Today is Thursday, Aug. 1, the 214th day of 2024. There are 152 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On August 1, 1981, MTV began its American broadcast; the first music video aired on the new cable TV network was “Video Killed the Radio Star,” by The Buggles.
Also on this date:
In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state in the Union, less than a month after the US Centennial (earning it the nickname “the Centennial State”).
In 1907, a week-long boys’ camping event began on Brownsea Island in southern England, organized by Robert Baden-Powell; the event is now marked as the beginning of the Scout Movement.
In 1936, the Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
In 1944, an uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation; the revolt lasted two months before collapsing.
In 1957, the United States and Canada announced they had agreed to create the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
In 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, went on an armed rampage at the University of Texas in Austin that killed 14 people, most of whom were shot by Whitman while he was perched in the clock tower of the main campus building.
In 1971, The Concert for Bangladesh, an all-star benefit organized by George Harrison of The Beatles and sitar player Ravi Shankar, was held at Madison Square Garden in New York.
In 1975, a 35-nation summit in Finland concluded with the signing of a declaration known as the Helsinki Accords dealing with European security, human rights and East-West contacts.
In 2001, Pro Bowl tackle Korey Stringer, 27, died of heat stroke, a day after collapsing at the Minnesota Vikings’ training camp on the hottest day of the year.
In 2004, the Ycua Bolanos supermarket fire in Asuncion, Paraguay killed more than 400 people.
In 2007, the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.
In 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, 269-161, emergency legislation to avert the nation’s first-ever financial default.
In 2014, a medical examiner ruled that a New York City police officer’s chokehold caused the death of Eric Garner, whose videotaped arrest and final pleas of “I can’t breathe!” had sparked outrage.
In 2018, the remains of dozens of presumed casualties of the Korean War were returned to U.S. soil; in an emotional ceremony in Hawaii, military members carried 55 boxes draped with American flags off two military transport planes.
In 2023, former President Donald Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy and obstruction charges related to his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Singer Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is 93.
- Actor Giancarlo Giannini is 82.
- Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams is 74.
- Blues singer-musician Robert Cray is 71.
- Rock singer Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) is 65.
- Rapper Chuck D (Public Enemy) is 64.
- Actor Demian Bichir is 61.
- Actor John Carroll Lynch is 61.
- Rock singer Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) is 60.
- Film director Sam Mendes is 59.
- Actor Tempestt Bledsoe is 51.
- Football Hall of Famer Edgerrin James is 46.
- Actor Jason Momoa is 45.
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