On This Day in History for August 14
Events in History
- 554 Ravenna becomes seat of Byzantine military governor in Italy
- 1040 King Duncan I of Scotland killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth (not murdered in his sleep as in Shakespeare's play). The latter does succeed him as King.
- 1183 Taira no Munemori and Taira clan take young Emperor Antoku and 3 sacred treasures and flee to western Japan to escape Minamoto clan (Traditional Japanese date: 25th Day of the 7th Month of the 2nd Year of Juei).
- 1281 During Kublai Khan's second Mongol invasion of Japan his invading Chinese fleet of 3,500 vessels disappears in a typhoon near Japan
- 1385 Portuguese defeat Castilians at Aljubarrota, retain independence
- 1395 Utrecht bishop Frederik of Blankenheim occupies Coevorden
- 1457 Oldest known exactly dated printed book (c 3 years after Gutenberg)
- 1498 Christopher Columbus landed at the mouth of the Orinoco River in what is now Venezuela
- More Events in History
Johan Willem Friso
Pius VII
Hans Christian Ørsted
Doc Holliday
Danielle Steel
Gary LarsonWeddings in History
- 1756 Frontiersman Daniel Boone (21) weds Rebecca Bryan (17) in Yadkin River, North Carolina
- 1952 UK Prime Minister Anthony Eden (55) weds UK prime minister's niece Clarissa Spencer-Churchill (32) in a civil ceremony at Caxton Hall, London
- 1956 Writer Iris Murdoch (37) marries academic John Bayley (31)
More Weddings & Divorces in History
John I of Portugal
David Farragut
Charles Crocker
William Randolph Hearst
Hugo Eckener
John SiricaAugust in History
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
Victory over Japan
Kissing the War Goodbye on VJ Day
August 14, 1945
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