Interesting things that happened August 14th:

Birthdays on this date:

• In 1777 Hans Christian Oersted, physicist, chemist
• In 1867 John Galsworthy (in England), author (Forsyte Saga) (Nobel 1932)
• In 1901 Sir James Pitman, English educator, publisher, phonetic speller
• In 1903 John Ringling North, circus director
• In 1920 Nehemiah Persoff, actor (On the Waterfront, Some Like It Hot), painter
• In 1924 Maurice Richard, NHL player
• In 1925 Russell Baker, newspaper columnist
• In 1926 Alice Ghostley (in Montana), actor (Designing Women, Bewitched)
  + Buddy Greco, singer
• In 1941 Connie Smith (in Elkhart, IN), singer
  + David Crosby, rocker (CSNY)
• In 1944 Robyn Smith, jockey
• In 1946 Susan St. James (in LA, CA), (MacMillan and Wife, Kate and Allie)
• In 1952 Deborah Meyer (in Annapolis, Maryland), swimmer (3 Olympic gold medals in 1968 - 200/400/800 meter freestyle)
• In 1958 Earvin "Magic" Johnson, NBA star (LA Lakers)

Events worth noting:

• + Dog Days
  + Perseid meteor shower, radiant in Perseus (near Cassiopeia)
  + Feast of St. Maximillian Kolbe, patron of drug addicts and prisoners
• In 410 Alaric sacks Rome.
• In 1248 Construction of Cologne Cathedral is begun.
• In 1385 Portuguese defeat Castilians at Aljubarrota, retain independence.
• In 1457 Oldest exactly dated printed book (c. 3 years after Gutenberg).
• In 1511 Michelangelo's paintings on Sistine Chapel ceiling exhibited for first time.
• In 1756 French capture Ft. Oswego, N.Y.
• In 1846 Henry David Thoreau jailed for tax resistance.
• In 1848 The Oregon Territory established.
• In 1880 Construction of Cologne Cathedral is completed.
• In 1893 France issues first driving licenses, including a required test.
• In 1900 International forces, including U.S. Marines, enter Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at ridding China of foreigners.
• In 1912 2,500 US marines invade Nicaragua; US remains until 1925.
• In 1917 China declares war on Germany and Austria, entering into WW I.
• In 1919 Yankee Muddy Ruel hits into a triple play.
• In 1935 Social Security Act became law.
• In 1941 FDR and Winston S. Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter.
• In 1945 Japanese forces surrender to U.S. forces ending World War II.
• In 1947 Pakistan gains independence from Britain rule.
• In 1951 Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst died in Beverly Hills.
• In 1958 Canadian Football League plays first game (Winnipeg 29, Edmonton 21).
• In 1962 US mail truck in Plymouth, Mass robbed of more than $1.5 million.
• In 1966 First US lunar orbiter.
• In 1969 British troops intervened militarily in Northern Ireland.
• In 1973 U.S. stops bombing Cambodia.
• In 1977 77,691 see NY Cosmos beat Ft Lauderdale Strikers 8-3 at Giant Stad.
• In 1984 IBM releases MS-DOS version 3.0.
• In 2003 The 2003 North American Blackout leaves 50,000,000 people powerless.

And remember ...

• National Inventors Month
• National Simplify Your Life Month
• National Civility Month