On August 19th…
“If we are not bound by the past, neither are we to discard it. We are to learn how, out of the past, to evolve an instrumentation useful for today.
~Lyman Abbott
1692 – Martha Carrier, George Jacobs Sr., John Willard, John Proctor, and George Burroughs (a minister) were executed by hanging in Salem after being convicted of witchcraft. One month earlier, five women had met the same fate, and in September, seven more women and one man would also hang.
Proctor’s Ledge on Gallows Hill has been confirmed as the location that served as the Gallows in 1692. The confirmation was made after careful research of thousands of documents from the Salem Witchcraft trials, reexamination of the research of 20th century historian Selby Percy and the use of modern technology.
The numerous surviving documents from the witch trials, including accounts from the sheriff of Essex County, contain no mention of a gallows. Indeed, the only time Gallows Hill was used for executions was in 1692. Therefore, the team believes that the executions were carried out from a large tree (now gone), a common tradition at the time. The research supports this conclusion as no trace of structures were discovered. The historic site is an area located in between Proctor and Pope Streets in Salem
1812 – American frigate USS Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. During the battle, the 18-pound iron cannonballs launched by Guerriere bounced harmlessly off the American frigate’s 24-inch triple-layered hull, which was made of white oak and live oak sheathed in copper. One British sailor supposedly yelled out, “Her sides are made of iron!” The comment earned the Constitution a beloved nickname … “Old Ironsides”.
1909 – The first race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, now the home of the world’s most famous motor racing competition, the Indianapolis 500. However, the race held on this date wasn’t 500 miles. It was a grueling 5 miles in length and was won by Louis Schwitzer, who averaged 57.4 mph.
The first running of the actual Indy 500 was 1911
1934 – Capturing 89.9 per cent of the vote, Adolf Hitler – already the chancellor of Germany – was elected president in an unprecedented consolidation of power. He was now, for all intents and purposes, a dictator.
1951 – Weighing 65 pounds and standing 3 feet 7 inches tall, Eddie Gaedel, the lead character in the most famous stunt ever devised by legendary owner and showman Bill Veeck, made his big league baseball debut with the St. Louis Browns. Sporting a unique uniform number, Gaedel was walked on four pitches in the one and only at-bat of his career.
1953 – The Iranian military, with the support and financial assistance of the United States government, overthrew the government of Premier Mohammed Mosaddeq and reinstated the Shah of Iran. Iran remained a solid Cold War ally of the United States until a revolution ended the Shah’s rule in 1979.
1960 – In Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.
In May 1960, Powers – who had been discharged from the Air Force in 1956 with the rank of captain and then joined the CIA’s U-2 program – departed from a military airbase in Peshawar, Pakistan. His flight was the first attempt to fly all the way across the Soviet Union, but he was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over Sverdlovsk.
When the U.S. government learned of Powers’ disappearance over the Soviet Union, they issued a cover statement claiming a “weather plane” had strayed off course after its pilot had “difficulties with his oxygen equipment”. What CIA officials did not realize was that the plane crashed almost fully intact, and the Soviets recovered its equipment.
On 10 February 1962, Powers was exchanged, along with American student Frederic Pryor, in a well-publicized spy swap at the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin. The exchange was for Soviet KGB Colonel Vilyam Fisher, known as “Rudolf Abel”, who had been caught by the FBI and tried and jailed for espionage.
1977 – Groucho Marx died at the age of 86. He appeared in 13 feature comedy films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born. He also had a successful solo career, most notably as the host of the radio and television game show You Bet Your Life.
1987 – In Hungerford, Berkshire, England, Michael Ryan fatally shot 16 people before committing suicide. The shootings, committed using a handgun and two semi-automatic rifles, occurred at several locations, including a school he had once attended.
Fifteen other people were also shot but survived. No firm motive for the killings has ever been established. It remains one of the worst firearms atrocities in UK history. The massacre led to the Firearms (Amendment) Act of 1988, which banned the ownership of semi-automatic center-fire rifles and restricted the use of shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than two rounds.
1994 – Announcing a dramatic change in the 28-year U.S. policy, President Bill Clinton halted the nation’s open-door policy for Cuban refugees. Refugees from the island nation heading for the U.S. on rafts and small boats were to be treated as illegal aliens, detained in camps at Guantanamo and in Panama, and not permitted to enter the U.S. unless they can satisfy the criteria for refugee or immigrant status individually.
1996 – U.S. District Judge George Howard Jr. sentenced former Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker to four years’ probation for his Whitewater scandal-related crimes.
Tucker had been convicted of one count of conspiracy and one count of mail fraud as part of Kenneth Starr’s investigation of the Whitewater scandal. He received a lenient sentence of probation and house detention in part because of his poor health.
2010 – Operation Iraqi Freedom ended as the last U.S. combat brigade left Iraq. 52,000 U.S. troops remained in the country. Ten days later, the war effort was renamed Operation New Dawn to reflect a reduced U.S. role.
Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2016 RayLemire.com. All Rights Reserved.
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