On This Day In History
Did You Know?
Harry Houdini escapes from chains underwater in 57 seconds, at Aquatic Park in San Francisco, California
Today in History in 1907
Would You Believe?
All 25,000 applicants to the University of Liberia fail their university entrance examination
Today in History in 2013
August 27th
479 BC Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Plataea, Persian forces led by Mardonius routed by Greek army under Pausanias; together with Greek success at Battle of Mycale halts Persian invasion of Greece
479 BC Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Mycale won by Greek forces over Persian naval troops on Ionian coast, double victory with that at Plataea ends Persian invasion
663 Battle of Baekgang: Tang Chinese and Silla Korean forces defeat Korean Baekje forces and their Yamato Japanese allies on the Geum River in Korea. Last Japanese invasion of Korea for 900 years.
1789 French National Assembly issues the “Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen”
1883 Krakatoa volcano, west of Java in Indonesia, erupts with a force of 1,300 megatons and kills approximately 40,000 people
1928 Kellogg–Briand Pact, 60 nations agree to condemn ‘recourse to war for the solution of international controversies’.
1979 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and last Viceroy of India, is killed along with three companions, two of them children by the IRA when his boat is blown up near Sligo, Ireland
Did You Know?
Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be nominated by a major political party for President of the United States
Today in History in 2008
Would You Believe?
Britain defeats Zanzibar in a 38-minute war (9:02 AM-9:40 AM). Shortest recorded war in history.
Today in History in 1896
August 28th
1189 Third Crusade: the Crusaders begin the Siege of Acre under Guy of Lusignan
1609 English explorer Henry Hudson, discovers and explores Delaware Bay
1830 1st American built locomotive, “Tom Thumb” races a horse-drawn car from Stockton and Stokes stagecoach company from Baltimore to Ellicott Mills. Let history record that due to mechanical problems the horse won!
1845 Scientific American magazine publishes its first issue
1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I have a dream” speech addressing the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom civil rights march at Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
August 29th
1526 Battle of Mohács: In a decisive battle the Hungarian Empire is conquered by the Ottoman Empire led by Suleiman the Magnificent
1825 Portugal recognizes the Independence of Brazil
1842 Great Britain and China sign Treaty of Nanking, ending the Opium war
1862 Second Battle of Bull Run, fought in Manassas, Virginia begins, Confederate victory (US Civil War)
1949 USSR performs its first nuclear test at Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR
2005 Hurricane Katrina makes 2nd and 3rd landfall as a category 3 hurricane, devastating much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida Panhandle. Kills more than 1,836, causes over $115 billion in damage.
Did You Know?
Seismic sea waves created by Krakatoa eruption create a rise in English Channel 32 hrs after explosion
Today in History in 1883
Would You Believe?
Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of north-eastern California.
Today in History in 1911
August 30th
1146 European leaders outlaw the crossbow, intending to end war for all time
1363 Beginning of the Battle of Lake Poyang; two Chinese rebel leaders Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang are pitted against each other in what was one of the largest naval battles in history during Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty
1590 Tokugawa Ieyasu enters Edo Castle (Traditional Japanese date: August 1, 1590)
1682 William Penn leaves England to sail to the New World
1862 Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia, ends with a Confederate victory over Union forces
1914 Battle of Tannenberg (WWI) in East Prussia ends in destruction of the Russian Second Army with 122,000-170,000 killed, injured or captured by the German 8th Army led by Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff
1928 Jawaharlal Nehru requests independence of India
Did You Know?
Hotline communication link between the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and the Kremlin in Moscow installed. Often known as the “red telephone” no phones were ever used, relying instead on Teletype equipment, fax machines and most recently secure email.
Today in History in 1963
Would You Believe?
1st recorded occurrence of a comet hitting the sun, releases energy equal to one million hydrogen bombs
Today in History in 1979
August 31st
1142 Possible date for establishment of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) League [disputed date – other research places date between 1450 and 1660]
1888 The body of Jack the Ripper’s first victim, Mary Ann Nichols, is found in Whitechapel in London’s East End
1917 In China, Sun Yat-sen and his supporters’ ‘rump’ parliament establishes a military government and elects Sun Yat-sen as commander-in-Chief
1945 The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies
1957 Federation of Malaya gains independence from Great Britain
1994 The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Sinn Féin) declares a ceasefire in Northern Ireland
1997 Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash in a road tunnel in Paris
Did You Know?
A. J. Reach Co. patents cork-centered baseball
Today in History in 1909
Would You Believe?
Pentium computer beats world chess champ Garry Kasparov
Today in History in 1994
September 1st
1715 King Louis XIV of France dies after a reign of 72 years—the longest of any major European monarch.
1878 1st female telephone operator starts work, Emma Nutt for the Edwin Holmes Telephone Despatch Company in Boston
1905 Wilfrid Laurier oversees Alberta and Saskatchewan joining the Confederation of Canada as its 8th and 9th Canadian provinces
1939 World War II starts when Germany invades Poland by attacking the Free City of Danzig
1941 Jews living in Germany are required to wear a yellow star of David
1951 US, Australia and New Zealand sign the ANZUS mutual defense treaty
1969 Colonel Muammar Gaddafi deposes King Idris in the Libyan revolution
Did You Know?
United Nations announces Earth’s population has hit 3 billion
Today in History in 1962
Would You Believe?
The last passenger pigeon, a female named Martha, dies in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Today in History in 1914