1906 – Black soldiers accused of raid Brownsville, Texas; despite support from local commanding officers, President Theodore Roosevelt orders dishonorable discharge for 167 soldiers; all were cleared of wrongdoing in 1972, 165 posthumously
3114 BC – According to the Lounsbury correlation, the start of the Mayan calendar
1326 – Aradia de Toscano, according to legend/folklore, is initiated into a Dianic witchcraft cult, subsequently founds the tradition of Stregheria later known as the Malandanti.
1415 – Hundred Years’ War: Henry V of England lands at Chef-en-Caux, France with 8000 men
1516 – Treaty of Noyon between France and Spain signed. In it, Francis recognises Charles’s claim to Naples, and Charles recognises Francis’s claim to Milan.
1521 – Present day Mexico City was captured by Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez from the Aztec Indians.
1553 – Spanish theologian and physician Michael Servetus arrested as a heretic in Geneva (put on trial the next day, eventually found guilty of heresy and burned to death)
1608 – John Smith’s story of Jamestown’s first days submitted for publication
1624 – Cardinal Richelieu appointed Chief Minister of France by Louis XIII
1642 – Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovers Mars’ southern polar cap
1704 – The Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces.
1784 – The United States Legislature met for the final time in Annapolis, MD.
1784 – British parliament accepts East India Company Act 1784, bringing the East India Company’s rule in India under the control of the British Government.
1792 – Revolutionaries imprison French royals, including Marie Antoinette
1814 – Anglo-Dutch Treaty: Cape of Good Hope formally ceded to the British and transporting of slaves prohibited
1846 – The American Flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles, CA.
1867 – “Under the Gaslight”, by Augustin Daly, opened in New York City, NY.
1870 – Armed tug Palos becomes first U.S. Navy ship to transit Suez Canal
1876 – The Reciprocity Treaty between the U.S. and Hawaii was ratified.
1889 – A patent for a coin-operated telephone was issued to William Gray.
1892 – US black newspaper “Afro-American” begins publishing from Baltimore
1904 – Lightning strikes the belltower of the Kirtland Temple. A bucket brigade barely saves the historic structure.
1905 – Norway holds referendum in favour of dissolving the union with Sweden.
1906 – Black soldiers accused of raid Brownsville, Texas; despite support from local commanding officers, President Theodore Roosevelt orders dishonorable discharge for 167 soldiers; all were cleared of wrongdoing in 1972, 165 posthumously https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Learn-About-TR/TR-Encyclopedia/Race-Ethnicity-and-Gender/The-Brownsville-Incident.aspx
1910 – Brooklyn Superbas and Pittsburgh Pirates play “the game of perfect symmetry” in baseball to 8-8 tie, both have 8 runs, 13 hits, 2 errors, 12 assists, 5 strikeouts, 3 walks, 1 hit baseman, and 1 passed ball
1912 – The first experimental radio license was issued to St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia, PA.
1918 – Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha Mae Johnson is the first woman to enlist.
1920 – Polish-Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw begins, lasts till August 25. The Red Army is defeated
1923 – US Steel Corp initiates 8-hour work day
1931 – The first community hospital in the U.S. was dedicated in Elk City, OK.
1932 – Adolf Hitler refused to take the post of vice-chancellor of Germany. He said he was going to hold out “for all or nothing.”
1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces begin the Battle of Shanghai, a conflict that will last 3 months and involve 1 million troops
1940 – Battle of Britain: Hermann Goering’s “Adlertag” (Eagle Day) offensive happens, intending to destroy the Royal Air Force; 47-48 German aircraft shot down, the RAF loses 25 planes
1942 – Henry Ford unveiled his “Soybean Car.” It was a plastic-bodied car that weighed about 1000 lbs. less than a steel car.
1942 – Walt Disney’s “Bambi” opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, NY.
1945 – 35 Jews sacrifice their lives to blow up Nazi rubber plant in Silesia
1950 – US President Harry Truman gives military aid to Vietnamese regime of Bảo Đại
1953 – 4-5 million French go on strike against economizations
1953 – Pres Eisenhower establishes Govt Contract Compliance Committee
1959 – In New York, ground was broken on the $320 million Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
1960 – Central African Republic & Chad proclaim independence from France
1961 – Berlin was divided by a barbed wire fence to halt the flight of refugees. Two days later work on the Berlin Wall began.
1968 – Alexandros Panagoulis attempts to assassinate the Greek dictator Colonel G. Papadopoulos in Varkiza, Athens.
1970 – Pamphlet bombs which scatter revolutionary African National Congress propaganda leaflets explode in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth, South Africa
1975 – Bayardo Bar attack: Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers carry out a gun and bomb attack on a pub in Belfast frequented by Ulster Volunteer Force commanders; 4 Protestant civilians and 1 UVF member are killed
1978 – Bomb attack in Beirut, 175 killed
1980 – Joseph MacInnis oceanographer discovers sunken barque HMS ‘Breadalbane,’ crushed by ice and sunk at Beechey Island NWT, Aug. 21, 1853; Scottish ship well preserved by extreme cold; sonar shows some sails and rigging intact; world’s northernmost found shipwreck
1985 – South African Defence Force soldiers, travelling in a convoy of more than ten armoured vehicles, surrounded the Thaba-Juluba high school in Soweto and arrest 200 students during a clampdown on school boycotts
1987 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan assumes responsibility for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal.
1990 – Iraq transferred $3-4 billion in bullion, currency, and other goods seized from Kuwait to Baghdad.
1991 – US Vice-President Dan Quayle makes a speech attacking lawyers at the annual meeting of the American Bar Association
1994 – It was reported that aspirin not only helps reduce the risk of heart disease, but also helps prevent colon cancer.
1996 – Marc Dutroux, his wife Michelle Martin, and Michel Lelivre are arrested on suspicion of kidnapping. All are found guilty on June 22, 2004, with sentences of life, 30, and 25 years, respectively.
1997 – South Park Makes its Debut on Comedy Central, The popular American animated series is created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and it follows the lives and adventures of 4 boys – Eric Cartman, Kenny McCormick, Kyle Broflovski, and Stan Marsh – in a fictional town called South Park, Colorado. While being popular, the show has attracted widespread criticism for profane language and for addressing controversial subjects.
2004 – 156 Congolese Tutsi refugees massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.
2014 – Israeli and Palestinian cease fire agreed to on August 8 is extended for another 120 hours to provide time for further negotiations
2015 – 76 people are killed & 212 are wounded by an ISIL truck bomb in Baghdad, Iraq
2015 – Swedish Prosecutors announce they are dropping allegations against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange of sexual molestation and coercion
2017 – Gunmen kill at least 18 at a cafe in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Islamic extremists blamed
2018 – Ugandan politician and pop singer Bobi Wine arrested by the Ugandan army at a campaign rally in Arua and later allegedly tortured
2020 – Israel strikes historic deal with the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations, Israel suspends plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank
2020 – New details about enormous “Terror Crocodile” (Deinosuchus), the size of a bus, with teeth as big as bananas, that lived during late Cretaceous period (75-84 million years ago) in North America published
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
