1861 – Naval Engagement at Fernandina, Florida, the USS Vincennes ends rebel blockade
1914 – Montenegro declares war against Austria-Hungary in World War I
1953 – Operation “Big Switch”; Korean War prisoner exchanged at Panmunjom
1966 – Beatles release single “Yellow Submarine” with “Eleanor Rigby” in UK
1967 – First exhibition after AFL/NFL merger, Denver Broncos (AFL) surprise Detroit Lions (NFL), 13-7 at University of Denver
1973 – 15 year old Australian swimmer Stephen Holland smashes Mike Burton’s 1,500m world record by a massive 14.78 seconds (15:37.8) in Brisbane
1982 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1998 – The American spin-off “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”, starring Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady, debuts on ABC
2011 – NASA launches its Juno space probe from Cape Canaveral to orbit and study Jupiter
2018 – Vintage Junkers Ju-52 plane crashes near Flims, Switzerland, killing all 20 on board
Category: Historical Events
Historical Events for 4th August 2020
1636 – Johan Mauritius appointed governor of Dutch Brazil
1772 – English poet and artist William Blake aged 14 is first apprenticed to engraver James Basire in London
1854 – The Hinomaru is established as the official flag to be flown from Japanese ships
1914 – US declares neutrality on the outbreak of WWI
1934 – II British Empire Games open at London’s White City Stadium
1943 – USAAF bombs Germans in Troina
1946 – An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. 100 are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
1947 – American boxer Ike Williams knocks out Bob Montgomery in 6 rounds in Philadelphia to unify the world lightweight title
1983 – 16th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at Hotel San Diego
1986 – Reports of probable OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) agreement on output quotas sends oil prices higher
Historical Events for 3rd August 2020
1108 – Louis VI, “the Fat One,” King of France, crowned
1914 – British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey famously remarks “The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our time.”
1943 – Nazi occupiers attack city of Orel, leave it on fire
1948 – An American clean sweep of the medals in the men’s 3m springboard diving at the London Olympics with Bruce Harlan winning gold, Miller Anderson silver and Sammy Lee bronze
1948 – The US 4 x 200m freestyle relay team of Wally Ris, Jimmy McLane, Wally Wolf and Bill Smith swim a world record 8:46.0 to win gold at the London Olympics
1960 – Niger gains independence from France
1962 – NY Met Frank Thomas hits his 6th HR in 3 games
1971 – Paul McCartney announces formation of his group Wings
2013 – 9 children are killed by a suicide bombing in Jalalabad, Afghanistan
2015 – Chilean-born author Isabel Allende receives the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama
Historical Events for 2nd August 2020
257 – St Stephen I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1578 – Battle of Rijmenam: Spanish Habsberg forces defeated by Dutch troops (Eighty Years’ War)
1914 – German press falsely reports that French bombed Nuremberg
1932 – Carl David Anderson discovers and photographs a positron, the first known antiparticle
1934 – William Franks twirls an indian club overhead 17,280 times in 1 hour
1943 – Lt John F. Kennedy’s PT-boat 109 sinks at Solomon islands
1964 – Dutch government gives Indonesia export guarantees
1983 – STS-8 vehicle moves to launch pad
1986 – Saddam Hussein offers peace in open letter to Iran
2013 – Carl Icahn sues computer giant Dell in an attempt to derail a buyout bid by the CEO, Michael Dell
Historical Events for 1st August 2020
527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire
1021 – Synod of Pavia: emperor Henry II convicts married priest
1690 – Battle at Staffarda: French army beats Victor Amadeus of Savoy
1836 – As part of their homeward journey on the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin returns to Bahia in Brazil
1914 – Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany declares war on his nephew Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in WWI
1943 – Japan declares Burma Independence under U Ba Maw
1966 – Yakubu Gowon becomes Nigerian Head of State after a military coup d’état
1968 – The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.
1987 – In New Zealand, the Maori Language Act comes into force, making te reo Māori an official language of New Zealand; it can now be used in some legal proceedings
2010 – 200m x 250m photo mosaic commemorating the life of Filipino President Corazon Aquino is unveiled near Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta Park, Manila
Historical Events for 31st July 2020
1451 – Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France
1658 – Aurangzeb appoints himself Mongol emperor
1876 – US Coast Guard officers’ training school established (New Bedford Massachusetts)
1910 – Chic Cub King Cole no-hits St Louis, 4-0 in a 7 inning game
1948 – American swimmer Wally Ris wins the coveted 100m freestyle gold medal at the London Olympics beating team mate Alan Ford by 0.4 seconds
1987 – Baltimore first baseman Eddie Murray hits his 299th and 300th career home runs to lead Orioles to an 8-4 win over Texas Rangers
1988 – Last Playboy club closes in Lansing, Michigan
1992 – Three world record swims on final night session at the Barcelona Olympics; Australian Kieren Perkins 1,500m (14:43.4); Tamás Darnyi of Hungary 200m backstroke (1:59.36); China’s Yang Wenyi women’s 50m freestyle (24.79)
1994 – Netherlands’ warmest July since 1783 – average 21.4°C
2012 – Michael Phelps becomes the greatest medal winner in Olympic history as part of the winning American 4 x 200m freestyle relay team in London; Phelps’ 19th career Olympic medal and 15th overall gold
Historical Events for 30th July 2020
1715 – Spanish gold and silver fleet disappears off St Lucie, Florida
1825 – Malden Island is discovered in the central Pacific by British warship HMS Blonde
1907 – Starting today, the French bombard Casablanca and land troops to occupy the Atlantic-coast region of Morocco after attacks on foreigners
1914 – Austrian-Hungary and Russia proclaim general mobilization
1948 – Czech distance running legend Emil Zátopek wins the 10,000m at the London Olympics in 29:59.6, an Olympic record
1954 – 5th British Empire Games and Commonwealth Games open in Vancouver, Canada
1964 – US naval fire on Hon Ngu/Hon Mo, North Vietnam
1969 – Barbra Streisand opens for Liberace at International Hotel, Las Vegas
1992 – Yael Arad becomes Israel’s first ever Olympic medalist when she wins silver in the women’s 61kg judo in Barcelona; 20th anniversary of Munich massacre and 500th anniversary of Alhambra Decree
2017 – Hackers reveal they have stolen data from HBO, including episodes and scripts of Games of Thrones
Historical Events for 29th July 2020
1676 – Nathaniel Bacon declared a rebel for assembling frontiersmen to protect settlers from Indians
1914 – Russia mobilize troops along Austrian boundary
1914 – 1st transcontinental phone link made between New York City and San Francisco
1927 – 1st iron lung installed (Bellevue hospital, NY)
1968 – Cincinnati Red George Culver no hits Phillies, 6-1
1974 – 2nd impeachment vote against Nixon by House Judiciary Committee
1984 – Canadian Open Women’s Golf (du Maurier Classic), St. George’s CC: Juli Inkster wins by 1 from Ayako Okamoto of Japan
1994 – Jesse Timmedequas rapes and murders Megan Kanka, 7 (results in Megan’s Law)
2009 – Temperature reaches 103°F in Seattle, Washington, the hottest day on record
2019 – Record for longest run at the top of US singles chart made by country rap single “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X remixed with Billy Ray Cyrus, No. 1 for 17 weeks
Historical Events for 28th July 2020
1148 – Second Crusade: Crusaders abandon their siege of Damascus
1635 – Spanish marshal Piccolomini conquers Schenkenschans
1906 – Yankees turn triple-play, beat Cleveland 6-4
1945 – US Army B-25 crashes into 79th floor of Empire State Bldg, 14 die
1965 – LBJ sends 50,000 more soldiers to Vietnam (total of 125,000)
1988 – Israeli diplomats arrive in Moscow for 1st visit in 21 years
1991 – Tour de France: Spanish rider Miguel Induráin beats Gianni Bugno of Italy by 3′ 36″ for 1st of 5 consecutive Tour wins; Djamolidine Abdoujaparov points winner
1996 – NY Yankee Darryl Strawberry hits his 300th HR
2014 – Missiles strike near Gaza’s main hospital and a nearby refugee camp Monday, leaving 10 dead and many wounded; Israeli Defence Force say they are not responsible
2018 – Carr Fire reaches Redding, California, with death toll at 5 having burnt 80,000 acres
Historical Events for 27th July 2020
1563 – French army recaptures Le Havre
1839 – Chartist riots break out in Birmingham, England
1920 – 14th Tour de France: Belgian rider Philippe Thys becomes first to win the race 3 times
1944 – Soviet Army frees Majdanek concentration camp
1946 – 45th Women’s French Championships: Margaret Osborne beats Pauline Betz (1-6, 8-6, 7-5)
1963 – Fritz Von Erich beats Verne Gagne in Omaha, to become NWA champ
1967 – LBJ sets up commission to study cause of urban violence
2008 – British Senior Open Men’s Golf, Royal Troon: Bruce Vaughan birdies first extra playoff hole to beat fellow American John Cook by a stroke
2013 – 1,000 inmates escape from a prison in Benghazi, Libya
2017 – Boy Scouts of American chief Michael Surbaugh apologies for politically motivated remarks made by President Donald Trump at rally attended by 30,000 scouts