TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – AUG 16
1777 France declares a state of bankruptcy.
1812 American General William Hull surrenders Detroit without resistance to a smaller British force under General Issac Brock.
1842 In New York City, the U.S. government took over operations of the City Despatch Post. This was the first congressionally authorized local postage delivery.
1858 U.S. President James Buchanan and Britain’s Queen Victoria exchange messages inaugurating the first transatlantic telegraph line.
1861 U.S. President Lincoln prohibited the Union states from trading with the states of the Confederacy.
1896 Gold is discovered in the Klondike of Canada’s Yukon Territory, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.
1900 In preparation for war with Great Britain, the Boers had started importing vast quantities of food as early as 1898. Also, munitions were hoarded by those in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.
1946 Direct Action Day: Widespread riots erupt in Calcutta between Muslims and Hindus over whether Pakistan should be a separate state, killing over 4,000 and leaving 100,000 homeless
1954 First Issue of Sports Illustrated Hits the Newsstands
1960 In San Jose, Costa Rica foreign officials of the American republics met to discuss problems such as the Soviet Union’s infiltration of Cuba and Venezuela.
1965 The Watts riots end in south-central Los Angeles after six days.
1977 Elvis Presley dies of a heart attack in the upstairs bedroom suite area of his Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.
1978 Xerox was forced to pay a $25.6 million fine for blocking Smith Corona and other companies from entering the photocopier market by the Federal Trade Commission for not allowing other companies to compete in the market.
1986 Sudanese rebels shoot down a Sudanese Airways plane, killing 57 people.
1987 First Day of Harmonic Convergence. Astrological alignment of sun, moon and six planets marks what believers maintain is the dawning of a New Age.
1990 Iraq orders 2,500 Americans and 4,000 British nationals in Kuwait to Iraq, in the aftermath of Iraq’s invasion of that country.
2003 Libya Accepts Responsibility for Lockerbie Bombing in 1988 in a letter to a United Nations Security Council meeting formally taking responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. This follows pressure from UN sanctions applied to Libya which will now be lifted following the Libya statement accepting responsibility. Libya has now agreed to provide compensation to the victims of the tragedy totaling $2.7bn for the 270 victims families.
2003 Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana has been shot dead by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison when his camera is mistaken for a rocket propelled grenade launcher.
2012 In South Africa police fire on striking mine workers, killing at least 34.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
