This Week in History

HISTORY, 7 Aug 2017

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

Aug 7-13, 2017

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

 “Life asked death, ‘Why do people love me but hate you?’ Death responded, ‘Because you are a beautiful lie and I am a painful truth.”  – Author unknown

 

AUGUST 07

2011  Nepal, India exercises a smoking ban in public places.

Smoking in Nepal and India:

2008  The start of the Russo-Georgian War over the territory of South Ossetia.

Russo-Georgian War:

1999  The Chechnya-based Islamic International Brigade invades the neighboring Russian Dagestan.

1998  The United States embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya kill approximately 212 people.

1987  Lynne Cox becomes first person to swim from the United States to the Soviet Union, crossing from Little Diomede Island in Alaska to Big Diomede in the Soviet Union.

1981  The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.

1978  US President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal due to toxic waste that had been negligently disposed of.

1976  Viking program: Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars.

Viking Program:

1966  Race riots occur in Lansing, Michigan.

Race Riots in Lasing, Michigan of 1966:

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

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

Nonviolence, Movements against Racism, and More:

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

One of the Historical Cases – Nuremberg Laws of Nazi Germany:

One of the Historical Cases – Apartheid of South Africa:

Sports and Racism:

Beauty Contest and Racism:

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.

Vietnam War in 1964:

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:

Viet Nam War and Some Pertinent Events:

1962  USSR performs nuclear test (atmospheric) at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1962:

Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

USSR’s Nuclear Tests at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk:

Some Environmental Issues in Kazakhstan:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1960  Côte d’Ivoire (a.k.a. Ivory Coast) becomes independent from France.

Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast):

History of Côte d’Ivoire:

Economy of Côte d’Ivoire:

1959  Explorers program: Explorer 6 launches from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Explores Program:

1957  US performs nuclear test (atmospheric) at Nevada Test Site.

United States Nuclear Tests (Overview):

Nuclear Test at the Nevada Test Site:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

US Atmospheric Nuclear Tests Overview:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

Atmospheric Nuclear Tests of the United States and Radioactive Fallout:

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

1955  Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, sells its first transistor radios in Japan.

History of Sony:

1947  Thor Heyerdahl‘s balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.

Voyage of Kon-Tiki:

1946  The government of the Soviet Union presented a note to its Turkish counterparts which refuted the latter’s sovereignty over the Turkish Straits, thus beginning the Turkish Straits crisis.

1944  IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).

IBM Calculator/Computer:

1942  World War II: The Battle of Guadalcanal begins as the United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.

Battle of Guadalcanal:

1940  World War II: Alsace-Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich.

Annexation of Alsace-Lorraine of 1940:

1938  The Holocaust: The building of Mauthausen concentration camp begins.

Mauthausen Concentration Camp:

1933  The Simele massacre: The Iraqi government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Simele. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.

Simele Massacre:

1930  The last confirmed lynching of blacks in the Northern United States occurs in Marion, Indiana. Two men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, are killed.

Racism and Lynching in the United States:

1927  The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.

1909  Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, taking 59 days to travel from New York, New York to San Francisco, California.

1890  Anna Månsdotter becomes the last woman in Sweden to be executed, for the 1889 Yngsjö murder.

1819  Simón Bolívar triumphs over Spain in the Battle of Boyacá.

1791  American troops destroy the Miami town of Kenapacomaqua near the site of present-day Logansport, Indiana in the Northwest Indian War.

1789  The United States Department of War is established.

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.

1714  The Battle of Gangut: The first important victory of the Russian Navy.

 

AUGUST 08

2013  The Pentagon will furlough 650,000 civilian employees without pay for six days this year after receiving warnings that mandatory budget cuts might idle defense workers for a longer period of time.

2012  Archeologist excavating the Templo Mayor, one of the Aztec‘s main temples in their capital city of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico city), make an unprecedented find – the skeleton of a young woman inside a burial, surrounded by piles of 1,789 human bones

History of the Aztecs:

2012  Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s President, signs a controversial law concerning the status of 18 languages as regional and minority languages; the law allows officials in Russian-speaking regions of the country to use Russian in documents and at public events.

Controversial Law on Languages in Ukraine:

Aftermath of the Language Law of 2014:

2010  – 2010 China floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.

2008  The opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics take place in Beijing.

2000  Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence.

Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley:

1997  The UN approves a sale-price formula for Iraqi crude oil sales under the oil-for-food plan.

Oil-for-Food Plan of the UN:

1990  Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.

The Date of Iraq’s Annexation of Kuwait:

There seems to be some confusion on the information regarding the date of Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait. Some websites indicate that its date was 2 August 1990, the day Iraq invaded Kuwait. On this question, this article relies on the information on PBS.org. According to PBS.org, the timeline, from August 2 to 28, is as follows:

  • August 2: Iraq invades Kuwait and seizes Kuwaiti oil fields. Kuwait’s emir flees. Iraq masses troops along the Saudi border. U.N. condemns Iraq’s invasion and demands withdrawal.
  • August 8: [Saddam] Hussein proclaims annexation of Kuwait. Hussein proclaims annexation of Kuwait.
  • August 28: Iraq declares Kuwait its 19th province, renames Kuwait City al-Kadhima.

Some Background Information on Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait:

Some Pertinent Information and/or Arguments:

1989  Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission: Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.

1988  The “8888 Uprising” occurs in Burma.

8888 Uprising:

Burma/Myanmar:

History of Burma/Myanmar:

Burmese Monarchy and the British Rule:

Foreign Relations of Burma/Myanmar:

Burma/Britain Relations:

1974  President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.

1973  Kim Dae-jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.

1967  The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

1963  The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the current ruling party of Zimbabwe, is formed by a split from the Zimbabwe African People’s Union.

1960  South Kasai secedes from the Congo.

South Kasai and Congo:

1957  USSR offers Syria economic/military aid.

USSR’s Aids to Syria:

1946  First flight of the Convair B-36, the world’s first mass-produced nuclear weapon delivery vehicle, the heaviest mass-produced piston-engine aircraft, with the longest wingspan of any military aircraft, and the first bomber with intercontinental range.

B-36:

1945  Soviets declare war on Japan; invade Manchuria.

Soviet’s War Declaration on Japan:

1945  Truman signs United Nations Charter.

1945  Nuremberg Principles signed.

Nuremberg Military Trials:

1942  Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi‘s call for swaraj or complete independence.

Quit India Movement:

1940  The “Aufbau Ost” directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.

1929   The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight.

1927  The predecessor to the Philippine Stock Exchange opens.

1918  World War I: The Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).

1908  Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers’ first public flight.

1874  The Republic of Ploiești, a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.

1844  The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

1794  Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.

 

 

AUGUST 09

 2014  Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African American male in Ferguson, Missouri, was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer, sparking protests and unrest in the city.

2006  At least 21 suspected terrorists were arrested in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot that happened in the United Kingdom. The arrests were made in London,Birmingham, and High Wycombe in an overnight operation.

1999  Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.

1993  The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership.

1974  As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, becomes president.

1971   The Troubles: The British Army in Northern Ireland launches Operation Demetrius. Hundreds of people are arrested and interned, thousands are displaced, and twenty are killed in the violence that followed.

The Troubles of 1971:

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

IRA’s Terrorism:

History of the IRA:

Sinn Féin:

History of Sinn Féin:

Sinn Féin, IRA and the Catholic Church:

1968  Yugoslav president Tito visits Prague.

Prague in 1968:

Josip Broz Tito:

Prague Spring of 1968:

1965  Singapore is expelled from Malaysia and becomes the only country to date to gain independence unwillingly.

1945  The Red Army (Soviet Armed Forces) invades Japanese-occupied Manchuria.

1945  World War II: Nagasaki is devastated when an atomic bomb, Fat Man, is dropped by the United States B-29 Bockscar. 35,000 people are killed outright, including 23,200-28,200 Japanese war workers, 2,000 Korean forced workers, and 150 Japanese soldiers.

City of Nagasaki:

Atomic Bomb and Nagasaki:

The Atomic Bomb and its Environmental Impact:

The Atomic Bomb and its Impact on the Human Health:

1944  Continuation War: The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, the largest offensive launched by Soviet Union against Finland during the Second World War, ends to a strategic stalemate. Both Finnish and Soviet troops at the Finnish front dug to defensive positions, and the front remains stable until the end of the war.

Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive (or Karelian offensive):

Continuation War:

From Winter War to the Continuation War:

Timelines of the Winter War:

1944  The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.

1942  World War II: Battle of Savo Island – Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force.

1942  Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement.

1936  Summer Olympic Games: Games of the XI Olympiad – Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games.

1914  Start of the Battle of Mulhouse, part of a French attempt to recover the province of Alsace and the first French offensive of World War I.

1892  Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.

1877  Indian Wars: Battle of Big Hole – A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army

1854  Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden.

Henry David Thoreau and Walden:

1842  The Webster–Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States–Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.

1814  Indian Wars: the Creek sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, giving up huge parts of Alabama and Georgia.

1810  Napoleon annexes Westphalia as part of the First French Empire.

 

 

AUGUST 10

2001  2001 Angola train attack, 252 deaths.

1998  HRH Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah is proclaimed the crown prince of Brunei with a Royal Proclamation.

1995  Oklahoma City bombing: Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are indicted for the bombing. Michael Fortier pleads guilty in a plea-bargain for his testimony.

1993  An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter Scale hits the South Island of New Zealand.

1990  More than 127 Muslims are killed in North East Sri Lanka by paramilitary troops.

1990  The Magellan space probe reaches Venus.

1988  Japanese American internment: U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, providing $20,000 payments to Japanese Americans who were either interned in or relocated by the United States during World War II.

1981  Murder of Adam Walsh: the head of John Walsh‘s son is found. This inspires the creation of the television series America’s Most Wanted.

1978  Three members of the Ulrich family are killed in an accident. This leads to the Ford Pinto litigation.

1978  USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR.

Nuclear Tests at Novaya Zemlya:

1977  USSR performs (underground) nuclear test at Zabaykalsky (then Chita), Russia.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1977:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

1969  A day after murdering Sharon Tate and four others, members of Charles Manson‘s cult kill Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.

1962  USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR.

Novaya Zemlya Test Site:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

1961  First use in Vietnam War of the Agent Orange by the US Army.

Vietnam War in 1961:

Some Pertinent Information on “Agent Orange”:

Chemical Weapons and International Law:

1957  US performs nuclear test (atmospheric: Operation Teapot) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Tests at Nevada Site:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

1953  First Indochina War: The French Union withdraws its forces from Operation Camargue against the Viet Minh in central Vietnam.

Operation Camargue:

First Indochina War:

1949  US President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act Amendment, streamlining the defense agencies of the United States government, and replacing the Department of War with the United States Department of Defense.

National Security Act Amendment:

1945  Japan accepts Potsdam terms, agrees to unconditional surrender. Japanese Emperor, Hirohito’s announcement to the Japanese public is audio-recorded on 14 August 1945, and is broadcasted all over the country at noon, on 15 August 1945, local time. See also the entries of the dates of AUGUST 14 and 15, 1945.

1944  World War II: The Battle of Narva ends with a combined German–Estonian force successfully defending Narva, Estonia, from invading Soviet troops.

Battle of Narva:

1944  World War II: American forces defeat the last Japanese troops on Guam.

Battle of Guam of 1944:

1932  A 5.1 kilograms (11 lb) chondrite-type meteorite breaks into at least seven pieces and lands near the town of Archie in Cass County, Missouri.

1920  World War I: Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI‘s representatives sign the Treaty of Sèvres that divides up the Ottoman Empire between the Allies.

1914  Austria-Hungary issues ultimate to Serbia.

1913  Second Balkan War: delegates from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece sign the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the war.

Treaty of Bucharest of 1913:

Second Balkan War:

First Balkan War:

1905  Russo-Japanese War: peace negotiations begin in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

1904  Russo-Japanese War: the Battle of the Yellow Sea between the Russian and Japanese battleship fleets takes place.

1901  The U.S. Steel Recognition Strike by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers begins.

1864  After Uruguay’s governing Blanco Party refuses Brazil’s demands, José Antônio Saraiva announces that the Brazilian military will begin reprisals, beginning the Uruguayan War.

1846  The Smithsonian Institution is chartered by the United States Congress after James Smithson donates $500,000.

1813  Instituto Nacional, is founded by the Chilean patriot José Miguel Carrera. It is Chile‘s oldest and most prestigious school. Its motto is Labor Omnia Vincit, which means “Work conquers all things”.

1809  Quito, now the capital of Ecuador, declares independence from Spain. This rebellion will be crushed on August 2, 1810.

Ecuador:

History of Ecuador:

Economy of Ecuador:

1793  The Musée du Louvre is officially opened in Paris, France.

1792  French Revolution: Storming of the Tuileries Palace – Louis XVI of France is arrested and taken into custody as his Swiss Guards are massacred by the Parisian mob.

1776  London learns American independence.

 

 

AUGUST 11

2012  At least 306 people are killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.

2011  The Israeli interior ministry grants its final approval for building 1,600 settler homes in the disputed East Jerusalem.

East Jerusalem:

2006  The oil tanker M/T Solar 1 sinks off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands in the Philippines, causing the country’s worst oil spill.

2003  Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.

2003  NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.

1984  “We begin bombing in five minutes” – United States President Ronald Reagan, while running for re-election, jokes while preparing to make his weekly Saturday address on National Public Radio.

1984  USSR performs (underground) nuclear test at Komi, Russia.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1984:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

1982  A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, killing one teenager and injuring 15 passengers.

1982  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Some information on Nevada Test Site:

Ecology and the Nevada Test Site:

The Nevada Test Site and Health:

1979  Two Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134s collide over the Ukrainian city of Dniprodzerzhynsk and crash, killing all 178 aboard both airliners.

1975  US vetoes proposed admission of North & South Vietnam to UN.

1975 East Timor: Governor Mário Lemos Pires of Portuguese Timor abandons the capital Dili, following a coup by the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) and the outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin.

UDT and Its Coup in August 1975:

History of East Timor:

1973  “American Graffiti” released.

1972  Vietnam War: The last United States ground combat unit leaves South Vietnam.

Vietnam War in 1972:

Vietnam War in the Near-Final Phase:

Viet Nam War and Pertinent Events:

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

1968  The last steam hauled train runs on British Rail.

Last Steam Train in Britain:

War and Trains:

Since this article, not only presenting historical and historic events in the chronological order in the general sense, is specifically prepared for the TMS addressing “peace”, this section here below provides the readers with some information relating to railways, trains and war (and peace).

1965  Race riots (the Watts Riots) begin in the Watts area of Los Angeles, California.

Watts Riots:

1962  Vostok 3 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev becomes the first person to float in microgravity.

1961  The former Portuguese territories in India of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are merged to create the Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

1960  Chad declares independence.

History of Chad:

1959  Sheremetyevo International Airport, the second-largest airport in Russia, opens.

1952  Hussein bin Talal is proclaimed King of Jordan.

1947  Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founding father of Pakistan, gives a speech to the Constituent Assembly, the contents and meaning of which remain contentious today.

1945  Poles in Kraków engage in a pogrom against Jews in the city, killing one and wounding five.

1942  Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a Frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi.

1934  The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island.

1920  The Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty, which relinquished Russia‘s authority and pretenses to Latvia, is signed, ending the Latvian War of Independence.

1919  The constitution of the Weimar Republic is adopted.

1918  World War I: The Battle of Amiens ends.

1898  Spanish–American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

Spanish-American War:

Timeline of the Spanish-American War:

1858  The Eiger in the Bernese Alps is ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.

1813  In Colombia, Juan del Corral declares the independence of Antioquia.

1812  Peninsular War: French troops engage British–Portuguese forces in the Battle of Majadahonda.

Battle of Majadahonda:

Peninsular War:

1804  Francis II assumes the title of first Emperor of Austria.

1786  Captain Francis Light establishes the British colony of Penang in Malaysia.

 

 

AUGUST 12

2005  Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, is fatally shot by an LTTE sniper at his home.

2004  Mr. Lee Hsien Loong is sworn in as Singapore’s third Prime Minister.

1992  Canada, Mexico and the United States announce completion of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

NAFTA:

1990  Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton found to date, is discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.

1985  Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, to become the worst single-plane air disaster.

Crash of JAL Flight 123:

1982  Mexico announces that it is unable to pay its enormous external debt, marking the beginning of a debt crisis that spreads to all of Latin America and the Third World.

1981  The IBM Personal Computer is released.

IBM Personal Computer Released:

IBM Personal Computer:

History of Computers:

1980  The Montevideo Treaty, establishing the Latin American Integration Association, is signed.

Montevideo Treaty:

Latin American Integration Association:

1978  The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People’s Republic of China is signed.

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the PRC of 1978:

“China–Japan Relationship” and the United States:

China’s Foreign Policy:

Japan’s Foreign Policy:

China – Japan Disputes:

Japan’s War Crimes in China: Japan’s Apology and/or Japan’s Refusal of Apology? :

1977  The 1977 riots in Sri Lanka, targeting the minority Sri Lankan Tamil people, begin, less than a month after the United National Party came to power. Over 300 Tamils are killed.

August 1977 Anti-Tamil Riots in Sri Lanka:

Sri Lankan Civil War:

History of the Sri Lankan Civil War:

Liberation of Tigers of Tamil Eelam (a.k.a. Tamil Tigers):

History of Sri Lanka:

Sri Lanka:

Foreign Relations of Sri Lanka:

Economy of Sri Lanka:

1977  The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.

Space Shuttle Enterprise and Its First Free Flight:

Space Shuttle Program:

History of the Space Shuttle Program:

Space Shuttle Program and Its Military Purposes:

1976  Between 1,000 and 3,500 Palestinians are killed in the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, one of the bloodiest events of the Lebanese Civil War

1969  Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside.

1964  South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games due to the country’s racist policies.

South Africa’s Ban from the Olympics and Its Background:

Sports and Racism:

History of Apartheid:

Nonviolence, Movements against Racism, and More:

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

1960  Echo 1A, NASA’s first successful communications satellite, is launched.

1958  Art Kane photographs 57 notable jazz musicians in the black and white group portrait “A Great Day in Harlem” in front of a Brownstone in New York City.

1953  The islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia in Greece are severely damaged by an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale.

1953  Nuclear weapons testing: The Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of Joe 4, the first Soviet thermonuclear weapon.

Thermonuclear Bomb Testing and Joe4:

USSR Nuclear Weapons Tests:

1952  The Night of the Murdered Poets: Thirteen prominent Jewish intellectuals are murdered in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union.

1950  Korean War: Bloody Gulch massacre—American POWs are massacred by North Korean Army.

Bloody Gulch Massacre of August 1950:

Korean War:

Korean War Timelines:

1948  USS Nevada is struck from the naval record.

1944  Alençon is liberated by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, the first city in France to be liberated from the Nazis by French forces.

1944  Nazi German troops end the week-long Wola massacre, during which time at least 40,000 people were killed indiscriminately or in mass executions.

Wola Massacre:

1944  Waffen-SS troops massacre 560 people in Sant’Anna di Stazzema.

1914  World War I: The Battle of Haelen a.k.a. (Battle of the Silver Helmets) a clash between large Belgian and German cavalry formations at Halen, Belgium.

1914  World War I: The United Kingdom declares war on Austria-Hungary; the countries of the British Empire follow suit.

1898  The Hawaiian flag is lowered from ʻIolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony and replaced with the flag of the United States to signify the transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawaii to the United States.

History of Hawaii:

The Annexation of Hawaii with the United States:

1898  An Armistice ends the Spanish–American War.

Spanish-American War:

Timeline of the Spanish-American War:

1883  The last quagga dies at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

1877  Asaph Hall discovers the Mars moon Deimos.

1851  Isaac Singer is granted a patent for his sewing machine.

1831  French intervention forces William I of the Netherlands to abandon his attempt to suppress the Belgian Revolution.

1806  Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires re-takes the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina after the first British invasion.

1793  The Rhône and Loire départments are created when the former département of Rhône-et-Loire is split into two.

1765  Treaty of Allahabad is signed. The Treaty marks the political and constitutional involvement and the beginning of Company rule in India.

1687  Battle of Mohács: Charles of Lorraine defeats the Ottoman Empire.

 

 

AUGUST 13

2014  US air strikes, in combination with Kurdish forces, pushed back an assault by Islamic State militants upon Yazidi minorities trapped on Mt. Sinjar in Iraq; the action allowed thousands to escape.

US-UK Air Strikes against the Islamic State of August 13, 2014:

2010  The MV Sun Sea docks in CFB Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada, carrying 492 Sri Lankan Tamils.

2008  South Ossetian War: Russian units occupy the Georgian city of Gori.

South Ossetia and the South Ossetia War:

History of South Ossetia:

2004  One hundred fifty-six Congolese Tutsi refugees are massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.

Gatumba Refugee Camp Massacre:

History of Burundi:

1978  One hundred fifty Palestinians in Beirut are killed in a terrorist attack during the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War.

Lebanese Civil War:

Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

Lebanon:

Foreign Relations of Lebanon:

History of Lebanon:

Economy of Lebanon:

1977  Members of the British National Front (NF) clash with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, London, resulting in 214 arrests and at least 111 injuries.

1969  The Apollo 11 astronauts are released from a three-week quarantine to enjoy a ticker tape parade in New York, New York. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, California, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President Richard Nixon.

Apollo 11:

Apollo Program:

Timelines of the Apollo Program:

1968  Alexandros Panagoulis attempts to assassinate the Greek dictator Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos in Varkiza, Athens.

1964  Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans are hanged for the Murder of John Alan West becoming the last people executed in the United Kingdom.

1961  East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants’ attempts to escape to the West.

1960  The Central African Republic declares independence from France.

Central African Republic:

1954  Radio Pakistan broadcasts the “Qaumī Tarāna“, the national anthem of Pakistan for the first time.

1942  Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the “Development of Substitute Materials” project, better known as the Manhattan Project.

1937  The Battle of Shanghai begins.

Battle of Shanghai (Overview):

Japan’s Shanghai Attack and Occupation:

History of Shanghai:

Case Study: Battle of Nanking and Massacre of 1937/1938:

Battle of Nanking:

Nanjing Massacre Denial:

Second Sino-Japanese War:

First Sino-Japanese War:

1920  Polish–Soviet War: the Battle of Warsaw begins and will last till August 25. The Red Army is defeated.

1918  “Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH” becomes BMW AG The German term Aktiengesellschaft means a corporation, a “public company” equivalent to the US term, which is limited by shares, i.e., owned by shareholders. It may be traded on the stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

History of BMW:

1918  Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha Mae Johnson is the first woman to enlist.

History of Women Marines:

Pros and Cons of Women in Combat, and Other Pertinent Issues on Women in Military, including Gender Equality in Military:

Women and Conscientious Objectors:

1913  First production in the UK of stainless steel by Harry Brearley.

1913  Otto Witte, an acrobat, is purportedly crowned King of Albania.

1906  The all black infantrymen of the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Regiment are accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer in Brownsville, Texas, despite exculpatory evidence; all are later dishonorably discharged.

1898  Carl Gustav Witt discovers 433 Eros, the first near-Earth asteroid to be found.

1898  Spanish–American War: Spanish and American forces engaged in a mock battle for Manila, after which the Spanish commander surrendered in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.

Mock Battle of Manila:

Spanish-American War:

Timeline of the Spanish-American War:

1868  A massive earthquake near Arica, Peru, causes an estimated 25,000 casualties, and the subsequent tsunami causes considerable damage as far away as Hawaii and New Zealand.

1831  Nat Turner sees a solar eclipse, which he believes is a sign from God. Eight days later he and 70 other slaves kill approximately 55 whites in Southampton County, Virginia.

1814  The Convention of London, a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United Provinces, is signed in London, England.

1806  Battle of Mišar during the Serbian Revolution begins. The battle will end two days later, with a decisive Serbian victory over the Ottomans.

1792  King Louis XVI of France is formally arrested by the National Tribunal, and declared an enemy of the people.

1704  War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Blenheim – English and Imperial forces are victorious over French and Bavarian troops.

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 (Sources and references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/august7   to_august_13; http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/7    to august/13;   http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/august_7.html.   to august_13.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 7 Aug 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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