On This Day In History
Did You Know?
1st British unmanned drone hit on a UK citizen outside a conflict - ISIS fighter Reyaad Khan in Raqqa, Syria
Today in History in 2015
Would You Believe?
After 108 years a "message in a bottle" put in the sea by UK Marine Biological Association is announced found on a beach in Amrum, Germany
Today in History in 2015
This day 50 years ago - 21 August 1970 - the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) announced its formation in Belfast.
Gerry Fitt was its leader, John Hume deputy leader.
Though supporting unification, Fitt said:
“We do not believe that Ireland can be united by violence.” pic.twitter.com/yhivkDrdNd
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) August 21, 2020
#OTD in 1781, enslaved woman Mum Bett was one of two people who won their freedom in a Massachusetts court, setting a precedent for the abolition of slavery in that state. She took the name Freeman, and went to work for the lawyer who won her case. https://t.co/QcvAfI6EXe pic.twitter.com/K8TjTBh5Ea
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) August 21, 2022
On this day in 1959, Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson told a state-wide segregationist rally to “do what needs to be done” to fight the proposed integration of schools in the state. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/qJGlCWvTcB
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) August 21, 2022
21 August 1614. Hungarian born, Elizabeth Báthory, died, (aged 54). She’s regarded by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most prolific female murderer of all time. At her trial, the prosecutor claimed 650 victims, but no exact figure has been agreed. pic.twitter.com/BmIYQq3GPT
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 21, 2022
21 August 1911. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, was stolen by a former Louvre employee in Paris, France. Two years went by before It was found in Italy and returned. The culprit was an Italian petty criminal called, Vincenzo Perugia, who had moved to Paris in 1908. pic.twitter.com/TwJKAwUhPF
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 21, 2022
21 August 1940. Communist rebel, Leon Trotsky (aged 60), died of injuries inflicted by an ice-axe (pictured), on the previous day in Mexico. The assassin was Ramón Mercader. a Spanish agent of the NKVD, Stalin’s secret police. He was later awarded the title: “Hero of the USSR.” pic.twitter.com/wKsWMw5Hrn
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 21, 2022
21 August 1961. Record company, Tamla Motown, released what became its first US No.1 single, Please Mr. Postman by The Marvelettes. The song was later covered by The Beatles and The Carpenters. pic.twitter.com/zM4JJzOy0O
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 21, 2022
21 August 1976. Mary-Jo Langdon became Britain’s first female firefighter in the East Sussex Brigade. She left the fire service in 1983. pic.twitter.com/f5svLj0598
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 21, 2022
21 August 2021. Rock ‘n’ roll legend, Don Everly, part of the Everly Brothers duo, died (aged 84). Rolling Stone ranked the Everly Brothers No. 1 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time. In 1986, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/XcalmhWk5n
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 21, 2022
100 Years ago today
On 22 August 1922, during the Irish Civil War, Michael Collins, Chairman of the Provisional Government, and Commander-in-Chief of the National Army, was killed in an ambush near Béal na Bláth by Anti-Treaty IRA forces while travelling in convoy from Bandon. The ambush was planned in a farmhouse in the village close to The Diamond Bar.
A small white pillar marked with a cross, located just to the right of the steps, marks the exact spot where he fell.
August 22nd
1485 Battle of Bosworth Field: Henry Tudor's forces defeat English King Richard III during last battle in the Wars of the Roses. Richard is killed, the last English monarch to die in battle.
1639 Madras (now Chennai), India, founded by the British East India Company on sliver of land bought from local Nayak rulers
1642 English Civil War begins between Royalists and Parliament
1864 First Geneva Convention adopted in Geneva "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field" signed by 12 nations
1945 Vietnam conflict begins as Ho Chi Minh leads a successful coup
Did You Know?
The first air raid in history; Austria launches pilotless balloons against the Italian city of Venice
Today in History in 1849
Would You Believe?
St Columba reports seeing monster in Loch Ness
Today in History in 565
This day 100 years ago – 22 August 1922 – Michael Collins was shot dead in an ambush at Béal na mBláth by members of the IRA opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Collins, with Arthur Griffith, had helped negotiate the treaty which led to the establishment of the Irish Free State. pic.twitter.com/bgkpD1ity4— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) August 22, 2022
In summer 2021, archaeologists in the UK excavated the 7th-century religious settlement of nuns & monks governed by Abbess Cynethryth. Formerly Queen consort to King Offa of the Mercians, she was a key political figure and had a coin minted with her image. https://t.co/7XWlzwyaFP pic.twitter.com/HX6uykdzFH
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) August 22, 2022
On this day in 1905, a Black man named Charles Julius Miller was attacked by a white mob for seeking service in a Pittsburgh restaurant. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/mgUSqRtVJp
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) August 22, 2022
22 August 1642. The English Civil War began after King Charles I called rebel parliamentarians “traitors” and raised his Standard in Nottingham. pic.twitter.com/ABipMfJ9Lg
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 22, 2022
22 August 1922. Irish republican, Michael Collins (aged 31), was shot dead in Béal na Bláth, County Cork. Denis “Sonny” O’Neill, former officer from the Royal Irish Constabulary, has been cited as the assassin, but no official inquiry was ever undertaken into Collins’ murder. pic.twitter.com/9CFWrSk2Mt
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 22, 2022
Today is the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Michael Collins, a leading figure of Irish Republicanism. pic.twitter.com/Yt1njkkXtM
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 22, 2022
22 August 1942. Brazil declared war on Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in the Second World War. Prior to the official declaration, Brazil had been trading with both the Axis and the Allies. Pressure from the US government to join the Allied cause eventually proved successful. pic.twitter.com/ha6Hsaqn3S
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 22, 2022