2001    Afghanistan's ruling Taliban jailed eight foreign aid workers, including two Americans, for allegedly preaching Christianity.

2009    Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term as Iran's president.

Current Birthdays

Astronaut Neil Armstrong turns 80 years old today.


65    Loni Anderson
Actress ("WKRP in Cincinnati")

63    Rick Derringer
Rock singer

54    Maureen McCormick
Actress ("The Brady Bunch")

49    Tawney Kitaen
Actress

48    Patrick Ewing
Basketball Hall of Famer

46    MCA
Rapper (The Beastie Boys)

44    Jonathan Silverman
Actor

42    Terri Clark
Country singer

29    Carl Crawford
Tampa Bay Rays left fielder

Historic Birthdays

John Huston

8/5/1906 - 8/28/1987
American film director
(Go to obit.)

68    Joseph Justus Scaliger
8/5/1540 - 1/21/1609
Dutch philologist and historian

46    Pietro Antonio Cesti
8/5/1623 - 10/14/1669
Italian composer

99    Antonio Franconi
8/5/1737 - 12/6/1836
Italian impresario

84    Ambrose Thomas
8/5/1811 - 2/12/1896
French composer

42    Guy de Maupassant
8/5/1850 - 7/6/1893
French novelist and short-story writer

84    Conrad Aiken
8/5/1889 - 8/17/1973
American poet, novelist and critic

65    Erich Kleiber
8/5/1890 - 1/27/1956
Austrian conductor and composer

92    Wassily Leontief
8/5/1906 - 2/5/1999
Russian-born Nobel Prize-winning American economist (1973)

59    Harold Holdt
8/5/1908 - 12/17/1967
Australian prime minister (1966-67)

[Krandall]

Today's Highlights in History
On Aug. 9, 1945, the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, Japan, instantly killing an estimated 39,000 people. The explosion came three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. (Go to article.)

On Aug. 9, 1896, Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist famous for his studies of cognitive development in children, was born. Following his death on Sept. 17, 1980, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
   
On August 9, 1902, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about anti-imperialism and the undeclared war in the Philippines.


On this date in:

1854    Henry David Thoreau published "Walden," which described his experiences living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts.

1902    Britain's Edward VII was crowned king following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.

1910    The U.S. Patent Office granted Alva J. Fisher of the Hurley Machine Co. a patent for an electrically powered washing machine.

1936    Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics as the United States took first place in the 400-meter relay.

1969    Actress Sharon Tate and four other people were found murdered in Los Angeles; cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the crime.

1974    Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States following the resignation of Richard M. Nixon.

1985    A federal judge in Norfolk, Va., found retired Navy officer Arthur J. Walker guilty of seven counts of spying for the Soviet Union.

1995    Rock musician Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead died at age 53.

2000    Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. announced it was recalling 6.5 million tires that had been implicated in hundreds of accidents and at least 46 deaths.

2001    President George W. Bush approved federal funding for existing lines of embryonic stem cells.

2002    Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 600th home run, becoming the fourth major leaguer to reach the mark.

2004    Terry Nichols was sentenced to 161 consecutive life sentences on state murder charges in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Current Birthdays

Actress Anna Kendrick ("Up in the Air," "Twilight" movies) turns 25 years old today.


82    Bob Cousy
Basketball Hall of Famer

72    Rod Laver
Tennis Hall of Famer

68    David Steinberg
Comedian

67    Ken Norton
Boxing Hall of Famer

66    Sam Elliott
Actor

53    Melanie Griffith
Actress

52    Amanda Bearse
Actress ("Married...With Children")

51    Kurtis Blow
Rapper

47    Whitney Houston
Singer, actress

46    Brett Hull
Hockey player

46    Hoda Kotb
TV host ("Today")

43    Deion Sanders
Athlete, sportscaster

42    Gillian Anderson
Actress ("The X Files")

42    Eric Bana
Actor

41    Troy Percival
Baseball player

38    Juanes
Rock singer

38    Liz Vassey
Actress ("CSI")

36    Matt Morris
Baseball player

34    Jessica Capshaw
Actress

21    Jason Heyward
Atlanta Braves outfielder

[Colorado700R]

Pimpin'

[Krandall]

No helmet........




but  

[Peelz]

Pimpin'

is that Nikki rockin the pink mini quad?  Had to move up from the 450...I get it. 

[Krandall]

They see me rollin, they haattin..

[Colorado700R]

Peels' is just mad cause that's a better wheelie than he's ever pulled on a rappy with out wounding his grab bar

[Krandall]

Today's Highlights in History

On Aug. 9, 1945, the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, Japan, instantly killing an estimated 39,000 people. The explosion came three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. (Go to article.)

On Aug. 9, 1896, Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist famous for his studies of cognitive development in children, was born. Following his death on Sept. 17, 1980, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
   
On August 9, 1902, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about anti-imperialism and the undeclared war in the Philippines.


On this date in:

1854    Henry David Thoreau published "Walden," which described his experiences living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts.

1902    Britain's Edward VII was crowned king following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.

1910    The U.S. Patent Office granted Alva J. Fisher of the Hurley Machine Co. a patent for an electrically powered washing machine.

1936    Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics as the United States took first place in the 400-meter relay.

1969    Actress Sharon Tate and four other people were found murdered in Los Angeles; cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the crime.

1974    Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States following the resignation of Richard M. Nixon.

1985    A federal judge in Norfolk, Va., found retired Navy officer Arthur J. Walker guilty of seven counts of spying for the Soviet Union.

1995    Rock musician Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead died at age 53.

2000    Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. announced it was recalling 6.5 million tires that had been implicated in hundreds of accidents and at least 46 deaths.

2001    President George W. Bush approved federal funding for existing lines of embryonic stem cells.

2002    Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 600th home run, becoming the fourth major leaguer to reach the mark.

2004    Terry Nichols was sentenced to 161 consecutive life sentences on state murder charges in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Current Birthdays

Actress Anna Kendrick ("Up in the Air," "Twilight" movies) turns 25 years old today.


82    Bob Cousy
Basketball Hall of Famer

72    Rod Laver
Tennis Hall of Famer

68    David Steinberg
Comedian

67    Ken Norton
Boxing Hall of Famer

66    Sam Elliott
Actor

53    Melanie Griffith
Actress

52    Amanda Bearse
Actress ("Married...With Children")

51    Kurtis Blow
Rapper

47    Whitney Houston
Singer, actress

46    Brett Hull
Hockey player

46    Hoda Kotb
TV host ("Today")

43    Deion Sanders
Athlete, sportscaster

42    Gillian Anderson
Actress ("The X Files")

42    Eric Bana
Actor

41    Troy Percival
Baseball player

38    Juanes
Rock singer

38    Liz Vassey
Actress ("CSI")

36    Matt Morris
Baseball player

34    Jessica Capshaw
Actress

21    Jason Heyward
Atlanta Braves outfielder

[NaturalRaptor]

Today's Highlights in History

Current Birthdays

52    Amanda Bearse
Actress ("Married...With Children")

"Steve, why does he keep calling me a chicken?"  "Now, now Marcy, don't get your feather in a ruffle!"      Funniest show ever...

[Krandall]

That show was awesome. my parents wouldn't let us watch it, but we'd sneak down to watch it. Bud was hilarious!

[Krandall]

Today's Highlights in History
On Aug. 11, 1965, deadly rioting and looting broke out in the predominantly black Watts section of Los Angeles.

On Aug. 11, 1921, Alex Haley, who chronicled generations of struggles and accomplishments of American blacks, was born. Following his death on Feb. 10, 1992, his obituary appeared in The Times.
   
On August 11, 1900, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidential nomination of William Jennings Bryan.



On this date in:

1934    The first federal prisoners arrived at the island prison Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay.

1954    A formal peace took hold in Indochina, ending more than seven years of fighting between the French and the Communist Vietminh.

1992    The Mall of America, the biggest shopping mall in the country, opened in Bloomington, Minn.

1997    President Bill Clinton made the first use of the line-item veto, rejecting three items in spending and tax bills. (The Supreme Court later struck down the line-item veto as unconstitutional.)

1998    British Petroleum purchased Amoco for $49 billion.

2000    Pat Buchanan won the Reform Party presidential nomination.

2002    US Airways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

2003    NATO took command of the 5,000-strong peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.

2003    Charles Taylor resigned as Liberia's president and went into exile in Nigeria.

2006    The Transportation Security Administration banned all liquids, gels and aerosols from passenger cabins on airliners one day after a thwarted terrorist attack.

2009    Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of President John F. Kennedy and founder of the Special Olympics, died at age 88.

Current Birthdays

Actress Viola Davis turns 45 years old today.


61    Eric Carmen
Singer

57    Hulk Hogan
Wrestler, actor

56    Joe Jackson
Rock singer

43    Joe Rogan
Actor, host ("Fear Factor")

42    Ashley Jensen
Actress ("Ugly Betty," "Extras")

42    Charlie Sexton
Rock musician

17    Alyson Stoner
Actress

Historic Birthdays

Alex Haley

8/11/1921 - /1992
American author
(Go to obit.)

74    Friedrich Ludwig Jahn
8/11/1778 - 10/15/1852
German known as the "father of gymnastics"

76    Eduard Devrient
8/11/1801 - 10/4/1877
German dramatist

92    James Bryan Herrick
8/11/1861 - 3/7/1954
American cardiologist; studied sickle-cell anemia

74    Joe Weber
8/11/1867 - /1942
American comedian

64    Bertram Mills
8/11/1873 - 4/16/1938
English circus entrepreneur

72    Rodolfo Graziani
8/11/1882 - 1/11/1955
Italian field marshal; adherent of Mussolini

86    Hugh MacDiarmid
8/11/1892 - 9/9/1978
Scottish poet

72    Louise Bogan
8/11/1897 - 2/4/1970
American poet and literary critic

83    Lloyd Nolan
8/11/1902 - 9/27/1985
American television, film and stage actor

40    Ian Charleson
8/11/1949 - 1/6/1990
English actor of stage, screen and television

[Krandall]

Today's Highlights in History

On Aug. 12, 1898, the peace protocol ending the Spanish-American War was signed. (Go to article.)

On Aug. 12, 1881, Cecil B. DeMille, a leading American movie producer and director for over 40 years, was born. Following his death on Jan. 21, 1959, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
   
On August 12, 1876, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a race riot in Hamburg, South Carolina.






On this date in:

1851    Isaac Singer was granted a patent on his sewing machine.

1880    Baseball Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson was born in Factoryville, Pa.

1898    Hawaii was formally annexed to the United States.

1944    Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., eldest son of Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, was killed when an explosives-laden Navy plane blew up over England during World War II.

1953    The Soviet Union conducted a secret test of its first hydrogen bomb.

1960    The first balloon satellite, Echo 1, was launched by the United States from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

1966    John Lennon apologized at a news conference in Chicago for saying "the Beatles are more popular than Jesus."

1977    The space shuttle Enterprise passed its first solo flight test by taking off atop a Boeing 747, separating and then touching down in California's Mojave Desert.

1985    A crippled Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 on a domestic flight crashed into a mountain, killing 520 people in the world's worst single-aircraft accident.

1998    Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion as restitution to Holocaust survivors to settle claims for their assets.

2000    The Russian nuclear submarine Kursk and its 118-man crew were lost during naval exercises in the Barents Sea.

2004    New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey announced his resignation and proclaimed himself "a gay American."

2004    The California Supreme Court voided the nearly 4,000 same-sex marriages sanctioned in San Francisco earlier in the year.

2008    Russia halted its devastating five-day assault on Georgia that left homes in smoldering ruins and uprooted 100,000 people.

Current Birthdays

Actress Rebecca Gayheart turns 38 years old today.


85    Dale Bumpers
Former U.S. senator, D-Ark.

71    George Hamilton
Actor

69    Dana Ivey
Actress

61    Mark Knopfler
Rock singer, musician (Dire Straits)

60    Kid Creole
Singer

56    Pat Metheny
Jazz guitarist

54    Bruce Greenwood
Actor

47    Sir Mix-A-Lot
Rapper

45    Peter Krause
Actor ("Six Feet Under")

39    Michael Ian Black
Actor, comedian ("Ed")

39    Yvette Nicole Brown
Actress ("Community")

39    Pete Sampras
Tennis player

35    Casey Affleck
Actor

33    Plaxico Burress
Football player

30    Maggie Lawson
Actress

30    Dominique Swain
Actress

Historic Birthdays

Cecil B. DeMille

8/12/1881 - 1/21/1959
American motion-picture producer and director
(Go to obit.)

73    Robert Mills
8/12/1781 - 3/3/1855
American architect

80    Lillie Devereux Blake
8/12/1833 - 12/30/1913
American novelist and activist for women's suffrage

60    James Brady
8/12/1856 - 4/13/1917
American financier and philanthropist; known as "Diamond Jim"

69    Katherine Lee Bates
8/12/1859 - 3/28/1929
American author and educator; wrote "America the Beautiful"

87    Jacinto Benavente y Martinez
8/12/1866 - 7/14/1954
Spanish Nobel Prize-winning dramatist (1922)

82    Mary Roberts Rinehart
8/12/1876 - 9/22/1958
American novelist and playwright

45    Christy Mathewson
8/12/1880 - 10/7/1925
American professional baseball pitcher

62    Vincent Bendix
8/12/1882 - 3/27/1945
American inventor and industrialist

42    George Bellows
8/12/1882 - 1/8/1925
American painter and lithographer

79    Oscar Homolka
8/12/1898 - 1/27/1978
Austrian-born American stage and screen actor

13    Alexis
8/12/1904 - 7/?16/1918
Russian son of Tsar Nicholas ll; killed by the Bolsheviks

81    Cantinflas
8/12/1911 - 4/20/1993
Mexican clown, acrobat, musician and satirist

[Krandall]

Today's Highlights in History

On Aug. 13, 1961, Berlin was divided as East Germany sealed off the border between the city's eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees.

On Aug. 13, 1899, Alfred Hitchcock, the English movie director of suspense film, was born. Following his death on April 29, 1980, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
   
On August 13, 1898, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about disease and the Spanish-American War.



On this date in:

1521    Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured present-day Mexico City from the Aztecs.

1704    The Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces.

1899    Movie director Alfred Hitchcock was born in London.

1932    Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vice-chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out "for all or nothing."

1934    The comic strip "Li'l Abner" by Al Capp made its debut.

1942    Walt Disney's animated feature "Bambi" premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

1960    The first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1, a balloon satellite.

1981    President Ronald Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions.

1995    Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died of liver cancer at age 63.

2003    Libya agreed to set up a $2.7 billion fund for families of 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Am bombing.

2004    The 28th summer Olympic games opened in Athens.

2008    American Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th and 11th career gold medals.

2009    Guitar virtuoso Les Paul died at age 94.

Current Birthdays

Actor John Slattery ("Mad Men") turns 48 years old today.


84    Fidel Castro
Former Cuban leader

81    Pat Harrington
Actor ("One Day At A Time")

77    Joycelyn Elders
Former surgeon general

66    Kevin Tighe
Actor ("Emergency")

62    Kathleen Battle
Opera singer

61    Bobby Clarke
Hockey Hall of Famer

58    Tom Davis
Comedian, writer

55    Paul Greengrass
Director

51    Danny Bonaduce
Actor ("The Partridge Family")

49    Sam Champion
TV weatherman ("Good Morning America")

43    Quinn Cummings
Actress

36    Jarrod Washburn
Baseball player

Historic Birthdays

Alfred Hitchcock

8/13/1899 - 4/29/1980
English-born motion-picture director
(Go to obit.)

78    Salvador Luria
8/13/1912 - 2/6/1991
Italian-born American Nobel-Prize winning biologist (1969)

86    Felix Wankel
8/13/1902 - 10/9/1988
German engineer and inventor

66    George Luks
8/13/1867 - 10/29/1933
American painter

79    Giovanni Agnelli
8/13/1866 - 12/16/1945
Italian industrialist

66    Annie Oakley
8/13/1860 - 11/3/1926
American markswoman; starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show

81    Felix Adler
8/13/1851 - 4/24/1933
American educator and founder of the Ethical Movement

79    Sir George Grove
8/13/1820 - 5/28/1900
English writer of the Dictionary of Music and Musicians

75    Lucy Stone
8/13/1818 - 10/18/1893
American pioneer in the women's rights movement

73    Erasmus Bartholin
8/13/1625 - 11/4/1698
Danish physician, mathematician and physicist

[Krandall]

Today's Highlights in History


On Aug. 16, 1977, singer Elvis Presley died at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tenn., at age 42. (Go to article.)

On Aug. 16, 1913, Menachem Begin, the prime minister of Israel from 1977 to 1983, was born. Following his death on March 9, 1992, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
   
On August 16, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about hazing.


On this date in:

1812    Detroit fell to British and Indian forces in the War of 1812.

1829    Chang and Eng, a pair of conjoined twins from Siam, arrived in Boston to be exhibited to the Western world. (The term Siamese twins became a common phrase for conjoined twins.)

1858    A telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.

1888    T.E. Lawrence, the British soldier who gained fame as "Lawrence of Arabia," was born in Tremadoc, Wales.

1913    Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was born in Brest-Litovsk in present-day Belarus.

1948    Baseball Hall of Famer Babe Ruth died at age 53.

1954    Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc.

1956    Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

1960    Britain granted independence to Cyprus.

1987    Thousands of people worldwide began a two-day celebration of the "harmonic convergence," which believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind.

1988    Vice President George H.W. Bush tapped Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle to be his running mate on the Republican ticket.

2000    Delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles nominated Vice President Al Gore for president.

2003    Idi Amin, the former dictator of Uganda, died in Saudi Arabia.

2007    Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held for 3-1/2 years as an enemy combatant, was convicted in Miami of helping Islamic extremists and plotting overseas attacks. (He was sentenced to 17 years, four months in prison.)

2008    Michael Phelps won the 100-meter butterfly by a hundredth of a second for his seventh gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, tying Mark Spitz's 1972 record.

2008    Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and actress Portia de Rossi were married at their Beverly Hills, Calif., home.




Current Birthdays

Actor Timothy Hutton turns 50 years old today.


87    Shimon Peres
Israeli politician

86    Fess Parker
Actor

82    Ann Blyth
Actress

80    Frank Gifford
Football Hall of Famer

80    Tony Trabert
Tennis Hall of Famer

79    Eydie Gorme
Singer

77    Julie Newmar
Actress ("Batman")

65    Bob Balaban
Actor

64    Lesley Ann Warren
Actress

63    Carol Moseley-Braun
Former U.S. senator, D-Ill.

57    Kathie Lee Gifford
TV host ("Today")

56    Joshua Bolten
Former White House chief of staff

56    James Cameron
Director ("Titanic")

52    Angela Bassett
Actress

52    Madonna
Singer

51    Laura Innes
Actress ("ER")

47    Steve Carell
Actor ("The Office")

43    Donovan Leitch
Actor, singer

42    Andy Milder
Actor ("Weeds")

38    Emily Robison
Country singer, musician (The Dixie Chicks)

30    Vanessa Carlton
Singer

22    Rumer Willis
Actress

[Krandall]

Today's Highlights in History

On Aug. 17, 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair concluded near Bethel, N.Y. (Go to article.)

On Aug. 17, 1887, Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican-born founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, was born. Following his death on June 10, 1940, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
   
On August 17, 1895, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the race for the Republican presidential nomination of 1896.




On this date in:

1896    A prospecting party discovered gold in Alaska, a finding that touched off the Klondike Gold Rush.

1915    A mob in Cobb County, Ga., lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, who had been sentenced on flimsy evidence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan.

1943    The Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as U.S. and British forces entered Messina.

1945    Indonesian nationalists declared independence from the Netherlands.

1962    East German border guards shot and mortally wounded 18-year-old Peter Fechter, who had attempted to cross over the Berlin Wall into the western sector.

1969    Hurricane Camille slammed into the Gulf Coast, killing 248 people.

1987    Rudolf Hess, the last member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle, died at Spandau prison in West Berlin at age 93, apparently a suicide. He had been the only inmate at Spandau for 21 years.

1992    Actor-director Woody Allen admitted being romantically involved with Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of his longtime companion, actress Mia Farrow.

1998    President Bill Clinton underwent grand jury questioning in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

1998    Russia devalued the ruble.

2002    Pope John Paul II arrived in Krakow, Poland, for the ninth and final visit to his native country during his papacy.

2005    Israeli security forces began the forcible removal of Jews from four settlements in the Gaza Strip.

2008    American swimmer Michael Phelps and three teammates won the 400-meter medley relay for Phelps' record-breaking eighth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Current Birthdays

Robert De Niro turns 67 years old today.


90    Maureen O'Hara
Actress

78    V.S. Naipaul
Nobel Prize-winning author

61    Norm Coleman
Former U.S. senator, R-Minn.

58    Guillermo Vilas
Tennis Hall of Famer

57    Kevin Rowland
Rock singer (Dexy's Midnight Runners)

52    Belinda Carlisle
Singer (The Go-Gos)

50    Sean Penn
Actor

47    Jon Gruden
Football coach, sportscaster

46    Maria McKee
Country singer

44    Jill Cunniff
Rock musician (Luscious Jackson)

41    Donnie Wahlberg
Actor, singer

40    Jim Courier
Tennis Hall of Famer

39    Jorge Posada
Baseball player

31    Antwaan Randle El
Football player

Historic Birthdays

Marcus Garvey

8/17/1887 - /1940
Black separatist leader and organizer of the American black nationalist movement (1919-26)
(Go to obit.)

63    Pierre de Fermat
8/17/1601 - 1/12/1665
French mathematician, lawyer and government official

81    Nicola Porpora
8/17/1686 - 3/3/1768
Italian composer and voice teacher

78    Thomas Stothard
8/17/1755 - 4/27/1834
English painter, designer and illustrator

49    Davy Crockett
8/17/1786 - 3/6/1836
American frontiersman and politician

67    Thomas Hodgkin
8/17/1798 - 4/5/1866
English physician

55    Harry Hopkins
8/17/1890 - 1/29/1946
American government official; led important New Deal agencies

88    Mae West
8/17/1893 - 11/22/1980
American stage and screen actress

77    John Hay Whitney
8/17/1904 - 2/8/1982
American sportsman, publisher, financier and philanthropist

92    Hazel Bishop
8/17/1906 - 12/5/1998
American chemist; founded pioneering cosemtics business

65    Jean Poiret
8/17/1926 - 3/14/1992
French actor and playwright

47    Francis Gary Powers
8/17/1929 - 8/1/1977
American U-2 pilot; shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960