Sunday, September 2, 2012

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:

• Spencer Smith (drummer, Panic At The Disco) (25)
• Terry Bradshaw (Hall Of Fame NFL quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who's currently a football announcer) (64)
• Jimmy Connors (Hall of Fame pro tennis player) (60)
• Salma Hayek (actress, Dogma, Traffic, From Dusk 'Til Dawn, Desperado, Frida, Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, 30 Rock) (46)
• Keanu Reeves (actor, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, the Matrix movies, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Constantine) (48)
• Mark Harmon (actor, St. Elsewhere, NCIS; husband of Pam Dawber) (61)
• Lennox Lewis (English heavyweight boxer) (47)
• Sam Rivers (bassist, Limp Bizkit) (35)
• Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey (member of Jodeci and K-Ci & JoJo) (43)
• Steve Porcaro (keyboardist, Toto) (55)
• Phil Lipscomb (bassist, Taproot) (36)
• Aimee Osbourne (singer; oldest daughter of Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne) (29)
• Dino Cazares (ex-guitarist, Fear Factory) (46)

ON THIS DAY:

• 31 B.C.E., Roman leader Octavian defeated the alliance of fellow Roman Mark Antony and Egypt's Queen Cleopatra in the naval battle of Actium. The victory gave Octavian control of the entire Roman world, and he became Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor.Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide the next year.
• 1666, the Great Fire Of London broke out in the early morning inside a baker's shop. The fire burned 80 percent ofLondon, claiming thousands of homes, and destroyingSt. Paul's Church. However, only six people were killed in the several days that the fire burned.
• 1752, Britain and its colonies -- including the American colonies -- made the adjustment from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, which had been in use in most Catholic countries for almost two centuries. According to the British Calendar Act Of 1751, the day after September 2nd, 1752, would be September 14th, 1752.
• 1864, Union General William T. Sherman's forces marched into and occupiedAtlanta during the Civil War.
• 1901, speaking at a Minnesota State Fair, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt offered this advice from an African proverb: "Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far."
• 1944, Navy pilot and future president George H. W. Bush was shot down by the Japanese during World War II in the Bonin Islands. Bush was rescued, but his two crew members died.
• 1945, after informally surrendering to the U.S. in August after two atomic bombs were dropped on them, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the U.S.S. Missouri inTokyoBay.
• 1948 Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher and the first civilian to ride the space shuttle, is born. She dies in 1986 in the Challenger disaster.
• 1963, Alabama Governor George C. Wallace prevented the integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers. Eight days later, President John F. Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard to ensure integration.
• 1963, The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite was lengthened from 15 minutes to 30 minutes, becoming network TV's first half-hour nightly newscast.
• 1969, the final episode of the original Star Trek series aired on NBC.
• 1973 Author J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord Of The Rings) dies at age 81.
• 1974, Lucille Ball ended 23 years on network TV when Here's Lucy last aired on CBS.
• 1985, it was announced that a U.S.-French expedition had located the wreckage of the Titanic about 560 miles offNewfoundland.
• 1993 Pearl Jam performs a song from their upcoming Vs. album, called "Animal," at the MTV Video Music Awards. Following that, they are joined onstage by Neil Young for a blistering version of "Rockin' In The Free World."
• 1994 Van Halen finishes recording the Balance album.
• 1998, a Swissair jet crashed offNova Scotia, killing all 229 people on board.
• 2003 Marilyn Manson appears in a federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota, for jury selection in the trial brought against him by a Minneapolis security guard. The guard, David M. Diaz, seeks $75,000 in damages on a battery charge.
• 2005, the National Guard arrived in New Orleans four days after Hurricane Katrina. President George W. Bush toured theGulfCoast and acknowledged the government's failure to stop crime and help people during the storm and its aftermath.