Today in 1848, Waldo Hanchett of Syracuse, New York patented the dental chair.
Today in 1877, Thomas Edison coined the telephone greeting “Hello.” In a letter addressed to the president of the Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh, Edison suggested that “Hello” was better than “Ahoy," which had been suggested by inventor Alexander Graham Bell.
Today in 1935, humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post were killed when their airplane crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska.
Today in 1939,Albert Einstein dispatched a letter to President Roosevelt urging creation of an atomic weapons research program.
Today in 1939, the MGM movie classic, “The Wizard Of Oz,” staring Judy Garland, premiered in Hollywood. Studio executives chose Judy Garland over Shirley Temple after she tested for the role of Dorothy; saying that Judy was better suited for the role. It opened nationally on August 25th of that year.
Today in 1958, Buddy Holly and Maria Elena Santiago were married in a private ceremony at his parents' home in Lubbock, Texas.
Today in 1966, the Beatles, on their final tour of America, performed one show at D.C. Stadium, Washington, DC, in front of a crowd of 32,164. Five members of the Ku Klux Klan, led by the Imperial Wizard of Maryland, picketed the concert.
Today in 1979, Francis Ford Coppola's film "Apocalypse Now," starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms and Dennis Hopper, premiered in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto movie theaters.
Today in 1984, Pete Rose returned to become player and manager of the Cincinnati Reds after being away from his hometown for six years. Rose had been in Philadelphia and Montreal.
Today in 1984, America's Olympic medal winners were honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York, an event marred when a scaffold rail collapsed, injuring about a hundred spectators.
Today in 1984, the film, "The Woman In Red," starring Gene Wilder, Charles Grodin, Gilda Radner and Kelly LeBrock, opened in theaters nationwide.
Today in 1987, thousands of people began the march past the grave of Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee as they began an all-night vigil marking the tenth anniversary of his death.
Today in 1992, "The Larry Sanders Show" debuted on HBO.
Today in 1992, Vietnam blamed Hollywood for creating the "myth" that U.S. servicemen were still being held in Indochina.
Today in 1993, Pope John Paul II conducted mass for up to 400,000 people at the World Youth Day festival south of Denver.
Today in 1995, pioneering TV journalist and Timex watch pitchman, John Cameron Swayze, died in Sarasota, Florida, at the age of 89.
Today in 1995, the song, "Macarena," by Los del Rio hit the airwaves.
Today in 1996, Frederick Martin Davidson, a graduate student at San Diego State University, shot and killed three engineering professors. Davidson later plead guilty and was ultimately sentenced to three life terms in prison.
Today in 1997, the LA Dodgers retired Tommy Lasorda's #2 – he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame the same year.
Today in 1998, 29 people were killed and more than 200 others were injured by a car bomb in Omagh [[oh-MAH]], Northern Ireland; a splinter group calling itself the Real IRA claimed responsibility.
Today in 1999, Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship – becoming the youngest player to win two majors since Steve Ballesteros.
Today in 2001, astronomers announced the discovery of the first solar system outside our own (dubbed an exo-solar system) when they discovered two planets orbiting a star in the Big Dipper.
Today in 2006, Der Spiegel, Spiegel Online, published documents confirming famed German writer Günter Grass' membership of the Waffen-SS in WWII.
Today in 2007, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast devastated various regions of Peru killing 514 and injuring more than 1,300.
Today in 2012, Seattle Mariners' Felix Hernandez became the 23rd pitcher to throw a perfect game (1-0 vs Tampa Bay).
Today in 2015, North Korea created its own time zone - moving its clocks back half an hour to GMT+8.5. How’s that shake out? If it’s 5pm in New York City, it’s 6am is Seoul, South Korea…but 5:30am in Pyongyang.
Today in 2017, Barack Obama's August 12th tweet in response to Charlottesville violence – a picture with him greeting children with the caption “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion...” became the most-liked tweet ever.
Today in 2017, Daniel Craig confirmed he would play James Bond one more time.
Today in 2017,President Donald Trump said “there is blame on both sides” about violence in Charlottesville, at a press conference at Trump Tower, provoking widespread condemnation.
Today in 2018, it was revealed that a record 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017 in new figures by Centers for Disease Control – up 10% from the year previous.
Today in 2018, President Donald Trump revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director and Trump critic John Brennan.