Auspicious Events

Well, technically, it's still an hour and a half early to be posting this, but I'm too efficient to wait until tomorrow.

On this day (August 18):
1227 - The Mongol emperor Ghengis Khan died.
1868 - French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen discovers helium. (Where would we be without helium?)
1920 - Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage. (Isn't it time we ended the suffering?)
1962 - Ringo Starr made his first appearance as a Beatle at a Cavern Club show.
1969 - Jimi Hendrix plays the unofficial last day of Woodstock.
1977 - The Police play their first gig.
1977 - Funeral services for Elvis Presley were held at Graceland.
1982 - The longest baseball game played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL, went 21 innings before the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cubs 2-1.

Born on this day:
1750 - Antonio Salieri (composer purported to have killed Mozart according to the movie Amadeus)
1774 - Meriwether Lewis
1904 - Max Factor (not to be confused with Max Power)
1917 - Caspar Weinberger
1933 - Roman Polanski
1934 - Roberto Clemente
1936 - Robert Redford
1956 - Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz (drummer for Weird Al's band)
1969 - Ed Norton
1969 - Christian Slater
1972 - Scott Crawford (founder of the Craw Fu martial art style)
1980 - Jeremy Shockey
1992 - Frances Bean Cobain

Other items of interest:
3 popes have died on this day (Adrian V, Alexander VI, and Paul IV)
It is International Lighthouse Day and Long Tan Day (also called Vietnam Veterans' Day) in Australia.
The History Channel has this lovely video in my honor.