On This Day

August 1786 in History

Events in History

  • Aug 2 Utrechtse Vroedschap flees
  • 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 Shay's Rebellion in Springfield, Massachusetts

Birthdays in History

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

Person of interestDavy Crockett

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

Frontiersman/Soldier 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

Person of interestFrederick the Great

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

King of Prussia Frederick the Great
King of Prussia
Frederick the Great