MOMENTS IN TIME - July 29, 2010

The History Channel

*On Aug. 3, 1861, the last entry of the serialized novel “Great Expectations” is published. The book had been serialized in Dickens’ literary circular, All the Year Round. The novel tells the story of young Pip, a poor orphan who comes to believe he will inherit a fortune.

*On Aug. 6, 1911, Lucille Desiree Ball, one of America’s most famous redheads and beloved comic actresses, is born near Jamestown, N.Y. Ball starred with husband Ricky Ricardo in television’s “I Love Lucy” from 1951 to 1957.

*On Aug. 4, 1936, American Jesse Owens wins gold in the long jump at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. It was the second of four gold medals Owens won in Berlin, as he firmly dispelled German leader Adolf Hitler’s notion of the superiority of an Aryan “master race.”

*On Aug. 5, 1957, Philadelphia-based “American Bandstand” goes national as the show is beamed to 67 ABC affiliates across the nation. The show included the famous segment in which teenage studio guests rated the newest records on a scale from 25 to 98 and offered such criticisms as “It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it.”

*On Aug. 7, 1964, the United States Congress overwhelming approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Lyndon Johnson nearly unlimited powers to oppose “communist aggression” in Southeast Asia. The Johnson administration went on to use the resolution as a pretext to begin heavy bombing of North Vietnam in early 1965 and to introduce U.S. combat troops in March 1965.

*On Aug. 8, 1974, in an evening televised address, President Richard Nixon announces his intention to become the first president in American history to resign. Impeachment proceedings were under way for his involvement in the Watergate affair.

*On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invade Kuwait, Iraq’s tiny, oil-rich neighbor. Kuwait’s defense forces were rapidly overwhelmed, and those that were not destroyed retreated to Saudi Arabia. On Aug. 9, Operation Desert Shield, the American defense of Saudi Arabia, began as U.S. forces raced to the Persian Gulf.

(c) 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.