On this day, August 2

1873 Inventor Andrew S. Hallidie successfully tested a cable car he had designed for the city of San Francisco.

1927 After a series of negotiations, the Post-Gazette came into being under ownership of Paul Block and the Sun-Telegraph was organized under ownership of William Randolph Hearst.

1945 President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and Britain’s new prime minister, Clement Attlee, concluded the Potsdam conference.

1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate. (The Iraqis were later driven out in Operation Desert Storm.) 2009 Parts of the Eighth Street Market, a 108-year-old building in Braddock, collapsed onto the street after 20 years of decay.

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).

— Compiled by Rick Nowlin Today’s birthdays: Actor Nehemiah Persoff, 102. Rock musician Garth Hudson (The Band), 84. Singer Kathy Lennon (The Lennon Sisters), 78. Actor Joanna Cassidy, 76. Actor Kathryn Harrold, 71. Actor Butch Patrick (TV: “The Munsters”), 68. Rock music producer/drummer Butch Vig (Garbage), 66. Sen. Jacky

Rosen, D-Nev., 64. Singer Mojo Nixon, 64. Actor Victoria Jackson, 62. Actor Apollonia, 62. Actor Cynthia Stevenson, 59. Actor Mary-Louise Parker, 57. Rock musician John Stanier, 53. Writer-actor-director Kevin Smith, 51. Actor Jacinda Barrett, 49. Actor Sam Worthington, 45. Actor Edward Furlong, 44. TV meteorologist Dylan Dreyer (TV: “Today”), 40. Actor Marci Miller, 36. Singer Charli XCX, 29. Actor Hallie Eisenberg, 29.

Thought for today: “A man who does not lose his reason over certain things has none to lose.”