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The End of Wit
AUGUST 15, 1921 - Will Rogers, one of the best-known celebrities of the 1920s and 1930s, died in a plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska. Born in Oklahoma, Rogers actually got his start as an entertainer doing rope tricks for Texas Jack's Wild West Show & Circus in South Africa. He would go on to become a prominent vaudeville performer, movie actor, and nationally-syndicated columnist for the New York Times. Rogers was a frequent traveler and became an advocate for the fledgling aviation industry. It was during this time that Rogers befriended the famous aviator Wiley Post. In 1935 Rogers asked Post to fly him through the Alaskan Territory to get new ideas for his newspaper column. While flying from Fairbanks toward Point Barrow, Rogers and Post landed in a lagoon to ask someone for directions. On takeoff, the engine failed and the aircraft plummeted nose-first into the water, killing Rogers and Post instantly.
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Leaping to Freedom
 August 15, 1961 - Conrad Schumann, an East German soldier, defected to West Germany during the early construction of the Berlin Wall, by jumping over the barbed wire barrier between East Berlin and West Berlin. His escape from the repressive Communist state was captured by a West German photographer, and became famous as one of the iconic images of the Cold War. After losing hundreds of thousands of citizens who immigrated to West Germany during the 1950s, East German leaders decided to erect a fence around West Berlin to prevent additional defections. The closing of the border on August 13, 1961, and the construction of the Berlin wall angered many Germans on both sides, including Schumann. While he was on duty guarding the border, he was beckoned to cross by several West Germans who shouted to him, "Komm' rüber!" ("Come over!"). Schumann jumped over the fence and ducked into a waiting West German police car which promptly drove away from the scene. There was also 16-mm film footage shot of his escape. You can view the footage here.
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Dam that River
August 17, 1959 - An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale occurred in southwestern Montana causing an 80-million ton landslide which killed 28 people and blocked almost all the flow of the Madison River. In less than a month after the earthquake the backed up Madison River created what is now known as Earthquake Lake. To prevent the potential failure of the new naturally-formed dam, which would cause significant damage downstream, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was quickly mobilized to construct a spillway to regulate the flow of water.
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"
When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: 'I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn't like.' I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved
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- Will Rogers
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Side Note
 The first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine hit newsstands 59 years ago this week on August 16, 1954.
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Historical Archives
Read past editions of our This Week in History newsletter any time in our Archives.
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