This Week in History

HISTORY, 31 Jul 2017

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

Jul 31-Aug 6, 2017

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward

 

JULY 31

2014  Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270.

2012   Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.

2007  Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.

2006  Fidel Castro hands over power to brother Raúl Castro.

Raúl Castro:

Fidel Castro:

Timelines of Fidel Castro:

Cuba or the “Republic of Cuba” (Repúlica de Cuba):

Foreign Relations of Cuba:

Cuba and USSR/Russia:

Cuba and the United States:

History and Culture of Cuba:

Economy of Cuba:

1999  Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector – NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the moon’s surface.

1992  Georgia joins the United Nations.

Georgia:

Foreign Relations of Georgia:

Georgia and the United Nations:

Democracy and Georgia:

History of Georgia:

Economy of Georgia:

1991  The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries’ stockpiles.

1988  32 people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.

1972  The Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-takes the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It is the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy.

Operation Motorman:

The Troubles in 1972:

Irish Republican Army (IRA)/Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA):

History of the IRA:

Sinn Féin, IRA and the Catholic Church:

From Irish Civil War to the Irish War of Independence:

Irish War of Independence:

History of Ireland:

1964  Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.

1954  First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio.

K2:

1948  USS Nevada is sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships.

1945  Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.

1941  The Holocaust: under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to “submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question.”

Holocaust: The Final Solution:

1938  Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.

Persepolis:

1938  Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact (aka Salonika Agreement or Thessaloniki Accord) with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia).

1932  The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections.

Nazi Party:

1931  New York, New York experimental television station W2XAB (now known as WCBS) begins broadcasts.

1919  German national assembly adopts the Weimar Constitution, which comes into force on August 14.

1913  The Balkan States sign an armistice in Bucharest.

1904  Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeat units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation.

Battle of Hsimucheng:

Russo-Japanese War:

1741  Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia.

 

 

AUGUST 01

2008  Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.

K2 Mountain Accident of 2008:

List of Mountain Climbing Accidents in the World:

2001  Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has a Ten Commandments monument installed in the judiciary building, leading to a lawsuit to have it removed and his own removal from office.

1984  Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, northwest England

1980  Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.

1975  CSCE Final Act creates the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

CSCE Final Act:

History of OSCE: from CSCE to OSCE:

OSCE:

1974  Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the “Green Line“, dividing Cyprus into two zones.

UNFICYP:

Turkish Invasion and Occupation of Cyprus on “20 July 1974”:

Greek Coup on “15 July 1974”:

Cyprus:

History of Cyprus:

Modern History of Greece:

1968  The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.

Brunei:

History of Brunei:

Economy of Brunei:

1966  Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

Cultural Revolution:

Timelines of the Cultural Revolution:

1964  The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Foreign Relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

History (1): Congo Free State (1885-1908):

History (2): Belgian Congo (1908-1960/1964):

History (3) Congo Crisis of 1960:

History (4): Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964- ):

1961  US Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation’s first centralized military espionage organization.

Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA):

History of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA):

Intelligence Service Agencies:

1960  Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.

Islamabad:

History of Islamabad:

Pakistan:

History of Pakistan:

Economy of Pakistan:

1960  Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.

Benin:

History of Benin:

Economy of Benin:

1958  US atomic sub USS Nautilus 1st begins transit of North Pole “Operation Sunshine”.

USS Nautilus:

1957  The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

NORAD:

1946  Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.

1944  World War II: the Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.

Warsaw Uprising:

Invasion of Poland in September 1939:

Holocaust and the Invasion of Poland in 1939:

1937  Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution “Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH” to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.

Josip Broz Tito:

KPH:

History of Yugoslavia:

1927  The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.

1914  The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.

1911  Harriet Quimby she took her pilot’s test and became the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator’s certificate.

1907  The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.

1894  The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.

First Sino-Japanese War:

Second Sino-Japanese War:

1855  The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.

1842  The Lombard Street Riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

1840  Laborer slaves in most of the British Empire are emancipated.

1838  Non-laborer slaves in most of the British Empire are emancipated.

1834  Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force.

Abolition of Slavery in the British Empire:

 

 

AUGUST 02

2014  At least 146 people were killed and more than 114 injured in an explosion at a factory near Shanghai.

2005   Air France Flight 358, lands at Toronto Pearson International Airport, and runs off the runway causing the plane to burst into flames leaving 12 injuries and no fatalities.

1999  The Gaisal train disaster claims 285 lives in Assam, India.

1998  The Second Congo War begins.

Congo’s Wars:

Second Congo War:

First Congo War (1996-1997):

Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Foreign Relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

History (1): Congo Free State (1885-1908):

History (2): Belgian Congo (1908-1960/1964):

History (3) Congo Crisis of 1960:

History (4): Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964- ):

1990  Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to the (First) Gulf War.

Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait:

UN Resolution 670 (1990):

Gulf War a.k.a. the First Persian Gulf War:

Iraq’s Scud Missile Attack on Israel:

Environmental and Health Issues of the Gulf War:

1991 Gulf War and Its Timeline:

1989  Pakistan is re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations after having restored democracy for the first time since 1972.

Pakistan:

History of Pakistan:

Economy of Pakistan:

Foreign Relations of Pakistan:

Common Wealth of Nations:

Pakistan and Common Wealth of Nations:

Relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh:

Relations between Pakistan-United States:

1987  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR’s Nuclear Tests at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Nuclear Tests and Environmental Issues in Kazakhstan:

1984  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

United States Nuclear Tests (Overview):

Nuclear Test at the Nevada Test Site:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1980  Bologna massacre: a terrorist bombing of the Central Station at Bologna, Italy, kills 85 people and wounds more than 200.

Bologna Massacre of 1980:

1964  Vietnam War: Gulf of Tonkin incident – North Vietnamese gunboats allegedly fire on the U.S. destroyer USS Maddox.

Vietnam War in 1964:

Gulf of Tonkin Incident:

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:

Viet Nam War and Some Pertinent Events:

1955  USSR performs nuclear test (dry surface) at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1955:

Soviet Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Test Site and Its Environmental Issues:

1947  A British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian airliner crashes into a mountain during a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile. The wreckage would not be found for over 50 years.

1945  World War II: End of the Potsdam Conference.

Potsdam Conference:

Potsdam Declaration:

1944  World War II: The largest trade convoy of the world wars arrives safely in the Western Approaches.

1944  ASNOM: birth of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, celebrated as Day of the Republic in the Republic of Macedonia.

1943  World War II: the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 is rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri and sinks. Lt. John F. Kennedy, future U.S. President, saves all but two of his crew.

1943  Rebellion in the Nazi death camp of Treblinka.

Rebellion at the Treblinka Extermination Camp:

Treblinka Extermination Camp:

1939  Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon.

Einstein/Szilard Letter to FDR and the Manhattan Project:

1937  The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in America, the effect of which is to render marijuana and all its by-products illegal.

1934  Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg.

1932  The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson.

1922  A typhoon hits Shantou, Republic of China killing more than 50,000 people.

1918  Japan announces that it is deploying troops to Siberia in the aftermath of World War I.

Japan’s Intervention of Siberia:

Foreign Relations of the Empire of Japan:

1916  World War I: Austrian sabotage causes the sinking of the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci in Taranto.

1903  Fall of the Ottoman Empire: an unsuccessful uprising led by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization against Ottoman Turkey, also known as the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising, takes place.

Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprsing:

Ottoman Empire and Its Decline and Fall (Overview):

History of the Ottoman Empire:

1897  Anglo-Afghan War: The Siege of Malakand ends when a relief column is able to reach the British garrison in the Malakand states adjacent to India’s North West Frontier Province.

Siege of the British Garrison in Malakand:

Anglo-Afghan Wars:

History of Afghanistan

Independence of Afghanistan:

1873  The Clay Street Hill Railroad begins operating the first cable car in San Francisco‘s famous cable car system.

1870  Tower Subway, the world’s first underground tube railway, opens in London, England, United Kingdom.

1869  Japan‘s samurai, farmer, artisan, merchant class system (Shinōkōshō) is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. (Traditional Japanese date: June 25, 1869).

1830  Charles X of France abdicates the throne in favor of his grandson Henri.

1798  French Revolutionary Wars: the Battle of the Nile concludes in a British victory.

1776  The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence took place.

 

 

AUGUST 03

2014   A 6.1 magnitude earthquake kills at least 617 people and injures more than 2,400 in Yunnan, China.

2014  The Islamic State [aka ISIS or ISIL]* captures the Iraqi town of Sinjar, home to the country’s Yazidi religious minority population; residents fled in advance of the extremists, who have demanded that non-Muslim residents convert to Islam or face death.

Sinjar Massacre and Relevant Issues:

Yezidism:

President Obama, and Use of the Military Force against ISIS/ISIL:

ISIS and the United States:

Training, Support and Funding:

ISIS and Israel:

Supply of Weapons to ISIS:

How ISIS Uses Oil to Finance Its Terror Operations

Buyers of ISIS Oil:

2010  Widespread rioting erupts in Karachi, Pakistan, after the assassination of a local politician, leaving at least 85 dead and at least 17 billion Pakistani rupees (US$200 million) in damage.

2007  Former Deputy Director of the Chilean secret police Raúl Iturriaga is captured after having been on the run following a conviction for kidnapping.

2005  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad becomes President of Iran.

2005  President of Mauritania Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya is overthrown in a military coup while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia.

2004  The pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reopens after being closed since the September 11 attacks.

1997  Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre in Algeria; a total of 116 villagers killed, 40 in Oued El-Had and 76 in Mezouara.

1981  Senegalese opposition parties, under the leadership of Mamadou Dia, launch the Antiimperialist Action Front – Suxxali Reew Mi.

1981  Senegalese opposition parties, under the leadership of Mamadou Dia, launch the Antiimperialist Action Front – Suxxali Reew Mi.

1977  Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world’s first mass-produced personal computers.

1977  The United States Senate begins its hearing on Project MKUltra.

Project MKUltra:

CIA and Mind Control:

Case Study (1): Nixon’s War on Drugs of 1971, Racism, and Militarism:

Case Study (2): Reagan’s War on Drugs of 1982:

US History of Wars on Drugs:

1972  The United States Senate ratifies the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty):

US Withdrawal from the ABM Treaty in June 2002:

1961  The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded by the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and the Canadian Labour Congress.

1960  Niger gains independence from France.

Niger:

Foreign Relations of Niger:

Niger and the United Nations:

History of Niger:

Economy of Niger:

1959  Portugal’s state police force PIDE fires upon striking workers in Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, killing over 50 people.

1958  The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus travels beneath the Arctic ice cap.

USS Nuautilus:

1948  Whittaker Chambers accuses Alger Hiss of being a communist and a spy for the Soviet Union.

1944  Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp gases 4,000 gypsies.

Roma People (a.k.a. Gypsies) at Auschwitiz-Birkenau :

1940  World War II: Italian forces begin the invasion of British Somaliland.

1936  A fire wipes out Kursha-2 in the Meshchera Lowlands, Ryazan Oblast, Russia, killing 1,200 and leaving only 20 survivors.

1929  Jiddu Krishnamurti, tagged as the messianic “World Teacher“, shocks the Theosophy movement by dissolving the Order of the Star, the organization built to support him.

Jiddh Krisnamurti:

1914  World War I: Germany declares war against France.

1913  A major labor dispute, known as the Wheatland Hop Riot, starts in Wheatland, California.

1903  Macedonian rebels in Kruševo proclaim the Kruševo Republic, which exists only for 10 days before Ottoman Turks lay waste to the town.

1860  The Second Maori War begins in New Zealand.

Second Maori War:

First Maori War:

New Zealand Wars:

Maori People:

Genocide of the Maori People (a.k.a. Maori Holocaust):

Case Study (1) Australia:

Indigenous Australians:

Stolen Generations:

Case Study (2) United States:

History of Native People of America:

Wars of Native People of North America:

1811  First ascent of Jungfrau, third highest summit in the Bernese Alps by brothers Johann Rudolf and Hieronymus Meyer.

1795  Treaty of Greenville is signed.

1645  Thirty Years’ War: the Second Battle of Nördlingen sees French forces defeating those of the Holy Roman Empire.

1601  Long War: Austria captures Transylvania in the Battle of Goroszló.

Battle of Goroszló:

Long War:

History of Transylvania:

 

 

AUGUST 04

2007  NASA‘s Phoenix spacecraft is launched.

Phoenix (NASA):

2006  A massacre is carried out by Sri Lankan government forces, killing 17 employees of the French INGO Action Against Hunger (known internationally as Action Contre la Faim, or ACF).

2006 Massacre of Aid Workers by Sri Lankan Army:

2002  Soham murders: Ten-year-old school girls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells go missing from the town of Soham, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.

1995  Operation Storm [= Operacija Oluja] begins in Croatia.

Operation Storm (Oljuja):

Krajina, Republic of Serbian Krajina, Croatian Serbs/Krajina Serbs:

Operation Storm: To Regain the Croatian ethnic Serb Controlled Territories of the Krajina Region in Croatia, Or To Implement the Ethnic Cleansing of the Croatian ethnic Serbs in the Krajina Region, Or Both? :

Third Parties’ Involvement in the Operation Storm:

Mandate and Functions of UNCRO (Unitd Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia):

The Case on the Operation Storm at the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia):

International Court of Justice – Case of the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (Croatia vs. Serbia):

1987  The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to present controversial issues “fairly”.

1984  The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso:

Foreign Relations of Burkina Faso:

History of Burkina Faso:

Economy of Burkina Faso:

1979  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1979:

USSR’s Nuclear Tests at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Nuclear Tests and Environmental Issues in Kazakhstan:

1977  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

United States Nuclear Tests (Overview):

Nuclear Test at the Nevada Test Site:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1977  US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.

Department of Energy of the United States:

History of the Department of Energy:

1969  Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuan Thuy begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail.

Henry Kissinger:

Xuan Thuy:

Vietnam War in 1969:

Ending the US Involvement in the Vietnam War:

Viet Nam War and Pertinent Events:

Vietnam War Peace Talks/Negotiations:

For Vietnam War:

Anti-Viet Nam War Movement or Opposition to United States Involvement in the Vietnam War:

1967  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

United States Nuclear Tests Overview:

Nuclear Test at the Nevada Test Site:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1967  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

USSR’s Nuclear Tests at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Environmental Issues in Kazakhstan:

1965  The Constitution of Cook Islands comes into force, giving the Cook Islands self-governing status within New Zealand.

1964  Gulf of Tonkin incident: U.S. destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident:

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:

1964  American civil rights movement: Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21.

Murder of Three Civil Rights Workers in Mississippi of1964:

History of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States – Overview:

Civil Rights Movements of Various Ethnic Minorities in the United States:

1947  The Supreme Court of Japan is established.

1946  An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. One hundred are killed and 20,000 are left homeless. An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. One hundred are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.

1944  The Holocaust: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse, where they find and arrest Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and four others.

Gestapo:

The Diary of a Young Girl:

Anne Frank:

Final Days of Anne Frank:

Anne and Margot Frank and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp:

The Holocaust and the Auschwitz:

Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp:

1936  Prime Minister of Greece Ioannis Metaxas suspends parliament and the Constitution and establishes the 4th of August Regime.

4th of August Regime:

Modern History of Greece:

1924  Diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Soviet Union are established.

1915  World War I: The German 12th Army occupies Warsaw during the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive and the Great Retreat of 1915.

1914  World War I: Germany invades Belgium. In response, Belgium and the United Kingdom declare war on Germany. The United States declares its neutrality.

1889  The Great Fire of Spokane, Washington destroys some 32 blocks of the city, prompting a mass rebuilding project.

1873  American Indian Wars: While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer clashes for the first time with the Cheyenne and Lakota people near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed.

Lakota People:

Native People of America (a.k.a. American Indians):

History of Native People of America:

Wars of Native People of North America:

1854  The Hinomaru is established as the official flag to be flown from Japanese ships.

Hinomaru:

1821  Atkinson & Alexander publish The Saturday Evening Post for the first time as a weekly newspaper.

1796  French Revolutionary Wars: Napoleon leads the French Army of Italy to victory in the Battle of Lonato.

1791  The Treaty of Sistova is signed, ending the Ottoman–Habsburg wars.

 

 

AUGUST 05

2015   The Environmental Protection Agency at Gold King Mine waste water spill releases 3 million gallons of heavy metal toxin tailings and waste water into the Animas River in Colorado.

2012  The Oak Creek shooting took place at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people; the perpetrator was shot dead by police.

2010  Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan.

1995  Yugoslav Wars: The city of Knin, Croatia, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated in Croatia as Victory Day.

Knin:

1989  General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista National Liberation Front winning a majority.

1982  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

United States Nuclear Tests (Overview):

Nuclear Test at the Nevada Test Site:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1981  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

  • For some more pertinent information, see “1982  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site,” mentioned above.

1981  President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.

1979  In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.

Background Situations (1):

Background Situations (2): Soviet-Afghan War (December 1979 – 1989):

Afghanistan:

History of Afghanistan:

Economy of Afghanistan:

1974  Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion limit on military aid to South Vietnam.

US Congress Limits Military Aid to South Vietnam:

Vietnam War in 1974:

Viet Nam War and Pertinent Events:

Anti-Viet Nam War Movement or Opposition to United States Involvement in the Vietnam War:

1971  The first Pacific Islands Forum (then known as the “South Pacific Forum”) is held in Wellington, New Zealand, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean.

1969  Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 kilometers).

1966  USSR performs nuclear test (underground) at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1966:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

USSR’s Nuclear Tests at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk:

Environmental Issues in Kazakhstan:

1965  The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.

Indo-Pakistan War of 1965:

History of the India-Pakistan Wars:

1964  Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow: American aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Operation Pierce Arrow:

Gulf of Tonkin Incident:

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:

Vietnam War in 1964:

Viet Nam War and Some Pertinent Events:

1963  The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of August 5, 1963:

1962  Apartheid in South Africa: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.

Nelson Mandela:

Anti-Apartheid Movement:

African National Congress (ANC):

History of Apartheid:

Nonviolence, Movements against Racism, and More:

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination:

1960  Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.

Independence of Burkina Faso (Upper Volta):

Burkina Faso:

Foreign Relations of Burkina Faso:

History of Burkina Faso:

Economy of Burkina Faso:

1958  Herbert Hoover eclipses John Adams as having the longest retirement of any former U.S President until that time. Hoover would live another six years, his record 31 years 7 months 16 days retirement has since been eclipsed by Jimmy Carter.

1949  In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.

1944  World War II: The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of anywhere between 40,000 and 100,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.

1944  World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.

1944  World War II: Possibly the biggest prison breakout in history occurs as 545 Japanese POWs attempt to escape outside the town of Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.

1941  World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.

1940  World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia.

History of Lithuania:

Social Problems of Lithuania:

Lithuanian Independence Movement 1940-1991:

Issues on the Independence of Lithuania

Historical Background of the Baltic States and the Soviet Union:

Russia Reviews the 1991 Decision to Recognize the Independence of the Baltic States:

1925  Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out.

1916  World War I: Battle of Romani: Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula.

1914  World War I: The guns of Point Nepean fort at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria (Australia) fire across the bows of the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer SS Pfalz which is attempting to leave the Port of Melbourne in ignorance of the declaration of war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War.

1914  World War I: The German minelayer SS Königin Luise lays a minefield about 40 miles (64 km) off the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser HMS Amphion.

1906  Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy.

 

 

AUGUST 06

2015   A suicide bomb attack kills at least 15 people at a mosque in the Saudi city of Abha.

2014  Two former Khmer Rouge leaders, Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, have been convicted of war crimes during the period of Cambodian genocide in the 1970s; a UN-supported war crimes tribunal sentenced the two men to life in prison; both men are in their 80s.

UN-Supported War Crimes Tribunal of Cambodia:

2012   NASA‘s Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars.

2011  A march in protest of the death of Mark Duggan in Tottenham, London, ends in a riot, sparking off a wave of rioting throughout the country over the following four nights.

2011   War in Afghanistan: A United States military helicopter is shot down, killing 30 American special forces members and a working dog, 7 Afghan soldiers, and 1 Afghan civilian. It was the deadliest single event for the United States in the War in Afghanistan.

US Invasion of Afghanistan – US War in Afghanistan:

Why Did the US Invade Afghanistan? :

Behind the Official Reasons for the Invasion of Afghanistan:

US-Afghanistan Relations:

Foreign Relations of Afghanistan:

Afghanistan and the United Nations:

Afghanistan:

History of Afghanistan:

Economy of Afghanistan:

2010  Flash floods across a large part of Jammu and Kashmir, India, damages 71 towns and kills at least 255 people.

2008  A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stages a coup d’état in Mauritania, overthrowing president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.

1996  NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.

1991  Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan’s first female speaker of the House of Representatives.

1991  Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW debuts as a publicly available service on the Internet.

1990  Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

1991 Gulf War and Its Timeline:

1988  The Tompkins Square Park Riot in New York City spurs a reform of the NYPD, held responsible for the event.

1976  Zulfikar Ali Bhutto lays the foundation stone of Port Qasim, Karachi.

1970  France performs nuclear test at Mururoa Island.

Muruora:

Nuclear Tests at Mururoa (Overveiw):

History of France Nuclear Tests in the Pacific:

France’s Nuclear Tests:

1965  US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.

Voting Rights Act of 1965:

History of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States – Overview:

Civil Rights Movements of Various Ethnic Minorities in the United States:

1964  Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world’s oldest tree, is cut down.

1962  Jamaica becomes independent from the United Kingdom.

Independence of Jamaica:

History of Jamaica:

1960  Cuban Revolution: Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.

Cuban Revolution:

Cuba or the “Republic of Cuba” (Repúlica de Cuba):

Foreign Relations of Cuba:

Cuba and USSR/Russia:

Cuba and the United States:

History and Culture of Cuba:

Economy of Cuba:

1958  US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nuclear Tests by the United States:

US Atmospheric Nuclear Tests Overview:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

Johnston Atoll:

Various Weapons Tests and Storage at Johnston Atoll, and Permanent Contamination:

1946  US officially submits to jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.

United States and the Jurisdiction of the ICJ:

United States’ Withdrawal from the International Court of Justice:

American Exceptionalism:

Myth of American Exceptionalism:

1945  World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb “Little Boy” is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.

Atomic Bomb Attack at Hiroshima:

Hiroshima Travel Guide:

Hiroshima Radioactive Level Today:

The Environmental Effects of the Atomic Bomb:

  • See the sections of The Atomic Bomb and its Environmental Impact and The Atomic Bomb and its Impact on the Human Health in the entry of Nagasaki Atomic Bombing of the date of AUGUST 9, 1945.

YouTube videos on the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb case:

Nuclear Zero Lawsuits of the Republic of Marshall Islands (2014):

1944  The Warsaw Uprising occurs on August 1. It is brutally suppressed and all able-bodied men in Kraków are detained afterwards to prevent a similar uprising, the Kraków Uprising, that was planned but never carried out.

Warsaw Uprising:

1940  Estonia was illegally annexed by the Soviet Union.

Soviet Annexation of Estonia of 1940:

Estonia:

History of Estonia:

Foreign Relations of Estonia:

Estonia-Russia Relations:

1926  Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

1917  World War I: Battle of Mărăşeşti between the Romanian and German armies begins.

1915  World War I: Battle of Sari Bair: The Allies mount a diversionary attack timed to coincide with a major Allied landing of reinforcements at Suvla Bay.

1914  World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia.

1914  World War I: First Battle of the Atlantic: Two days after the United Kingdom had declared war on Germany over the German invasion of Belgium, ten German U-boats leave their base in Heligoland to attack Royal Navy warships in the North Sea.

1912  The Bull Moose Party meets at the Chicago Coliseum.

1901  Kiowa land in Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation.

1890  At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair.

1870  Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Wörth results in a decisive Prussian victory.

Battle of Wörth:

Franco-Prussian War:

Timelines of the Franco-Prussian War:

1870  Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.

  • For some more information on the Franco-Prussian War and its timelines, see “1870 Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Wörth results in a decisive Prussian victory”, mentioned above.

Battle of Spicheren of 1870:

1861  The United Kingdom annexes Lagos, Nigeria.

History of Lagos:

Nigeria:

History of Nigeria:

Foreign Relations of Nigeria:

Nigeria and the United Nations:

Economy of Nigeria:

1825  Bolivia gains independence from Spain.

Independence of Bolivia:

History of Bolivia:

1824  Battle of Junin Peru.

__________________________________________

(Sources and references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/july31   to_august_6; http://www.onthisday.com/events/july/31   to august/6;   http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/july_31.html.   to august_6.html; and other pertinent web sites and/or documents, mentioned above.)

  1. The views expressed in the cited or quoted websites and/or documents in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this article. These websites and/or documents are cited or quoted for academic or educational purposes. Neither the author of this article nor the Transcend Media Service (TMS) is responsible for the contents, information, or whatsoever contained in these websites and/or documents.
  2. One of the primary purposes of this article is to provide the readers with opportunities to think about “peace”, including positive peace and negative peace as well as external/outer peace and internal/inner peace, and more, directly or indirectly, from various angles and/or in the broadest sense, through historical events. It is because this article is prepared specifically for the TMS whose main objective is to address “peace”.

Satoshi Ashikaga, having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, prefers a peaceful and prudent life, especially that in communion with nature.  His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, remind him of the invaluableness of peace.  His interest and/or expertise includes international affairs, international law, jurisprudence, economic and business affairs, project/operations or organizational management, geography, history, the environmental/ecological issues, science and technology, visual/audio documentation of nature and culture, and more. Being a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment, he is currently compiling This Week in History on TMS.

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 31 Jul 2017.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: This Week in History, is included. Thank you.

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