This Date in History - August 20

Happy birthday, Don King.  I looked for the funniest picture of him I could find.  There were way too many choices.

14:  AGRIPPA POSTUMUS, ADOPTED SON OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPEROR AUGUSTUS, IS EXECUTED BY HIS GUARDS.

Postumus was now posthumous.

914: TSAR SIMEON I OF BULGARIA DECISIVELY DEFEATS A BYZANTINE ARMY DURING THE BATTLE OF ACHELOOS.

Gesundheit.

984:  POPE JOHN XIV DIES.

It's one of those killer dates if you're a Pope.

1308:  POPE CLEMENT V PARDONS JACQUES DE MOLAY, THE LAST GRAND MASTER OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.

Was one of those Knights Templar named Simon?

1519:  PHILOSOPHER AND GENERAL WANG YANGMING DEFEATS ZHU CHENHAO, ENDING THE PRINCE OF NING REBELLION AGAINST THE REIGN OF THE MING DYNASTY EMPEROR ZHENGDE. 

Now that's a mouthful.

1707:  THE FIRST SIEGE OF PENSACOLA COMES TO END WITH THE FAILURE OF THE BRITISH TO CAPTURE PENSACOLA, FLORIDA.

So, as consolation, they went after a six pack of Pepsi Cola.

1775:  THE SPANISH ESTABLISH THE PRESIDIO SAN AUGUSTIN DEL TUCSON IN THE TOWN THAT BECAME TUCSON, ARIZONA.

Clever.  How did they think of that?

1823:  POPE PIUS VII DIES.

Also a killer days for Popes named Pius.

1866:  PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON FORMALLY DECLARES THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR OVER.

Extra points if he stuck his tongue out at the time.

1882:  TCHAIKOVSKY'S 1812 OVERTURE DEBUTS IN MOSCOW, RUSSIA. 

Just the Overture?  Where's the rest of the show?

1910:  THE GREAT FIRE OF 1910 OCCURS IN NORTHEAST WASHINGTON, NORTHERN IDAHO, AND WESTERN MONTANA.

Smokey the Bear warned you.

1914:  DURING WORLD WAR I, GERMAN FORCES OCCUPY BRUSSELS.

Dying for a plate of sprouts.

1914:  POPE PIUS X DIES.

Which means that, in less than a century, there were two other Popes named Pius.

1918:  AUTHOR JACQUELINE SUSANN IS BORN.

If she was an only child, once was definitely enough.

1920:  THE FIRST COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION, 8MK, BEGINS OPERATIONS IN DETROIT.

News, weather, and traffic on the hour.

1926:  JAPAN'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING COMPANY, NIPPON HOSO KYOKAI, IS ESTABLISHED.

First children's show was the Erectric Company.

1931:  BOXING PROMOTER DON KING IS BORN.

I wonder how much hair he had then.

1938:  LOU GEHRIG HITS HIS 23RD CAREER GRAND SLAM---A RECORD THAY STOOD FOR 75 YEARS UNTIL IT WAS BROKEN BY ALEX RODRIGUEZ.

Except Gehrig never had to pee in a cup.

1940:  BRITISH PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL MAKES THE FOURTH OF HIS FAMOUS WARTIME SPEECHES, CONTAINING THE LINE "NEVER WAS SO MUCH OWED BY SO MANY TO SO FEW."  

Of course, he immediately added, "can I get a cup of tea, please?"

1942:  MUSICIAN ISAAC HAYES IS BORN.

Talkin' about Shaft.

1946:  JOURNALIST CONNIE CHUNG IS BORN.

Mrs. Maury Povich to you.

1950:  UNITED NATIONS REPEL AN OFFENSIVE BY NORTH KOREAN DIVISIONS ATTEMPTING TO CROSS THE NAKTONG RIVER AND ASSAULT THE CITY OF TAEGU.

Doctors in war-torn Korea.  I smell a movie.  Maybe even a TV series.

1954:  TV PERSONALITY AL ROKER IS BORN.

I'm reminded again by Winston Churchill's comment.  "Never has so much attention been wasted on so little a talent."

1968:  SOVIET UNION DOMINATED-WARSAW PACT TROOPS INVANDE CZECHOSLOVAKIA, CRUSHING THE PRAGUE SPRING. 

Prague Spring?   In August???

1975:  NASA LAUNCHES THE VIKING I PLANETARY PROBE TOWARD MARS.

What makes them think that Mars wanted to be probed at all?

1977:  NASA LAUNCHES THE VOYAGER 2 SPACECRAFT.

So, I guess that, if you're working at NASA in the late 70s, you're getting a lot of overtime.

1988:  DURING THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR, A CEASEFIRE IS AGREED AFTER ALMOST EIGHT YEARS OF WAR.

I always giggle when I see the word "ceasefire" pertaining to the Middle East.

1991:  MORE THAN 100,000 PEOPLE RALLY OUTSIDE THE SOVIET UNION'S PARLIAMENT BUILDING PROTESTING THE COUP AIMED AT DEPOSING PRESIDENT MIKHAIL GORBACHEV.

"Mr. Gorbachev, we're tearing you down next."

1998:  THE UNITED STATES LAUNCHES CRUISE MISSILE ATTACKS AGAINST ALLEGED AL-QAEDA CAMPS IN AFGHANISTAN.

Even way back then.

2007:  BUSINESSWOMAN LEONA HELMSLEY DIES.

So there is now a vacancy.

2012:  COMEDIENNE PHYLLIS DILLER DIES.

Fitting that this happens on Don King's birthday.

Dinner last night:  Asian chopped salad with steak.