On This Day In History
22 August 1962. An attempt to assassinate French President, Charles De Gaulle, occurred as he toured Paris in a car. Shots were fired from a machine gun, but did not hit De Gaulle. The Frederick Forsyth novel and the film, The Day of The Jackel, begins with this incident. pic.twitter.com/77iblgqIoQ
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 22, 2022
22 August 1964. Liverpool v Arsenal became The first Match of the Day, presented by Kenneth Wolstenholme, from Anfield, on BBC2, to an estimated TV audience of only 20,000. The final score was Liverpool 3 Arsenal 2. pic.twitter.com/WVlja6ZhKo
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 22, 2022
22 August 1985. A British Airways Boeing 737 burst into flames on the runway at Manchester Airport, killing 55 people. pic.twitter.com/i1bTvFQRyG
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 22, 2022
August 23rd
79 Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on feast day of Vulcan, Roman god of fire (goes on to destroy Pompeii) [approx date] [1] [2]
1305 Scottish patriot William Wallace is executed for high treason by Edward I of England at Smithfield, London
1542 Rabbi Joseph Caro completes his commentary of Tur Code
1850 1st US National Women's Rights Convention convenes in Worcester, Massachusetts
1942 Battle of Stalingrad: 600 Luftwaffe planes bomb Stalingrad (40,000 die)
1943 50th day of Battle of Kursk, USSR: Largest tank battle in history ends with Russia's defeat of Germany; over 10,000 tanks take part, nearly 250,,000 combatants killed
1996 Osama bin Laden issues message entitled "A declaration of war against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy places"
2005 Hurricane Katrina forms over the Bahamas, later becoming a category 5 hurricane
Did You Know?
World War II: last cavalry charge in history takes place at Isbushenskij, Russia; the Italian Savoia Cavalleria charges Soviet infantry
Today in History in 1942
Would You Believe?
Mars' closest approach to Earth since 10th century
Today in History in 1924
This day 850 years ago - 23 August 1170 - Cambro-Norman knight Richard de Clare (“Strongbow”) landed in Ireland, having been sent for by deposed King of Leinster Diarmait Mac Murchada.
Upon Mac Murchada's death, Strongbow became the first non-native ruler of an Irish province. pic.twitter.com/Cu1TKoaRqR
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) August 23, 2020
#OTD in 1960 the Federation of Cuban Women held its inaugural meeting. It was co-founded by Vilma Espín—feminist, revolutionary, chemical engineer—to promote equal rights for Cuban women in all areas of life; she was its President until her death in 2007. https://t.co/IUVUzKWRHc pic.twitter.com/T9s0iROTxe
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) August 23, 2022
On this day in 1989, a group of white teenagers killed a 16-year-old Black boy named Yusef Hawkins after he walked into a predominantly white neighborhood in Brooklyn to inquire about a used car. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/tkNb45j12U
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) August 23, 2022
23 August 30 BC. Octavian ordered the execution of Ptolemy XV (Caesarion), aged 17, (pictured, left), the son of Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius Antyllus (right), the eldest son of Mark Antony, and his first wife Fulvia. Both sons were killed on the same day. pic.twitter.com/OdPy55cYx2
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23- 24 August 1572. The “St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre” of Protestants took place in Paris. It spread throughout France. The final death toll was estimated at 30,000. pic.twitter.com/1c5hhEnYIV
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23 August 1839. Britain invaded and captured Hong Kong, beginning a 3-year conflict with China called the “The First Opium War”. The issue was Chinese seizure of opium stocks at Canton to stop the opium trade. The British insisted on maintaining free trade, including of opium. pic.twitter.com/d7BL7bXVPH
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23 August 1927. Italian Anarchists, Sacco and Vanzetti, were executed in the US after a controversial trial. They were controversially convicted of murdering a guard and a paymaster on 15 April 1920, during an armed robbery. In 1977, they were deemed innocent of the crime. pic.twitter.com/5ayRcllTH6
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23 August 1939. Nazi Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression treaty in Moscow (known as the Nazi-Soviet Pact). It made a German attack on Poland certain, and included a secret agreement to partition Poland and define “spheres of influence” for Germany and the USSR. pic.twitter.com/Q3c7ullKtq
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23 August 1944. A US B-24 bomber crashed into a school in Freckleton, Lancashire, killing all 3 crew on board and 58 civilians on the ground, including 38 children aged 4 to 6. The crash occurred during a thunderstorm in poor visibility. pic.twitter.com/SaPlr9ljUO
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23 August 1966. Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first photograph of Earth from its orbit around the Moon. The American spacecraft was designed to photograph the lunar surface to select safe landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo moon missions. pic.twitter.com/Cj8NaX9Pif
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23 August 1973. After a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden, a group of hostages gradually sympathised with aims of their captors, leading to the coining of the psychological term “Stockholm syndrome”. pic.twitter.com/8hYD3IkbIR
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23 August 1990. The West German and the East German governments announced that Germany would reunite as single nation for first time since 1945 on 3 October 1990. pic.twitter.com/8vkVEVVD6v
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23 August 1991. Tim Berners-Lee opened the World Wide Web to new users. It was a key moment in the development of the Internet. He was honoured as the “Inventor of the World Wide Web” during the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. pic.twitter.com/SEDWRmIwt8
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23 August 1994. American pilot, Eugene Bullard, was posthumously made a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force. He was one of very few black combat pilots in the First World War. He was born in the USA but flew combat missions with the French Air Force. pic.twitter.com/OeWz3HFbNl
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022
23 August 2007. The remains of the son (Alexei) and the daughter (Anastasia) of Tsar Nicholas II, who were executed with the other members of the Russian Royal Family in 1918, were found buried in Russia. pic.twitter.com/m9D1PySOTc
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) August 23, 2022