This Day In History© The History Channel Web Page. Kid Zone has been given permission.


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August, 1

This is "Moby Dick" Day!
The author of the 'Great American Novel', "Moby Dick", was born on this day in 1819 in New York City. Herman Melville penned the mammoth novel just 32 years later. The complex, but rousing sea story tells the tale of a sea captain's search for Moby Dick, the great white whale that had once crippled him.

The story is told by sailor-narrator, Ishmael. Through the pages of "Moby Dick", we meet Ishmael's bunkmate, Queequeg, a whale harpooner from Polynesia, learn everything there is to know about whaling in the nineteenth century and, of course, about Captain Ahab and his obsession with Moby Dick.

Herman Melville dedicated his novel to author, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Director and writer, John Huston, adapted the high seas saga to the big screen in 1956 so all the world could see Moby Dick as big as life.



August, 2

This is "Dead Man's Hand" Day!
Wild Bill Hickok was gunned down by Jack McCall in the Number Ten saloon at Deadwood, in the Dakota Territory on this day in 1876. Hickok was playing poker at the time of the shooting. McCall shot Wild Bill in the back, never revealing his motive before he was hanged for the shooting.

Hickok, a Union army spy, a scout for General Custer, a marshal for Abilene, Kansas, and a crack shot with a pistol, was handsome, longhaired, and a flamboyant gambler. Doc Pierce, who prepared Wild Bill for burial was quoted as saying, "Wild Bill was the prettiest corpse I have ever seen." Maybe because the poker hand Hickok was holding when he died consisted of all black aces and eights. This card hand was later referred to as a dead man's hand.



August, 3

This is "Retirement" Day!
Margaret Kuhn was born on this day in 1905. Like everyone else of her generation, she was forced into retirement sixty-five years later. Too early, if you look at it from Ms. Kuhn's point of view.

You see, Maggie didn't want to retire. She felt she still had a lot of good working years left. So Margaret Kuhn formed the Gray Panthers ... an organization designed to fight age discrimination. The battle against age discrimination is still being waged today; but mandatory retirement has been banned in the U.S. You can still earn wages instead of retiring when you reach 65 ... all because of Margaret Kuhn.

That is, if you want to keep working and working and working...


August, 4

This is "Radio Tennis Match" Day!
On this day in 1921, the first tennis match on radio was broadcast on KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was a natural since KDKA was the first commercial radio station in the United States. Within eight months the powers that be figured out that sports on radio would bring in big sales revenues.

And so, the Davis Cup match between Great Britain and Australia was being aired on the radio; but much to the wonderment of KDKA's listeners.

Tennis anyone? On radio? It rates right up there with radio wrestling or, maybe, pantomime...



August, 5

This is "American Bandstand" Day!
It all began when a radio disc jockey working for WFIL Radio was pressed into hosting duties for a local, after-school dance show on WFIL-TV 6 in Philadelphia. Originally hosted by Bob Horn, the show was "American Bandstand"; the young, handsome DJ/host from Utica, New York -- Dick Clark.

And on this day in 1957, Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" caught the attention of network executives at ABC-TV in New York, who decided to put the show on its afternoon schedule. However, the one thing they couldn't do was disrupt an airing of the hugely popular "Mickey Mouse Club" at 5 p.m. What to do? Halfway through the "American Bandstand" show, Clark would tell listeners to come back for more of the show ... but "right now ... here comes the Mouse!" At that time, the network would cut away from Philadelphia and show Walt Disney's Mouseketeers. Following the show ... "American Bandstand" would return for another 30 minutes.

Many artists, acts and groups of the Rock 'n' Roll era debuted on "American Bandstand" -- Simon and Garfunkel, Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Bobby Rydell, Chubby Checker -- catapulting Clark into the spotlight as one of TV's most prolific producers and hosts. Now in his 60s, Clark is still working (often using clips of early "American Bandstand" acts in rock music nostalgia shows); and still resembles the oldest living teenager, as he has been called for oh, so many years. If only the writers at "Billboard" magazine could have seen the future when they wrote some forty years ago that Clark's show "has teen appeal ... but is not entertainment." "American Bandstand" lasted until 1987 on the network, ABC-TV's longest-running show. And syndicated versions of the original shows, with Dick Clark as host, are still running on cable (VH1). That's entertainment!



August, 6

This is "Cy Young" Day!
Denton "Cy" Young pitched his first major-league baseball game on this day in 1890. He led the Cleveland Spiders past the Chicago White Sox. Young went on to enjoy a great baseball career, winning a total of 511 games (95 more than second place, Walter Johnson) ... averaging more than 23 victories over 22 seasons, playing for Cleveland, St. Louis, and Boston (where he played in the first World Series, and won).

The Cy Young Award was established in 1956, when the Baseball Writer's Association of America bestowed the honor on the best pitcher in major-league baseball for that year. The award has been presented every year since. In fact, from 1967 on, two Cy Young awards have been presented annually, to the best pitcher in each major league.

Where did Denton get the nickname, Cy? It seems that Denton Young, a six-foot, two-inch, 210-pound player, could throw a re-e-e-ally fast curve ball, kind of like a cyclone spinning through the air. A story told about the Baseball Hall of Famer says, that one time, before a game, he was warming up by throwing balls at a wooden fence. Afterwards, a remark was made that the fence looked like a cyclone had hit it. Yeah! A cyclone named Denton Young aka Cy Young.

August, 7

This is "Purple Heart" Day!
U.S. General George Washington wanted to honor several courageous soldiers of the revolutionary war with a Badge of Military Merit. So on this day in 1782, he ordered the creation of a purple cloth heart with a silver braided edge. The Badge of Military Merit was only awarded to three Revolutionary War soldiers.

On the bicentennial of the first U.S. President's birthday, February 22, 1932, the badge was reinstated. This time it was called the Order of the Purple Heart, a purple-enameled, gold-bordered heart with a profile of Washington in the center.

The Purple Heart now decorates those members of the armed forces who have been wounded in battle (if they die, it is awarded to their next of kin).

August, 8

This is "Davis Cup" Day!
On this date in 1900, competition began for the International Lawn Tennis Challenge Trophy at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Donating the trophy was America's Dwight Davis. He had been the runner-up in the 1898 U.S. Championships. From then on, the event, the men's international team championship, was called the Davis Cup.

This first event saw the U.S. team defeat Great Britain 3-0. Rain washed out two matches. A Davis Cup meeting between two countries is referred to as a tie. It is a three-day event consisting of two singles matches, one doubles match and then two more singles matches. The team with the greatest number of wins (30) is the United States. Australia follows with twenty wins.

There has been a Davis Cup match every year since 1900 except for 1901, 1910, 1915-1918 and 1940-45. Dwight Davis played on the winning team in 1900 and 1902.

For more on the Davis Cup, surf to: http://ps1.sportsline.com/u/tennis/daviscup/index.html



August, 9

This is "Let's Go Fishing" Day!
A long, long time ago -- several centuries, to be exact -- Isaac Walton was born in Stafford, England. It was this day in 1593 and his parents had no idea that they were going to raise a fishing expert.

When Isaac was growing up he spent a lot of time studying the art of fishing. By the time he was seventy years old, he had written the masterwork on angling, titled, "The Compleat Angler".

Walton was pretty clear about the fact that no matter how many years you've spent fishing, and even if you read his book, you'll never quite get it right. He said, "Angling may be said to be so like the mathematics, that it can never be fully learned."

Gone fishing.



August, 10

This is "Smithsonian Institution" Day!
The famous Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. was established on this day in 1846 by the United States Congress as an institute of learning.

An Englishman, James Smithson, made it possible to create the institute with his generous monetary gift of $500,000; hence, the name, Smithsonian.

The Smithsonian Institute supports a wide variety of research projects and publications. It also houses the national museums of natural history, technology, art and history. One of the most popular is the National Air Museum which contains the Wright Brothers original biplane and Charles Lindbergh's plane, "The Spirit of St. Louis".

Often referred to as America's attic, the Smithsonian Institute has a little something for everyone from every era and all subject matter. You'll even find Archie Bunker's chair at the Smithsonian Institution.

For more on the Smithsonian, surf to: The Smithsonian Institute



August, 11

This is "Presidential Blooper" Day!
On this day in 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan was preparing for his weekly radio broadcast when, during testing of the microphone -- the President said of the Soviet Union, "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you that I just signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." Oops. One of the world's biggest bloopers...

The remark was made during a time when technicians had the microphone open and the President didn't think he was being heard and was just jesting as he was testing.

Funny, actually, that this could happen to "Dutch" Reagan -- a former radio sportscaster for WHO in Des Moines, Iowa and other radio stations -- not to mention TV and film. The remark, literally, bombed ... though nothing more serious happened.

Definitely "one for the Gipper"! And one giant presidential blooper.


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August, 12

This is "Cast of Thousands" Day!
Important Hollywood film innovations -- the first use of indoor lighting on an actor, the first film to publicize its stars' names, the sneak preview, the concept of different versions of the same movie -- were the creations of moviedom's Cecil B. DeMille.

DeMille, born on this day in 1881 in Ashfield, Massachusetts, is better known for producing the film spectacular. On this large scale were over seventy films, including "The Crusades", "The Sign of the Cross", "King of Kings", "Cleopatra", "The Plainsman", "Reap the Wild Wind", "The Buccaneer" and his Academy Award-winner [1952], "The Greatest Show on Earth".

Cecil B. DeMille's greatest show, however, was "The Ten Commandments". His first production of this biblical story was in 1923. Then, in 1956, he presented a new epic version (which is shown annually on TV) with the famous cast of thousands.

August, 13

This is "Hound Dog" Day!
On this day in 1952, the original version of "Hound Dog" was recorded by Big Mama Thornton. It was the first hit for the song-writing team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

Four years later, "Hound Dog" got the world's attention when it was recorded by Elvis Presley.

Musician, composer, Johnny Otis ("Willie and the Hand Jive") said he helped Leiber and Stoller with the writing of "Hound Dog". All was fine as long as Big Mama Thornton was doin' the singing (Otis was her producer); but as soon as the Elvis version started bringing in the bucks, Otis was cut out of the picture. Otis went to court but lost the suit.

We think the judge said, "You ain't nothing but a hound dog, a-cryin' all the time." And Leiber and Stoller chimed in, "You ain't no friend of mine."

August, 14

This is "All-Day Affair" Day!
Most of us expect a charity picnic and softball game to be an all-day affair, but this time, this day in 1976, the all-day became all-night and all-the-next-day, too.

The event was staged to raise money for a new softball field and for the Community General Hospital in Monticello, New York. Gager's Diner and Bend'n Elbow Tavern fielded competing teams (a total of 50 men and 20 women) to play a 365-inning ball game. The game began at 10 a.m. and was finally called because of rain and fog at 4 p.m. the following day.

This is the longest softball game in history to that date (and probably still is). The benefit game raised $4,000, an all-day affair worth attending.

August, 15

This is "Hello" Day!
If it wasn't for the persistence of Thomas Edison, we'd all be answering our phone with the greeting, "Ahoy."

"Ahoy" was the greeting suggested by the creator of the telephone, Mr. Alexander Graham Bell. However, on this day in 1877, Thomas Edison wrote the president of the Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh, Pa. The letter stated that the word, "hello" would be a more appropriate greeting. And so it is that we pick up the phone anywhere in the world and say: Allo. Alo. Bueno. Pronto. Hallo. Aloha. Mo simosi. Hello.

August, 16

This is "Elvis Remembered" Day!
It was August 16, 1977. Elvis Presley was rushed from Graceland to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where doctors' efforts to revive him were fruitless. Thousands of mourning fans kept a vigil outside the home of the King of Rock and Roll -- for three days before his burial. Thousands more lined the streets of Presley's hometown on the day of his funeral.

The city, the nation, the music world and fans from around the world were in shock over his passing. Even to this day, some say that Elvis didn't die -- he just wanted to get away from it all. Fans from all over have reported sightings of Elvis -- from a hamburger joint in Kalamazoo, MI, to California.

Elvis had an unprecedented 107 hits on the pop music charts and an unprecedented number of fans. His first hit was "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956 and his last -- one of two RCA hits released after his death, was "Guitar Man" in 1981. Presley had 28 gold records, 12 number one songs and 38 top ten hits.

Elvis Presley died (coronary arrhythmia) at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, TN, this day in 1977. He was 42. Presley is buried at Graceland -- his grave site and home -- now a major tourist attraction.

We remember him well.

August, 17

This is "Wizard of Oz" Day!
"Follow the Yellow Brick Road ... There's no place like home, there's no place like home ... Oh, Auntie Em, Auntie Em ... and Toto, too!"

Theatre goers first saw the magical, "Wizard of Oz", in a gala premiere on this night in 1939. The first movie to use the combination of black and white and color film, starred Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale; Bert Lahr as both the Cowardly Lion and Zeke; Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow and Hunk; and Jack Haley as both The Tin Woodsman and Hickory. Originally, Buddy Ebsen was in the role of the Tin Man; but he became ill and had to leave the production before its completion.

The movie was based on L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", which he wrote in 1900 and adapted into a musical play. Directed by Victor Fleming, the Hollywood version took an Oscar for best movie score (Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg), and for best song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." With its superb acting, special effects, singing midgets and wonderful songs like "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" (the wicked witch was delightfully played by Margaret Hamilton while Billie Burke was equally charming as the good witch); "Munchkinland", and "Follow the Yellow Brick Road", the "Wizard of Oz" would probably have won the Best Picture Oscar. As fate would have it, there was another show-stopper filmed that year, "Gone with the Wind", and only one film could win.

"The Wizard of Oz" turned into such a triumph, that television later clamored to get the rights to show it. William. S. Paley of CBS made sure his network (which also gave Garland the spotlight with her own show in the 1950s) was the one to bring "The Wizard of Oz" to new generations of viewers. The movie, now released on video, is still shown on TV and remains a popular favorite of young and old alike.

"Oh, we're off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz. We hear he is a wiz of a wiz, if ever a wiz there was..."

August, 18

This is "Dare" Day!
An expedition, led by Sir Walter Raleigh, landed at what is now Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Seven days later, on this date in 1587, Virginia Dare became the first child to be born in America of English parentage.

Ellinor and Ananias Dare were Baby Virginia's parents; her grandfather, John White, the governor of the Roanoke Colony.

As far as anyone knows, all was well with the little colony. That is, until four years later, when a ship bringing supplies arrived, only to find no colony. The settlers, including Virginia Dare had vanished. No trace was ever found of the lost colony.

Legend has it that sometime in the 1600s a white doe was seen in the area where the Dare family once lived. It is said that Virginia Dare returned to the colony as the doe.

August, 19

Today is "Ogden Nash" Day!
The poet famous for his strange but funny rhymes of nonsense was born on this day in 1902.

"Undeniably brash Was young Ogden Nash Whose notable verse Was admirably terse And written with panache."

Ogden Nash, the undisputed American master of light verse wrote, quite frequently, for "The New Yorker". He also had several of his pun-filled poems published. These collections include, "The Bad Parent's Garden of Verse" which he wrote in 1936 and the popular 1957 collection titled, "You Can't Get There from Here".

One of his most well-known couplets from "Reflections on Ice-Breaking", reads: "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker." Mr. Nash had fun with just about any subject. Consider this little ditty from his observations at the dinner table: "You shake and shake the ketchup bottle, nothing comes, and then a lot'll."

Try a few yourself. It's a lot of fun. As Mr. Nash might say:

"Read a poem about a panther, but if the phone rings then, please, don't anther!"

"The rhino is a homely beast, For human eyes, he's not a feast. Farewell, farewell you old rhinoceros, I'll stare at something less preposterous!"



August, 20

This is "Xerox" Day!
The machine that revolutionized the world's offices, the original Xerox 914 copier, took its place among the honored machines of other eras at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. The Xerox 914 copier was formally presented to the Washington, D.C. museum on this day in 1985. It had been formally introduced to the world in March of 1960.

In just twenty-five years, the document copier invented by Chester Carlson, a patent lawyer, had become obsolete enough to make it into the museum. We're sure some offices, somewhere, are still using the 914, thermal paper, liquid toner and all.

August, 21

This is "Aloha State" Day!
It was on this day in 1959 that the citizens of the United States said aloha to their new, fellow Americans. The Hawaiian Islands became the state of Hawaii by a proclamation signed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In March of 1959, the statehood bill had been passed; but it contained a stipulation that the residents of the Hawaiian Islands would have to give their vote of approval. Three months later, they did so -- and by a huge margin.

Hawaii, the Aloha State, finally became the 50th, and last, state of the United States of America on this date.

August, 22

This is "Where in the World is Mona Lisa" Day!
The painting of Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris on this night in 1911. Those who visited the Louvre stared at the blank space on the wall where the world's most famous painting had hung. One could almost believe that they could see the painting of the woman with the enigmatic smile. After all, it had hung in the same spot for over a century and had been a part of French art collections for over 400 years, even though da Vinci had painted the masterpiece in Florence, Italy at the beginning of the 16th century.

Was it the work of a madman? A professional thief couldn't sell the world's most famous painting ... so it must have been someone who had lost their mental faculties ... or was it? In a little over two weeks time, the French police arrested gothic poet, Guillaume Apollinaire. He was charged with receipt of stolen property. But the space on the wall of the Louvre remained empty for over two years.

Then, on December 13, 1913, the famous painting was found, undamaged in the city of its origin. It seems that another Florence artist, this one of the 20th century, Vincenzo Perugia, had been arrested for stealing the painting. Vincenzo allegedly tried to sell the painting to an antique dealer.

We guess Vincenzo hadn't read the stories that said no one would buy the stolen "Mona Lisa".

August, 23

This is "Lindy Hop" Day!
On this day in 1943, "LIFE" magazine spotlighted a dance craze that was sweeping the U.S.A. -- the Lindy Hop. The Lindy was named after American aviation hero, Charles A. Lindbergh; and began its entry into the American lifestyle in the 1930s. A jitterbug dance, the Lindy consists of twists, turns, jumps and twirls.

The Lindy Hop was still being danced in the 1950s (and, in fact, you can still see people doing the Lindy today) to rock 'n' roll at sock hops; and was the jump start for the dance styles of the '60s and '70s.

August, 24

This is "Waffle Iron" Day!
Oh, boy! One of the yummiest days of the year! Hopefully, you are gathered around the computer monitor with a big ol' plate of waffles, some butter, and jam or syrup, maybe even some strawberries or blueberries ... as we bring you this delicious note: On this day in 1869, Cornelius Swarthout received a patent for the waffle iron.

He didn't waffle about putting his invention to good use. It quickly became quite a popular appliance. You would heat up the waffle iron on the old coal stove - and later, the gas range - pour the batter on the griddle, close the cover and after a few minutes, flip the griddle in its little groove, and cook the other side of the waffle. Yummy.

Not quite as convenient as the electric waffle irons of today but, you can be sure, if it's a Swarthout!

August, 25

This is "Private Eye" Day!
There were a lot of firsts in the life of Allan Pinkerton, born on this day in 1819.

Allan created the first, private detective agency in 1850; making him the first private eye. Abraham Lincoln hired him as the first Secret Service officer. He, in fact, foiled the first attempt on Abraham Lincoln's life.

Mr. Pinkerton hired others to help him in his detective agency -- they were called Pinkertons -- known for spying for the Union during the Civil War; and later, employed as scabs (where they were called Pinks -- possibly the origin of the slang word, fink) during labor strikes and active in suppressing labor disputes.
Allan Pinkerton actually created the term that has been glorified on countless TV shows, although there has never been one created about Pinkerton, Private Eye.



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