|
August 7th
1560 ~ Birthday of Elizabeth Bathory, serial killer.
1876 ~ Birthday of Mata Hari (Margaretha Zelle), spy. 1927 ~ Peace Bridge opened between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York. 1942 ~ Birthday of Garrison Keillor, radio host. 1945 ~ President Harry Truman announced the successful nuclear bombing of Hiroshima while returning from the Potsdam Conference. 1947 ~ Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, arrived at the Tuamotu Islands after a 101 day 4,300 mile journey across the Pacific Ocean, proving that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America. 1957 ~ Death of Oliver Hardy, Comedian, & Actor. 1960 ~ Côte d'Ivoire becomes independent. 1998 ~ Bombing of the United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya that killed 224 people and injured over 4,500. 2004 ~ Death of Red Adair, American oil well firefighter. |
August 8th
1579 ~ The cornerstone was laid for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory.
1879 ~ Birthday of Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary. 1902 ~ Birthday of P.A.M. Dirac, Physicist, Father of Quantum Mechanics, Nobel Prize 1933. 1918 ~ World War I: Battle of Amiens - Canadian troops, backed by Australians, began a string of victories with a push through the German front lines. 1937 ~ Birthday of Dustin Hoffman, Actor (The Graduate, Tootsie, Kramer vs. Kramer). 1945 ~ The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States. 1963 ~ Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers stole 2.6 million pounds. 1966 ~ The Beatles' released Revolver 1974 ~ U.S. President Richard Nixon announced his resignation effective August 9. 1996 ~ Death of Frank A Whittle, inventor of the Jet engine. |
August 9th
48 BC ~ Roman Civil War: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar defeated Pompey decisively at Pharsalus. Pompey fled to Egypt.
1173 ~ Construction of the (Leaning) Tower of Pisa began. It took two centuries to complete. 1483 ~ Opening of the Sistine Chapel. 1842 ~ Webster-Ashburton Treaty was signed, establishing the United States-Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains. 1896 ~ Birthday of Jean Piaget, Child Psychologist. 1945 ~ World War II: An atomic bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" was detonated over the city of Nagasaki, Japan, killing about 75,000. 1969 ~ Members of a cult led by Charles Manson murdered five people including Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring and, Abigail Folger. 1975 ~ Death of Dmitri Shostakovich, Composer. 1986 ~ The Headington Shark is erected in Oxford. 1995 ~ Death of Jerry Garcia, guitarist: Grateful Dead. |
August 10th
1519 ~ Ferdinand Magellan's 5 ships set sail from Seville to circumnavigate the globe.
1675 ~ Foundation stone set of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich 1792 ~ French Revolution: Storming of the Tuileries Palace. Louis XVI was arrested and taken into custody. 1809 ~ Ecuador declared independence from Spain. 1846 ~ The Smithsonian Institution was chartered following a $500,000 donation by scientist Joseph Smithson. 1896 ~ Death of Otto Lilienthal, Aviation Pioneer. 1945 ~ Death of Robert Goddard, Rocket Scientist. 1985 ~ Michael Jackson purchased ATV Music (all the Beatle songs) for $47 million. 1990 ~ The Magellan space probe arrived at Venus. 2003 ~ The highest temperature ever recorded in England , 38.5°C, recorded in Kent. |
August 11th
3114 BC ~ beginning of our current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar.
480 BC ~ Persians under Xerxes defeated Spartans under King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartans fight to the last man. The Battle of Thermopylae has served as an example to officers and soldiers alike of what courage and self-sacrifice could achieve. It is still remembered, almost 2,500 years later, as a classic example of virtue. 1253 ~ Death of Saint Clare of Assisi, Patron Saint of television. 1905 ~ Birthday of Erwin Chargaff, biochemist. 1919 ~ Andrew Carnegie, Industrialist & Philanthropist. 1929 ~ Babe Ruth became the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs. 1943 ~ Birthday of Pervez Musharraf, General & President. 1950 ~ Birthday of Steve Wozniak, Computer Pioneer. 1966 ~ John Lennon held a press conference excusing himself from the Jesus affair. 2003 ~ NATO took over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe. |
August 12th
1851 ~ Isaac Singer was granted a patent for his sewing machine.
1859 ~ Birthday of Katherine Lee Bates, Poet (America the Beautiful ). 1887 ~ Birthday of Erwin Schrödinger, Physicist, Nobel Laureate. 1927 ~ Birthday of Mstislav Rostropovich, Cellist. 1928 ~ Death of Leos Janacek, Czech Composer. 1953 ~ The Soviet Union detonated its first hydrogen bomb. 1960 ~ The first communications satellite, “Echo I”, launched. 1964 ~ Death of Ian Fleming, Novelist. 1981 ~ The IBM PC was introduced. 2002 ~ Russian submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea. |
August 13th
1521 ~ Tenochtitlán (present day Mexico City) fell to conquistador Hernán Cortés.
1860 ~ Birthday of Annie Oakley, Sharpshooter. 1899 ~ Birthday of Alfred Hitchcock, Director. 1940 ~ World War II: Battle of Britain began (German sources) - The Luftwaffe launched a series of attacks on British fighter bases and radar installations. 1942 ~ Walt Disney's animated cartoon Bambi premiered. 1946 ~ Death of H. G. Wells, Writer. 1948 ~ Birthday of Kathleen Battle, Opera Singer. 1961 ~ The Berlin Wall began to be built. 1997 ~ The popular, controversial animated series South Park debuted. 2004 ~ Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm, struck the Fort Myers area in Florida. |
August 14th
1842 ~ Indian Wars: Second Seminole War ends, with the Seminoles forced from Florida to Oklahoma
1862 ~ Birthday of Ernest Thayer, Poet (Casey at the Bat). 1880 ~ After 632 years, Cologne Cathedral completed. 1945 ~ World War II: Japan surrenders, ending the war. 1947 ~ Pakistan & India gained independence from Britain at midnight, Pakistan commemorating the event on August 14 and India on August 15. 1951 ~ Death of William Randolph Hearst, newspaper magnate. 1971 ~ Rod Stewart released Maggie May. 1980 ~ Lech Walesa lead strikes at Gdansk, Poland shipyards. 1988 ~ Death of Enzo Ferrari, Automobile Designer. 1994 ~ Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, the terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal, was captured. |
August 15th
778 ~ The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, in which Roland was killed.
1057 ~ King MacBeth of Scotland WAs killed during the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of King Malcolm III. 1309 ~ The city of Rhodes surrendered to the forces of the Knights of St. John, completing their conquest of Rhodes. The knights established their headquarters on the island, and renamed themselves as the Knights of Rhodes. 1769 ~ Birthday of Napoleon Bonaparte, general and politician. 1877 ~ Thomas Edison made the first-ever recording - "Mary Had a Little Lamb". 1890 ~ Birthday of Jacques Ibert, French Composer. 1948 ~ Republic of Korea established south of 38th Parallel. 1951 ~ Death of Artur Schnabel, Pianist. 1967 ~ Death of René Magritte, Surrealist painter. 1969 ~ First day of Woodstock Music and Art Festival . I was able to talk my cousin out of going to this. :hippy: She had called me a month or so earlier and said she could get a couple of tickets if we wanted to go. It was inconvenient to get to, and when I said so, she agreed, and so…. |
August16th
1858 ~ U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurated the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria. 1888 ~ Birthday of Lawrence of Arabia. 1896 ~ Gold discovered in the Klondike. 1899 ~ Death of Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, chemist. 1930 ~ First color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, was made by Ub Iwerks. 1948 ~ Death of Babe Ruth, baseball player. 1960 ~ Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom. 1962 ~ The Beatles fired Pete Best and replaced him with Ringo Starr . 1977 ~ Death of Elvis Presley, Singer, Actor. 2003 ~ Death of Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator. |
August 17th
1601 ~ Birthday of Pierre de Fermat, Mathematician.
1786 ~ Birthday of Davy Crockett, Frontiersman, Soldier. 1807 ~ Robert Fulton's steamboat left New York City for Albany, New York, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world. 1863 ~ American Civil War: In Charleston, South Carolina, Union batteries and ships bombard Confederate-held Fort Sumter. 1882 ~ Birthday of Samuel Goldwyn, Hollywood producer. 1911 ~ Birthday of Mikhail Botvinnik, World Chess Champion. 1962 ~ East German border guards killed 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempted to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin. Mr. Fecher was the first and the most famous of the victims of the Berlin Wall. 1970 ~ Venera program: Venera 7 was launched. It became the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet, Venus. 1980 ~ Azaria Chamberlain disappeared, likely taken by a dingo, leading to what was then the most publicised trial in Australian history and the most famous wrongful conviction when her parents were found guilty of murder. 1998 ~ Monica Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admitted in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On the same day he admitted before the nation that he "misled people" about his relationship. |
August 18th
1227 ~ Death of Genghis Khan, Mongol leader.
1587 ~ Birthday of Virginia Dare; the first English child born in the Americas. 1750 ~ Birthday of Antonio Salieri, Composer. 1774 ~ Birthday of Meriwether Lewis, Explorer. 1877 ~ Asaph Hall discovered Phobos, the moon of Pluto. 1920 ~ 19th Amendment to US constitution was passed, guaranteeing women's suffrage. 1925 ~ Birthday of Brian Aldiss, Writer. 1958 ~ Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita was published in the U.S. 1969 ~ Jimi Hendrix played the unofficial last day of Woodstock. 1991 ~ Downfall of the Soviet Union: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was put under house arrest while he was vacationing in the Crimea. |
August 19th
1819 ~ Death of James Watt, Scottish inventor
1871 ~ Birthday of Orville Wright, Aviator. 1902 ~ Birthday of Ogden Nash, Poet. 1921 ~ Birthday of Gene Roddenberry, Producer. 1947 ~ Birthday of William Jefferson Clinton, U.S. President. 1960 ~ Cold War: In Moscow, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage. 1977 ~ Death of Groucho Marx, Comedian & Actor. 1981 ~ Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi sent two Sukoi Su-22 fighter jets to intercept two U.S. F-14 Tomcats over the Gulf of Sidra. The American jets shot down the Libyan fighters. 1990 ~ Leonard Bernstein conducted his final concert, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony # 7. 1994 ~ Death of Linus Pauling, Chemist. He was a physical chemist, among the most influential chemists of the twentieth century, and one of the most important scientists of all time. He was one of the first quantum chemists, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954 for his work describing the nature of chemical bonds. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his campaign against above-ground nuclear testing, becoming one of only two people to receive the Nobel Prize in more than one field, the other being Marie Curie. |
August 20th
1882 ~ Piotr Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuted in Moscow.
1890 ~ Birthday of H. P. Lovecraft , Horror Writer. 1923 ~ Birthday of Jim Reeves, country and western singer. 1940 ~ Exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was fatally wounded in Mexico City and died the next day. 1941 ~ Birthday of Slobodan Milosevic, former president of Serbia and Yugoslavia. 1991 ~ Downfall of the Soviet Union: Estonia declared its independence from the Soviet Union. 1993 ~ The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles (DOP), were finalized in Oslo, Norway. 1998 ~ The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Quebec could not legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval. 1998 ~ The U.S. launched cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. 2001 ~ Death of Sir Fred Hoyle , Astronomer, Science Fiction Writer. |
August 21st
1872 ~ Birthday of Aubrey Beardsley, Illustrator.
1904 ~ Birthday of Count Basie, Bandleader. 1923 ~ Birthday of Shimon Peres, Prime Minister of Israel. 1936 ~ Birthday of Wilt Chamberlain, Basketball Hall of Famer. 1940 ~ Death of Leon Trotsky, Russian revolutionary. 1944 ~ Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations. 1959 ~ Hawaii was admitted as the 50th U.S. state. 1968 ~ 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invaded Czechoslovakia to end the Prague Spring of political liberalization. 1983 ~ Assassination of Benigno S. Aquino Jr., Philippine opposition leader. 1986 ~ Toxic gas erupted from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing more than 1,700. |
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:21 AM. |
Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.0.10
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.