On This Day

August 1786 in History

Events in History

  • Aug 8 US Congress unanimously chooses the dollar as the monetary unit for the United States of America
  • Aug 8 Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard are 1st to climb to top of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe
  • Aug 11 Captain Francis Light establishes the British colony of Penang in Malaysia
  • Aug 29 Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising in Springfield and Worcester, Massachusetts, by citizens in opposition to the government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both individuals and their businesses

Birthdays in History

  • Aug 1 Louis C Luzac, Dutch minister of Internal Affairs, born in Leiden, Netherlands (d. 1861)

Davy Crockett

Aug 17 Davy Crockett, American frontiersman, adventurer and politician, born in Greene County, Tennessee (d. 1836)

Davy Crockett
Frontiersman/Soldier Davy Crockett
  • Aug 17 Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, mother of Queen Victoria, born in Coburg, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1861)
  • Aug 25 Ludwig I, King of Bavaria (1825-48), born in Strasbourg, France (d. 1868)

Deaths in History

  • Aug 15 Thomas Tyrwhitt, English classical scholar and critic, dies at 56

Frederick the Great

Aug 17 Frederick the Great, King of Prussia (1740-86), dies at 74

Frederick the Great
King of Prussia Frederick the Great


Historical Figures

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