Poor Gabriel's Almanac

Interesting things that happened August 25th:

Birthdays on this date:

In 1530 Ivan IV (the Terrible), first tsar of Russia (1533-84)
In 1819 Allan Pinkerton, founder of the famous Chicago detective agency
In 1836 Bret Harte, writer (Outcasts of Poker Flat)
In 1841 Theodor Kocher, Swiss surgeon, thyroid specialist (Nobel 1909)
In 1845 Ludwig II, mad king of Bavaria (1864-86)
In 1909 Michael Rennie, actor (Day the Earth Stood Still, The Third Man)
+ Ruby Keeler (in Halifax, NS), dancer
In 1913 Walt Kelly, cartoonist, creator of "Pogo"
In 1916 Van Johnson, actor (A Guy Named Joe, The Caine Mutiny, Brigadoon)
In 1918 Leonard Bernstein, conductor, composer, pianist
In 1919 George C. Wallace, Alabama Goveror (D, 1963-1967,71-79,83-87), Presidential candidate (D: 1964,72,76; I: 1968)
In 1927 Althea Gibson, first black tennis champion (in a major event)
In 1930 Sean Connery, actor (numerous James Bond films, Man Who Would Be King, Hunt for Red October, Highlander, etc.)
In 1954 Elvis Costello, musician

Events worth noting:

+ Feast of St. Louis IX, king of France, confessor, patron of barbers
+ Independence Day, celebrated in Uruguay.
+ Zeta Draconid meteor shower, radiant in Draco
In 1689 Montreal taken by the Iroquois.
In 1804 Alice Meynell becomes the first woman jockey, in England.
In 1822 William Herschel, discoverer of Uranus, dies at age 85.
In 1825 Uruguay declares independence from Brazil (National Day).
In 1830 Belgium begins revolt against the Netherlands.
In 1835 N.Y. Sun publishes moon hoax story about John Herschel.
In 1864 Combination rail and ferry service available from SF to Alameda.
+ Petersburg Campaign -- Battle of Ream's Station.
In 1875 Matthew Webb becomes first to swim the English Channel.
In 1919 First scheduled passenger service by airplane (Paris-London).
In 1921 Yankee Harry Harper hits 3 batters in an inning tying the record.
In 1922 Cubs beat Phillies 26-23 in highest scoring major-league game.
In 1929 Graf Zeppelin passes over San Francisco headed for Los Angeles after trans-Pacific voyage from Tokyo.
In 1944 Paris is liberated from Nazi occupation in WWII.
In 1952 Tiger's Virgil Trucks no hits the Yankees.
In 1956 Swedish warship Vasa, lost in 1628, is found (later raised).
In 1976 Yanks beat Twins 5-4 in 19 innings.
In 1981 Voyager 2 closest approach to Saturn and discovers thousands of rings.
In 1989 Voyager 2 has its Neptune flyby.

And remember ...

National Inventors Month
National Simplify Your Life Month
National Civility Month

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Although efforts have been taken to ensure the accuracy of this information, several errors have been found in the past. Don't place any bets on the basis of what you find here. If you spot an error, write to Poor Gabriel at poorgabriel@mystery.com .