Today in History

1852
The 1st U.S. intercollegiate sporting event took place on Lake Winnipesaukee,N.H. when Harvard's heavy weight rowing crew beat Yale by 2 lengths over 2 miles
1926
traffic lights are installed at Piccadilly Circus in London
1936
U.S. sprinter, Jesse Owens wins the 1st of his 4 gold medals in the 100 meter dash in 10.3 secs with Adolph Hitler watching from the stands at Berlin Summer Olympic Games
1963
Warner Brothers Records releases Allan Sherman's novelty single' Hello Muddah/Hello Faddah'{A Letter From Camp} lyrics by Sherman, music from Amilcare Ponchielli's 'Dance Of The Hours'.Sherman got the idea from a letter from his son, Robert who was at a summer camp. The song is from his album' My Son,The Nut' hit #1 on Billboard album charts, stay there for 8 weeks. The song won a Grammy in 1964 Best Comedy Performance
1997
Sky Tower opens in Auckland, NZ standing at 1,076 ft{328 meters},the tallest free standing structure in Southern Hemisphere

4th August

1704 Gibraltar was captured for the British by Admiral Sir George Rooke.

1870 The British Red Cross Society was founded, by Lord Wantage.

1972 Ugandan President Idi Amin declared that all Ugandan Asians holding British passports would be expelled from the country within 90 days. This order targeted an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 individuals, who were given a three-month deadline to leave.

2000 Celebrations took place all over the United Kingdom to mark the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

2012 The annual stinging nettle-eating competition started in 1986, was held at The Bottle Inn pub at Marshwood near Bridport in Dorset. The current record at the event for the most amount of nettles eaten in one hour is 76ft (23m).

2014 People in the UK were encouraged to turn off their lights between 10pm and 11pm, leaving only a single light or candle for a symbolic act of reflection and hope in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of World War 1.

1970- Jim Morrison of the Doors, is arrested in Los Angeles for Public Drunkenness
1973- Maureen McGovern's, The Morning After (the song from the movie The Poseidon Adventure) hits #1 for the first of two weeks.
1968- Newport pop Festival, attracts 100,000 people.
1964- The Kinks release the song You Really Got Me, in the United Kingdom.

On This Day In History, August 5th

2009 General Abdel Aziz sworn in as President of Mauritania
General Abdel Aziz, who came to power in a coup in 2008, was sworn in as the President of Mauritania after elections in 2009.

1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is Signed
Also known as the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the document was signed by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States in Moscow. The treaty, which came as a response to the heightening tensions due to the frequent testing of nuclear weapons by the these 3 countries during the Cold War, banned the testing of nuclear weapons anywhere on land, over water or in space. Underground testing was still allowed under the treaty, until it was also banned in 1996 after the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty came into force.

1962 Nelson Mandela is Arrested
The South African anti-apartheid activist and adherent of nonviolence was arrested by the government at Rivonia, a suburb of Johannesburg. After a year-long trial, Mandela was imprisoned at the infamous Robben Island prison where we spent the next 18 years. He was released from prison in 1990 after spending 28 years as a political prisoner. In the early 1990s, after intense international and domestic pressure, in part from the efforts of Mandela, the South African government started taking steps to end apartheid – a government policy of racial segregation and discrimination. As a result, Mandela was elected the country’s first black president in 1994.

1960 Burkina Faso gains its Independence
The landlocked West African country, known as Upper Vota until 1984, became a French protectorate in the late 19th century. In 1958, the Republic of Upper Volta was created as a self-governing French colony. After independence, Maurice Yaméogo became the first president of the country, whose name was changed to Burkina Faso in 1984.

1940 Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic is established
The Soviet Union added Latvia to the union as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Births On This Day, August 5th

1979 David Healy
Irish footballer

1968 Marine Le Pen
French politician

1930 Neil Armstrong
American pilot, engineer, astronaut, first person to walk on the moon

1906 John Huston
American director

1850 Guy de Maupassant
French writer

Deaths On This Day, August 5th

1991 Paul Brown
American football coach, executive

1984 Richard Burton
Welsh actor

1964 Art Ross
Canadian ice hockey player

1962 Marilyn Monroe
American model, actress, singer

1895 Friedrich Engels
German philosopher

5th August

910 The last major Viking army was defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex. The outcome of the battle secured the English kingdom but also marked a turning point in Viking incursions into England. The Lady of the Mercians, also known as Aethelflaed, daughter of Alfred the Great, won the fight against the Vikings. Aethelflaed was later chosen as her husband's successor and took control of Mercia, one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, now known as the Midlands.

1100 Henry I was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

1305 William Wallace, Scottish hero and champion of Scottish independence, was captured by the English, found guilty of treason and sentenced to death in London.

1963 A Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in Moscow by Russia, the United States and Britain.

1983 Twenty two members of the IRA were jailed for a total of more than 4,000 years following Northern Ireland's biggest-ever terrorist trial.

On This Day In History, August 6th

2008 Coup in Mauritania
In the 6th coup in the North African country since 1978, President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was overthrown and General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, a career military officer, was installed in his place.

1965 Voting Rights Act Becomes Law in the United States
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act, which prohibited any discrimination in voting. The act enforces the 14th and 15th amendments to the US Constitution.

1962 Jamaican Independence
The Caribbean island country was first colonized by the Spanish in the early 16th century. In 1655, the British invaded Spanish Jamaica and made it a colony after the Spanish surrendered. Jamaica soon became one of the most profitable colonies of the British Empire, especially after sugarcane was brought to the island by the English. The Jamaica Independence Act of July 1962, which was a result of anti-colonial sentiments that were spreading throughout the globe, gave Jamaica full independence by leaving the Federation of the West Indies.

1945 US Bombs Hiroshima
In the first of the only two times nuclear weapons have been used in warfare, the United States dropped a nuclear bomb, nicknamed Little Boy on the industrial city of Hiroshima in Japan. Over 150,000 people were estimated killed by the resulting explosion. Japan had joined the Second World War in December 1941 on the side of the Axis powers. After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings 3 days later on August 9, Japan surrendered to the Allies and ended the Pacific War.

1926 First Woman to Swim Across the English Channel
Gertrude Ederle, an American Olympic swimmer, swam across the English Channel a body of water between England and France, in 14 hours and 34 minutes. Only 5 other people, all men, had swum across the channel before Ederle.

Births On This Day, August 6th

1983 Robin van Persie
Dutch footballer

1928 Andy Warhol
American artist

1911 Lucille Ball
American actress

1881 Alexander Fleming
Scottish scientist, Nobel Prize laureate

1809 Alfred, Lord Tennyson
English poet

Deaths On This Day, August 6th

1978 Pope Paul VI

1973 Fulgencio Batista
Cuban army officer, politician, 9th President of Cuba

1969 Theodor W. Adorno
German sociologist, philosopher

1931 Bix Beiderbecke
American pianist, composer

1637 Ben Jonson
English writer

1819
Norwich University is founded in Northfield, Vermont,1st private military school in U.S.
1960
Chubby Checker performs his version of Hank Ballard's song' The Twist' on the Dick Clark Show which started the world wide craze
1991
computer, scientist, Tim Berners- Lee releases files describing his idea of the world wide web,debuts WWW as a publically available service on the internet
2023
movie' Barbie' passes $1 billion in global box office. The director, actress Greta Gerwig is 1st female film maker to achieve this

On This Day In History, August 7th

2008 War Between Russia and Georgia Breaks Out
The conflict began over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway regions of Georgia. When the two provinces broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s and most of the international community did not recognize their independence. Russia on the other hand, backed them and placed peacekeeping forces in the two regions. In 2008, tensions escalated between the two countries after Russia moved a large number of troops in the area. The war ended with Russian victory and with Georgia losing parts of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to Russia.

1998 Coordinated bomb attacks in American embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, killed over 200 people
Responsibility for the twin attacks in the capital cities was taken by an Al-Qaeda affiliate, Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

1974 Daredevil Walks a High Wire Between Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre
French high-wire artist Philippe Petit, who was 24 years old at the time, walked 8 times across a high wire between the two towers in 45 minutes. The high wire was 1,350 feet from the ground.

1960 Ivory Coast Independence
The West African country known as Côte d'Ivoire gained its independence from France after being a member of the French Community for 2 years. Ivory Coast became a French Colony in 1893 under the leadership of explorer Louis Gustave Binger. Felix Houphouet-Boigny became the first president of the independent country and remained in office until his death in 1993.

1782 George Washington Institutes the Purple Heart
Then known as the Badge of Military Merit, the Purple Heart is a military decoration. In 1932, on the 200th birth anniversary of Washington, it was decided that the award would be given to those wounded or killed while serving in the United States Armed Forces as a result of enemy action on or after April 5, 1917. August 7 is annually observed as Purple Heart Day in the United States.

Births On This Day, August 7th

1987 Sidney Crosby
Canadian ice hockey player

1975 David Hicks
Australian alleged terrorist

1975 Charlize Theron
South African model, actress

1958 Bruce Dickinson
English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor

1876 Mata Hari
Dutch spy

Deaths On This Day, August 7th

2011 Mark Hatfield
American politician

2005 Peter Jennings
Canadian/American journalist

1957 Oliver Hardy
American comedian, actor

1941 Rabindranath Tagore
Indian author, poet, and Nobel Prize laureate

1938 Constantin Stanislavski
Russian actor, director

On This Day In History, August 8th

1988 8888 Uprising in Myanmar Begins
The pro-democracy uprising began as a student protest in Burma’s capital city, Yangon. Hundreds and thousands protesters came out on the streets to protest against the one-party rule by General Ne Win. The protests lasted for over a month and were violently put down by the government. They ended after the State Peace and Development Council, a group of senior military officers took over the government in a coup and installed a military junta. The uprisings get their name from the date the protests began - August 8, 1988.

1974 Nixon Announces His Resignation
The 37th President of the United States, Richard Nixon’s resignation came as a response to the Watergate Scandal. The scandal erupted after it was revealed that the Nixon government was involved in the cover-up of a break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Complex. The revelations prompted the Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against Nixon. His resignation made him the first president in American history to resign while in office.

1969 Photographer Iain Macmillan Takes an Iconic Photograph of the Beatles
One of the most recognizable images of the 20th century, the photograph was taken in the middle of Abbey Road in London and showed all the members of the popular rock band, The Beatles crossing the road on a zebra crossing. The photograph was used as a cover for their 11th album, Abbey Road.

1967 ASEAN is Founded
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an economic and political organization which was formed after the heads of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand signed the Bangkok Declaration. The purpose of the organization is to promote regional peace and stability and encourage economic development in the region. Today, ASEAN has 10 member states.

1908 Wright Brothers Publicly Show Off Their Flying Machine For the First Time
The human air flight pioneers displayed their flying machine and its capabilities at a racecourse at Le Mans, France, 5 years after they made their first successful flight in 1903. The flight piloted by Wilbur lasted only 1 minute and 45 seconds captured the imagination of their audiences, and silenced their critics and doubters.

Births On This Day, August 8th

1981 Roger Federer
Swiss tennis player

1981 Harel Skaat
Israeli singer-songwriter

1969 Faye Wong
Chinese singer-songwriter, actress

1953 Nigel Mansell
English race car driver

1937 Dustin Hoffman

Deaths On This Day, August 8th

1985 Louise Brooks
American actress, dancer

1973 Dean Corll
American serial killer

1944 Michael Wittmann
German SS officer

1909 Mary MacKillop
Australian saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart

1827 George Canning
English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

8 Aug 1969
The photo session for the cover of The Beatles Abbey Road album took place on the crossing outside Abbey Road studios. Photographer Iain McMillan, balanced on a step-ladder in the middle of the road took six shots of John, Ringo, Paul, and George walking across the zebra crossing while a policeman held up the traffic. The band then returned to the studio and recorded overdubs on ‘The End’, ‘I Want You (She's So Heavy)’ and ‘Oh! Darling’.

8th August 1855
The name of the island at the bottom of Australia - Van Diemens Land was changed to Tasmania.

8th August 2018
Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, declared to be 100% in drought.

8th August

1296 Edward I of England removed the Stone of Scone from its place at the heart of Scotland's royal coronation ritual. The ancient sandstone block was carried south to Westminster, stripping Scotland of the object that had long made its kings.

1834 The Poor Law Amendment Act was passed in Britain. The Act dropped the system whereby parishes cared for their poor by a rate of poor relief and replaced it with the workhouse.

1940 Thursday, 8 August 1940 marked the beginning of the second phase of the Battle of Britain. This new stage saw the Luftwaffe intensify its campaign to disrupt British coastal shipping and provoke RAF Fighter Command into a war of attrition.

1963 At around 3.00am on 8 August 1963, a gang of armed criminals boarded a Royal Mail train en route to Euston station in London. Dangerous and organised, they escaped with a staggering £2.6 million (£50 million in today’s money). The Post Office train - known as the Up Special - had run every night, without interference, for 125 years until it was brought to a halt by a red light at 0315 GMT in Buckinghamshire.

1991 Beirut hostage John McCarthy freed. John McCarthy, Britain's longest-held hostage in Lebanon, was set free after more than five years in captivity.

2002 The UK's biggest undertakers Co-op funeral services, reported that bereaved families preferred pop songs to hymns at funerals. Unusual choices requested included 'Another One Bites The Dust' by Queen and 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' by Wham!

Births On This Day, August 9th

1981 Li Jiawei
Singaporean table tennis player

1963 Whitney Houston
American singer, actress, producer, and model

1947 Roy Hodgson
English football manager

1922 Philip Larkin
English poet

1896 Jean Piaget
Swiss psychologist

Deaths On This Day, August 9th

2012 David Rakoff
Canadian/American author, actor

1996 Frank Whittle
English engineer, inventor, developed the jet engine

1995 Jerry Garcia
American singer-songwriter, guitarist

1975 Dmitri Shostakovich
Russian composer

9th August

1902 Edward VII was crowned in Westminster Abbey following the death of his mother Queen Victoria.

1914 World War I: HMS Birmingham sank a German submarine, the first to be sunk by the Royal Navy.

1971 The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Brian Faulkner, introduced a new law giving the authorities the power to indefinitely detain suspected terrorists without trial.

1979 Brighton established the first nudist beach in Britain, despite protests from those fearing depravity.

2006 At least 24 suspected terrorists were arrested in an overnight operation. The arrests were in relation to a plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from Britain to the United States and Canada. In July 2010 three men were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court and sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiracy to murder.

On This Day In History August 10th

2003 The First Person to Get Married While in Space
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko was on the International Space Station when he married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was located in Texas at the time of the wedding. The wedding took place through a NASA satellite hookup.

2001 An attack on a train during the Angolan Civi War kills about 250 people
Rebels from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in Angola derailed a train using an anti-tank mine and opened fire on the passengers.

1990 Magellan Space Probe is Inserted in Orbit Around Venus
The first spacecraft to be launched by a space shuttle, Magellan was a robotic space probe that spent 8 months gathering data about the surface of the planet also known as Earth's twin. The probe was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on May 4, 1989, when Space Shuttle Atlantis took it to low Earth orbit and released it.

1944 Battle of Narva ends
The 8-day long battle was fought between the German Army and the Soviet Leningrad Front for the control of the Narva Isthmus in Estonia during the Second World War. The battle ended with decisive German victory

1675 The foundation stone for the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, is laid
Commissioned by King Charles II of England, the Royal Observatory started operating in 1676 under the supervision of John Flamsteed, the first British Astronomer Royal. The observatory is famous around the world because it location marks the Prime Meridian passes through it.

Births On This Day, August 10th

1980 Wade Barrett
English wrestler

1973 Lisa Raymond
American tennis player

1971 Roy Keane
Irish footballer

1960 Antonio Banderas
Spanish actor

1874 Herbert Hoover
American politician, 31st President of the United States

Deaths On This Day, August 10th

2008 Isaac Hayes
American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, actor

1980 Yahya Khan
Pakistan general, politician, 3rd President of Pakistan

1945 Robert H. Goddard
American physicist, inventor

1932 Rin Tin Tin
German/American acting dog

1896 Otto Lilienthal
German pilot, engineer