On this day

Births:

1938 – Kenny Rogers, American singer and actor
1952 – Keith Hart, Canadian professional wrestler
1957 – Steve Smith (musician), American drummer (Journey).
1956 – Kim Cattrall, English-born actress
1967 – Carrie-Anne Moss, Canadian actress
1971 – Liam Howlett, British musician (The Prodigy)
1973 – Sergey Brin, Co-founder of Google
1973 – Nikolay Valuev, Russian boxer
1975 – Simon Katich, Australian cricketer
1983 – Chantelle Houghton, British TV personality
1983 – Brody Jenner, American actor
1983 – Scott McDonald, Australian footballer (Celtic F.C.)
1984 – Neil Dexter, South African cricketer
1986 – Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
1989 – Hayden Panettiere, American actress, model and singer
1989 – Judd Trump, English snooker player

1770 – James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.

1858 - Victoria Cross winner Sir Sam Browne invented the Sam Browne belt to hold his sword and pistol after he had lost an arm in action. It soon became standard military kit.

1901 - The Cadillac Motor Company was formed in Detroit, Michigan, named after the French explorer, Antoine Cadillac.

1911 - Leonardo da Vinci's painting, the Mona Lisa, was stolen from the Louvre in Paris; it was recovered two years later.

1959 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the Union.

1986 – Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometer range.

1991 – Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after the occupation of Soviet Union.

1993 – NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.

Births:

1957 – Steve Davis, English snooker player
1967 – Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, British actor
1967 – Ant, American comedian
1967 – Ty Burrell, American actor
1972 – Paul Doucette, American drummer (Matchbox 20)
1973 – Kristen Wiig, American comedian.................................SO SO HOT!!!
1973 – Howie Dorough, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
1975 – Sheree Murphy, British actress
1977 – Heiðar Helguson, Icelandic footballer
1978 – Jeff Stinco, Canadian musician (Simple Plan)
1984 – Lee Camp, English footballer
1985 – Jonathan Solofa Fatu, American wrestler (Jimmy Uso)
1985 – Joshua Samuel Fatu, American wrestler (Jey Uso)
1991 – Federico Macheda, Italian footballer

1978: Kenya's founding father dies
Kenya's president, Jomo Kenyatta, has died at his home in Mombasa.
An official announcement on Voice of Kenya radio said Mr Kenyatta died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday morning.

Shops and offices in the capital, Nairobi, and other cities have closed for the day as a mark of respect.

In public appearances yesterday, Mr Kenyatta, 89, appeared to be in good health so news of his death has come as a shock to most Kenyans.

However, last week he called a family conference in Mombasa leading to speculation about his health.

Mr Kenyatta was widely seen as the founding father of his nation which he had led since its independence in 1963.

A member of Kenya's largest tribe, the Kikuyu, he was one of the first and best-known African nationalist leaders.


We have lost a major figure of our time

Shridath Ramphal

Baptised Johnstone Kamau, he changed his name to Kenyatta - Swahili for "light of Kenya" in the 1920s.

After spending 15 years in London promoting the cause of Kenyan's independence from Britain, he returned to his homeland in 1946.

In 1952 he was imprisoned by the British and spent the next nine years in captivity.

In spite of his time in prison, Mr Kenyatta was regarded as the most pro-British of African presidents and under his leadership the Kenyan economy prospered.

But he was intolerant of dissent in Kenya and outlawed some opposition parties in 1969.

The Queen has sent a message of sympathy to Mr Kenyatta's wife and the Kenyan people.

The Commonwealth Secretary General, Shridath Ramphal, said Mr Kenyatta's death had deprived Kenya of a great leader.

"We have lost a major figure of our time," Mr Ramphal said.

Mr Kenyatta's deputy, Daniel arap Moi, has assumed the office of president for 90 days during which time new elections must be held.



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Jomo Kenyatta was imprisoned by the British


Kenyatta's rise from rebel to president




In Context
Jomo Kenyatta is still revered in Kenya and has a public holiday in October named in his honour.
Daniel arap Moi took over as president after Jomo Kenyatta's death. A one-party state was created in 1982.

External pressure led to elections in 1992 and 1997 but they were marred by widespread violence and fraud and President Moi remained in power.

Under President Moi, Kenya's economic situation deteriorated and was exacerbated by the worst drought in 30 years.

In December 2002 Mwai Kibaki and his National Rainbow Coalition party swept to victory in Kenya's elections.

Mr Kibaki defeated Daniel arap Moi's chosen successor, Jomo Kenyatta's son, Uhuru.


Stories From 22 Aug
1978: Kenya's founding father dies
1972: Rhodesia out of Olympics
1986: Police chief cleared of misconduct
1999: Man in custody after burglary shooting
1966: ICI announces big nylon job losses

565 - St Columba reported seeing a monster in Loch Ness. It was the first reported sighting of the monster.

1485 - Richard III of England was defeated and killed at The Battle of Bosworth Field, the last of the Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York. He was the last English king to die in battle.

1770 - Captain James Cook, having landed at Australia, claimed it for the British crown.

1849 – The first air raid in history. Austria launches pilotless balloons against the city of Venice.

1926 – Gold is discovered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

1989 – The first ring of Neptune is discovered.

2004 – A version of The Scream and Madonna, two paintings by Edvard Munch, are stolen at gunpoint from a museum in Oslo, Norway.

(22-08-2011 10:47 )skully Wrote:  565 - St Columba reported seeing a monster in Loch Ness. It was the first reported sighting of the monster.

The idea of some strange being lurking in Loch Ness has fascinated generations, but whilst there have been supposed sightings over the centuries most of the interest stems from 1933, when newspapers carried the first stories of "eye-witness" sightings, followed in 1934 by the famous photgraph of a neck sticking out of the water.

The photo, taken by London gynocologist Dr Robert Wilson, became known as "the surgeon's photograph", because he refused to have his name associated with it, which was probably a wise idea as in 1994 it was proved to have been a hoax. In 1979, a Californian research team put forward the idea that the photo is of a swimming elephant taken elsewhere.

If Nessie does exist, and is some sort of pre-historic survivor then a Plesiosaur has been suggested as the most likely explanation. Supporters point out that the Coelacanth, a large pre-historic fish, was thought to be extinct for 100 million years until a fisherman caught one off the coast of Africa in 1937, so we cannot dismiss the possibility that many "lost" species are still around.

Detractors point out that not only was the Plesiousaur a tropical species, but Loch Ness has only existed for 10,000 years, and was frozen solid for the 20,000 years before that during the ice age. They say that the sightings are either explained away by broken off trees, seals, waves, driftwood or are simply hoaxes.

In the 1970s Sir Peter Scott led a major expedition to Loch Ness and one blurred underwater photograph was claimed to show some sort of animal shape. Scott announced in 1975 that the scientific name of the monster would henceforth be Nessiteras rhombopteryx (Greek for "The Ness monster with diamond-shaped fin"). Scott intended that this would enable Nessie to be added to a British register of officially protected wildlife, until some wag pointed out that the name was an anagram of "Monster hoax by Sir Peter S"!!



The 1934 "Surgeon's photograph" - pre-historic survivor or a swimming elephant?

1990: Outrage at Iraqi TV hostage show
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has appeared on state television with western hostages, provoking a storm of outrage.
Saddam told the group of more than a dozen mainly British people they had been detained to prevent war and said Iraq wanted to see that they were safe.

They are among hundreds of foreigners being held in Iraq since its invasion of Kuwait at the beginning of August.

However, the Iraqi leader told them they were not being held as "human shields" saying Iraq was in a position to destroy any attacker.

Saddam singled out one young British boy - named only as Stuart - and ruffled the child's hair.

Speaking through an interpreter, he asked Stuart if he was getting his milk.


The manipulation of children in that sort of way is contemptible

Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd

The Iraqi leader told the group: "We hope your presence as guests here will not be for too long.

"Your presence here, and in other places, is meant to prevent the scourge of war."

They would become heroes of peace, Saddam added.

The detainees, who looked strained and nervous, were promised tuition for their children and given permission to write to their families.

At the end of the 30-minute taped appearance, the Iraqi leader posed for photographs with the hostages before shaking each one by the hand.

A spokesman for the Gulf Support Group, set up by relatives of stranded Britons, said the interview "made all of us feel sick".

The British Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, also criticised the broadcast.

Mr Hurd said: "I think the manipulation of children in that sort of way is contemptible."

The TV appearance has also been condemned by the US.




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Saddam: "Foreigners are Iraq's guests"


Saddam Hussein with western hostages on Iraqi TV






In Context
Saddam made a second TV appearance with the hostages.
In early September the women and children, including five-year old Stuart Lockwood, were allowed to fly home.

The men were not allowed to leave until early December.

Stuart Lockwood returned with his family to Worcester, central England but suffered a personal loss in 2001 when his father, Derek, died of a heart attack.

The refusal of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to withdraw his troops from Kuwait led to the UN-backed Operation Desert Storm in January 1991.

It would end in February with the defeat of the Iraqis and their subsequent forced departure from Kuwait.


Stories From 23 Aug
1990: Outrage at Iraqi TV hostage show
1991: Gorbachev punishes coup plotters
1961: Couple found shot in A6 lay-by
1985: West German spy chief defects to East
1979: Kurdish revolt grows in Iran

79 – Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.

1305 - Scottish patriot William Wallace was hanged, beheaded, and quartered in London, and his body parts were later displayed in different cities.

1617 - The first one-way streets were introduced in London.

1650 – Colonel George Monck of the English Army forms Monck's Regiment of Foot, which will later become the Coldstream Guards.

1839 – The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for war with Qing China. The ensuing 3-year conflict will later be known as the First Opium War.

1950 - Up to 77,000 members of the U.S. Army Organized Reserve Corps were called involuntarily to active duty to fight the Korean War.

1954 – First flight of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft.

1966 – Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.

1989 – Singing Revolution: two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stand on the Vilnius-Tallinn road, holding hands (Baltic Way).

1990 – West Germany and East Germany announce that they will unite on October 3.

Births:

1946 – Keith Moon, English musician (The Who) (d. 1978)
1961 – Gary Mabbutt, English footballer
1962 – Shaun Ryder, English musician
1963 – Richard Illingworth, England cricketer
1970 – Jay Mohr, American actor and comedian
1970 – River Phoenix, American actor (d. 1993)
1971 – Demetrio Albertini, Italian footballer
1972 – Mark Butcher, England cricketer
1976 – Scott Caan, American actor
1978 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player
1978 – Julian Casablancas, American singer (The Strokes)
1981 – Carmen Luvana, American pornographic actress
1984 – Glen Johnson, English footballer

1985: Sleeping boy killed in police raid
A five-year-old boy has been shot dead in a police raid on his home in Birmingham.
John Shorthouse was killed after armed officers stormed into his home looking for his father, also named John.

The boy was shot in the chest as an officer searched under his bed.

He was carried to a police car and taken to a nearby hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.

The officer whose gun fired the fatal shot has been suspended pending the outcome of an inquiry.

He has not been named but is said to be a 36-year old constable with 16-years service in the West Midlands force.

Inquiry call

At the time of the shooting John Shorthouse is believed to have been asleep in bed.

Officers thought they had accounted for all the family who they were holding in another room.

The Assistant Chief Constable of West Midlands, Paul Leopold said he believed the marksman involved had been unaware of John's presence.

"Other officers had been in the room before this officer and they had no idea anybody was in there," he said.

After being arrested at his home, John Shorthouse, 26, was taken to south Wales where he was wanted for questioning about an armed robbery.

Mr and Mrs Shorthouse, who have two other sons, aged four and two, have called for a public inquiry into their eldest child's death.

The local MP, Anthony Beaumont-Dark, has demanded that any report on the shooting should be made public.

The shooting of John Shorthouse is the latest in a number of incidents involving police marksmen.

Five years ago, a pregnant woman, Gail Kinchen, was killed after she got caught up in gun fire between her boyfriend and the police.


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John was the eldest of three brothers



In Context
Feelings in the area ran high after the shooting.
Hostility towards the police boiled over two days after John's death when a policewoman was dragged from her patrol car and beaten up by youths.

In 1986 the officer who shot John Shorthouse, PC Brian Chester, stood trial for manslaughter but was acquitted.

Following the Shorthouse case, West Midlands police abandoned its practice of training rank-and-file officers for firearms duties and formed a specialist squad.

In September 1985, a London woman, Cherry Groce, was shot and paralysed as police searched her home for her son.


Stories From 24 Aug
1993: Michael Jackson accused of child abuse
1985: Sleeping boy killed in police raid
1990: Irish hostage released in Lebanon
1954: Brazilian president found dead
1967: Penguins cool off in heat wave