This Week In History: August 10 – August 16
Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s
American Experience:
1945 – Japan surrenders unconditionally to end WW II on Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day).
1969 – The Woodstock Music and Art Fair opens on Friday, August 15 at Max Yasgur’s Dairy Farm in upstate New York. 450,000 people met to watch two-dozen bands play music for 3 straight days.
Movies & TV:
1939 – The Wizard of Oz premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood.
1948 – Candid Camera, with Allen Funt, debuts on ABC TV.
1948 – CBS-TV broadcasts the first nightly news show with Douglas Edwards as anchorman.
1964 – The Beatles’ A Hard Days Night opens in New York City.
1981 – The Waltons last broadcast airs on CBS-TV.
Music & Radio:
1952 – Willie Mae Thornton (Big Mama) records the original version of “Hound Dog”. Elvis Presley would bring the song to superstardom 4 years later.
1958 – Elvis Presley’s single “Hard Headed Woman” goes gold.
1962 – Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best as The Beatles’ drummer
1965 – “I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher hits#1
1966 – The Beatles play their final tour show in the US at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
1967 – Fleetwood Mac makes their stage debut at the National Blues and Jazz Festival in Great Britain.
1974 – The Ramones concert debuts at New York City’s CBGBs.
1981 – “Endless Love”, by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, hits #1 and stays there for 9 weeks.
1985 – Madonna’s album, Like A Virgin, sells five million copies, making it the first solo album by a female artist to hit such status.
The Arts:
1987 – A Chorus Line celebrates its 5,000th performance.
Celebrity Headlines:
1958 – Buddy Holly weds Maria Santiago
1977 – Elvis Presley dies on August 16th, leaving his family and millions of fans devastated.
1985 – Madonna weds Sean Penn.
Sports:
1935 – Babe Ruth plays his final game at Fenway Park – 41,766 fans pack the place to see him.
1935 – The first trans-continental roller derby match takes place at the Coliseum in Chicago, IL – 25 teams skate 3,000 miles. It takes the winning team, Clarice Martin and Bernie McKay, over a month of grueling, 11 ½ hour days to finish the derby on September 22.
The first trans-continental roller derby - Chicago, IL - 25 teams skate 3,000 miles.
1948 – Babe Ruth, Baseball legend (NY Yankees), dies in NY at age 53.
1951 – The first baseball game in-color broadcast (Braves vs Dodgers) airs on WCBS-NYC.
1954 – The first issue of Sports Illustrated reaches newsstands.
1970 – Patricia Palinkas becomes the first woman to play in a professional football league game, holding the ball for the placement kickers of the Orlando Panthers.
Technology & Inventions:
1953 – The Wiffle Ball is invented by David Mullany and his son. They had been trying to invent a ball that would curve at every throw.
1981 – International Business Machines (IBM) introduces the personal computer Model 5150 PC with PC-DOS version 1.0, retailing at $1,565.00. The PC gains popularity and IBM soon takes the #1 slot, pushing Apple to #2.
1954 Studebaker Commander Starlight Coupe
Automobile News:
1954 – Workers at the Studebaker automotive factory agree to pay cuts of $12 – $20 a week to try and help the company to stay afloat. Ford, Chrysler and General Motors eventually drive Studebaker out of business.
Famous Birthdays:
1930 – Don Ho (Donald Tai Loy Ho), singer, entertainer and host of The Don Ho Show
1941 – David Crosby from Crosby, Stills & Nash
1957 – Richie Ramone, drummer for The Ramones
1958 – Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone)
1959 – Magic (Earvin Jr.) Johnson, basketball star
1960 – Timothy Hutton, actor
1961 – Susan Olson, actress, Cindy on The Brady Bunch
