On This Day: Monday August 1, 2005 This is the 213th day of the year, with 152 days remaining in 2005. Fact of the Day: Lewis and Clark Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) and William Clark (1770-1838) were the organizers of the Lewis and Clark expedition which began with training in 1803. Thomas Jefferson urged explorers to investigate the territory west of the Mississippi River, and he finally appointed Lewis, his personal secretary, to oversee the expedition. Lewis picked Clark, the younger brother of Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark to be his co-leader. In May of 1804, they started up the Missouri River from St. Louis. Their journey took them up to the Yellowstone region. Through the Rockies they went, making it to the Pacific Ocean (March 1806) by following the Columbia River to a point where they built Fort Clatsop. In their 28-month trip, Lewis and Clark learned much about the geography of the northwest and are considered brave, important explorers and trailblazers. They returned to St. Louis in the fall of 1806. Holidays Feast day of Saints Pistis, Elpis, and Agape (Faith, Hope, and Charity), St. Peter Julian Eymard, St. Ethelwold of Winchester, St. Almedha or Aled, St. Alphonse Liguori, and the Holy Macabees. Switzerland: National Day (founding of Swiss Confederation, 1291). Benin: Independence Day. Lughnasadh / August Eve / Lammas Eve / Lady Day Eve / Feast of Bread. Trinidad and Tobago: Emancipation Day. Events 1498 - Italian explorer Christopher Columbus set foot on the American mainland for the first time, in present-day Venezuela. 1774 - English chemist Joseph Priestley identified oxygen. 1834 - Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. 1873 - The first cable streetcar in America began operation on Clay Street Hill in San Francisco, California. 1876 - Colorado was admitted as the 38th state. 1893 - A machine for making shredded wheat breakfast cereal was patented. 1914 - World War I broke out. 1939 - Synthetic vitamin K was produced for the first time. 1944 - During World War II, the Soviets reached the Vistula River at Warsaw, prompting the Poles to launch a major uprising against the Nazi occupation. 1944 - Thirteen-year-old Anne Frank made the last entry in her diary; days later she and her family were taken to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she died at age 15. 1946 - President Harry Truman signed the Fulbright Program into law, establishing the scholarships named for Senator William J. Fulbright. 1946 - The Atomic Energy Commission was established. 1981 - Rock music video channel MTV debuted. Births 1770 - William Clark, American explorer, led the Lewis & Clark Expedition. 1779 - Francis Scott Key, American attorney, poet, writer of "The Star-Spangled Banner." 1819 - Herman Melville, American author, poet. 1936 - Yves Saint-Laurent (Henry Mathieu), French fashion designer. 1942 - Jerry Garcia, American rock-and-roll musician, member of the group The Grateful Dead. Deaths 1137 - Louis VI, King of France.