Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/August
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| << | Selected anniversaries for August | >> | ||||
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| An archive of historical anniversaries that appeared on the Main Page 2018 day arrangement | ||||||
August 1: Lughnasadh/Imbolc (Gaels and neopagans in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres respectively)
Robert Baden-Powell
- 902 – Led by Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya, the Aghlabids captured the Byzantine stronghold of Taormina, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
- 1715 – Introduced during a time of civil disturbance in Great Britain, the Riot Act came into force, authorising authorities to declare any group of twelve or more people to be unlawfully assembled.
- 1907 – Robert Baden-Powell (pictured) held the first Scout camp at Brownsea Island in Dorset, England, beginning the Scouting movement.
- 1981 – At 12:01 AM (ET), "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles became the first music video broadcast on the American cable television network MTV.
- 2004 – Nearly 400 people died in a supermarket fire in Asunción, Paraguay, when exits were locked to prevent people from stealing merchandise.
Æthelwold of Winchester (d. 984) · Maria Mitchell (b. 1818) · Alan Moore (b. 1914)
August 2: Republic Day in Macedonia
Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
- 216 BC – Second Punic War: Outnumbered Carthaginian forces led by Hannibal defeated a Roman army, near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy.
- 1790 – The first United States Census was conducted, with the United States residential population enumerated to be 3,929,214.
- 1914 – World War I: Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (pictured), and Prime Minister Paul Eyschen surrendered to the invading German army and the nation remained occupied for the rest of the war.
- 1932 – At the California Institute of Technology, Carl David Anderson proved the existence of antimatter when he discovered the positron.
- 1990 – Iraq invaded Kuwait, overrunning the Kuwaiti military within two days, and eventually sparking the outbreak of the Gulf War seven months later.
Bertha Lutz (b. 1894) · Betsy Bloomingdale (b. 1922) · Jean-Pierre Melville (d. 1973)
Jesse Owens
- 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: An eight-day siege of a fortified outbuilding occupied by 68 people by a force of over 10,000 ended when a relief party dispersed the besieging forces.
- 1903 – Macedonian rebels in Kruševo proclaimed a republic, which existed for only ten days before Ottoman forces destroyed the town.
- 1913 – A strike in Wheatland, California, orchestrated by agricultural workers degenerated into a riot, becoming one of the first major farm labor confrontations in California.
- 1936 – African American athlete Jesse Owens (pictured) won the first of his four gold medals at the Berlin Summer Olympics, dashing Nazi leaders' hopes of Aryan domination at the Olympics.
- 2005 – President of Mauritania Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was overthrown in a military coup while he was attending the funeral of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.
Thomas Francis Meagher (b. 1823) · George Inness (d. 1894) · Nadia Ali (b. 1980)
August 4: Constitution Day in the Cook Islands (1965)
Capture of Gibraltar
- 1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: A combined Anglo-Dutch fleet under the command of George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles captured Gibraltar (pictured) from Spain.
- 1783 – An eruption of Mount Asama, one of the most active volcanoes in Japan, killed roughly 1,400 people and exacerbated a famine, resulting in another 20,000 deaths.
- 1914 – World War I: Adhering to the terms in the 1839 Treaty of London, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany in response to the latter's invasion of Belgium.
- 1964 – A second U.S. Navy destroyer was reportedly attacked by North Vietnamese forces in the Gulf of Tonkin, leading Congress to authorize the use of military force in Southeast Asia.
- 1995 – The Croatian Army initiated Operation Storm, the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and the largest European land battle since the Second World War.
Henry I of France (d. 1060) · John Venn (b. 1834) · David Lange (b. 1942)
August 5: Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders in Croatia
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Marilyn Monroe
- 1278 – King Alfonso X of Castile was forced to abandon the Siege of Algeciras, the first of many on the city during the Spanish Reconquista.
- 1600 – Scottish nobleman John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, was killed during what was most likely a failed attempt to kidnap King James VI.
- 1888 – Bertha Benz made the first long-distance automobile trip, driving 106 km (66 mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, in a Benz Patent-Motorwagen.
- 1916 – First World War: The British Empire's Sinai and Palestine Campaign began with a victory in the Battle of Romani.
- 1962 – Actress and model Marilyn Monroe (pictured) was found dead in her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, an event that has become the center of one of the most debated conspiracy theories.
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (d. 1799) · Ivar Aasen (b. 1813) · Soichiro Honda (d. 1991)
Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi
- 1777 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Oriskany, one of the bloodiest battles in the North American theater of the war, was fought about 6 mi (9.7 km) east of Fort Stanwix, New York.
- 1965 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, outlawing literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for widespread disfranchisement of African Americans.
- 1997 – On approach to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport in Guam, Korean Air Flight 801 crashed into a hill, killing 228 of the 254 people aboard.
- 2008 – Mauritanian President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi (pictured) was ousted from power by a group of high-ranking generals that he had dismissed from office several hours earlier.
- 2011 – Following the killing of a man by the Metropolitan Police of London, thousands of mostly young males rioted in several London boroughs and in cities and towns across England.
James Henry Greathead (b. 1844) · William McCrea (b. 1948) · Vera Farmiga (b. 1973)
Le Griffon
- 768 – The papacy of Stephen III, who convened the Lateran Council of 769, began.
- 1679 – Le Griffon (pictured), a barque built by René-Robert de La Salle, began its journey to be the first sailing ship to navigate the upper Great Lakes.
- 1933 – Iraqi troops slaughtered 600–3,000 Assyrians during the Simele massacre in the Dahuk and Mosul districts.
- 1998 – Car bombs exploded simultaneously at the American embassies in the East African capital cities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 4,000 others.
- 2008 – Fighting between the Georgian and South Ossetian separatist forces escalated to the six-day Russo-Georgian War.
Jin Shengtan (d. 1661) · Huntley Wright (b. 1868) · Rebecca Kleefisch (b. 1975)
Uraniborg
- 1264 – Reconquista: In the early stages of the Mudéjar revolt of 1264–1266, Muslim rebels captured the alcázar of the city of Jerez, holding it for about two months.
- 1576 – The cornerstone of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe's observatory Uraniborg (pictured) was laid on the island of Hven.
- 1918 – The Battle of Amiens began in Amiens, France, marking the start of the Allied Powers' Hundred Days Offensive through the German front lines that ultimately led to the end of World War I.
- 1988 – A series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots, which became known as the 8888 Uprising, began against the one-party state of the Burma Socialist Programme Party.
- 2008 – A EuroCity train en route to Prague struck a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the track near Studénka station and derailed, killing 8 people and injuring 64 others.
Seo Hui (d. 998) · James Tissot (d. 1902) · Esther Williams (b. 1921)
August 9: International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples; National Women's Day in South Africa
Mushroom cloud over Nagasaki
- 1902 – Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark were crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- 1945 – World War II: USAAF bomber Bockscar dropped a "Fat Man" atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan (pictured).
- 1956 – An estimated 20,000 women marched on Pretoria, South Africa, to protest the introduction of the Apartheid pass laws for black women in 1952.
- 1988 – Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the most controversial player transactions in ice hockey history.
- 2001 – A suicide bomber attacked a Sbarro pizza restaurant in Jerusalem, killing 15 people and wounding 130 others.
Michael the Brave (d. 1601) · Eileen Gray (b. 1878) · Philip Larkin (b. 1922)
Louvre Pyramid
- 1755 – The first wave of the Expulsion of the Acadians from the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces by the British began with the Bay of Fundy Campaign at Chignecto.
- 1793 – The Louvre (Louvre Pyramid pictured), today the world's most visited museum, officially opened in Paris with an exhibition of 537 paintings and 184 objets d'art.
- 1897 – German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovered an improved way of synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).
- 1953 – First Indochina War: The French Union withdrew its forces from Operation Camargue against the Viet Minh in central modern-day Vietnam.
- 1988 – Japanese American internment: The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 became law, authorizing US$20,000 in reparations to each surviving internee.
Madeleine of Valois (b. 1520) · Suzanne Collins (b. 1962) · Jennifer Paterson (d. 1999)
August 11: Independence Day in Chad (1960)
DJ Kool Herc
- 106 – The region of Dacia, comprising parts of modern Romania, became a province of the Roman Empire.
- 1492 – The first papal conclave held in the Sistine Chapel elected Roderic Borja as Pope Alexander VI to succeed Pope Innocent VIII.
- 1952 – King Talal of Jordan was forced to abdicate due to health reasons and was succeeded by his eldest son Hussein.
- 1973 – At a party in the recreation room of a New York City apartment building, DJ Kool Herc (pictured) began rapping during an extended break, laying the foundation for hip-hop music.
- 2012 – At least 306 people were killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.
Hamnet Shakespeare (buried 1596) · William W. Chapman (b. 1808) · Jacqueline Fernandez (b. 1985)
A quagga in London Zoo
- 1099 – The First Crusade concluded with the Battle of Ascalon and Fatimid forces under Al-Afdal Shahanshah retreating to Egypt.
- 1883 – The last known quagga (example pictured), a subspecies of the plains zebra, died at the Natura Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam.
- 1914 – World War I: Despite the Belgian victory in the Battle of Halen, they were ultimately unable to stop the German invasion of Belgium.
- 1948 – About 600 unarmed Pashtuns in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, protesting the arrests of the leaders of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement, were massacred by police and militia forces.
- 1990 – American paleontologist Sue Hendrickson found the most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered near Faith, South Dakota, U.S.
Abraham Zacuto (b. 1452) · Lord Castlereagh (d. 1822) · George Soros (b. 1930)
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Opha May Johnson
- 554 – As a reward for over 60 years of service to the Byzantine Empire, Emperor Justinian I granted Liberius extensive estates in Italy.
- 1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: The Duke of Marlborough led Allied forces to a crucial victory in the Battle of Blenheim.
- 1868 – A major earthquake near Arica, Peru (now in Chile), caused an estimated 25,000 casualties, and the subsequent tsunami caused considerable damage as far away as Hawaii and New Zealand.
- 1918 – Opha May Johnson (pictured) became the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.
- 1977 – Members of the UK's far-right National Front party (NF) clashed with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, London, resulting in 214 arrests and at least 111 injuries.
Al-Muktafi (d. 908) · George Grove (b. 1820) · Jules Massenet (d. 1912)
August 14: Independence Day in Pakistan (1947)
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Roosevelt and Churchill aboard USS Augusta (CA-31)
- 1842 – American Indian Wars: American general William J. Worth declared the Second Seminole War to be over.
- 1901 – Gustave Whitehead allegedly made a successful powered flight of his Number 21 aircraft in Fairfield, Connecticut, U.S.; if true, this predates the Wright brothers by two years.
- 1941 – After a secret meeting in Newfoundland, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (both pictured) issued the Atlantic Charter, establishing a vision for a post-World War II world despite the fact that the United States had yet to enter the war.
- 1973 – The current Constitution of Pakistan came into effect.
- 2010 – The inaugural Youth Olympic Games opened in Singapore for athletes between 14 and 18 years old.
Doc Holliday (b. 1851) · Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (b. 1892) · Hugh Trumble (d. 1938)
August 15: Independence Day in India (1947); Victory over Japan Day in the United Kingdom
Syngman Rhee
- 718 – Forces of the Umayyad Caliphate abandoned their year-long siege of Constantinople, causing the caliphate to give up its goal of conquering the Byzantine Empire.
- 1511 – Afonso de Albuquerque captured the city of Malacca, giving Portugal control over the Strait of Malacca, through which all sea-going trade between China and India was concentrated.
- 1907 – Jamaican American Raphael Morgan was ordained as the first Black Orthodox clergyman in America.
- 1948 – The Republic of Korea was established with Syngman Rhee (pictured) as its first president.
- 1998 – A car bomb attack carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army killed 29 people and injured approximately 220 others in Omagh, Northern Ireland.
Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos (d. 1022) · Charles Comiskey (b. 1859) · Rosalía Mera (d. 2013)
Skookum Jim Mason
- 1863 – After Spain had annexed the Dominican Republic, rebels raised the Dominican flag in Santiago de los Caballeros to begin the War of Restoration.
- 1896 – A group led by Skookum Jim Mason (pictured) discovered gold near Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.
- 1977 – Elvis Presley, known as "The King of Rock and Roll", died aged 42 in Memphis, Tennessee.
- 1987 – Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed after takeoff in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., leaving a sole survivor.
- 2015 – Suicide bombers assassinated Pakistani politician Shuja Khanzada and killed at least 22 others at his home.
Marianos Argyros (d. 963) · Ranavalona I (d. 1861) · Georgette Heyer (b. 1902)
August 17: Qixi Festival (Chinese calendar, 2018); Independence Day in Indonesia (1945)
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NS Arktika
- 986 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: The Bulgarians defeated Byzantine forces at the Gate of Trajan near present-day Ihtiman, with Emperor Basil II barely escaping.
- 1676 – The Battle of Halmstad was fought at Fyllebro and was the last battle in Halland between Denmark and Sweden.
- 1907 – Pike Place Market, the most popular tourist destination in Seattle, Washington, U.S., opened for business.
- 1947 – A commission led by Cyril Radcliffe established the Radcliffe Line, the border between India and Pakistan after the Partition of India.
- 1977 – The Soviet icebreaker NS Arktika (pictured) became the first surface ship to reach the North Pole.
Nitta Yoshisada (d. 1338) · Davy Crockett (b. 1786) · Tarja Turunen (b. 1977)
August 18: Long Tan Day in Australia (1966)
Pierre Jules Janssen
- 684 – Second Fitna: Umayyad partisans defeated the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and cemented Umayyad control of Syria.
- 1590 – On the third birthday of his granddaughter Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the Americas, John White returned to the Roanoke Colony in present-day North Carolina, U.S., only to find it deserted.
- 1868 – Astronomer Pierre Jules Janssen (pictured) discovered helium while analysing the chromosphere of the sun during a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India.
- 1940 – Second World War: During the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe made an all-out effort to destroy RAF Fighter Command, wherein both sides lost more aircraft combined on this day than at any other point during the campaign.
- 2017 – The first terrorist attack ever sentenced as a crime in Finland killed 2 and injured 8.
Agneta Horn (b. 1672) · Maria Ulfah Santoso (b. 1911)
The Beatles in 1964
- 1745 – Bonnie Prince Charlie raised the Jacobite standard at Glenfinnan in the Scottish Highlands to begin the Second Jacobite Rising.
- 1934 – A German referendum supported the recent merging of the posts of Chancellor and President, consolidating Adolf Hitler's assumption of supreme power.
- 1964 – Over 17,000 fans saw the Beatles (pictured) on the opening date of the group's first nationwide U.S. tour.
- 1987 – A 27-year-old unemployed local labourer shot and killed sixteen people and wounded fifteen others before fatally shooting himself in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, one of the worst criminal atrocities involving firearms in British history.
- 2003 – A Hamas suicide bomber killed 23 people and wounded over 130 others on a crowded public bus in the Shmuel HaNavi quarter in Jerusalem.
Samuel Richardson (b. 1689) · Tom Wills (b. 1835) · Paweł Jasienica (d. 1970)
August 20: Day of Arafah (Islam, 2018); Day of Restoration of Independence in Estonia (1991); St. Stephen's Day in Hungary
Yellowstone fires
- 917 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Bulgarians led by Tsar Simeon I drove the Byzantines out of Thrace with a decisive victory in the Battle of Achelous.
- 1707 – The first Siege of Pensacola came to an end with the British abandoning their attempt to capture Pensacola in Spanish Florida.
- 1882 – The 1812 Overture by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was first performed in Moscow, conducted by Ippolit Al'tani.
- 1988 – Fires (pictured) in the United States' Yellowstone National Park destroyed more than 150,000 acres (610 km2), the single-worst day of the conflagration.
- 1998 – The Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan was destroyed by a missile attack launched by the United States in retaliation for the August 7 U.S. embassy bombings.
James Prinsep (b. 1799) · Ron Paul (b. 1935) · Narendra Dabholkar (d. 2013)
August 21: First day of Eid al-Adha (Islam, 2018)
Mona Lisa
- 1140 – Song dynasty general Yue Fei defeated an army led by Jin dynasty general Wanyan Wuzhu at the Battle of Yancheng during the Jin–Song Wars.
- 1858 – The first of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, candidates for an Illinois seat in the United States Senate, was held in Ottawa.
- 1911 – Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa (pictured) was stolen from the Louvre by a museum employee and was not recovered until two years later.
- 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army lost the Battle of the Tenaru, the first of its three major land offensives during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
- 2007 – Hurricane Dean made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula as a Category 5 storm, causing 45 deaths and US$1.5 billion in damage.
Alphonse, Count of Poitiers (d. 1271) · Emily Tinne (b. 1886) · Emma Mashinini (b. 1929)
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America's Cup
- 1485 – Lancastrian forces under Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, defeated Yorkist forces under Richard III of England at the Battle of Bosworth Field, decisively ending the Wars of the Roses.
- 1851 – The yacht America won the Cup of One Hundred Sovereigns race (trophy pictured), later renamed the America's Cup, near the Isle of Wight, England.
- 1910 – Japan annexed Korea with the signing of the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, beginning a period of Japanese rule of Korea that lasted until the end of World War II.
- 1961 – Ida Siekmann jumped from a window in her tenement building trying to flee to West Berlin, becoming the first person to die at the Berlin Wall.
- 2015 – A Hawker Hunter aircraft crashed at an airshow at Shoreham-by-Sea, United Kingdom, killing eleven people.
Isabella of France (d. 1358) · Thomas Tredgold (b. 1788) · Alexandros Kontoulis (d. 1933)
August 23: Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism/Black Ribbon Day in Canada, parts of the European Union, Georgia, and the United States
Sacco and Vanzetti
- 1873 – The Albert Bridge, spanning the River Thames in London, opened.
- 1898 – The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departed from London.
- 1927 – After a controversial trial, and despite worldwide protests, Italian-born American anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti (both pictured) were executed via electrocution in Massachusetts for murder.
- 1943 – World War II: The decisive Soviet victory in the Battle of Kursk gave the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the war.
- 2010 – A former Philippine National Police officer hijacked a tourist bus in Manila and held its occupants hostage for nearly 11 hours before being killed by police.
Ali al-Ridha (d. 818) · Henry Every (b. 1659) · Oscar Hammerstein II (d. 1960)
August 24: Independence Day in Ukraine (1991)
The 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team
- 49 BC – Caesar's Civil War: Forces loyal to Julius Caesar led by Gaius Scribonius Curio were crushingly defeated by Pompeian Republicans under Publius Attius Varus and King Juba I of Numidia.
- 1482 – Anglo-Scottish Wars: The border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed and its castle were captured by English forces.
- 1889 – The predominantly Māori New Zealand Native football team (pictured) played the last match of their 107-game tour, the longest in rugby union history.
- 1942 – World War II: Bombers from the United States aircraft carrier Saratoga sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō near Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands, helping to lead to an Allied victory.
- 2004 – About 90 people died after suicide bombers attacked two airliners flying out of Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport.
Magnus Barefoot (d. 1103) · William Wilberforce (b. 1759) · Valentine Baker (b. 1888)
Rings of Neptune
- 1258 – George Mouzalon, regent of the Empire of Nicaea, was assassinated as part of a conspiracy led by the nobles under future emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
- 1758 – Seven Years' War: Prussian forces engaged the Russians at the Battle of Zorndorf in present-day Sarbinowo, Poland.
- 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea.
- 1950 – In tennis, Althea Gibson became the first African American woman to compete at the United States National Championships (now known as the US Open).
- 1989 – The Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Neptune and provided definitive proof of the existence of the planet's rings (pictured).
Agnes Mowinckel (b. 1875) · Mary Tappan Wright (d. 1916) · Theresa Andrews (b. 1962)
August 26: Raksha Bandhan (Hinduism, 2018); Heroes' Day/Herero Day in Namibia; Women's Equality Day in the United States
Bomb explosion at Harvey's Resort Hotel
- 1071 – Byzantine–Seljuq wars: Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan captured Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV at the Battle of Manzikert.
- 1810 – Juan José Castelli ordered the execution of Santiago de Liniers, during the Argentine War of Independence.
- 1914 – First World War: The German colony of Togoland surrendered to French and British forces after a 20-day campaign.
- 1968 – The Beatles released "Hey Jude", which became the then-longest single to top the UK charts.
- 1980 – Three men planted a bomb (explosion pictured), which the FBI later described as the most complex improvised explosive device ever created, at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, U.S.
Manuel Abad y Queipo (b. 1751) · Sue Bailey Thurman (b. 1903) · Katherine Johnson (b. 1918)
August 27: National Heroes' Day in the Philippines (2018)
Battle of Grand Port
- 1810 – Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeated (pictured) the Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de la Passe.
- 1893 – The Sea Islands hurricane made landfall near Savannah, Georgia, U.S., causing at least 1,000 deaths.
- 1927 – Five Canadian women filed a petition to ask the Supreme Court of Canada, "Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons," to which the court eventually replied that it does not.
- 1942 – Nazi troops and the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police began systematically executing more than 14,000 people, mostly Jews, in and around Sarny in occupied Poland.
- 2013 – Religious violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India, leaving 62 people dead.
Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611) · Man Ray (b. 1890) · Brian Epstein (d. 1967)
Martin Luther King giving his "I have a dream" speech
- 1789 – With the first use of his new 1.2 m (3.9 ft) telescope, then the largest in the world, William Herschel discovered a new moon of Saturn, which was later named Enceladus.
- 1830 – Tom Thumb, the first American-built steam locomotive, engaged in an impromptu race against a horse-drawn car in Maryland.
- 1914 – In the first naval battle of the First World War, British ships ambushed a German naval patrol in the Heligoland Bight area of the North Sea.
- 1963 – During a large political rally in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King Jr. (pictured) delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, describing his desire for a future where blacks and whites would coexist harmoniously as equals.
- 1993 – The asteroid 243 Ida became the first found to have a moon when it was visited by NASA's Galileo probe.
Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) · Sheridan Le Fanu (b. 1814) · Omayra Sánchez (b. 1972)
Michael Faraday
- 1831 – Michael Faraday (pictured) discovered electromagnetic induction, leading to the formulation of his law of induction.
- 1842 – The Treaty of Nanking, an unequal treaty ending the First Opium War, was signed, forcing the Chinese Qing dynasty to give control of the island that is now the site of Hong Kong, and other concessions to the British.
- 1903 – The Russian battleship Slava, the last of the five Borodino-class battleships, was launched.
- 1930 – The last 36 residents of St Kilda, Scotland, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its natural and cultural qualities, voluntarily evacuated to Morvern.
- 2007 – Six nuclear warheads were mistakenly loaded onto a United States Air Force heavy bomber that flew from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (b. 1780) · Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (b. 1809) · Lale Andersen (d. 1972)
August 30: Constitution Day in Kazakhstan (1995)
Amalasuntha
- 526 – Upon the death of her father, Theoderic the Great, Amalasuntha (pictured) of the Ostrogoths became the regent for her 10-year-old son Athalaric.
- 1862 – American Civil War: In separate actions, Confederate forces were victorious in both the Battle of Richmond in Kentucky and the Second Battle of Bull Run in Prince William County, Virginia.
- 1896 – Philippine Revolution: In the Battle of San Juan del Monte, the first real battle of the war, a Katipunan force temporarily captured a powder magazine before being beaten back by a Spanish garrison.
- 1942 – Second World War: Erwin Rommel launched the last major Axis offensive of the Western Desert Campaign, attacking the British Eighth Army's position near El Alamein, Egypt.
- 1992 – German driver Michael Schumacher, the most successful Formula One driver in history, won his first race at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Albert Szenczi Molnár (b. 1574) · Mary Shelley (b. 1797) · Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster (d. 1954)
Interior view of Kinetoscope with peephole viewer
- 1897 – Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the Kinetoscope (pictured), a precursor to the movie projector.
- 1939 – Nazi forces, posing as Poles, staged an attack against the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany, creating an excuse to invade Poland the next day.
- 1969 – Approximately 150,000 people attended the Isle of Wight Festival, which featured Bob Dylan in his first gig since 1966.
- 1982 – Anti-government demonstrations were held in 66 Polish cities to commemorate the second anniversary of the Gdańsk Agreement, which allowed the Solidarity trade union to be established.
- 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Fayed, and their driver Henri Paul were killed in a high speed car accident in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris.
Aidan of Lindisfarne (d. 651) · Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin (b. 1842) · Sara Ramirez (b. 1975)
More anniversaries:
Selected anniversaries/On this day archive – All
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December
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