Today is July 19 2015

National Ice Cream Day: More
Third Sunday in July. It was originally a 1984 Presidential proclamation, that alos established July as Ice Cream month.

• National Flitch Day: More
  There is some controversy on the date, origin and there is both a National Flitch Day and a Flitch Day. It seems to on June 19, July 19 or even every four years, the next being in 2016 not 2015. Today a flitch ob bacon, is called a or slab or side of bacon.
  Regardless of the date, the theme is the same. From Wikipedia: 'The awarding of a flitch of bacon[1] to married couples who can swear to not having regretted their marriage for a year and a day is an old tradition, the remnants of which still survive in some pockets in England. '
• Lake Superior Day: More
  Festival in Superior Wisconsion.
• Sundaes on Sunday: More
  Charitable fund raiser festival for The Alcove Center for Grieving Children and Families in Linwood NJ.

• Health
  • National Parenting Gifted Children Week: More
    Third full week of July (19-26 in 2015)
• Animal and Pets
  • National Zoo Keeper Week: More
• Other
  • Captive Nations Week More
    From the web site: 'Captive Nations Week, a week aimed at raising public awareness of the oppression of nations under the control of Communist and other non-democratic governments, began in 1953 and was declared by a Congressional resolution and signed into law (Public Law 86-90) by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959. President Eisenhower, and every successive U.S. President up to the administration of President Barack Obama, has declared the third week of July to be Captive Nations Week.'
  • Flight Attendant Safety Professionals' Day: More
    A 1990 Presidential proclamation.
  • National Drowning Prevention Week: More
    July 19-25 in Canada.

• In 1843, Brunel's steamship, the SS Great Britain is launched. It became the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull or screw propeller and also becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world.
  From Wikipedia: 'SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship, which was advanced for her time. She was the longest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic, which she did in 1845, in the time of 14 days.
  
  The ship is 322 ft (98 m) in length and has a 3,400-ton displacement. She was powered by two inclined 2 cylinder engines of the direct-acting type, with twin 88 in (220 cm) bore, 6-foot (1.8 m) stroke cylinders. She was also provided with secondary sail power. The four decks provided accommodation for a crew of 120, plus 360 passengers who were provided with cabins and dining and promenade saloons.
  
  When launched in 1843, Great Britain was by far the largest vessel afloat. However, her protracted construction and high cost had left her owners in a difficult financial position, and they were forced out of business in 1846 having spent all their funds re-floating the ship after she was run aground at Dundrum Bay after a navigational error. In 1852 she was sold for salvage and repaired. Great Britain carried thousands of immigrants to Australia from 1852 until converted to sail in 1881. Three years later, she was retired to the Falkland Islands where she was used as a warehouse, quarantine ship and coal hulk until scuttled in 1937.
  
  In 1970, following a cash donation by Sir Jack Hayward that paid for the vessel to be towed back to the UK, Great Britain was returned to the Bristol dry dock where she was built. Now listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, she is an award-winning visitor attraction and museum ship in Bristol Harbour, with between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors annually'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1941, The first US Army flying school for black cadets was dedicated at Moton Field in Tuskegee Ala. Their fame mostly resides as American bomber escort fighter in there P-51 Mustangs. The tail of the plane had a red stripe on the tail. The German fighter pilots branded them 'The Red Tailed Devils', due to their tenacity in dog fights.
  From Wikipedia: 'Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, commemorates the contributions of African American airmen in World War II. Moton Field was the site of primary flight training for the pioneering pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen, and is now operated by the National Park Service to interpret their history and achievements. It was constructed in 1941 as a new training base. The field was named after former Tuskegee Institute principal Robert Russa Moton, who died the previous year.
  
  Before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. military. Civil rights organizations and the black press exerted pressure that resulted in the formation of an all African-American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941. They became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
  
  "Tuskegee Airmen" refers to all who were involved in the so-called "Tuskegee Experiment," the Army Air Corps program to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air.
  
  The military selected Tuskegee Institute to train pilots because of its commitment to aeronautical training. Tuskegee had the facilities, and engineering and technical instructors, as well as a climate for year-round flying. The first Civilian Pilot Training Program students completed their instruction in May 1940. The Tuskegee program was then expanded and became the center for African-American aviation during World War II.
  
  The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II. They proved conclusively that African Americans could fly and maintain sophisticated combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen's achievements, together with the men and women who supported them, paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1954, Elvis Presley's first single was released by Sun Records. It was 'That's All Right' (recorded July 5) b/w 'Blue Moon of Kentucky'.
  From Wikipedia: '"That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup. It is best known as the first single recorded and released by Elvis Presley. Presley's version was recorded on July 5, 1954, and released on July 19, 1954 with "Blue Moon of Kentucky" as the B-side. It is #113 on the 2010 Rolling Stone magazine list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
  
  In July 2004, exactly 50 years after its first issuing, the song was released as a single in the United Kingdom, where it debuted and peaked at Number 3.
  
  The song was written by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, and originally recorded by him in Chicago on September 6, 1946, as "That's All Right". Some of the lyrics are traditional blues verses first recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1926. Crudup's recording was released as a single on RCA Victor 20-2205, but was less successful than some of his previous recordings. At the same session, he recorded a virtually identical tune with different lyrics, "I Don't Know It", which was also released as a single (RCA Victor 20-2307). In early March 1949, the song was rereleased under the title, "That's All Right, Mama" (RCA Victor 50-0000), which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and blues record on their new 45 rpm single format, on bright orange vinyl.
  
  Elvis Presley's version was recorded in July 1954. Its catalogue number was Sun 209. The label reads "That's All Right" (omitting "Mama" from the original title), and names the performers as Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill. Arthur Crudup was credited as the composer on the label of Presley's single, but Crudup had to wait until the 1960s when he received an estimated $60,000 in back royalties. Crudup used lines in his song that had been present in earlier blues recordings, including Blind Lemon Jefferson's 1926 song "That Black Snake Moan".
  
  A country music version by Marty Robbins peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1955'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1963, Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 meters (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention. Yuri Gagarin (Russian) was in April 12 1961. American, Alan Shepard was May 5 1961.
  From Wikipedia: 'Joseph Albert "Joe" Walker (February 20, 1921 – June 8, 1966) flew the world's first two spaceplane flights in 1963, thereby becoming the United States' seventh astronaut. Walker was a Captain in the United States Air Force, an American World War II pilot, an experimental physicist, a NASA test pilot, and a member of the U.S. Air Force Man In Space Soonest spaceflight program. His two X-15 experimental rocket aircraft flights in 1963 that exceeded the Kármán line – the altitude of 100 kilometres (62 miles), generally considered to mark the threshold of outer space – qualified him as an astronaut under the rules of the U.S. Air Force and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
  
  In 1958, Walker was one of the pilots selected for the U.S. Air Force's Man In Space Soonest (MISS) project, but that project never came to fruition. That same year, NACA became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and in 1960, Walker became the first NASA pilot to fly the X-15, and the second X-15 pilot, following Scott Crossfield, the manufacturer's test pilot. On his first X-15 flight, Walker did not realize how much power its rocket engines had, and he was crushed backward into the pilot's seat, screaming, "Oh, my God!". Then, a flight controller jokingly replied "Yes? You called?" Walker would go on to fly the X-15 24 times, including the only two flights that exceeded 100 kilometres (62 miles) in altitude, Flight 90 (on 19 July 1963: 106 km (66 mi)) and Flight 91 (on 22 August 1963: 108 km (67 mi)). Walker was the first American civilian to make any spaceflight, and the second civilian overall, preceded only by the Soviet Union's cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova one month earlier. Flights 90 and 91 made Walker the first human to make multiple spaceflights.
  
  Walker flew at the fastest speed in the X-15A-1: 4,104 mph (6,605 km/h) (Mach 5.92) during a flight on 27 June 1962 (the fastest flight in any of the three X-15s was about 4,520 mph (7,274 km/h) (Mach 6.7) flown by William J. Knight in 1967)'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1969, Apollo 11 (launched July 16) goes into Moon orbit.
  From Wikipedia: 'A Saturn V launched Apollo 11 from Launch Pad 39A, part of the Launch Complex 39 site at the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969 at 13:32:00 UTC (9:32:00 a.m. EDT local time). It entered Earth orbit, at an altitude of 100.4 nautical miles (185.9 km) by 98.9 nautical miles (183.2 km), twelve minutes later. After one and a half orbits, the S-IVB third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon with the trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn at 16:22:13 UTC. About 30 minutes later the command/service module pair separated from this last remaining Saturn V stage and docked with the Lunar Module still nestled in the Lunar Module Adaptor. After the Lunar Module was extracted, the combined spacecraft headed for the Moon, while the third stage booster flew on a trajectory past the Moon and into orbit around the Sun.
  
  On July 19 at 17:21:50 UTC, Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter lunar orbit. In the thirty orbits that followed, the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis) about 12 miles (19 km) southwest of the crater Sabine D (0.67408N, 23.47297E). The landing site was selected in part because it had been characterized as relatively flat and smooth by the automated Ranger 8 and Surveyor 5 landers along with the Lunar Orbiter mapping spacecraft and unlikely to present major landing or extravehicular activity (EVA) challenges'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1980, Billy Joel earned his first gold record with "It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me".
  From Wikipedia: '"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" is a hit 1980 song performed by Billy Joel, from the hit album Glass Houses. The song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for two weeks, from July 19 through August 1, 1980. The song spent 11 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and was the 7th biggest hit of 1980 according to American Top 40. The song is an examination of the themes of a musician's degrading fame and public tastes that were expressed in his 1975 hit "The Entertainer".
  
  The single eventually reached Platinum status from the RIAA for sales of over 2 million copies in the United States'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1983, The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published. As computer rendering of such scans was a while off, the used CAD to render the image.
  From Wikipedia: 'Michael W. Vannier (born January 12, 1949) is a radiologist in Chicago.
  
  On July 19, 1983, M. Vannier (Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, St. Louis) and his co-workers J. Marsh (Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Deformities Institute, St. Louis Children's Hospital) and J. Warren (McDonnell Aircraft Company) published the first three-dimensional reconstruction of single CT slices of the human head. This was a quantum leap for further three-dimensional imaging and surgical planning in Oral and maxillofacial surgery, Neurosurgery and Otolaryngology'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More

Tomorrow's food holiday will be 'National Ice Cream Day'. Third Sunday in July. It was originally a 1984 Presidential proclamation, that also established July as Ice Cream month.
[The Hankster says]: As if we need the Pres. to tell us when to eat ice cream. And, need I say, that no president since, has dared to fail to renew it.

Tomorrow is 'National Flitch Day'. There is some controversy on the date, origin and there is both a National Flitch Day and a Flitch Day. It seems to be on June 19, July 19 or even every four years, the next being in 2016 not 2015. Today a Flitch of bacon, is called a slab or side of bacon. Regardless of the date, the theme is the same. From Wikipedia: 'The awarding of a flitch of bacon to married couples who can swear to not having regretted their marriage for a year and a day is an old tradition, the remnants of which still survive in some pockets in England. '
[The Hankster says] Who cares what day it is on, it's bacon. BTW, someone has just grown seaweed that tastes like bacon. No joke. My jury is out.

Tomorrow is 'Lake Superior Day'. A festival in Superior Wisconsin.

It is 'Sundaes on Sunday' tomorrow. A charitable fund raiser festival for The Alcove Center for Grieving Children and Families in Linwood NJ.
[The Hankster says] Sounds like a good cause and another reason to eat ice cream.


Awareness / Observance Days on: July 19
o Health
- 'National Parenting Gifted Children Week'. Third full week of July (19-26 in 2015)

o Animal and Pets
- 'National Zoo Keeper Week'.

o Other
- 'Captive Nations Week'. From the web site: 'Captive Nations Week, a week aimed at raising public awareness of the oppression of nations under the control of Communist and other non-democratic governments, began in 1953 and was declared by a Congressional resolution and signed into law (Public Law 86-90) by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959. President Eisenhower, and every successive U.S. President up to the administration of President Barack Obama, has declared the third week of July to be Captive Nations Week.'


Historical events in the past on: July 19

In 1843,- Brunel's steamship, the SS Great Britain is launched. It became the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull or screw propeller and also becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world.

In 1941, The first US Army flying school for black cadets was dedicated at Moton Field, in Tuskegee Ala. The fame of the 'Tuskegee Airmen' mostly arose as American bomber escort fighter pilots in there P-51 Mustangs. The tail of the plane had a red stripe on it. The German fighter pilots branded them 'The Red Tailed Devils', due to their skill and tenacity in dog fights.

In 1954, Elvis Presley's first single was released by Sun Records. It was 'That's All Right' (recorded July 5) b/w 'Blue Moon of Kentucky'.
[The Hankster says] If some of the milestones seem redundant it is due to the difference in date written, date recorded, date released, date it was first on any one of several charts, etc.

In 1963, Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 meters (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention. Yuri Gagarin (Russian) was in April 12 1961. American, Alan Shepard was May 5 1961.

In 1969, Apollo 11 (launched July 16) goes into Moon orbit.

In 1983, The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published. As computer rendering (as we know it today) of scans was a while off, the rendering was done in CAD (at that time used in airplane design).

No. 1 song

• Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds: More
  'I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)' has been displaced by 'Mr. Tambourine Man', which will hold the no. 1 spot until July 31 1965, when '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones', takes over.

Top movie

• The Sound of Music More
  Having displaced 'Cat Ballou', it will be there until the weekend box office of Aug. 1 1965 when, 'Ship of Fools', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: July 19 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: July 19 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 19th July More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 19th July More
• On-This-day.com history 19th July More
• On-This-day.com music history 19th July More
• Wikipedia.com: History July 19 More

Monthly holiday / awareness days in

Food
Eggplant Month
Garlic Month
Lettuce Month
Melon Month
National Baked Bean Month
National Blueberries Month
National Bison Month
National Culinary Arts Month
National Grilling Month
National Hot Dog Month
National Ice Cream Month
National Horseradish Month
National Hot Dog Month
National July Belongs to Blueberries
Nectarine Month
Sandwich Generation Month
Wheat Month

Health and Well-being
Alopecia Month for WomebnHealth and Well-Being
Bereaved Parents Awareness Month
Eye Injury Prevention Month Link
Fragile X Awareness Month
Hemochromatosis Screening Awareness Month
Herbal / Prescription Interaction Awareness Month
International Group B Strep Awareness Month
International Women with Alopecia Month
Juvenille Arthritis Awareness Month
National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month
National Cord Blood Awareness Month
National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
National Outdoor Month
National Picnic Month
National Recreation and Parks Month
National Share a Sunset with Your Lover Month
Social Wellness Month
Worldwide Bereaved Parents Month

Animal and Pets
Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month
National 'Doghouse Repairs Month

Other
Air-Conditioning Appreciation
Anti Boredom Month
Bioterrorism/Disaster Education and Awareness Month
Cell Phone Courtesy Month
Dog Days
Family Golf Month
Family Reunion Month
Fireworks Safety Month
Independent Retailer Month
International Blondie and Deborah Harry Month
International Zine Month
National Black Family Month
National Child-Centered Divorce Month
National Make A Difference to Children Month
National Parks and Recreation Month
National Vacation Rental Month
National Wheelchair Beautification Month
Smart Irrigation Month
Tennis Month
Tour de France Month
UV Safety Month
Women's Motorcycle Month

July is:

July origin (from Wikipedia): Named by the Roman Senate in honor of Julius Caesar.
"is the seventh month of the year (between June and August) in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honor of the Roman general, Julius Caesar, it being the month of his birth. Prior to that, it was called Quintilis. It is, on average, the warmest month in most of the Northern hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer) and the coldest month in much of the Southern hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter). The second half of the year commences in July. In the Southern hemisphere, July is the seasonal equivalent of January in the Northern hemisphere."

July at Wikipedia: More

If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago, or your 45 RPM record player was broke, you might watch one of these shows on TV.
From this Wikipedia article: More

Best selling books of 1965 More

• Astronomy Picture of the Day: More
• NOAA: - National Hurricane Center - Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook: More
• Listen to Old Radio Shows: (streaming mp3 with schedule) More
• NASA TV: (video feed) More
  NASA TV schedule: More
• Public Domain eBook Links

  Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More

• Podcast: A Moment of Science. Approximately 1 minute general science facts.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Podcast: The Naked Scientists. Current science, medicine, space and other science
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Podcast: Quirks & Quarks. Current science news.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Articles and videos: Universe Today. Current space and astronomy news.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Old Picture of the Day - "Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph."
  Home page: More
  RSS: More

Below, are listed several holiday sites that I reference in addition to other holiday researches.

US Government Holidays

• 2015 Postal Holidays More
• 2015 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

• List of holidays by country More
• Holidays and Observances around the World More