August 19

Scott Winters, Realtor

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

 

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1848 – The New York Herald reported of the discovery of gold in California.

1856 – A patent for the process of condensing milk by vacuum was awarded to Gail Borden.

1909 – The first automobile race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana.

1934 – The first All-American Soap Box Derby was held in Dayton, OH. The winner was Robert Turner, who made his car from wood recycled from a saloon bar.

1940 – The first flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.

1940 – The newly formed Civil Aeronautics Administration awarded honorary license #1 to Orville Wright.

1959 – The city of Kalamazoo, MI opens the nation’s first downtown pedestrian mall.

1960 – The Soviet Union launched Sputnik with the dogs Belka and Strekla on board, along with 40 mice, two rats and a variety of plants.

1964 – The Beatles arrived in the United States to kick off their North American tour that kicked off at Cow Palace in San Francisco.

1964 – The first geostationary communication satellite, Syncom 3, was launched.

1972 – NBC-TV presented “The Midnight Special” for the first time. John Denver was the first host.

1978 – The city of Lowell, MI was hit by a violent storm. The Lowell Showboat was overturned and the steeple was torn off the United Methodist Church.

1999 – Lorne Michaels received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2003 – The TV reality show “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica”, starring then husband and wife Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, premiered on MTV.

2004 – Regis Philbin goes into The Guinness Book of World Records for logging the most hours on television — a total of 15,188 hours. The previous record was held by Hugh Downs.

2004 – Google Inc. stock began selling on NASDAQ. The initial price was set at $85. It ended the day at $100.34 with more than 22 million shares traded.

2005 – The movie, “The 40 Year Old Virgin”, starring Steve Carell, debuted in theaters.

2010 – Operation Iraqi Freedom ended, with the last of the U.S. Brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.

2020 – Apple became the First US company to be valued at $2 trillion, just two years after it reached $1 trillion valuation.

 

BIRTHDAYS:

Debra Paget – 92 a old (1933) – Actress (“The Ten Commandments”, “Love Me Tender”)

Diana Muldaur – 87 a old (1938) – Actress (Played Rosalind Shays on TV’s “L.A. Law”, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”)

Jill St. John – 85 a old (1940) – Actress (“Diamonds Are Forever”, “The Lost World”, TV’s “Hart to Hart”)

Ian Gillan – 80 a old (1945) – Singer (Deep Purple)

Charles Bolden – 79 a old (1946) – Astronaut (former Administrator of NASA)

Bill (William Jefferson) Clinton – 79 a old (1946) – 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001)

Gerald McRaney – 78 a old (1947) – TV actor (TV’s “Simon and Simon”, “Major Dad”, “Promised Land”, “Deadwood”)

Jim Carter – 77 a old (1948) – Actor (TV’s “Downton Abbey”)

Tipper Gore – 77 a old (1948) – Wife of Al Gore (Attempted to clean up lyrics with “Parental Advisory” stickers on records)

John Deacon – 74 a old (1951) – Bass Guitarist (Queen)

Jonathan Frakes – 73 a old (1952) – Actor-director (TV’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation”)

Peter Gallagher – 70 a old (1955) – Actor (“Sex, Lies and Videotape”, “The Player”, TV’s “The OC”, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”)

Adam Arkin – 69 a old (1956) – Actor (“Hitch”, “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later”, TV’s “Chicago Hope”, “Knot’s Landing”)

Eric Lutes – 63 a old (1962) – Actor (Played Del Cassidy on TV’s “Caroline in the City”)

John Stamos – 62 a old (1963) – Actor (TV’s “Full House”)

Kevin Dillon – 60 a old (1965) – Actor (TV’s “Entourage”, Portrayed drummer John Densmore in “The Doors”)

Kyra Sedgwick – 60 a old (1965) – Actress (“Singles”, “Something to Talk About”, “The Woodsman”, TV’s “The Closer”)

Lee Ann Womack – 59 a old (1966) – Country singer

Tabitha Soren – 58 a old (1967) – Former MTV newscaster

Matthew Perry – 56 a old (1969) – Actor (TV’s “Friends”, movies “Mr. Sunshine”, “Go On”, “The Odd Couple” “Fools Rush In”)

Tracie Thoms – 50 a old (1975) – Actress (“The Devil Wears Prada”, “Rent”, TV’s “Cold Case”)

Erika Christensen – 43 a old (1982) – Actress (Played Julia Braverman-Graham on TV’s “Parenthood”)

 

TODAY IS:

No events found for this date.

 

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.comwww.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.

I’ve always been the kind of person who notices the things other people overlook — strange roadside attractions, forgotten pieces of history, interesting places, odd trends, and the little things in everyday life that make you laugh and say, “Wait... when did that become normal?” This blog is where I share those discoveries. Some days you might learn something fascinating from history. Other days I’ll take you along on a road trip, share a weird story from Michigan’s past, or simply rant about something in modern life that makes absolutely no sense. No matter what, my goal is simple: keep things interesting!

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