Hello!
Welcome to your weekend…the last one in August. Whew. Has your summer seemed to melt away at “super-speed” leaving you “super-sad?” Or are you ready to swap hot days for hoodies?
It can sometimes feel like a whirlwind trying to keep up with every day life and on this Labor Day weekend we start to say farewell to the dog days of summer and welcome back the routine of a school year, the return of cooler temps and those beautiful Fall colors. It’s all a reminder that change is the only constant. But, we can try to slow it down a bit this morning with our weekly “scroll down memory lane.”
It’s a chance to simply look back at events that happened on these dates in history before we head out to make new history today. So, grab your favorite sippin’ drink and let’s scroll!
Sunday, August 31st, the 243rd day of the year.
On this day:
In 1887, inventor Thomas Edison received a patent for the kinetographic camera. The device produced moving pictures.
In 1888, the body of “Jack the Ripper’s” first victim was discovered in London. The serial killer would go on to strike five more times over the next three years.
In 1895, the first professional football game was played in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The quarterback on the winning team was paid ten dollars.
In 1919, The Communist Labor Party of America was founded in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1969, former heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano was killed in an airplane crash in Iowa. He is the only heavyweight champion to have finished his career undefeated.
In 1978, Emily and Bill Harris plead guilty to the 1974 kidnapping of Patty Hearst.
In 1985, Richard Ramirez was arrested in Los Angeles. He was later convicted in the “Night Stalker” killings.
In 1987, Michael Jackson’s album, “Bad,” was released with more than two-million in advance sales.
In 1990, Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Junior became the first father and son to play together on the same team — the Seattle Mariners. Both father and son singled in the first inning.
In 1997, Britain’s Princess Diana was killed in an automobile accident in Paris, France. She was 36. Diana’s companion, Dodi Al-Fayed and the car’s driver Henri Paul were also killed in the accident. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones was the only survivor.
In 1998, the Dow drops a historic 512 points.
In 2002, jazz great Lionel Hampton died on this date at the age of 92. He worked with jazz musicians from Quincy Jones, Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker and Charles Mingus.
In 2004, Hollywood action star-turned-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed the Republican National Convention in New York City. Schwarzenegger brought the crowd to its feet, telling people who are pessimistic about the nation’s economy to not quote, “be economic girly-men.”
In 2004, after a three-year absence from football 37-year-old Deion Sanders announced his return to the NFL, signing a one-year contract with incentives with the Baltimore Ravens.
In 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, emergency management officials began moving approximately 23-thousand beleaguered New Orleans residents stranded inside the Superdome to the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Conditions inside the Superdome began to deteriorate soon after Katrina hit. The dome was surrounded by filthy water and was without power and air conditioning in the aftermath of the hurricane.
In 2009, the Walt Disney Company announced that it had agreed to purchase Marvel Entertainment in a deal worth four-billion dollars. The acquisition deal gave Disney the rights to thousands of Marvel comic book characters.
In 2012, Apple lost a patent lawsuit against Samsung in Japan.
In 2014, actress Jenny McCarthy married actor and singer Donnie Wahlberg at the Hotel Baker in St. Charles, Illinois.
In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that a Kentucky county clerk can’t deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis refused to give marriage licenses following the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing it in June because of her religion.
In 2018, Aretha Franklin’s funeral was held in Detroit. Those in attendance included Stevie Wonder, Ariana Grande and Bill Clinton.
In 2019, a gunman killed seven and injured 22 people in Odessa, Texas.
In 2020, MLB Hall of Famer Tom Seaver died at the age of 75.
In 2021, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United. It began his second stint with the team.
In 2022, the U.S. life expectancy declined to its lowest level since 1996 at 76.1 years old with COVID-19 being a main contributing factor.
In 2023, two leaders of the Proud Boys were sentenced for their roles in the January 6th, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot. Joseph Biggs was sentenced to 17 years and Zachary Rehl received a 15-year sentence.
In 2024, six Israeli hostages held by Hamas were found shot to death in a tunnel in Gaza.
That brings us here to this day. Whatever plans you have for your weekend, here’s hoping there are moments along the way to record on the pages of your own personal history books.
Thanks for stopping by!
