Just Plain Fun
This Day in History – August 16, 2011
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1743 Earliest boxing code of rules formulated in England (Jack Broughton) 1777 American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark rout British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York. 1780 American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina. 1819 Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter’s Field, Manchester, England. 1829 Siamese twins Chang & Eng Bunker arrive in Boston to be exhibited 1841 U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history. 1858 U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks. 1861 Pres Lincoln prohibits Union states from trading with Confederacy 1863 Emancipation Proclamation signed 1870 Fred Goldsmith demonstrates curve ball isn’t an optical illusion 1896 Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush. 1898 Roller coaster patented 1920 Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. To date, Chapman is the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909. 1927 The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear. 1930 The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, is made by Ub Iwerks. 1942 World War II: The two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappears without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifts without her crew and crash-lands in Daly City, California. 1946 Mass riots in Kolkata begin, in which more than 4,000 would be killed in 72 hours. 1954 Sports Illustrated publishes it’s 1st issue 1955 Fiat Motors orders 1st private atomic reactor 1956 Adlai E Stevenson nominated as Democratic presidential candidate 1960 Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,300 m), setting three records that still stand today: High-altitude jump, free-fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft. 1965 AFL awards its 1st expansion franchise (Miami Dolphins) 1966 Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested. 1981 Highest score in World Cup soccer match (New Zealand-13, Fiji-0) 1984 LA federal jury acquits auto maker John Z DeLorean on cocaine charges 1984 Largest harness racing purse ($2,161,000-Nihilator wins $1,080,500) 1984 NASA launches Ampte 1985 Singer Madonna weds actor Sean Penn 1987 Astrological Harmonic Convergence-Dawn of New Age 1988 IBM introduces software for artificial intelligence 1989 A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto’s stock market.]]]]> ]]>
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