Woodstock……
August 15, 1969……
The music festival near Bethel, New York begins. More than 400,000 people attended the event billed as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music.” It was held at Max Yasgur’s 600-acre dairy farm near White Lake in Bethel, New York, 43 miles (70 km) southwest of Woodstock.
Death of Elvis Presley……
August 16, 1977…….
The 42-year-old “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” is found unresponsive on his bathroom floor. Elvis Presley‘s death has been attributed to a possible combination of an enlarged heart and prescription drugs. In the first eight months of 1977, Elvis had been prescribed more than 10,000 doses of sedatives, amphetamines, and narcotics. An autopsy showed he was chronically ill with diabetes, glaucoma, and constipation. It is believed that straining on the toilet may have induced a heart attack. His chronic constipation was probably due to a combination of drugs and diet. In 1980, Dr. Nichopoulos was charged with prescribing excessive amounts of drugs to Presley and other patients. During the trial, Dr. Nichopoulos claimed Presley had a number of illnesses requiring constant medical attention, including glaucoma, liver trouble, arthritis, and migraines. He claimed Elvis would have died 10 years earlier without his help. Dr. Nichopoulos was ultimately acquitted of all charges, however, in 1993 the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners permanently revoked his license for overprescribing to many patients over multiple years.
Hurricane Camille…….
August 17, 1969……
Hurricane Camille strikes Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana killing more than 259 people and leaving 70,000 homeless. It is the second most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the United States. It produced a storm surge of 24 feet (7.3 m) and flattened nearly everything along the coast of Mississippi and caused $1.42 billion in damages (equivalent to $9.9 billion in 2019).