Ken Fountain

U.S. Navy veteran and veteran journalist. Member @MVJNetwork and @sejorg. Find me on BlueSky:

[Michael Beschloss @BeschlossDC]

Walter Cronkite interviews JFK on Cape Cod today 1963 for first edition of new thirty-minute CBS Evening News, two months before Kennedy's assassination:

[Ken Fountain @KenFountain]

The BBC's "Crossing Continents" podcast does a deep dive into the use of FLOCK cameras and immigration enforcement in the Houston area.

https://t.co/NOgPtidWD8

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

1 September 1985. Wreck of RMS Titanic, which sank on 15 April 1912, was found by Dr Robert Ballard and his team about 453 miles from Newfoundland. The underwater wreckage made clear that the ship had split in two as it sank.

[Fort Bend Report @FortBendReport]

1) 502nd District Court Judge Mark Hanna this morning denied without comment County Attorney Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson's emergency temporary restraining order that would prevent a vote by Commissioners Court today to create a new Legal Department answering to the them.

[Houstorian @Houstorian]

Today in 1977, @NASA launches the space probe Voyager 2, which is still transmitting data. @NASA_Johnson

[Stonehenge U.K @ST0NEHENGE]

Sunrise at Stonehenge today (19th August) was at 6.01am, sunset is at 8.21pm 🌦️

[Houstorian @Houstorian]

So long, Frank.

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

14 August 1935. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the landmark Social Security Act which created unemployment insurance and old age pensions.

[Marco @marcorasi1960]

Tonight's solar eclipse over the Ligurian Sea, Italy

[Ken Fountain @KenFountain]

The visiting judge in the Fort Bend County case of a private plaintiff seeking to have that judge "clarify" his earlier ruling appointing Interim County Judge Daniel Wong has denied her motion. Another suit brought by the County Attorney continues. #hounews

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

24 July 1897. Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas, USA. She was the 1st woman pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic and set many other air records. She wrote best-selling books and gave talks about her flying experiences. During the 1930s she was a worldwide celebrity.

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

24 July 1969. Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin returned safely to planet Earth, then underwent a 21-day quarantine in an isolation chamber to assess their health and monitor unexpected after effects. US President Richard Nixon greeted them.

[Ken Fountain @KenFountain]

https://t.co/jhVAP1U9ky

[Michael Beschloss @BeschlossDC]

Supreme Court, 8-0 (with William Rehnquist recusing himself), ordered President Richard Nixon to surrender Watergate tapes, issuing its ruling tomorrow 1974:

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

22 July 1933. American pilot Wiley Post became 1st person to fly solo around the World in 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes which was the then the fastest-ever around-the-world-trip. He used 2 new technologies: a primitive autopilot and a radio direction finder for navigation.

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

20 July 1969. Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the 1st humans to land on the moon and 6 hours later walk on its surface. As he stepped on to the moon, Armstrong famously said: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

15 July 1799. The Rosetta Stone was found in Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard. It’s inscribed with 3 versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes.

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

14 July 1867. Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel demonstrated his invention, dynamite, for the 1st time in Redhill, Surrey. It rapidly gained wide-scale use as a safe alternative to black powder and nitroglycerin. He derived the name from the Ancient Greek word dýnamis meaning power.

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

14 July 1798. Aliens and Sedition Act, signed by President John Adams (pictured) became law in the USA. It increased the residency requirement for immigrants and made it a federal crime to write, publish or utter false statements about the US government.

[U.S. Naval Institute @NavalInstitute]

🎉 Happy 86th Birthday to Sir Patrick Stewart! ⚓🎂

Best known as Captain (later Admiral) Jean-Luc Picard, Stewart helped bring to life a character inspired by one of naval fiction's greatest leaders: C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry envisioned Picard as a thoughtful, disciplined captain in the Hornblower tradition—placing duty, leadership, and moral courage above all else.

Stewart also portrayed another legendary seafarer as Captain Ahab in Moby Dick (1998), further cementing his place in maritime storytelling.