Today in history

Also on this day.

William John Boston, MBE (born 6 August 1934) is a Welsh former professional rugby league footballer who played as a wing or centre. Born in Cardiff, Wales, Boston started his career as a rugby union player before joining Wigan in 1953.

Happy Birthday Billy Boston.

7 th August 1998


            The 1998 U.S Embassy bombings :
                                                              The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998. More than 200 people were killed in nearly simultaneous truck bomb explosions in two East African cities, one at the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the other at the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_United_States_embassy_bombings

8 th August 1963

 The great train robbery :
                                    The Great Train Robbery was the robbery of £2.6 million from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London on the West Coast Main Line in the early hours of 8 August 1963, at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn, near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England.
After tampering with the lineside signals in order to bring the train to a halt, a gang of 15, led by Bruce Reynolds, attacked the train. Other gang members included Gordon Goody, Buster Edwards, Charlie Wilson, Roy James, John Daly, Jimmy White, Ronnie Biggs, Tommy Wisbey, Jim Hussey, Bob Welch and Roger Cordrey, as well as three men known only as numbers "1", "2" and "3", two of whom later turned out to be Harry Smith and Danny Pembroke. A 16th man, an unnamed retired train driver, was also present


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Train_Robbery_(1963)

9 th August 1945

 World war 11 , Nagasaki :
                                      On August 9, 1945, a Boeing B-29 bomber named “Bockscar” dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan, incinerating 39,000 people within seconds.  In the following weeks, thousands more would die from exposure and their injuries, and more would keep dying from radiation-related illnesses for years to come.  The Japanese quickly surrendered after this second nuclear attack, but the question of whether or not this bomb was necessary still haunts Americans to this day.


https://www.historyandheadlines.com/august-9-1945-second-atom-bomb-dropped-nagasaki-necessary/

10 August 2003

 The 2003 European heatwave:
                                           The 2003 European heat wave led to the hottest summer on record in Europe since at least 1540. France was hit especially hard. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in parts of Southern Europe. Peer-reviewed analysis places the European death toll at more than 70,000.
The predominant heat was recorded in July and August, partly a result of the western European seasonal lag from the maritime influence of the Atlantic warm waters in combination with hot continental air and strong southerly winds. On August 10 th a then record U.K temperature  of
38.5 C was recorded in Kent .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_European_heat_wave

11 th August 1982

  Pan Am flight 830 :
                             Pan Am Flight 830 was a flight from Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan to Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii. On August 11, 1982, the Boeing 747-121 serving the flight, nicknamed "Clipper Ocean Rover" was en route to Hawaii when the airplane was damaged by a bomb that had been placed on board. Despite the damage to the aircraft, Captain James E. (Skipper) O'Halloran III of Spokane, Washington was able to land in Honolulu safely. One person was killed while 284 survived. 16 of them were wounded .



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_830

12 August 1990

    T.Rex :
              Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date,
is discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_(dinosaur)

13 th August 1964

      The last " necktie party " :
                                           – Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans are hanged for the murder of John Alan West becoming the last people executed in the United Kingdom.  At 08:00 BST on 13 August, 1964, Peter Anthony Allen and Gwynne Owen Evans were led from their cells to the gallows. Ten seconds later they were dead, their necks snapped by the hangman's noose.
They did not know it but theirs were to be the last judicial executions in the United Kingdom
Due to a more liberal public which was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with killing criminals, some historians and criminologists believe a few weeks delay would probably have seen them reprieved.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-28687221

14 th August 1945

 World war 11 :
                      Japan accepts the Allied terms of surrender in World War II and the
Emperor records the Imperial Rescript on Surrender


On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victoryover Japan Day,” or simply “V-J Day.” The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan’s formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. Coming several months after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Japan’s capitulation in the Pacific brought six years of hostilities to a final and highly anticipated close.

15 th August 1969

  Woodstock :
                   Woodstock was a music festival held August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music" and alternatively referred to as the Woodstock Rock Festival, it attracted an audience of more than 400,000. Thirty-two acts performed outdoors despite sporadic rain.
The festival has become widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history as well as a defining event for the counterculture generation. The event's significance was reinforced by a 1970 documentary film, an accompanying soundtrack album, and a song written by Joni Mitchell that became a major hit for both Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Matthews Southern Comfort



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock

16 th August

 The Peterloo massacre :
                                   The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England on Monday 16 August 1819. On this day, cavalry charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation .


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterloo_Massacre

17 th August 1896


   Speeding ? :
                    The death of Bridget Driscoll  was the first recorded case of a pedestrian killed in a collision with a motor car in Great Britain. As 44-year-old Driscoll, with her teenage daughter May and her friend Elizabeth Murphy, crossed Dolphin Terrace in the grounds of the Crystal Palace in London, Driscoll was struck by a car belonging to the Anglo-French Motor Carriage Company that was being used to give demonstration rides.One witness described the car as travelling at "a reckless pace, in fact, like a fire engine".
Although the car's maximum speed was 8 miles per hour (13 km/h), it had been limited deliberately to 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h), the speed at which the driver, Arthur James Edsall of Upper Norwood, claimed to have been travelling.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Bridget_Driscoll

18 th August 1612

 The Pendle witches trial :
                                     The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history, and some of the best recorded of the 17th century. The twelve accused lived in the area surrounding Pendle Hill in Lancashire, and were charged with the murders of ten people by the use of witchcraft. All but two were tried at Lancaster Assizes on 18–19 August 1612, along with the Samlesbury witches and others, in a series of trials that have become known as the Lancashire witch trials


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendle_witches

19 th August

      The Hungerford massacres :
                                              The Hungerford massacre was a series of random shootings in Hungerford, England on 19 August 1987, when Michael Robert Ryan, an unemployed antiques dealer and handyman, shot dead 16 people, including an unarmed police officer and his own mother, before shooting himself. The shootings, committed using a handgun and two semi-automatic rifles, occurred at several locations, including a school he had once attended. Fifteen other people were also shot but survived. No firm motive for the killings has ever been established, although one psychologist has theorised Ryan's motive for the massacre had been a form of "anger and contempt for the ordinary life" around him, which he himself was not a tangible part of


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungerford_massacre

20 th August 1989



      The Marchioness on the Thames disaster :
                                                                  The Marchioness disaster was a collision between two vessels on the River Thames in London in the early hours of 20 August 1989, which resulted in the deaths of 51 people. The pleasure steamer Marchioness /ˌmɑːrʃəˈnɛs/ sank after being hit twice by the dredger Bowbelle at about 1:46 am, between Cannon Street railway bridge and Southwark Bridge.
Marchioness had been hired for the evening for a birthday party and had about 130 people on board, four of whom were crew and bar staff. Both vessels were heading downstream, against the tide, Bowbelle travelling faster than the smaller vessel. Although the exact paths taken by the ships, and the precise series of events and their locations, are unknown, the subsequent inquiry considered it likely that Bowbelle struck Marchioness from the rear, causing the latter to turn to port, where she was hit again, then pushed along, turning over and being pushed under Bowbelle's bow. It took thirty seconds for Marchioness to sink; 24 bodies were found within the ship when it was raised.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marchioness_disaster

21 st August 1911

   Art theft , The Mona Lisa :
                                        On August 21, 1911, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, today one of the most famous paintings in the world, was stolen right off the wall of the Louvre. It was such an inconceivable crime, that the Mona Lisa wasn't even noticed missing until the following day.
Who would steal such a famous painting? Why did they do it? Was the Mona Lisa lost forever?


https://www.thoughtco.com/mona-lisa-stolen-1779626

British airtours flight 28M :
                                        British Airtours Flight 28M was an international passenger flight which caught fire before takeoff at Manchester Airport,  on 22 August 1985 with the loss of 55 lives. It was en route to Corfu International Airport in Greece.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737–236 registered G-BGJL, previously named "Goldfinch", but at the time of the accident named "River Orrin", was flown by British Airtours, a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways. It had 131 passengers and six crew on the manifest. During the takeoff roll a loud thump was heard and takeoff aborted. An engine failure had generated a fire and the captain ordered evacuation.There were 82 survivors; most of the deaths were due to smoke inhalation


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airtours_Flight_28M

The Freckleton air disaster :
                                          The Freckleton air disaster occurred on 23 August 1944, when a Consolidated B-24 Liberator of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) crashed into the centre of the village of Freckleton, Lancashire, England. The aircraft crashed into the Holy Trinity Church of England School, demolishing three houses and the Sad Sack Snack Bar. The death toll was 61, including 38 children.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freckleton_air_disaster

24 th August 1981 :
                           On August 24, 1981, Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life for the murder of John Lennon, a founding member of The Beatles, one of the most successful bands in the history of popular music.
                               Chapman initially entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity; however, he later decided to drop the insanity defense and plead guilty to second-degree murder. At his sentencing hearing on August 24, 1981, Chapman read from The Catcher in the Rye. Chapman’s requests for parole have all been denied and he continues to serve time in prison in New York.



                       https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-lennons-killer-sentenced

25 th August 1875

   Captain Webb swims the channel :
                                                    Captain Matthew Webb  was the first recorded person to swim the English Channel for sport without the use of artificial aids. on 25 th August 1875, Webb swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours. This brought him great celebrity, and he performed many stunts in public. He died trying to swim the Whirlpool Rapids below Niagara Falls, a feat declared impossible.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Webb

26 th August 2015

  Journalists shot live on air :
                                          Two U.S. journalists are shot and killed by a disgruntled former coworker while conducting a live report in Moneta, Virginia.News reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward were employees of CBS affiliate WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia who were fatally shot on August 26, 2015, while conducting a live television interview near Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta. They were interviewing Vicki Gardner, executive director of the local chamber of commerce, when all three were attacked by a gunman. Parker, age 24, and Ward, age 27, died at the scene, while Gardner survived .


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Alison_Parker_and_Adam_Ward

27 th August 1979

  The troubles :
                     The Troubles: Eighteen British soldiers are killed in an ambush by the Provisional Irish Republican Army near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, in the deadliest attack on British forces during Operation Banner. An IRA bomb also kills British royal family member Lord Mountbatten and three others on his boat at Mullaghmore, Republic of Ireland.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrenpoint_ambush

28 th August 1988

          The Ramstein air show sisaster :
                Ramstein air show disaster: Three aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori demonstration team collide and the wreckage falls into the crowd. Seventy-five are killed and 346 seriously injured.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramstein_air_show_disaster

29 th August1966

           End of an era :
                                The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
Although they made an unannounced live appearance in January 1969 on the rooftop of the Apple building, The Beatles’ final live concert took place on 29 August 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.


https://www.beatlesbible.com/1966/08/29/candlestick-park-san-francisco-final-concert/

30 th August 1963

  The "hot line " :
                        The Moscow–Washington hotline is established (formally known in the United States as the Washington–Moscow Direct Communications Link was a system that allowed direct communication between the leaders of the United States and the USSR. This hotline was established in 1963 and links the Pentagon with the Kremlin . Although in popular culture it is known as the "red telephone", the hotline was never a telephone line, and no red phones were used. The first implementation used Teletype equipment, and shifted to fax machines in 1986.Since 2008, the Moscow–Washington hotline has been a secure computer link over which messages are exchanged by a secure form of email .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow%E2%80%93Washington_hotline