On This Day In History
August 10th
612 BC Killing of Sinsharishkun, King of Assyrian Empire. Destruction of Nineveh.
610 In Islam, the traditional date of the Laylat al-Qadr, when Muhammad began to receive the Qur’an
1497 John Cabot tells King Henry VII of his trip to “Asia”
1675 King Charles II and John Flamsteed lay the foundation stone of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London
1846 US Act of Congress passes establishing the Smithsonian Institution, now world’s largest museum and research complex
Did You Know?
Leo Daft opens America’s 1st commercially operated electric streetcar in Baltimore
Today in History in 1885
Would You Believe?
Louvre palace officially opens in Paris as The Museum Central des Arts
Today in History in 1793
August 11th
3114 BC The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Mayans, begins
1945 Allies refuse Japan’s offer to surrender on the condition that Emperor Hirohito retains his status
1954 Formal peace treaty ends over 7 yrs of fighting in Indochina between the French and the Communist Viet Minh
1988 Al-Qaeda formed at a meeting between Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Dr Fadl in Peshawar, Pakistan
2003 NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
Did You Know?
First televised baseball game in colour on WCBS in New York City; Boston Braves beat Brooklyn Dodgers, 8-1
Today in History in 1951
Would You Believe?
During a radio voice test, US President Reagan jokes he “signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in 5 minutes.”
Today in History in 1984
August 12th
1121 Battle of Didgori: the Georgian army under King David the Builder wins a decisive victory over the famous Seljuk commander Ilghazi
1480 Battle of Otranto – Ottoman troops behead 800 Christians for refusing to convert to Islam
1851 American inventor Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine
1908 Henry Ford‘s company builds the first Model T car
1981 IBM introduces its first Personal Computer (PC & PC-DOS version 1.0)