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AmericaOn This Day

Month

August

31 dates, 248 cited events. Every entry links to the day’s full story.

  1. 1Aug

    Guam is organized as an unincorporated territory of the United…

    8 moments from the American record, 1842 to 2023 · 5 births · 2 observances. The 214th day of the year.

    William Clark, b. 1770★ National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.

  2. 2Aug

    The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence by…

    8 moments from the American record, 1776 to 1991 · 5 births. The 215th day of the year.

    Pierre Charles L'Enfant, b. 1754

  3. 3Aug

    Santa Claus Land, the world's first themed amusement park, opens…

    8 moments from the American record, 1829 to 2005 · 5 births. The 216th day of the year.

    Hamilton Fish, b. 1808

  4. 4Aug

    U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United…

    8 moments from the American record, 1790 to 2007 · 5 births · 2 observances. The 217th day of the year.

    James Springer White, b. 1821★ Coast Guard Day

  5. 5Aug

    Watergate scandal

    8 moments from the American record, 1861 to 2015 · 5 births. The 218th day of the year.

    Thomas Lynch Jr., b. 1749

  6. 6Aug

    U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act…

    8 moments from the American record, 1777 to 2011 · 5 births. The 219th day of the year.

    Richard Bennett, b. 1609

  7. 7Aug

    The U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving…

    8 moments from the American record, 1782 to 1974 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 220th day of the year.

    James Bowdoin, b. 1726★ National Purple Heart Day

  8. 8Aug

    Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg

    8 moments from the American record, 1647 to 2022 · 5 births. The 221st day of the year.

    Esther Hobart Morris, b. 1814

  9. 9Aug

    As a direct result of the Watergate scandal

    8 moments from the American record, 1814 to 1974 · 5 births · 2 observances. The 222nd day of the year.

    Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, b. 1757★ International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

  10. 10Aug

    Japanese American internment

    8 moments from the American record, 1835 to 2020 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 223rd day of the year.

    John Kirk Townsend, b. 1809★ National Day

  11. 11Aug

    "We begin bombing in five minutes"

    8 moments from the American record, 1898 to 1992 · 5 births. The 224th day of the year.

    James B. Longacre, b. 1794

  12. 12Aug

    An official administrative history of the Manhattan Project

    8 moments from the American record, 1834 to 1994 · 5 births. The 225th day of the year.

    William P. Sanders, b. 1833

  13. 13Aug

    The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker-tape parade in New York…

    8 moments from the American record, 1779 to 2004 · 5 births. The 226th day of the year.

    Lucy Stone, b. 1818

  14. 14Aug

    After a secret meeting in Newfoundland

    8 moments from the American record, 1842 to 2023 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 227th day of the year.

    Charlotte Fowler Wells, b. 1814★ National Navajo Code Talkers Day is a holiday in the United States honoring Navajo code talkers in the military.

  15. 15Aug

    President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold…

    8 moments from the American record, 1812 to 2025 · 5 births · 2 observances. The 228th day of the year.

    John Grubb, b. 1652★ National Day

  16. 16Aug

    U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the…

    8 moments from the American record, 1777 to 1977 · 5 births · 2 observances. The 229th day of the year.

    John Chisum, b. 1824★ Bennington Battle Day

  17. 17Aug

    In Charleston, South Carolina, Union batteries and ships bombard…

    8 moments from the American record, 1862 to 1998 · 5 births. The 230th day of the year.

    Davy Crockett, b. 1786

  18. 18Aug

    The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York, United States,…

    8 moments from the American record, 1864 to 1965 · 5 births. The 231st day of the year.

    Meriwether Lewis, b. 1774

  19. 19Aug

    California Gold Rush

    8 moments from the American record, 1848 to 2010 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 232nd day of the year.

    Harriette Newell Woods Baker, b. 1815★ National Aviation Day

  20. 20Aug

    U.S. embassy bombings: The United States launches cruise missile…

    8 moments from the American record, 1794 to 2018 · 5 births. The 233rd day of the year.

    Oliver Hazard Perry, b. 1785

  21. 21Aug

    United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive…

    8 moments from the American record, 1778 to 2017 · 5 births. The 234th day of the year.

    John Owen, b. 1787

  22. 22Aug

    Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United…

    8 moments from the American record, 1777 to 2007 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 235th day of the year.

    James Kirke Paulding, b. 1778★ International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief

  23. 23Aug

    The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan

    8 moments from the American record, 1775 to 2023 · 5 births · 2 observances. The 236th day of the year.

    Abraham Yates Jr., b. 1724★ International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

  24. 24Aug

    War of 1812

    8 moments from the American record, 1781 to 1992 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 237th day of the year.

    James Calhoun, b. 1845★ National Waffle Day

  25. 25Aug

    War of 1812

    8 moments from the American record, 1814 to 2017 · 5 births. The 238th day of the year.

    John Leverett the Younger, b. 1662

  26. 26Aug

    After John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel in…

    8 moments from the American record, 1748 to 2015 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 239th day of the year.

    Lee de Forest, b. 1873★ Women's Equality Day

  27. 27Aug

    British forces under General William Howe flank and defeat the…

    8 moments from the American record, 1776 to 2011 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 240th day of the year.

    John Joachim Zubly, b. 1724★ Lyndon Baines Johnson Day

  28. 28Aug

    American civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the…

    8 moments from the American record, 1830 to 2009 · 5 births. The 241st day of the year.

    John Stark, b. 1728

  29. 29Aug

    Angered by high tax burdens and disfranchisement

    8 moments from the American record, 1778 to 2007 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 242nd day of the year.

    Charles Grandison Finney, b. 1792★ International Day against Nuclear Tests

  30. 30Aug

    Discovery, the third orbiter of NASA's Space Shuttle program,…

    8 moments from the American record, 1959 to 2021 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 243rd day of the year.

    Joseph Dennie, b. 1768★ International Day of the Disappeared

  31. 31Aug

    The Battle of Jonesborough, the culmination of the Atlanta…

    8 moments from the American record, 1814 to 2016 · 5 births · 1 observance. The 244th day of the year.

    Galusha A. Grow, b. 1823★ Departure Day, celebrates the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan