Tidbits of History, August 26

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August 26 is:

Women’s Equality Day
National Dog Day

National Cherry Popsicle Day

In 1905 in San Francisco, 11-year-old Frank Epperson was mixing a white powdered flavoring for soda and water out on the porch. He left it there, with a stirring stick still in it. That night, temperatures reached a record low, and the next morning, the boy discovered the drink had frozen to the stick, inspiring the idea of a fruit-flavored ‘Popsicle’, a portmanteau of soda pop and icicle.
Eighteen years later in 1923, Epperson introduced frozen pop on a stick to the public at Neptune Beach, an amusement park in Belmar, New Jersey. Seeing that it was a success, in 1924 Epperson applied for a patent for his “frozen confectionery” which he called “the Epsicle ice pop”. He renamed it to Popsicle, allegedly at the insistence of his children.

From Today in Science
In 1883, Mount Krakatoa, an island volcano in the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia), erupted with violent explosions that destroyed two thirds of the island. It produced huge tsunami waves that swept across the immediate region, killing an estimated 36,000 people. These waves were powerful enough to cross the Indian Ocean and travel beyond Cape Horn. The most powerful blast was the most violent known in human history—it was loud enough to be heard in Australia. The shockwave was registered by barometers in England. The huge amount of volcanic dust thrust high into the stratosphere eventually traveled around the world. The dust blocked sunlight causing temperature drops, highly coloured sunsets, and chaotic weather patterns for several years afterwards.

1920 – The 19th amendment to United States Constitution took effect, giving women the right to vote.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

Mini introduced August 26From Today in Science
In 1959, the Morris Mini-Minor was introduced by the British Motor Corporation. The car, popularly known as the Mini, remains successful over five decades later. It became a landmark in automotive design because it was only 10 ft long, yet seated four passengers, and one of the lowest priced cars on the market. Its innovative designer, Alec Issigonis, saved space by mounting the engine transversely which eliminated the interior space taken up by a transmission tunnel. Issigonis believed that “when you’re designing a new car for production, never, never copy the opposition.” and created a vehicle that carried the greatest payload in the smallest practical space. It had all-independent suspension, good fuel economy, fast acceleration, maneuverability and ease of parking.

1970 – The new feminist movement, led by Betty Friedan, led a nation-wide Women’s Strike for Equality. The strike primarily focused on equal opportunity in the workforce, political rights for women, and social equality in relationships such as marriage.

1980 – After John Birges planted a bomb at Harvey’s Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada; the FBI inadvertently detonated the bomb during its disarming. John Birges Sr. was convicted of having made the bomb, and wanted to extort $3 million from the casino after having lost $750,000 there. He later died in prison in 1996, at the age of 74.

Tidbits of History, August 25

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August 25 is:

Kiss and Make Up Day
National Whiskey Sour Day To make a whiskey sour: Combine 1 oz lemon juice with 1 oz sugar and 2 oz water to make the “sour mix”.
Then combine 1 1/2 ounces whiskey (or bourbon, Scotch, Canadian whiskey, or Irish whiskey) with 4 ounces of the sour mix. Pour over crushed ice and garnish with one maraschino cherry and a slice of orange.

1609 – Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.

1835 – The New York Sun perpetrated the Great Moon Hoax.. In a series of six articles, the paper reported that life and civilization had been discovered on the Moon.

Birthday of Bret Harte (August 25, 1836), American poet and novelist, famous for “The Outcasts of Poker Flat”

On August 25, 1914 – World War I: The library of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, was deliberately destroyed by the German Army. Hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable volumes and Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts were lost.

The United States National Park Service was created on August 25, 1916. At that time there were nine major parks including Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite, and Sequoia. Today there are 59 national parks and the Park Service employs 22,000 people. The Park Service oversees Parks, Monuments, Historic Sites, Recreation Areas, Trails, Seashores, and National Reserves.

Paris liberated August 25World War II: Paris was liberated by the Allies in 1944. Hitler had ordered that Paris “must not fall into the enemy’s hand except lying in complete debris”.

In 1973, the first scan was made using CAT (Computer Assisted Tomography).

2017 – Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Texas as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States since 2004. Over the next few days, the storm causes catastrophic flooding throughout much of eastern Texas, killing 106 people and causing $125 billion in damage.

Tidbits of History, August 24

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August 24 is:

Vesuvius Day
Hug Your Boss Day
National Peach Pie Day Peaches were once known as Persian apples.

Vesuvius erupts August 24August 24 in the year 79: long-dormant Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash. An estimated 20,000 people died.

In 1682 William Penn received the area that is now the state of Delaware, and added it to his colony of Pennsylvania. William Penn was granted the province of Pennsylvania by King Charles II in 1681, he asked for and later received the lands of Delaware from the Duke of York. Penn had a very hard time governing Delaware because the economy and geology resembled those of the Chesapeake Bay colonies more than that of Pennsylvania. The lowland areas were developed for tobacco plantations and dependent on enslaved Africans and African Americans for labor. Penn attempted to merge the governments of Pennsylvania and the lower counties of Delaware. Representatives from each area clashed strongly and, in 1701 Penn agreed to allowing two assemblies to be elected and conduct their separate affairs. Delawareans would meet in New Castle, and Pennsylvanians would gather in Philadelphia.

1814 – British troops invaded Washington, D.C. and during the burning of the city, the White House, the Capitol and many other buildings were set ablaze.

From Wikipedia

The Capitol was noted by many contemporary travelers to be the only building in Washington “worthy to be noticed.” Thus, it was a prime target for the invaders, both for its aesthetic and symbolic value. After looting the building, the British found it difficult to set the structure ablaze, owing to its sturdy stone construction. Soldiers ended up gathering furniture into a heap and igniting it with rocket powder, which did the trick. Among the casualties of the destruction of the Capitol was the Library of Congress, the entire 3,000 volume collection was destroyed.   Several surrounding buildings in Capitol Heights also caught fire. After the war, Thomas Jefferson would sell his own personal library to the government (in order to pay personal debts) to re-establish Congress’ library.

In 1869, the first U.S. patent for a waffle iron was issued to Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, N.Y. (No. 94,093).

Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose was banned from baseball for gambling by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in 1989.

On August 24th, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the term “planet” such that Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet.

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Tidbits of History, August 23

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August 23 is:

National Spongecake Day
National Cuban Sandwich Day
A Cuban sandwich is a variation of a ham and cheese sandwich that originated in cafes catering to Cuban workers in Key West and Ybor City, Tampa; two early Cuban immigrant communities in Florida. It is believed by some that the sandwich was a common lunch food for workers in both the cigar factories and sugar mills of Cuba during the 1870’s. When the cigar industry in Florida shifted to Tampa in the 1880’s, the sandwich quickly appeared in workers’ cafés.

Many say a “true” Cuban sandwich, starts with Cuban bread. The loaf is sliced into lengths of 8–12 inches, lightly buttered or brushed with olive oil on the crust, and cut in half horizontally. A coat of yellow mustard is spread on the bread. Then sliced roast pork, glazed ham, Swiss cheese, and thinly sliced dill pickles are added in layers. Sometimes the pork is marinated in mojo and slow roasted. (Mojo is the name, or abbreviated name, of several types of sauces, varying in spiciness, consisting primarily of olive oil, local pepper varieties, garlic, paprika, cumin or coriander, and other spices.)

August 23, 1775, King George III delivered his Proclamation of Rebellion to the Court of St. James’s stating that ‘the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion.’

State of Franklin, 1784Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declared itself an independent state under the name of Franklin in 1784; it is not accepted into the United States, and only lasts for four years.

Valentino died Aug 23Anniversary of the death of Rudolph Valentino (August 23, 1926), Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filibert Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguolla, silent movie idol, died in NY at age 31. On August 15, 1926, Valentino collapsed at the Hotel Ambassador in New York City. He was hospitalized and an examination showed him to be suffering from appendicitis and gastric ulcers, which required an immediate operation. Despite surgery, Valentino developed peritonitis. On August 18 his doctors gave an optimistic prognosis. However, on August 21 he was stricken with a severe pleuritis relapse that developed rapidly in his left lung due to his weakened condition.

Barbara Eden1931 – Birthday of Barbara Eden of “I Dream of Jeannie” fame.

Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon, August 23, 1966.

August 23, 1996, Osama bin Laden issued message entitled ‘A declaration of war against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy places.’

Tidbits of History, August 22

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August 22 is:

Be an Angel Day
National Tooth Fairy Day – and/or February 28
National Pecan Torte Day
National “Eat a Peach” Day
Georgia is ‘The Peach State’. “The World’s Largest Peach Cobbler” is made in Georgia every year. This dessert measures 11 feet by five feet.

Saint Columba was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in present-day Scotland. On August 22, 564, Columba reports seeing a monster in Loch Ness, Scotland.

1848 – The United States annexed New Mexico . Following the Mexican-American War, from 1846–1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico ceded its mostly unsettled northern holdings, today known as the American Southwest and California, to the United States of America.

1864 – Twelve nations signed the First Geneva Convention. The First Geneva Convention, for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, is one of four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It defines “the basis on which rest the rules of international law for the protection of the victims of armed conflicts.”

T. Roosevelt, died January 6Theodore Roosevelt became the first President of the United States to ride in an automobile in 1902.

From Today in Science
In 1906, the Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, New Jersey, began to manufacture the Victrola record player. The hand cranked unit, with horn cabinet, sold for $200. Unlike previous phonographs, which were toy-like turntables with a large speaker horn to amplify the sound, this was housed in an elegant wood cabinet in several contemporary (for the time) furniture styles. The speaker horn and turntable mechanism were totally concealed, and there were convenient storage compartments for records thus transforming the phonograph into a popular household item, and setting the pattern of wood cabinetry enclosures later imitated by radios and television sets well into the 1950s.

Nolan Ryan strikes out 5000Nolan Ryan struck out Rickey Henderson to become the first Major League Baseball pitcher to record 5,000 strikeouts on August 22, 1989.

August 22, 2007 – The Texas Rangers rout the Baltimore Orioles 30–3, (in the first game of a double-header), the most runs scored by a team in modern MLB history.

Tidbits of History, August 21

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August 21 is:

Senior Citizen’s Day
National Spumoni Day In the United States, most spumoni will include a cherry layer with cherry bits, a layer of pistachio ice cream and a layer of chocolate.
National Sweet Tea Day
Thomas Sullivan ‘accidentally’ invented the teabag when he sent out tea samples in small silk pouches to customers in 1904. The pouches proved much less messy than raw tea leaves. The rest is history.

On August 21 in 1770 – James Cook formally claimed eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.

Nat Turner was an African-American slave who led a two-day rebellion of slaves and free blacks in Southampton County, Virginia on August 21, 1831. Whites organized militias and called out regular troops to suppress the uprising. The rebellion was quashed within forty-eight hours. The rebellion caused the death of approximately sixty white men, women and children. In the aftermath of the revolt, forty-eight black men and women were tried on charges of conspiracy, insurrection, and treason. In total, the state executed 56 people, banished many more, and acquitted a few. …In the hysterical climate that followed the rebellion, close to 200 black people were killed by white militias and mobs. On November 5, 1831, Nat Turner was tried for “conspiring to rebel and making insurrection”, convicted, and sentenced to death. He was hanged on November 11 in Jerusalem, Virginia. Turner’s corpse was flayed, beheaded and quartered.

From Today in Science
On August 21, 1841, the first U.S. patent for a Venetian blind was issued to John Hampson of New Orleans, Louisiana on a “manner of retaining in any desired position the slats of Venetian Blinds” (No. 2223). It is said the first U.S. installation of Venetian blinds was in 1761 in St. Peter’s Church, Third and Pine streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By definition, a Venetian blind has horizontal slats, one above another.

1814 Benjamin Thompson, Count von Rumford died. American physician who invented the percolator, a pressure cooker and a kitchen stove. He is frequently credited with creating baked Alaska. When the American Revolutionary War began, Thompson was opposed to the uprising. He became a Loyalist and fled his New England home for Great Britain where he became an advisor to British military.

The first successful adding machine in the United States was patented by William Seward Burroughs on Aug 21, 1888.

Oldsmobile, a brand of American automobiles was founded in 1897.

Hawaii headerHawaii Statehood Day in 1959 Hawaii became the fiftieth state

  • Capital: Honolulu
  • Nickname: Aloha State/Paradise of the Pacific
  • Bird: Nene (Hawaiin goose)
  • Flower: Red Hibiscus
  • Tree: Kukui (Candlenut tree)
  • Motto: The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness

See our page Hawaii for more interesting facts and trivia about Hawaii.

1961 – Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, “Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes.

Tidbits of History, August 20

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August 20 is:

National Radio Day
National Bacon Lovers Day
National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day
A handful of Pecans provide nearly 10 percent of the recommended Daily Value for zinc. If the body does not get enough zinc, it may have difficulty producing testosterone – a key hormone in initiating sexual desire in both men and women.
Texas adopted the pecan tree as its state tree in 1919. In fact, Texas Governor James Hogg liked pecan trees so much that he asked if a pecan tree could be planted at his gravesite when he died. His wish was carried out.

August 20 – Feast day of Stephen I of Hungary who, in 1000 set the foundation of the Hungarian state. Celebrated as a National Day in Hungary.

August 20, 1775 – The Spanish established the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson in the town that became Tucson, Arizona.

Birthday of Oliver Hazard Perry (August 20, 1785), American naval officer famous for the statement “We have met the enemy and they are ours”.

1858 – Charles Darwin first published his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace’s same theory.

Johnson August 20, 1866 announced War is Over President Andrew Johnson formally declared the American Civil War over in 1866.

Tchaikovsky‘s 1812 Overture debuted in Moscow, Russia in 1882.

August 20, 1940: In Mexico City exiled Russian revolutionary, Leon Trotsky, was fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramón Mercader. He died the next day.

1989 – The pleasure boat Marchioness sank on the River Thames following a collision. 51 people were killed.

1993 – After rounds of secret negotiations in Norway, the Oslo Accords were signed, followed by a public ceremony in Washington, D.C. the following month.

Augusst 20, 1998, U.S. embassy bombings: the United States military launched cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum was destroyed in the attack.

Tidbits of History, August 19

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August 19 is:

National Soft-Serve Ice Cream Day
The Häagen-Dazs brand was established by two Americans – Reuben and Rose Mattus – and the name was made up to sound Danish and sophisticated. The Danish language does not actually use umlauts.

Aviation Day (Birthday of Orville Wright in 1871)

August 19, 43 BC: Augustus became Roman consul.
August 19, 14: Augustus died.

From Today in Science:
In 1839, Louis Daguerre announced the invention of the daguerreotype photographic process, the first process to allow an image to be chemically fixed as a permanent picture. On 7 Jan 1839 an announcement was made of the discovery, but details were not divulged until 19 Aug, when the process was announced publicly, and the French government having bought the rights to the process from him, freely gave them to the world. However, this process had also been patented in England and Wales on 14 Aug 1839, only five days previously.

From Today in Science:
Birthday of Charles E Hires (August 19, 1851). American manufacturer, the inventor of his brand of root beer, sold by the Hires Co., which then dominated the market. Root beer dates all the way back to colonial settlers. As a Philadelphia pharmacist, he sampled a herb tea while visiting New Jersey. Upon his return, he created a similar drink, “Hires’ Herb Tea,” with sassafras as the main flavoring ingredient. He sold the mixture at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in tiny packets that contained his mixture of various herbs, barks, and berries, for housewives to brew as “root beer.” In 1880, Hires introduced a “new and improved” liquid version which was more convenient. He began advertising in an 1884 issue of Harper’s Weekly. By 1892 almost 3 million bottles were sold each year.

From Today in Science:
In 1856, Gail Borden of Brooklyn, NY, was issued a U.S. patent for his process for condensed milk (No. 15,553). Condensed milk could be preserved for long periods of storage, and in this form milk became more readily available in large cities than had been possible before. His company’s advertising slogan “The milk from contented cows” was one of the great American advertising campaigns. The Borden company is today one of the largest dairy product concerns in the world. The familiar flat-topped cans of Borden’s condensed milk are still available, as are Borden’s ice cream, cheese and other products – all with the seal of approval by Borden’s famous mascot, Elsie, the cow.

From Today in Science:
Birthday of Orville Wright (August 19, 1871), American aviator and inventor who with his brother, Wilbur, invented the first powered airplane, Flyer, capable of sustained, controlled flight (17 Dec 1903). At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville made the first ever manned powered flight, airborn for 12-sec. By 1905, they had improved the design, built and and made several long flights in Flyer III, which was the first fully practical airplane (1905), able to fly up to 38-min and travel 24 miles (39-km). Their Model A was produced in 1908, capable of flight for over two hours of flight. They sold considerable numbers, but European designers became strong competitors. After Wilbur died of typhoid in 1912, Orville sold his interest in the Wright Company in 1915.

American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, was shot from behind and killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas on August 19, 1895.

August 19, 1919: Afghanistan became independent.

W J Clinton, August 19Birthday of William J. Clinton (August 19, 1946), 42nd president of the United States.

Aug 19, 2010 – Operation Iraqi Freedom ended, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.

Tidbits of History, August 18

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August 18 is:

Bad Poetry Day
National Ice Cream Pie Day
Per Foodimentary.com

  • In the U.S., all ice cream needs to have a minimum of 10% milkfat if it is to be labeled “ice cream”. This includes custard based (French Style) ice creams.
  • The udder of a cow can hold between 25-50 lbs. of milk.
  • An average dairy cow can produce enough milk in her lifetime to make a little over 9,000 gallons of ice cream.

Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, became the first English child born in the Americas on August 18, 1587.

Birthday of Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774), American explorer who, with William Clark, led an expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific.

Mrs. Hayes, August 18Birthday of Lucy Webb Hayes (August 18, 1831), wife of Rutherford B Hayes; first lady 1877-1881. Lucy Hayes became known as “Lemonade Lucy” because she forbade the serving of alcohol in the White House. It is reported that the President and Lucy began each day by kneeling for morning prayers and ended each day in the singing of hymns. Hayes had a firm conviction that government officials should conduct themselves at all times with discretion and dignity.

The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1920, guaranteeing women’s suffrage.

Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Mrs. Carter, August 18Birthday of Eleanor Rosalynn Carter (August 18, 1927), wife of Jimmy Carter, first lady 1977-1981. She was politically active during her White House years, sitting in on Cabinet and policy meetings as well as serving as her husband’s closest adviser. She died Nov 19, 2023.

1938 – The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York, United States with Ontario, Canada over the Saint Lawrence River, was dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Birthday of Benney D. Davis (August 18, 1943), co-editor of this website and love of my life.

2008 – President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, resigned due to the threat of impeachment.

Tidbits of History, August 17

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August 17 is:

National Thriftshop Day
National Vanilla Custard Day

In 1585 – A first group of colonists sent by Sir Walter Ralegh under the charge of Sir Richard Grenville landed in the New World to create Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island, off the coast of present-day North Carolina.

Grenville decided to leave Ralph Lane and 107 men to establish the colony at the north end of Roanoke Island, promising to return in April 1586 with more men and fresh supplies. Lane built a small fort on the island and ordered the exploration of the surrounding areas.

As April 1586 passed, there was no sign of Grenville’s relief fleet. Meanwhile in June, bad blood resulting from their destruction of the village spurred an attack on the fort, which the colonists were able to repel. Soon after the attack, when Sir Francis Drake paused on his way home from a successful raid in the Caribbean and offered to take the colonists, including the metallurgist Joachim Gans, back to England, they accepted. On this return voyage, the Roanoke colonists introduced tobacco, maize, and potatoes to England.

Robert Fulton‘s North River Steamboat left New York, New York, for Albany, New York, August 17, 1807, on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

Pike Place Market, a popular tourist destination and registered historic district in Seattle, Washington, opened on August 17, 1907.

1978 – Double Eagle II became first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it landed in Miserey, France near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine.

Rachel the pig August 17, 19861986 A bronze statue of a pig was dedicated at Seattle’s Pike Place Market. See Parent Map.com for facts about Rachel, the pig.

W J Clinton, August 17August 17, 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admitted in taped testimony that he had an “improper physical relationship” with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On the same day he admitted before the nation that he “misled people” about the relationship.