Archives for: August 2013
August 31
Aug 31st
1823 - Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne of Spain when invited French forces entered Cadiz. The event is known as the Battle of Trocadero. 1852 - The first pre-stamped envelopes were created with legislation of the U.S. Congress. 1881 - The… more »
August 30
Aug 30th
1146 - European leaders outlawed the crossbow. 1645 - American Indians and the Dutch made a peace treaty at New Amsterdam. New Amsterdam later became known as New York. 1682 - William Penn sailed from England and later established the colony… more »
August 29
Aug 29th
1828 - A patent was issued to Robert Turner for the self-regulating wagon brake. 1833 - The "Factory Act" was passed in England to settle child labor laws. 1842 - The Treaty of Nanking was signed by the British and the Chinese. The treaty ended the… more »
August 28
Aug 28th
1609 - Delaware Bay was discovered by Henry Hudson. 1619 - Ferdinand II was elected Holy Roman Emperor. His policy of "One church, one king" was his way of trying to outlaw Protestantism. 1774 - The first American-born saint was born in New York… more »
August 27
Aug 27th
1660 - The books of John Milton were burned in London due to his attacks on King Charles II. 1789 - The Declaration of the Rights of Man was adopted by the French National Assembly. 1828 - Uruguay was formally proclaimed to be independent during… more »
August 26
Aug 26th
55 B.C. - Britain was invaded by Roman forces under Julius Caesar. 1498 - Michelangelo was commissioned to make the "Pieta." 1842 - The first fiscal year was established by the U.S. Congress to start on July 1st. 1847 - Liberia was proclaimed as… more »
August 25
Aug 25th
1718 - Hundreds of colonists from France arrived in Louisiana. Some settled in present-day New Orleans. 1814 - The U.S. Library of Congress was destroyed by British forces. 1825 - Uruguay declared independence from Brazil. 1840 - Joseph Gibbons… more »
August 24
Aug 24th
0079 - Mount Vesuvius erupted killing approximately 20,000 people. The cities of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum were buried in volcanic ash. 0410 - The Visigoths overran Rome. This event symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire. 1456 - The… more »
August 23
Aug 23rd
1838 - The first class graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, MA. It was one of the first colleges for women. 1839 - Hong Kong was taken by the British in a war with China. 1858 - "Ten Nights in a Barroom" opened in New York… more »
August 22
Aug 22nd
1485 - The War of the Roses ended with the death of England's King Richard III. He was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field. His successor was Henry V II. 1567 - The "Council of Blood" was established by the Duke of Alba. This was the beginning of… more »
August 21
Aug 21st
1680 - The Pueblo Indians drove the Spanish out and took possession of Santa Fe, NM. 1831 - Nat Turner, a former slave, led a violent insurrection in Virginia. He was later executed. 1841 - A patent for venetian blinds was issued to John Hampton. … more »
August 20
Aug 20th
1641 - Scotland and Britain signed the Treaty of Pacification. 1741 - Danish navigator Vitus Jonas Bering discovered Alaska. 1862 - Horace Greeley's "The Prayer of Twenty Millions" was published. 1866 - The National Labor Union in… more »
August 19
Aug 19th
1812 - "Old Ironsides" (the USS Constitution) won a battle against the British frigate Guerriere east of Nova Scotia. 1848 - The discovery of gold in California was reported by the New York Herald. 1856 - The process of processing condensed milk was… more »
August 18
Aug 18th
1227 - The Mongol conqueror Ghengis Khan died. 1587 - Virginia Dare became the first child to be born on American soil of English parents. The colony that is now Roanoke Island,NC, mysteriously vanished. 1735 - The "Evening Post" of Boston, MA, was… more »
August 17
Aug 17th
1790 - The capital city of the U.S. moved to Philadelphia from New York City. 1807 - Robert Fulton's "North River Steam Boat" (known as the "Clermont") began heading up New York's Hudson River on its successful round-trip to Albany. 1815 - Napoleon… more »
August 16
Aug 16th
1777 - During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Bennington took place. New England's minutemen routed the British regulars. 1812 - Detroit fell to Indian and British troops in the War of 1812. 1829 - The "Siamese twins," Chang and Eng… more »
August 15
Aug 15th
1057 - Macbeth, the King of Scotland, was killed by the son of King Duncan. 1848 - The dental chair was patented by M. Waldo Hanchett. 1877 - Thomas Edison wrote to the president of the Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh, PA. The letter stated that the… more »
August 14
Aug 14th
1248 - The rebuilding of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, began after being destroyed by fire. 1756 - Daniel Boone married 16-year-old Rebecca Bryan. 1805 - A peace treaty between the U.S. and Tunis was signed on board the USS… more »
August 13
Aug 13th
1521 - Present day Mexico City was captured by Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez from the Aztec Indians. 1704 - The Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces. 1792… more »
August 12
Aug 12th
1676 - "King Phillip's War" came to an end with the killing of Indian chief King Phillip. The war between the Indians and the Europeans lasted for two years. 1851 - Isaac Singer was issued a patent on the double-headed sewing machine. 1865 -… more »
August 11
Aug 11th
1860 - The first successful silver mill in America began operations. The mill was in Virginia City, NV. 1874 - A patent for the sprinkler head was given to Harry S. Parmelee. 1877 - The two moons of Mars were discovered by Asaph Hall, an American… more »
August 10
Aug 10th
1792 - King Louis XVI was taken into custody by mobs during the French Revolution. He was executed the following January after being put on trial for treason. 1809 - Ecuador began its fight for independence from Spain. 1821 - Missouri became the… more »
August 9
Aug 9th
1678 - American Indians sold the Bronx to Jonas Bronck for 400 beads. 1790 - The Columbia returned to Boston Harbor after a three-year voyage. It was the first ship to carry the American flag around the world. 1831 - The first steam locomotive began… more »
August 8
Aug 8th
1356 - Edward "the Black Prince" began a raid north from Aquitaine. 1588 - The Spanish Armada was defeated by the English fleet ending an invasion attempt. 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena, in the South Atlantic. The remainder of… more »
August 7
Aug 7th
1789 - The U.S. War Department was established by the U.S. Congress. 1782 - George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart. 1888 - Theophilus Van Kannel received a patent for the revolving door. 1914 - Germany invaded France. 1928 -… more »
August 6
Aug 6th
1787 - The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia began. The articles of the U.S. Constitution draft were to be debated. 1806 - The Holy Roman Empire went out of existence as Emperor Francis II abdicated. 1825 - Bolivia declared independence from… more »
August 5
Aug 5th
1833 - The village of Chicago was incorporated. The population was approximately 250. 1861 - The U.S. federal government levied its first income tax. The tax was 3% of all incomes over $800. The wartime measure was rescinded in 1872. 1864 - During… more »
August 4
Aug 4th
1735 - Freedom of the press was established with an acquittal of John Peter Zenger. The writer of the New York Weekly Journal had been charged with seditious libel by the royal governor of New York. The jury said that "the truth is not libelous." 1753… more »
August 3
Aug 3rd
1492 - Christopher Columbus left Palos, Spain with three ships. The voyage would lead him to what is now known as the Americas. He reached the Bahamas on October 12. 1750 - Christopher Dock completed the first book of teaching methods. It was titled… more »
