The hard-line coup against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev ended on
this day in 1991. The uprising that led to the collapse was led by Russian
federation President Boris Yeltsin.

Boris Yeltsin (left) and Mikhail Gorbachev.

It was on this day in 1940.

Leon Trotsky (Lev Davidovich Bronstein)
(November 7, 1879 – August 21, 1940)

Nat Turner, a former slave, led a violent insurrection in Virginia on
this day in 1831. He was later executed.

Hawaii became the 50th state on this day in 1959. United States
President Eisenhower (seated/center) also issued the order for
the 50 star flag.

William James "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984)

Count Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and
composer who introduced several generations of listeners to the Big
Band sound and left an influential catalog.  

                     
                      Kenneth Ray Rogers is 79 years old today.

Kenny Rogers has sold more than 100 million albums over the course of his
career. His 1970s albums The Gambler and Kenny went 5x Platinum and 3x
Platinum, respectively. In 2013, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall
of Fame. He joined his first band,The Scholars, in the mid-1950s, but the band
dissolved after their frontman left to go solo.

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Jerry Lewis  (Joseph Levitch)
(March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017)

Lewis died this morning of natural causes at his home
in Las Vegas, Nevada at 9:15 AM (PT). His manager Mark
Rozzano said Jerry “passed peacefully.”

 
The comedy team of Jerry Lewis (left) and Dean Martin in 1949.  

                                                                                                                  ^]

Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017)

LOS ANGELES (AP) –  Dick Gregory, the comedian and activist and who
broke racial barriers in the 1960s and used his humor to spread messages
of social justice and nutritional health, has died.

Gregory died late Saturday in Washington, D.C. after being hospitalized for
about a week. His son Christian Gregory told The Associated Press he had
suffered a severe bacterial infection.

Camille Bohannon

U.S. military forces attacked a terrorist camp in Afghanistan and a chemical plant in Sudan. Both targets were chosen for cruise
missile strikes due to their connection with Osama bin Laden.

On this day in 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact
nations began invading Czechoslovakia to crush the "Prague
Spring" liberalization.

NASA’S Voyager 2 was launched by the United States on this day
in 1977. The spacecraft was carrying a 12 inch copper phonograph record containing greetings in dozens of languages, samples of
music and sounds of nature.

Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008)

Singer and songwriter Isaac Hayes co-founded the soul music label
Stax Records alongside David Porter in the 1960s. He and Porter
wrote the popular 1967 song "Soul Man" for the duo Sam & Dave.

Hayes also earned recognition for his Academy Award-winning original
song "Theme from Shaft" for the 1971 film Shaft.

He began singing at his local church at age five and eventually taught
himself how to play the piano, organ, flute, and saxophone.

Robert Anthony Plant is 69 years old today.

Iconic rock star Robert Plant gained fame as the vocalist and songwriter
of the classic rock band Led Zeppelin, known for such hits as "Stairway
to Heaven" and "When the Levee Breaks." He was named the #1 Lead
Singer of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2011. He was once
in training to become an accountant before becoming involved in
the blues scene.

In the 1950s, cars were often equipped with curb feelers. They acted as "whiskers"
to alert drivers when they are at the right distance from the curb while parking to
avoid damaging the wheels or hubcaps. Curb feelers are still used today on some
hot rods when a 1950s look is wanted.