What Happened On
Photo Credit: Connie Ma
Photo Credit: Connie Ma
World's Largest T-Rex Skeleton
August 12, 1990
The world's largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton is discovered. A group of archaeologists were preparing to leave after exploring a region in western South Dakota when they discovered they had a flat tire on their vehicle. While most of the group went back to town to repair the truck, Sue Hendrickson stayed behind to explore some nearby cliffs. There she discovered a number of exposed bones. They turned out to be a 67-million-year-old T-Rex. With more than 80% of the skeleton recovered, it was the most complete and largest T-Rex ever discovered.
The skeleton became embroiled in legal issues when the FBI seized it in 1992, claiming it had been illegally taken from federal land. The leader of the group that recovered it, Peter Larson, had negotiated a deal with the landowner prior to removing the T-Rex, however, after the skeleton was sold at auction the owner of the land, who originally agreed to $5,000 for the skeleton, received $7.6 million from its auction.
It was named "Sue" after its discoverer and is now on display at Chicago's Field Museum.
IBM Personal Computer
August 12, 1981
IBM announces the IBM Personal Computer (PC). It had a price tag of $1,565.
The Beatles - Drummer Quits to be a Forklift Driver
August 12, 1960
Drummer Tommy Moore quits the group (then known as the Silver Beetles) because their bookings interfered with his job as a forklift driver. They had just returned from a tour where Moore lost his front teeth when the group's van was involved in a minor accident. After the tour, Moore quit. When the other members tried to talk him into staying in the band, his wife shouted at them, "you can all piss off!"
Drums were taken over by Pete Best who was later replaced by Ringo Starr.
First Passive Communications Satellite
August 12, 1960
NASA launches the 100 foot (30.48 m) diameter sphere-shaped Echo I. It was essentially a large balloon that could passively reflect microwave signals. It reentered Earth's atmosphere, burning up on May 24, 1968.
The first communications satellite was SCORE, a test satellite launched by NASA in 1958.
Quagga mare at the London Zoo, the only specimen ever photographed alive (1870)
Quagga mare at the London Zoo, the only specimen ever photographed alive (1870)
Quagga Goes Extinct
August 12, 1883
The last Quagga dies in the Amsterdam Zoo. It was a species of zebra distinguished by striping that is confined to the head. After the Dutch settlement of South Africa began, quagga were heavily hunted for their meat and skins. Captive breeding programs were unsuccessful. It got its name from its call, which sounded like "kwa-ha-ha".
First Voice Recording
August 12, 1877
Thomas Edison records his recitation of Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Cleopatra Commits Suicide
August 12, 30 B.C.
According to legend, Egyptian Queen Cleopatra commits suicide by placing an asp to her breast. Other historians claim that she used poison instead, or was even murdered by Octavian. After she and her husband Mark Antony were defeated by Octavian's forces at the Battle of Actium, she and Antony fled to Egypt, where they separately committed suicide.
She was the last Hellenistic leader of Egypt. Her parents were brother and sister, as were their parents, as were their parents. She had ruled previously with her two brother-husbands, both of whom she killed.
The Beatles
August 12, 1966
The Fab Four begin their last U.S. tour.
First Black Secret Service Agent to Guard the Life of the President
August 12, 1964
Abraham Bolden is sentenced to prison for soliciting a $50,000 bribe from a counterfeiter.
First Woman to Sail Solo Across the Atlantic
August 12, 1953
Ann Davidson arrives in Miami, Florida aboard her 23-foot sailboat. She had started from Plymouth, England in May of 1952.
First Feature-Length Film Shown in the U.S.
August 12, 1912
Queen Elizabeth, made in France and starring Sarah Bernhardt, is officially released in Chicago. It had had a special showing the previous month in New York City.
Its success convinced other American companies that feature films were commercially viable.
Adolph Zukor, who brought the film the U.S., used the profits to create what became Paramount Pictures.
Hawaii
August 12, 1898
The island territory of Hawaii is annexed by the U.S. It would become a U.S. territory in 1900 and a state in 1959.
Klondike Gold Discovery
August 12, 1896
The second great gold rush in U.S. history is started.
Asaph Hall and Deimos
Asaph Hall and Deimos
First Discovery of a Mars Moon
August 12, 1877
Asaph Hall discovers the Mars moon Deimos. He had calculated that the orbit would be close to the planet, but was reluctant to spend time searching for it until his wife urged him to try. He later noted, "The chance of finding a satellite appeared to be very slight, so that I might have abandoned the search had it not been for the encouragement of my wife."
Six days later, he discovered the Mars moon Phobos.
Deimos is the smaller and outermost of the two moons of Mars. It is named for Deimos, who in Greek mythology is the twin brother of Phobos, and personifies terror.
Sewing Machine
August 12, 1852
Isaac M. Singer receives a patent for his continuous-stitch sewing machine.
Birthdays
Richard H. Lawler (Richard Harold Lawler)
Born August 12, 1895 d. 1982
American physician. He performed the first human kidney transplant (1950), in which he implanted a kidney from a deceased woman into a patient whose diseased left kidney had been removed due to polycystic kidney disease. This was the first time a vital human organ had ever been transplanted from one person to another. The transplanted kidney only functioned for a few months after which surgeons re-opened her surgical incision to discover her body's immune system had rejected the transplanted kidney. The 44-year-old female patient lived five more years before dying of heart disease.
Lawler was denounced at the time by both the medical and religious community. The religious community in particular denounced the idea that you could take tissue from a dead person and put it someone who was alive, and it would come back to life.
Lawler was eventually recognized for pioneering organ transplant surgery.
Katharine Lee Bates
Born August 12, 1859 d. 1929
American poet. She wrote the words to the American patriotic hymn America the Beautiful (1910). She originally wrote the words as the poem Pikes Peak (1893), which was inspired by a trip to Colorado, where she witnessed the wheat fields of Kansas, and the majestic view of the Great Plains from Pikes Peak. A revised version of Bates' poem was combined with music by Samuel A. Ward and published as America the Beautiful in 1910.
The original (which differs from the modern version):
"O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee"
Pete Sampras
Born August 12, 1971
American tennis player, Wimbledon champ (1993), and two-time U.S. Open winner (1990, 93). His 1990 victory made him the youngest ever U.S. Open men's champ.
Photo Credit: Klaus Hiltscher
Photo Credit: Klaus Hiltscher
Mark Knopfler
Born August 12, 1949
British guitarist, songwriter, with Dire Straits. Music: Sultans of Swing (1978) and Money For Nothing (1985, #1).
George Hamilton
Born August 12, 1939
American actor. Film: Love at First Bite (1979, Dracula).
John Poindexter
Born August 12, 1936
American naval officer, former national security advisor.
Buck Owens (Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr.)
Born August 12, 1929 d. 2006
American country-western singer. He helped create the "Bakersfield Sound." He and the Buckaroos were regulars on Hee Haw (1969-86, co-host). He had 15 #1 hits in a row. Music: Act Naturally (1963, #1).
Wagoner with Dolly Parton
Wagoner with Dolly Parton
Mr. Grand Ole Opry
Porter Wagoner
Born August 12, 1927 d. 2007
American Hall of Fame country singer. Known as "Mr. Grand Ole Opry." He introduced Dolly Parton on his TV show, The Porter Wagoner Show, and they performed as a duo during the 1960s and 70's. Wagoner charted 81 singles from 1954 to 1983.
Music: Misery Loves Company (1962, #1).
John Derek (Derek Delevan Harris)
Born August 12, 1926 d. 1998
American actor. Film: Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981, in which he directed his wife Bo Derek) and Bolero (1984, wrote and directed, also starring Bo Derek).
Ross McWhirter
Born August 12, 1925 d. 1975
British writer, political activist, co-founder, with his twin brother Norris McWhirter, of Guinness Book of Records (1954). He was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) after offering a £50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for several bombings in England that were publicly claimed by the IRA.
Norris McWhirter
Born August 12, 1925 d. 2004
British writer, political activist, co-founder, with his twin brother Ross McWhirter, of Guinness Book of Records (1954). He was the timekeeper when runner Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile.
Marjorie Reynolds (Marjorie Goodspeed)
Born August 12, 1917 d. 1997
American actress. Film: Holiday Inn (1942) and Ministry of Fear (1944). TV: The Life of Riley (Peg Riley).
Photo Credit: www.peru21.pe
Photo Credit: www.peru21.pe
Cantinflas (Mario Moreno)
Born August 12, 1911 d. 1993
Mexican clown, superstar of Spanish-speaking films. Known as the "Charlie Chaplin of Mexico." Charlie Chaplin himself described Cantinflas as "the world's greatest comedian." Film: Around the World in 80 Days (1956, as Passepartout).
Jane Wyatt
Born August 12, 1910 d. 2006
American Emmy-winning actress. TV: Father Knows Best (1954-60, the mother) and Star Trek (1967, Spock's mother).
Joe Besser
Born August 12, 1907 d. 1988
American comedian, member of the 3-Stooges. He replaced Shemp Howard after his death in 1955.
Dick Calkins (Richard W. Calkins)
Born August 12, 1894 d. 1962
American cartoonist. Original artist for Buck Rogers (1929-47), the first science fiction comic strip.
Zerna Addis Sharp
Born August 12, 1889 d. 1981
American author. She created the Dick and Jane primary readers. "Run Spot run. See Spot run."
Cecil B. DeMille (Cecil Blount DeMille)
Born August 12, 1881 d. 1959
American Oscar-winning film director, called the founder of Hollywood. Film: The Ten Commandments (1923 and 1956), The King of Kings (1927), Cleopatra (1934), and Samson and Delilah (1949).
George IV
Born August 12, 1762 d. 1830
King of Great Britain and Ireland (1820-30). He built Buckingham Palace (1820s).
Jonas Hanway
Born August 12, 1712 d. 1786
English traveler. He is credited with popularizing the umbrella in London after bringing one back from Portugal.
Christian III
Born August 12, 1503 d. 1559
King of Denmark and Norway (1534-59). He established the state Lutheran Church in Denmark (1536).
Deaths
Lauren Bacall (Betty Joan Perske)
Died August 12, 2014 b. 1924
American Tony-winning actress. Film: To Have and Have Not (1944), Key Largo (1948), and Applause (1970, Tony).
Les Paul and wife Mary Ford
Les Paul and wife Mary Ford
Father of the Electric Guitar
Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss)
Died August 12, 2009 b. 1915
American guitarist. He invented the solid-body electric guitar (1941), the first 8-track recording device, sound-on-sound recording, and the solid-body neck-worn harmonica holder, which allows hands-free playing of the harmonica.
Music: Tiger Rag and Vaya con Dios (#1).
(left to right) Bardeen, Shockley, and Brattain
(left to right) Bardeen, Shockley, and Brattain
William Shockley
Died August 12, 1989 b. 1910
American Nobel-winning physicist. He and his team, which included John Bardeen and Walter H. Brattain of Bell Laboratories, invented the transistor. The transistor was a solid-state replacement for the larger more fragile vacuum tube. His team's work in semiconductors won them the 1956 Nobel Prize in physics. He moved and started his company in Palo Alto, California to be closer to his ailing mother. His company and its offshoots turned that area into what is now known as Silicon Valley. His beliefs in eugenics and the intellectual inferiority of the African race marred his standing in the scientific community.
Inventor of the Modern Submarine
John Philip Holland
Died August 12, 1914 b. 1841
Irish-born American inventor. He designed and built the first modern-style submarine (1881) and the first practical submarine (1898). His Holland VI was the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy (1900, USS Holland), and the first Royal Navy submarine (1901, HMS Holland 1).
His submarines were the first having power to run submerged for any considerable distance, and the first to combine electric motors for submerged travel and gasoline engines for use on the surface.
Cleopatra (Cleopatra VII Philopator)
Died August 12, 30 B.C. b. 69 B.C.
Egyptian Queen, the last Hellenistic leader of Egypt. Her parents were brother and sister, as were their parents, as were their parents. She ruled with her two brother-husbands, both of whom she killed. Legend states she committed suicide by placing an asp to her breast.
Photo Credit: Linda_Bisset
Photo Credit: Linda_Bisset
Merv Griffin (Mervyn Edward Griffin, Jr.)
Died August 12, 2007 b. 1925
American TV executive. Creator of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Music: I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (1950, #1). His tombstone reads, "I Will Not Be Right Back After This Message."
Loretta Young (Gretchen Young)
Died August 12, 2000 b. 1913
American Oscar-Emmy-winning actress. She claimed she was raped by Clark Gable whose child she bore. Film: The Farmer's Daughter (1947, Oscar). TV: The Loretta Young Show.
John Cage
Died August 12, 1992 b. 1912
American avant-garde composer, noted for his use of unusual items for music. He created what is considered the first electronic music by varying the frequencies of tone generators.
Henry Fonda
Died August 12, 1982 b. 1905
American Oscar-winning actor. Film: My Darling Clementine (1946), Mr. Roberts (1955), and On Golden Pond (1981, Oscar).
Creator of James Bond
Ian Fleming
Died August 12, 1964 b. 1908
British author. Creator of James Bond 007. He also wrote Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.
Eliphalet Remington
Died August 12, 1861 b. 1793
American gun manufacturer. Founder of Remington gunworks.
George Stephenson
Died August 12, 1848 b. 1781
English engineer, developer of the railroad steam locomotive.
Samuel Osgood
Died August 12, 1813 b. 1747
American politician. Member of the Continental Congress (1781-84), first commissioner of the U.S. treasury (1785-89), and First U.S. postmaster general (1789-91).
Innocent XI
Died August 12, 1689 b. 1611
Italian religious leader, 240th Pope (1676-89).
Matthew Hopkins
Died August 12, 1647 b. circa 1620
English witch-hunter. He published a witch finder manual that was used for trying and convicting witches. It is believed he is responsible for the execution of 300 women between the years 1644 and 1646. One of his witch testing methods was to tie them to a chair and throw them in the water. Since witches had renounced their baptism, water would reject them. Therefore, if they floated they were a witch. If they sank, they were not. His book was used to help convict "witches" in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Salem witch trials.
His guide was used in the American Witch Trials.
Hopkins acquired an evil reputation that made his name synonymous with an informer paid by authorities to commit perjury.
He died at about the age of 27, probably of pleural tuberculosis.
Sixtus IV
Died August 12, 1484 b. 1414
Italian religious leader, 212th Pope (1471-84).
Louis II
Died August 12, 875 b. circa 825
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (855-875).