Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. is 78 today.

Elvis Aaron Presley  (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977)

 

Rock music legend Elvis Presley died in Memphis, Tennessee. The
death of the “King of Rock and Roll” brought legions of mourning fans
to Graceland, his mansion in Memphis. Doctors said he died of a heart
attack, likely brought on by his addiction to prescription barbiturates.

 

On August 16, 1954, a new magazine dedicated to covering sports appeared on American newsstands. Announcing itself with a
striking cover photo of Milwaukee Braves third baseman Eddie
Mathews, his swinging bat a blur against the dramatic backdrop
of a crowded Milwaukee County Stadium, Sports Illustrated is
considered a joke by some at its publisher and will not make
money for most of its first decade. Eventually, however, it will
become the undisputed leader in American sports media, the
sporting magazine of record and one of  the most recognizable
media brands in the world.

On August 15, 1969, the Woodstock music festival opened on a
patch of farmland in White Lake, a hamlet in the upstate New
York town of Bethel.

Promoters John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield and
Michael Lang originally envisioned the festival as a way to raise
funds to build a recording studio and rock-and-roll retreat near
the town of Woodstock, New York. The longtime artists’ colony
was already a home base for Bob Dylan and other musicians.

Despite their relative inexperience, the young promoters managed
to sign a roster of top acts, including the Jefferson Airplane, the
Who, the Grateful Dead, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin,
Jimi Hendrix (below), Creedence Clearwater Revival and many
more.

In what later became known as Victory Day, an official announcement
of Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allies is made public to the world on August 14, 1945. Japan formally surrendered in writing two weeks later, on September 2, 1945.

Even though Japan’s War Council, urged by Emperor Hirohito, had
already submitted a declaration of surrender to the Allies, via
ambassadors.