August 26
1498 - The master artist, Michelangelo, was commissioned to make the Pieta. Originally intended as a monument for his tomb, Michelangelos Florentine Pieta has interested historians for centuries because the four-figure sculpture does not feature the perfect proportions that are the hallmark of Michelangelos work.
1842 - The U.S. Congress established the fiscal year, which begins on July 1st.
1873 - The first public school kindergarten in the U.S. was authorized by the school board of St. Louis, MO.
1883 - The first of a series of increasingly violent explosions occurred on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa. On the morning of the next day, the worlds largest explosion was heard some three thousand miles away. The volcanic island exploded, spewing five cubic miles of earth into the air -- fifty miles high. It created tidal waves up to 120 feet high, killed 36,000 people and caused oceanic and atmospheric changes over a period of many years.
1918 - Frank Bacon starred as Lightnin lit up the Gaiety Theatre in New York City. The play became the first to run for more than 1,000 performances.
1920 - The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was certified by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby. The amendment prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex -- in the voting booth. In other words, it gave women in the United States the right to vote. In 1973, Congresswoman Bella Abzug presented a bill to Congress designating this day as Womens Equality Day. The President issued a proclamation and in 1974 it became Public Law #93-382.
1939 - The radio program Arch Obolers Plays presented the NBC Symphony, for the first time, as the musical backdrop for the drama, This Lonely Heart.
1939 - Red Barber announced the first televised baseball games -- on New Yorks WXBS. The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds played a doubleheader for the occasion.
1947 - Don Bankhead became the first black pitcher in major-league baseball this day. The Brooklyn Dodger hurler helped his own cause by slamming a home run in his first appearance at the plate.
1950 - Bobby Riggs signed Gorgeous Gussie (Gertrude) Moran to his pro tennis troupe for a mininum salary of $75,000 a year.
1957 - The Ford Motor Company rolled out the first Edsel automobile. 110,847 of the cars were built before Ford pulled the plug due to lack of sales. The car was named Edsel for the company founders son, Edsel Bryant Ford.
1961 - The NHL Hockey Hall of Fame opened in Toronto, Canada.
1970 - Jimi Hendrix opened his recording studio in New York City. Because of its state-of-the-art 36-track recording capability, it attracted many top rock groups.
1973 - David Eisenhower wrote his final sports column for the Philadelphia Bulletin newspaper. The article was about the Philadelphia Phillies.
1981 - Steve Ovett recaptured the mile-run record which had been taken from him just a week earlier by Sebastian Coe. Ovetts new world record time was 3:48.40.
1982 - Rickey Henderson tied Lou Brocks 1974 record of 118 stolen bases in a season as the Milwaukee Brewers downed the Kansas City Royals, 10-3.
1984 - John Henry, a nine-year-old gelding, came from behind to win the $600,000 Arlington Million race in suburban Chicago, IL. The lifetime earnings of the famous horse reached $5,482,797.
1987 - The Fuller Brush Company announced plans to open two retail stores in Dallas, TX. This was a first for the company that had sold its products door to door for 81 years.
1992 - A no-fly zone was imposed on southern Iraq. Operation Southern Watch was orchestrated by the United States, France and Britain. The campaign supported U.N. Security Council resolutions containing Iraq, protecting Kuwait, and keeping pressure on Saddam Husseins Iraqi regime.
1995 - Seal (Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Samuel) hit #1 with the single, Kiss from a Rose. It was at the tippy top of U.S. tune tabulations for just one week.
Birthdays
August 26
1838 - John Wilkes Booth
actor, assassin: shot and killed U.S. President Abraham Lincoln at Fords Theatre in Washington, DC; killed [or committed suicide] Apr 26, 1865
1873 - Lee DeForest
inventor: triode vacuum tube; died June 30, 1961 see Radio Day
1894 - Sparky (Earl John) Adams
baseball: Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, SL Cardinals [World Series: 1930, 1931], Cincinnati Reds; died Feb 24, 1989
1904 - Christopher Isherwood
author: Goodbye to Berlin; died Jan 4, 1986
1906 - Albert Sabin
polio researcher: the Sabin oral polio vaccine; died Mar 03, 1993
1909 - Jim Davis
actor: Inferno in Paradise, Dont Look Back: The Story of Leroy Satchel Page, Little Big Horn, The Outcast; died Apr 26, 1981
1917 - Jan Clayton
actress: Lassie, Pantomime Quiz; died Aug 28, 1983
1919 - Ronny Graham (Ronald Montcrief Stringer)
singer, actor: Chico and the Man, The New Bill Cosby Show, The Hudson Brothers Show, The Bob Crane Show; died July 4, 1999
1921 - Ben (Benjamin C.) Bradlee
executive editor: The Washington Post; vice-president-at-large: The Washington Post Company
1922 - Irving R. Levine
broadcast journalist; author: Main Street U.S.S.R., Travel Guide to Russia, The New Worker in Soviet Russia, Main Street Italy
1924 - Alex (Alexander Raymond) Kellner
baseball: pitcher: Philadelphia Athletics [all-star: 1949], KC Athletics, Cincinnati Redlegs, St. Louis Cardinals; died May 03, 1996
1934 - Tommy Heinsohn
Basketball Hall of Famer: Boston Celtics: Rookie of the Year [1956-57], NBA Coach of the Year [1973]
1935 - Geraldine Ferraro
1st woman to be nominated for vice president of the U.S. by a major political party [Democratic Party, 1984]
1935 - James Hylton
auto racer: NASCAR Rookie of the Year: 1966
1936 - Mike Farmer
basketball: St. Louis Hawks
1937 - Don Bowman
comedian, entertainer: Still Fighting Mental Health, Poor Old Ugly Gladys Jones, Giddyup Do-nut, Chit Atkins Make Me a Star
1939 - Bill White
hockey: NHL: LA Kings, Chicago Blackhawks
1942 - Vic Dana
singer: Red Roses for a Blue Lady
1946 - Swede Savage
auto racer: killed in crash during Indianapolis 500: 1973
1949 - Bob Cowsill
singer: group: The Cowsills: The Rain, the Park and Other Things
1952 - Michael Jeter
Emmy Award-winning actor: Evening Shade [1992]; Hot House, The Boys Next Door, Waterworld, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Gypsy, The Fisher King, Millers Crossing, The Green Mile
1957 - John ONeill
musician: guitar: groups: That Petrol Emotion: Keen, V2; The Undertones: Teenage Kicks, Jimmy, Jimmy, Here Comes Summer, My Perfect Cousin, Julie Ocean, Forever Paradise, Its Going to Happen
1957 - Alex (Alejandro Castro) Trevino
baseball: catcher: NY Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, SF Giants, LA Dodgers, Houston Astros
1958 - Jet Black (Brian Duffy)
musician: drums: group: The Stranglers: Grip, Peaches, No More Heroes, Walk on By, Golden Brown, Skin Deep, Nice in Nice
1960 - Branford Marsalis
musician: saxophone: bandleader: The Tonight Show; toured with Sting
1980 - Macaulay Culkin
actor: Home Alone series, Getting Even with Dad, George Balanchines The Nutcracker, The Good Son, My Girl, Uncle Buck, Only the Lonely, The Pagemaster, Richie Rich
and me...
and tomorrow is
CourtasanSatine
and the next day is
RickinNYC
