What Happened On
The Beatles - May Lightning Strike Me Down
August 13, 1966
Unhappy with John Lennon's comments saying the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, radio station KLUE in Longview, Texas organizes a Beatles Bonfire. The following day the station was struck by lightning. The station manager was knocked unconscious and sent to the hospital and the station had to temporarily shut down due to damaged equipment.
Jefferson Airplane - 1966
Jefferson Airplane - 1966
Jefferson Airplane
August 13, 1965
The band Jefferson Airplane makes their first professional appearance, for the opening night of the Matrix Club in San Francisco.
East Germans building the Berlin Wall in 1961
East Germans building the Berlin Wall in 1961
Berlin Wall
August 13, 1961
East German Communists begin building a wall through the city to prevent the flow of people seeking the freedoms of the West. The wall cut off West Berlin from virtually all of surrounding East Germany and East Berlin until government officials opened it in 1989.
Photo Credit: Ford Motors
Photo Credit: Ford Motors
Ford Hemp-Powered "Soybean" Car - World's First Plastic Car
August 13, 1941
The world's first plastic car is unveiled to the public by Ford. It was composed of a steel tubular frame with plastic panels attached and ran on hemp fuel. The engineer who created it claimed the plastic panels were made from soybean fiber in a phenolic resin, although others say it was likely a combination of soy, hemp, wheat, and flax. The exact formula has been lost. One of the reasons Henry Ford was interested in developing this vehicle was the shortage of steel due to World War II. He also felt the car was safer than steel cars and because it was 25% lighter, it was more fuel efficient.
Modern Coffee Pot
August 13, 1889
Hanson Goodrich patents the modern stove-top coffee pot. It had a broad base for boiling, an up flow central tube, and a perforated basket hanging on it. Goodrich's design could transform any standard coffee pot into a stove-top percolator. Subsequent patents have added very little change to this design.
George Dewey
George Dewey
Spanish-American War
August 13, 1898
Fighting ends when the Philippines surrender to George Dewey. Dewey was noted for his spectacular defeat of the Spanish during the Battle of Manila Bay the previous May.
First Welsh Immigrants
August 13, 1782
The first Welsh immigrants to America arrive in Pennsylvania. They were Quakers and settled near Philadelphia.
First American Indian Converted to Protestantism
August 13, 1587
The First American Indian converted to Protestantism is baptized into the Church of England.
Birthdays
Castro on visit to U.S. after becoming prime minister of Cuba
Castro on visit to U.S. after becoming prime minister of Cuba
Fidel Castro (Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz)
Born August 13, 1926 d. 2016
Cuban president. He was so opposed to capitalism that after conquering Cuba he ordered the destruction of all Monopoly games on the island.
Neville Brand
Born August 13, 1920 d. 1992
American actor. TV: Laredo (1965-67, Ranger Reese Bennett) and The Untouchables (1959-61, Al Capone). As Al Capone in The Untouchables, he gave TV's first Man-to-Man Kiss on the lips to his hit man as played by Frank de Kova.
Sir Alfred Hitchcock
Born August 13, 1899 d. 1980
British Oscar-winning director, "The Master of Suspense." Film: Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960, with its famous shower scene). TV: Alfred Hitchcock Presents/The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1955-65).
Quote: "Television has brought murder back into the home - where it belongs."
Lahr as the Cowardly Lion
Lahr as the Cowardly Lion
Bert Lahr (Irving Lahrheim)
Born August 13, 1895 d. 1967
American actor. Film: The Wizard of Oz (1939, the Cowardly Lion and Zeke the farm worker).
Note: The Wizard of Oz - The story of two women fighting over a pair of shoes.
Baird using dummies to demonstrate an early TV system
Baird using dummies to demonstrate an early TV system
Father of the Television
John Logie Baird
Born August 13, 1888 d. 1946
Scottish inventor, "Father of the Television." He gave the first demonstration of true TV in London (1926) and the first public demonstration of color TV (1928). He also later patented a 3-D TV system (1944).
Some of Baird's other inventions were less successful. He tried to create diamonds by heating graphite, but shorted out Glasgow's electricity supply in the process. He invented a glass razor, which was rust-resistant, but shattered. He attempted to make pneumatic shoes with semi-inflated balloons, but they burst.
Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Oakley (Phoebe Ann Mosey)
Born August 13, 1860 d. 1926
American western performer, member of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. She could split a playing card held edge-on from 30 paces, and hit dimes tossed into the air. When she died, her husband was so grief stricken that he quit eating and died 18 days later. The musical Annie Get Your Gun is a fictionalized version of her life.
Danny Bonaduce
Born August 13, 1959
American actor, radio deejay. TV: The Partridge Family (1970-74, Danny) and Breaking Bonaduce (2005-06). During the filming of The Partridge Family, Dave Madden, who played child-hating manager Reuben Kincaid, took in Bonaduce during Bonaduce's family's domestic strife.
In 1990, Bonaduce was arrested in Florida for attempting to buy cocaine. He was there to host an event for D.A.R.E., an anti-drug campaign aimed at children.
Bonaduce has participated in several charity boxing and wrestling matches with other stars, including Donny Osmond, Brady Bunch's Barry Williams and Christopher Knight, and José Canseco.
Dan Fogelberg
Born August 13, 1951 d. 2007
American singer. Music: Longer (1979, #2) and Leader of the Band (1982).
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Photo Credit: Aude
Bill Masterton Memorial TrophyPhoto Credit: Aude
Bill Masterton
Born August 13, 1938 d. 1968
Canadian-American hockey player. Bill Masterton is the only NHL player to die as result of injuries received in a game.
Masterton was playing for the Minnesota North Stars against the Oakland Seals when he was carrying the puck up the ice at full speed and two Seals players converged on him, knocking him backwards with him landing on his head. Witnesses said he lost consciousness before hitting the ice. He was not wearing a helmet, as few players wore helmets at the time. He died two days later at the hospital without regaining consciousness. It is believed a previous concussion may have contributed to his death and that he suffered second-impact syndrome, where a concussion happens on top of previous untreated concussion causing rapid and often fatal brain swelling.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy was created in 1968 under the trusteeship of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and is presented annually to the "National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey". It is often awarded to a player who has come back from career or even life-threatening illness or injury.
The NHL made helmets mandatory for the 1979-80 season.
Joycelyn Elders (Minnie Lee Jones)
Born August 13, 1933
U.S. Surgeon General (1993‑94). A vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, she was the second woman, second person of color, and first African American to serve as Surgeon General.
In 1993, she stated that the legalization of drugs merits further study and might reduce the crime rate. Her 28-year-old son was arrested two weeks later for selling cocaine to undercover police the previous summer. He was convicted and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, of which he served four months.
Don Ho (Donald Tai Loy Ho)
Born August 13, 1930 d. 2007
Hawaiian singer. Music: Tiny Bubbles (1966, #8). TV: The Don Ho Show (1976-77).
Pat Harrington, Jr.
Born August 13, 1929 d. 2016
American Emmy-winning actor. TV: One Day at a Time (1975-84, Emmy as handyman Dwayne Schneider) and The Jack Paar Show (1950s, Guido Panzini).
Rex Humbard (Alpha Rex Emmanuel Humbard)
Born August 13, 1919 d. 2007
American televangelist. Founder of the Cathedral of Tomorrow (1958). He was the first televangelist to have a nationally-broadcast TV show (1952-83).
Humbard officiated at Elvis Presley's funeral, as Elvis had been an admirer of Humbard.
Detlev Wulf Bronk
Born August 13, 1897 d. 1975
American scientist, educator, "Father of Biophysics." He served as president of Johns Hopkins University (1949-53).
Lucy Stone
Born August 13, 1818 d. 1893
American woman's rights activist, abolitionist. She and her husband founded Woman's Journal (1870). She allowed her New Jersey property to be sold for non-payment of taxes, asserting that she was being taxed without representation. Women didn't have the right to vote in the U.S. until the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
Anders Jonas Ångström
Born August 13, 1814 d. 1874
Swedish physicist, for whom the angstrom (a unit of length equal to 10-10 meters) is named. He showed that hydrogen is present in the Sun's atmosphere (1862).
Invented the Clarinet
Johann Christoph Denner
Born August 13, 1655 d. 1707
German woodwind instrument maker. He is credited with inventing the clarinet.
Deaths
Photo Credit: Lynn Gilbert
Photo Credit: Lynn Gilbert
Julia Child (Julia Carolyn McWilliams)
Died August 13, 2004 b. 1912
American chef. Her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961) is considered a culinary masterwork. Her book was soon followed by her TV show The French Chef (1963-73).
She also served and has been honored for her work with the OSS during WWII, during which time she developed a shark repellent that is still in use today. Sharks had been a problem for the OSS, because curious sharks were accidentally setting off underwater explosives. Child experimented with cooking various concoctions as a shark repellent, which were sprinkled in the water near the explosives and repelled sharks. This was her first venture into professional cooking.
Known for her trademark signoff, "This is Julia Child. Bon appétit!"
H. G. Wells (Herbert George Wells)
Died August 13, 1946 b. 1866
English novelist. Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast of his The War of the Worlds set off a national panic, as many believed it was reporting an actual alien invasion. Writings: The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).
Florence Nightingale
Died August 13, 1910 b. 1820
English nurse and hospital reformer. She contributed greatly to the development of modern hospital practices and the nursing profession and in 1860 established the world's first secular nursing school. She came to prominence during the Crimean War, working as a nurse manager and trainer, becoming known as "The Lady with Lamp" due to her nighttime rounds caring for wounded soldiers.
Photo Credit: Science and Society Picture Library
Photo Credit: Science and Society Picture Library
Inventor of the Stethoscope
René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec
Died August 13, 1826 b. 1781
French physician. He invented the stethoscope (1816). His was a hollow tube made of wood and brass. Laennec was inspired by schoolchildren holding their ears up to long hollow sticks while scratching the opposite end with a pin; the stick transmitted and amplified the scratch. The modern stethoscope, with rubber tubing going to both ears, was not developed until the 1850s.
Helen Gurley Brown
Died August 13, 2012 b. 1922
American author. Editor of Cosmopolitan magazine (1965-97), which published the first nude male centerfold (1972, Burt Reynolds).
Mickey Mantle
Died August 13, 1995 b. 1931
American Baseball Hall-of-Famer, "The Commerce Comet." With 536 career home runs, he led the American League four times, and is a three-time MVP (1956-57, 1962).
Walter Berndt
Died August 13, 1979 b. 1899
American cartoonist. Creator of Smitty.