236th day of 2009 - 129 remaining
Monday, August 24, 2009
VESUVIUS DAY
The residents of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae woke up this morning in 0079 and went about their normal chores. There was no reason for them to fear the mountain whose slopes they farmed. They lived in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, overlooking the Bay of Naples, Italy. But, about noon, without any warning, Mt. Vesuvius exploded. Vesuvius, the volcano, erupted, spewing stones and lava, burying Pompeii under 13 feet of ash, and covering Herculaneum and Stabiae with mud and debris.
Most of the Romans were buried alive, the layers of volcanic ash preserving them and the remains of Pompeii. The story of this fateful day began to unfold for later generations when archaeologists first uncovered an outer wall of Pompeii in 1748. 2,000 skeletons were eventually uncovered in the Pompeiian ruins, but no one really knows how many thousands more people died from the choking, poisonous fumes and suffocating ash.
There were eye-witness accounts of the tragedy. Pliny the Elder, a natural historian, was commander of the Roman fleet at the time of the eruption. He sailed across the Bay of Naples to get a closer look at the volcanic activity and to rescue survivors. Unable to make any rescues, he was probably overcome by the gaseous fumes and died. Those who had accompanied him gave first-hand reports to Pliny the Elder’s nephew, Pliny the Younger, who wrote two letters outlining, in vivid detail, the events of this day.
Mt. Vesuvius, the peaceful, beautiful mountain, that made its first appearance as a volcano on this day in 79 A.D., is still considered an active volcano.
Events
August 24
1456 - The printing of the Gutenberg Bible was completed.
1853 - The American Pharmaceutical Association held its first convention.
1869 - Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York received a patent for the waffle iron, a “device to bake waffles.” He didn’t waffle about putting his invention to good use. It quickly became a popular appliance. You would heat up the waffle iron on the old coal stove - and later, the gas range - pour the batter on the griddle, close the cover and after a few minutes, flip the griddle in its little groove, and cook the other side of the waffle. Not quite as convenient as our electric waffle irons, but, you can be sure, if it’s Swarthout!
1891 - Thomas Edison applied for a movie camera patent. The most important element in making a movie ... the film ... was patented six years later.
1912 - The U.S. Post Office got heavy -- by abolishing its rule that only parcels up to four pounds could be sent through the system.
1939 - Louis ‘Lepke’ Buchalter, the leader of Murder, Incorporated, gave himself up to columnist Walter Winchell in New York City. Winchell turned the underworld leader over to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
1950 - The summer replacement radio show for Suspense, titled Somebody Knows, was heard for the final time on radio. The program offered a reward of $5,000 for information that led to the solving of crimes. Somebody Knows began with the introduction, “You out there. You, who think you have committed the perfect crime -- that there are no clues, no witnesses -- listen. Somebody knows.”
1963 - John Pennel became the first pole-vaulter to vault higher than 17 feet. Pennel, using a fiberglass pole, vaulted 17 feet, 3/4 inches during a meet in Miami, FL.
1969 - Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant premiered in both New York and Los Angeles.
1975 - Davey Lopes of the Los Angeles Dodgers established a major-league baseball record. He successfully stole his 38th consecutive base. Lopes pulled off the steal in the 12th inning of a game against the Montreal Expos. The Dodgers, however, still lost in 14 innings. The Score was 5-3.
1979 - B.B. King celebrated his 30th year in show business at a special celebration held at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, CA.
1985 - Huey Lewis and The News reached the top. The Power of Love was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks.
1989 - Pete Rose, baseball's all-time hits leader, was out - of baseball (banned for life). Rose signed a five-page agreement with A. Bartlett Giamatti, comissioner of baseball, who charged that Rose, as Cincinnati Reds manager, bet on baseball games.
1991 - The day the Soviet Union began to break apart, and Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as head of the Communist party. (He resigned the presidency of the Soviet Union on Dec 25, 1991).
1992 - One of the worst natural disasters to hit the United States occurred on this day as Hurricane Andrew crashed into southern Florida. Andrew left a trail of destruction that killed at least 20 people, left over 50,000 without homes and caused billions of dollars in property damage.
1995 - Microsoft officially rolled out their Windows 95 operating system. Midnight parties at retailers across the U.S. offered the new system for sale to those who just couldn’t wait any longer. NBC’s Jay Leno hosted the official launch party at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington. The company lit up the Empire State Building with the Windows 95 logo colors, and licensed the Rolling Stones song, "Start Me Up", to use in its TV advertisements (for $12 million).
Birthdays
August 24
1900 - Preston Foster
actor: The Time Travelers, The Marshal’s Daughter, My Friend Flicka, Dr. X, Annie Oakley, Waterfront; died July 14, 1970
1912 - Durward (Randall) Kirby
TV announcer: The Garry Moore Show, The Perry Como Show, Auction-Aire; TV host: Candid Camera; died Mar 15, 2000
1917 - Dennis James (Demie James Sposa)
TV host: Chance of a Lifetime, High Finance, The Name’s the Same, United Cerebral Palsy Telethon; “Okay? Okay!”; died June 3, 1997
1924 - Louis Teicher
pianist: duo: Ferrante & Teicher: Exodus, Tonight, Theme from "The Apartment", Midnight Cowboy; died Aug 3, 2008
1928 - Penny (Millicent Maxine) Edwards
actress: Heart of the Rockies, North of the Great Divide, Trail of Robin Hood; died Aug 26, 1998
1930 - Roger McCluskey
race driver: National Sprint Car Hall of Famer: winner: PPG Cup [official IndyCar World Series Championship]: 1973; raced in 18 Indianapolis 500 races; Indy Car Driving Champion: 1973; died July 29, 1993
1936 - Murray Balfour
hockey: NHL: Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins
1938 - David Freiberg
musician: bass guitar: group: Jefferson Starship: We Built this City; Quicksilver Messenger Service: Dino’s Song, The Fool, Who Do You Love
1938 - Mason Williams
musician: guitar: Classical Gas; Emmy Award-winning writer: The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour [1968-69]; The Glenn Campbell Goodtime Hour
1941 - Ernest Wright
singer: group: Little Anthony and the Imperials: Tears on My Pillow, Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop, Hurt So Bad
1943 - John Cipollina
musician: guitar: group: Quicksilver Messenger Service: Dino’s Song, Who Do You Love?, The Fool
1944 - Jim Brady
singer: group: The Sandpipers: Guantanamera, Come Saturday Morning
1944 - Gregory Jarvis
aircraft engineer: astronaut: Challenger space shuttle
1945 - Ken Hensley
musician: guitar, keyboard, composer: group: Uriah Heep: July Morning, Easy Livin’
1949 - Joe Regalbuto
actor: Murphy Brown, Knots Landing, Writer’s Block, The Queen of Mean, Invitation to Hell, Lassiter
1954 - Chris (Christopher Sean) Batton
baseball: pitcher: Oakland Athletics
1955 - Jeffrey Daniel
singer: group: Shalamar: Take that to the Bank, The Lover in You
1956 - Tony (Antonio Garcia) Bernazard
baseball: Montreal Expos, Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers
1958 - Steve Guttenberg
actor: Billy, No Soap Radio, Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Three Men and a Little Lady, Police Academy series, The Boys from Brazil
1960 - Cal (Calvin Edwin) Ripken Jr.
baseball: shortstop: Baltimore Orioles [Rookie of the Year: 1982/World Series: 1983/all-star: 1983 thru 1996/Baseball Writers’ Award: 1991/record: most consecutive games played: 1996]
1961 - Mark Bedford
musician: bass: group: Madness: The Prince, Don’t Quote Me on That, Our House, My Girl, Baggy Trousers, Embarrassment, Return of the Los Palmos Seven, Cardiac Arrest, House of Fun, Tomorrow’s Just Another Day, Starvation, Ghost Train
1962 - Craig Kilborn
TV host: Late Late Show, The Daily Show
1965 - Marlee Matlin
Academy Award-winning actress: Children of a Lesser God [1986]; Hear No Evil, Bridge to Silence, Reasonable Doubts
Chart Toppers
August 24
1951Too Young - Nat King Cole
Because of You - Tony Bennett
My Truly, Truly Fair - Guy Mitchell
Hey, Good Lookin’ - Hank Williams
1959The Three Bells - The Browns
Sea of Love - Phil Phillips
Lavender-Blue - Sammy Turner
Waterloo - Stonewall Jackson
1967All You Need is Love - The Beatles
Pleasant Valley Sunday - The Monkees
Baby I Love You - Aretha Franklin
I’ll Never Find Another You - Sonny James
1975Fallin’ in Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
One of These Nights - Eagles
Get Down Tonight - K.C. & The Sunshine Band
Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell
1983Every Breath You Take - The Police
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics
She Works Hard for the Money - Donna Summer
Love Song - The Oak Ridge Boys
1991(Everything I Do) I Do It for You - Bryan Adams
It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Over - Lanny Kravitz
Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave) - Roxette
You Know Me Better Than That - George Strait
Chart Topper August 24th, 1991...You Know Me Better Than That-George Strait
WELCOME TOO ABADSS 
Guapo Vic.
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