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August 2nd
1100 - King William II of England, son of William the Conqueror, was killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest after allegedly being mistaken for a deer. 1492 - Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on a voyage that took him to the present-day Americas. 1552 - The Treaty of Passau revoked the Augsburg Interim of 1548 and gave religious freedom to Lutherans in Germany. 1589 - Henry III of France was assassinated at St. Cloud by Jacques Clement. 1696 - Born this day, Mahmud I, Ottoman sultan, fought the Austrians and Russians. 1718 - The Quadruple Alliance was formed by Britain, the Netherlands, France and the Holy Roman Empire against an aggressive policy pursued by Spain. 1754 - Born this day, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, architect, engineer, Revolutionary War officer. Died in 1825. 1769 - The city of Los Angeles was named. Gaspar de Portola, a Spanish army captain, and Juan Crespi, a Franciscan priest, on their way north from San Diego, liked the area and decided to name it Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula, which means, Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula - Porciuncula being a chapel in Italy. 1776 - Members of the Continental Congress began attaching their signatures to the Declaration of Independence. 1784 - The first mail coaches in England ran (4pm Bristol/8am London). 1791 - Samuel Briggs and his son, Samuel Briggs, Jr., became the first father-son pair to receive a joint patent - for their nail making machine. 1798 - The British under Admiral Horatio Nelson beat the French at the Battle of Nile. 1802 - Napoleon Bonaparte of France was declared 'Consul for life', giving him the power to name his successor. 1823 - "The New York Mirror and Ladies Literary Gazette" was founded. The weekly newspaper later became the daily "New York Mirror". 1824 - Fifth Avenue was opened in New York City. It became one of the most famous thoroughfares in the world, the home of many beautiful, fashionable stores. 1830 - After three days of an uprising in Paris, Charles X abdicated. 1835 - US inventor Elisha Gray born. Founder of the Western Electric Company, he filed a patent on a telephone device only hours after Alexander Graham Bell. 1858 - The first mailboxes were installed along the streets of Boston and New York City. The idea of mailboxes began in Belgium in 1848. 1858 - The British Parliament passed the India Bill, transferring the government of India to the Crown from the East India Company. 1864 - On this day in 1864, Union General Ulysses S. Grant appointed General Philip Sheridan commander of the Army of the Shenandoah. Within a few months, Sheridan drove a Confederate force from the Shenandoah Valley and destroyed nearly all possible sources of Rebel supplies, helping to seal the fate of the Confederacy. In the summer of 1864, Confederate General Robert E. Lee had sent part of his army at Petersburg, Virginia, commanded by Jubal Early, to harass Federal units in the area of the Shenandoah and threaten Washington, D.C. The Confederates had used the same strategy in 1862, when General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson effectively relieved Union pressure on Richmond with a campaign in the Shenandoah. In July, Early marched his army through the valley and down the Potomac to the outskirts of Washington, forcing Grant to take some of his troops away from the Petersburg defenses and protect the nation's capital. Frustrated by the inability of Generals Franz Sigel and David Hunter to effectively deal with Early's force in the Shenandoah, Grant turned to General Philip Sheridan, a skilled general who served with him in the west before Grant became the overall commander of Union forces in early 1864. Surprisingly, Grant had placed Sheridan, an effective infantry leader, in charge of the Army of the Potomac's cavalry division for the campaign against Lee. Now Grant handed Sheridan command of the Army of the Shenandoah, comprising of 40,000 troops that included many demoralized veterans of the summer campaign. Sheridan wasted little time, beginning an offensive in September that routed Early's army and then destroyed most of the agricultural resources of the region. Although this victory is not as famous as Union General William T. Sherman's march through Georgia, which took place at the same time, it may have been even more complete. The Shenandoah Valley, so important throughout the war, was rendered useless to the Confederacy by the end of the fall. 
1865 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was published. It was soon withdrawn because of bad printing. Only 21 copies of the first edition survive making it one of the rarest 19th century books. 1871 - Born this day, John Sloan, artist. Died in 1951. 1876 - On this date in 1876, "Wild Bill" Hickok, one of the greatest gunfighters of the American West, was murdered in Deadwood, South Dakota. Born in Illinois in 1837, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok first gained notoriety as a gunfighter in 1861 when he coolly shot three men who were trying to kill him. A highly sensationalised account of the gunfight appeared six years later in the popular periodical Harper's New Monthly Magazine, sparking Hickok's rise to national fame. Other articles and books followed, and though his prowess was often exaggerated, Hickok did earn his reputation with a string of impressive gunfights. After accidentally killing his deputy during an 1871 shootout in Abilene, Texas, Hickok never fought another gun battle. For the next several years he lived off his famous reputation, appearing as himself in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show. Occasionally, he worked as guide for wealthy hunters. His renowned eyesight began to fail, and for a time he was reduced to wandering the West trying to make a living as a gambler. Several times he was arrested for vagrancy. In the spring of 1876, Hickok arrived in the Black Hills mining town of Deadwood, South Dakota. There he became a regular at the poker tables of the No.10 Saloon, eking out a meager existence as a card player. On this day in 1876, Hickok was playing cards with his back to the saloon door. At 4:15 in the afternoon, a young gunslinger named Jack McCall walked into the saloon, approached Hickok from behind, and shot him in the back of the head. Hickok died immediately. McCall tried to shoot others in the crowd, but amazingly, all of the remaining cartridges in his pistol were duds. McCall was later tried, convicted, and hanged. Hickok was only 39 years old when he died. The most famous gunfighter in the history of the West died with his Smith & Wesson revolver in his holster, never having seen his murderer. According to legend, Hickok held a pair of black aces and black eights when he died, a combination that has since been known as the Dead Man's Hand. 1878 - Born this day, Princess Ingeborg of Sweden. 1891 - Born this day, Sir Arthur Bliss, London-born composer and Master of the Queens Music from 1953: his work includes film scores and music for ballet. 1892 - Born this day, Jack Leonard Warner [Eichelbaum], movie mogul, studio chief of Warner Brothers. Died in 1978. 1894 - Born this day, Westbrook Pegler, 1940s journalist, columnist. Died in 1969. 1900 - Born this day, Helen Morgan [Riggins], singer, actress. Died in 1941. 1903 - There was an unsuccessful uprising of Macedonians against Turkey. 1905 - Born this day, Myrna Loy [Williams], actress. Died in 1993. 1912 - Born this day, Ann Dvorak [Anna McKim], actress. Died in 1979. 1914 - Born this day, Gary Merrill, actor. Died in 1990. 1914 - Germany occupied Luxembourg and sent an ultimatum to Belgium to allow passage of its troops across its territory. 1915 - On this day, HMS Ben My Chree, a former passenger steamer converted to a seaplane carrier and equipped with a steam catapult, took up station in the Sea of Maramara. She launched two Short 184 seaplanes, built under contract by Mann Egerton of Norwich, powered by 260HP Sunbeam engines and armed with reinforced 14in naval torpedoes. The attack, led by Lieutenant Commander C. H. Edmonds, sank a 5,000 ton Turkish freighter carrying supplies to Turkish troops opposing the Anzacs at Gallipoli. This was the first ship sunk by an aerial torpedo. On 17 August, Lieutenant Commander C. H. Edmonds and Flight Lieutenant G. B. Dacre were launched from the seaplane carrier off the island of Lemnos at the top of the Aegean. Edmonds sank another Turkish vessel, but Dacre suffered engine failure and had to put down on the sea, where a Trukish tug intent on his capture raced towards him. Dacre released his torpedo, which blew the tug out of the water, then remedied his engine fault, took off and returned to his ship. 1918 - Born this day, Beatrice Straight, Academy Award-winning actress. 1921 - Died this day, Enrico Caruso, the great Italian tenor, aged 48 from peritonitis. 1922 - Born this day, Paul Laxalt, US Senator. 1923 - Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the 30th president of the United States, following the death of Warren G. Harding. 1923 - President Warren G. Harding, on a tour of Alaska and the West Coast, died of a stroke in a San Francisco hotel at the age of 58 as rumours of a potential corruption scandal swirled in Washington. 1924 - Born this day, James Baldwin, author, in New York City's Harlem, the eldest of nine children. During high school, Baldwin preached in a small revivalist church and began to develop an interest in a literary career. After graduation, he began to hone his writing skills in Greenwich Village while working at a number of low-level jobs. In 1948, at age 24, he left for Paris, where he wrote his first book, the autobiographical novel, Go Tell it On the Mountain. Over the next three decades, Baldwin became one of the most important voices in Black culture and one of the most powerful voices of the Civil Rights Movement. Some of his books, notably Notes of a Native Son, Nobody Knows My Name, and The Fire Next Time have becomes classics in American Literature. Died in 1987. 1924 - Born this day, Carroll O'Connor, Emmy Award-winning actor. 1924 - Born this day, Joe Harnell, conductor, arranger. 1925 - Born this day, John Dexter, opera director. 1925 - Born this day, Alan Whicker, broadcaster, writer. 1926 - The first demonstration of the Vitaphone system, that combined picture and sound for movies, was held at the Warner Theatre in New York City. John Barrymore and Mary Astor starred in the demonstration film for the new moving picture projector. 
1932 - Born this day, Peter O'Toole, in Ireland, actor (Lord Jim, Beckett, Lawrence of Arabia). 1934 - Adolf Hitler declared himself Fuehrer on the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg. Chancellor Adolf Hitler became absolute dictator of Germany under the title of Fuehrer, or 'Leader'. 1935 - Born this day, Hank Cochran, songwriter. 1935 - Britain passed the Government of India Act, separating Burma and Aden from India effective April 1937. 1936 - The State Department urged Americans in Spain to leave because of that country's civil war. 1937 - Benny Goodman and his quartet recorded Smiles for Victor Records. Playing with Goodman's clarinet on the famous song were Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa. 1937 - Born this day, Garth Hudson, musician, keyboards, organ, The Band, 1969 US No.25 single Up On Cripple Creek, 1970 UK No.16 single Rag Mama Rag. 1938 - The yellow baseball was first used in a test by the Brooklyn Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals in New York City. Ball players said that they had no preference for the yellow ball over the traditional white ball. 1939 - Albert Einstein, concerned that German scientists were working on powerful bombs using uranium, wrote to President Roosevelt urging him to start an atomic project. (another source says 11 October). 1939 - Born this day, Wes Craven, author, film director. 1939 - Born this day, Edward Patten, singer, The Pips, 1973 US No.1 single Midnight Train To Georgia, 1975 UK No.4 single with Gladys Knight The Way We Were. 1941 - Born this day, Doris Kenner [Coley], in Passaic, New Jersey, singer, The Shirelles, 1961 US No.1 and UK No.4 single Will You Love Me Tomorrow. Died 5 February 2000. 1942 - Born this day, Julia Foster, actress. 1943 - Born this day, Kathy Lennon, singer. 1943 - Born this day, Max Wright, actor. 1943 - PT 109 with Lieutenant (j.g.) John F. Kennedy onboard, was rammed and sunk by the Japanese destroyer Amigiri. Kennedy suffered a back injury that plagued him for the rest of his life. The story of the PT 109 was told in Hollywood style in the 1963 movie, PT 109, starring Cliff Robertson as JFK. 1943 - General George S. Patton slapped a private at an army hospital in Sicily, accusing him of cowardice. Patton was later ordered by General Dwight D. Eisenhower to apologize for this and a second, similar episode. 1944 - Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., US Navy pilot and elder brother of John F. Kennedy, was killed when his plane exploded over the Belgian coast. 1944 - Born this day, Joanna Cassidy, actress. 1945 - President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee concluded the Potsdam conference. 1946 - Born this day, Bob Beamon, US Olympic Hall of Fame long jumper. 1949 - Born this day, James Fallows, journalist, former editor. 1949 - Born this day, Fat Larry, singer, Fat Larrys Band, 1982 UK No.2 single Zoom. Died 5 December 1987. 1950 - Born this day, Kathryn Harrold, actress. 1951 - Born this day, Andrew Gold, singer, songwriter, solo, 1977 US No.7 and UK No.11 single Lonely Boy, 1978 UK No.5 single Never Let Her Slip Away, Wax, 1987 UK No.12 single Bridge To Your Heart. 1953 - Born this day, Donnie Monro, Runrig, 1995 UK No.18 single An Ubhal As Airde, The Highest Apple. 1954 - Born this day, Sammy McIlroy, footballer, manager. 1957 - The official Elvis Presley Fan Club was launched in the UK. 1957 - Born this day, Mojo Nixon, US singer, guitarist, wrote the song Bring Me The Head Of David Geffen. 1958 - Born this day, Victoria Jackson, actress. 1958 - The nuclear-powered submarine Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole under water. 1960 - Born this day, Linda Fratianne, Olympic silver medalist, figure skating. 1960 - Johnny Kidd and The Pirates were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Shakin’ All Over. Their only UK No.1. 1961 - The Beatles began their engagement as the regular headliners at Liverpool's Cavern Club, where they performed some 300 times over a two-year period. 1961 - Born this day, Pete De Freitas, drums, Echo And The Bunnymen, died in an motorbike accident, 1983 UK No.8 single The Cutter. 1962 - Born this day, Lee Mavers, guitar, vocals, The La's, 1990 UK No.13 single There She Goes. 1962 - Aretha Franklin made her TV debut, on American Bandstand. 1964 - The Pentagon reported the first of two attacks on US destroyers by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. 1964 - Born this day, Mary-Louise Parker, actress. 1965 - Born this day, Al MaCaulay, drums, Tindersticks, UK 1993 No.56 album Tindersticks, UK 1995 No.13 album The Second Tindersticks Album. 1967 - United Artists released Norman Jewison's film, In the Heat of the Night starring Rod Steiger. The film later won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Sound, and Best Screenplay based on material from another medium. 1968 - A major earthquake in the Philippines rocked Manila, killing 307 people. 1969 - Badfinger recorded the Paul McCartney composition, Come And Get It. 1969 - Wet Dream by Max Romeo, entered the UK singles chart with a ban on the title by the BBC. It made No.10 without any airplay. 1969 - Bob Dylan attended his ten-year high school reunion in Hibbing, Minnesota but left when a drunk tried to pick a fight. 1969 - Beach Boy Carl Wilson was indicted in Los Angeles for failure to perform required community service as a conscientious objector to military service. 1970 - The British army used rubber bullets for the first time to quell a riot in Northern Ireland. 1970 - Born this day, Zelma Davis, C&C Music Factory, 1991 UK No.4 single Things That Make You Go Hmmm..., 1991 US No.1 single Gonna Make You Sweat. 1970 - Elvis Presley was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with The Wonder Of You, his sixteenth No.1. 1971 - Creedence Clearwater Revival kicked off an 10 date US tour at the Asambly Center, Tulsa. 1972 - Died this day, Brian Cole, bass player with The Association, from a heroin overdose. 1973 - The Mamas And The Papas filed a lawsuit against their record label Dunhill, for $9 million in unpaid royalties. 1973 - Rick DeMont captured the 400 metre freestyle event in 4 minutes, 2.9 seconds at the Los Angeles Invitational Swim Meet. His coach, looking for that ultimate sound bite said, "Rick turned in the fastest time ever by an unshaven swimmer." 1973 - More than 40 people died when fire swept through the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man. 1974 - Born this day, Alice Evans, actress. 1974 - John Dean, counsel to President Nixon, was sentenced to between one and four years in prison for his part in the Watergate cover-up. 1975 - The Eagles went to No.1 on the US singles chart with One Of These Nights, it was the group's second US No.1 single and the first single to chart in the UK where it made No.23. 1975 - A temperature of 107ºF was recorded in Massachusetts. 1977 - The Who bought Shepperton Film Studios for £350,000. 1977 - Born this day, Edward Furlong, in Pasadena, California, actor (John Connor-Terminator 2). 1977 - Sex Pistol Sid Vicious was fined £125 by a London court for carrying a knife at the 100 Club Punk Festival the previous September. 1978 - Died this day, Totie Fields, comedienne, aged approximately 48 years old. 1979 - Born this day, Donna Air, TV presenter. 1980 - 85 people were killed when a bomb exploded at the train station in Bologna, Italy. Right-wing terrorists were blamed. 1980 - Deep Purple scored their third UK No.1 album with Deepest Purple. 1981 - US air traffic controllers went on strike, despite a warning from President Ronald Reagan that they would be fired. 1982 - Jose Feliciano married Susan Moillian in California. (Had a Top Ten hit in 1968 with his version of The Doors Light My Fire, it made it to No.6.) 1983 - Died this day, James Jamerson, Motown Records session player, from a heart attack aged 45. One of ‘The Funk Brothers’ played on many Motown hits by The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, Martha And The Vandellas. 1984 - Charles Schulz' award-winning comic strip was picked up by the Daily Times in Portsmouth, Ohio. With the addition of that paper, Peanuts, featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Pigpen, Linus, Peppermint Pattie, Woodstock and the gang, became the first comic strip to appear in 2,000 newspapers. 1985 - 137 people were killed when a Delta Air Lines jumbo jet crashed while attempting to land at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. 1986 - Peter Cetera started a two week run at No.1 on the US charts with the theme from the film Karate Kid II, The Glory Of Love. It made No.3 in the UK. 1986 - Chris de Burgh was at No.1 in the UK with The Lady In Red, his first No.1 in twenty-four single releases. 1987 - Died this day, David Martin, bass player with Sam The Sham & the Pharaohs, of a heart attack. 1965 US No.2 and UK No.11 single Wooly Bully. 1987 - The 50-year-old Walt Disney movie classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was rereleased. The film was the most popular animated film in motion picture history. It grossed almost $20 million in its first two weeks of re-release. 1987 - Died this day, Alex Sadkin, record producer who had worked with Simply Red, Duran Duran and Bob Marley, from injuries sustained in a car crash in Miami. 1987 - The Iran-Contra congressional hearings ended, with none of the 29 witnesses tying President Ronald Reagan directly to the diversion of arms-sales profits to Nicaraguan rebels. 1987 - The audience carried Billy Joel out on their shoulders at the end of a Leningrad, Russia concert. 1988 - The Soviet Union released Mathias Rust, the young West German pilot who had landed a light plane in Moscow's Red Square in May 1987. 1988 - US military investigators concluded that crew errors led to the shooting down on July 3 of an Iranian passenger jet by the USS Vincennes in the Persian Gulf. 1989 - NASA confirmed Voyager 2's discovery of 3 more moons of Neptune designated temporarily 1989 N2, 1989 N3 & 1989 N24. 1989 - Abortion rights advocates gained a surprising victory in the US House of Representatives, which voted against including abortion curbs in a spending bill for the District of Columbia. 1989 - Trade restrictions between Britain and Argentina were lifted for the first time since the 1982 Falklands war. 1990 - Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate. The Kuwaiti Royal Family fled to Saudi Arabia. The Iraqis were driven out in Operation Desert Storm. The invasion followed weeks of tension over disputed land and oil production quotas. 1991 - Singer Rick James, the Grammy-winning 'King of Funk' of the 1980s, was arrested with his 21-year-old girlfriend Tanya Hijazi, and charged with assault with a deadly weapon (with a hot cocaine pipe), aggravated mayhem, torture, false imprisonment and forcible oral copulation with a young woman, during three days at James' Hollywood Hills home. James was held in lieu of $1 million bail. 1994 - Serbia threatened to cut all aid to the Bosnian Serbs if they didn't approve an international peace plan. 1994 - Rwanda's new coalition government said it would prosecute those responsible for the massacres in recent months. 1995 - By a narrow margin, the Senate rejected public hearings into the sexual harassment allegations against Senator Bob Packwood, R-Oregon. 1996 - Margaret Ray, who had been an unwelcome visitor at David Letterman's home, was arrested in Westfield, Indiana, not far from the home of the talk host's mom, Dorothy. Ray was allegedly trying to steal vitamins from a store. She said that there was no connection, and that she didn't know Letterman's mother lived so close. Ray had a history of stalking Letterman and had broken into his home. 1997 - Iran's new president, moderate Muslim cleric Mohammad Khatami, took office with a message of peace to the world. 1998 - Died this day, Shari Lewis, puppeteer, the children's entertainer who charmed youngsters for decades with furry sidekicks Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy, of cancer, she was 65. Lewis, diagnosed with uterine cancer in June, was undergoing chemotherapy treatments when she developed pneumonia and died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, spokeswoman Maggie Begley said. The Emmy Award-winning ventriloquist began cancer treatments 6 weeks earlier and cut short production on her latest PBS children's series, The Charlie Horse Music Pizza. Lewis and Lamb Chop premiered on television's The Captain Kangaroo Show in the mid 1950s, and that single appearance led to her own TV program, The Shari Lewis Show, which ran on Saturday mornings on NBC. Lewis won 12 Emmys, including five for her last PBS series, Lamb Chop's Play-Along. She also wrote more than 60 children's books. 1998 - Mojo Magazine published the results from an nation-wide survey asking 'Who is your favourite recording artist of all time, 5th place was Elton John, 4th was Queen, in 3rd was Frank Sinatra, second placing went to Elvis Presley and first place to The Beatles. 1999 - In a magazine interview, Hillary Rodham Clinton said her husband had lied at first about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky to protect her. 1999 - Barry White was hospitalised for exhaustion in San Diego. 2000 - Died this day, Jerome Smith, of KC and The Sunshine Band, after being crushed by a bulldozer he was operating. 1975 US No.1 single Get Down Tonight, 1983 UK No.1 single Give It Up. 2000 - The Republican Party nominated George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to head its ticket for the November 2000 elections. 2000 - Liverpool music store Rushworth and Dreaper closed down after 150 years of trading. The store had become famous after supplying The Beatles and other Liverpool groups with musical instruments. 2001 - New Orleans International Airport was re-named Louis Armstrong Airport. 2001 - Speed cameras should be made 'bright and visible' said a senior police officer, while a poll showed 50% of drivers backed having more cameras. 2002 - The Football League's hopes of recovering £178.5m from Carlton and Granada over ITV Digital's collapse were dashed by a High Court ruling. 2003 - Home Secretary David Blunkett said ways needed to be found to prevent the media reporting the names of celebrities accused of sex offences. |
Trivia
Trivia - petty details or considerations, matters or things that are very unimportant, inconsequential, or nonessential; trifles; trivialities.
Trivial - of very little importance or value; insignificant: "Don't bother me with trivial matters." Trivially - unimportant, nugatory, slight, immaterial, inconsequential, frivolous, trifling.