This Day in History

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 21 1959 Hawaii becomes 50th state Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the Union. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1980s 1980 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is founded African History 1961 Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyan independence leader, is freed American Revolution 1754 Bloody Ban Tarleton born in Britain Arts & Entertainment 1920 Christopher Robin’s birthday Civil War 1863 Guerrillas massacre residents of abolitionist settlement of Lawrence, Kansas Cold War 1991 Attempted coup against Gorbachev collapses Early U.S. 1793 Yellow fever breaks out in Philadelphia Inventions & Science 1897 Olds Motor Vehicle Company founded Natural Disasters & Environment 1986 Gas cloud kills Cameroon villagers Slavery 1831 Nat Turner launches massive insurrection in Virginia Sports 2004 Michael Phelps wins eighth Olympic medal in Athens 1950 Althea Gibson becomes first African American on U.S. tennis tour U.S. Government and Politics 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates begin 1974 The Equal Educational Opportunities Act is enacted Vietnam War 1971 Antiwar protesters raid draft offices World War II 1944 The seeds of the United Nations are planted

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 22 1851 U.S. wins first America’s Cup The U.S.-built schooner America bests a fleet of Britain’s finest ships in a race around England’s Isle of Wight. Today, the “America’s Cup” is the world’s oldest continually contested sporting trophy and represents the pinnacle of international sailing yacht competition. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1864 First Geneva Convention establishes Red Cross aid for war wounded American Revolution 1776 Redcoats land at Long Island Arts & Entertainment 1935 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx is born 1969 Zager and Evans end a six-week run at No. 1 with their smash-hit “In The Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)” Civil War 1862 President Lincoln replies to Horace Greeley Cold War 1968 Czechs protest against Soviet invasion Crime 1994 DNA testing links O.J. Simpson to murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman 1922 Irish politician Michael Collins assassinated 1911 Theft of “Mona Lisa” is discovered 1992 Shootings continue at Ruby Ridge European History 1849 Austria attacks Venice with balloon bombs, considered the first remote aerial attack 1485 Battle of Bosworth Field Inventions & Science 1962 Citroen helps de Gaulle survive assassination attempt Sports 1989 Nolan Ryan registers 5,000th strikeout 1965 Juan Marichal hits catcher with bat, instigating epic MLB brawl Vietnam War 1972 Demonstrators disrupt Republican National Convention in Miami Beach

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 23 1927 Sacco and Vanzetti executed Despite worldwide demonstrations in support of their innocence, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are executed for the 1920 murders of a shoe company paymaster and his guard. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1823 Mountain man Hugh Glass mauled by a grizzly bear 1920s 1926 Star of the silent screen Rudolph Valentino dies 1960s 1968 Black soldiers stage sit-in at Fort Hood 1990s 1999 New York City reports first cases of West Nile virus 21st Century 2021 FDA fully approves the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine American Revolution 1784 North Carolina counties declare themselves breakaway state of Franklin Arts & Entertainment 1970 Lou Reed plays his last show with the Velvet Underground 2000 First “Survivor” finale airs Civil War 1861 Confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow is arrested Crime 2006 Austrian teen escapes after eight years in captivity Inventions & Science 1856 Eunice Foote’s research on global warming is presented publicly Sports 1989 Pete Rose gets booted from baseball 1947 First Little League World Series champion crowned World War I 1914 Battle of Mons World War II 1939 Germany, Soviet Union sign nonaggression pact 1945 Senior U.S. POW is released 1945 Marcario García becomes first Mexican national to receive U.S. Medal of Honor

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 24 79 Mount Vesuvius erupts After centuries of dormancy, Mount Vesuvius erupts in southern Italy, devastating the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing thousands of people. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1873 Elusive Mount of the Holy Cross photographed 1814 British troops set fire to the White House Cold War 1954 Congress passes Communist Control Act Crime 1981 John Lennon’s killer sentenced 2012 Killer in Norway massacre is sentenced European History 1572 Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre Latin American & Caribbean History 1821 Spain accepts Mexican independence Space Exploration 2006 Pluto is demoted U.S. Presidents 1814 George Washington’s portrait saved from British looters Vietnam War 1969 U.S. unit refuses commander’s order World War I 1914 Poet Alan Seeger volunteers in French army World War II 1941 Hitler suspends euthanasia program

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 25 1944 Paris is liberated after four years of Nazi occupation The French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division face light German resistance while successfully liberating Paris. German General Dietrich von Choltitz defied an order by Adolf Hitler to blow up Paris’ landmarks and burn the city to the ground before its liberation. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1835 “The Great Moon Hoax” is published in the “New York Sun” 1896 Outlaw Bill Doolin is killed 1980s 1985 Samantha Smith dies in plane crash 21st Century 2009 Ted Kennedy, “liberal lion of the Senate,” dies at 77 Arts & Entertainment 1939 “The Wizard of Oz” opens in U.S. theaters 1962 Little Eva earns a No. 1 hit with “Loco-Motion” 1984 Truman Capote, author of “In Cold Blood,” dies 2001 Aaliyah dies in plane crash Exploration 1875 Englishman swims the Channel Food 1958 Momofuku Ando creates the first mass-market instant ramen Middle Eastern History 1982 U.S. Marines deployed to Lebanon Natural Disasters & Environment 1931 Yangtze River peaks in Gaoyou, China, killing more than 10,000 1979 Hurricane David forms U.S. Presidents 1950 Truman orders army to seize control of railroads World War I 1914 Germans burn Belgian town of Louvain World War II 1945 John Birch, inspiration to conservatives, killed by Chinese communists

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 26 1939 First televised Major League Baseball game The first televised Major League baseball game—between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York—is broadcast on station W2XBS, later known as WNBC-TV. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT Arts & Entertainment 1978 “Grease” movie soundtrack earns its second No. 1 hit Cold War 1957 Russia tests an intercontinental ballistic missile Crime 1986 “Preppy Murder” stuns New York European History 1346 Battle of Crecy Sports 2016 Quarterback Colin Kaepernick sits during national anthem U.S. Constitution 1920 19th Amendment adopted U.S. Government and Politics 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson receives Democratic nomination for president 1968 Democratic National Convention besieged by protesters U.S. Presidents 1794 President George Washington expresses his determination to subdue the Whiskey Rebellion World War I 1914 Battle of Tannenberg begins

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 27 1883 Krakatoa explodes with massive force The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurs on Krakatoa (also called Krakatau), a small, uninhabited volcanic island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1875 Tycoon William Ralston drowns American Revolution 1776 British forces defeat Patriots in the Battle of Brooklyn Arts & Entertainment 1967 Beatles manager Brian Epstein dies Crime 2007 NFL star Michael Vick pleads guilty in dogfighting case 1979 Lord Mountbatten killed by IRA Sports 1976 Transgender athlete Renée Richards barred from U.S. Open U.S. Presidents 1908 Lyndon B. Johnson is born World War I 1916 Romania enters World War I

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 28 1955 Emmett Till is murdered Emmett Till, a Black 14-year-old from Chicago, is brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a white woman four days earlier. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1869 Three leave Powell’s Grand Canyon expedition 1980s 1987 HIV-positive Ray brothers’ home burned down African History 1879 Zulu king captured Arts & Entertainment 2003 Britney Spears and Madonna kiss at the VMAs Black History 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivers “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington 1963 Mahalia Jackson performs at March on Washington, prompts MLK Jr. to improvise “I Have a Dream” speech Cold War 1952 “Red Scare” dominates American political news Crime 1990 Murdered students are discovered at the University of Florida European History 1996 Charles and Diana divorce 1988 Air-show accident burns spectators Religion 1774 St. Elizabeth born in New York City U.S. Presidents 1917 President Woodrow Wilson picketed by women suffragists World War II 1941 Mass slaughter in Ukraine

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 29 2005 Hurricane Katrina slams into Gulf Coast Hurricane Katrina makes landfall near New Orleans as a Category 3 hurricane. The storm was one of the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT Arts & Entertainment 1982 Actor Ingrid Bergman dies on her birthday 1958 Michael Jackson is born Civil War 1862 North and South clash at the Second Battle of Bull Run Cold War 1949 Soviets explode atomic bomb Crime 2007 Richard Jewell, hero security guard wrongly accused as Olympic bombing suspect, dies Early U.S. 1786 Shays’ Rebellion Hispanic History 1970 Thousands of Mexican American anti-war activists march in Chicano Moratorium Inventions & Science 1876 Charles F. Kettering, inventor of electric self-starter, is born Native American History 1970 Native American group occupies Mount Rushmore to protest broken Treaty of Fort Laramie 1911 Ishi discovered in California Sports 2004 Brazilian marathoner assaulted at Olympics U.S. Government and Politics 2008 Republican John McCain selects Sarah Palin as his running mate World War I 1914 Women join British war effort

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 30 1967 Thurgood Marshall confirmed as Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American to serve as a Supreme Court justice. He would remain on the nation’s highest court for 24 years. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT American Revolution 1776 Washington refuses British general’s letter of reconciliation Arts & Entertainment 1972 John Lennon and Yoko Ono headline "One to One," his last full-scale concert 1980 Christopher Cross has his first of two No. 1 hits with “Sailing” 2003 Movie tough guy Charles Bronson dies Black History 1983 Guion S. Bluford becomes the first African American to travel to space Crime 1989 A murdering couple is sentenced to death European History 1918 Vladimir Lenin shot Inventions & Science 2006 California Senate passes Global Warming Solutions Act U.S. Presidents 1963 Hotline established between Washington and Moscow Vietnam War 1969 Ho Chi Minh responds to Nixon letter

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 31 1980 Polish government signs accord with Gdansk shipyard workers Representatives of the communist government of Poland agree to the demands of striking shipyard workers in the city of Gdansk. The agreement led to the formation of the Solidarty trade union under the leadership of future Polish president Lech Walesa. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 21st Century 2015 Angela Merkel says “Wir schaffen das” on accepting refugees Arts & Entertainment 1928 Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “The Threepenny Opera” premieres in Berlin 2005 Destiny's Child honored as the best-selling female group of all time Crime 1985 Los Angeles mob attacks “Night Stalker” serial killer 1888 Jack the Ripper’s first victim murdered European History 1997 Princess Diana dies in a car crash Inventions & Science 1897 Thomas Edison patents the Kinetograph 1955 General Motors demonstrates first solar-powered car Natural Disasters & Environment 1886 Earthquake shakes Charleston, South Carolina U.S. Presidents 1935 FDR signs Neutrality Act World War I 1916 American soldier Harry Butters killed in the Battle of the Somme

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY September 1 1972 Bobby Fischer becomes the first American to win the World Chess Championship In what’s billed as the “Match of the Century,” American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer defeats Russian Boris Spassky during the World Chess Championship in Iceland. The 29-year-old Brooklynite is the first American to win the competition since its inception in 1866. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1980s 1985 Wreck of the Titanic found 21st Century 2004 Chechen separatists storm Russian school African History 1969 Qaddafi leads coup in Libya American Revolution 1777 Sam Mason survives attack on Fort Henry 1775 King George refuses Olive Branch Petition Arts & Entertainment 1850 P.T. Barnum brings European opera star Jenny Lind to New York Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander History 1964 First Japanese player makes MLB debut Civil War 1864 Confederate forces abandon Atlanta Cold War 1983 Korean Airlines flight shot down by Soviet Union Crime 1981 A teenage boy murders his father 1807 Aaron Burr acquitted of treason Inventions & Science 1998 Federal legislation makes airbags mandatory Natural Disasters & Environment 1923 Japan’s Great Kanto Earthquake kills over 140,000 Observances & Traditions 2001 First Muslim holiday U.S. postage stamp is issued Sports 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates field MLB’s first all-Black lineup Vietnam War 1966 French president Charles de Gaulle urges the United States to get out of Vietnam World War I 1917 Soldier recounts brush with poison gas World War II 1939 Germany invades Poland

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY September 2 1945 Japan surrenders, bringing an end to WWII Japan formally surrenders to the Allies aboard the USS Missouri, bringing World War II to a close. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1885 Chinese miners are massacred in Wyoming Territory Ancient Rome 31 B.C. The Battle of Actium Arts & Entertainment 1995 Michael Jackson earns his final No. 1 song with “You Are Not Alone” Civil War 1862 Union General George B. McClellan is restored to full command Early U.S. 1789 Congress founds U.S. Treasury European History 1666 Great Fire of London begins Inventions & Science 1969 First U.S. ATM opens for business Sports 2013 Diana Nyad, 64, makes record swim from Cuba to Florida U.S. Presidents 1944 Navy aviator George H.W. Bush and his squadron attacked Vietnam War 1969 Vietnamese president and communist icon Ho Chi Minh dies World War II 1945 Vietnam declares its independence from France