On This Day In History
August 7th
1461 Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor
1714 The Battle of Gangut: the first important victory of the Russian Navy during the Great Northern War against Sweden
1933 The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Sumail. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.
1955 Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, begins selling its first transistor radios in Japan
1990 US deploys troops to Saudi Arabia beginning Operation Desert Shield
Did You Know?
Possible first performance of Shakespeare‘s tragedy Macbeth, performed in the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace for King James I
Today in History in 1606
Would You Believe?
Valais witch trial proceedings begin in Valais Canton, Switzerland, first organized witch trials
Today in History in 1428
August 8th
1509 Emperor Krishnadeva Raya is crowned, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire in Southern India
1609 Venetian senate examines Galileo Galilei‘s telescope
1786 US Congress unanimously chooses the dollar as the monetary unit for the United States of America
1925 1st national march of Ku Klux Klan (between 25,000 and 40,000 marchers) in Washington, D.C.
1945 USSR establishes a communist government in North Korea
1974 US President Richard Nixon announces he will resign at 12pm the next day
1988 Ceasefire between Iran & Iraq takes effect after 8 years of war
Did You Know?
Discovery of most distant galaxy (15 * 10 ^ 12 light yrs) announced
Today in History in 1988
Would You Believe?
W.K. Kellogg invents corn flakes cereal
Today in History in 1898
August 9th
48 BC Caesar’s civil war: Battle of Pharsalus – Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt.
378 Battle of Adrianople: Goth army defeats Roman forces under Emperor Valens
1790 Robert Gray’s Columbia Rediviva returns to Boston after 3 year journey, 1st American ship to circumnavigate the Globe
1898 Rudolf Diesel of Germany obtains patent #608,845 for his internal combustion engine, later known as the diesel engine
1942 Mahatma Gandhi and 50 others arrested in Bombay after passing of a “quit India” motion and campaign by the All-India Congress
1945 US drops second atomic bomb “Fat Man” on Nagasaki, Japan, destroying part of the city
1965 Singapore separates from the Federation of Malaysia and gains its independence
1974 Richard Nixon resigns as President of the United States and Vice President Gerald Ford swears the oath of office to take his place as the 38th US President
2020 Disputed Belarusian presidential election sees long time dictator Alexander Lukashenko officially win 80% of the votes but unofficially lose 60-70% of the votes to main opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Sparks widespread protests in Belarus and international condemnation.
Did You Know?
Opening of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican
Today in History in 1483
Would You Believe?
Longest ever hunger strike ends, Indian human rights campaigner Irom Sharmila tastes honey after 16 years
Today in History in 2016
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)
Did You Know?
The last quagga (zebra subspecies with less slashes) dies at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam.
Today in History in 1883
Would You Believe?
Self-proclaimed Emperor Joshua Abraham Norton of the USA issues edict abolishing the Democratic and Republican parties
Today in History in 1869
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