Category Archives: History

History

On this day August 16

August 16

Today in History

  • 1987 First Day of Harmonic Convergence

    The largest worldwide meditation event lasted for 2 days and was organized by new-age author José Argüelles. The dates for the event were chosen because of their astrological significance – on these days the Sun, the Moon and 6 of the planets were aligned in a triangular position as seen from the Earth.

  • 1960 Cyprus Attains Freedom From the British

    The mediterranean island country first came under British control in the early 20th century as a strategic British outpost. In 1925, it was formally added to the British Empire. the London and Zurich Agreements signed in February 1959 gave independence to Cyprus and set up a system of governance based on ethnicity.

  • 1954 First Issue of Sports Illustrated Hits the Newsstands

    The sports magazine which is famous for its annual swimsuit issue was not profitable for the first few years of its existence. The boost in spectator sports eventually helped it become successful.

  • 1898 Patent for Loop-the-Loop Roller Coaster is Awarded

    The United States’ patent office awarded the patent for the loop-the-loop roller coaster to American inventor Edwin Prescott. First installed in Coney Island, New York, the roller coaster was able to carry only 4 people at a time.

  • 1858 The First Transatlantic Telegraph Message is sent

    The message sent by Britain’s Queen Victoria to American President James Buchanan, read ‘Europe and America are united by telegraphic communication. Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill to men.’ The cable, which cut down the time of communication between the two continents was successful only for a few months. Technical difficulties led to the cable being closed in October of 1858.

 

History

On this day August 13

Today in History

  • 1997 South Park Makes its Debut on Comedy Central

    The popular American animated series is created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and it follows the lives and adventures of 4 boys – Eric Cartman, Kenny McCormick, Kyle Broflovski, and Stan Marsh – in a fictional town called South Park, Colorado. While being popular, the show has attracted widespread criticism for profane language and for addressing controversial subjects.

  • 1961 Construction of Berlin Wall starts

    The construction on the Berlin Wall, a wall that divided West Berlin from East Berlin started. It was built by the German Democratic Republic or East Germany.

  • 1960 First Two-Way Telephonic Conversation With a Satellite

    The conversation was made possible due to NASA’s Echo 1, a balloon satellite. It was launched into space on August 12. The satellite worked as reflector – signals sent to it were reflected back to the Earth.

  • 1960 Central African Republic Gains its Independence From France.

    The landlocked African Country came under French rule in the late 19th century. On this day, Barthélemy Boganda, a nationalist politician declared the creation of an independent Central African Republic and became the first Prime Minister of the country.

  • 1918 First Woman enlists in the United States Marines

    After joining the Marine corps, Opha May Johnson, was assigned desk duty at the Marine Corps headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

History

On this day August 8

Today in History

  • 1988 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.

History

On this day August 6

Today in History

  • 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.