August 16 - Helping

Helping Out

This Day In History

1858

U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

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.
1904
Construction begins on Grand Central Terminal.

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.

1960

Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,300 m), setting three records: high-altitude jump, free-fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.

Famous Birthdays

1355

Countess Philippa Plantagenet of Ulster (d. 1382)

1557

Agostino Carracci, Italian artist (d. 1602)

1650

Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian cartographer and encyclopedist (d. 1718)

1815

John Bosco, Italian priest and educator (d. 1888)

1862

Amos Alonzo Stagg, American coach (d. 1965)

1888

T. E. Lawrence, English writer and soldier (d. 1935)

1909

Paul Callaway, American organist and choral conductor (d. 1995)

1924

Fess Parker, American actor (d. 2010)

1928

Ann Blyth, American actress
Eydie Gormé, American singer

1930

Robert Culp, American actor (d. 2010)

1934

Diana Wynne Jones, British author (d. 2011)

1954

James Cameron, Canadian director, producer, deep-sea explorer, and screenwriter
1958
Madonna, American singer and actress
1960
Timothy Hutton, American actor
1972
Emily Robison, American country singer (Dixie Chicks)