EVENTS
- 1876 – Thomas Edison received a patent for his mimeograph (similar to a copy machine).
- 1908 – Wright Brothers publicly show off their flying machine for the first time. The human air flight pioneers displayed their flying machine and its capabilities at a racecourse at Le Mans, France, 5 years after they made their first successful flight in 1903. The flight piloted by Wilbur lasted only 1 minute and 45 seconds captured the imagination of their audiences, and silenced their critics and doubters.
- 1945 – Soviet Russia declared war on Japan and sent troops into Japanese-held Manchuria.
- 1963 – A gang of robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes off an English train. This is later called the Great Train Robbery.
- 1967 – ASEAN is Founded. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an economic and political organization which was formed after the heads of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand signed the Bangkok Declaration. The purpose of the organization is to promote regional peace and stability and encourage economic development in the region. Today, ASEAN has 10 member states.
- 1969 – Photographer Iain Macmillan takes an iconic photograph of the Beatles. One of the most recognizable images of the 20th century, the photograph was taken in the middle of Abbey Road in London and showed all the members of the popular rock band, The Beatles crossing the road on a zebra crossing. The photograph was used as a cover for their 11th album, Abbey Road.
The Beatles - 1974 – U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation.
- 1976 – “Boston”, by the rock band Boston is released. It will become the #1 best-selling debut album to date.
- 1988 – Uprising in Myanmar begins. The pro-democracy uprising began as a student protest in Burma’s capital city, Yangon. Hundreds and thousands protesters came out on the streets to protest against the one-party rule by General Ne Win. The protests lasted for over a month and were violently put down by the government. They ended after the State Peace and Development Council, a group of senior military officers took over the government in a coup and installed a military junta. The uprisings get their name from the date the protests began – August 8, 1988.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1866 – African-American explorer Matthew Henson (1866-1955) was born in Charles County, Maryland
- 1937 – Dustin Hoffman (Actor)
Dustin Hoffman - 1953 – Nigel Mansell (English race car driver)
- 1961 – The Edge (U2 Guitarist)
- 1969 – Faye Wong (Chinese singer-songwriter, actress)
- 1976 – Drew Lachey (Singer)
- 1976 – JC Chasez (Singer)
- 1981 – Harel Skaat (Israeli singer-songwriter)
- 1981 – Roger Federer (Tennis Player)
- 1998 – Shawn Mendes (Canadian Singer)
DEATHS
- 1827 – George Canning (English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom)
- 1909 – Mary MacKillop (Australian saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart)
Mary MacKillop - 1944 – Michael Wittmann (German SS officer)
- 1973 – Dean Corll (American serial killer)
- 1985 – Louise Brooks (American actress, dancer)
