MOMENTS IN TIME - Aug. 5, 2010

The History Channel

* On Aug. 11, 1921, Alex Haley, author of “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” is born in Ithaca, N.Y. Haley’s next novel, “Roots” (1976), was a fictionalized account of his family’s history, traced through seven generations. The novel was translated into 37 languages and won a special Pulitzer Prize.

* On Aug. 10, 1937, the electric guitar was recognized by the United States Patent Office with the award of Patent No. 2,089.171 to G.D. Beauchamp for an instrument known as the Rickenbacker Frying Pan.

* On Aug. 13, 1952, “Hound Dog” is recorded for the first time by rhythm-and-b...