Born on this day
Friday, August 23, 1912. : American actor, dancer and singer, Gene Kelly, is born.
Gene Kelly was born Eugene Curran Kelly on 23 August 1912, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was an actor, singer and dancer, choreographing much of his own and others’ performances. Kelly was the first American to choreograph and stage a ballet in the Paris Opera. Two of his more memorable scenes show him singing and dancing in the rain in the film “Singin’ in the Rain”, and dancing on roller skates in It’s Always Fair Weather.
In 1951, Kelly was awarded a special Academy Award “in appreciation of his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer”. In 1985, he was given the Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Gene Kelly died in 1996.
Australian History
Tuesday, August 23, 1836. : William Hobson, later the first Governor of New Zealand, arrives in New South Wales, Australia.
William Hobson was born on 26 September in either 1792 or 1793 in Waterford, Ireland. Hobson’s career in the Royal Navy began before he was ten years old, when he joined the frigate ‘La Virginie’ with the rank of volunteer, second class. Initially serving in the Napoleonic Wars, he steadily worked his way up through the naval ranks until he was promoted to Commander in May 1824.
In 1836, Hobson received a commission from Lord Auckland to serve in the East Indies on the ‘HMS Rattlesnake’. During this time, he was detached from the command and ordered to New South Wales to serve under Governor Richard Bourke. The ‘Rattlesnake’ arrived in Port Jackson, New South Wales on 23 August 1836.
Hobson was sent to Port Phillip, where his first task was to assist in surveying the harbour and laying out the streets of Melbourne, as a new colony was being established on the southern coast. Upon completing this task, he was almost immediately dispatched to the Bay of Islands in New Zealand, where James Busby, the British Resident, had communicated his fears about unrest between the Māori and the Pakeha, or European settlers. As Resident, Busby recognised the sovereignty of the Māori people. Once in New Zealand, Hobson recommended a treaty with the Māori, imposition of British Law and establishing British sovereignty over the islands. Hobson later went on to become the first Governor of New Zealand and was instrumental in establishing the Treaty of Waitangi.
World History
Wednesday, August 23, 1617. : The first one-way streets are opened in London.
Long before the invention of the automobile, traffic congestion and chaos was a problem in London, England. King James commissioned The Worshipful Company of Carmen, an early livery company, to investigate ways to regulate traffic in the square mile of the City of London. On 23 August 1617, an Act of Common Council was passed to regulate the “disorder and rude behaviour of Carmen, Draymen and others using Cartes.” Seventeen narrow lanes near the River Thames were identified as requiring regulation to control congestion, and hence created as one-way streets.
World History
Wednesday, August 23, 1899. : The first ship-to-shore wireless message is received.
Wireless technology is largely attributed to Guglielmo Marconi, who was born in Italy in 1874. Marconi developed the wireless telegraphy system, which came to be known as “radio”, demonstrating the transmission and reception of Morse Code-based radio signals over a distance of 2 or more kilometres on Salisbury Plain in England in 1896. Marconi made the first wireless transmission across a body of water in May 1897 from Lavernock Point, South Wales to Flat Holm Island.
The technology was soon implemented by defence forces. On 23 August 1899, US Lightship no. 70 San Francisco announced the arrival of the US Army troopship Sherman with the words, “Sherman is sighted”. The lightship relayed the message via wireless telegraphy, which later came to be known as “radio”. It was the first use of wireless by the US Coast Guard, and within a maritime context. The method used sparks to send out intermittent radio waves and code messages. It was a method which remained in use through World War I, until more modern technology was developed.
World History
Thursday, August 23, 1990. : Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein provokes outrage when he appears on television with western hostages.
On 2 August 1990, 100,000 Iraqi troops backed by 300 tanks invaded Kuwait, in the Persian Gulf. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had amassed weaponry which was then deployed for the invasion. The United Nations acted immediately to implement economic sanctions against Iraq, and called for Iraq to withdraw. On 7 August 1990, US troops moved into Saudi Arabia to protect Saudi oil fields.
Hundreds of foreigners were held in Iraq after it invaded Kuwait. On 23 August 1990, Saddam Hussein appeared on television with a group of westerners, mostly British. He informed them they had been detained to prevent war and said that Iraq wanted to see they were safe. The move provoked outrage among western nations. It did not prevent war. In January of the following year, a coalition force of armies from 34 nations, led by the United States, set out to free Kuwait. The Gulf War lasted around 6 weeks, and resulted in a decisive victory for the coalition forces.
World History
Thursday, August 23, 2001. : A French stuntman hangs from the statue of Liberty for half an hour when a stunt goes wrong.
In the history of the Statue of Liberty in New York, three people have jumped or fallen from the statue.
The first person to jump off the Statue of Liberty was steeplejack Frederick R Law who, in 1912, gained permission to leap from the observation platform which surrounds the torch of the statue. He parachuted safely down.
The second leap may have been suicide, or it may have been an accident. In May 1923, a man named Ralph Gleason ascended to the crown where he climbed out of one of the crown’s windows. A witness reported that he seemed to change his mind and turn around to re-enter the window, when he slipped and fell to his death.
The final attempt by anyone to leap from the Statue of Liberty occurred on 23 August 2001. Thierry Devaux was a French stuntman who intended to parasail into the statue, then bungee jump off the top. The initial part of his stunt worked, but when he bungee-jumped from the torch, his bungee cord became entangled in the torch, where he hung for half an hour. Eventually, Devaux was arrested by the police and charged with four misdemeanours, including trespassing.