Events
of the day
1572
– Marriage in Paris of the future Huguenot King
Henry IV of Navarre to Marguerite de Valois,
in a supposed attempt to reconcile Protestants
and Catholics.
1587 – Virginia Dare, granddaughter of governor
John White of the Colony of Roanoke, becomes
the first English child born in the Americas.
1590 – John White, the governor of the Colony
of Roanoke, returns from a supply trip to England
and finds his settlement deserted.
1634 – Urbain Grandier, accused and convicted
of sorcery, is burned alive in Loudun, France.
1783 – A huge fireball meteor is seen across
the United Kingdom as it passes over the east
coast.
1838 – The Wilkes Expedition, which would explore
the Puget Sound and Antarctica, weighs anchor
at Hampton Roads in 1838
1848 – Camila O'Gorman and Ladislao Gutierrez
are executed on the orders of Argentine dictator
Juan Manuel de Rosas.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Globe Tavern
– Union forces try to cut a vital Confederate
supply-line into Petersburg, Virginia, by attacking
the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.
1868 – French astronomer Pierre Jules César
Janssen discovers helium.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Gravelotte
is fought.
1877 – Asaph Hall discovers Martian moon Phobos.
1891 – Major hurricane strikes Martinique, leaving
700 dead.
1903 – German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly
flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane
four months before the first flight of the Wright
Brothers.
1917 – A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece
destroys 32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals
homeless.
1920 – The Nineteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing
women's suffrage.
1938 – The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting
New York State, United States with Ontario,
Canada over the St. Lawrence River, is dedicated
by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1948 – The Australian cricket team completed
a 4–0 Ashes series win over England during their
undefeated Invincibles tour.
1950 – Julien Lahaut, the chairman of the Communist
Party of Belgium is assassinated by far-right
elements.
1958 – Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel
Lolita is published in the United States.
1958 – Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across
the English Channel in a competition, as the
first Bangali as well as the first Asian to
ever do it. He became first among 39 competitors.
1963 – American civil rights movement: James
Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate
from the University of Mississippi.
1965 – Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins
– United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong
stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in the
first major American ground battle of the war.
1966 – Vietnam War: the Battle of Long Tan ensues
after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal
Australian Regiment clashes with a Viet Cong
force in Phuoc Tuy Province.
1971 – Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand
decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.
1976 – In the Korean Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjeom,
the Axe Murder Incident results in the death
of two US soldiers.
1977 – Steve Biko is arrested at a police roadblock
under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 in King
William's Town, South Africa. He would later
die of the injuries sustained during this arrest
bringing attention to South Africa's apartheid
policies.
1983 – Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast,
killing 22 people and causing over USD $1 billion
in damage (1983 dollars).
1989 – Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos
Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.
2005 – A Massive power blackout hits the Indonesian
island of Java, affecting almost 100 million
people, the largest and most widespread power
outage in history.
2008 – President of Pakistan Pervez Musharaf
resigns due to the threat of impeachment.
Holidays
and observances
Birthday
of Virginia Dare (Roanoke Island)
Christian Feast Day:
Agapitus of Palestrina
Alberto Hurtado
Helena of Constantinople (Roman Catholic Church)
August 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Long Tan Day, also called Vietnam Veterans'
Day (Australia)
National Science Day (Thailand)
For details, contact Datacentre
