Born On This Day:

• George IV, 1762
• Diamond Jim Brady, 1856
• Mary Roberts Rinehart, 1876
• Christy Mathewson, 1880
• Radclyffe Hall, 1880
• Cecil B. DeMille, 1881
• Cantinflas (Mario Moreno Reyes), 1911
• Michael Kidd, 1919
• Ross and Norris McWhirter, 1925
• John Derek, 1926
• Buck Owens, 1929
• George Soros, 1930
• William Goldman, 1931
• John Poindexter, 1936
• George Hamilton, 1939
• Mark Knopfler, 1949
• Pete Sampras, 1971

Died On This Day:

• King Philip VI France, 1350
• Pope Sixtus IV, 1484
• King Philip of the Wampanoags, 1676
• Pope Innocent XI, 1689
• William Blake, 1827
• George Stephenson, 1848
• James Russell Lowell, 1891
• Wilhelm Steinitz, 1900
• Rev. William Booth, 1912
• Thomas Mann, 1929
• Ian Fleming, 1964
• Henry Fonda, 1982
• B. Kliban, 1990
• John Cage, 1992
• Merce Cunningham, 1992
• Loretta Young, 2000
• Merv Griffin, 2007

Today's Events:

• 3 BC - One hour 20 minutes before sunrise Jupiter rises in conjunction with Venus causing blazing light in sky; was it later interpreted as the Star of Bethlehem?
• 1676 - Indian War in New England, King Philip's War, ends; five Indian tribes virtually destroyed.
• 1759 - Austrian & Russian armies beat Frederick II Prussia, occupy Berlin in Battle of Kunersdorf.
• 1851 - Isaac Merritt Singer of New York patents his version of the sewing machine - first to succeed.
• 1853 - Florence Nightingale,33, begins nursing career as unsalaried superintendent at 1 Upper Harley St.
• 1877 - Thomas Alva Edison makes first drawing of machine which in 15 weeks would be a tinfoil phonograph.
• 1883 - Extinction of the Quagga; last Zebra-like mammal dies at Amsterdam Zoo.
• 1888 - Mrs. Bertha Benz takes world's first long distance car trip driving sons 100 miles from Mannhein.
• 1898 - U.S. formally annexes Hawaii.
• 1898 - End of the Spanish-American War with the signing of a peace protocol; US gets Puerto Rico, Guam.
• 1908 - First Model T Ford produced. Goes on sale October first.
• 1912 - First foreign film, 'Queen Elizabeth' from France starring Sarah Bernhardt, opens in NY.
• 1914 - First shot fired in WWI by British soldier; France, Britain declare war on Austria-Hungary.
• 1918 - America's first regular airmail service begins between New York City and Washington DC.
• 1949 - Fourth Geneva Convention protecting civilian victims in the hands of an enemy is ratified.
• 1955 - U.S. minimum wage raised to $1.00 per hour.
• 1960 - First passive communications satellite, Echo I, launched by NASA.
• 1961 - 2500 people cross from East to West Berlin; Erich Honecker decides to seal East Berlin borders.
• 1980 - First giant panda born in captivity in a Mexican zoo.
• 1981 - IBM introduces its personal computer costing $1,565 and boasting 40K Ram and 256K hard drive
• 1985 - 520 dead, 4 live as Japan Air Lines jumbo jet crashes into mountain northwest of Tokyo.

Feast Day of Saint:

• Clare of Assisi

Holiday:

• Ponce de Leon Day in Puerto Rico

Non-Specific Holiday:

• NAGA PANCHAMI, Hindu Festival of the Serpent God
• RAKHI, Hindu Festival to Pledge Protection
• CHUNG-CH'IU, Mid-autumn festival, Harvest or Moon Festival (fifteenth day of the eighth moon)
• TISH'AH B'AB (Jewish) Anniversary of fall of Jerusalem and destruction of first & 2nd temples Ab 9
• JANAM (OR JANMA) ASHTAMI, Hindu Birthday Festival of Krishna
• ANANT CHATURDASI, Hindu Eternal Anniversary of 14th day of Month Bhaedra
• CH'UNG YANG, Festival of High Places in China (ninth day of the ninth moon)
• Japanese visit graves of ancestors mid August
• GANESHA CHATURTHI, Hindu Festival of the Elephant God end of August
• FRIENDSHIP DAY - first Sunday in August in USA