TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON: AUGUST 1

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    TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON: AUGUST 1

    527 Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire

    1086 Results of the Domesday inquiry presented to William the Conqueror in Salisbury (the date of compilation and the Great Domesday are historically contestable)

    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 English chemist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen by isolating it in its gaseous state

    1790 The first U.S. census was completed, showing a population of 3,929,214 people.

    1791 Robert Carter III, a Virginia plantation owner, frees all 500 of his slaves in the largest private emancipation in U.S. history.

    1801 The American schooner Enterprise captures the Barbary cruiser Tripoli. Often venturing into harm’s way, America’s most famous sailing ship, the Constitution, twice came close to oblivion.

    1834 Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into effect, abolishes slavery 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.

    1876 Colorado became the 38th state in the United States.

    1914 Germany declares war on Russia.

    1936 Adolf Hitler presided over the opening of the Berlin Olympic Games.

    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.

    1953 Calif introduces sales tax (for education)

    1956 The Social Security Act was amended to provide benefits to disabled workers aged 50-64 and disabled adult children.

    1966 Charles Whitman, shooting from the Texas Tower at the University of Texas, kills 16 people and wounds 31 before being killed himself.

    1981 MTV premieres at 12:01 AM

    1988 Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh begins his national radio show.

    2006 Cuban leader Fidel Castro turned over absolute power when he gave his brother Raul authority while he underwent an intestinal surgery.

    REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com

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