Waggener crashed shortly after takeoff from San Diego, where they had planned to be part of the field for the Dole Air Race. They were only the first of many casualties associated with the ill-fated competition. Born: Vainu Bappu, Indian astronomer, and co-discoverer of the Wilson–Bappu effect, which permits the judgment of the absolute magnitude of certain types of stars; in Madras (d. 1982) Jimmy Martin, American musician known as "The King of Bluegrass"; in Sneedville, Tennessee (d.2005) Died: King Sisowath of Cambodia, 86, monarch of the French protectorate since 1904. He was succeeded by his son, King Sisowath Monivong Thursday, August 11, 1927 Members of the Irish Independence Party, Fianna Fáil, led by Éamon de Valera, decided to take their seats in the Parliament of the Irish Free State, the Dáil Éireann, even though it would require them to sign an oath of allegiance to the King. Witnesses would later report that de Valera solved the ethical dilemma by covering the written oath with his hand while applying his signature. Friday, August 12, 1927 The Bardo Thodol was first published in the United States as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. British pilot Arthur V. Rogers was killed while practicing at Los Angeles for the Dole Air Race to Honolulu, in the third plane crash in as many days for participants. After the deaths of Covell and Waggener on Wednesday, the triplane "Pride of Los Angeles" plunged into the San Francisco Bay on Thursday and its crew of three narrowly escaped drowning. The crews of the nine remaining planes postponed the start of the race from Saturday to Tuesday. The film Wings was first presented. Starring Clara Bow and introducing Gary Cooper, the movie was accompanied by recorded sound effects of the various airplanes seen, but not spoken dialogue. It was the first, and only silent film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Born: Porter Wagoner, American country music singer, in West Plains, Missouri (d. 2007) Saturday, August 13, 1927 After the disaster at Nanchang, General Chiang Kai-shek resigned rather than be fired as commander of the Kuomintang Army, and temporarily retired to his native village of Xikou. The first live sports broadcast on Japanese radio took place with the play-by-play on the national middle-school baseball tournament in Tokyo. Because of radio censorship rules requiring advance approval by the Ministry of Communication of scripts, permission was granted