Category: American History
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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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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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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,…
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History Daily: August 13
“HOUND DOG” IS RECORDED FOR THE FIRST TIME BY BIG MAMA THORNTON. AUGUST 13, 1952 Image: Big Mama Thornton (Wikimedia Commons) Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” (1956) is one of Rock and Roll’s most identifiable songs. It’s a song so closely associated with Presley that many have incorrectly accepted that Presley recorded it first. The story…
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250 rounds of Ammunition Were Fired into Several Buildings in Brownsville, Texas. The 25th Infantry, an African American Regiment, were blamed and Over 150 Members Were Dishonorably Discharged. August 13, 1906.
On this day in history, at night, some 250 rounds of ammunition were fired into several buildings in Brownsville, Texas. One man was killed, and two others were wounded. The townspeople’s suspicions immediately fell upon the members of the 25th Infantry, an African American regiment. The soldiers had arrived in Brownsville sixteen days before the…
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History Daily: August 11
CONFEDERATE GENERAL JUBAL EARLY ABANDONS WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA On August 11, 1864, Confederate General Jubal Early leaves Winchester, Virginia, as Union General Philip Sheridan nears the city. Wary of his new enemy, Early exited the area to avoid an immediate conflict. (Image: General Jubal A. Early. The Virginia Historical Society) Since June, Early and his 14,000 soldiers had been in…
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The Allies Declined Japan’s Offer to Surrender Based on the Condition That Emperor Hirohito Retains His Status. August 11, 1945.
(Image: Emperor Hirohito. Wikimedia Commons.) On this day in history, the Allies declined Japan’s offer to surrender based on the condition that Emperor Hirohito retains his status. The Japanese War Council had been split over the surrender terms; half the members wanted assurances that the emperor would maintain his hereditary and traditional role in a…
History Daily With Francis Chappell Black 