CAT NIGHTS BEGIN

Cat Nights begin on August 17. This term harks back to the days when people believed in witches. A rather obscure old Irish legend said that a witch could turn herself into a cat eight times, but on the ninth time (August 17), she couldn’t regain her human form. This bit of folklore also gives us the saying, “A cat has nine lives.” Because August is a yowly time for cats, this may have prompted the speculation about witches on the prowl in the first place. Also, nights continue to get longer. Cats, crepuscular creatures, are nocturnal hunters. Their superior night vision means that the nights belong to them.

Every Year

• CAT NIGHTS BEGIN

1780s

• BORN 1786: DAVY CROCKETT (FRONTIERSMAN)

1800s

• 1807: THE CLERMONT, A STEAMBOAT DESIGNED BY ROBERT FULTON , DEPARTED NYC HEADING TO ALBANY

1830s

• 1835: SOLYMAN MERRICK GRANTED WRENCH PATENT

1850s

• 1859: FIRST OFFICIAL U.S. AIRMAIL WAS CARRIED BY BALLOON

1870s

• 1877: BLACKSMITH F.P. CAHILL FATALLY WOUNDED BY BILLY THE KID

1880s

• BORN 1882: SAMUEL GOLDWYN (PRODUCER)

1890s

• BORN 1893: MAE WEST (ACTRESS)

1910s

• BORN 1913: RUDY YORK (BASEBALL PLAYER)

1920s

• BORN 1920: MAUREEN O’HARA (ACTRESS)

1930s

• 1939: THE WIZARD OF OZ MADE ITS EAST COAST PREMIERE IN NYC. ITS USE OF A RELATIVELY NEW METHOD OF “TECHNICOLOR” DAZZLED AUDIENCE MEMBERS

1940s

• BORN 1943: ROBERT DENIRO (ACTOR)
• 1945: INDONESIA PROCLAIMED ITSELF INDEPENDENT FROM THE NETHERLANDS

1950s

• BORN 1958: BELINDA CARLISLE (SINGER)

1960s

• BORN 1960: SEAN PENN (ACTOR)
• BORN 1969: DONNIE WAHLBERG (ACTOR)

1970s

• DIED 1979: VIVIAN VANCE (ACTRESS)

1980s

• BORN 1983: DUSTIN PEDROIA (BASEBALL PLAYER)
• DIED 1983: IRA GERSHWIN (SONGWRITER)

1990s

• DIED 1990: PEARL BAILEY (SINGER)

2000s

• 2002: CHARLES M. SCHULZ MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER OPENED IN SANTA ROSA, CA
• DIED 2003: CONNIE REEVES (AMERICA’S OLDEST COWGIRL AT 101, DIED 12 DAYS AFTER BEING THROWN FROM HER HORSE, DR. PEPPER. SHE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST WOMEN TO STUDY LAW AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND SHE STARTED ONE OF TEXAS’S FIRST GIRLS’ DRILL TEAMS)
• 2008: U.S. SWIMMER MICHAEL PHELPS BECAME THE FIRST PERSON TO WIN EIGHT GOLD MEDALS IN A SINGLE OLYMPICS

2010s

• 2017: COLLISION OF 2 NEUTRON STARS ABOUT 130 MILLION YEARS AGO CREATED RIPPLES IN SPACE-TIME THAT TRAVELED TO EARTH AND SET OFF DETECTORS IN THE LASER INTERFEROMETER GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE OBSERVATORY

COURTESY www.almanac.com