1890 ~ Man Ray the American modernist artist and photographer was born Emmanuel Radnitzky on the 27th August 1890 (died 1976 aged 86). Man Ray was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist art movements. Man Ray worked in a variety of artistic media but considered himself mainly a painter, although he was well known in the art world for his avant-garde, fashion and portrait photography. and he was a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. He was also known for his work with photograms aka rayographs.
Salvador Dalí & Man Ray in Paris on 16 June 1934 making “wild eyes” for a portrait by photographer Carl Van Vechten (black & white photo source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Van Vechten Collection)
0079 ~ MOUNT VESUViUS began stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan on the 23rd August in the year 79. Mount Vesuvius (Italian: Monte Vesuvio) is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) east of Naples. Mount Vesuvius buried and destructed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing approximately 6,000 people due to hydrothermalpyroclastic flows. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of 2 letters by Pliny the Younger sent to the historian Tacitus. Vesuvius is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. It’s regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because It’s the most densely populated volcanic region in the world, with a population of 3,000,000 people living close-by, and its tendency towards explosive Plinian eruptions.
Vesuvius volcanic eruption seen from Portici & painted by Joseph Wright of Derby in the 18th century (1774 – 1776) ~ painting from the Art collection of the Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA
2006 – Edvard Munch‘s famous painting The Scream that was stolen on the 22nd August 2004, was recovered on the 31st August 2006, in a raid by Norwegian police.
The Scream by Edvard Munch ~ 1895 pastel on board
2013 ~ David Frost the English journalist and game show host died on the 31st August 2013 aged 74 (born 7th April 1939).
Today in History for August 31st ~ video presented by the Associated Press…
1835 – MELBOURNE in Australia was founded on on the 30th August 1835.
Melbourne city on the Yarra River featuring Flinders Street Station & the Rialto Tower as the Moon set on Sunday morning at 6:30am ~ 2nd August 2012 (Photo by Anton K. Kressnig)
La Grande Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1814) Orientalism oil painting on canvas, size: 91 x 162 cm, at the Louvre, Paris.The Envoys of Agammemnon, 1801 oil painting on canvas by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, École des Beaux Arts, Paris
1833 – ABOLiTiON of SLAVERY was legislated by the United Kingdom in its empire on the 29th day of August in 1833.
1862 – ANDREW FiSHER the 5th Prime Minister of Australia was born on the 29th day of August in 1862 (d. 1928).
1885 – GOTTLiEB DAiMLER patented the world’s first internal combustion motorcycle, known as the Reitwagen (riding wagon) on the 29th day of August in 1885. Daimler is also known as “the father of the motorcycle” for this invention.
The Daimler Reitwagen aka “riding wagon” patented on the 29th August 1885 by Gottlieb Daimler, and widely recognized as the first motorcycle in the WorldViews of the Daimler Reitwagen aka “riding wagon” patented on the 29th August 1885 by Gottlieb Daimler, and widely recognized as the first motorcycle in the World
1898 – The GOODYEAR tyre company was founded on the 29th day of August in 1898.
1920 ~ CHARLiE PARKER aka Yardbird the American jazz saxophonist was born on the 29th day of August in 1920 (died 1955 aged 34).
1922 – The first RADiO ADVERTiSEMENT was broadcast on WEAF-AM in New York City on the 29th day of August in 1922.
1923 – RiCHARD ATTENBOROUGH the English film director was born on the 29th day of August in 1923.
1924 – DiNAH WASHiNGTON the American singer was born on the 29th day of August in 1924 (d. 1963).
1958 – LENNY HENRY the British comedian was born on the 29th day of August in 1958.
1958 – MiCHAEL JACKSON the American pop singer was born on the 29th day of August in 1958 (d. 2009). The video below features Michael Jackson performing Billie Jean at the Motown 25th Anniversary of Motown in 1983…
Michael Jackson waving his iconic one glove at the White House in 1984 (Photo from the Wikimedia Commons)
1966 – The BEATLES performed their final commercial concert, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, on the 29th day of August in 1966.
1977 – CHARLiE PiCKERiNG the Australian comedian and television presenter from The Project television show, was born on the 29th day of August in 1977.
The Charlie Pickering (7PM Project TV) birthday card artwork by Anton K. Kressnig ~ 29th August 2010 (Also featured in the cartoon art: Carrie Bickmore, Dave Hughes, Michael Jackson & Tony Abbott)
2005 – HURRiCANE KATRiNA devastated much of the U.S. Gulf Coast on the 29th day of August in 2005. Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,836 people, and caused $108 billion in damage, with winds reaching 175 mph (280 km/h). Most of eastern North America was affected by the hurricane, including Bahamas, South Florida, Cuba, Louisiana, Greater New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida Panhandle.
2 hours after the National Hurricane Center issued their warning, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) captured this image from NASA’s Terra satellite at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time. The massive storm covers much of the Gulf of Mexico, spanning from the U.S. coast to the Yucatan Peninsula. (Image source: Author Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC 28 August 2005)Aerial photo of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in Jeff Davis Avenue in Long Beach, Mississippi. Also seen in this photo is Harper McCaughan Elementary School (long blue building), Long Beach Public Library & City Hall, East-West streets (5th Street, 4th St. & 3rd St.) & the railroad tracks. The water-line debris piles created by the storm surge were 10 to 15 feet high. (Photographed on the 6th September 2005 by Mark Wolfe courtesy at FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency)Hurricane Katrina image from NOAA: Environmental Visualization Laboratory ~ National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
2012 ~ HURRiCANE iSAAC battered New Orleans on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Isaac hit eastern North America, making landfall in southeast Louisiana, with top winds of more than 120km/h, on the 29th day of August, the exact day of the 7th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Estimated damage of $2 billion.
Hurricane Isaac as a Category 1 hurricane on the 28th August 2012 (Image source: LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response)
Today in History for August 29th ~ video presented by the Associated Press…
1845 – Scientific American magazine was first published on the 28th day of August in 1845..
1859 – Vittorio Sella the Italian photographer was born on the 28th day of August in 1859 (d. 1943).
1898 – Caleb Bradham invented the carbonated soft drink that later was named Pepsi-Cola,on the 28th day of August in 1898.
1917 – Jack Kirby the American writer and illustrator was born on the 28th day of August in 1917 (d. 1994).
1937 – Toyota Motors became an independent company on the 28th day of August in 1937.
1943 – David Soul the American-English actor and singer was born on the 28th day of August in 1943.
1953 – Nippon Television broadcasted Japan’s first television show, and first TV advertisement on the 28th day of August in 1953.
1961 – Kim Appleby the English singer and songwriter from Mel and Kim was born on the 28th day of August in 1961.
1963 ~ I Have a Dream speech was given by Martin Luther King, Jr. on the 28th August 1963, for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. YouTube video: Martin Luther King – I Have A Dream Speech: Martin Luther King’s Address at March in Washington, D.C. “When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
Martin Luther King Jr. waving to the hundreds of thousands of supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on the 28th August 1963, delivering the ‘I have a dream’ speech.
1965 – Shania Twain the Canadian singer and songwriter was born on the 28th August 1965.
1768 ~ The 1st voyage of Captain James Cook began on the 26th August 1768. The Royal Society engaged Captain James Cook to travel to the Pacific Ocean to observe and record the transit of Venusacross the Sun. The expedition sailed from England around Cape Horn and westward across the Pacific to Tahiti on the 13th April 1769, where the observations of the Venus Transit were made. Once the observations were completed, Cook opened the sealed orders which instructed him to search the South Pacific for signs of the postulated rich southern continent of Terra Australis, so he then sailed to New Zealand and mapped the complete coastline. Cook then voyaged west, reaching the south-eastern coast of Australia on the 19th April 1770, becoming the 1st recorded European to have encountered its eastern coastline.
Official portrait of Captain James Cook by Nathaniel Dance ~ 1775 (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
1778 – The 1st recorded ascent of Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia was on the 26th August 1778.
1791 – John Fitch was granted a United States patent for the steamboat on the 26th August 1791.
1845 ~ LUDWiG II of BAVARiA was born Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm on the 25th August 1845 (died 1886 aged 40). Ludwig II was the eccentric King of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death, and is sometimes called the Swan King, Der Märchenkönig, the Fairy Tale King, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria (Franconia & Swabia), and Mad King Ludwig. Ludwig’s younger brother and successor Otto of Bavaria was considered insane, thus the claim of hereditary madness when Ludwig was deposed on grounds of mental incapacity without any medical examination. His death remains controversial due to the mysterious circumstances under which he died. King Ludwig and the doctor assigned to him in captivity at Berg Castle on Lake Starnberg were both found dead in the lake in waist-high water, the doctor with unexplained injuries to the head and shoulders, on the morning after the day Ludwig was deposed.
Ludwig II of Bavaria
“I wish to remain an eternal enigma to myself and to others.” ~ Ludwig II
Ludwig commissioned the construction of 2 extravagant palaces and a castle, the most famous being Neuschwanstein.King Ludwig left a great legacy of architecture, art and tourist income that has helped to make Bavaria the richest state in Germany.
King Ludwig II’s castle ~ Schloss Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany (1890s photochrom print)
1875 – Captain Matthew Webb became the 1st person to swim across the English Channel on the 25th August 1875, traveling from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 22 hours.
1914 – World War I: The library of the Catholic University of Leuven was deliberately destroyed by the German Army on the 25th August 1914. Hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable Gothic and Renaissance book volumes and manuscripts were lost.
1949 – John Savage the American actor was born on the 25th August 1949.
1949 ~ GENE SiMMONS the Israeli-American singer-songwriter and bass player from KiSS was born on the 25th August 1949. YouTube video: CNN interview: KISS’ Gene Simmons “I can’t sing!”: Kiss co-founder and Family Jewels star Gene Simmons talks about why he’s never done drugs and how he can’t sing..
1954 ~ ELViS COSTELLOthe English singer-songwriter and producer was born on the 25th August 1954. YouTube video: Elvis Costello ~ Oliver’s Army Promo Video (1979)..YouTube video below: ELViS COSTELLO ~ MTV UNPLUGGED (1991): Elvis Costello & The Rude 5 perform on MTV Unplugged in 1991. Only 5 of the songs made it to the broadcast version, because MTV apparently didn’t want to air a bunch of songs from his then-unreleased “covers” album, Kojak Variety. He begins with a fragment of “Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head” and then performs “Deep Dark Truthful Mirror”, “So Like Candy / I Want You”, “The Other Side Of Summer”, “Must You Throw Dirt In My Face”, “Hidden Charms”, “Everybody’s Crying Mercy”, “Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over)”, “Couldn’t Call It Unexpected No. 4” and “Bama Lama Bama Loo.”
1958 – Tim Burton the American director, producer, and screenwriter was born on the 25th August 1958.
1961 – Billy Ray Cyrus the American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor was born on the 25th August 1961.
1962 – Vivian Campbell the Irish guitarist and songwriter from Def Leppard was born on the 25th August 1962.
1964 – Joanne Whalley the British actress was born on the 25th August 1964.
1970 – Claudia Schiffer the German model and fashion designer was born on the 25th August 1970.
1981 – Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Saturn on the 25th August 1981.
1981 – Clare Oliver Australian activist was born on the 25th August 1981. Clare died on the 13th September 2007, aged 26. Clare’s own health crisis prompted her to become an activist, gaining wide media coverage for her campaign to raise awareness about the risks of using solariums excessively. Please visit www.ClareOliverMelanomaFund.org
0079 – Mount Vesuviuserupted on the 24th August in the year 79. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae were buried in volcanic ash (note: this traditional date has been challenged, with many scholars believing that the event occurred 2 months later on the 24th October).
Vesuvius volcanic eruption seen from Portici & painted by Joseph Wright of Derby in the 18th century (1734 – 1797) ~ from the Art collection of the Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA
1456 – The printing of the Gutenberg Bible was completed on the 24th August 1456.
1891 – Thomas Edison patented the motion picture camera on the 24th August 1891.
1909 – Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal on the 24th August 1909.
