August 19 - 25 This Week in History The Gravity Grand Prix August 19, 1933 - The first All-American Soap Box Derby was held in Dayton, Ohio. Competitors in the annual derby are youth ranging in age from 8 to 17. They race hand-built cars down a 954-foot track relying solely on gravity to propel their vehicles. The idea for the derby was conceived by Myron Scott, who is also credited with naming the Chevrolet Corvette (See This Week in History: Martyred). Scott was a photographer for a Dayton newspaper and organized the race after he observed local boys racing homemade, engine-less cars down an inclined street. The next year the derby was moved to Akron, Ohio, where the hilly terrain better suited the race. During its peak in the 1950's and 1960's the derby drew crowds of over 70,000 people, making it one of the top-five sporting events in the country in terms of attendance. Going Postal August 20, 1986 - In Edmond, Oklahoma, Patrick Sherrill, an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, shot and killed 14 of his co-workers and wounded 6 others before committing suicide. Sherrill had been employed with the post office for a little over a year and worked as a relief carrier. The day before his shooting spree he was reprimanded by two supervisors for multiple delivery errors and for routinely delivering mail late. After the reprimand and before heading home he warned a fellow employee not to come to work the next day. The phrase "going postal" was coined after the massacre. Missing Masterpiece August 21, 1911 - The most famous painting by Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci, Mona Lisa, was stolen from the Louvre by an employee of the museum. The thief Vincenzo Peruggia pulled off the heist by entering the building during regular hours, hiding the painting in a broom closet and walking out with it hidden under his coat after the museum had closed. Peruggia was an Italian patriot who believed Da Vinci's painting should be returned to Italy for display in an Italian museum. Peruggia kept the painting in his apartment for nearly two years before attempting to sell it to the directors of the Uffizi Gallery, an art museum in Florence, Italy. He was arrested and convicted but served only six months in jail for the crime. After brief exhibitions throughout Italy the painting was returned to the Louvre in 1913. The Roof is On Fire August 24, 1814 - During the War of 1812 British troops invaded Washington, D.C. and burned down the White House and the Capitol Building. Dolley Madison, who was the First Lady at the time, and some of the servants were able to rescue a few valuables from the White House before the British troops arrived. John Susé, the door-keeper, and Magraw, the President's gardener, are credited with saving the large portrait of George Washington, known as the Lansdowne Portrait. Although the exterior walls of the White House survived the fire, they were so weakened that they had to be torn down. It took two years to rebuild the White House, during which time President James Madison resided in the Octagon House. "History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are." - David McCullough Side Note Due to multiple acts and attempted acts of vandalism on the Mona Lisa, (including having rocks, acid and paint thrown at it) the masterpiece is now displayed behind a shield of bulletproof glass.