Month: August 2023
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African American mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson criticizes his hypocritical stance on slavery. August 19, 1791.
Image: Benjamin Banneker On this day in history, the accomplished American mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter to then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson communicates prolifically with luminaries from around the world. Still, Banneker is unique among them: the son of a free Black American woman and a formerly enslaved African man from…
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History Daily: August 18
ROANOKE COLONY ABANDONED Image: 19th-century illustration depicting the discovery of the abandoned colony, 1590. (Wikimedia Commons.) On August 18, 1590, John White, the governor of the Roanoke Island colony in present-day North Carolina, returns from a trip to England to find the settlement abandoned. White found no evidence of the whereabouts of the 100 colonists…
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The Air Battle Dubbed “The Hardest Day” Occurred During the Battle of Britain Between the German Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force. August 18, 1940.
Image: A Dornier DO 17Z of 9 Staffel (Squadron), Kampfgeschwader 76 (Bomber Wing 76). The bomber was shot down by Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft of No. 111 Squadron RAF. It crash landed near RAF Biggin Hill, 18 August 1940. (Wikimedia Commons.) On August 18, 1940, the air battle dubbed “The Hardest Day” occurred during World War II during the Battle of Britain between the German…
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Angels of the Battlefields: Photos of Nurses During American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States fought between northern and Pacific states (“the Union” or “the North”) and southern states that voted to secede and form the Confederate States of America (“the Confederacy” or “the South”). The central cause of the war was the status of slavery, especially the…
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History Daily: August 17
BILLY THE KID KILLS HIS FIRST MAN Image: Billy the Kid 1880. (Wikimedia Commons.) Despite being a teenager at the time, on August 17, 1877, Billy the Kid shoots and injures an Arizona blacksmith who dies the next day. He was the infamous outlaw’s first casualty. Just how many men the Kid killed is unknown.…
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American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is put on trial in Moscow for espionage against the Soviet Union after his U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over USSR. August 17, 1960.
On this day in history, American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is put on trial in Moscow for espionage against the Soviet Union after his ultra-sophisticated Lockheed U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over Sverdlovsk in the Ural Mountains on May 1, 1960. Powers pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 10…
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History Daily: August 16
BABE RUTH DIES Image: Ruth at Yankee Stadium prior to the Yankees’ retirement of his jersey number. (Wikimedia Commons.) On August 16, 1948, baseball icon George Herman “Babe” Ruth died from cancer in New York City. Following his death, his body lay in state at Yankee Stadium, and thousands of people paid their last respects. He was…
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The Klondike Gold Rush. August 16, 1896.
Image: Klondikers carrying supplies ascending the Chilkoot Pass, 1898. (Wikimedia Commons) On this day in history, American prospector George Carmack, along with Skookum Jim Mason and Dawson Charlie – both Tagish First Nation members – discovered Yukon gold on Rabbit Creek (later renamed Bonanza Creek), a Klondike River branch that ran through both Alaskan and…
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History Daily: August 15
EMPEROR HIROHITO ANNOUNCES JAPAN”S SURRENDER TO THE JAPANESE PEOPLE Image: General Douglas MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito (Wikimedia Commons) Emperor Hirohito announced the news of Japan’s surrender to the Japanese people on August 15, 1945. Although Tokyo had already agreed to the Allies’ surrender terms at the Potsdam Conference several days earlier, and a Japanese news…
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Famed Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Mistress, her two children, and a Group of Workmen Were Killed After an Employee Set his Home on Fire. August 15, 1914.
On this day in history, famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright was away attending to the construction of Midway Gardens in Chicago when he received a terrible message: “Taliesin destroyed by fire,” it read, and that was all. For the time being, at least, Wright knew little: Their servant, Julian Carlton, had attacked Mamah, Wright’s mistress,…
History Daily With Francis Chappell Black 