Hello.
Welcome to your weekend. We are glad you are here.
Well, summer shows no signs of slowing down. Whether you are part of Country JAM, out at RockFest, or simply jamming out and rocking your own to-do list, time keeps on melting away at seemingly record speed. That’s why we like to take time to slow things down-if only for a short bit-on Saturday mornings with our “scroll down memory lane.”
This is a simple peek back at events that happened on these days in history before we head out to make new history today. So, grab your favorite sippin’ drink and let’s scroll!
Tomorrow is Sunday, July 21st, the 203rd day of the year.
On this day:
In 1861, the Confederates held off the Union troops in the Battle of Bull Run Creek at Manassas Junction, Virginia. It was the first major battle of the American Civil War.
In 1873, Jesse James and his gang robbed the Rock Island Express train at Adair, Iowa. The gang got away with three-thousand dollars.
In 1925, the John T. Scopes “Monkey Trial” ended in the Dayton, Tennessee. Scopes was convicted of violating state law by teaching Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. His conviction was later overturned.
In 1930, The Veterans Administration of the United States was established.
In 1947, Loren MacIver’s famous portrait of Emmett Kelly as “Willie the Clown” appeared on the cover of “Life” magazine.
In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black woman to win a major U.S. tennis title. She won the Women’s National clay court singles competition.
In 1961, Captain Gus Grissom became the second American to sub-orbit around the Earth flying aboard the “Liberty Bell Seven.”
In 1987, Mary Hart of television’s “Entertainment Tonight” had her legs insured by Lloyd’s of London for a reported one-million dollars.
In 1989, Mike Tyson, with a single left hook, knocked down Carl “The Truth” Williams in 93 seconds into the first round. It was the fifth-shortest heavyweight title fight in history.
In 1990, eight months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Pink Floyd performs “The Wall” where it once stood.
In 1998, America’s first man in space astronaut Alan Shepard died. He was 74.
In 1999, after days of searching, Navy divers finally found the bodies of John F. Kennedy, Jr. his wife Carolyn and her sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette in the wreckage of Kennedy’s plane in the Atlantic Ocean. Pilot error was later determined to be the cause of the crash.
In 1999, advertising mogul David Ogilvy died in France at the age of 88.
In 2005, for the second time in two weeks, London’s transit system was attacked. One person was injured in explosions that rocked three subways and one bus, but there were no fatalities. Two weeks earlier, terrorist blasts on London’s transit system killed 56 people.
In 2007, at one minute after midnight, the highly-anticipated final book in the “Harry Potter” series went on sale at retail outlets around the world. J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” sold an estimated eight-point-three-million copies in its first 24 hours of release to become the fastest selling book on record.
In 2007, international soccer star David Beckham made his debut for the L.A. Galaxy on this date.
In 2011, Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on this date marking the end of the final mission of NASA’s 30-year space program. The shuttle had just completed a 13-day mission to the International Space Station.
In 2011, Mattel toy company co-founder Elliott Handler died on this date at the age of 95. Handler’s late wife Ruth is credited with creating Mattel’s Barbie Doll in the 1950s. Elliot received credit for naming the doll after their daughter Barbara.
In 2016, Donald Trump accepted his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
In 2016, Roger Ailes resigned as the CEO of the Fox News Channel.
In 2016, the NBA pulled the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina because of the state’s bathroom law, which required transgender persons to use restrooms of the gender listed on their birth certificates.
In 2017, Sean Spicer announced he’s stepping down as White House Press Secretary.
In 2023, jazz singer Tony Bennett died at the age of 96.
That brings us here to this weekend. So, whatever plans you have ahead here’s hoping there are moments along the way to record on the pages of your own personal history books.
Thanks for stopping by!
