This day in history

Some interesting historical facts today include:

1841 - John Hampton received patent No. US2223 for improvements to the Venetian Blind

1878 - lawyers from across the country gathered in Saratoga, NY to form the American Bar Association, the first of its kind I the US

1879 - The Telephone Company Ltd. opened in London, the first exchange in Europe 

1888 - merchants and accountants lives get easier with Burrough's invention of the adding machine

1897 - Ransom Eli Olds founded Olds Motor Works in Lansing, MI. Their first car produced was the curved-dash Oldsmobile

1911 - a former employee of the Louvre stole the Mona Lisa. Vincenzo Peruggia was a glacier at the museum and absconded with the painting by cutting it from its frame and hiding the artwork under his clothes. He was captured 2 years later after trying to sell it. Despite protest from Italians, the artwork was recovered and returned to the museum 

1942 - Disney released the film Bambi

1947 - the first Little League World Series began in Williamsport, PA. Williamsport won the championship over Lock Haven a few days later

1959 - Hawaii became the 50th state to join the union. Robert Heft at age 16, designed the current 50-star flag as part of a class project to include the 49th and 50th states. Heft sent the flag to Ohio congressman, Rep. Walter Moeller to submit the design for consideration. Congress chose Heft's design because it was the only sewn design submitted.

1962 - Edwin Traisman was issued Patent No. 3,050,404 for a "Method for preparing frozen French fried potatoes." The patent, submitted by a McDonald's franchisee, also included other frozen starchy vegetables 

1987 - Lionsgate released Dirty Dancing starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the US

2008 - the US soccer team beat Brazil for the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. Carli Lloyd scored the winning shot in the 1-0 match in extra time

2017 - North America watched the only total solar eclipse in the 21st century to be viewable across Mexico, the US, and Canada

2019 - Nigeria maked strides toward eliminating polio from its country after going 3 years without a case

Some notable birthdays include:

William Murdock (1754) - Scottish inventor who pursued improvements in the steam engine and first to use coal gas as a safe illumination

William Kelly (1811) - developed the pneumatic process of steel making

Claude Grahame White (1879) - English  pilot who completed the first night flight

George Bugs Moran (1893)

Lili Marie Juliette Olga Boulanger (1893) - first woman to win the Prix de Rome competition prize

Theresa Weld Blanchard (1893) - won a bronze medal in the singles figure skating competition at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics 

Friz Freleng (1906) - American animator who began his career at 17, worked for Disney Studios and Warner Bros.

Toe Blake (1912)

Jack Buck (1924) - Major League baseball announcer known as the Voice of the Cardinals, elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987

Judy Grable (1925)

Art & Addison Farmer (1928) - identical twin brothers who both became jazz musicians 

Janet Baker (1933)

Wilt Chamberlain (1936)

Kenny Rogers (1938)

Margo Kane (1951)

Lance Earl Deal (1961)

Stephen Hillenburg (1961) - creator of SpongeBob SquarePants, did you know he was also a marine biologist?

Sergey Brin (1973) - co-founded Google with Larry Page

Usain Bolt (1986)

Hayden Panettiere (1989)