Today August 7th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
322 BC – Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great.
1461 – the Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor.
1606 – The first documented performance of Macbeth performed at the Great Hall at Hampton Court.
1679 – The brigantine Le Griffon, commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the south-eastern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes of North America.
1714 – The Battle of Gangut: the first important victory of the Russian Navy.
1782 – George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle. It is later renamed to the more poetic Purple Heart.
1789 – The United States War Department is established.
1794 – The Whiskey Rebellion begins: farmers in the Monongahela Valley of Pennsylvania rebel against the federal tax on liquor and distilled drinks.
1819 – Simón Bolívar triumphs over Spain in the Battle of Boyacá.
1879 – The opening of the Poor Man s Palace in Manchester.
1927 – The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.
1933 – The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Sumail. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.
1940 – Alsace Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich (Germany) during World War II
1942 – World War II: the Battle of Guadalcanal begins – United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.
1944 – IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).
1945 – President Harry Truman announces the bombing of Hiroshima with an atomic bomb while returning from the Potsdam Conference aboard the heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31) in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
1947 – Thor Heyerdahl s balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7000-km (4375-mile) journey across the Pacific Ocean proving that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.
1947 – The Bombay Municipal Corporation formally takes over the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).
1955 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, begins selling its first transistor radios in Japan.
1959 – The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny goes into circulation. It replaces the sheaves of wheat design and is still in use.
1959 – Explorer program: Explorer 6 launched from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1960 – Côte d Ivoire becomes independent.
1964 – Vietnam War: the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving US President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces.
1965 – The infamous first party between Ken Kesey s Merry Pranksters and motorcycle gang the Hell s Angels takes place at Kesey s estate in La Honda, California introducing psychedelics to the gang world and forever linking the hippie movement to the Hell s Angels.
1966 – Race riots occur in Lansing, Michigan.
1967 – Vietnam War: the People s Republic of China agrees to give North Vietnam an undisclosed amount of aid in the form of a grant.
1970 – California judge Harold Haley is taken hostage in his courtroom and killed during in an effort to free George Jackson from police custody.
1973 – NBC airs the final day of the Watergate hearings on U.S. daytime television.
1974 – Philippe Petit performed a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center 1,368 ft (417.0 m) in the air.
1976 – Viking program: Viking 2 enters into orbit around Mars.
1978 – United States President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal.
1981 – The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.
1985 – Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan s first astronauts.
1988 – Rioting in New York City s Tompkins Square Park.
1989 – U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia.
2007 – Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks baseball great Hank Aaron s record by hitting his 756th home run.
2008 – Georgia launches a military offensive to surround and capture the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, from Russian control, starting the South Ossetia War.
Births
317 – Constantius II, Roman emperor (d. 361)
1282 – Princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (d. 1316)
1533 – Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga, Basque soldier and poet (d. 1595)
1560 – Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian countess and serial killer (d. 1614)
1574 – Robert Dudley, styled Earl of Warwick, English writer (d. 1649)
1598 – Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish poet (d. 1672)
1726 – James Bowdoin, American Revolutionary leader and politician (d. 1790)
1742 – Nathanael Greene, American Revolutionary general (d. 1786)
1751 – Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange (d. 1820)
1779 – Louis de Freycinet, French explorer (d. 1842)
1779 – Carl Ritter, German geographer (d. 1859)
1783 – Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom (d. 1810)
1844 – Auguste Michel-Lévy, French geologist (d. 1911)
1860 – Alan Leo, British astrologer (d. 1917)
1862 – Victoria of Baden, Queen of Sweden (d. 1931)
1867 – Emil Nolde, German painter (d. 1956)
1868 – Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, Russian mathematician (d. 1931)
1876 – Mata Hari, Dutch spy (d. 1917)
1877 – Ulrich Salchow, Swedish figure skater (d. 1949)
1879 – Johannes Kotze, South African cricketer (d. 1931)
1885 – Billie Burke, American actress (d. 1970)
1901 – Ann Harding, American actress (d. 1981)
1903 – Louis Leakey, British archaeologist (d. 1972)
1904 – Ralph Bunche, American diplomat, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1971)
1907 – Albert Kotin, American abstract painter (d. 1980)
1911 – Nicholas Ray, American director and scenarist (d. 1979)
1918 – Gordon Zahn, American sociologist and pacifist (d. 2007)
1913 – George Van Eps, American guitarist (d. 1998)
1921 – Manitas de Plata, Gypsy guitarist
1925 – M. S. Swaminathan, Indian scientist
1925 – Felice Bryant, American country songwriter and singer (d. 2003)
1926 – Stan Freberg, American voice comedian
1927 – Edwin W. Edwards, American politician
1927 – Art Houtteman, American baseball player (d. 2003)
1927 – Carl Switzer, American child actor (d. 1959)
1928 – Romeo Muller, American screenwriter (d. 1992)
1928 – James Randi, Canadian magician
1929 – Don Larsen, American baseball player
1931 – Charles E. Rice, American legal scholar and author
1932 – Abebe Bikila, Ethiopian athlete (d. 1973)
1932 – Maurice Rabb, Jr., American ophthalmologist
1932 – Edward Hardwicke, British actor
1933 – Eddie Firmani, South African football player and coach
1936 – Rahsaan Roland Kirk, American saxophonist (d. 1977)
1937 – Don Wilson, England cricketer
1939 – Anjanette Comer, American actress
1940 – Jean-Luc Dehaene, Belgian politician
1942 – Tobin Bell, American actor
1942 – Garrison Keillor, American writer and radio host
1942 – Carlos Monzón, Argentine boxer
1942 – B.J. Thomas, American singer
1942 – Caetano Veloso, Brazilian musician
1943 – Dino Valente, American musician (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (d. 1994)
1943 – Alain Corneau, French film director
1944 – Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
1944 – David Rasche, American actor
1945 – Alan Page, American football player
1946 – Ed Seykota, American commodities and futures trader
1947 – Franciscus Henri, Dutch-born Australian entertainer
1948 – Greg Chappell, Australian cricketer and coach
1948 – Marty Appel, American public relations executive and author
1949 – Walid Jumblatt, Lebanese political leader
1950 – Alan Keyes, American diplomat and political activist
1952 – Alexei Sayle, British comedian
1953 – Anne Fadiman, American writer; daughter of Clifton Fadiman
1954 – Jonathan Pollard, Israeli spy
1955 – Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer
1955 – Greg Nickels, American politician
1955 – Wayne Knight, American actor
1955 – Gregoris Valtinos, Greek actor and director
1957 – Alexander Dityatin, Soviet gymnast
1958 – Bruce Dickinson, English singer (Iron Maiden)
1958 – Alberto Salazar, American distance runner
1959 – Ali Shah, Zimbabwean cricketer
1960 – David Duchovny, American actor
1960 – Jacquie O Sullivan, British singer (Bananarama)
1961 – Yelena Davydova, Soviet gymnast
1962 – Bruno Pelletier, Québécois singer
1963 – Harold Perrineau Jr., American actor
1964 – Michael Weishan, American TV host
1964 – John Birmingham, Australian author
1966 – Kristin Hersh, American singer and guitarist (Throwing Muses)
1966 – Jimmy Wales, American internet entrepreneur
1967 – Jason Grimsley, American baseball player
1968 – Lynn Strait, American singer (Snot)
1971 – Sydney Penny, American actress
1971 – Rachel York, American actress and singer
1971 – Dominic Cork, England cricketer
1972 – Greg Serano, American actor
1973 – Danny Graves, American baseball player
1973 – Kevin Muscat, Australian footballer
1975 – Edgar Rentería, Colombian baseball player
1975 – David Hicks, Australian alleged terrorist
1975 – Charlize Theron, South African actress
1975 – Gaahl (Kristian Eivind Espedal), Norwegian musician
1975 – Koray Candemir, Turkish singer
1976 – Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos, Greek footballer
1976 – Shane Lechler, American football player
1977 – Samantha Ronson, British DJ.
1978 – Jamey Jasta, American singer (Hatebreed)
1978 – Alexandre Aja, French director
1978 – Vanness Wu, Taiwanese singer
1978 – Cirroc Lofton, American actor
1978 – Shirley Yeung, Hong Kong actress
1979 – Eric Johnson, American actor
1980 – Aurélie Claudel, French model
1980 – Anomie Belle (Toby Campbell), American musician
1982 – Yana Klochkova, Ukrainian swimmer
1982 – Vasileios Spanoulis, Greek basketball player
1983 – Tina O Brien, British actress
1983 – Christian Chavez, Mexican singer and actor (RBD)
1987 – Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player
1988 – Melody Oliveria, American internet blogger
1996 – Tessa Allen, American actress
Deaths
461 – Majorian, Roman Emperor (assassinated) (b. 420)
479 – Emperor Yuryaku of Japan
1106 – Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1050)
1485 – Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, Scottish prince
1613 – Thomas Fleming, English judge (b. 1544)
1616 – Vincenzo Scamozzi, Italian architect (b. 1548)
1635 – Friedrich von Spee, German writer (b. 1591)
1639 – Martin van den Hove, Dutch scientist (b. 1605)
1661 – Jin Shengtan, Chinese editor, writer and critic (b. 1608)
1817 – Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, French industrialist (b. 1739)
1834 – Joseph Marie Jacquard, French weaver and inventor (b. 1752)
1848 – Jöns Jakob Berzelius, Swedish chemist (b. 1779)
1855 – Mariano Arista, President of Mexico (b. 1802)
1864 – Li Xiucheng, late Taiping‘s Field Marshal and soul person.(b. 1823)
1893 – Alfredo Catalani, Italian musician (b. 1854)
1912 – François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (b. 1841)
1917 – Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning, first pilot to land his aircraft on a moving ship. (b. 1891)
1938 – Constantin Stanislavski, Russian/Soviet theatre practitioner (b. 1863)
1941 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1861)
1953 – Abner Powell, American baseball player (b. 1860)
1957 – Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (b. 1892)
1969 – Joseph Kosma, French composer (Autumn Leaves) (b. 1905)
1970 – Jonathan Jackson, Brother of George Jackson, Black Panther (b. 1953)
1972 – Joi Lansing, American model and actress (b. 1929)
1973 – Jack Gregory, Former Australian cricketer (b. 1895)
1974 – Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet (b. 1925)
1974 – Sylvio Mantha, professional ice hockey player (b. 1902)
1984 – Esther Phillips, American singer (b. 1935)
1985 – Grayson Hall, American actress (b. 1923)
1987 – Camille Chamoun, Lebanese President (b. 1900)
1989 – Mickey Leland, American politician, United States Congressman from Texas (b. 1944)
1992 – John Anderson, American actor (b. 1922)
1994 – Larry Martyn, comedy actor (b. 1934)
1995 – Brigid Brophy, British author (b. 1929)
1999 – Brion James, American actor (b. 1945)
2003 – Mickey McDermott, baseball player (b. 1929)
2004 – Red Adair, American oil field firefighter (b. 1915)
2004 – Colin Bibby, English ornithologist (b. 1948)
2005 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-born news anchor (b. 1938)
2006 – Mary Anderson Bain, American New Deal politician (b. 1911)
2007 – Hal Fishman, Los Angeles based local news anchor. (b. 1931)
2007 – Ernesto Alonso, Mexican actor, director and producer. (b. 1917)
2007 – Angus Tait, New Zealand electronics innovator and businessman (b. 1919)
2008 – Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent/manager and producer (b. 1931)
2008 – Andrea Pininfarina, CEO of Pininfarina S.p.A. (b. 1957)
Holidays and observances
BC Day – Province of Canada.
Civic Holiday – Canada.
Emancipation Day – Turks and Caicos Islands.
National Holiday in Colombia: Battle of Boyaca, birth of Bogotá.
