JULY 16, 1941 - Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees hit safely for the 56th consecutive game, a Major League Baseball record. His streak would be broken the following day when he went hitless against the Cleveland Indians. DiMaggio's hitting streak broke the previous modern era record of 41 games (set in 1922) and the all-time record of 44 games (set in 1897). The only player to have come close to DiMaggio's record since is Pete Rose, who hit for 44 consecutive games in 1978.

JULY 16, 1956 - Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus held its very last "Big Tent" show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The popularity of the circus in the United States had been steadily declining with the rise of television and movies. Furthermore the cost of constantly erecting and dismantling tents was ever-increasing. Due to these changing economic circumstances all subsequent circus shows were held in arenas. 

What's in an initial? Many famous people are known by their initials, either exclusively or as part of their overall name. So what are those initials for? Here are some famous initialed names and what they stand for:

P. T. Barnum - The famous showman and founder of the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus was born Phineas Taylor Barnum.

J.R. Cash - The fourth child of Ray and Carrie Cash was named J. R. because his parents couldn't think of a name. When J.R. enlisted in the Air Force in 1950 they wouldn't let him use initials as his name, so he adopted the name John R. Cash. In later years he would become better known as simply Johnny Cash.

C.S. Lewis - The full name of author of The Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia is Clive Staples Lewis.

J. P. Morgan - The American financier and businessman, who is responsible for the creation of business enterprises such a General Electric, U.S. Steel Corporation, and the investment firm J.P. Morgan & Co. was named John Pierpont Morgan when he was born in 1837.

B. B. King - The real name of the famous blues singer is Riley B. King, but he goes by his adopted stage name.

Harry S Truman - The 33^rd President of the United States was never given a middle name by his parents, just the initial "S", which he claimed was to honor his grandfathers, both of whom had names beginning with the letter. English teachers, journalists and historians often debate whether his name should be stylized with or without a period following the "S".

J.K. Rowling - The author of the Harry Potter series was born Joanne Rowling, but has always gone by the name "Jo." She adopted the "K" as part of her pen name in honor of her grandmother Kathleen Rowling.

O. J. Simpson - The former Heisman Trophy winner who was acquitted of double homicide in 1995 but later convicted of armed robbery might want to consider going by his given name of Orenthal James Simpson to attract less attention.

M. Night Shyamalan - This Hollywood director, who peaked with his first major motion picture and whose films have been in a steady decline ever since, was born Manoj Shyamalan. He made up the name Night while studying at New York University.

J. R. R. Tolkien - Friend of C.S. Lewis and author of The Lord of the Rings, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien preferred to go by his initials.

F. Scott Fitzgerald - The author of such literary classics as The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night was named after his famous second cousin, three times removed, Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner.