Today in History: August

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1	1876 - Colorado became a U.S. state. 1936 - Opening of the Olympic Games in Hitler's Berlin.

2	1945 - Conclusion of the Potsdam Conference. 1990 - Start of the Persian Gulf War.

3	1492 - Christopher Columbus left Palos, Spain, on his journey to reach the Indies by sailing west. 1949 - Founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

4	1892 - Axe murder of Lizzie Borden's parents in Fall River, Massachusetts. 1914 - Great Britain declared war on Germany after Germany invaded Belgium (World War I). 1944 - The Nazis discovered Anne Frank and her family in hiding in Amsterdam.

5	1914 - Cleveland, Ohio, became home to the first electric traffic lights.

6

1825 - Bolivia declared its independence. 1945 - Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. 1965 - Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. 1991 - The first website was launched at info.cern.ch and was dedicated to the World Wide Web, with instructions on how to use it.

7	1789 - United States War Department established by Congress. 1964 - Tonkin Gulf Resolution passed by Congress.

8	1588 - Spanish armada attacked by English forces. 1969 - Charles Manson's "family" killed Sharon Tate and others in California.

9	1945 - Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

10	1821 - Missouri became a U.S. state. 1846 - Establishment of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

11	1960 - Chad achieved independence.

12	1851 - Sewing machine patented by Isaac Singer. 1898 - Formal U.S. annexation of Hawaii.

13	1521 - Spanish conquistadors defeated the Aztecs, taking control of the Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlán.

14	1935 - Social Security Act became law. 2003 - Start of the largest blackout in U.S. history.

15	1057 - Scotland's Macbeth killed.

16	1960 - Cyprus gained its independence.

17	1969 - Hurricane Camille hit the Gulf Coast.

18	1227 - Death of Genghis Khan.

19	1934 - Adolf Hitler was elected as Führer of Germany.

20	1964 - Economic Opportunity Act was signed into law by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.

21	1831 - Nat Turner Rebellion occurred in Virginia. 1940 - Leon Trotsky was killed in Mexico City, Mexico. 1959 - Hawaii became a state. 1983 - Benigno Aquino was assassinated in the Philippines. 1991 - Latvia became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

22	1642 - Start of the English Civil War, fought between the Cavaliers (Royalists) and Roundheads. 1846 - Annexation of New Mexico by the United States. 1910 - Annexation of Korea by Japan.

23	1305 - Execution of Scotland's William Wallace in London (Mel Gibson's character in "Braveheart"). 1939 - Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact signed.

24	79 C.E. - Herculaneum and Pompeii destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. 1814 - White House and Capitol burnt by the British as part of the War of 1812. 1821 - Treaty of Cordoba gave Mexico independence from Spain.

25	1270 - Saint Louis died of dysentery in Tunis, Tunisia, while leading the Eighth Crusade. 1718 - French settlers founded New Orleans. 1825 - Uruguay became independent. 1916 - National Park Service was created. 1944 - Paris was liberated from the Nazis.

26	1847 - Liberia became an independent republic. 1920 - 19th Amendment became law (women's suffrage).

27	1928 - Kellogg-Briand Pact signed.

28	1609 - Henry Hudson sailed into Delaware Bay. 1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.

29	1533 - Atahualpa, ruler of the Incas, was murdered in Peru. 1786 - Shays's Rebellion started in Massachusetts. 2005 - Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.

30	30 BCE - Suicide of Cleopatra VII. 1862 - Second Battle of Bull Run. 1967 - Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court justice.

31	1887 - Thomas Edison received a patent for the Kinetoscope. 1962 - Trinidad and Tobago became independent.

August has witnessed several pivotal historical events. On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to Japan's surrender and the end of World War II. These bombings had profound implications for global politics and warfare. Another significant event is the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon B. Johnson, which aimed to eliminate racial discrimination in voting practices in the United States, marking a major victory in the Civil Rights Movement. On August 15, 1947, India gained independence from British rule, a monumental moment that ended nearly two centuries of colonialism and led to the partition of India and Pakistan. Additionally, on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a defining moment in the fight for civil rights in America. These events highlight August as a month of significant transitions and milestones that have shaped modern history and society.

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