TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – AUG 1
527 Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire
1096 The crusaders under Peter the Hermit reach Constantinople.
1689 James II’s siege of Londonderry, Ireland, ends in failure. James’ force had suffered some 8,000 casualties to the defenders’ 3,600.
1774 Joseph Priestley, English theologian, chemist and author discovers oxygen by isolating it in its gaseous state
1790 – The first U.S. census was completed with a total population of 3,929,214 recorded. The areas included were the present states of Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia
1791 Robert Carter III, a Virginia plantation owner, frees all 500 of his slaves in the largest private emancipation in U.S. history. An 1839 mutiny aboard a Spanish ship in Cuban waters raised basic questions about freedom and slavery in the United States.
1834 Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire.
1872 The first long-distance gas pipeline in the U.S. is completed. Designed for natural gas, the two-inch pipe ran five miles from Newton Wells to Titusville, Pennsylvania.
1873 San Francisco’s first cable cars begin running, operated by Hallidie’s Clay Street Hill Railroad Company.
1893 A machine for making shredded wheat breakfast cereal is patented.
1900 The Boxer Rebellion erupted and the Chinese were fighting the Europeans. U.S. troops were sent to help quell the violence. It appeared unclear who actually remained in charge in Peking, but, General Chafee’s strong U.S. cavalry filled the gap in international forces
1929 A state-wide contest held in West Orange County, New Jersey held by Thomas Edison to determine who his next 49 proteges would be. The tough exam questions included knowledge about science, geography, history, chemistry, and personal ethics.
1936 Possibly one of the most controversial Olympic games of modern times opens in Berlin, Germany with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
1937 The Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany becomes operational.The Nuremberg Trial would later bring high-ranking Nazis to justice.
1939 Synthetic vitamin K is produced for the first time.
1942 Ensign Henry C. White, while flying a J4F Widgeon plane, sinks U-166 as it approaches the Mississippi River, the first U-boat sunk by the U.S. Coast Guard.
1944 The Polish underground begins an uprising against the occupying German army, as the Red Army approaches Warsaw.
1946 President Harry S Truman establishes the Atomic Energy Commission.
1957 US and Canada create North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
1966 Charles Whitman, shooting from the Texas Tower at the University of Texas, kills 16 people and wounds 31 before being killed himself.
1970 President Richard Nixon’s powers to freeze prices, wages, and interest rates were to be voted on in the house amid howls of foul play from Republicans. Soaring inflation prompted this move to give the president more executive powers.
1981 Music Television is launched The channel, popularly known as MTV was mostly known for showing music videos and for being hosted by Video Jockeys.
1988 Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh begins his national radio show.
2001 The United States House of Representatives votes to ban all human cloning but it is not voted into law as the Democratic led Senate votes against it.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
