Three-oh

On this Day in History

VJ Day
On this day in 1945, the USS Missouri hosts the formal surrender of the Japanese government to the Allies. Victory over Japan was celebrated back in the States. This does not refer to MTV, or video disc jockeys.

The Battle of Actium
At the Battle of Actium, off the western coast of Greece, Roman leader Octavian wins a decisive victory against the forces of Roman Mark Antony and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Before their forces suffered final defeat, Antony and Cleopatra broke though the enemy lines and fled to Egypt, where they would commit suicide the following year. The act consolidated the power of the Roman Empire into the hands of Octavian and unified rome in 37 B.C. Octavian became Augustus and would later say that he was God incarnate. He said that would bring salvation and peace to the world through the Roman Empire, which used its massive military to utterly destory opposition.

Later, Augustus made coins that circulated around the empire that said, "There is no other name under heaven and earth by which men will be saved." Later, another man would make that same claim.

1666: Great Fire of London
In the early morning hours, the Great Fire of London breaks out in the house of King Charles II's baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. It soon spread to Thames Street, where warehouses filled with combustibles and a strong easterly wind transformed the blaze into an inferno. When the Great Fire finally was extinguished on September 6, more than four-fifths of London was destroyed. Miraculously, only 16 people were known to have died.

The Great Fire of London was a disaster waiting to happen. London of 1666 was a city of medieval houses made mostly of oak timber. Some of the poorer houses had walls covered with tar, which kept out the rain but made the structures more vulnerable to fire. Next to actually having cisterns on kerosene on your roof, there's not much more you could do to ensure a fire hazard with standard building materials. In addition, the firefighting methods of the day consisted of neighborhood bucket brigades armed with pails of water and primitive hand pumps, and an utter lack of Dalmatians.

Jackson's You are Not Alone debuts at Number 1
Michael Jackson's song You are Not Alone is released and goes immediately to Number 1 on the charts, behind the solid sales of his final album History, and the strength of the number one hit Scream. It is the only song to ever debut at No. 1 on the charts. The feat also pulls Jackson into third all-time for number of No. 1 singles with 13, behind only Elvis (17) and the Beatles (20).

Born on this Day

Jimmy Connors: Tennis great. Ranked as the number one tennis player for an unprecedented 159 weeks.

Keanu Reeves: Movie star, best known for his role as Neo in the Matrix trilogy and his horrendous acting in "A Walk in the Clouds". I love you so much, Victoria.

Selma Hayek: Best known by all of my college buddies for her scene in the stunningly mediocre film "From Dusk til Dawn" when she dances with a snake. Unfortunately, at the end of that scene, she turns into a vampire.

David Tieche: I can't play tennis, mispronounce "Socrates" or dance with a snake. But I can turn 30 today.