Today's Puzzle
Why can't you use "Beef Stew" as a password?
What Happened On
General Charles de Gaulle and his entourage in front of the Arc de Triumphe
World War II - Liberation of Paris
August 25, 1944
Dietrich von Choltitz, Commander of the German garrison and the military governor of Paris, surrenders to the French. Paris had been under Nazi control for four years. Choltitz had been ordered by Adolf Hitler to blow up Paris' landmarks and burn the city to the ground before its liberation. Choltitz defied Hitler's orders because he did not want to go down in history as the man who had destroyed the "City of Light."
The Wizard of Oz
August 25, 1939
The film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 book The Wizard of Oz is released, starring Judy Garland as Dorothy and Terry as Toto. It was the story of two women fighting over a pair of shoes.
Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man, but had to quit because he had an allergic reaction to the silver makeup.
Company I of the 36th Colored Regiment (circa 1864)
Company I of the 36th Colored Regiment (circa 1864)
First Black U.S. Military Unit
August 25, 1862
U.S. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton officially authorizes the use of black soldiers. The first unit was the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, composed of escaped slaves from South Carolina and Florida. Harriet Tubman served as a cook, nurse, spy, and scout for this unit.
However, blacks had served in various wartime capacities including combat, especially the Navy, since the American Revolution.
Moon village as depicted in The Sun
Moon village as depicted in The Sun
The Great Moon Hoax
August 25, 1835
The first of six articles is published in the New York newspaper The Sun about the supposed discovery of life on the Moon. The articles described fantastic animals on the Moon, including bison, goats, unicorns, bipedal tailless beavers, and bat-like winged humanoids who built temples. These discoveries were supposedly made with "an immense telescope of an entirely new principle." The hoax story greatly increased the sales of The Sun, even after it was exposed. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel, one of the best-known astronomers of the time.
Edgar Allan Poe believed the articles plagiarized one of his stories, so he perpetrated the Balloon Hoax on The Sun as a form of revenge.
The date of the hoax coincided with the anniversary of Galileo Galilei demonstrating his telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
Galileo Demonstrates His Telescope
August 25, 1609
Galileo Galilei demonstrates one of his early telescopes to Venetian lawmakers. It had a magnification of about 8 or 9. He built his telescopes based on the descriptions of the first practical telescope built by Hans Lippershey the previous year. He later made improved versions with up to about 30x magnification and had a profitable business building and selling telescopes.
Snoop Dogg Drive By Shooting
August 25, 1993
The rap singer Snoop Dogg is the driver in a drive-by shooting. His bodyguard shot and killed a man from the passenger window. At the trial, prosecutors claimed the victim was shot in the back and buttocks after he tried to flee. The defense claimed the victim was reaching for a gun and had previously stalked Snoop. Snoop and his bodyguard were eventually acquitted of second-degree murder charges.
Nobody Voted
August 25, 1992
In the Dutton, Alabama election for mayor and city council nobody voted. And why should they; nobody ran for office.
Hurricane Andrew
August 25, 1992
Hurricane Andrew hits Louisiana.
World War II
August 25, 1940
The British fly a bombing raid over Berlin, surprising Adolf Hitler. Marshall Hermann Göring had assured Hitler no such thing was possible.
National Park Service
August 25, 1916
National Park Service is established.
Birthdays
Sean Connery (Thomas Connery)
Born August 25, 1930 d. 2020
Scottish Oscar-Tony-winning actor, producer. "Bond, James Bond", starring in seven James Bond films between 1962 and 1983. He finished 3rd in the 1953 Mr. Universe tall man's division.
Monty Hall (Monte Halparin)
Born August 25, 1921 d. 2017
Canadian-born American game show host. TV: Let's Make A Deal (1963-86, 1990-91).
Sherman and Mr. Peabody (right) enter the WABAC machine
Sherman and Mr. Peabody (right) enter the WABAC machine
Ted Key
Born August 25, 1912 d. 2008
American cartoonist. Creator of TV's Hazel (1943) and Peabody's Improbable History (1959).
Tim Burton
Born August 25, 1958
American film director known for his dark eccentric films. Film: Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), and Alice in Wonderland (2010).
Elvis Costello (Declan Patrick McManus)
Born August 25, 1954
English musician, songwriter. Music: My Aim is True (1977).
Gene Simmons (Gene Klein)
Born August 25, 1949
American rock musician, the Phantom of Kiss. Music: Rock And Roll All Nite (1975).
Frederick Forsyth
Born August 25, 1938
English author. He has sold more than 70,000,000 books. Writings: The Day of the Jackal (1971) and The Odessa File (1972).
David Canary
Born August 25, 1938 d. 2015
American Emmy-winning actor. TV: All My Children (1984-2013, Adam/Stuart Chandler).
Tom Skerritt
Born August 25, 1933
American actor. TV: Cheers (Evan Drake) and Picket Fences.
Photo Credit: David Shankbone
Photo Credit: David Shankbone
Regis Philbin
Born August 25, 1931 d. 2020
American TV personality. Sometimes called "the hardest working man in show business", Philbin holds the Guinness World Record for the most hours on U.S. television. He started his television career as a page for The Tonight Show in the 1950s.
TV: Live with Regis & Kathie Lee (1988-2000), Live! with Regis and Kelly (2001-11), and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2009-10).
Photo Credit: Leigh Wiener
Photo Credit: Leigh Wiener
Leigh Wiener
Born August 25, 1929 d. 1993
American photographer. He is the only person to have photographed Marilyn Monroe living, at the scene of her death, and at the morgue. His work appears in the National Portrait Gallery. He died from radiation poisoning received while photographing atomic tests for Life magazine.
Maurice Binder
Born August 25, 1925 d. 1991
American film title designer. He created the titles for 14 of the James Bond movies including the first, Dr. No (1962).
George Corley Wallace
Born August 25, 1919 d. 1998
Alabama governor (1963-67, 71-79, 83-87). He barred two black students from registering at the University of Alabama (1963). He was shot and partially paralyzed by Arthur Herman Bremer (1972).
Richard Greene
Born August 25, 1918 d. 1985
British actor. TV: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-59, title role).
Leonard Bernstein
Born August 25, 1918 d. 1990
American Emmy-Grammy-winning conductor, composer. Music: West Side Story (1957).
Mel Ferrer (Melchor Gaston Ferrer)
Born August 25, 1917 d. 2008
American actor, producer.
Walt Kelly
Born August 25, 1913 d. 1973
American cartoonist. Created Pogo (1948) with its famous quote: "We have met the enemy, and it is us."
Don DeFore
Born August 25, 1913 d. 1993
American actor. TV: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-57, next-door neighbor "Thorny" Thornberry) and Hazel (1961-65, Mr. Baxter).
Erich Honecker
Born August 25, 1912 d. 1994
East German political leader. He supervised the construction of the Berlin Wall.
Ruby Keeler (Ethel Hilda Keeler)
Born August 25, 1909 d. 1993
American dancer, actress. She frequently co-starred with Dick Powell. Film: 42nd Street (1933).
Gardiner Greene Hubbard
Born August 25, 1822 d. 1897
American lawyer. Co-founder and president of the Clarke Institute for Deaf Mutes (1867-76) and founder and president of the National Geographic Society (1888-97). The Hubbard Memorial Hall in Washington D.C. and the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska are named for him.
Allan Pinkerton
Born August 25, 1819 d. 1884
Scottish-American detective, spy. Pinkerton co-founded the first U.S. detective agency (1850), and was the first chief of the U.S. Army's secret service.
Pinkerton was an abolitionist and his Illinois home was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Ludwig I
Born August 25, 1786 d. 1868
King of Bavaria (1825-48). He made dancer Lola Montez a countess and gave her authority over state affairs. This led to the revolution (1848) which forced his resignation.
Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV)
Born August 25, 1530 d. 1584
Czar of Russia (1533-84). He was the first "Tsar of All the Russias".
Deaths
Neil Alden Armstrong
Died August 25, 2012 b. 1930
American astronaut. First man to walk on the Moon (1969). "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
Armstrong was also NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space, during his first spaceflight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966.
As a Navy pilot, Armstrong flew 78 missions over Korea during the Korean War.
Ted Kennedy (Edward Moore Kennedy)
Died August 25, 2009 b. 1932
American politician, U.S. Senator (D. Massachusetts 1962-2009). He was a proponent of modern American liberalism. In 1969, he drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, resulting in the death of passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
Portrait of Nietzsche by Hans Olde
Portrait of Nietzsche by Hans Olde
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Died August 25, 1900 b. 1844
German philosopher. He is the author of Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883), in which he developed the idea of "Übermensch" (Superman) who would control society. In 1889, Nietzsche suffered a mental breakdown and was institutionalized. The cause of his mental illness is much debated. It was originally attributed to syphilis or mercury poisoning, as mercury was used to treat syphilis. Others attribute it to vascular dementia due to a series of strokes he suffered.
Quote: "Two great European narcotics are alcohol and Christianity" and "What does not kill me, makes me stronger."
John McCain (John Sidney McCain III)
Died August 25, 2018 b. 1936
American politician, naval aviator. U.S. Senator (1987-2018, Arizona), U.S. House of Representatives (1983-87, Arizona), and Vietnam prisoner of war (1967-73). He was aboard the USS Forrestal when it caught fire, killing 134 people.
Samantha Smith
Died August 25, 1985 b. 1972
American school-girl. Her 1982 letter to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov asking if he wanted a nuclear war with the U.S. led to a two-week visit to the Soviet Union, and a part in the prime-time TV series Lime Street (1985). She died at age 13 when the plane she was on crashed short of the runway, killing all on board.
Truman Capote
Died August 25, 1984 b. 1924
American Emmy-winning author. Writings: In Cold Blood (1965, based on the murder of the Clutter family). TV: A Christmas Memory (1966, Emmy).
Magnus Konow
Died August 25, 1972 b. 1887
Norwegian sailor. He tied the record for longest span of Olympic competition (40 years, 1908, 1912, 1920, 1928, 1936, 1948). He is one of only four athletes who have competed in the Olympics over a span of 40 years, along with fencer Ivan Joseph Martin Osiier, sailor Durward Knowles, and sailor Paul Elvstrøm.
Alfred Charles Kinsey
Died August 25, 1956 b. 1894
American zoologist. His book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) shocked the public by pointing out how many "perverted acts" were common place in American homes.
John Birch
Died August 25, 1945 b. 1918
American missionary and U.S. Army intelligence officer. The anti-communist John Birch Society is named for him. He was killed by Chinese communists. John Birch, along with Chinese guerrillas, helped the Doolittle Raiders to safety when they bailed out over China after completing the first U.S. bombing of the Japanese mainland during World War II. After the raid, Doolittle commissioned Birch as a second lieutenant to work as a field intelligence officer. Birch built an intelligence network of sympathetic Chinese informants, supplying information on Japanese troop movements and shipping.
Birch was killed a few days after the war ended in a confrontation with Chinese Communist soldiers. Birch refused to surrender his revolver to them and harsh words and insults were exchanged, resulting in Birch being shot and killed.
Édouard Michelin
Died August 25, 1940 b. 1859
French tire maker. He and his brother founded the Michelin Tire Co. (1888) and invented a removable rubber pneumatic tire for bicycles (1889).
The Faraday disc was the first electric generator (1831)
The Faraday disc was the first electric generator (1831)
Michael Faraday
Died August 25, 1867 b. 1791
English scientist. He discovered electromagnetic induction (1831), the magnetism of light (1845), the compound benzene (1825), and developed the first dynamo.
Sir William Herschel
Died August 25, 1822 b. 1738
English astronomer. He discovered Uranus (1781), two of its moons (1787), and the sixth and seventh moons of Saturn (1789).
James Watt
Died August 25, 1819 b. 1736
British inventor, for whom the unit of power the 'watt' is named. He invented the modern condensing steam engine (1765).
Louis IX
Died August 25, 1270 b. 1214
King of France (1226-70). Known as Saint Louis, he was canonized in 1297.
Photo Credit: Rasiel Suarez
Photo Credit: Rasiel Suarez
Gratian (Flavius Gratianus)
Died August 25, 383 b. 359
Roman Emperor (367-383). He helped establish Christianity by persecuting heretics and pagans, seizing their assets and revoking their privileges.