Today in History
Significant Events
- 1737 First public admittance to the Salon de Paris art exhibition at the Louvre in Paris
- 1838 United States Exploring Expedition headed by Charles Wilkes departs for the Pacific Ocean and Antarctica
- 1914 US President Woodrow Wilson issues "Proclamation of Neutrality"
- 1919 Anti-Cigarette League of America forms in Chicago, Illinois
- 1920 22 year old representative Harry T. Burn is deciding vote in Tennessee's and thus America's ratification of the 19th Amendment to the constitution allowing women's suffrage after letter from his mother
- 1940 Battle of Britain - 'The hardest day" Luftwaffe lose 69 aircraft, the RAF 68 in largest ever air battle
Today in Music
- 1960 The Beatles give their 1st public performance at the Kaiserkeller in Hamburg
Did You Know?
French Astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium in solar spectrum during eclipse
On this day in 1868
Antonio Salieri
Meriwether Lewis
Roberto Clemente
Orville Wright
Manuel L. Quezon
Bill ClintonWould You Believe?
60-70ft sea serpent sightings reported offshore in Gloucester, Massachusetts
On this day in 1817
Famous Weddings
- 1572 Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV of France) marries his cousin Margaret of Valois in Paris
- 1782 Romantic Age poet and artist William Blake (24) marries Catherine Boucher, 5 years his junior, in St. Mary's Church, Battersea, London.
- 1918 Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (45) weds socialite Dorothy Benjamin (25)
- 1932 Actress Bette Davis (24) weds musician Harmon Nelson (25)
- 1979 Nick Lowe marries singer Carlene Carter
Famous Divorces
- 1954 Oscar-winning actress Susan Hayward (37) divorces actor Jess Barker (42) after nine years of marriage
Genghis Khan
Walter Chrysler
Frederick Ashton
Augustus Caesar
Blaise Pascal
Groucho MarxThis Month in History
Ship Of Gold Sails Into Oblivion
A frigate with more than 150 souls on board, as well as nearly three tons of gold, sailed out of Melbourne on this day – never to be seen again.
August 12, 1853
America's Last Public Hanging
The last man to be publicly hanged in the United States met his fate on this day in history. It was a squalid affair watched by about 10,000 people.
August 14, 1936
First Faltering Steps of Jane Eyre
With hope, pride – and some subterfuge – Charlotte Brontë sent her hefty manuscript of Jane Eyre to publishers in London on this day, then crossed her fingers.
August 15, 1847
A Kiss For Adolf Hitler
A woman spectator leaned over and kissed Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympic Games on this day. Hitler pretended to be amused, but his guards were to suffer.
August 15, 1936
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