On This Day In History
12 August 1865. Pioneering British surgeon, Joseph Lister, used Disinfectant for the first time during surgery. He promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and introduced carbolic acid (phenol) to sterilise surgical instruments. pic.twitter.com/ZtBDql2Hz0
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 12, 2022
12 August 1944. Joseph Kennedy Junior (right), died (aged 29). He was killed in action while serving as a bomber pilot In the UK. He was the eldest of 9 children born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. His father had expected him to go on to become US President. pic.twitter.com/H2OeIMmVAa
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 12, 2022
12 August 1952. 13 Jewish intellectuals, falsely accused of spying, were executed in Moscow, during what became known as the “Night of the Murdered Poets”. pic.twitter.com/gfd4sJa1wy
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 12, 2022
12 August 1955. German novelist, Thomas Mann died (aged 80). He won the 1929 Nobel Prize for Literature and left Germany in 1933 when Hitler came to power. His most notable works are: Buddenbrooks, The Magic Mountain, Death in Venice and Doctor Faustus. pic.twitter.com/jAjmhqjG8w
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 12, 2022
12 August 1964. Ian Fleming died (aged 56). He’s the creator of the fictional spy James Bond. The first of his 11 Bond novels Casino Royale appeared in 1952. The novels have sold over 100 million copies and were adapted into the film series. He also wrote Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. pic.twitter.com/cZXfPARsBn
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 12, 2022
12 August 1982. Hollywood legend, Henry Fonda, died (aged 77). Films include 12 Angry Men, The Ox-Bow Incident, Once Upon a Time in the West and The Grapes of Wrath. He won Best Actor Oscar for his part in, On Golden Pond. His son Peter and daughter Jane also became film stars. pic.twitter.com/aAFpN0aaGY
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 12, 2022
12 August 1990. Sue, the largest and best preserved, Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, was discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota, USA, and named after her. Thought to be 65 million years old, it’s now displayed in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois, USA. pic.twitter.com/bdDrB3GFVY
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 12, 2022
12 August 2014. Hollywood legend, Lauren Bacall, died (aged 89). She was named the 20th Greatest Female Star of Classic Hollywood Cinema by the American Film Institute. She was married to Humphrey Bogart from 1945 until his death in 1957. pic.twitter.com/9eaWQHQNH7
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 12, 2022
August 13th
1521 Spanish conquistadors under Hernán Cortés capture Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc in Tenochtitlan marking the end of the Aztec Empire
1536 Buddhist monks from Kyōto's Enryaku Temple set fire to 21 Nichiren temples throughout Kyoto in the Tenbun Hokke Disturbance. (Traditional Japanese date: July 27, 1536).
1642 Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovers Mars' southern polar cap
1788 Prussia joins Anglo-Dutch alliance to form Triple Alliance to prevent spread of Russo-Swedish War of 1788-90
1937 Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces begin the Battle of Shanghai, a conflict that will last 3 months and involve 1 million troops
1942 The 'Manhattan Project' commences, under the direction of US General Leslie Groves: its aim - to deliver an atomic bomb
Did You Know?
Construction of the Berlin Wall begins in East Germany
Today in History in 1961
Would You Believe?
Otto Witte, German acrobat and fantasist, is purportedly crowned King of Albania
Today in History in 1913
This day 35 years ago - 13 August 1985 - three-year-old Jamie Gavin from Dublin made history as the world's youngest heart-lung transplant patient.
His operation was performed in Middlesex, England.
He later attended the Children of Courage Awards, presented by Princess Diana. pic.twitter.com/nGI3bu6PHc
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) August 13, 2020
#otd in 1947, the day India became independent, India's first female photojournalist, Homai Vyarawalla, took an iconic photo of the national flag being raised. Over 40 years, under the pseudonym "Dalda 13", she documented society & key historical events. https://t.co/EGi8qUryF4 pic.twitter.com/iSgcrNmH4C
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) August 15, 2021
On this day in 1955, white men killed Lamar Smith, a 63-year-old Black activist, in front of the Lincoln County Courthouse in Mississippi, for encouraging Black Americans to vote in an election. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/IWRL7cgnea
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) August 13, 2022
13 August 1905. Norwegians voted YES to become independent of Sweden in a national referendum. In October 1905, the Swedish government accepted the result and granted independence. pic.twitter.com/66oGcE5zvN
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 13, 2022
13 August 1910. Pioneering nurse, Florence Nightingale, died (aged 90). She came to prominence during the Crimean War, organising care for wounded soldiers and earning the title “The Lady with the Lamp”. She was also a key figure in the foundation of professional nursing. pic.twitter.com/E7F9Q3Vb2Y
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 13, 2022
13 August 1913. Stainless steel was produced for the first time, in a Sheffield steel factory, owned by local business owner, Harry Brearley. The invention brought affordable cutlery to the masses, and saw an expansion of Sheffield’s traditional cutlery trade. pic.twitter.com/Kr8ruO7y6B
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 13, 2022
13 August 1915. George Smith (aged 43), was hanged for the infamous ‘’Brides In The Bath’’ murders. Smith, a petty criminal and serial bigamist from Bethnal Green, London, had murdered 3 women by drowning each in a bath shortly after marrying them. pic.twitter.com/2ywcid18IQ
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 13, 2022
13 August 1946. Novelist, Herbert George (“HG”) Wells died (aged 79). He’s best remembered for his innovative science fiction novels including: The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The First Men in the Moon and The Shape of Things to Come. pic.twitter.com/4LWK1ZrlM7
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 13, 2022
13 August 1969. The Apollo 11 astronauts (Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins), enjoyed a ticker tape parade through a crowded New York City. pic.twitter.com/QIqICQRKpn
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 13, 2022
13 August 1995. Alison Hargreaves (aged 33), the first British woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, without auxiliary oxygen, was killed, descending K2 Mountain. Rescuers concluded that she had been blown off the mountain during a storm. pic.twitter.com/2CUNEl6ZL2
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 13, 2022