August 21 - Oldie

Oldie

(3/29/2011)

This Day In History

1770

James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.

1810

Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.

1863

Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by Confederate guerrillas Quantrill's Raiders in the Lawrence Massacre.

1888

The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.

1911

The Mona Lisa is stolen by a Louvre employee.

1961

Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.

1993

NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.

Famous Birthdays

1567

Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva and saint (d. 1622)

1665

Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer (d. 1729)

1754

William Murdoch, Scottish inventor (d. 1839)

1765

William IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1837)

1872

Aubrey Beardsley, English illustrator (d. 1898)

1904

William "Count" Basie, American bandleader (d. 1984)

1906

Friz Freleng, American movie animator (d. 1995)

1920

Christopher Robin Milne, inspiration for the Winnie-the-Pooh stories (d. 1996)

1936

Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player (d. 1999)

1938

Kenny Rogers, American singer and actor

1944

Peter Weir, Australian film director

1952

Joe Strummer, British musician and singer (The Clash) (d. 2002)
1956
Kim Cattrall, English-born actress
1959
Jim McMahon, American football player
1973
Sergey Brin, Co-founder of Google
1975
Alicia Witt, American actress
1986
Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
1989
Hayden Panettiere, American actress, model and singer