DAY IN HISTORY

Monday, August 5, 2019

Today is the 217th day of 2019 and the 6th day of summer. TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal was installed on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor.

In 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan began to fire 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers for violating his order to return to work.

In 2010, a cave-in at the San Jose Mine near Copiapo, Chile, trapped 33 miners 2,300 feet underground.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), author/poet; Joseph Merrick aka “The Elephant Man” (1862-1890); John Huston (1906-1987), actor/director; Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), astronaut; Herb Brooks (1937-2003), hockey coach; Loni Anderson (1945- ), actress; David Baldacci (1960- ), novelist; Patrick Ewing (1962), basketball player; Adam Yauch (19642012), rapper; James Gunn (1970- ), filmmaker; Lolo Jones (1982- ), Olympic athlete.

TODAY’S FACT: Norma Jeane Baker began using the name Marilyn Monroe in 1946, but did not legally change her name until 1956. TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1979, Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies hit his 2,427th career single, breaking Honus Wagner’s National League record. Rose would finish his career with 3,215 singles, a major-league record that still stands.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Great minds that are healthy are never considered geniuses, while this sublime qualification is lavished on brains that are often inferior but are slightly touched by madness.” — Guy de Maupassant, “The Englishman of Etretat”

TODAY’S NUMBER: 91 — minutes legendary magician Harry Houdini spent underwater in a sealed coffin before emerging unharmed, on this day in 1926. The event was Houdini’s last public escape. TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (July 31) and first quarter moon (Aug. 7). Between last quarter moon (July 24) and new moon (July 31).