History Blog

August 10

Happy Birthday RIP Herbert Hoover(1874–1964) Edith Norma Shearer(1902–1983) John “Jack” Haley Jr(1898–1979) Eddie Fisher(Edwin Tisch 1928–2010) ; Ian Anderson–71 Donald Swayze–60 Rosanna Arquette–59 José Antonio Banderas–58 Justin Theroux–47 Ryan Eggold–34 Lucas Till–28 ; 1977 – In Yonkers, New York, 24yo postal employee David Berkowitz (“Son of Sam”) is arrested for a series of killings in the New York City area over the period of one year

August 9

Happy Birthday RIP Whitney Houston(1963–2012) ; Samuel Elliott–74 Melanie Griffith–61 Amanda Bearse–60 Gillian Anderson–50 Eric Banadinovic(Eric Bana)–50 Audrey Tautou–42 Anna Kendrick–33 ; 1969 – Actress Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring and Steven Parent were found murdered in Los Angeles; cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the murders

August 8

Happy Birthday RIP Esther Williams(1921–2013) Richard Anderson(1926–2017) ; Lonnie Melvin Tillis–86 Donald P. Bellisario–83 Dustin Hoffman–81 Concetta Ingolia(“Connie Stevens”)–80 Larry Wilcox–71 Keith Carradine–69 Donald Most–65 Joshua “J.C.” Chasez–42 Jackie Cruz–32 ; 1876 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph ; 1974 – Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day

August 7

Happy Birthday RIP Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer (1927–1959) Mary “Billie” Burke(1884–1970) ; John Glover Jr–74 Wayne Knight–64 Paul Bruce Dickinson–60 David Duchovny–58 Charlize Theron–43 Eric Johnson–39 Randy Wayne Frederick–37 ; 1782 – George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle. It is later renamed to the more poetic Purple Heart

August 6

Happy Birthday RIP Robert Mitchum(1917–1997) Andy Warhola(1928–1987) Lucille Ball(1911–1989) ; Barbara Windsor(Deeks)–81 Manoj Nelliyattu “M Night” Shyamalan–48 Vera Farmiga–45 Soleil Moon Frye–42 Melissa George–42 Christopher Anton Ploszczansky–32 ; 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, that instantly killed an estimated 66,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.

August 5

Happy Birthday RIP John Huston(1906–1987) Selma Diamond(1920–1985) Neil Armstrong(1930–2012) ; “John Saxon”(Carmine Orrico)–83 Loni Anderson–73 Jeannette “Ja’net” DuBois–73 Maureen McCormick–62 ; 1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping ; 1957 – “American Bandstand,” hosted by Dick Clark, made its network TV debut on ABC.

August 4

Happy Birthday RIP Anita Page(Pomares 1910–2008) Louis Armstrong(1901–1971) ; Frank Vincent Gattuso–79 Richard Belzer–74 William Robert Thornton–63 Barack H. Obama II–57 Daniel Dae Kim–50 Abigail Spencer–37 ; 1977 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy

August 3

Happy Birthday “Tony Bennett”(Anthony Benedetto)–92 “Martin Sheen”(Ramon Estevez)–78 Martha Stewart(Kostyra)–77 John Landis–68 Jay Waverly North Jr–67 Molly Hagan–56 Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr–41 Thomas Dewey–40 Nicole Evangeline Lilly–39 ; 1923 – Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the 30th president of the United States, one day after President Warren G. Harding died of a heart attack ; 1977 – Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world’s first mass-produced personal computers

August 1

Happy Birthday RIP Jerome “Jerry” Garcia(1942–1995) Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent(1936–2008) Dominic “Dom” DeLuise(1933–2009) ; Samuel “Sam” Mendes–53 “James St James”(James Clark)–52 Tempestt Bledsoe–45 Joseph Jason Momoa–38 “Max Carver”(Robert Maxwell Martensen)–30 Jack O’Connell–28 ; 1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles!

July 31

Happy Birthday RIP Theodore Cassidy(1932–1979) Geoffrey Lewis(1935–2015) ; Michael Biehn–62 Wesley Snipes–56 Joanne “J.K.” Rowling–53 Dean “Cain” Tanaka–52 Rudolf Martin–51 Loren Dean Jovicic–49 Emily “Eve” Best–47 Benjamin “B.J.” Novak–39 Charlie Carver Martensen–30 ; 1930 – The radio mystery program The Shadow airs for the first time ; 1948 – At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed JFK International Airport) is dedicated