Friday, August 31, 2012

August 31st in History


1056 - After a sudden illness a few days previous, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies without children to succeed the throne, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty.

1422 - King Henry V of England dies of dysentery while in France. His son, Henry VI becomes King of England at the age of 9 months.

1876 - Ottoman Sultan Murat V is deposed and succeeded by his brother Abd-ul-Hamid II.

1888 - Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims.

1945 - The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies.

1962 - Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.

1991 - Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.

1994 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire.

1997 - Diana, Princess of Wales dies after a car crash with Dodi Al-Fayed in Paris, France.

Famous Birthdays:

1569 - Emperor Jahangir of India

1870 - Maria Montessori, educator

1880 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

1907 - Ramon Magsaysay, 7th President of the Philippines

1940 - Jack Thompson, actor

1947 - Somchai Wongsawat, 26th Prime Minister of Thailand

1958 - Julie Brown, actress

1970 - Nikola Gruevski, 6th Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia

1970 - Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan

1971 - Pádraig Harrington, golfer

1981 - Mawnia Al-Kuwaitia, singer

1985 - Rolando, footballer


Thursday, August 30, 2012

August 30th in History


1813 - Battle of Kulm: French forces are defeated by an Austrian-Prussian-Russian alliance.

1835 - Melbourne, Australia is founded.

1914 - World War I: Germans defeat the Russians in the Battle of Tannenberg

1945 - Hong Kong is liberated from Japan by British Armed Forces.

1967 - Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

1981 - President Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar of Iran are assassinated in a bombing committed by the People's Mujahedin of Iran.

1999 - East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a referendum.

Famous Birthdays:

1808 - Princess Ludovika of Bavaria

1917 - Denis Healey, British politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer

1919 - Wolfgang Wagner, opera director

1934 - Baloo Gupte, cricketer

1951 - Dana Rosemary Scallon, singer and politician

1963 - Mark Strong, actor

1985 - Steven Smith, footballer

1989 - Simone Guerra, footballer


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

August 29th in History


1756 - Frederick the Great attacks Saxony, beginning the Seven Years' War.

1778 - American Revolutionary War: British and American forces battle indecisively at the Battle of Rhode Island.

1825 - Portugal recognizes the Independence of Brazil.

1833 - The United Kingdom legislates the abolition of slavery in its empire.

1943 - German-occupied Denmark scuttles most of its navy; Germany dissolves the Danish government.

1944 - Slovak National Uprising takes place as 60,000 Slovak troops turn against the Nazis.

1950 - Korean War: British troops arrive in Korea to bolster the US presence there.

2003 - Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf.

Famous Birthdays:

1632 - John Locke, philosopher and physician

1862 - Maurice Maeterlinck, poet and Nobel Prize laureate

1912 - Barry Sullivan, actor

1928 - Charles Gray, actor

1936 - John McCain, politician

1947 - James Hunt, race car driver


1965 - Dina Spybey, actress

1979 - Ryan Shealy, baseball player

1986 – Lea Michele, actress and singer

1993 – Liam Payne, singer/band member




Tuesday, August 28, 2012

August 28th in History


1521 - The Ottoman Turks occupy Belgrade.


1609 - Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay.

1619 - Ferdinand II is elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

1833 - The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 receives Royal Assent, abolishing slavery through most the British Empire.

1913 - Queen Wilhelmina opens the Peace Palace in The Hague.


1916 - World War I: Germany declares war on Romania.

1916 - World War I: Italy declares war on Germany.

1943 - World War II: in Denmark, a general strike against the Nazi occupation is started.

1979 - An IRA bomb explodes on the Grand Place in Brussels.


1991 - Ukraine declares its independence from the Soviet Union.

Famous Birthdays:

1025 - Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan

1774 - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Catholic saint

1859 - Vittorio Sella, photographer

1913 - Jack Dreyfus, entrepreneur

1925 - Billy Grammer, country music singer and guitarist

1945 - Bob Segarini, musician

1957 - Ivo Josipovic, President of Croatia

1969 - Jack Black, actor

1974 - Carsten Jancker, footballer

1999 - His Highness Prince Nikolai of Denmark, son of HRH Prince Joachim, grandson of Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark






Monday, August 27, 2012

August 27th in History


1172 - Henry the Young King and Margaret of France are crowned as junior King and Queen of England.

1593 - Pierre Barrière fails in his attempt to assassinate King Henry IV of France.

1798 - Wolfe Tone's United Irish and French forces clash with the British Army in the Battle of Castlebar, part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, resulting in the creation of the French puppet Republic of Connaught.

1810 - Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeats the British Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France.


1813 - French Emperor Napoleon I defeats a larger force of Austrians, Russians, and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden.

1828 - Uruguay is formally proclaimed independent at preliminary peace talks brokered by Great Britain between Brazil and Argentina during the Cisplatine War.

1861 - Union forces attack Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

1957 - The Constitution of Malaysia comes into force.

1979 - A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb kills British World War II admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten and three others while they are boating on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Shortly after, 18 British Army soldiers are killed in an ambush near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland.

1991 - Moldova declares independence from the USSR.

Famous Birthdays:

1665 - John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, politician

1865 - Charles G. Dawes, general and 30th Vice President of the United States

1884 - Vincent Auriol, French, 16th President of the French Republic

1908 - Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States

1918 - Jelle Zijlstra, Prime Minister of the Netherlands

1931 - Joe Cunningham, baseball player

1944 - G. W. Bailey, actor

1966 - Juhan Parts, 14th Prime Minister of Estonia


1977 - Deco, footballer

1979 - Rusty Smith, speed skater










Sunday, August 26, 2012

Neil Armstrong: One small step

Neil Armstrong - First Man on the Moon

1930 - 2012
Neil Alden Armstrong was born on August 5th 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio, USA. His parents were Stephen Koenig Armstrong and Viola Louise Engel. He was of Scottish and German descent, and had two younger siblings, June and Dean. His father took 2 year old Neil to the Cleveland Air Races. This is where he first developed a passion for flying. He was 6 when he experienced his first airplane flight. Neil attended Blume High School. Armstrong began taking flying lessons at the county airport, and was just 15 when he earned his flight certificate, before he had a driver's license. Armstrong was active in the Boy Scouts and he eventually earned the rank of Eagle Scout. As an adult, he was recognized by the Boy Scouts of America with its Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and Silver Buffalo Award.

In 1947, Armstrong began studying aerospace engineering at Purdue University, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta and Kappa Kappa Psi. He was only the second person in his family to attend college, and was also accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), His college tuition was paid for under the Holloway Plan – successful applicants committed to two years of study, followed by three years of service in the United States Navy, then completion of the final two years of the degree. At Purdue, he earned average marks in his subjects, with a GPA that rose and fell during eight semesters. He was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University in 1955, and, from the University of Southern California in 1970, a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering. Armstrong held honorary doctorates from a number of universities.

Armstrong's call-up from the Navy arrived on January 26, 1949, requiring him to report to Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight training. This lasted almost 18 months, during which he qualified for carrier landing aboard the USS Cabot and USS Wright. On August 16, 1950, two weeks after his 20th birthday, Armstrong was informed by letter he was a fully qualified Naval Aviator. His first assignment was to Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron 7 at NAS San Diego (now known as NAS North Island). Two months later he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 51 (VF-51), an all-jet squadron, and made his first flight in a jet, an F9F-2B Panther, on January 5, 1951. In June, he made his first jet carrier landing on the USS Essex and was promoted the same week from Midshipman to Ensign. By the end of the month, the Essex had set sail with VF-51 aboard, bound for Korea, where they would act as ground-attack aircraft.



Armstrong first saw action in the Korean War on August 29, 1951, as an escort for a photo reconnaissance plane over Songjin. On September 3, 1951, Armstrong flew armed reconnaissance over the primary transportation and storage facilities south of the village of Majon-ni, west of Wonsan; while he was making a low bombing run at about 350 mph (560 km/h), Armstrong's F9F Panther was hit by anti-aircraft fire. While trying to regain control, Armstrong collided with a pole at a height of about 20 feet (6.1 m), which sliced off an estimated three feet of the Panther's right wing.

Armstrong flew 78 missions over Korea for a total of 121 hours in the air, most of which were in January 1952. He received the Air Medal for 20 combat missions, a Gold Star for the next 20, and the Korean Service Medal and Engagement Star. Armstrong left the Navy at the age of 22 on August 23, 1952, and became a Lieutenant, Junior Grade in the United States Naval Reserve. He resigned his commission in the Naval Reserve on October 21, 1960.

In his personal life, Armstrong started to settle down. He married Janet Shearon on January 28, 1956. The couple soon added to their family. Son Eric arrived in 1957, followed daughter Karen in 1959. Sadly, Karen died of complications related to an inoperable brain tumor in January 1962. The following year, the Armstrongs welcomed their third child, son Mark. 

That same year, Armstrong joined the astronaut program. He and his family moved to Houston, Texas, and Armstrong served as the command pilot for his first mission, Gemini VIII. He and fellow astronaut David Scott were launched into the earth's orbit on March 16, 1966. While in orbit, they were able to briefly dock their space capsule with the Gemini Agena target vehicle. This was the first time two vehicles had successfully docked in space. During this maneuver, however, they experienced some problems and had to cut their mission short. They landed in the Pacific Ocean nearly 11 hours after the mission's start, and were later rescued by the U.S.S. Mason.



After Armstrong served as backup commander for Apollo 8, Slayton offered him the post of commander of Apollo 11 on December 23, 1968, as 8 orbited the Moon. A March 1969 meeting between Slayton, George Low, Bob Gilruth, and Chris Kraft determined that Armstrong would be the first person on the Moon, in some part because NASA management saw Armstrong as a person who did not have a large ego.On July 16, 1969, Armstrong received a crescent moon carved out of Styrofoam from the pad leader, Guenter Wendt, who described it as a key to the Moon. In return, Armstrong gave Wendt a ticket for a "space taxi" "good between two planets"

Apollo 11 crew: Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin

During the Apollo 11 launch, Armstrong's heart reached a top rate of 110 beats per minute. He found the first stage to be the loudest – much noisier than the Gemini 8 Titan II launch – and the Apollo CSM was relatively roomy compared to the Gemini capsule. This ability to move around was suspected to be the cause of space sickness that had hit members of previous crews, but none of the Apollo 11 crew suffered from it; Armstrong was especially happy, as he had been prone to motion sickness as a child and could experience nausea after doing long periods of aerobatics.

The objective of Apollo 11 was to land safely rather than to touch down with precision on a particular spot. Three minutes into the lunar descent burn, Armstrong noted that craters were passing about two seconds too early, which meant the Eagle would probably touch down beyond the planned landing zone by several miles.
When Armstrong noticed they were heading towards a landing area which he believed was unsafe, he took over manual control of the LM, and attempted to find an area which seemed safer, taking longer than expected, and longer than most simulations had taken. For this reason, there was concern from mission control that the LM was running low on fuel. Upon landing, Aldrin and Armstrong believed they had about 40 seconds worth of fuel left, including the 20 seconds worth of fuel which had to be saved in the event of an abort.During training, Armstrong had landed the LLTV with less than 15 seconds left on several occasions, and he was also confident the LM could survive a straight-down fall from 50 feet (15 m) if needed. Analysis after the mission showed that at touchdown there were 45 to 50 seconds of propellant burn time left.

The landing on the surface of the moon occurred at 20:17:39 UTC on July 20, 1969.When a sensor attached to the legs of the still hovering Lunar Module made lunar contact, a panel light inside the LM lit up and Aldrin called out, "Contact light." As the LM settled on the surface Aldrin then said, "Okay. Engine stop," and Armstrong said, "Shutdown." The first words Armstrong intentionally spoke to Mission Control and the world from the lunar surface were, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Aldrin and Armstrong celebrated with a brisk handshake and pat on the back before quickly returning to the checklist of tasks needed to ready the lunar module for liftoff from the Moon should an emergency unfold during the first moments on the lunar surface.During the critical landing, the only message from Houston was "30 seconds", meaning the amount of fuel left. When Armstrong had confirmed touch-down, Houston expressed their worries during the manual landing as "You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again".

Descending from the LEM

Once Armstrong and Aldrin were ready to go outside, Eagle was depressurized, the hatch was opened and Armstrong made his way down the ladder first. At the bottom of the ladder, Armstrong said "I'm going to step off the LEM now". He then turned and set his left boot on the surface at 2:56 UTC July 21, 1969, then spoke the famous words "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." 
Armstrong had decided on this statement following a train of thought that he had had after launch and during the hours after landing.The broadcast did not have the "a" before "man", rendering the phrase a contradiction (as man in such use is synonymous with mankind). NASA and Armstrong insisted for years that static had obscured the "a", with Armstrong stating he would never make such a mistake, but after repeated listenings to recordings, Armstrong admitted he must have dropped the "a". Armstrong later said he "would hope that history would grant me leeway for dropping the syllable and understand that it was certainly intended, even if it was not said – although it might actually have been"

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." 

About 20 minutes after the first step, Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface and became the second human to set foot on the Moon, and the duo began their tasks of investigating how easily a person could operate on the lunar surface. Early on, they unveiled a plaque commemorating their flight, and also planted the flag of the United States. The flag used on this mission had a metal rod to hold it horizontal from its pole. Since the rod did not fully extend, and the flag was tightly folded and packed during the journey, the flag ended up with a slightly wavy appearance, as if there were a breeze. Shortly after their flag planting, President Richard Nixon spoke to them by a telephone call from his office. The President spoke for about a minute, after which Armstrong responded for about thirty seconds.

After helping to set up the Early Apollo Scientific Experiment Package, Armstrong went for a walk to what is now known as East Crater, 65 yards (59 m) east of the LM, the greatest distance traveled from the LM on the mission. Armstrong's final task was to leave a small package of memorial items to deceased Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov, and Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee. 

After they re-entered the LM, the hatch was closed and sealed. While preparing for the liftoff from the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin discovered that, in their bulky spacesuits, they had broken the ignition switch for the ascent engine; using part of a pen, they pushed the circuit breaker in to activate the launch sequence. Aldrin still possesses the pen which they used to do this. The lunar module then continued to its rendezvous and docked with Columbia, the command and service module. The three astronauts returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific ocean, to be picked up by the USS Hornet (CV-12).

After being released from an 18-day quarantine to ensure that they had not picked up any infections or diseases from the Moon, the crew were feted across the United States and around the world as part of a 45-day "Giant Leap" tour. Armstrong then took part in Bob Hope's 1969 USO show, primarily to Vietnam.
In May 1970, Armstrong traveled to the Soviet Union to present a talk at the 13th annual conference of the International Committee on Space Research; after arriving in Leningrad from Poland, he traveled to Moscow where he met Premier Alexei Kosygin. He was the first westerner to see the supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 and was given a tour of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, which Armstrong described as "a bit Victorian in nature".

The Apollo 11 crew in  quarantine and President Nixon

Armstrong announced shortly after the Apollo 11 flight that he did not plan to fly in space again.He was appointed Deputy Associate Administrator for aeronautics for the Office of Advanced Research and Technology, Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), but served in this position for only a year, and resigned from it and NASA as a whole in 1971. 

He accepted a teaching position in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati,having decided on Cincinnati over other universities, including his alma mater, Purdue, because it had a small aerospace department; he hoped that the faculty members would not be annoyed that he came straight into a professorship with only the USC master's degree.He began the work while stationed at Edwards years before, and finally completed it after Apollo 11 by presenting a report on various aspects of Apollo, instead of a thesis on the simulation of hypersonic flight. The official job title he received at Cincinnati was University Professor of Aerospace Engineering. After teaching for eight years, he resigned in 1979 without explaining his reason for leaving.

Armstrong served on two spaceflight accident investigations. The first was in 1970, after Apollo 13, where as part of Edgar Cortwright's panel, he produced a detailed chronology of the flight. Armstrong personally opposed the report's recommendation to re-design the service module's oxygen tanks, the source of the explosion. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the Rogers Commission which investigated the Space-shuttle Challenger disaster of that year. As vice-chairman, Armstrong was in charge of the operational side of the commission.

After Armstrong retired from NASA in 1971, he avoided offers from businesses to act as a spokesman. The first company to successfully approach him was Chrysler, for whom he appeared in advertising starting in January 1979. Armstrong thought they had a strong engineering division, plus they were in financial difficulty. He acted as a spokesman for other companies, including General Time Corporation and the Bankers Association of America. He acted as a spokesman for US businesses only.
Along with spokesman duties, he also served on the board of directors of several companies, including Marathon Oil, Learjet, Cinergy (Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company), Taft Broadcasting, United Airlines, Eaton Corporation, AIL Systems, and Thiokol. He joined Thiokol's board after he served on the Rogers Commission; the Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed due to a problem with the Thiokol-manufactured solid rocket boosters. He retired as chairman of the board of EDO Corporation in 2002.

Armstrong was approached by political groups from both ends of the spectrum after his aeronautical career. Unlike former astronauts and United States Senators John Glenn and Harrison Schmitt, Armstrong declined all offers. Personally, he was in favor of states' rights and against the United States acting as the "world's policeman". 

In 1972, Armstrong was welcomed into the town of Langholm, Scotland, the traditional seat of Clan Armstrong; he was made the first freeman of the burgh, and happily declared the town his home.The Justice of the Peace read from an unrepealed 400-year-old law that required him to hang any Armstrong found in the town.

Armstrong's first wife, Janet, divorced him in 1994, after 38 years of marriage.He had met his second wife, Carol Held Knight, in 1992 at a golf tournament, where they were seated together at the breakfast table. She said little to Armstrong, but two weeks later she received a call from him asking what she was doing—she replied she was cutting down a cherry tree; 35 minutes later Armstrong was at her house to help out. They were married on June 12, 1994, in Ohio, and then had a second ceremony, at San Ysidro Ranch, in California. He lived in Indian Hill, Ohio.

Armstrong underwent surgery on August 7, 2012, to relieve blocked coronary arteries. He died on August 25, in Cincinnati, Ohio, following complications resulting from these cardiovascular procedures. Hours later, President Barack Obama released a statement on Armstrong's death describing him as "among the greatest of American heroes – not just of his time, but of all time."According to a statement released by the White House, Obama added that he, along with the Apollo 11 crew, carried the aspirations of the United States' citizens and that Armstrong had delivered "a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten."



Armstrong's family also released a statement that read "[he was a] reluctant American hero [and had] served his nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves." 
Armstrong's family statement made the tribute "For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."

His colleague on the Apollo 11 mission, Buzz Aldrin, commented that he was "very saddened to learn of the passing. I know I am joined by millions of others in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew."Command module pilot Michael Collins said simply, "He was the best, and I will miss him terribly." NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that Armstrong will be "remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own." 







August 26th in History



1346 - Hundred Years' War: the military supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow and armoured knights is established at the Battle of Crécy.

1429 - Joan of Arc makes a triumphant entry into Paris.


1498 - Michelangelo is commissioned to carve the Pietà.

1814 - Chilean War of Independence: Infighting between the rebel forces of José Miguel Carrera and Bernardo O'Higgins erupts in the Battle of Las Tres Acequias.


1920 - The 19th amendment to United States Constitution takes effect, giving women the right to vote.

1944 - World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris.

1970 - The then new feminist movement, led by Betty Friedan, leads a nation-wide Women's Strike for Equality.

1978 - Papal conclave: Pope John Paul I is elected to the Papacy.

1999 - Russia begins the Second Chechen War in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade.

Famous Birthdays:

1540 - King Magnus of Livonia

1676 - Sir Robert Walpole, First Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

1728 - Johann Heinrich Lambert, scientist

1819 - Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom, Husband of Queen Victoria

1874 - Zona Gale, novelist

1901 - Maxwell Taylor, general

1910 - Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

1944 - HRH Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, son of Prince Henry and Princess Alice of Gloucester, grandson of King George V and Queen Mary of Teck

1956 - Brett Cullen, actor

1969 - Elaine Irwin Mellencamp, model

1982 - Angelo Iorio, footballer

1988 - Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este, daughter of Archduke Prince Lorenz of Austria-Este and Archduchess Princess Astrid of Belgium, granddaughter of His Majesty King Albert II of Belgium















Saturday, August 25, 2012

August 25th in History


1825 - Uruguay declares its independence from Brazil.

1920 - Polish-Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw, which began on August 13, ends. The Red Army is defeated.

1944 - World War II: Paris is liberated by the Allies.

1989 - Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Neptune.

1991 - Belarus gains its independence from the Soviet Union

Famous Birthdays:

1530 - Tsar Ivan IV of Russia (Also known as Ivan the Terrible)

1707 - King Louis I of Spain

1882 - Seán T. O'Kelly, 2nd President of Ireland

1910 - Dorothea Tanning, painter

1930 - Sir Thomas Sean Connery, actor

1952 - Duleep Mendis, cricketer

1961 - Billy Ray Cyrus, singer, songwriter

1970 - Claudia Schiffer, model








Friday, August 24, 2012

August 24th in History


79 - Mount Vesuvius erupts. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic ash

1200 - King John of England, marries Isabella of Angouleme in Bordeaux Cathedral.


1215 - Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta invalid.

1349 - Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague.

1662 - The Act of Uniformity requires England to accept the Book of Common Prayer.


1814 - British troops invade Washington, D.C. and during the Burning of Washington the White House is set ablaze, though not burned to the ground; as well as several other buildings.

1815 - The modern Constitution of the Netherlands is signed.


1912 - Alaska becomes a United States territory.

1932 - Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop

1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

1991 - Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.

2006 - The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is now considered a Dwarf Planet.

Famous Birthdays:


1198 - King Alexander II of Scotland

1358 - King John I of Castile

1787 - James Weddell, explorer

1899 - Albert Claude, biologist, Nobel laureate

1924 - Jimmy Gardner, actor

1944 - Gregory Jarvis, astronaut

1954 - Philippe Cataldo, singer

1974 - Jennifer Lien, actress










Thursday, August 23, 2012

August 23rd in History


79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.

1305 - Sir William Wallace is executed for High Treason at Smithfield in London.

1839 - The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for war with Qing China. The ensuing 3-year conflict will later be known as the First Opium War.

1866 - Austro-Prussian War ends with the Treaty of Prague.

1914 - World War I: Japan declares war on Germany and bombs Qingdao, China.


1942 - World War II: Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad.

1943 - World War II: Kharkov liberated as a result of the Battle of Kursk.

1944 - World War II: Marseille liberated.

1948 - World Council of Churches is formed.

1989 - Singing Revolution: two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stand on the Vilnius-Tallinn road, holding hands

1990 - Armenia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.

1990 - West Germany and East Germany announce that they will unite on October 3.

2007 - The skeletal remains of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his sister Anastasia are found near Yekaterinburg, Russia.

2011 - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the 2011 Libyan civil war.

Famous Birthdays:

1754 - King Louis XVI of France

1852 - Clímaco Calderón, President of Colombia.

1875 - Eugene Lanceray, artist

1927 - Dick Bruna, illustrator

1945 - Bob Peck, actor

1951 -  Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, consort of deceased King Hussein of Jordan.


1964 - Wendy Pepper, designer

1974 - Sir Konstantin Sergeevich "Kostya" Novoselov, physicist, Nobel Laureate

1982 - Trevor Wright, actor

1988 - Carl Hagelin, ice hockey player





Wednesday, August 22, 2012

August 22nd in History


1485 - The Battle of Bosworth Field, the death of Richard III and the end of the House of Plantagenet. Henry Tudor becomes King Henry VII

1642 - Charles I calls the English Parliament traitors. The English Civil War begins.


1770 - James Cook names and lands on Possession Island, Queensland and claims the east coast of Australia as New South Wales in the name of King George III.

1798 - French troops land in Kilcummin harbour, County Mayo, Ireland to aid Wolfe Tone's United Irishmen's Irish Rebellion.


1910 - Korea is annexed by Japan with the signing of the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, beginning a period of Japanese rule of Korea that lasted until the end of World War II.

1914 - World War I: in Belgium, British and German troops clash for the first time in the war.

1922 - Michael Collins, Commander-in-chief of the Irish Free State Army is shot dead during an Anti-Treaty ambush at Béal na mBláth, County Cork, during the Irish Civil War.

1942 - World War II: Brazil declares war on Germany and Italy.


1968 - Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the first visit of a pope to Latin America.

1989 - The first ring of Neptune is discovered.

Famous Birthdays:

1800 - Samuel David Luzzatto, scholar


1880 - George Herriman, cartoonist

1915 - Hugh Paddick, actor

1935 - Annie Proulx, author


1945 - Erol Gelenbe, computer scientist and mathematician

1970 - Charlie Connelly, writer


1973 - Kristen Wiig, comedian












Tuesday, August 21, 2012

August 21st in History



1680 - Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt.

1778 - American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondicherry.

1879 - The Virgin Mary, along with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist, appears at Knock Shrine in Knock, County Mayo, Ireland. 

1911 - The Mona Lisa is stolen by a Louvre employee.

1918 - World War I: The Second Battle of the Somme begins.

1942 - World War II: The flag of Nazi Germany is installed atop the Mount Elbrus, the highest peak of the Caucasus mountain range.

1959 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. Hawaii's admission is currently commemorated by Hawaii Admission Day

1991 - Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after the occupation of Soviet Union.

Famous Birthdays:

1643 - King Afonso VI of Portugal 

1765 - King William IV of the United Kingdom

1902 - Angel Karaliychev, writer

1927 - Thomas S. Monson, 16th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

1930 - Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, deceased sister of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen mother

1945 - Jerry DaVanon, baseball player

1956 - Kim Cattrall, actress

1963 - His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco

1968 - Dina Carroll, singer

1978 - Bhumika Chawla, actress





Monday, August 20, 2012

August 20th in History



1000 - The foundation of the Hungarian state by Saint Stephen. Today celebrated as a National Day in Hungary.

1083 - Canonization of the first King of Hungary, Saint Stephen and his son Saint Emeric.

1775 - The Spanish establish the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson in the town that became Tucson, Arizona.

1866 - President Andrew Johnson formally declares the American Civil War over.

1914 - World War I: German forces occupy Brussels.

1944 - World War II: the Battle of Romania begins with a major Soviet offensive.

1960 - Senegal breaks from the Mali Federation, declaring its independence.

1988 - Iran–Iraq War: a cease-fire is agreed after almost eight years of war.

1991 - Dissolution of the Soviet Union, August Coup: more than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union's parliament building protesting the coup aiming to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Famous Birthdays:

1561 - Jacopo Peri, composer

1833 - Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States 

1845 - St. Albert Chmielowski, Catholic Saint

1901 - Salvatore Quasimodo, writer, Nobel Prize laureate 

1941 - Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia and of Yugoslavia 

1944 - Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India

1949 - Phil Lynott, musician

1983 - Andrew Garfield, actor

1992 - Demi Lovato, actress and singer



Sunday, August 19, 2012

August 19th on History



1504 - In Ireland, the Hiberno-Norman de Burghs (Burkes) and Anglo-Norman Fitzgeralds fight in the Battle of Knockdoe.

1561 - An 18-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France.

1759 - Battle of Lagos Naval battle during the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France.

1812 - War of 1812: American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada earning her nickname "Old Ironsides".

1919 - Afghanistan gains full independence from the United Kingdom.


1944 - World War II: Liberation of Paris – Paris, France rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops.

1945 - Vietnam War: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.

1989 - Several hundred East Germans cross the frontier between Hungary and Austria during the Pan-European Picnic, part of the events which began the process of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Famous Birthdays:

1342 - Catherine of Bohemia, Duchess of Bavaria

1596 - Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia

1848 - Gustave Caillebotte, Painter

1883 - Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, clothing designer

1928 - Walter Massey, actor

1946 - Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States

1959 - Ricky Pierce, basketball player

1969 - Matthew Perry, actor

1977 - Iban Mayo, cyclist

1980 - Russell Kane comedian

Saturday, August 18, 2012

August 18th in History


1783 - A huge fireball meteor is seen across Great Britain as it passes over the east coast. This is later known as the Great Meteor of August 18, 1783

1868 - French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers Helium.

1920 - The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage.

1963 - American civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

Famous Birthdays:

1606 - Maria Anna of Spain, Queen of Hungary

1611 - Marie Louise Gonzaga, Queen of Poland

1750 - Antonio Salieri, composer

1830 - Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria

1906 - Marcel Carné, film director

1925 - Brian Aldiss, writer

1943 - Carl Wayne, singer

1962 - President Felipe Calderón of Mexico

1969 - Isaac Austin, basketball player

1981 - César Delgado, footballer

Friday, August 17, 2012

August 17th in History


1862 - American Civil War: Major General J.E.B. Stuart is assigned command of all the cavalry of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

1918 - Bolshevik revolutionary leader Moisei Uritsky is assassinated.

1943 - World War II: The U.S. Seventh Army under General George S. Patton arrives in Messina, Italy, followed several hours later by the British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.

1943 - World War II: First Québec Conference of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and William Lyon Mackenzie King begins.

1959 - Quake Lake is formed by the magnitude 7.5 1959 Yellowstone earthquake near Hebgen Lake in Montana.

1960 - Decolonization: Gabon gains independence from France.

1982 - The first Compact Discs (CDs) are released to the public in Germany.

Famous Birthdays:

1556 - Alexander Briant, English Jesuit and martyr

1786 - Princess Marie Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Princess of Leiningen, Duchess of Kent, Mother of Queen Victoria

1844 - Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia

1887 - Emperor Charles I of Austria

1928 - T. J. Anderson, composer

1943 - Robert De Niro, actor

1951 - Robert Joy, actor

1968 - Helen McCrory, actress

1980 - Lene Marlin, singer





Thursday, August 16, 2012

August 16th in History


1513 - Battle of Guinegate (Battle of the Spurs) – King Henry VIII of England and his Imperial allies defeat French Forces who are then forced to retreat.


1792 - Maximilien de Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal.

1793 - French Revolution: a levée en masse is decreed by the National Convention.

1870 - Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-la-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.

1914 - World War I: Battle of Cer begins.

1930 - The first British Empire Games were opened in Hamilton, Ontario by the Governor General of Canada, the Viscount Willingdon.

1945 - An assassination attempt is made on Japan's prime minister, Kantarō Suzuki.

1960 - Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.

1972 - In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.

Famous Birthdays:

1573 - Queen Anna of Austria of Poland

1860 - Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke, cricketer

1888 - T. E. Lawrence, writer and soldier

1895 - Liane Haid, Austrian actress

1917 - Roque Cordero, composer

1933 - Stuart Roosa, astronaut

1947 - Marc Messier, actor

1954 - James Cameron, film director

1958 - Madonna Ciccone (Madonna), singer and actress

1967 - Ulrika Jonsson, television personality

1985 - Agnes Bruckner, American actress

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

August 15th in History


293 BC - The oldest known Roman temple to Venus is dedicated.

1040 - King Duncan I is killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. The latter succeeds him as King of Scotland.

1057 - King Macbeth is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.

1483 - Pope Sixtus IV consecrates the Sistine Chapel.

1519 - Panama City, Panama, is founded.

1537 - Asunción, Paraguay, is founded.

1540 - Arequipa, Peru, is founded.

1599 - Nine Years War: Battle of Curlew Pass – Irish forces led by Hugh Roe O'Donnell successfully ambush English forces, led by Sir Conyers Clifford, sent to relieve Collooney Castle.

1843 - The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii is dedicated. Now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, it is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.


1944 - World War II: Operation Dragoon – Allied forces land in southern France.


1945 - World War II: Japan surrenders to end the war.

1947 - India gains Independence from the British Indian Empire and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.

1948 - The Republic of Korea is established south of the 38th parallel north.


1960 - Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) becomes independent from France.


1971 - Bahrain gains independence from the United Kingdom.

1973 - Vietnam War: The United States bombing of Cambodia ends

1998 - Omagh bomb in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles

Famous Birthdays:

1771 - Sir Walter Scott, novelist and poet

1860 - Florence Harding, First Lady of the United States, wife of President  Warren G. Harding

1890 - Jacques Ibert, composer

1912 - Julia Child, chef, author and TV personality

1912 - Dame Wendy Hiller, actress

1917 - Jack Lynch, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of the Republic of Ireland

1928 - Nicolas Roeg, film director

1935 - Jim Dale, actor

1951 - John Childs, cricketer

1959 - Scott Altman, astronaut

1972 - Ben Affleck, actor

1977 -Igor Cassina, gymnast













Tuesday, August 14, 2012

August 14th in History


1415 - Henry the Navigator leads Portuguese forces to victory over the Marinids at the Battle of Ceuta.

1598 - Nine Years War: Battle of the Yellow Ford – Irish forces under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, defeat an English expeditionary force under Henry Bagenal.


1893 - France becomes the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration.


1916 - Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, joining the Entente in World War I

1941 - World War II – Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt sign the Atlantic Charter of war stating postwar aims.

1947 - Pakistan gains Independence from the British Empire and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.

1971 - Bahrain declares independence as the State of Bahrain.

1974 - The second Turkish invasion of Cyprus begins

2010 - The first-ever Youth Olympic Games are held in Singapore.

Famous Birthdays:

1297 - Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Japan

1479 - Princess Catherine of York, ninth child and sixth daughter of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville

1740 - Pope Pius VII

1857 - Max Wagenknecht, composer

1876 - King Alexander I of Serbia

1910 - Willy Ronis, photographer

1924 - Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa, Tibetan religious figure

1933 - Richard R. Ernst, chemist and Nobel Prize Laureate

1949 - Morten Olsen, footballer

1959 - Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr, basketball player


1966 - Halle Berry, actress

1978 - Kate Ritchie, actress





Monday, August 13, 2012

August 13th in History



1516 - The Treaty of Noyon between France and Spain is signed. Francis I of France recognises Charles's claim to Naples, and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, recognises Francis's claim to Milan.


1704 - War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Blenheim – English and Imperial forces are victorious over French and Bavarian troops.

1792 - King Louis XVI of France is formally arrested by the National Tribunal, and declared an enemy of the people.


1920 - Polish-Soviet War: the Battle of Warsaw begins and will last till August 25. The Red Army is defeated.

1937 - The Battle of Shanghai begins.

1960 - The Central African Republic declares independence from France.

1961 - The German Democratic Republic closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West.

2008 - South Ossetian War: Russian units occupy the Georgian city of Gori.

Famous Birthdays:

1311 - King Alfonso XI of Castile and Leon 

1860 - Annie Oakley, sharpshooter

1888 - John Logie Baird, television inventor pioneer

1913 - Makarios III, Archbishop and first President of Cyprus 

1926 - Fidel Castro, revolutionary and politician

1949 - Bobby Clarke, ice hockey player

1960 - Phil Taylor, darts player

1974 - Sam Endicott, singer

1975 - Joe Perry, snooker player



Sunday, August 12, 2012

August 12th in History


30 BC - Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last ruler of the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty, commits suicide, allegedly by means of an asp bite.

1831 - French intervention forces William I of the Netherlands to abandon his attempt to suppress the Belgian Revolution.

1898 - The Hawaiian flag is lowered from ʻIolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony and replaced with the flag of the United States to signify the transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawai'i to the United States.

1914 - World War I: the United Kingdom declares war on Austria-Hungary; the countries of the British Empire follow suit.

1944 - Nazi German troops end the week-long Wola massacre, during which time at least 40,000 people were killed indiscriminately or in mass executions.

1952 - The Night of the Murdered Poets: 13 prominent Jewish intellectuals are murdered in Moscow, Soviet Union.

1964 - Charlie Wilson, one of the Great Train Robbers, escapes from Winson Green Prison in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.

1969 - Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside.

1978 - The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China is signed.

2012 - Closing ceremony of the 30th Olympic Games in London

Famous Birthdays:

1503 - King Christian III of Denmark and Norway

1629 - Tsar Alexis I of Russia

1762 - King George IV of the United Kingdom

1880 - Christy Mathewson, baseball player

1907 - Benjamin Henry Sheares, second President of Singapore

1910 - Yusof bin Ishak, first President of Singapore

1926 - Joe Jones, R&B singer

1932 - Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand, consort of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX of Thailand

1939 - George Hamilton, actor

1954 - Président François Hollande of France

1961 - Mark Priest, cricketer

1983 - Mark Webster, Dart player










Saturday, August 11, 2012

August 11th in History


1804 - Francis II assumes the title of first Emperor of Austria.

1919 - The constitution of the Weimar Republic is adopted.


1947 - Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founding father of Pakistan, gives a speech to the Constituent Assembly, the contents and meaning of which remain contentious today.

1952 - Hussein bin Talal is proclaimed King of Jordan.

1960 - Chad declares independence.

2003 - NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54 year history.

Famous Birthdays:

1467 - Mary of York, Princess, Second daughter of King Edward IV and Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville.

1892 - Hugh MacDiarmid, poet

1928 - Arlene Dahl, actress

1944 - Frederick W. Smith, entrepreneur

1954 - Joe Jackson, singer

1968 - HRH Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, the wife of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau

1976 - Iván Córdoba, footballer







Friday, August 10, 2012

August 10th in History


1519 - Ferdinand Magellan's five ships set sail from Seville to circumnavigate the globe. The Basque second in command Sebastian Elcano will complete the expedition after Magellan's death in the Philippines.


1675 - The foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London is laid.

1680 - The Pueblo Revolt begins in New Mexico.

1793 - The Musée du Louvre is officially opened in Paris, France.

1821 - Missouri is admitted as the 24th US state.

1913 - Second Balkan War: delegates from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece sign the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the war.

1990 - The Magellan space probe reaches Venus.

1998 - HRH Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah is proclaimed the crown prince of Brunei with a Royal Proclamation

2003 - Yuri Malenchenko becomes the first person to marry in space.

Famous Birthdays:

1397 - Albert II of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor

1874 - Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States

1907 - Su Yu, Communist military leader

1933 - Rocky Colavito, baseball player

1960 - Antonio Banderas, actor


1965 - Claudia Christian, actress

1971 - Roy Keane, footballer

1977 - Matt Morgan, comedian

1990 - Lucas Till, American actor


Thursday, August 9, 2012

August 9th in History


681 - Bulgaria is founded as a Khanate on the south bank of the Danube after defeating the Byzantine armies of Emperor Constantine IV south of the Danube delta.

1483 - Opening of the Sistine Chapel in Rome with the celebration of a Mass.

1902 - Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.


1936 - Summer Olympic Games: Games of the XI Olympiad – Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games becoming the first American to win four medals in one Olympiad.

1942 - Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement.

1945 - World War II: Nagasaki is devastated when an atomic bomb, Fat Man, is dropped by the United States B-29 Bockscar. 39,000 people are killed outright.

1974 - As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, becomes 38th President of the United States at 12 noon.

Famous Birthdays:

1669 - Tsarina Eudoxia Lopukhina of Russia, first consort of Peter I of Russia

1783 - Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia,  daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia and sister of Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I.

1847 - Queen Maria dal Pozzo of Spain, consort of Amadeo I

1927 - Robert Shaw, actor

1947 - Barbara Mason, soul singer

1961 - John Key, 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand

1963 - Whitney Houston, singer and actress

 1976 - Jessica Capshaw, actress




Wednesday, August 8, 2012

August 8th in History



1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.

1503 - King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1786 - Mont Blanc on the French – Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.

1942 - Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for swaraj or complete independence.

1974 - President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.

1990 - Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.

2008 - The 2008 Summer Olympics officially opened with the opening ceremony at National Stadium, Beijing, China.

Famous Birthdays:

1079 - Emperor Horikawa of Japan

1824 - Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, consort of Alexander II of Russia.


1879 - Bob Smith, Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous

1879 - Emiliano Zapata, revolutionary

1922 - Rudi Gernreich, fashion designer

1937 - Dustin Hoffman, actor

1953 - Nigel Mansell, race car driver

1961 - David Evans (The Edge), guitarist

1981 - Roger Federer, tennis player





Tuesday, August 7, 2012

August 7th in History


936 - Coronation of King Otto I of Germany.

1794 - US President George Washington invokes the Militia Acts of 1792 to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania.

1933 - The Simele massacre: The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Simele. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.

1960 - Ivory Coast becomes independent.


1981 - The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.


2008 - Georgia launches a large-scale military offensive against South Ossetia, in an attempt to reclaim the territory from Russia, starting the 2008 South Ossetia war.

Famous Birthdays:

317 - Constantius II, Roman Emperor

1779 - Carl Ritter, Geographer

1876 - Mata Hari, Spy

1928 - Betsy Byars, author

1942 - Tobin Bell, actor

1955 - Wayne Knight, actor

1971 - Sydney Penny, actress

1979 - Eric Johnson, actor


Monday, August 6, 2012

August 6th in History


1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.

1806 - Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor, abdicates ending the Holy Roman Empire.

1825 - Bolivia gains independence from Spain

1914 - World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia.

1940 - Estonia was illegally annexed by the Soviet Union


1942 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands becomes the first reigning Queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.

1945 - World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.

1962 - Jamaica becomes independent from the United Kingdom.

2012 - NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity, lands on Mars.

Famous Birthdays:

1504 - Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury

1697 - Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor

1861 - Edith Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States

1881 - Sir Alexander Fleming, Scientist

1926 - Frank Finlay, actor

1937 - Barbara Windsor, actress

1972 - Geri Halliwell, singer (Spice Girls)

1977 - Luciano Zavagno, Argentine footballer

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Buckingham Palace: History & Architecture

August 5th in History



1100 - Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

1305 - William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.

1620 - The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.

1772 - The First Partition of Poland begins.

1860 - Charles XV of Sweden of Sweden-Norway is crowned King of Norway in Trondheim

1870 - Franco-Prussian War: the Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.

1926 - Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.


1960 - Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.

1962 - Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.

Famous Birthdays:

1797 - Friedrich August Kummer, composer

1866 - Harry Trott, cricketer

1908 - Harold Holt, 17th Prime Minister of Australia

1930 - Michal Kováč, politician

1934 - Gay Byrne, broadcaster

1956 - Maureen McCormick, actress

1969 - Robert Scott, rower

1975 - Kajol Mukherjee, actress



Saturday, August 4, 2012

August 4th in History


1327 - First War of Scottish Independence: James Douglas leads a raid into Weardale and almost kills Edward III of England.

1532 - the Duchy of Brittany is annexed to the Kingdom of France.

1789 - In France members of the National Constituent Assembly take an oath to end feudalism and abandon their privileges.

1914 - World War I: Germany invades Belgium. In response, the United Kingdom declares war on Germany. The United States declare their neutrality.

1916 - World War I: Liberia declares war on Germany.

1944 - The Holocaust: a tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse where they find and arrest Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and four others.

1965 - The Constitution of Cook Islands comes into force, giving the Cook Islands self-governing status within New Zealand.

1984 - The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.

Famous Birthdays:

1290 - Leopold I, Duke of Austria

1521 - Pope Urban VII

1821 - Louis Vuitton, designer

1900 - Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon), consort of King George VI and mother of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and deceased Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

1904 - Joe Tate, footballer

1919 - Michel Déon, writer

1946 - Maureen Starkey, ex-wife of Ringo Starr

1961 - President Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States

1981 - Ben Scott, cricketer

1992 - Cole Sprouse and Dylan Sprouse, actors






Friday, August 3, 2012

August 3rd in History


1031 - Olaf II of Norway is canonized as Saint Olaf by Grimketel, the English Bishop of Selsey.

1860 - The Second Maori War begins in New Zealand.

1914 - World War I: Germany declares war against France.

1934 - Adolf Hitler becomes the supreme leader of Germany by joining the offices of President and Chancellor into Führer.

1960 - Niger gains independence from France.

Famous Birthdays:

1770 - King Frederick William III of Prussia

1895 - Marguerite Nichols, actress

1921 - Richard Adler, lyricist and composer

1940 - James Tyler, musicologist and author

1980 - Dominic Moore, ice hockey player


Thursday, August 2, 2012

August 2nd in History


1377 - Russian troops are defeated in the Battle on Pyana River because of drunkenness.

1776 - The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence took place.

1798 - French Revolutionary Wars: the Battle of the Nile concludes in a British victory

1903 - Fall of the Ottoman Empire: an unsuccessful uprising led by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization against Ottoman Turkey, also known as the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising, takes place.

1918 - The first general strike in Canadian history takes place in Vancouver.

1934 - Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany.

1990 - Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to the Gulf War.

Famous Birthdays:

1696 - Mahmud I, Ottoman Sultan

1820 - John Tyndall, physicist

1868 - King Constantine I of Greece

1902 - Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria

1914 - Beatrice Straight, actress

1932 - Peter O'Toole, actor

1950 - Kathryn Harrold, actress

1970 - Kevin Smith, director and screenwriter

1981 - Sara Foster, actress


Wednesday, August 1, 2012

August 1st in History


1192 - Richard the Lionheart landed on Jaffa and defeated the army of Saladin

1774 - British scientist Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.

1800 - The Acts of Union 1800 is passed in which merges the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

1834 - Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force.

1876 - Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.

1914 - Germany declares war on Russia at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.

1960 - Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.

Famous Birthdays:

10 BC - Claudius, Roman Emperor

1858 - Gaston Doumergue, French President

1910 - Walter Scharf, composer

1930 - Lionel Bart, song-writer

1942 - Giancarlo Giannini, actor


1962 - Jesse Borrego, actor

1986 - Elena Vesnina, tennis player