-
+13 +1
June 17, 1972: The Watergate Scandal Begins, as Nixon Campaign Associates Are Caught Breaking Into Democratic Headquarters
"Whatever the motive for the 'breaking and entering,' it was not burglary, third rate or otherwise."
-
+21 +7
9th August 1995 - Jerry Garcia dies
Like his band the Grateful Dead, which was still going strong three decades after its formation, Jerry Garcia defied his life-expectancy not merely by surviving, but by thriving creatively and commercially into the 1990s – far longer than most of his peers.
-
+15 +5
10th August 1846 - Smithsonian Institution created
After a decade of debate about how best to spend a bequest left to America from an obscure English scientist, President James K. Polk signs the Smithsonian Institution Act into law.
-
+28 +4
11th August 2014 - Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams dies at 63
Rose to prominence in the late 1970s in the hit TV sitcom “Mork & Mindy” then went on to star in dozens of films, including “Dead Poets Society” (1989), “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993) and “Good Will Hunting” (1997), is found dead at his home in Tiburon, California, after committing suicide.
-
+24 +6
12th August 1961 - East Germany begins construction of the Berlin Wall
In an effort to stem the tide of refugees attempting to leave East Berlin, the communist government of East Germany begins building the Berlin Wall to divide East and West Berlin. Construction of the wall caused a short-term crisis in U.S.-Soviet bloc relations, and the wall itself came to symbolize the Cold War.
-
+25 +5
13th August 1899 - Alfred Hitchcock born
The macabre master of moviemaking, is born in London on August 13, 1899. His innovative directing techniques and mastery of suspense made him one of the most popular and influential filmmakers of the 20th century.
-
+21 +2
14th August 1935 - FDR signs Social Security Act
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the Social Security Act. Press photographers snapped pictures as FDR, flanked by ranking members of Congress, signed into law the historic act.
-
+20 +6
15th August 1969 - Woodstock begins in upstate New York
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, “An Aquarian Exposition,” opens at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in upstate New York. Promoters expected the music festival, modeled after the famous Monterey Pop Festival, to attract up to 200,000 for the weekend, but nearly a half a million people converged on the concert site.
-
+21 +4
16th August 1974 - The Ramones play their first public gig at CBGB’s in downtown Manhattan
Five years to the day after half a million rain-soaked hippies grooved and swayed to the psychedelic sounds of the Grateful Dead at Woodstock, four young men from Forest Hills, Queens, took to the stage of an East Village dive bar in jeans, motorcycle jackets and Converse high-tops to launch a two-minute sonic attack on everything those 60s icons stood for.
-
+20 +6
Elvis Dead
On Aug 16th 1977, Elvis Presley was found dead lying on the floor in his bathroom by his girlfriend Ginger Alden; hed been sitting on the toilet reading The Scientific Search For Jesus. He died of heart failure at the age of 42.
-
+16 +3
August 17th 1877 - Billy the Kid kills his first man
Though only a teenager at the time, Billy the Kid wounds an Arizona blacksmith who dies the next day. He was the famous outlaw’s first victim.
-
+25 +4
18th August 1940 - Walter P. Chrysler dies
Walter Percy Chrysler, the founder of the American automotive corporation that bears his name, dies on this day in 1940 at his estate in Great Neck, New York, after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 65 years old.
-
+16 +3
20th August 1911 - First around-the-world telegram sent, 66 years before Voyager II launch
A dispatcher in the New York Times office sends the first telegram around the world via commercial service. Exactly 66 years later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sends a different kind of message, a phonograph record containing information about Earth for extraterrestrial beings, shooting into space aboard the unmanned spacecraft Voyager II.
-
+14 +3
21st August 1959 - Hawaii becomes 50th state
The modern United States receives its crowning star when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the Union as the 50th state. The president also issued an order for an American flag featuring 50 stars arranged in staggered rows: five six-star rows and four five-star rows.
-
+19 +5
22nd August 1485 - Battle of Bosworth Field
In the last major battle of the War of the Roses, King Richard III is defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field by Henry Tudor, the earl of Richmond. After the battle, the royal crown, which Richard had worn into the fray, was picked out of a bush and placed on Henry’s head. His crowning as King Henry VII inaugurated the rule of the house of Tudor over England, a dynasty that would last until Queen Elizabeth’s death in 1603.
-
+22 +7
23rd August 1970 - Lou Reed plays his last show with the Velvet Underground
Arguably the most influential American band of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Velvet Underground had an impact on modern rock and roll that was well out of proportion to the popularity they achieved in their short-lived heyday. That heyday came to an end on this day in 1970, when lead singer and primary songwriter Lou Reed played his last gig with the Velvet Underground at the famous Manhattan rock club Max’s Kansas City.
-
+22 +7
On This Day in History Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was Born
Oliver Hazard Perry was born August 23, 1785 and also died on August 23, 1819 from Yellow Fever. He was 34 years old.
-
+22 +4
24th August 79 - Vesuvius erupts
At noon on August 24, 79 A.D. the peak of Mount Vesuvius exploded, propelling a 10-mile mushroom cloud of ash and pumice into the stratosphere. For the next 12 hours, volcanic ash and a hail of pumice stones up to 3 inches in diameter showered Pompeii, forcing the city’s occupants to flee in terror. Some 2,000 people stayed in Pompeii, holed up in cellars or stone structures, hoping to wait out the eruption.
-
+22 +4
The strangest rock classic ever?
Bohemian Rhapsody has remained Queen’s most beloved – and weirdest – pop song. Recording began on 24 Aug 1975, at a studio in Wales.
-
+20 +5
25th August 2009 - Ted Kennedy, “liberal lion of the Senate,” dies at 77
Edward “Ted” Kennedy, the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and a U.S. senator from Massachusetts from 1962 to 2009, dies of brain cancer at age 77 at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Kennedy, one of the longest-serving senators in American history, was a leader of the Democratic Party and a spokesman for liberal causes who also was known for his ability to work with those on both sides of the political aisle.
Submit a link
Start a discussion