August 24th
Holidays and Festivals
Den' Nezalezhnosti (Ukraine) * (see below)
Mundus Patet, harvest feast for the dead (Roman Empire)
Flag Day (Liberia) * CLICK HERE
Vesuvius Day
National Waffle Day (USA)
Christian Feast Day of Abban of Ireland
Christian Feast Day of Bartholomew (Roman Catholic)
Christian Feast Day of Ouen
* Edinburgh Festival Edinburgh, Scotland - August - (10-21)
* Gäuboden Volksfest Straubing, Germany - August- (9-10)
* Den' Nezalezhnosti or National Day (Ukraine), celebrating the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union in 1991
(World) Daffodil Day Date Varies TBA (was August 24th in 2012)
Fête de la Sucrion Translation: Winter Barley Day (French Republican) The Seventh day of the Month of Fructidor in the French Republican Calendar
Toast of The Day
"Come, sit we by the fireside
And roundly drink we hear,
Till that we see our cheeks all dyed
And noses tanned with beer."
- Robert Herrick (baptized August 24th, 1591 – buried October 15th, 1674), an English poet.
Drink of The Day
Dirty F*ck
2/3 Shot Part absinthe
1/3 Shot Part Bailey's Irish Cream
Pour Absinthe into shot glass, add of Baileys irish cream pouring onto side of glass in order to make Baileys sink to the bottom of glass creating slightly cloudy look.
Wine of The Day
Hawk and Horse Vineyards (2007) Cabernet Sauvignon
Style - Cabernet Sauvignon
Red Hills
$70
Beer of The Day
DD Blonde
Brewer - Hop Valley Brewing Co., Springfield, OR
Style - American Style wheat Beer
Joke of The Day
The teacher gave her class an assignment: get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.
Sinead said: "My da's says eggs are important and we should eat plenty. One time we were taking our eggs home from the supermarket in a basket on the front seat of the car when we hit a big bump in the road and all the eggs went flying and broke on the dashboard and made a right mess."
"What's the moral of the story?" asked the teacher.
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket!"
"Very good," said the teacher.
Next little Fionnula raised her hand and said: "Our family have a farm. We raise chickens for the meat factory. We had a dozen eggs one time, but when they hatched we only got ten live chicks, and the moral to this story is don't count your chickens before they're hatched."
"That was a fine story, Fionnula. Shane, do you have a story to share?"
"Yes, Miss. My Da told me this story about my Auntie Karen. Auntie Karen went to live in the States in the 1980s when she couldn't get a job. Later she was a flight engineer in Desert Storm and her plane got hit. She had to bale out over enemy territory and all she had was a bottle of Irish Whiskey, a machine gun and a machete. She drank the whiskey on the way down so it wouldn't break and then she landed right in the middle of 100 enemy troops. She killed seventy of them with the machine gun until she ran out of bullets. Then she killed twenty more with the machete till the blade broke. And then she killed the last ten with her bare hands."
"Good heavens," said the horrified teacher, "what kind of moral did your Dad tell you from that horrible story?"
"Stay away from Auntie Karen when she's been drinking.
Quote of The Day
"What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?"
- Unknown
Whisky Of The Day
Price: $20
August Observances
Admit You're Happy Month
American Adventures Month
American Artists Appreciation Month
American History Essay Contest (8/1 - 12/15)
American Indian Heritage Month (Also November)
Beach Month
Black Business Month
Cataract Awareness Month
Celery, Fennel and Cactus Month
Children's Eye Health and Safety Month
Children’s Vision and Learning Month
Family Fun Month
Get Ready for Kindergarten Month
Golf Month
Happiness Happens Month
Learn Japanese Month
Motor Sports Awareness Month
National Catfish Month
National Eye Exam Month
National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Month
National Goat Cheese Month
National Golf Month
National Immunization Awareness Month
National Inventors Month
National Minority Donor Awareness Month
National Panini Month
National Parks Month
National Picnic Month
National Runaway Prevention Month
National Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month
National Truancy Prevention Month
National Water Quality Month
National Win With Civility Month
National Women's Month
Neurosurgery Outreach Month
Orange and Papaya Month
Peach Month
Psoriasis Awareness Month
Romance Awareness Month
Water Quality Month
What Will Be Your Legacy Month
Observances this Week
Be Kind To Humankind Week Last Full Week in AugustLittle League World Series Usually 11 Days Starting the Third Thursday in August
Historical Events on August 24th
(9 BC) Julius Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River by the Numidians under Publius Attius Varus and King Juba of Numidia. Curio commits suicide to avoid capture.
79 Mount Vesuvius erupts. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic ash, 15,000 die.
410 Rome overrun by Visigoths, symbolized fall of Western Roman Empire, The Visigoths under Alaric begin to pillage Rome for three days.
1200 John of England, famous for issuing the first Magna Carta, married Isabella of Angouleme at the Bordeaux Cathedral.
1215 Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta invalid
1217 Battle at South Foreland: English fleet beats France
1349 Jews of Cologne Germany set themselves on fire to avoid baptism
1349 Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague.
1391 Jews massacred in Palma de Mallorca.
1456 The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed.
1511 Alfonso de Albuquerque of Portugal conquers Malacca, the capital of the Sultanate of Malacca.
1516 Battle at Aleppo, Turks beat Syria
1542 Conquistador Francisco de Orellana returns to Spain
1561 Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxony.
1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, On the orders of king Charles IX of France, a massacre of Huguenots (French Protestants) begins.
1608 The first official English representative to India lands in Surat.
1654 Louis II Condé disbands ends of Atrecht
1658 Battle at Grevelingen, English fleet beats Spanish
1662 Act of Uniformity requires England to accept the Book of Common Prayer.
1682 William Penn receives the area that is now the state of Delaware from Duke James of York, and adds it to his colony of Pennsylvania.
1690 Job Charnock founds Calcutta, India
1704 Sea battle at Malaga
1751 Thomas Colley executed in England for drowning supposed witch
1787 Wolfgang A Mozart completes his viola sonata in A, K526
1814 British forces captured Washington, DC, & burned down the White House and several other buildings.
1815 The modern Constitution of the Netherlands is signed.
1816 The Treaty of St. Louis is signed in St. Louis, Missouri.
1820 Constitutionalist insurrection at Oporto, Portugal; see Portugal's crises of the Nineteenth Century.
1821 The Treaty of Córdoba is signed in Córdoba, now in Veracruz, Mexico, concluding the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.
1826 Netherland's South Willems Port (Bosch-Luik) opens
1828 Dutch army takes Fort Du Bus in New Guinea
1831 Charles Darwin is asked to travel on HMS Beagle.
1831 John Henslow asks Charles Darwin to travel with him on HMS Beagle
1833 HMS Beagle reaches Bahia Blanca, Argentina
1847 Charlotte Bronte finishes manuscript of "Jane Eyre"
1853 1st potato chips prepared by Chef George Crum (Saratoga Springs NY)
1854 National emigration convention meets in Cleveland
1857 The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in U.S. history.
1858 Richmond "Daily Dispatch" reports 90 blacks are arrested for learning in Richmond, Virginia.
1869 Cornelius Swarthout patents waffle iron
1870 The Wolseley Expedition reaches Manitoba to end the Red River Rebellion.
1875 Captain Matthew Webb became first person to swim English Channel
1876 Riot abolishes fairs in Amsterdam, 2 killed
1891 Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.
1893 Tornado destroys coast of Savannah & Charleston, about 1000 die
1898 Count Muravyov, Foreign Minister of Russia presented a rescript that convoked the First Hague Peace Conference.
1902 A statue of Joan of Arc is unveiled in Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier.
1904 24th US Mens Tennis, Holcombe Ward beats William Clothier (108 64 97)
1904 Field battle at Liao-Yang-200,000 Japanese against 150,000 Russian
1905 Chicago Cubs beat Phillies 2-1 in 20 innings
1906 Cincinnati Red John Weimer no-hits Dodgers, 1-0 in 7 inning game
1908 NY Giants scores shown on electric diamonds known as "Compton's Baseball Bulletin" at Madison Square Garden
1908 Tommy Burns KOs Bill Squires in 13 for heavyweight boxing title
1909 Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.
1911 Manuel d'Arriaga elected 1st president of Portugal
1912 District Alaska becomes an organized incorporated territory of the United States
1912 NYC ticker tape parade for Jim Thorpe & victorious US olympians
1912 US passes Anti-gag law, federal employees right to petition government
1914 Battle at Bergen, Germans defeat Belgian and British troops
1914 German troops occupy Namur Belgium in World War I
1914 Jerome Kern & Michael E Rourles musical premieres in NYC
1918 Chicago Cubs, win earliest pennent ever (season ended Sept 2)
1918 Sect Baker grants extended exemption to World Series players
1919 Cleveland pitcher Ray Caldwell is flattened by a bolt of lightning
1921 Battle of Sakaray Valley begins between Turkey & Greece
1921 British airship R-38 crashes in Humber, 44 die
1922 1st Phillie to hit for cycle (Cy Williams)
1923 Paavo Nurmi runs world record 3 mile (14:11.2)
1925 39th US Womens Tennis, Helen Wills Moody beats K McKane (36 60 62)
1929 43rd US Womens Tennis, Helen Wills Moody beats Phoebe H Watson (64 62)
1929 Second day of two-day Hebron massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots, Arab attack on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine, resulted in the death of 65-68 Jews and the remaining Jews being forced to leave the city.
1929 Turkey and Persia sign a friendship treaty.
1931 France and the Soviet Union sign a neutrality, no attack treaty.
1931 Resignation of the United Kingdom's Second Labour Government. Formation of the UK National Government.
1932 1st transcontinental non-stop flight by a woman. Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).
1936 FDR gives FBI authority to pursuit fascists & communists
1936 The Australian Antarctic Territory is created.
1937 In the Spanish Civil War, the Basque Army surrenders to the Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie following the Santoña Agreement.
1937 Republican offensive near Belchite Spain
1938 England beat Australia by an innings & 579 runs at The Oval
1938 Virgil Trucks strikes out his 418th batter, highest season total in organized ball-for Andalusia in an Alabama-Florida League game
1939 Germany & USSR sign 10-year non-aggression pact. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (also known as Nazi-Soviet Pact) is signed between German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov.
1940 Luftwaffe bombs London
1940 Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams pitches the last 2 innings in a 12-1 loss to Detroit Tigers, Williams allows 3 hits & 1 run
1942 Transport nr 23 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany
1942 The Battle of the Eastern Solomons of World War II. In a Sea battle off Eastern Solomon Islands, Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo is sunk and US carrier Enterprise heavily damaged.
1943 Phila A's drop AL record tying 20th game in a row, win the 2nd game
1944 Allied troops under Gen LeClerc start the attack on Paris in World War II.
1945 Cleveland ace Bob Feller returns from Navy & strike out 12
1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) goes into effect
1950 1st US Negro delegate to UN appointed-ES Sampson
1950 Edith Sampson becomes the first black U.S. delegate to the UN.
1950 Operation Magic Carpet concludes transporting 45,000 Yemenite Jews
1951 Bill Veeck's "Fans Managers' Night," Browns defeat A's 5-3; Browns coaches hold up placards for fans to vote on
1954 Eisenhower signs Communist Control Act at height of McCarthyism, outlawing the Communist Party
1954 Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, president of Brazil, commits suicide and is succeeded by João Café Filho.
1954 International Amateur Athletic Federation recognizes Red China
1954 William Heatherton's "Reluctant Debutante," premieres in London
1956 1st non-stop transcontinental helicopter flight arrived Wash DC
1957 British soccer player Jimmy Greaves' (17) 1st game for Chelsea
1958 Fay Crocker wins LPGA Waterloo Golf Open
1958 Sergei Popov wins Stockholm marathon (2:15:17.0) (WR)
1959 England complete 5-0 series drubbing of India
1959 Hiram L Fong sworn in as 1st Chinese-American senator while Daniel K Inouye sworn in as 1st Japanese-American Rep (Both from Hawaii)
1960 -127°F (-88°C), Vostok, Antarctica (world record)
1960 60 people die when bus plunges off bridge into Turvo River, Brazil
1960 A temperature of -88°C (-127°F) is measured in Vostok, Antarctica — a world-record low.
1961 Former nazi leader Johannes Vorster becomes South Africa's minister of justice (if the shoe fits...)
1961 Windward Islands' Airways International (Winair) forms
1962 Dodger coach Leo Durocher suffers a near-fatal allergic reaction to a penicillin injection while in the clubhouse at the Polo Grounds
1962 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1963 John Pennel is 1st to pole-vault 17'
1963 The 200-metre freestyle is swam in less than 2 minutes for the first time by Don Schollander (1:58).
1964 2nd Mayor's Trophy Game, Yanks beat Mets 6-4
1966 USSR launches Luna 11 for orbit around Moon
1967 Led by Abbie Hoffman, a group of hippies temporarily disrupt trading at the NYSE by throwing dollar bills from the viewing gallery, causing a cease in trading as the brokers scramble to grab them up.
1967 Liberian flag designed
1968 France explodes its first hydrogen bomb on Mururoa, thus becoming the world's fifth nuclear power.
1969 Carol Mann wins LPGA Tournament of Champs Golf Tournament
1969 Peru nationalizes US oil interests
1970 Bomb kills 1 at U of Wisconsin's Army Math Research Center in Madison
1971 India beat England by 4 wickets, their win against the Poms
1972 8th Mayor's Trophy Game, Yanks beat Mets 2-1
1972 Dennis Amiss scores 1st one-day int century, 103 v Australia
1972 Gordie Howe & Jean Beliveau inducted in Hockey Hall of Fame
1973 Garry Sobers scores 26th & last Test Cricket ton 150 v Eng Lord's
1973 John Adams & his drum become a right-field fixture in Cleve Stadium
1974 Sandra Haynie wins LPGA National Jewish Hospital Golf Open
1975 Davey Lopes steals his 38th consecutive base, then thrown out stealing
1975 Judy Rankin wins LPGA National Jewish Hospital Golf Open
1975 Papadopoulos/Pattakos/Makarezos sentenced to death in Athens
1975 SF Giant Ed Halick no-hits NY Giants, 6-0
1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies beat Portland 2-0 for NASL cup
1976 Soyuz 21 returns to Earth
1978 USSR performs underground nuclear test
1979 Cars play concert in NY Central Park
1979 NFL fans (60,916) choose old Patriots logo over new
1979 UN's Vienna office begins issuing postage stamps
1980 Beth Daniel wins Columbia Savings LPGA Golf Classic
1980 Jozef Pinkovski replaces Poland premier Babiuch
1981 American Charles Chapman is 1st black to swim English Channel
1981 Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon.
1982 KC's John Wathan steals 31st en route to 36 base for catcher's record
1983 Cincinati Red Pete Rose ends consecutive games played streak at 745
1984 Pat Bradley set LPGA record for 9 holes with a 28 at Denver
1985 STS 51-I mission scrubbed at T -5m because of bad weather
1986 Juli Inkster wins Atlantic City LPGA Golf Classic
1987 Announcement of possible Martian tornadoes
1989 British brewery Bass buys Holiday Inn hotel chain
1989 Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose is banned from baseball for life for gambling by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.
1989 Colombian drug barons declare "total war" on the Colombian government.
1989 Voyager 2 flies past Neptune
1990 3,500 peacekeepers arrive in Liberia
1990 Iraqi troops surround US & other embassies in Kuwait City
1991 Emmy Creative Arts Award presentation
1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1991 Silky Stallone, wins the Cane Pace at Yonkers Raceway
1991 Taiwan captures its 15th Little League World Series, 11-0
1991 Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
1992 1st structural steel beams are erected at Gateway (Jacobs Field)
1992 Cleveland Browns suffer their worst preseason loss, 56-3, to Vikings
1992 Diplomatic relations are established between the People's Republic of China and South Korea.
1992 Hurricane Andrew hits South Florida as a Category 5 Hurricane, 35 die.
1992 Screw magazine superimposed a gunsight over a picture of Larry Flint
1993 Mars Observer comes closest to Mars
1993 Padres scores 14 in 1st vs Cardinals
1994 Israel & PLO initialed accord giving partial self-rule autonomy to Palestinians in West Bank in education, health, taxation, social welfare & tourism
1994 Kieren Perkins swims world record 800m free style (7:46.00)
1994 Kieren Perkins swims world record 1500m free style (14:41.66)
1995 Computer software developer Microsoft releases their Windows 95 operating system.
1995 Fire that wipes 6,000 acres begins in Hamptons on Long Island
1995 Windows 95 debuts
1997 97th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Joel Kribel
1997 Colleen Wakjer wins Star Bank LPGA Classic
1997 Gordon Spence discovers 2^2976221 1 (36th known Mersenne prime)
1997 Greg Norman wins World Series of Golf shooting 273
1997 Mark Calcavecchia wins Greater Vancouver Golf Open shooting 265
1997 Saint Luke's Senior Golf Classic
1998 First RFID human implantation tested in the United Kingdom.
1998 The Netherlands is selected as the site for the trial of the two Libyan suspects of the 1988 Pan Am bombing.
2000 Argon fluorohydride, the first Argon compound ever known, is discovered at the University of Helsinki by Finnish scientists.
2001 Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean (en route to Lisbon from Toronto) and makes an emergency landing in the Azores.
2004 89 passengers die after two airliners explode after flying out of Domodedovo International Airport, near Moscow. The explosions were caused by suicide bombers (reportedly female) from the Russian Republic of Chechnya.
2006 The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is considered a Dwarf Planet.
2012 A US jury in California finds that Samsung is guilty of patent infringement and awards over $1 billion USD in damages to Apple
2012 Both Apple and Samsung are found guilty of patent infringement in a South Korean court
2012 Monsoon rains and floods kill 26 people in Pakistan
2012 Yangmingtan Bridge collapses in China killing three people
2013 4 people are killed in a helicopter crash in the Shetland Islands
2013 30 people are killed in a gang battle involving flame throwers in Palmasola prison, Bolivia
2014 Nurse William Pooley flies back to the UK for emergency treatment after contracting Ebola virus after attempting to treat patients in Sierra Leone
2015 China stock market's "Black Monday", Shanghai Composite loses 8.5%, sending other international markets lower
2015 Physicist Stephen Hawking presents a new theory on black holes at a lecture at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
2015 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces that for the 1st time 1 billion people logged into Facebook
Born on August 24th
1113 Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, France, conquered Normandy (d. 1151)
1198 King Alexander II of Scotland (d. 1249)
1210 Floris IV, Count of Holland
1358 King John I of Castile (d. 1390)
1393 Arthur III, Duke of Brittany (d. 1458)
1420 Albrecht van Eyb, German humanist/parson (Bamberg & Eichstattt)
1531 Ercole Bottrigari, composer
1552 Lavinia Fontana, Italian painter (d. 1614)
1579 John Amner, composer
1580 John Taylor, English poet (d. 1654)
1591 Robert Herrick, England, poet (Gather ye rosebuds) (d. 1674)
1635 Peder Griffenfeld, Danish statesman (d. 1699)
1669 Alessandro Marcello, Italian composer (d. 1747)
1683 Meinrad Spiess, composer
1694 Theodor A Freiherr von Neuhoff, German adventurer, king
1707 Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, English Evangelical Revivalist (d. 1791)
1712 Cornelis Douwes, Dutch mathematician/astronomer
1725 Johann Balthasar Kehl, composer
1733 David Traugott Nicolai, composer
1750 Letizia Ramolino, mother of Napoleon Bonaparte (d. 1836)
1758 Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1794)
1759 William Wilberforce, British politician, philanthropist and abolishionist leader (d. 1833)
1772 Willem I Frederik, King of Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1814-40) (d. 1840)
1787 James Weddell, English explorer of Antarctica (Weddell Sea) (d. 1834)
1808 Benjamin Grubb Humphreys, Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
1808 Thomas Fenwick Drayton, Brigadier General (Confederate Army) (d. 1891)
1816 Daniel Gooch, laid 1st successful transatlantic cables
1817 Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (Kozjma Prutkov), Russian writer (d. 1875)
1820 Jacopo Tomadini, composer
1821 Emmanuele Muzio, composer
1827 Walter Husted Stevens, Brigadier General (Confederate Army) (d. 1867)
1828 George Hume "Maryland" Steuart, Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
1837 Théodore Dubois, French composer and teacher (d. 1924)
1839 Eduard Napravnik, composer
1842 Edouard J A Agneessens, Flemish painter (Slave Market)
1845 James C. Calhoun, American soldier, brother-in-law of George Armstrong Custer (d. 1876)
1851 Tom Kendall, Australian cricketer (d. 1924)
1852 Deacon White, American baseball player (d. 1919)
1854 Nikolay Vladimirovich Scherbachov, composer
1856 Felix Mottl, composer
1863 Dragutin Lerman, Croatian explorer (d. 1918)
1865 Ferdinand I, King of Romania (d. 1927)
1872 Max Beerbohm, British caricaturist (Saturday Review) (d. 1956)
1879 Rentaro Taki, composer
1880 Joshua Lionel Cowen, American entrepreneur (d. 1965)
1880 Miles W L Killearn of Killearn, Scotish baron/diplomat
1884 Earl Derr Biggers, American author (d. 1933)
1886 William Francis Gibbs, naval architect, designed Liberty ships
1887 Harry Hooper, American baseball player (d. 1974)
1889 Simon Kimbangu/Kibangu, Congo prophet
1890 Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaiian swimmer (Olympics-3 gold/2 silver-12, 20, 24) and surfer (d. 1968)
1890 Franz Philipp, composer
1890 Jean Rhys, British writer (d. 1979)
1891 Alexander Mikhaylovich Dzegelyonok, composer
1891 Germaine Loosveldt, Flemish actress (Kniertje in On hope)
1893 Haim Ernst Wertheimer, German-born Israeli biochemist, recipient of the Israel Prize (d. 1978)
1894 Jean Rhys (Ella Williams), Dominica, writer (Voyage in the Dark)
1895 Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston (d. 1970)
1896 Phil Baker, Phila, comedian (Who's Whose)
1897 Fred Rose, American songwriter and publishing executive (d. 1954)
1898 Albert Claude, Belgium, biologist/physician (Nobel 1974)
1898 Malcolm Cowley, American literary critic, author (Flowering of New England) (d. 1989)
1898 Marie J Hugenholtz (Doctor Grandi), surgeon on Curacao
1899 Albert Claude, Belgian biologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1983)
1899 Gaylord DuBois, American comic book writer (d. 1993)
1899 Johan J Fabricius, Dutch novelist (Island of Demons)
1899 Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinan fiction writer, essayist (Labyrinths) (d. 1986)
1899 Ruth Schaumann, German painter/writer (Rose, Black King)
1901 Preston Foster, American actor (Waterfront, Gunslinger) (d. 1970)
1902 Carlo Gambino, Sicilian-born American mafioso (d. 1976)
1902 Fernand Braudel, French historian (Civililization & Capitalism) (d. 1985)
1903 Karl Hanke, Nazi official (d. 1945)
1904 Alice White, American actress (d. 1983)
1904 Rod Redwing, NY, actor (Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory)
1905 Arthur Crudup, American singer and guitarist (d. 1974)
1905 Donald Douglas, Scotland, actor (I Love You Again)
1905 Siaka Stevens, President of Sierra Leone (d. 1988)
1907 Bruno Giacometti, Swiss architect
1909 Ronald Grieveson, South African cricketer (d. 1998)
1910 Bernhard Heiden, composer
1911 Karl AF Schiller, West German economist/SPD-minister
1911 Lofty England, English automotive engineer and race team manager (d. 1995)
1911 Michel Pablo, Greek Trotskyist leader (d. 1996)
1912 Durward Kirby, American television personality, announcer (Garry Moore Show) (d. 2000)
1913 Charles Snead Houston, American mountaineer
1913 Dorothy Comingore (Linda Winters), American actress (Citizen Kane)
1915 Alice B(radley) Sheldon, US, sci-fi author (Byte Beautiful)
1915 James Tiptree, Jr., American writer (d. 1987)
1915 Wynonie Harris, rocker
1916 Anita V Figueredo, physician/humanitarian
1916 Hal Smith, American actor (d. 1994)
1916 Léo Ferré, French composer and singer (d. 1993)
1916 Peter Crichton Kirkpatrick, oarsman
1917 Dennis James, American game show host, wrestling announcer (d. 1997)
1918 Ray McIntire, chemical engineer
1918 Sikander Bakht, Governor of Kerala (d. 2004)
1919 "Drs P" (Heinz H Polzer), Swiss-Dutch singer-songwriter
1919 Enrique Llanes, Mexican professional wrestler (d. 2004)
1919 Nils Viggo Bentzon, composer
1920 Alex Colville, Canadian painter
1921 Sam Tingle, Zimbabwean racing driver (d. 2008)
1922 Howard Zinn, American historian and activist
1922 René Lévesque, Premier of Quebec (d. 1987)
1923 Arthur Jensen, American psychologist
1923 Helena Carter (Helen Rickerts), American model, actress (River Lady)
1924 Alyn Ainsworth, British bandleader (d. 1990)
1924 Jimmy Gardner (British actor), British actor
1924 Louis Teicher, pianist (Ferante & Teicher-Exodus)
1927 David Ireland, Australian author
1927 Harry Markowitz, American economist, Nobel laureate
1927 Roger Danneels, Flemish accordionist
1927 William V Shannon, journalist/ambassador to Ireland (1977-81)
1929 Betty Dodson, American feminist and sex educator
1929 William Winfield, rocker (Harptones)
1929 Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader, PLO-leader (Achille Lauro, Nobel 1994) (d. 2004)
1932 Richard Graham Meale, composer
1932 Robert D. Hales, LDS apostle
1934 Kenny Baker, English actor (R2D2-Star Wars)
1934 Roger Donald Dickerson, composer
1936 A. S. Byatt, English novelist
1936 Kenny Guinn, American Governor, Nevada
1936 William J Coyne, (Rep-D-Pennsylvania, 1981)
1937 Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, Nigerian politician (d. 1998)
1938 David Freiberg, American bassist (Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Starship)
1938 Halldór Blöndal, Icelandic politician
1938 Mason Williams, American guitarist, composer, and writer (Smother Brothers Hour)
1940 Don Cormier Sr, horse trainer
1940 Francine Lalonde, Quebec politician
1940 Tony Secunda, rock band manager
1941 Ernest Wright Jr, US rock vocalist (Imperials-So Much)
1942 Howard Jacobson, British novelist and newspaper columnist
1942 Joe Chambers, LA California, rock guitarist/vocalist (Chambers Brothers)
1942 Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck, mathemetician/educator
1942 Max Cleland, American politician
1943 John Cipollina, American guitarist (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (d. 1989)
1943 Pini Zahavi, Israeli football agent
1944 Bill Goldsworthy, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1996)
1944 Gregory Bruce Jarvis, American astronaut (STS 25) (d. 1986)
1944 Rocky Johnson, Canadian professional wrestler
1945 Ken Hensley, English musician, keyboardist (Blackfoot, Uriah Heep)
1945 Malcolm "Mollie" Duncan, Scotland, saxophonist (Average White Band)
1945 Vince McMahon, American professional wrestling promoter
1946 Richard "Dick" N Richards, Key West, USN/astr (STS 28, 41, 50, 64)
1947 Anne Archer, American actress
1947 Joe Manchin, American politician, governor of West Virginia
1947 Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author
1947 Roger De Vlaeminck, Belgian cyclist
1947 Vladimir Masorin, Russian admiral
1948 Jean-Michel Jarre, French musician
1948 Kim Sung-Il, Chief of Staff of Republic of Korea Air Force
1949 Anna Lee Fisher, St Albans NY, MD/astronaut (STS 51-A)
1949 Charles Rocket, American actor (d. 2005)
1949 Joe Regalbuto, American actor (Knots Landing, Frank-Murphy Brown)
1949 Stephen Harrison Paulus, composer
1950 Frank Murray, Australian field hockey national coach (Oly-sil-92, 96)
1950 John Banaszak, Pittsburgh Steelers three-time Super Bowl champion
1950 Tim White, American anthropologist
1951 Jimmy Farrar, Jacksonville Fl, rock vocalist (Molly Hatchet)
1951 Orson Scott Card, American writer (Hugo, Nebula, Ender's War)
1951 Oscar Hijuelos, American author
1952 Bob Corker, American politician, junior senator of Tennessee
1952 Holly Hallstrom American model for The Price is Right
1952 Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jamaican dub poet
1952 Mike Shanahan, American football coach
1953 Ron Holloway, American tenor saxophonist
1954 Alain Daigle, French Canadian ice hockey player
1954 Philippe Cataldo, French singer
1955 Jeffrey Daniel, LA CA, rock vocalist (Shalamar)
1955 Mike Huckabee, American politician, Governor/Presidential candidate
1956 Dick Lee, Singaporean singer-songwriter
1956 Gerry Cooney, heavyweight boxer (US Olympics team 1980)
1956 John Culberson, American politician
1957 Jeffrey Daniel, American dancer and singer (Shalamar)
1957 Stephen Fry, English comedian and actor
1958 Chris Offutt, American author
1958 Steve Guttenberg, American actor (Police Academy, Short Circuit)
1958 Tracy Harris, American artist
1959 Adrian Kuiper, South African cricketer
1959 Michel Valke, Dutch soccer player (Sparta, Dordrecht '90)
1960 Cal Ripken, Jr., American baseball player, shortstop (Balt Orioles) (Longest games played streak)
1960 David Guillory, jockey
1960 Franz Vienboeck, Austria, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-13)
1960 Kim Christofte, Danish footballer
1960 Kris Monaghan, Spokane WA, golfer (1990 Red Robin Kyocera Inamori)
1960 Steven W Lindsey, Arcadia California, Major USAF/astronaut (STS 87, sk:95)
1960 Takashi Miike, Japanese filmmaker
1961 Colin Angus, Scottish pop musician (Shamen, Ebeneezer Goode)
1961 Ingrid Berghmans, Belgian judoka
1961 Jared Harris, English actor
1961 Mark "Bedders" Bedfored, London, rock bassist (Madness)
1962 Craig Kilborn, American talk show host
1962 David Koechner, American actor
1962 Major Garrett, American journalist
1962 Mary Ellen Weber, Cleveland Ohio, PhD/astronaut (STS 70)
1963 Hideo Kojima, Japanese video game director
1963 John Bush, American singer (Anthrax)
1964 Dana Gould, American comedian and writer
1964 Pebbles, rock vocalist (Girlfriend)
1964 Salizhan Sharkirovich Sharipov, Russian cosmonaut (STS-89)
1965 Brian Rajadurai, Sri Lankan cricketer
1965 Casey Lambert, jockey
1965 Marlee Matlin, American deaf actress (Children of Lesser God-Acad Award)
1965 Reggie Miller, American basketball player, NBA guard (Ind Pacers, Oly-gold-96)
1965 Vince Alcalde, WLAF offensive assistant (Scottish Claymores)
1967 Michael Thomas, English footballer
1968 Andreas Kisser, Brazilian heavy metal guitarist (Sepultura)
1968 Arnold Galesloot, WLAF tight end (Amsterdam Admirals)
1968 Benoît Brunet, French Canadian ice hockey player, NHL left wing (Montreal Canadiens)
1968 Shoichi Funaki, Japanese professional wrestler
1968 Tim Salmon, American baseball player, outfielder (California Angels)
1970 Dan Henderson, American Mixed martial artist (Stikeforce LH and MW champion at the same time)
1970 Sandra Whyte, ice hockey forward (USA, Oly-98)
1970 Tugay Kerimoglu, Turkish footballer
1971 Pierfrancesco Favino, Italian actor
1972 Chris Right, CFL receiver (Montreal Alouettes)
1972 Christian Ruud, Oslo Norway, tennis star (1989 Norwegian)
1972 Ian Moran, Cleveland Ohio, US hockey defenseman (Olympics-1994, Pitts)
1972 Jean-Luc Brassard, Canadian freestyle skier
1972 Kurt Miller, Tucson AZ, pitcher (Florida Marlins)
1972 Lee DeRamus, (NO Saints)
1973 Andrew Brunette, Canadian ice hockey player, NHL left wing (Washington Capitals)
1973 Barret Oliver, actor (Never Ending Story, Secret Garden)
1973 Carmine Giovinazzo, American actor
1973 Dave Chappelle, American actor (Cheppelle's Show, Half Baked) and Comedian
1973 Grey DeLisle, voice actress
1973 Inge de Bruijn, Dutch swimmer
1974 Archie Amerson, CFL running back (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
1974 Jennifer Lien, American actress
1974 Orla Fallon, Irish Vocalist for Celtic Woman
1974 Tony McCombs, linebacker (Arizona Cardinals)
1975 Alex O'Loughlin, Australian actor
1975 Mark de Vries, Surinamese-Dutch footballer
1976 Bjorn van der Doelen, Dutch soccer player (PSV)
1976 Nordin Wooter, Dutch soccer player (Ajax)
1977 Denílson, Brazilian footballer
1977 John Green, American author
1977 Jürgen Macho, Austrian footballer
1977 Per Gade, Danish footballer
1977 Robert Enke, German footballer (d. 2009)
1978 Derek Morris, Canadian ice hockey player
1978 Melissa McElroy, Houston Tx, rhythmic gymnast (US team-96)
1978 Rafael Furcal, Dominican baseball player
1979 Elva Hsiao, Taiwanese singer
1979 Michael Redd, American basketball player
1979 Orlando Engelaar, Dutch International Footballer
1980 Sonja Bennett, Canadian actress
1981 Chad Michael Murray, American actor
1981 Jiro Wang Dong Cheng, Taiwanese singer, actor, model.
1981 Mercedes Scelba Shorte, American model
1982 Kim Kallstrom, Swedish footballer
1983 Christopher Parker, British actor
1983 Marcel Goc, German ice hockey player
1984 Charlie Villanueva, American basketball player
1984 Kyle Schmid, Canadian actor
1984 Yesung, a singer, a member of Korean boy group Super Junior
1985 Destiny Davis, American model and Playboy Playmate
1986 Fabiano Santacroce, Italian footballer
1986 Nick Adenhart, American baseball player (d. 2009)
1987 Anže Kopitar, Slovenian ice hockey player
1987 Jon Scheyer, American basketball player
1988 Helga Krapf, Filipina actress
1988 Rupert Grint, English actor (Harry Potter)
1995 Runa Tsukishima, Japanese child model
2003 Alexandre Coste, son of Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Died on August 24th
79 Pliny the Elder, Roman writer and naturalist (b. 23)
1042 Michael V, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1015)
1103 Magnus III Berbein (Blootbeen), King of Norway (1093-1103) (b. 1073)
1217 Eustace "the Monk", French mercenary and pirate, dies in battle (b. c.1170)
1313 Henry VII, Roman Catholic German King/emperor (1308/12-13)
1371 Eduard, duke of Gelre (1361-71), assasinated
1540 Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, Italian painter (b. 1503)
1542 Gasparo Contarini, Italian diplomat and cardinal (b. 1483)
1572 Charles de Téligny, French Huguenot soldier (bc. 1535)
1572 Gaspard de Châtillon, Count the Coligny, French gen/admiral, beheaded
1572 Pierre de la Ramée, French humanist (b. 1515)
1572 Victims of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre: Charles de Téligny, French Huguenot soldier (b. c.1535), Gaspard de Coligny, French Huguenot leader (b. 1519) , Pierre de la Ramée, French humanist (b. 1515)
1595 Thomas Digges, English astronomer (Universe Infinite) (b. 1546)
1647 Nicholas Stone "Elder", English sculptor and architect (b. 1586)
1664 Maria Cunitz, Silesian astronomer (b. c. 1610)
1666 Francisco M the Melo, Portuguese author (Obras Morales)
1679 Jean François Paul de Gondi, French cardinal and agitator (b. 1614)
1680 Ferdinand Bulb, Dutch painter/etcher, buried
1680 Thomas Blood, Irish-born thief of the British crown jewels (b. 1618)
1683 John Owen, English non-conformist theologian (b. 1616)
1712 Thomas Bullis, composer
1724 Andreas Kneller, composer
1759 Ewald Christian von Kleist, German poet (b. 1715)
1770 Thomas Chatterton, English poet (Revenge)
1779 Saint Cosmas of Aetolia, Greek Orthodox martyr (b. 1714)
1798 Thomas Alcock, English clergyman (b. 1709)
1801 Jacques-Denis Antoine, French builder (La Monnaie Paris)
1818 James Carr (Massachusetts politician), U.S. Congressman (b. 1777)
1831 August von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (b. 1760)
1832 Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French mathematician (b. 1796)
1833 Adrian H Haworth, English entomologist and botanist
1840 Joseph Waast Aubert Nonot, composer
1841 John Ordronaux, privateer of the War of 1812 (b. 1778)
1841 Karl Friedrich Curschmann, composer
1841 Theodore Edward Hook, English author (b. 1788)
1888 Rudolph J E Clausius, German physicist (thermodynamics) (b. 1822)
1889 Jan E Matzeliger, Suriname inventor (shoe lacing machine)
1895 John F Loudon, entrepreneur/colonial director
1906 Alfred Stevens, Belgian painter
1907 Pieter Louis Tak, writer (Chronicle)
1921 Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet (b. 1886)
1923 Kate Douglas Wiggin, author (US kindergarten movement)
1939 W H Moule, Australian cricketer, High Court judge
1940 Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, German television pioneer (Nipkow disk) (b. 1860)
1943 Ernst Ottwalt, writer
1943 Simone Weil, French philosopher and social activist (b. 1909)
1945 Midori Naka, Japanese actress, survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, died of radiation poisoning (b. 1909)
1946 James Clark McReynolds, U.S. Supreme Court justice (b. 1862)
1950 Ernst Wiechert, writer
1954 Getulio D Vargas, President-dictator of Brazil (1930-1945,1951-1954, suicide (b. 1882)
1956 Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese film director (b. 1898)
1957 Albert Edward Sammons, composer
1958 John G Strijdom, premier of South Africa (1954-58)
1958 Kenneth Leighton, composer
1958 Leo Blech, composer
1958 Paul Henry, Northern Irish artist (b. 1876)
1962 Henry George Ley, composer
1964 Maurice Schoemaker, composer
1967 Amanda Randolph, actress (Danny Thomas, Amos n Andy)
1967 Henry J. Kaiser, American industrialist (Boulder Dam, Liberty ship) (b. 1882)
1967 Lam Bun, Hong Kong radio commentator (murdered) (b. 1930)
1968 Cyril Vincent, cricketer (84 wkts slow lefty for S Af 1927-35)
1972 Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas, US jazz saxophonist
1973 Billy Greene, actor (Burton-One Man's Family)
1973 Slava Vorlova, composer
1974 Alexander de Seversky, Russian-American aviation pioneer (b. 1894)
1975 Charles H Revson, US cosmetic magnate
1976 Michael Dewar Head, composer
1977 Buddy O'Connor, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1916)
1978 Louis Prima, American singer, band leader (b. 1910)
1979 Hanna Reitsch, German test pilot (b. 1912)
1979 Sampson Sievers, Russian Orthodox Christian monk and wonder-worker (b. 1898)
1980 Yootha Joyce, British actress (b. 1927)
1982 Félix-Antoine Savard, French Canadian catholic priest and novelist (b. 1896)
1982 Jack Siedle, cricketer (batted in 18 Tests for South Africa)
1983 Jack Somack, actor (Ball Four, Stockard Channing Show)
1983 Shawn Lewis, 5th wife of Jerry Lee Lewis, dies of methadone OD
1985 Paul Creston (Giuseppe Joseph Guttoveggio), American composer (b. 1906)
1987 Bayard Rustin, US civil rights activist
1987 Malcolm Kirk, English wrestler (b. 1936)
1988 Leonard Frey, actor (Tattoo, Magic Christian)
1988 Max Shulman, author (Dobie Gillis, Tender Trap)
1990 Gailli AbedElrhman, Sudanese writer (b. 1931)
1990 Sergei Dovlatov, Russian writer (b. 1941)
1991 Abel Kivlat, US 1500m runner (Olympic-silver-1912)
1991 Beb (Elizabeth) Vuyk, Neth/Indon writer (Camp Diary)
1991 Bernard Castro, Italian inventor, patented convertible couch (b. 1904)
1991 Mike Sokoll, cowboy actor
1992 Andreas M Donner, Dutch state leader/jurist (Constitution)
1992 Larrie Londin, jazz drummer
1993 Professor D B Deodhar, cricketer (Ind non-Test bat o 30s)
1994 Jason McRoy, downhill MTB racer
1994 Wijnanda MC "Nan" Aberson, friend of Gerard Van de Reve Sr
1995 Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-born photographer (b. 1898)
1995 Erich Geiringer, general Practitioner campaigner
1995 Gary Crosby, singer, actor (Operation Bikini, Mardi Gras)
1996 Ahmed Bahauddin, journalist
1996 Emile Noel, international civil servant
1996 John Christopherson, artist/collector
1996 Robert Louis Tewdwr Moss, journalist/travel writer
1997 Phillip Humphrey Vellacott, classicist
1998 E.G. Marshall, American actor (b. 1910)
1999 Alexandre Lagoya, Greek-Italian classical guitarist (b. 1929)
2000 Andy Hug, Swiss karateka and kickbox champion (b. 1964)
2001 Jane Greer, American actress (b. 1924)
2002 Nikolay Guryanov Russian Orthodox Christian mystic and priest (b. 1909)
2003 Sir Wilfred Thesiger, British explorer (b. 1910)
2004 Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-born psychiatrist (b. 1926)
2005 Kaleth Morales, Colombian Vallenato singer (b. 1984)
2006 Cristian Nemescu, Romanian film director (b. 1979)
2006 Léopold Simoneau, French Canadian tenor (b. 1916)
2007 Aaron Russo, American film producer and director (b. 1943)
2007 Andrée P. Boucher, Mayor of Quebec City (b. 1937)
2010 Satoshi Kon, Japanese anime film director (b. 1963)
2011 Mike Flanagan, American baseball pitcher (b. 1951)
2012 Pauli Ellefsen, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
2013 Julie Harris, American actress
2014 Richard Attenborough, English actor/director (Gandhi, Young Winston)
2015 Justin Wilson, English Indycar driver, dies as a result of on track accident
