Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary holy day of obligation, solemnity, commemorating Mary's entering Heaven, both body and soul.

1985 Michael Jackson pays $47.5 for the publishing rights to the Beatles song catalog.

1977 Wow! Signal SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) detects a radio signal originating from within the Sagittarius constellation. It so closely matched the type of signal they expected an intelligent life form to transmit, that one of the scientists wrote "Wow!" in the margin of the printout. Although Earth-bound sources have been ruled out, the exact source of the signal has never been determined.

1973 Vietnam War U.S. ceases bombing Cambodia.

1970 First woman to play professional football Pat Palinkas holds the ball for her place kicker husband, Steve, of the Orlando Panthers (Atlantic Coast football league).

1969 Woodstock The music festival near Bethel, New York begins.

1948 Network TV News CBS begins the first network TV news broadcast.

1947 India India gains its independence from Britain..

1945 World War II Japanese Emperor Hirohito, upon announcing the Japanese surrender, tells his people to "bear the unbearable and endure the unendurable."

1918 First full-length feature cartoon The Sinking of the Lusitania is released.

1915 Papers revealing Germany's plans to create disorder among the American people are published by the New York World. They were signed by the German Ambassador and the German Embassy financial advisor, who had lost the papers.

1914 Panama Canal is declared open to world commerce.

1870 First continuous chain of rails connecting Pacific and Atlantic ports is completed, Comanche (Strasburg), Colorado.

1790 First American bishop Father Carroll is ordained. He was placed in charge of the Diocese of Baltimore.

1944 Linda Ellerbee American TV news journalist.

1933 Bobby Helms American country singer, Fraulein (1956, #1), My Special Angel (1957, #1), and Jingle Bell Rock (1957).

1925 Mike Conners (Krekor Ohanian), American actor. TV: Mannix (Joe Mannix). He also played Kirk Ohanian in the TV movie The Killer Who Wouldn't Die (1976).

1912 Julia Child d. 2004 (Julia Carolyn McWilliams), American chef.  Her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking is considered a culinary masterwork.  She also served and has been honored for her work with the OSS during WWII.  Known for her trademark signoff, "This is Julia Child. Bon appétit!"

1888 Lawrence of Arabia d. 1935 (Thomas Edward Lawrence), English soldier, spy, diplomat, and secret agent. During World War I, he organized the Arab revolt that ended Turkish rule over Arabia.

1879 Ethel Barrymore d. 1959 (Ethel Mae Blyth), American actress, star of Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

1771 Sir Walter Scott d. 1832 Scottish poet, novelist. Writings: Waverley (1814) and Ivanhoe (1819).

1769 Napoleon Bonaparte d. 1821 Emperor of France (1804-14), King of Italy (1805-14). He was exiled to the south Atlantic island of St. Helena after his defeat in 1815 to the British at the Battle of Waterloo.

???? Gunther Toody character on the TV show Car 54, Where Are You? played by Joe E. Ross.

2000 Craven Walker b. 1918 English inventor.  He created the Lava Lamp (1963).  He got the idea from similar device he saw in a pub that had been created by a then deceased patron.  He spent the next 15 years developing a commercial version of the oozing lamp.

1995 John Cameron Swayze b. 1906 American actor, TV personality, and Timex pitchman ("Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.").

1982 Ernie Bushmiller b. 1905 (Ernest Paul Bushmiller), American cartoonist, creator of Nancy and her friend Sluggo.

1981 Mickey Goldmill b. 1905 character in the Rocky movies (Rocky Balboa's manager, as played by Burgess Meredith).

1935 Will Rogers b. 1879 American humorist, author. He died in an airplane crash with Wiley Post.

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