This Day In History

A Day In History - August

Events and birthdays around the world on this day . . .

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In 10 B.C. Claudius 4th Roman emperor (41-54 AD), born.
In 126 Publius Helvius Pertinax Roman emperor (193 AD), born.
In 1291 Everlasting League forms, basis of Swiss Confederation (Nat'l Day)
In 1774 Dr. Priestly discovers oxygen.
In 1882 Henry Kendall Australian poet, dies of tuberculosis at 43.
In 1889 Dr John F Mahoney developed penicillin treatment of syphilis, born.
In 1933 Dom DeLuise Brooklyn NY, comedian, actor (End, Cannonball Run, Fatso), born.
In 1914 Germany declares war on Russia in WW I.
In 1936 Yves Saint-Laurent fashion designer (Opium, Obsession), born.
In 1936 Adolph Hitler opens Berlin Olympic Games.
In 1942 Jerry Garcia SF, rocker (Grateful Dead), born.
In 1950 King Leopold of Belgium abdicates, Baudouin becomes king.
In 1950 Territory of Guam created.
In 1953 Northern Rhodesia becomes part of Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland.
In 1960 Benin (Dahomey) gains independence from France.
In 1960 Chubby Checker releases "The Twist".
In 1981 MTV premiers at 12:01 AM.
In 1990 Iraq pulls out of talks with Kuwait.

2nd

In 1696 Mahmud I Ottoman sultan, fought Austrians & Russians, born.
In 1876 Wild Bill Hickok shot dead (from behind) by Jack McCall while poker. He held a pair of Aces & a pair of 8's.
In 1798 British under Adm Horatio Nelson beat French at Battle of Nile.
In 1878 Princess Ingeborg of Sweden, born.
In 1903 Unsuccessful uprising of Macedonians against Turkey.
In 1932 Peter O'Toole Ireland, actor (Lord Jim, Beckett, Lawrence of Arabia), born.
In 1977 Edward Furlong Pasadena, California, actor (John Connor-Terminator 2), born.
In 1989 NASA confirmed Voyager 2's discovery of 3 more moons of Neptune designated temporarily 1989 N2, 1989 N3 & 1989 N24.
In 1990 Iraq invades & occupies Kuwait

3rd

In 1872 Haakon VII Charlottenlund Denmark, King of Norway, born.
In 1902 Habib Bourguiba, 1st president of Tunisia, born.
In 1914 Germany invades Belgium & declares war on France in WW I.
In 1920 P.D. James mystery writer (Cover Her Face), born.
In 1940 Lithuanian SSR is accepted into the USSR.
In 1940 Martin Sheen actor (Men At Work, Wall St), born.
In 1950 John Landis director (Twilight Zone), born.
In 1960 Niger gains independence from France.
In 1963 James Hetfield heavy metal rocker (Metallica), born.
In 1966 Lenny Bruce comedian, dies of a morphine overdose.
In 1971 Paul McCartney announces the formation of his group Wings.
In 1983 Carolyn Jones actress (Morticia-Addams Family), dies at 54 of cancer.

4th

In 1181 Supernova seen in Cassiopia.
In 1265 Simon de Montfort, English baron, dies in battle.
In 1578 Battle of Alcazarquivir, Moroccans defeat Portuguese.
In 1693 Dom Perignon invents champagne.
In 1755 Nicolas-Jacque Conte inventor (modern pencil), born.
In 1792 Percy Bysshe Shelley England, romantic poet (Adonais), born.
In 1914 Germany declares war on Belgium; Britain declares war on Germany.
In 1942 David Russell Lange PM (L) New Zealand, born.
In 1944 Anne Frank, 15, (Diary of Anne Frank) is arrested by Nazis.
In 1984 Carl Lewis wins gold medal in 100-meter dash at LA Summer Olympics.
In 1984 Prince's "Purple Rain," album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 24 weeks.
In 1984 Republic of Upper Volta becomes Burkina Fasso (National Day).
In 1990 European community proposes a boycott of Iraq.
In 1996 26th Olympic Summer games closes in Atlanta, Georgia.

5th

In 1583 Gilbert claims Newfoundland (first English colony in North America).
In 1772 First partition of Poland, between Austria, Prussia and Russia.
In 1775 The first Spanish ship, 'San Carlos', enters San Francisco bay.
In 1850 Guy de Maupassant (in France), writer
In 1884 Cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty laid.
In 1899 Conrad Aiken, American poet, short story writer, critic
In 1906 John Huston, film director, writer, actor
In 1930 Neil Armstrong, X-15 pilot, first moonwalker (Gemini 8, Apollo 11)
In 1941 Leonid D. Kizim, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz T-3, T-10, T-15)
In 1945 Atom Bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the 'Enola Gay' (Pacific Time).
In 1962 Marilyn Monroe dies at age 36.
In 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed.
In 1966 Beatles release "Revolver" album.
In 1969 Mariner 7 flies past Mars.
In 1973 USSR launches Mars 6.

6th

In 1181 Supernova observed by Chinese and Japanese astronomers.
In 1697 Charles VII, Holy Roman emperor (1742-45)
In 1806 Holy Roman Empire ends. "it was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." -- Voltaire
In 1809 Alfred Lord Tennyson, poet laureate of England
In 1825 Bolivia gains independence from Spain (National Day).
In 1881 Sir Alexander Fleming, cashed in on penicillin (Nobel 1954)
In 1911 Lucille Ball (in New York, NY), comedian, actor
In 1917 Robert Mitchum, actor
In 1945 Hiroshima Peace Day -- atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the 'Enola Gay' (at 8:15 EDT).
In 1946 US officially submits to jurisdiction of World Court.
In 1961 Gherman S. Titov, second Russian in space aboard Vostok 2.
In 1962 Jamaica gains independence from Britain.
In 1965 Beatles release "Help" album.
In 1965 Federal Voting Rights Act guarantees black voting rights.
In 1985 Nineteenth Space Shuttle Mission - Challenger 8 returns to Earth.

7th

In 0317 Constantius II, Roman emperor (337-61)
In 1779 Carl Ritter, cofounder of modern science of geography
In 1782 George Washington creates the Order of the Purple Heart.
In 1783 John Heathcoat, invented lace-making machinery
In 1819 Battle of Boyac ; Bolivar defeats Spanish in Colombia.
In 1876 Mata Hari, dancer, courtesan, spy
In 1882 Feud between the Hatfield family of southern West Virginia and the McCoys of eastern Kentucky broke out. About 100 either killed or wounded.
In 1888 Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia receives a patent for his revolving door -- described as a storm door structure.
In 1904 Ralph J. Bunche, a founder and diplomat of UN (Nobel 1950)
In 1923 Esther Williams, swimmer, actor
In 1926 Stan Freberg, writer, producer, comedian, cartoon-voice
In 1937 Dustin Hoffman, actor
In 1958 Alberto Salazar, marathon runner
In 1961 Cosmonaut Gherman Titov circles Earth for a full day in Vostok 2.
In 1964 Congress passes Tonkin Resolution, official start of Vietnam war.
In 1970 First computer chess tournament.
In 1971 Apollo 15 returns to Earth.
In 1974 Philippe Petit walks tightrope strung between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, New York.
In 1976 U.S. Viking 2 goes into Martian orbit after an 11-month flight from Earth.
In 1987 Lynne Cox swims 4.3 km from US to USSR in 4ų C (39ų F) Bering Sea.
In 1990 For one second this afternoon, the time is 12:34:56, 7-8-90.

8th

In 1579 Cornerstone is laid for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory.
In 1609 Venetian senate examines Galileo Galilei's telescope.
In 1709 First known ascent in a hot-air balloon, by Father Bartolomeu de Gusmao of Portugal (indoors!).
In 1843 Natal (in South Africa) is made a British colony.
In 1860 The Queen of the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) arrives in New York City, the first queen to visit the United States.
In 1864 Red Cross Anniversary.
In 1879 Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary, peasant leader
In 1884 Sara Teasdale, poet
In 1900 First Davis Cup tennis matches, held in Boston. The U.S. defeats Britain.
In 1923 Esther Williams (in Inglewood, CA), actor, swimmer
In 1927 Jim Weaver, Oregon Representative (D)
In 1930 Andy Warhol, artist, movie producer
In 1938 Connie Stevens (in Brooklyn, NY), singer
In 1940 Battle of Britain began as Germany launched air attacks.
In 1963 Great Train Robbery in England.
In 1978 U.S. launches Pioneer Venus probe.

9th

In 480 B.C. Persia defeats Spartan king Leonidas at Thermopylae.
In 1332 Battle of Dupplin Moor (in Scotland).
In 1593 Izaac Walton, fisherman, writer (Compleat Angler)
In 1776 Amedeo Avogadro, made famous by picking 6.022 x 10 ^ 23
In 1778 Capt. Cook passes through Bering Strait.
In 1842 The US-Canada border defined by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.
In 1849 Hungarian Republic crushed by Austria and Russia.
In 1854 Henry David Thoreau published `Walden'.
In 1896 Jean Piaget, pioneer developmental psychologist
In 1902 Edward VII of England crowned after death of his mother Victoria.
In 1911 William A. Fowler, US astrophysicist (Nobel 1983)
In 1928 Eddie Fisher, actor
In 1928 James Dean, actor
In 1930 Betty Boop, animation
In 1930 Betty Boop debutes in Max Fleischer's animated cartoon Dizzy Dishes.
In 1932 Marvin Minsky, artificial intelligence guru
In 1936 Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal of the Berlin Olympics.
In 1938 Rod Laver, tennis player
In 1942 Britain arrested Indian nationalist Mohandas K. Gandhi.
In 1944 Sam Elliott, actor
In 1945 US drops second atomic bomb on Japan destroying part of Nagasaki. An estimated 74,000 people died. The original target was Kokura.
In 1956 South African women demonstrate against pass laws.
In 1957 Melanie Griffith, actor
In 1963 Whitney Houston, singer
In 1965 Singapore gains independence from Malaysia (National Day).
In 1969 The Manson "family" murders actor Sharon Tate and several others in Benedict Canyon.
In 1973 USSR launches Mars 7.
In 1974 President Richard Nixon resigns in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

10th

In 654 St Eugene I begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
In 1519 Magellan's ship set sail to circumnavigate the Earth.
In 1792 Mobs in Paris attack the palace of Louis XVI.
In 1809 Ecuador declares independence from Spain (National Day).
In 1866 Transatlantic cable laid-Pres Buchanan spoke to Queen Victoria.
In 1893 Viscount Dunrossil, Scotland, Governor General of Australia (1959-61), born.
In 1909 Mohammed V King of Morocco (1953, 1955-61), born.
In 1911 Parliament Act reduces power of House of Lords.
In 1913 2nd Balkan War ends, Treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria loses.
In 1942 Betsy Johnson fashion designer (1971 Winnie Award), born.
In 1945 Japan announces willingness to surrender to Allies provided the status of Emperor Hirohito remained unchanged.
In 1948 Allen Funt's "Candid Camera" TV debut on ABC.
In 1966 Daylight meteor seen from Utah to Canada. Only known case of a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere & leaving it again.
In 1977 Postal employee David Berkowitz arrested in Yonkers, NY, accused of being "Son of Sam" the 44 caliber killer.
In 1985 Michael Jackson buys ATV Music (including the rights to every Beatle song) for $47 million.
In 1990 US's Magellan spacecraft lands on Venus.

11th

1772 Explosive eruption blows 1.2 km off the top of volcano Papandayan, Java, kills 3,000.
1877 Asaph Hall discovers Mars's moon Deimos.
1918 Battle of Amiens ends in WW I, Allies beat Germans.
1926 Claus Von Bulow accused of murdering his wife, born.
1933 Jerry Falwell televangelist, Moral Majority head, born.
1945 Allies refuse Japan's surrender offer to retain Emperor Hirohito.
1946 Marilyn Vos Savant St Louis Mo, writer/world's highest IQ (Guinness), born.
1948 Summer Olympics opens in London.
1950 Steve Wozniak cofounded Apple Computer, born.
1952 Hussein proclaimed king of Jordan.
1953 Hulk Hogan [Terry Bollea], Ga, WWF heavyweight champion (1984-89), born.
1956 Jackson Pollock abstract artist, dies in auto accident (East Hampton).
1960 Chad declares independence.
1978 Funeral of Pope Paul VI.
1984 Carl Lewis duplicates Jesse Owens' 1936 feat, wins 4 Olympic track golds.
1984 During a radio voice test Pres Reagan joked he "signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in 5 minutes".
1989 Voyager 2 discovers 2 partial rings of Neptune.
1990 Egypt & Morocco troops land in Saudi Arabia to prevent Iraqi invasion.

12th

In 1332 Battle of Dupplin Moor; Scottish dynastic battle.
In 1508 Ponce de Leon arrives in Puerto Rico.
In 1762 George IV king of England (1820-30), born.
In 1877 Thomas Edison invents the Edisonphone, a sound recording device.
In 1881 Cecil B deMille Mass, directed God (10 Commandments), born.
In 1887 Erwin Schrodinger Austria, physicist (had a cat), born.
In 1898 Peace protocol ends Spanish-American War, signed.
In 1928 9th Olympic Games closes in Amsterdam.
In 1949 Mark Knopfler guitar/vocals (Dire Straits), born.
In 1953 Soviet Union conducts secret test of its 1st hydrogen bomb.
In 1977 Space shuttle Enterprise makes 1st atmospheric flight.
In 1988 Movie "Last Temptation of Christ" is released.
In 1990 Iraq President Saddam Hussein says he is ready to resolve the Gulf crisis if Israel withdraws from occupied territories.

13th

In 523 St John I begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
In 1521 Spanish conquerors captured Mexico City from Aztecs.
In 1642 Christiaan Huygens discovers Martian south polar cap.
In 1704 English defeat French at Battle of Blenheim.
In 1860 Annie Oakley, frontierswoman (Buffalo Bill's Wild West), born.
In 1888 John Logie Baird, Scotland, inventor (father of TV), born.
In 1899 Alfred Hitchcock, London, director (Psycho, Birds, Rear Window), born.
In 1902 Felix Wankel, Germany, inventor (Wankel rotary-piston engine), born.
In 1927 Fidel Castro, Cuban political leader (1959-?), born.
In 1959 Danny Bonaduce actor (Danny-Partridge Family) (1959 approx), born.
In 1960 Central African Republic & Chad proclaim independence from France.
In 1961 Construction on Berlin Wall begins in East Germany.

14th

In 0410 Alaric sacks Rome.
In 1248 Construction of Cologne Cathedral is begun.
In 1385 Portuguese defeat Castilians at Aljubarrota, retain independence.
In 1457 Oldest exactly dated printed book (c. 3 years after Gutenberg).
In 1777 Hans Christian Oersted, physicist, chemist
In 1846 Henry David Thoreau jailed for tax resistance.
In 1880 Construction of Cologne Cathedral is completed.
In 1893 France issues first driving licenses, including a required test.
In 1903 John Ringling North, circus director
In 1912 2,500 US marines invade Nicaragua; US remains until 1925.
In 1917 China declares war on Germany and Austria at start of WW I.
In 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston S. Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter.
In 1945 Japanese forces surrender to U.S. forces ending World War II.
In 1947 Pakistan gains independence from Britain rule.
In 1958 Canadian Football League plays first game (Winnipeg 29, Edmonton 21).
In 1958 Earvin "Magic" Johnson, NBA star (LA Lakers)
In 1966 First US lunar orbiter.
In 1969 British troops intervened militarily in Northern Ireland.

15th

In 1057 Macbeth, King of Scotland, slain by the son of King Duncan.
In 1432 Luigi Pulci, Italian poet (Morgante)
In 1620 Mayflower sets sail from Southampton with 102 Pilgrims.
In 1688 Frederick William I, king of Prussia
In 1769 Napoleon Bonaparte (Corsica), resident of Elba (Emperor of France 1804-13, 1814-15)
In 1771 Sir Walter Scott, Scottish novelist, poet (Lady of Lake, Ivanhoe)
In 1888 T. E. Lawrence, writer (aka Lawrence of Arabia)
In 1914 The Panama Canal opened to traffic.
In 1918 US and Russia severed diplomatic ties.
In 1939 "The Wizard of Oz" premiers at Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood.
In 1945 Riot in San Francisco celebrating end of World War II.
In 1945 South Korea liberated from Japanese rule. (Liberation Day in South Korea)
In 1947 India and Pakistan granted independence within British Commonwealth after some 200 years of British rule.
In 1948 Republic of Korea (South Korea) proclaimed (National Day).
In 1950 Princess Anne of England
In 1960 Congo (Brazzaville) gains independence from France (Nat'l Day).
In 1961 East German workers began building the Berlin Wall.
In 1965 Beatle's Shea Stadium concert.
In 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened in New York State.
In 1971 Bahrain gains independence from Britain.
In 1974 South Korean President Park Chung-Hee escaped an assassination.

16th

In 1819 Manchester Massacre; English police charge unemployed demonstrators.
In 1829 Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston to be exhibited.
In 1868 Bernard MacFadden, publisher (Physical Culture, True Romances)
In 1884 Hugo Gernsback, responsible for science fiction becoming an independent literary form
In 1892 Harold Foster, cartoonist, created "Prince Valiant", known for it's fine drawing and historical detail
In 1904 Wendell Stanley, biochemist, first to crystallize a virus (Nobel '46)
In 1906 Franz Josef II, prince of Liechtenstein (1938- )
In 1913 Menachem Begin, Israeli PM (1977-83) (Nobel 1978)
In 1920 Charles Bukowsky (in Andernanch, Germany), poet, writer
In 1920 Norman Lockyer, editor of NATURE, discoverer of helium in sun, dies.
In 1925 Fess Parker, actor (Davy Crockett, Gunsmoke)
In 1930 Robert Culp, actor (I Spy)
In 1930 Ted Hughes, English poet laureate (1984- )
In 1939 Valeri V. Ryumin, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 25, 32)
In 1946 Leslie Ann Warren (in New York City), actor
In 1948 Baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York at the age of 53.
In 1958 Madonna (Ciccone) (in Bay City, MI), singer, actor?
In 1960 Timothy Hutton, actor
In 1960 Britain grants independence to the crown colony of Cyprus.
In 1960 Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon at 31,330 m (record).
In 1969 Woodstock festival begins in New York.
In 1970 Venera 7 launched by USSR for soft landing on Venus.
In 1977 Elvis Presley, dies of heart ailment at Graceland at age 42 . . . or goes into hiding. (Your Choice.)
In 1987 Astrological Harmonic Convergence -- Dawn of New Age.
In 1987 Flight 255 out of Metro Airport in Detroit crashes just miniutes after take off, killing all but one small child.

17th

In 682 St Leo II begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
In 1786 Davy Crockett US, frontiersman/adventurer/politician, born.
In 1844 Menelik II King of Ethiopia (1896-1913), born.
In 1876 Eric Drummond 1st Secretary-General of League of Nations (1919-33), born.
In 1877 Asaph Hall discovers Mars' moon Phobos.
In 1887 Marcus Garvey, began back-to-Africa movement among US blacks, born.
In 1892 Mae West, actress, born.
In 1896 Gold is discovered on Klondike River.
In 1921 Maureen O'Hara, actress (Miracle on 34th St), born.
In 1942 US bombers staged 1st independent raid on Europe attack Rouen, France.
In 1943 Robert De Niro, actor (Bang the Drum Slowly, Taxi Driver), born.
In 1945 Indonesia declares independence from Netherlands (National Day).
In 1958 Belinda Carlisle, (GoGos lead singer, Heaven on Earth), born.
In 1960 Gabon gains independence from France (National Day).
In 1960 Sean Penn, actor, born.
In 1961 Building of the Berlin Wall begins.
In 1962 Beatles replace Pete Best with Ringo Starr.
In 1962 East German border guards shot & kill Peter Fechter, 18, attempting to cross Berlin Wall into western sector.
In 1970 Venera 7 launched by USSR for soft landing on Venus.
In 1983 Ira Gershwin, lyricist, dies in Beverly Hills, Cal, at 86.
In 1987 Rudolph Hess, Nazi, dies at 93, after 46 years in Spandau Prison.
In 1988 Mohammed Zia Ul-Haq, Pakistani president & US ambassador killed in plane crash.

18th

In 472 Flavius Ricimer general of the Western Roman Empire, kingmaker, born.
In 1227 Genghis Khan Mongol conqueror, died.
In 1587 1st English child born in the New World (Virginia Dare).
In 1686 Cassini reports seeing a satellite orbiting Venus.
In 1750 Antonio Salieri Italy, composer (Tatare), born.
In 1778 Fabian Gottlieb von Bellinghausen 1st to circumnavigate Antarctica, born.
In 1834 Mt Vesuvius erupts.
In 1904 Max Factor Jr CEO (Max Factor Cosmetics), born.
In 1933 Roman Polanski director (Knife in the Water, Repulsion, Macbeth), born.
In 1937 Robert Redford Calif, actor (Sting, Candidate, Natural, Great Gatsby), born.
In 1952 Patrick Swayze Houston Tx, actor/dancer (Dirty Dancing, Ghost), born.
In 1957 Juan-Manuel Fangio, wins his last auto World Championship at 46.
In 1958 Fidel Castro makes a speech on Cuban pirate radio Rebelde.
In 1958 Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov, published.
In 1958 TV game show scandal investigation starts.
In 1988 Republican Convention in New Orleans select Bush-Quayle ticket.

19th

In 1398 Inigo Lopez, Marques de Santillana, Spanish poet, born
In 1631 John Dryden, first poet laureate of England (Absalom and Achitophel), born
In 1646 John Flamsteed, first astronomer royal of England, born
In 1765 Robert Fulton, inventor, born
In 1871 Orville Wright, an aviator, born
In 1878 Manuel Quezon, first president of Philippine Commonwealth (1935-42), born
In 1888 The first beauty contest is held, in Spa, Belgium. The winner is an 18 year old girl from the West Indies.
In 1902 Ogden Nash, American humorous poet (I'm a Stranger Here Myself), born
In 1942 First American offensive in Pacific in WW2, Guadalcanal, Solomon Is.
In 1942 First American pilot to shoot down German fighter plane, SF Junkin.
In 1950 American network ABC begins the tradition of Saturday morning kid shows.
In 1960 Francis Gary Powers convicted of spying by USSR (U-2 incident).
In 1960 Sputnik 5 carries 3 dogs into orbit (later recovered alive).
In 1977 Groucho Marx, died in Los Angeles at the age of 86.
In 1979 The crew of Soyuz 32 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 34.
In 1982 Soyuz T-7 is launched.

20th

In 1778 Bernardo O'Higgins, won independence for Chile, born.
In 1860 Raymond Poincar‚ French prime minister (1912), president, born.
In 1866 President Andrew Johnson formally declared the Civil War over.
In 1901 Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian poet, critic, translator (Nobel 1959), born.
In 1914 German forces occupied Brussels, Belgium, during World War I.
In 1918 Britain opened its offensive on the Western front during WW I.
In 1920 US's first commercial radio, 8MK (later WWJ), Detroit began daily broadcasting
In 1921 Jacqueline Susann, writer (Valley of the Dolls), born.
In 1938 Jean-Loup Chritien, first French traveler in space (on Soyuz T-6), born.
In 1930 Dumont's first TV Broadcast for home reception, NY city.
In 1940 Sam Melville, actor, born.
In 1940 British PM Churchill said of the Royal Air Force, `Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.', referring to the Battle of Britain.
In 1940 Leon Trotsky assassinated in Mexico City by agents of Stalin.
In 1942 Dimout regulations implemented in San Francisco.
In 1942 Isaac Hayes, composer, musician, born.
In 1944 Rajiv Gandhi, PM of India (1984-1991), born.
In 1953 Russia publicly acknowledges a test detonation of a hydrogen bomb.
In 1955 First airplane to exceed 1800 mph - HA Hanes, Palmdale Ca.
In 1955 Hundreds killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.
In 1956 Republicans start convention at the Cow Palace, San Francisco.
In 1960 Senegal gains independence from France.
In 1964 LBJ signs an anti-poverty measure totaling nearly $1 billion.
In 1968 Russia and Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia crushing the "Prague Spring" liberalization drive of Alexander Dubcek. A small force of about 650,000 Soviet-block troops was used.
In 1975 Viking 1 launched toward orbit around Mars, soft landing.
In 1977 Voyager 2 launched for fly-by of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. It carries a record containing greetings.
In 1980 The UN Security Council voted 14-0, with the US abstaining, to condemn Israel's declaration that all of Jerusalem was its capital.
In 1986 A mail carrier in Edmond, Okla., shot 14 fellow workers dead.

21st

In 1165 Philip II Augustus 1st great Capetian king of France (1179-1223), born.
In 1660 Hubert Gautier engineer, wrote 1st book on bridge building, born.
In 1765 William IV king of England (1830-37), born.
In 1841 John Hampson patents venetian blind.
In 1906 William "Count" Basie jazz pianist, born.
In 1906 Friz Freleng animator (Bugs Bunny-Emmy 1982), born.
In 1930 Princess Margaret England (Sister of Queen Elizabeth II), born.
In 1936 Wilt Chamberlain NBA great center (LA Laker, 5 time MVP), born.
In 1938 Kenny Rogers singer (Lady) actor (Coward of the County), born.
In 1940 Leon Trotsky dies of wounds inflicted by an assailant the day before.
In 1956 Kim Cattrall, Liverpool England, actress (Mannequin, Star Trek VI), born.
In 1968 Radio Prague (Czech) at 12:50 AM announces a soviet led invasion.
In 1968 Warsaw Pact forces enter Czechoslovakia to end reform movement.
In 1986 Volcanic eruption in Cameroon releases poison gas, killing 2,000.
In 1988 Cease fire between Iran & Iraq takes effect after 8 years of war.
In 1989 Voyager 2 begins a flyby of the planet Neptune.
In 1991 Communist coup is crushed in USSR in 2 days.

22nd

In 1485 Richard III slain at Bosworth Field - Last of the Plantagenets.
In 1851 Gold fields discovered in Australia.
In 1851 The yacht 'America' wins the first Royal Yacht Squadron Cup, now known as the America's Cup, at a regatta in England.
In 1862 Claude Debussy (in France), composer (La Mer, Clair de lune)
In 1864 Geneva Convention signed, by 12 nations.
In 1904 Deng Xiao Peng, Chinese leader
In 1920 Ray Bradbury, science fiction author (Fahrenheit 451)
In 1927 Babe Ruth hits 40th of 60 homers.
In 1929 Honor Blackman (in London, England), actor (The Avengers)
In 1932 Gerald P. Carr, US astronaut (Skylab 4)
In 1940 Valerie Harper (in Sufferin, NY), actor (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda)
In 1948 Cindy Williams (in Van Nuys, CA), actor (Laverne and Shirley)
In 1961 Maris hits his 50th of 61 homers.
In 1963 Joe Walker in X-15 test plane reaches 106 km (67 miles), straight up.

23rd

In 1617 The first one-way streets are established -- in London.
In 1754 Louis XVI, king of France (1774-92); guillotined, born.
In 1833 Britain abolishes slavery in colonies; 700,000 slaves freed.
In 1912 Gene Kelly, dancer, actor, singer in the rain, born.
In 1919 "Gasoline Alley" cartoon strip premiers in Chicago Tribune. It was the first cartoon in which the characters aged.
In 1930 Vera Miles, actor, born.
In 1932 Mark Russell, raconteur, born.
In 1934 Barbara Eden (in Arizona), actor (I dream of Jeannie), born.
In 1939 Hitler and Stalin sign the Soviet-German non-aggression treaty. Hitler got peace in the east; Stalin got a piece of Europe.
In 1944 Rumania liberated from Nazi occupation (Romanian National Day).
In 1949 Shelley Long (in Fort Wayne, IN), actor, born.
In 1957 Digital Equipment Corp. founded.
In 1963 Beatles release "She Loves You".
In 1966 Lunar Orbiter 1 takes first photograph of earth from the moon.
In 1970 River Phoenix, born.
In 1973 Intelsat communications satellite launched
In 1977 First man-powered flight (Bryan Allen in Gossamer Condor).

24th

In 79 Mt Vesuvius erupts, buries Pompeii & Herculaneum.
In 410 Rome overrun by Visigoths, symbolized fall of Western Roman Empire.
In 1113 Geoffrey Plantagenet France, conquered Normandy, born.
In 1572 King Charles IX orders massacre of thousands of French Protestants.
In 1662 Act of Uniformity requires English to accept book of Common Prayer.
In 1869 Waffle iron invented.
In 1872 Sir Max Beerbohm England, caricaturist/writer/wit (Saturday Review), born.
In 1891 Thomas Edison patents motion picture camera.
In 1936 Australian Antarctic Territory created.
In 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established.
In 1966 USSR launches Luna 11 for orbit around Moon.
In 1968 France became world's 5th thermonuclear power.
In 1990 Iraqi troops surround US & other embassies in Kuwait City.
In 1991 Gorbachev resigns as head of USSR Communist Party.
In 1991 Ukraine declares independence from the USSR.

25th

In 1530 Ivan IV (the Terrible) 1st tsar of Russia (1533-84), born.
In 1580 Battle of Alcantara, Spain defeats Portugal.
In 1609 Galileo demonstrates his 1st telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
In 1822 William Herschel discovered Uranus, dies at 85.
In 1825 Uruguay declares independence from Brazil (National Day).
In 1830 Belgium revolts against Netherlands.
In 1845 Ludwig II mad king of Bavaria (1864-86), born.
In 1900 Friedrich Nietzsche philosopher, dies in Weimar, Germany.
In 1901 Clara Maass army nurse sacrificed her life at 25 to prove that the mosquito carries yellow fever.
In 1918 Leonard Bernstein conductor/composer/pianist/egotist, born.
In 1918 Richard Greene Plymouth England, actor (Adv of Robin Hood), born.
In 1930 Sean Connery actor (James Bond, Man Who Would Be King), born.
In 1932 Amelia Earhart completes transcontinental flight.
In 1933 Tom Skerritt Detroit Michigan, actor (Ryan's Four, Alien, Big Bad Mama), born.
In 1940 1st parachute wedding.
In 1944 Paris liberated from Nazi occupation.
In 1949 Gene Simmons Queens, NY, rocker (KISS), born.
In 1954 Elvis Costello [Declan Patrick McManus], rocker (Allison), born.
In 1970 Claudia Schiffer Rheinbach Germany, super model (Elle, Rolling Stone), born.
In 1981 Voyager 2's closest approach to Saturn (63,000 miles/100,000 km).
In 1983 US & USSR sign $10 billion grain pact.
In 1984 Truman Capote author (In Cold Blood), dies.
In 1989 Voyager 2 makes its closest approach to Neptune (0400 GMT).
In 1991 Carl Lewis runs 100m in 9.86 seconds.

26th

In 55 B.C. Roman forces under Julius Caesar invaded Britain.
In 1346 English longbows defeat French in Battle of Crecy.
In 1676 Sir Robert Walpole (Whig), British prime minister, 1721-42
In 1728 Johann Lambert, Swiss mathematician, proved pi is irrational
In 1791 John Fitch granted a US patent for his working steamboat
In 1847 Liberia was proclaimed an independent republic.
In 1873 Lee De Forest (in Council Bluffs, Iowa), invented the Audion vacuum tube (radio tube)
In 1880 Guillaume Apollinaire, French poet
In 1883 Krakatoa began erupting with increasingly large explosions.
In 1885 Jules Romains, French novelist, dramatist, poet (Men of Good Will)
In 1901 Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, former US Army chief of staff
In 1904 Christopher Isherwood, novelist, playwright (I Am a Camera)
In 1906 Dr. Albert Sabin, polio vaccine discoverer
In 1907 Houdini escapes chains underwater at Aquatic Park in 57 seconds.
In 1914 Germans defeat Russians in Battle of Tannenberg.
In 1920 19th amendment passes -- women's suffrage granted (about time!).
In 1957 USSR announces successful test of intercontinental ballistic missile.
In 1962 Mariner 2 launched for first planet flyby (Venus).
In 1972 Summer Olympics opened in Munich, West Germany.
In 1973 University of Texas at Arlington becomes the first accredited school to offer a course in belly dancing.
In 1973 Women's Equality Day.
In 1974 Charles Lindbergh, died at his home in Hawaii at the age of 72.
In 1974 Soyuz 15 carries 2 cosmonauts to space station Salyut 3.
In 1978 Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice becomes Pope John Paul I.
In 1978 Soyuz 31 is launched.
In 1981 Voyager's closest approach to Saturn enroute to Uranus and Neptune.
In 1990 Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn dies in a helicopter accident.

27th

In 1783 First hydrogen-filled balloon ascent (unmanned).
In 1859 First successful oil well drilled near Titusville, Penn.
In 1882 Samuel Goldwyn, pioneer filmmaker
In 1883 Krakatoa, west of Java, blew apart; top that, St. Helens!
In 1899 C.S. Forester, historical novelist, created Horatio Hornblower
In 1908 Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President (1963-1969)
In 1910 Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Nobel 1979)
In 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs' publishes "Tarzan".
In 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact, where 60 nations agreed to outlaw war.
In 1939 Erich Warsitz makes first jet-propelled flight (in a Heinkel He-178).
In 1929 Ira Levin, author (Rosemary's Baby, Sleuth, This Perfect Day)
In 1941 Yuri V. Malyshev, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz T-2, T-11)
In 1943 Susan 'Tuesday' Weld (in New York City), actor
In 1962 Launch of Mariner 2 which makes first Venus flyby.
In 1982 Soyuz T-7 returns to Earth.
In 1985 20th Space Shuttle Mission - Discovery 6 is launched.

28th

In 1789 Sir William Herschel discovers Saturn's moon Enceladus.
In 1916 Italy declares war against Germany during WW I.
In 1917 10 suffragists arrested as they picket the White House.
In 1958 Scott Hamilton Toledo, figure skating champion (Olympic-gold-1984), born.
In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream speech" at Lincoln Memorial.
In 1969 Jason Priestley Vancouver BC, actor (Brandon-Beverly Hills 90210), born.
In 1990 Iraq declares Kuwait it's 19th province.

29th

In 1533 Atahualpa last Incan King of Peru, murdered by Spanish conquerors.
In 1769 Edmond Hoyle games expert, dies (birth date unknown).
In 1883 Seismic sea waves created by the Krakatoa eruption create a rise in the English Channel 32 hrs after the explosion.
In 1885 Gottlieb Daimler receives German patent for a motorcycle.
In 1896 Chop suey invented in NYC by chef of visiting Chinese Ambassador.
In 1915 Ingrid Bergman Sweden, actress (Casablanca, Cactus Flower), born.
In 1923 Sir Richard Attenborough actor/director (Gandhi, Young Winston), born.
In 1929 German airship Graf Zeppelin ends a round-the-world flight.
In 1950 Intl Olympic Committee votes admission to West Germany & Japan in '52.
In 1958 Michael Jackson, singer, born.
In 1962 Rebecca De Mornay actress (The Hand That Rocker The Cradle), born.
In 1964 Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins" released.
In 1975 Star in Cygnus goes nova becoming 4th brightest in sky.
In 1987 Lee Marvin dies in Tucson, Ariz at 63.
In 1990 Saddam Hussein declares America can't beat Iraq.
In 1993 Galileo passes within 600 miles of asteroid Ida.

30th

In 30 BC Cleopatra 7th & most famous queen of Egypt, commits suicide.
In 1483 Louis XI king of France (1461-83), dies at 60.
In 1797 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley London England, author (Frankenstein), born.
In 1871 Ernest Lord Rutherford England, physicist; discovered atomic nucleus, born.
In 1916 Paul Von Hindenburg becomes chief-of-General-Staff in Germany.
In 1941 Siege of Leningrad by Nazi troops began during WW II.
In 1943 Robert Crumb cartoonist (Father Time), born.
In 1950 John Landis actor (American Werewolf in London), born.

31th

In 12 B.C. Caligula (Gaius Caesar), 3rd Roman emperor (37-41 AD), born.
In 1535 Pope Paul II deposed & excommunicated King Henry VIII.
In 1880 Queen Mother Wilhelmina Netherlands (1890-1948), born.
In 1887 Thomas A Edison patents Kinetoscope, (produces moving pictures).
In 1888 Mary Ann Nicholls a 42-year-old prostitute, was found stabbed to death in London, 1st of at least five murders by Jack the Ripper.
In 1919 Communist Labor Party of America formed in Chicago.
In 1928 James Coburn Laurel Nebr, actor (Our Man Flint, Magnificent Seven), born.
In 1940 Jack Thompson Australia, actor (Breaker Morant), born.
In 1945 Van Morrison Belfast, singer (Here Comes the Night), born.
In 1949 Richard Gere Phila Pa, actor (Breathless, Cotton Club), born.
In 1955 1st sun-powered automobile demonstrated, Chicago, Ill.
In 1957 Malaya (Malaysia) gains independence from Britain (National Day).
In 1959 Australia defeats US for tennis' Davis Cup.
In 1962 Trinidad & Tobago gain independence from Britain (National Day).
In 1964 Rocky Marciano former heavyweight champ, dies in a plane crash.
In 1980 Poland's Solidarity labor union founded.
In 1988 5-day power blackout of downtown Seattle begins.

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