On This Day In History
August 3rd
1492 Christopher Columbus sets sail on his first voyage with three ships, Santa María, Pinta and Niña from Palos de la Frontera, Spain for the “Indies”
1596 David Fabricius discovers light variation of Mira (1st variable star)
1914 Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France, beginning World War I
1934 Adolf Hitler merges the offices of German Chancellor and President, declaring himself “Führer” (leader)
1972 US Senate ratifies the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union to limit the use of missile systems capable of defending against missile-delivered nuclear weapons
Did You Know?
First known letter sent from North America by John Rut while at St. John’s, Newfoundland
Today in History in 1527
Would You Believe?
MLB umpire Tim Hurst instigates a riot by spitting in the face of A’s 2nd baseman Eddie Collins who had questioned a call; 2 weeks later Hurst banned for life
Today in History in 1909
August 4th
1558 1st printing of Zohar (Jewish Kabbalah)
1821 Russian Antarctic Expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen returns to Kronshtadt after becoming the 1st to circumnavigate Antarctica
1942 1st train with Jews departs Mechelen Belgium to Auschwitz
1944 Anne Frank arrested in Amsterdam by German Security Police (Grüne Polizei) following a tip-off from an informer who was never identified
1993 Rwandian Hutus and Tutsis sign peace treaty in Arusha, Tanzania
Did You Know?
Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Pérignon’s invention of Champagne
Today in History in 1693
Would You Believe?
Muppets Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog announce the end to their relationship on Twitter
Today in History in 2015
August 5th
910 The last major Viking army to raid England is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward and Earl Aethelred
1305 William Wallace, who led Scottish resistance to England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London for trial and execution.
1583 Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland for the British crown, the first English colony in North America and the beginning of the British Empire
1716 Battle of Petrovaradin [Peterwardein]: Habsburgs under Eugene of Savoy defeat the Turks in a decisive victory
1864 Battle of Mobile Bay, won by the Union Army led by Rear Admiral David Farragut with the cry “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” (US Civil War)
Did You Know?
1st electric traffic light installed in the USA on the corner of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio
Today in History in 1914
Would You Believe?
Harry Houdini stays in a coffin under water for 1½ hrs before escaping
Today in History in 1926
August 6th
1661 The Treaty of The Hague is signed whereby the Dutch Republic sells New Holland (Brazil) for 63 tonnes of gold to Portugal
1890 At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the 1st person to be executed by electric chair
1945 Atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the US B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”
1965 US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act prohibiting voting discrimination against minorities
1991 Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW debuts as a publicly available service on the Internet.
Did You Know?
NASA announces that life may have existed on Mars after examining meteorite ALH84001, thought to be from Mars
Today in History in 1996
Would You Believe?
Prometheus, the world’s oldest tree aged at least 4,862 years old, is accidentally cut down in Nevada, USA
Today in History in 1964