On This Day for August 12 – The phonograph invented by Thomas Alva Edison, William Blake is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, [click here to view](. August 12 [William Blake, oil on canvas by Thomas Phillips, 1807; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.] FEATURED BIOGRAPHY 1757 William Blake English poet and painter [William Blake]( who died this day in 1827, created a hand-illustrated series of lyric and epic poems that form one of the most strikingly original bodies of work in the Western cultural tradition. [SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY]( [Thomas Alva Edison demonstrating his tinfoil phonograph, photograph by Mathew Brady, 1878.] FEATURED EVENT 1877 Phonograph invented by Thomas Alva Edison On this day in 1877, American inventor [Thomas Alva Edison]( made perhaps his most original discovery, the [phonograph]( and his early recordings were indentations embossed into a sheet of tinfoil by a vibrating stylus. [SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY]( MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY [Bacall, Lauren] 2014: American actress [Lauren Bacall]( was known for her portrayals of provocative women who hid their soft core underneath a layer of hard-edged pragmatism—died in New York. 2007: American television producer and talk-show host [Merv Griffin]( hosted the long-running series The Merv Griffin Show (1962–63, 1965–86) and was the creator of two of television's most successful game shows, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune—died in Los Angeles. [John Lennon.] 1966: During a press conference, [John Lennon]( of the [Beatles]( apologized for saying that his band was “more popular than Jesus now”; the comment had sparked protests and album burnings. [People from East and West Berlin gathering at the Berlin Wall on November 10, 1989, one day after the wall opened.] 1961: [East Germany]( began construction of the [Berlin Wall]( which served as a symbol of the [Cold War]( separating East Berlin from West [Berlin]( until 1989. [Thomas Mann.] 1955: German novelist and [Nobel Prize]( winner [Thomas Mann]( died near Zürich, Switzerland. [Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., c. 1942.] 1944: Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.—U.S. naval pilot, son of [Joseph P. Kennedy]( and brother of President [John F. Kennedy]( in a plane crash while flying on a secret mission during [World War II](. [SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY]( ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1954 François Hollande president of France 1930 George Soros American financier 1907 Boy Charlton Australian athlete 1887 Erwin Schrödinger Austrian physicist 1881 Cecil B. DeMille American film director 1762 George IV king of United Kingdom [SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY]( FOLLOW: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, [click here](. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2018 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. [Privacy Policy]( • [Help](