On This Day in History
Events in History
- 49 BC Julius Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River by the Numidians under Publius Attius Varus and King Juba of Numidia. Curio commits suicide to avoid capture.
- 79 Mt Vesuvius erupts, buries Roman Pompeii and Herculaneum, 15,000 die
- 410 Rome overrun by Visigoths under Alaric I for the first time in nearly 800 years, seen as the fall of the Western Roman Empire
- 1215 Pope Innocent III declares the Magna Carta invalid
- 1217 Battle of South Foreland: English fleet beats France
- 1349 6,000 Jews, blamed for the Plague, are killed in Mainz
- 1349 Jews of Cologne Germany set themselves on fire to avoid baptism
- 1391 Jews of Palma, Mallorca, massacred
William Wilberforce
Carlo Gambino
Yasser Arafat
Ivan the Terrible
Võ Nguyên Giáp
George WallaceWeddings in History
- 1561 Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxon
- 1899 Businessman James Cash Penney (24) weds Bertha Alva Hess
Divorces in History
- 1976 Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor (59) divorces her sixth husband, toy inventor Jack Ryan (49) after 1 year of marriage
Getulio Vargas
Henry J. Kaiser
Bayard Rustin
William Herschel
Truman Capote
Neil ArmstrongHistory Articles in August
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
The 17 Year-Old Witness to the Eruption of Vesuvius
17 year-old Pliny the Younger's account of the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii made the event famous long after Pompeii was buried and forgotten.
August 24, 79 AD
How 200 Conquistadors Conquered an Empire of 10 Million
How did a mere 200 Spanish conquistadors capture the Incan Emperor-god Atahualpa, execute him and conquer an entire empire?
August 29, 1533
How Paula Yates Discovered Her Real Father
Controversial television presenter Paula Yates married pop star Bob Geldof on this day. Fate decided she would not remain happy ever after
August 31, 1986