Historical Events on August 1
Events 1 - 200 of 290
30 BC Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic
Emperor Justinian I
527 Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire after the death of his uncle Justin I
- 607 Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607)
- 860 Peace of Koblenz: Charles the Bald, Louis the German & Lotharius II
- 902 Aghlabid emir Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya destroys Taormina, Sicily
- 1021 Synod of Pavia: Emperor Henry II convicts married priest
1086 Results of the Domesday inquiry presented to William the Conqueror in Salisbury (the date of compilation and the Great Domesday are historically contestable)
- 1096 The People's Crusade led by Peter the Hermit arrives at Constantinople with 30,000 followers
- 1177 Peace Treaty of Venice: Emperor Frederik I and Pope Alexander III
- 1203 Alexius IV Angelus appointed co-regent of Byzantium
- 1291 Everlasting League forms, basis of Swiss Confederation (Independence)
Carlisle Castle Siege Fails
1315 Robert the Bruce's siege of Carlisle Castle ends in failure in Cumbria, England, during First War of Scottish Independence
Columbus Lands in South America
1498 Christopher Columbus lands in South America for the first time, near the mouth of the Orinoco river, in modern-day Venezuela
Henry III Assassinated
1589 Assassination of French King Henry III by friar Jacques Clément
- 1626 Dutch Count Ernest Casimir I, Duke of Nassau-Dietz conquers Oldenzaal
Ferdinand II Demands Conversion
1628 Emperor Ferdinand II demands Austria Protestants convert to Catholicism
- 1639 French Ursuline nun Marie de l’Incarnation arrives in Quebec on board the Saint-Joseph - goes on to open first school for girls and play a large part in establishing Catholicism in New France [1]
- 1664 Battle of St. Gotthard, West Hungary: Imperial Army led by Count Raimondo Montecuccoli defeats Ottoman forces under Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha
Battle at Staffarda
1690 Battle at Staffarda: French army led by Nicolas Catinat defeats the Duchy of Savoy led by Victor Amadeus II (Nine Years' War)
- 1701 Huron chief Kondiaronk urges First Nations people to sign a peace settlement with France, dies the next day - results in The Great Peace of Montreal
King George I
1714 Monarch Georg Ludwig becomes King George I of England
- 1715 First Doggett's Coat and Badge race (Waterman's race) held on Thames River (London Bridge to Chelsea)
- 1717 Nicholas Rowe is appointed British Poet Laureate by George I
- 1720 South Sea bubble reaches a frenzy in London as the stock price of the South Sea Company peaks at £1,000, collapses soon after and falls to £124 by December
- 1732 Foundations laid for Bank of England
- 1759 Battle of Minden, Westphalia: Anglo-German army under Prussian Field Marshal Ferdinand of Brunswick defeats a French army led by Marshal of France Marquis de Contades
- 1770 Battle of Kagul: smaller Russian army defeats larger Ottoman and Cossack force in Moldavia, the major land battle of the Russo-Turkish War and one of the largest battles of the 18th century
- 1780 Sweden declares neutrality
1781 British army under General Cornwallis occupies Yorktown, Virginia
- 1785 Caroline Herschel becomes 1st woman to discover a comet
La Pérouse Expedition Departs
1785 French naval scientific expedition ordered by Louis XVI, led by La Pérouse with 220 men departs Brest (lost in the Pacific 1788) [1]
- 1789 US Customs begins enforcing the Tariff Act
- 1793 France becomes the first country to use the metric system
- 1794 Whiskey Rebellion begins in western Pennsylvania
Battle of the Nile
1798 Battle of the Nile: British Royal Navy under Admiral Horatio Nelson attacks and decimates the French fleet at Aboukir Bay off the Nile Delta, Egypt
- 1812 Rare tornado hits Westchester County, NY
- 1814 Dutch King William I accepts blame for Southern defeat
- 1820 London's Regent's Canal opens
- 1828 England's Bolton and Leigh Railway opens to freight traffic
- 1831 London Bridge across the Thames opens to traffic
1834 Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into effect, abolishes slavery throughout the British Empire
Darwin Returns to Bahia
1836 As part of their homeward journey on the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin returns to Bahia in Brazil
- 1838 Apprenticeship system abolished in most of the British Empire. Former slaves no longer indentured to former owners.
- 1842 Lombard Street Riot erupts in Philadelphia [1] [2]
- 1842 Rotherhithe Tunnel under the Thames opens
- 1852 San Francisco Methodists establish 1st black church, Zion Methodist
- 1855 Castle Garden in NYC (now known as Castle Clinton) opens as 1st US receiving station for immigrants [1]
- 1861 Brazil recognizes the Confederate States of America
- 1863 Battle of Little Rock, Arkansas; start of Chattanooga campaign
- 1863 Cavalry action near Brandy Station marks the end of the Gettysburg Campaign
- 1867 Blacks vote for 1st time in a US state election in the South (Tennessee)
- 1870 Irish Land Act gives rights to tenants of landlords in Ireland
- 1876 Colorado becomes 38th state of the Union
- 1881 US Quarantine Station authorized for Angel Island, San Francisco Bay
- 1883 A papyrus offered to British Museum for £10,000 (forgery)
- 1883 Amsterdam's Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky gets electric lights
- 1883 Inland postal service begins in Great Britain
- 1886 Great Britain annexes Kermadec Island, near New Zealand
- 1888 The roof of Seville's cathedral collapses after an earthquake
- 1890 Cecil Rhodes' colonists reach Lundi
First Michelin Guide
1900 The 1st Michelin Guide is published by the brothers Édouard and André Michelin as a hotel and restaurant reference guide to encourage more road travel and thus boost tire sales (exact date beyond Aug 1900 unknown)
- 1901 Burials within San Francisco City limits prohibited
- 1902 Building begins on Dutch public housing
- 1902 Mine accident in Wollongong, Australia kills 100
- 1906 Brooklyn Superbas MLB pitcher Harry McIntire no-hits Pittsburgh for 10 2/3 innings but loses in 13th, 1-0 on an unearned run
- 1907 First Scout camp opens on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset
- 1907 U.S. Army Signal Corps establish a small Aeronautical Division
1st American Woman to get a Pilot's License
1911 Harriet Quimby passes her pilot's test and becomes the 1st US woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator's certificate
Omar Bradley Enters West Point
1911 Omar Bradley, aged 18, begins education in West Point Military Academy
- 1911 Transportation workers begin a major strike in England; part of a wave of industrial unrest
- 1914 British Grand Fleet reaches Scapa Flow
Germany Declares War on Russia
1914 Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany declares war on his nephew Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in WWI
- 1914 France and Germany mobilize their troops at outbreak of WWI
Universal Negro Improvement Assoc.
1914 Marcus Garvey and others found the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Jamaica with aim of creating black-governed nation in Africa
- 1914 Trois Vierges: German 69th infantry regiment enters Luxembourg on outbreak of WWI
- 1916 Hawaii National Park forms
- 1917 Frank Little, American Industrial Workers of the World labor union organizer, tortured and lynched by unknown assailants in Butte, Montana
- 1918 British troops enter Vladivostok
- 1918 Pittsburgh and Boston Braves play a MLB record 20 scoreless innings before Pirates win, 2-0 in 21
- 1922 Dutch editor and politician Hendrikus Colijn becomes political editor-in-chief of The Standard
- 1922 In Italy, the socialist 'Alianza del Lavoro' declare a national strike which collapses immediately and fascist forces destroy union and socialist headquarters
- 1924 MLB Brooklyn Robins pitcher Dazzy Vance strikes out a MLB record 7 consecutive batters, and 14 overall in 4-0 win over visiting Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field
- 1925 Shortwave-radio link between Kootwijk and Netherland East-Indies
- 1926 Battles between Druze & French in Damascus
- 1926 Failed assassination on General Primo de Rivera in Barcelona
- 1927 Earliest date for a film to be considered for an Academy Award
Carter Family First Records
1927 Influential country music group the Carter Family make their first recording with producer Ralph Peer in Bristol, Tennessee
- 1928 Americans sweep medals at a rainy Olympic pole vault final in Amsterdam with Sabin Carr gold, from William Droegemuller and Charles McGinnis
Babe Ruth Hits HR #42
1928 Babe Ruth hits home run #42 in the Yankees 12-1 win v St. Louis Browns, takes him 4 weeks ahead of his 1927 pace
Dutch Arrest Sukarno
1933 Dutch colonial regime in Batavia arrests Sukarno
National Recovery Administration Founded
1933 National Recovery Administration (NRA) is founded with Hugh S. Johnson as its first director
Scoreless Innings Record Set
1933 NY's future Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell sets MLB record for consecutive scoreless innings at 45 1/3 as Giants lose 3-1 v Boston Braves
- 1934 US Amateur Golf Championship format is changed to a 6-day event with no 36-hole stroke-play qualifying, and 36-hole matches for semi-finals and final
- 1936 Benjamin Mays named president of Morehouse College
XI Summer Olympic Games
1936 XI Summer Olympic Games are opened by Adolph Hitler in Berlin
- 1941 Luftwaffe bombs German 23rd Division
- 1941 NY Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez sets MLB record for most walks in a shutout, issuing 11 in 9-0 win v St. Louis Browns
- 1941 The first Jeep is produced
- 1942 American Federation of Musicians labor union begins a strike over royalty payment disagreements, refusing to perform on commercial recordings. ban lasts over two years
- 1942 Nazi German occupiers demand listing of all Dutch telephone subscribers
- 1942 Race riots in Harlem, New York City
- 1943 British Sunderland seaplanes sink German submarines U-454 and U-383
- 1943 Japan declares Burma Independence under U Ba Maw
- 1943 Race riot in Harlem, New York City
Anne Frank's Last Diary Entry
1944 Anne Frank's last diary entry; she is arrested three days later
- 1944 General Montgomery takes command of the 12th and 21st Armies
- 1944 Polish resistance fighters of the Home Army launch the Warsaw Uprising, the largest military effort undertaken by a resistance movement in occupied Europe
- 1944 US 90th Division occupies Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët in Normandy
- 1944 US troops enter Tessy-sur-Vire in Normandy
- 1945 Japanese city Toyama is destroyed by B-29s
Ott Hits 500th HR
1945 NY Giants outfielder Mel Ott hits historic 500th MLB home run off Braves Johnny Hutchings, joins Babe Ruth & Jimmy Foxx as only players to reach milestone
Atomic Energy Commission Established
1946 US President Harry Truman establishes Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
- 1948 US Air Force Office of Special Investigations is founded
- 1950 American Bowling Congress ends all-white-males rule
- 1950 Guam Organic Act establishes Guam as an unincorporated US territory
- 1950 King Leopold of Belgium abdicates, Baudouin becomes King
- 1953 Boston Red Sox pitcher Ben Flowers sets then MLB record of 8 consecutive games in relief
- 1953 California introduces sales tax (for education)
- 1953 KMBC TV channel 9 in Kansas City, Missouri (MET/ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1953 KOBI TV channel 5 in Medford, Oregon (NBC) begins broadcasting
- 1953 Northern Rhodesia becomes part of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
- 1954 South African Natives Resettlement Act comes into being, empowers the Government to remove Africans from any area within and next to the magisterial district of Johannesburg
- 1954 WKBT TV channel 8 in La Crosse, WI (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1955 First microgravity research begins
- 1955 Tengku Abdul Rahman forms Malacca government
- 1955 WILL TV channel 12 in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1956 KRCR TV channel 7 in Redding-Chico, California (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1957 1st commercial building heated by Sun (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
- 1957 Ex MLB outfielder Glen Gorbous throws a regulation baseball a record 136m (445' 10") in a game promotion
Baseball Record
1957 Gil Hodges hits his 13th MLB career grand slam, a NL record and the last ever by a Brooklyn Dodgers player
- 1957 US and Canada create North American Air Defense Command (NORAD)
- 1958 Nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus begins the first transit of the North Pole in Operation Sunshine
- 1958 US 1st class postage up to 4 cents (had been 3 cents for 26 years)
Catholic Encyclical
1959 Pope John XXIII publishes the encyclical "Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia"
- 1959 WAAY TV channel 31 in Huntsville, AL (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
- 1960 Benin (formerly Dahomey) gains independence from France
- 1960 Islamabad is declared the capital of Pakistan
Cricket History
1961 Australian cricket captain Richie Benaud takes 6 for 70 in England's 2nd innings for a 54 run 4th Test win at Old Trafford
- 1961 German DR limits traffic to West Berlin
- 1961 New San Francisco Hall of Justice opens
- 1961 Whitney Young Jr named executive director of National Urban League
- 1962 Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Monbouquette no-hits Chicago White Sox, 1-0 at White Sox Park
Attempt on Kwame Nkrumah
1962 Failed assassination of President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana
- 1963 Beatles Book is sold out on its 1st day of sale
- 1963 West Germany annexes Elten village
- 1963 WQAD TV channel 8 in Moline, Illinois (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1964 ALM (Antillian Airlines) begins operation
- 1964 Beatles' single "A Hard Day's Night" goes #1 & stays #1 for 2 weeks
- 1964 Dan 'Big Daddy' Garlits becomes first drag racer to run the 1/4 mile at over 200mph (201.34mph at Island Dragway, New Jersey)
1965 Scottish Lotus driver Jim Clark wins the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring to clinch his second F1 World Drivers Championship
- 1966 Charles Whitman wounds 31 and kills 16 at University of Texas
Yakubu Gowon
1966 Yakubu Gowon becomes Nigerian Head of State after a military coup d'état
- 1967 Izaak Samkalden becomes mayor of Amsterdam
- 1967 WBRA TV channel 15 in Roanoke, VA (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1968 Canada begins replacing silver with nickel in its coins
- 1968 Cleveland Metroparks begins operating Zoo (Cleveland, Ohio)
- 1968 Coronation of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei
- 1968 WXIX TV channel 19 in Cincinnati-Newport, OH (IND) begins broadcasting
Atlantic City Pop Festival
1969 3-day Atlantic City Pop Festival opens at the Atlantic City Race Course in Hamilton Township, New Jersey; performers include: Procol Harum; Joni Mitchell; Chicago; Santana; Little Richard; Booker T and the MG's; Sir Douglas Quintet; Janis Joplin; Jefferson Airplane, B.B. King; The Byrds; Creedence Clearwater Revival; Tim Buckley; Hugh Masekela; Dr. John; and The Mothers of Invention; attendance estimated at 110,000
- 1969 36th Chicago Charities College All-Star Game: NY Jets 26, All-Stars 24 (74,208)
- 1969 Mariner 6 sends close-up photos of Mars
- 1970 EAA Convention moves from Rockford, IL to Oshkosh, WI
Baseball Record
1970 Future Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Stargell smacks 3 doubles and 2 homers in a 20-10 Pirates win v Braves at Atlanta Stadium
- 1970 KTSD TV channel 10 in Pierre, SD (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1971 CBS presents the first episode of BBC production "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", continuing weekly until September 5th
Richard Petty's Record Earnings
1971 Richard Petty wins the Dixie 500 in Atlanta, Georgia to become the first NASCAR driver to win $1m in career earnings
1st Watergate Article
1972 1st article exposing Watergate scandal by Bernstein and Woodward in "The Washington Post"
- 1972 Nate Colbert hits MLB record tying 5 HRs and record 13 RBI as Padres beat Atlanta 9-0, 11-7 in a doubleheader
- 1973 Johan Witteveen appointed as the 5th managing director of the International Monetary Fund
- 1973 MLB All Star catchers Thurman Munson of the NY Yankees and Boston Red Sox' Carlton Fisk brawl at home plate Fenway Park; Red Sox win, 3-2
NBA Trade
1973 Struggling ABA club Virginia Squires trades star forward Julius Erving to New York Nets for George Carter and cash
- 1974 China's People's Liberation Army Navy, put into service ChangZheng 1, their first nuclear-powered submarine
- 1975 35 countries (33 European nations, Canada, and the U.S.) sign the"Helsinki Final Act" agreement concerning boundary integrity; human rights; and economic co-operation
- 1975 41st Chicago Charities College All-Star Game: Pittsburgh 21, All-Stars 14 (54,103)
- 1975 CSCE Final Act creates the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe
- 1976 Flash flood in Big Thompson Canyon, Colorado on Route 34 kills 139
Lauda Crashes
1976 Reigning world F1 champion Niki Lauda of Austria suffers a near fatal crash during the German Grand Prix at The Nürburgring motorsports complex, Nürburg, Germany
- 1976 Seattle Seahawks take the field for the first time in pre-season game v SF 49ers at the newly constructed Kingdome in Seattle
- 1976 XXI Summer Olympic Games close at the Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Canada
Francis Gary Powers Crashes
1977 Former CIA Lockheed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers crashes the news helicopter he was flying in Los Angeles killing himself and a cameraman
Baseball Record
1977 San Francisco Giants 1st baseman Willie McCovey hits NL record 18th MLB career grand slam
Baseball Record
1978 Atlanta Braves trounce Cincinnati Reds, 16-4 and halt Pete Rose's NL record hitting streak at 44 games
- 1978 Gunman occupying the Iraqi Embassy in Paris surrenders and releases the 8 hostages. As the gunman is led away, Iraqi guards open fire, wounding him and killing a policeman. Police return fire, killing one Iraqi and wounding three others.
- 1979 Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo forms government in Portugal
- 1980 Buttevant Rail Disaster kills 18 and injures dozens of train passengers in County Cork, Ireland
- 1980 East German runner Waldemar Cierpinski wins his second consecutive Olympic Games marathon in 12:11:03 in Moscow
- 1980 Gerd Wessig of East Germany becomes the first male to set a high jump world record at the Olympics (2.36m [7' 9"] Moscow)
Endless Love
1981 "Endless Love" single released by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (Billboard Song of the Year 1981, Billboard Greatest Song Duet of All-Time)
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