Alfred Hitchcock (British/American filmaker who pioneered many techniques in the suspense thriller genres) is born (1899) - Aug. 13
Annie Oakley (American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter) is born (1860) - Aug. 13
Aradia di Toscano (daughter of the goddess Diana) founds the tradition of Stregheria (1326) - Aug. 13
Bambi (5th full-length animated feature film by Disney Studios) is released by RKO Radio Pictures in U.S. theaters (1942) - Aug. 13
Battle of Blenheim (Bavaria) major battle and victory during the Spanish War of Succession for the Duke of Marlborough (1704) - Aug. 13
Central African Republic declares its independence from France (1960) - Aug. 13
Florence Nightingale (English pioneer nurse also known as "The Lady with the Lamp") dies peacefully in her sleep at age 90 (1910) - 8/13
H.G. Wells (English science fiction novelist) dies from unspecified causes in his London home at age 79 (1946) - Aug. 13
Hurricane Charley (category 4) strikes the Florida coast causing over $13 billion in damages (2004) - Aug. 13
Julia Child (famous American cook, author and TV personality) dies of kidney failure in her home just 2 days shy of her 92nd birthday (2004) - 8/13
Marc Dutroux (Belgian criminal) is arrested for kidnapping, torturing and sexually abusing six girls (1996) - 8/13
Michael Servetus (Aragonese theologian and physician) is arrested as a heretic by John Calvin (1553) - Aug. 13
Mickey Mantle (American baseball player) dies from liver cancer that had spread despite a transplant given earlier that year (1995) - Aug. 13
Opha Mae Johnson becomes the first of 305 women to enlist in the Marine Corps (1918) - Aug. 13
Otto Witte (a circus acrobat who bore an uncanny resemblance to Halim Eddine) claims to have been crowned King of Albania (1913) - Aug. 13
Rene Laennec (French physician and inventor of the stethoscope) dies from tuberculosis at age 45 (1826) - Aug. 13
STS-28 (NASA's 4th shuttle mission dedicated to the US Dept of Defense and 1st flight of Columbia since 1986) lands at Edwards AFB (1989) - Aug. 13
Tenochtitlan (Mexico City under the Aztecs) surrenders to Hernan Cortes after a lengthy siege during which most of the city was destroyed (1521) - Aug. 13
Left-handers Day - 8/13
Michael Phelps (American Olympic Athlete) wins the most Olympic medals won by an individual when he takes the gold in Beijing's 200m Butterfly race (2008) - Aug. 13
August 14, 2017
2003 North American Blackout (massive widespread power outage affected an estimated 50 million people-2003) - Aug. 14
The Atlantic Charter (document establishing a vision for post-WW II) is issued as a joint declaration between the US and the UK (1941) - Aug. 14
Meteorite fall reported in Cape Giradeau, MO (1846) - Aug. 14
Cologne Cathedral (German cathedral that commenced building in 1248) is completed 632 years after construction began (1880) - Aug. 14
Danielle Steel (American Romantic novelist) is born (1947) - Aug. 14
Enzo Ferrari (Italian car driver and manufacturer) died (1988) - Aug. 14
J.B. Priestley (English writer and broadcaster) dies (1984) - Aug. 14
Interflug (East Germany) IL 62 crashes after an in-flight fire weakened its fuselage killing all 156 aboard (1972) - Aug. 14
Louis X of France marries Clemence d'Anjou only nine days after the suspicious death of his first wife (1315) - Aug. 14
Pakistan (originally a part of British India) declares its independence from the UK (1947) - Aug. 14
Princesses Elisabeth and Henriette were born at Versailles (daughters of Louis XV and his wife Maria Leszczynska-1727) - Aug. 14
Rainey Bethea is the last person to be publicly executed in the United States (1936) - Aug. 14
Tillamook Burn (careless logging started a wildfire in Gales Creek Canyon, OR that destroyed 240 thousand acres-1933) - Aug. 14
US Social Security act passes creating a government pension system for the retired (1934) - Aug. 14
Gustave Whitehead (German immigrant to the US and an aviation pioneer) reportedly made the first powered flight (1901) - Aug. 14
Sarah Childress Polk (wife and First Lady to US President James Polk) dies (1891) - 8/14
Hubbard Glacier (Between Alaska and Canada) experiences a GLOF (glacial lake outburst flood) when the dammed waters of the Russell Fjord overwhelm the glacier (2002) - Aug. 14
Financial Awareness Day
Krishna Janmashtami (Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna) observed on the Ashtami tithi-the waning moon (2017) - Aug. 15
August 15, 2017
Peru earthquake (magnitude 8.0) kills 337 and injures hundreds more (2007) - 8/15
The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic observance of Mary's body and soul were transported into heaven united) - Aug. 15
Conrad Schumann escapes from East Germany into West Berlin by jumping over the Berlin wall (a barbed wire fence at the time-1961) - Aug. 15
Dormition of the Theotokos (Orthodox observance of the Assumption of Mary) - Aug. 15
India declares independence from British Colonial Rule (1947) - Aug. 15
Napoleon Bonaparte (French emperor) is born (1769) - Aug. 15
Philippa of Hainault (Queen consort of Edward III of England) dies (1369) - Aug. 15
Princess Anne, (Princess Royal of Britain daughter of Queen Elizabeth II) is born (1950) - Aug. 15
Republic of Korea (South Korea) is established (1945) - Aug. 15
Rudolph Valentino collapsed and was hospitalized at the Polyclinic in New York where he underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer (1926) - 8/15
San Sebastian Church (first and only all-steel church in Asia) is officially inaugurated and blessed in Manila, Philippines (1891) - Aug. 15
Frank Lloyd Wright's manservant, Julian Carlton, set fire to the architect's home Taliesin in Wisconsin then murdered the 7 people there (1915) - Aug. 15
Tivoli Gardens (one of the oldest pleasure gardens still in existence) opens in Copenhagen Denmark (1843) - Aug. 15
Yuk Young-soo (wife of South Korean president Park Chung-hee) is shot and killed during an assassination attempt against her husband (1974) - Aug. 15
Will Rogers and Wiley Post die in an airplane crash in an Alaskan lagoon when attempting to takeoff from the lagoon (1935) - Aug. 15
August 16, 2017
Arica Peru is devastated by a tsunami following a magnitude 8.5 earthquake in the Peru-Chile trench off the coast (1868) - Aug. 16
Babe Ruth (American baseball player) dies at age 53 from pneumonia as a complication to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (1948) - Aug. 16
Bela Lugosi (Hungarian-born actor best known for his portrayal of Dracula) dies (1956) - Aug. 16
Cyprus gains its independence from the UK (1960) - Aug. 16
Elvis Presley (American singer, musician and actor) known as "The King of Rock 'n Roll" died (1977) - Aug. 16
Georgette Heyer (English historical romance and detective fiction novelist) is born (1902) - Aug. 16
James Cameron (Academy Award-winning Canadian-American director, producer and screenwriter) is born (1954) - Aug. 16
Bill Janklow (Republican Representative for South Dakota) sped through a stop sign and struck a motorcyclist killing him instantly (2003) - Aug. 16
Joseph Kittinger sets the records for the highest parachute jump and the longest and fastest parachute freefall (1960) - Aug. 16
Madonna (American pop singer-songwriter) is born in Bay City, MI (1958) - Aug. 16
Margaret Mitchell (American author known for "Gone With the Wind") dies at age 48 5 days after being struck by a speeding automobile in Atlanta, GA (1949) - Aug. 16
NWA Flight 255 crashes shortly after takeoff from Detroit airport due to flaps not positioned properly 157 aboard, 156 died (1987) - Aug. 16
Peterloo massacre (aka Waterloo Massacre occurred in St Peter's Field Manchester England) 15 people killed with 400-700 injured (1819) - Aug. 16
T.E. Lawrence (British soldier known as Lawrence of Arabia) is born (1888) - Aug. 16
West Caribbean Airways flight 708 crashes in northwest Venezuela killing all 160 aboard (2005) - Aug. 16
Roller Coaster Day - 8/16
Boscastle Flood occurs in Cornwall England when 3in of rain fell creating a deluge that left people stranded on their roof tops and in their cars (2004) - Aug. 16
Lynmouth Flood occurs in Devon England killing 34 people and leaving hundreds homeless due to 22.9cm of rain falling in 24 hours (1952) - Aug. 16
August 17, 2017
Animal Farm (a novella by George Orwell) is first published (1945) - 8/17
Azaria Chamberlain (10 weeks old) disappears during a camping trip in Uluru Australia and her parents report she'd been taken by a dingo (1980) - Aug. 17
World's first CDs (manufactured by Philips in Hanover Germany) are released to the public (1982) - Aug. 17
Davy Crockett (American Folk Hero) is born (1786) - Aug. 17
Double Eagle II becomes the 1st balloon to cross the Atlantic landing in Miserey near Paris 137 hours and 6 mins after leaving Maine (1978) - Aug. 17
Hurricane Camille (category 5) makes landfall with 190 mph winds killing 259 people and causing $1.42 billion in damages (1969) - 8/17
Indonesia (Formerly Dutch East Indies) declares its independence from the Netherlands (1945) - Aug. 17
Ira Gershwin (American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother George) dies in Beverly Hills, CA at age 86 (1983) - Aug. 17
Leo Frank (convicted of raping and murdering a young girl) is lynched by a mob discontent with his commuted sentence of life (1915) - Aug. 17
Montana 7.3 magnitude earthquake causes an 80 million ton landslide into the Madison River killing 28 and creating an artifical lake (1959) - Aug. 17
Rudolf Hess (Adolf Hitler's Deputy) is found dead in Spandau Prison (West Berlin) at age 93 with an electrical cord wrapped around his neck (1987) - Aug. 17
Pike's Place Market (Seattle Washington) opens making it the oldest continually-operated public farmer's market in the USA (1907) - Aug. 17
Princess Victoria (Duchess of Kent and mother to Queen Victoria of the UK) is born (1786) - Aug. 17
Robert Fulton's steamboat "Clermont" leaves New York City for Albany, NY on the Hudson River (1808) - 8/17
Vivian Vance (American actress best known for her role of Ethyl Mertz in "I Love Lucy") dies from bone cancer in Belvedere, CA at age 70 (1979) - 8/17
August 18, 2017
Dennis Rader (American Serial killer who murdered 10 people in KS) is sentenced to 10 life-sentences for the BTK murders (2005) - 8/18
Francis I (Holy Roman Emperor) died suddenly in his carriage while returning from the opera (1765) - Aug. 18
Franz Joseph I of Austria (Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia) is born (1830) - Aug. 18
Genghis Khan (Ruler of the Mogol Empire) dies (1227) - Aug. 18
Jimi Hendrix (American guitarist, singer and songwriter) plays during the last unofficial day of Woodstock (1969) - Aug. 18
Homeless Animal Day - Aug. 18
Honore de Balzac (French novelist and playwright) died, only five months after his 1st marriage (1850) - 8/18
Hurricane Alicia (Category 3) hits the Texas coast killing 22 people and causing over $1 billion in damage (1983) - Aug. 18
James Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi (1963) - Aug. 18
John White (English Artist and Governor Roanoke, VA) returns to America from England to find his colony had mysteriously disappeared (1590) - Aug. 18
Lolita (controversial novel by Vladimir Nabokov) is first published in the USA (1958) - Aug. 18
Luis Carlos Galan (Colombian journalist and liberal politician) is assassinated by a Colombian Drug Cartel (1989) - Aug. 18
Marguerite de Valois marries Henry IV of Navarre in Paris (1572) - Aug. 18
Thessaloniki Greece, a kitchen spark results in a fire that burned down 9,500 houses and left 70,000 people homeless (1917) - Aug. 18
Thousand Islands Bridge (international bridge over the Saint Lawrence river) is dedicated by FDR (1938) - Aug. 18
Urbain Grandier (French Catholic Priest) was tortured, then burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft (1634) - Aug. 18
Virginia Dare becomes the first child born in America to English parents (1587) - 8/18
William Cavendish (1st Duke of Devonshire) dies at age 67 (1707) - 8/18
August 19, 2017
Afghanistan gains full independence from the UK (1919) - Aug. 19
Sputnik 5 is launched with 2 dogs (Strelka and Belka) and 40 mice, 2 rats and variety of plants (1960) - Aug. 19
William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton (42nd President of the United States) is born (1946) - Aug. 19
Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie, the son of James VIII of Scotland) marched on London to reclaim the throne (1745) - Aug. 19
Federico Garcia Lorca (Spanish poet and dramatist) is executed by Nationalist partisans (1936) - Aug. 19
Hungerford massacre in Hungerford England where Michael Ryan killed 17 people before finally killing himself (1987) - Aug. 19
Groucho Marx (Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx, American comedian and film star) dies from pneumonia in Los Angeles, CA at age 86 (1977) - Aug. 19
Hurricane Bob strikes New England as a category 2 hurricane killing 20 people and causing $1.5 billion in damages (1991) - 8/19
Hurricane Diane causes severe flooding in Northeastern USA and is responsible for 200 deaths (1955) - Aug. 19
Madame du Barry (a French courtesan who became the official Mistress of Louis XV of France) is born (1743) - Aug. 19
Mi-26 Russian Helicopter is shot down by a Chechen separatist killing 127 of the 152 aboard (2002) - Aug. 19
National Aviation Day - Aug. 19
Saudia Flight 163 (Despite a safe landing in Riyadh, a 5 min delay in evacuation causes all 301 aboard to die from a cargo fire-1980) - 8/19
Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Russia is founded in Saint Petersburg (1768) - Aug. 19
Toronto Supercell is a series of strong storms that lashed Southern Ontario with tornadoes and flash flooding (2005) - Aug. 19
Baghdad Bombings involve three coordinated car bomb attacks and a number of mortar strikes in the Iraqi capital that kill 11 and wound 565 (2009) - Aug. 19
Tony Scott (British film director and producer) commits suicide by jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles, CA at age 68 (2012) - Aug. 19
August 20, 2017
Benjamin Harrison (23rd President of the United States) is born (1833) - Aug. 20
China Airlines Flight 120 landed safely when fumes emerged from engine number 2 and the captain ordered an emergency evacuation (2007) - Aug. 20
Howard Phillips (H.P.) Lovecraft (American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction) is born (1890) - Aug. 20
Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" debuts in Moscow (1882) - Aug. 20
Leon Trotsky (Russian revolutionary and Marxist theorist) is assassinated in his Mexico City home by Ramon Mercader, a Catalan Communist (1940) - Aug. 20
Marchioness (Thames Riverboat cruise boat) collides with a dredger named Bowbelle 30 die in the accident (1989) - Aug. 20
Patrick Henry Sherrill (disgruntled US Post Office Worker) opens fire at the Edmond, OK Post Office killing 14 before he shot himself (1986) - Aug. 20
Spanair Flight 5022 crashes just after takeoff from Barajas Airport in Madrid with only 15 of the 168 aboard surviving (2008) - Aug. 20
Yellowston National Park Fires began as smaller individual fires, combined until 36% of the park was affected (1988) - Aug. 20
Most photos and captions are courtesy of Wikipedia
