August 14 in History

1888 – An audio recording of English composer Arthur Sullivan’s The Lost Chord, one of the first recordings of music ever made, was played during a press conference introducing Thomas Edison’s phonograph in London, England.

1893 – France became the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration.

1933 – Oxydol’s Own Ma Perkins debuted on Cincinnati’s WLW and became the first successful national radio soap opera.

1935 – Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act.

1936 – Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last public execution in the United States.

1945 – Japan accepted the Allied terms of surrender in World War II.
V-J Day. Be sure to thank Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn for serving our country. (editor’s not: that’s an 80s joke, right?)

1959 – Founding and first official meeting of the American Football League.

#1 Hit August 14, 1965 – September 3, 1965: Sonny & Cher – I Got You, Babe

1975 – The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the longest-running release in film history, opened at the USA Theatre in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.

1980 – Lech Walesa led the first strike at the Gdansk, Poland shipyards.

1994 – Inside The Actors Studio made its debut on Bravo

2000 – Dora the Explorer premiered on Nick Jr

2010 – The first-ever Youth Olympic Games were held in Singapore.

2013 – Egypt declared a state of emergency as security forces killed hundreds of demonstrators supporting former president Mohamed Morsi.

#1 Hit August 14, 2020 – September 10, 2020: Stay – The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber