the day in the history

1985: Over 500 dead in Boeing crash

More than 500 people are feared dead after a Japan Airlines jumbo jet crashed on a remote mountainside.

Rioters throwing missiles at armoured police car 1969: Police use tear gas in Bogside
The Royal Ulster Constabulary uses tear gas for the first time in its history after nine hours of rioting in the Bogside area of Londonderry.

Charlie Wilson 1964: Great Train Robber escapes from jail
A massive manhunt is under way across Britain after one of the gang involved in the Great Train Robbery breaks out of a high-security prison in Birmingham.

Andrew Gilligan (copyright: PA) 2003: Gilligan: language 'wasn't perfect'
BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan answers questions from the Hutton Inquiry over his report that the government "sexed up" a weapons dossier on Iraq.

2000: Murdered schoolgirl's life celebrated
The family of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne has been joined by friends and hundreds of members of the public for a memorial service.

1990: Briton shot by Iraqis
A British man attempting to escape in a convoy from Iraqi-occupied Kuwait has been shot by Iraqi soldiers.

1656 - "King Phillip's War" came to an end with the killing of Indian chief King Phillip. The war between the Indians and the Europeans lasted for two years.

1851 - Isaac Singer was issued a patent on the double-headed sewing machine.

1865 - Disinfectant was used for the first time during surgery by Joseph Lister.

1867 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson sparked a move to impeach him when he defied Congress by suspending Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.

1877 - Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and made the first sound recording.

1879 - The first National Archery Association tournament took place in Chicago, IL.

1898 - Hawaii was annexed by the U.S. Hawaii was later given territorial status and was given Statehood in 1959.

1898 - The Spanish-American War was ended with the signing of the peace protocol. The U.S. acquired Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Hawaii was also annexed.

1915 - "Of Human Bondage", by William Somerset, was first published.

1918 - Regular airmail service began between Washington, DC, and New York City.

1937 - Red Skelton appeared on network radio for the first time on the "Rudy Vallee Show" on NBC.

1944 - In France, Pierre Laval released Edouard Herriot.

1944 - Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was killed with his co-pilot when their Navy plane exploded over England. Joseph Kennedy was the oldest son of Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

1953 - The Soviet Union secretly tested its first hydrogen bomb.

1960 - The balloon satellite Echo One was launched by the U.S. from Cape Canaveral, FL. It was the first communications satellite.

1962 - The Soviet Union launched Pavel Popovich into orbit. Popovich and Andrian Nikolayev, who was launch a day before, both landed on August 15.

1964 - Mickey Mantle set a major league baseball record when he hit home runs from both the left and ride sides of the plate in the same game.

1969 - The Boston Celtics were sold for $6 million. At the time it was the highest price paid for a pro basketball team.

1973 - Jack Nicklaus won his 14th major golf title. The win broke the record that had been held by Bobby Jones for 50 years.

1977 - The space shuttle Enterprise passed its first solo flight test.

1981 - IBM unveiled its first PC.

1985 - A Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 crashed into a mountain killing 520 people.

1986 - It was announced by NASA that they had selected a new rocket design for the space shuttle. The move was made in an effort at correcting the flaws that were believed to have been responsible for the Challenger disaster.

1986 - Rod Carew became the first player in the history of the California Angels franchise to have his uniform (#29) retired.

1988 - "The Last Temptation of Christ" opened.

1990 - The first U.S. casualty occurred during the Persian Gulf crisis when Air Force Staff Sergeant John Campisi died after being hit by a military truck.

1992 - The U.S., Canada, and Mexico announced that the North American Free Trade Agreement had been created after 14 months of negotiations.

1993 - U.S. President Clinton signed a relief package for the flooded areas of the Midwest United States.

1993 - U.S. President Clinton lifted the ban on rehiring air traffic controllers that had been fired for going on strike in 1981.

1994 - Major league baseball players went on strike rather than allow team owners to limit their salaries. The strike lasted for 232 days. As a result, the World Series was wiped out for the first time in 90 years.

1998 - Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion as restitution to World War II Holocaust victims.

1999 - Hang Thu Thi Ngyuen shot an arrow from a bow with her feet on "Guinness World Records: Primetime" and hit a target that was 16 feet and 5 inches away.

1961: Berliners wake to divided city

Troops in East Germany seal off the border between East and West Berlin, shutting off the escape route for thousands of refugees from the East.

Injured policeman 1977: Violent clashes at NF march
More than 200 protesters have been arrested after demonstrations in Lewisham against a National Front march.

Harefield Hospital, Middlesex 1985: Heart-lung transplant makes history
A three-year-old boy from Dublin has become the world's youngest heart and lung transplant patient.

Prince Charles 1991: Prince quits in museum design row
The Prince of Wales has resigned as the patron of Scotland's national museum over a competition to design a new building

1598 - King Henry IV of France signed the Edict of Nantes which granted political rights to French Protestant Huguenots.

1759 - The French defeated the European allies in Battle of Bergen.

1775 - Lord North extended the New England Restraining Act to South, Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. The act prohibited trade with any country other than Britain and Ireland.

1782 - Washington, NC, was incorporated as the first town to be named for George Washington.

1796 - The first known elephant to arrive in the United States from Bengal, India.

1808 - William "Juda" Henry Lane perfected the tap dance.

1829 - The English Parliament granted freedom of religion to Catholics.

1849 - The Hungarian Republic was proclaimed.

1861 - After 34 hours of bombardment, the Union-held Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederates.

1870 - The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in New York City.

1916 - The first hybrid, seed corn was purchased for 15-cents a bushel by Samuel Ramsay.

1919 - British forces killed hundreds of Indian nationalists in the Amritsar Massacre.

1933 - The first flight over Mount Everest was completed by Lord Clydesdale.

1941 - German troops captured Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

1943 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial.

1945 - Vienna fell to Soviet troops.

1949 - Philip S. Hench and associates announced that cortizone was an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

1954 - Hank Aaron debuted with the Milwaukee Braves.

1959 - A Vatican edict prohibited Roman Catholics from voting for Communists.

1960 - The first navigational satellite was launched into Earth's orbit.

1961 - The U.N. General Assembly condemned South Africa due to apartheid.

1962 - In the U.S., major steel companies rescinded announced price increases. The John F. Kennedy administration had been applying pressure against the price increases.

1963 - Pete Rose got his first major league hit for the Cincinnati Reds.

1964 - Sidney Poitier became the first black to win an Oscar for best actor. It was for his role in the movie "Lilies of the Field."

1970 - An oxygen tank exploded on Apollo 13, preventing a planned moon landing.

1972 - The first strike in the history of major league baseball ended. Players had walked off the field 13 days earlier.

1976 - The U.S. Federal Reserve introduced $2 bicentennial notes.

1979 - The world's longest doubles ping-pong match ended after 101 hours.

1981 - Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke received a Pulitzer Prize for her feature about an 8-year-old heroin addict named "Jimmy." Cooke relinquished the prize two days later after admitting she had fabricated the story.

1984 - U.S. President Reagan sent emergency military aid to El Salvador without congressional approval.

1984 - Christopher Walker was killed in a fight with police in New Hampshire. Walker was wanted as a suspect in the kidnappings of 11 young women in several states.

1990 - The Soviet Union accepted responsibility for the World War II murders of thousands of imprisoned Polish officers in the Katyn Forest. The Soviets had previously blamed the massacre on the Nazis.

1997 - Tiger Woods became the youngest person to win the Masters Tournament at the age of 21. He also set a record when he finished at 18 under par.

1998 - NationsBank and BankAmerica announced a $62.5 billion merger, creating the country's first coast-to-coast bank.

1998 - Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep, gave natural birth to a healthy baby lamb.

1999 - Jack Kervorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, MI, to 10 to 25 years in prison for the second-degree murder of Thomas Youk. Youk's assisted suicide was videotaped and shown on "60 Minutes" in 1998.

2000 - Richard Gordon was charged with trying to extort $250,000 from Louie Anderson in exchange for not telling the tabloid media about Anderson once asking him for sex. Gordon was held without bail pending a court hearing.

2000 - It was announced that 69 people had died when the Arlahada, a Philippine ferry, capsized. 70 people were rescued.

2002 - Twenty-five Hindus were killed and about 30 were wounded when grenades were thrown by suspected Islamic guerrillas near Jammu-Kashir.

2002 - Venezuela's interim president, Pedro Carmona, resigned a day after taking office. Thousands of protesters had supported over the ousting of president Hugo Chavez.

A stricken yacht is towed to safety 1979: Freak storm hits yacht race

Dozens of yachts are lost and at least three people killed after a freak storm blows up in the Irish Sea during the Fastnet yacht race.

Kursk 2000: Rescuers race to save stricken Kursk
A rescue operation is underway to save the lives of more than 100 sailors on board a Russian submarine grounded at the bottom of the Barents Sea.

Churchill and Roosevelt on board Augusta 1941: Secret meetings seal US-Britain alliance
US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill agree plans for downfall of Hitler.

IRA arms cache found by Irish police in 1994 2001: Setback for Northern Ireland peace process
The IRA has said it is withdrawing a proposal it made last week on putting its weapons beyond use.

Toronto during the blackout (copyright: AP) 2003: Lights go out across NE America
Massive power failures cause chaos across the eastern United States and Canada, hitting cities such as New York and Ottawa.

1980: Shipyard Poles strike for their rights
Shipyard workers in Gdansk, Poland, strike in protest over the dismissal of a trade union activist

1979: Disgraced ex-MP released from jail
John Stonehouse, the former government minister who faked his own death, has been freed from prison.

1248 - The rebuilding of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, began after being destroyed by fire.

1756 - Daniel Boone married 16-year-old Rebecca Bryan.

1848 - The Oregon Territory was established.

1873 - "Field and Stream" magazine published its first issue.

1880 - The Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany was completed after 632 years of rebuilding.

1888 - A patent for the electric meter was granted to Oliver B. Shallenberger.

1896 - Gold was discovered in Canada's Yukon Territory. Within the next year more than 30,000 people rushed to the area to look for gold.

1900 - An international force, consisting of eight nations, lifted the siege of Peking. It was an end to the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreigners.

1914 - The U.S. Congress appropriated the funds to construct the Pentagon (approximately $83 million). The building was the new home of the U.S. War Department.

1917 - China declared war on Germany and Austria during World War I.

1919 - About 1 million tons of ice and rock broke off of a glacier near Mont Blanc, France. Nine people were killed in the incident.

1935 - The U.S. Congress passed the Social Security Act into law. The act created unemployment insurance and pension plans for the elderly.

1936 - The first basketball competition was held at the Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. The U.S. defeated Canada, 19-8.

1941 - U.S. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter. The charter was a statement of principles that renounced aggression.

1944 - The federal government allowed the manufacture of certain domestic appliances to resume on a limited basis.

1945 - It was announced by U.S. President Truman that Japan had surrendered unconditionally. The surrender ended World War II.

1947 - Pakistan became independent from British rule.

1953 - The whiffle ball was invented.

1959 - The first meeting was held to organize the American Football League.

1962 - A U.S. mail truck was held up in Plymouth, MA. The robbers got away with more that $1.5 million dollars.

1969 - British troops arrived in Northern Ireland to intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics.

1973 - The U.S. bombing of Cambodia ended. The halt marked the official end to 12 years of combat in Indochina by the U.S.

1976 - A charity softball game began for the Community General Hospital in Monticello, NY. The game was eventually called off due to weather after 30 hours. The final score was Gager's Diner's 491 to Bend 'n Elbow Tavern's 467.

1980 - People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was incorporated.

1981 - Pope John Paul II left a Rome hospital. He had been there for three months following an assassination attempt.

1984 - Patricia Ann Reagan and Paul Grilley were married on a movie set in California.

1986 - U.S. officials announced that a U.S. Drug Enforcement agent had been abducted, interrogated and tortured by Mexican police.

1987 - Mark McGwire set the record for major league home runs by a rookie when he connected for his 39th home run of the season.

1992 - The U.S. announced that emergency airlifts of food to Somalia would begin. The action was being taken to stop mass deaths due to starvation.

1994 - International terrorist "Carlos the Jackal" was captured in Sudan. The next day he was extradited to France.

1995 - Shannon Faulkner became the first female cadet in the history of The Citadel, South Carolina's state military college. She quit the school less than a week later.

1996 - In Peru, 35 people were electrocuted when a high extension line was knocked down by a rocket during a fireworks show.

1997 - William Friedkin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1997 - Timothy McVeigh was formally sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing.

1998 - A U.S. federal appeals court in Richmond, VA, ruled that the Food and Drug Administration had no authority to regulate tobacco. The FDA had established rules to make it harder for minors to buy cigarettes.

2000 - A Russian submarine Kursk sank to the bottom of the Barrent Sea. There were 118 sailors on the nuclear-powered vessel. All of the crew were pronounced dead on August 22.

2000 - Valujet was ordered to pay $11 million in fines and restitution for hazardous waste violations in the crash that killed 110 people in 1996.

2000 - It was announced that Charles Grodin would be joining CBS' "60 Minutes II" as a commentator.

2002 - In Texas, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin surrendered to San Antonio police. A warrant had been issued for his arrest stemming from a domestic violence complaint on June 15, 2002.

1998: Dozens die in Omagh bombing

At least 27 people are feared dead after a massive car bomb in the town of Omagh in Northern Ireland.

Blood brothers sign painted on shop window 1965: Los Angeles riot toll keeps rising
At least 28 people die and hundreds are injured after a weekend of rioting in Los Angeles.

WAAFs link arms with soldiers during the VJ Day celebrations in Piccadilly Circus 1945: Allied nations celebrate VJ Day
Allied nations across the globe rejoice on Victory in Japan day that marks the end of the Second World War.

Harvey Smith 1971: 'V-sign' costs rider victory
Controversial horse rider Harvey Smith has been stripped of his £2,000 winnings and a major show jumping title for allegedly making a rude gesture.

Virgin Challenger leaving New York 1985: Virgin voyage ends in disaster
The speedboat Virgin Atlantic Challenger capsizes off the south-west of England scuppering Richard Branson's attempt at the fastest-ever Atlantic crossing.

1950: Princess gives birth to second child
The King's eldest daughter and heir to the throne, Princess Elizabeth, gives birth to a daughter at Clarence House in London.

1977: Singing legend Presley is dead

Elvis Presley, whose singing and style revolutionized popular music in the 1950s, dies after collapsing at his home.

Man carrying trunk on shoulder 1952: Flood devastates Devon village
Twelve bodies are recovered and 24 people are missing feared dead in the flood which has swept through Lynmouth in north Devon.

Idi Amin (copyright; AP) 2003: 'War criminal' Idi Amin dies
The notorious former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin dies in exile in a Saudi Arabian hospital.

2001: Diana butler charged with theft
A former butler to Princess Diana has been charged with stealing hundreds of items from the Wales household.

John de Lorean in the DMC-12 car produced by his company 1984: DeLorean cleared of drugs charges
Former car maker John DeLorean has been cleared of all charges against him at his drug trafficking trial in Los Angeles.

1777 - During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Bennington took place. New England's minutemen routed the British regulars.

1812 - Detroit fell to Indian and British troops in the War of 1812.

1829 - The "Siamese twins," Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston, MA. They had come to the Western world to be exhibited. They were 18 years old and joined at the waist.

1858 - A telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to U.S. President Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.

1861 - U.S. President Lincoln prohibited the Union states from trading with the states of the Confederacy.

1906 - 1,500 people died in an earthquake in Valparaiso, Chile.

1920 - The only fatality to occur in a major league baseball history happened. Ray Chapman (Cleveland Indians) was hit in the head with a fastball from Carl Mays of the New York Yankees.

1923 - Carnegie Steel Corporation put into place the eight-hour workday for its employees.

1930 - The first British Empire Games were held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event is now called the British Commonwealth Games.

1937 - Harvard University became the first school to have graduate courses in traffic engineering and administration.

1948 - Babe Ruth died at the age of 53.

1954 - Sports Illustrated was published for the first time. It was claimed that 250,000 subscriptions had been sold before the first issue came off of the presses.

1954 - Jack Paar replaced Walter Cronkite as host of "The Morning Show" on CBS-TV.

1960 - Cyprus was granted independence by Britain.

1960 - The free-fall world record was set by Joseph Kittinger. He fell more than 16 miles (about 84,000 feet) before opening his parachute over New Mexico.

1978 - Xerox was fined for excluding Smith-Corona Mfg. from the copier market. The fine was $25.6 million.

1984 - John DeLorean was acquitted on eight counts of a $24 million dollar cocaine conspiracy indictment.

1984 - The U.S. Jaycees voted to admit women to full membership in the organization.

1987 - 156 people were killed when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed. The only survivor was four-year old Cecelia Cichan.

1993 - Harvey Weinstein was rescued from a 14-foot-deep pit by New York Police. He had been there for nearly two weeks while being held for ransom.

1995 - Voters in Bermuda rejected independence from Great Britain.

1999 - In Russia, Vladimir V. Putin was confirmed as pesident by the lower house of parliament.

1987: Hitler's deputy found dead

Rudolf Hess, Hitler's former right-hand man, has been found dead in Spandau Prison.

Aerial photograph of Izmit after the earthquake 1999: Turkey hit by huge earthquake
The most powerful earthquake ever to hit Turkey has left at least 1,000 people dead.

St Andrews 2000: Prince William makes the grade
Prince William has passed three A-levels and secured a place to study history of art at the oldest university in Scotland, St Andrews.

1978: US balloonists' record Atlantic crossing
Three Americans have made the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by hot air balloon.

1790 - The capital city of the U.S. moved to Philadelphia from New York City.

1807 - Robert Fulton's "North River Steam Boat" (known as the "Clermont") began heading up New York's Hudson River on its successful round-trip to Albany.

1815 - Napoleon began serving his exile when he arrived at the island of St. Helena.

1835 - Solyman Merrick patented the wrench.

1859 - A hot air balloon was used to carry mail for the first time. John Wise left Lafayette, IN for New York City with 100 letters. He had to land after only 27 miles.

1863 - Federal batteries and ships bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC, harbor during the Civil War.

1877 - F.P. Cahill became the first person to be killed by "Billy the Kid."

1894 - John Wadsworth of Louisville set a major league record when he gave up 28 base hits in a single game.

1896 - The Klondike gold rush was set off by George Carmack discovering gold on Rabbit Creek in Alaska.

1903 - Joseph Pulitzer donated a million dollars to Columbia University. This started the Pulitzer Prizes in his name.

1915 - Charles F. Kettering patented the electric, automobile self-starter.

1939 - The movie "Wizard of Oz" opened.

1943 - The Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as U.S. and British forces entered Messina.

1945 - The nationalists of Indonesia declared their independence from the Netherlands.

1961 - The Communist East German government completed the construction of the Berlin Wall.

1962 - 18-year-old Peter Fechter was killed by East German border guards when he attempted to cross the Berlin Wall into the western sector.

1969 - Hurricane Camille hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast killing 248 people.

1973 - Lee Trevino got the first hole in one of his career at the U.S.I. Golf Classic, in Sutton, MA.

1977 - Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) reported that in one day the number of orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland had surpassed the number for any other event in the company's history.

1978 - Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman became the first to land after a successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight. The voyage began in Presque Isle, ME and ended in Miserey, France.

1985 - A year-long strike began when 1,400 Geo. A. Hormel and Co. meat packers walked off the job.

1987 - Rudolph Hess died after apparently committing suicide. Hess was the last member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle.

1987 - Charles Glass, American journalist, escaped his kidnappers and was rescued after being held for 62 days in Lebanon.

1988 - Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel were killed in a plane crash.

1991 - At a shopping mall in Strathfield, Australia, a man killed seven people before killing himself. He had been armed with a rifle and a machete.

1992 - Woody Allen admitted to being romantically involved with Soon-Yi Previn. The girl was the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow, Allen's longtime companion.

1993 - Jack Kevorkian was charged in Wayne County, MI with assisting in the suicide of Thomas Hyde. Kevorkian was later acquitted.

1996 - A military cargo plane crashed in Wyoming killing eight crewmembers and a Secret Service employee. The plane was carrying gear for U.S. President Clinton.

1996 - Ross Perot was announced to be the Reform Party's presidential candidate. It was the party's first-ever candidate.

1998 - The FBI announced that it was questioning a suspect concerning the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya on August 7th, 1998.

1998 - U.S. President Clinton admitted to having an improper relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.

1998 - NationsBank and BankAmerica merge to create the largest U.S. bank.

1998 - Russia devalued the ruble.

1999 - More than 15,000 people were killed in an earthquake in Turkey.

2002 - In Santa Rosa, CA, the Charles M. Schulz Museum opened to the public.

1964: South Africa banned from Olympics

South Africa has been barred from taking part in the 18th Olympic Games in Tokyo over its refusal to condemn apartheid.

1992: Serbian prison camps condemned
Conditions in two Serbian detention camps have been condemned as "hell on earth" by the man leading a delegation to inspect them.

Manchester United stadium 1989: Man U sold in record takeover deal
Manchester United Football Club has been sold for £20m in the biggest takeover deal in the history of British football.

Janis Joplin 1969: Woodstock music festival ends
Three days and nights of sex, drugs and rock and roll come to a peaceful end as the Woodstock music festival winds down.

Shrine set up for Eamon McDevitt 1971: Army shot 'unarmed' disabled man
The British Army has been accused of shooting dead an unarmed, disabled man during disturbances in Northern Ireland.

1227 - The Mongol conqueror Ghengis Khan died.

1587 - Virginia Dare became the first child to be born on American soil of English parents. The colony that is now Roanoke Island, NC, mysteriously vanished.

1735 - The "Evening Post" of Boston, MA, was published for the first time.

1774 - Merriwether Lewis, U.S. explorer was born. He was the leader of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

1840 - The American Society of Dental Surgeons was founded in New York City, NY.

1846 - Gen. Stephen W. Kearney and his U.S. forces captured Sante Fe, NM.

1894 - The Bureau of Immigration was established by the U.S. Congress.

1914 - The "Proclamation of Neutrality" was issued by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. It was aimed at keeping the U.S. out of World War I.

1916 - Abraham Lincoln's, the 16th president of the U.S., birthplace was made into a national shrine.

1919 - The "Anti-Cigarette League of America" was formed in Chicago IL.

1920 - Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Amendment guaranteed the right of all American women to vote.

1937 - The first FM radio construction permit was issued in Boston, MA. The station went on the air two years later.

1938 - The Thousand Islands Bridge was dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The bridge connects the U.S. and Canada.

1940 - Canada and the U.S. established a joint defense plan against the possible enemy attacks during World War II.

1958 - Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Lolita" was published.

1963 - James Meredith graduated from the University of Mississippi. He was the first black man to accomplish this feat.

1966 - The first pictures of earth taken from moon orbit were sent back to the U.S.

1980 - George Brett of the Kansas City Royal's had his batting average reach the .400 mark.

1981 - Herschel Walker of the University of Georgia took out an insurance policy with Lloyd's of London. The all-American was insured for one million dollars.

1982 - The volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped the 100-million level for the first time at 132.69 million shares traded.

1982 - The longest baseball game played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL, went 22 innings before the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cubs 2-1.

1983 - 22 people were killed and over $1 billion in damage was caused when hurricane Alicia hit the Texas coast.

1987 - Earl Campbell announced his retirement from the National Football League (NFL).

1989 - Luis Carlos Galan was assassinated outside Bogota, Columbia. Galann was the leading presidential hopeful.

1990 - The first shots were fired by the U.S. in the Persian Gulf Crisis when a U.S. frigate fired rounds across the bow of an Iraqi oil tanker.

1991 - An unsuccessful coup was attempted in against President Mikhail S. Gorbachev. The Soviet hard-liners were responsible. Gorbechev and his family were effectively imprisoned for three days while vacationing in Crimea.

1992 - Larry Bird, after 13 years with the Boston Celtics, announced his retirement.

1997 - Beth Ann Hogan became the first coed in the Virginia Military Institute's 158-year history.

1997 - Patrick Swayze received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1998 - Sam Bowers', ex-Klansman, fifth trial began. Bowers was being tried again for the 1966 firebombing death of Vernon Dahmer, a civil right activist.

1998 - Mrs. Field's Original Cookies announced that they would acquire the Great American Cookie Co.

GENGHIS KHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But he had died on 18 th August 1227.

1987: Gunman kills 14 in Hungerford rampage

A man has shot 14 people dead in the Berkshire town of Hungerford.

Tanks patrol in Red Square after army coup 1991: Russian president ousted
Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev has been overthrown after a coup by Communist hardliners.

UN HQ wreckage 2003: UN envoy dies in Baghdad bombing
A massive bomb wrecks the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, killing at least 17 people including the UN's chief envoy to Iraq.

Destroyed tank in Dieppe 1942: Allies launch daring raid on Dieppe
Allied troops, mainly Canadian, pull back after nine hours of heavy fighting on the French coast at Dieppe, northwest of Paris.

Gary Powers 1960: Moscow jails American U-2 spy pilot
The United States pilot, Francis Gary Powers, is sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Soviet military court.

1975: Davis campaigners stop Test match
Campaigners calling for the release of robber George Davis from prison have vandalised the pitch at Headingley cricket ground in Leeds.

1692 - Five women and a clergyman were executed after being convicted of witchcraft in Salem, MA.

1812 - "Old Ironsides" (the USS Constitution) won the 1812 naval battle against the British frigate Guerriere east of Nova Scotia.

1848 - The discovery of gold in California was reported by the New York Herald.

1856 - The process of processing condensed milk was patented by Gail Borden.

1871 - Orville Wright was born. Orville and his brother Wilbur were the first people to have a successful sustained and controlled flight of an aircraft with a motor.

1883 - The French dress designer Gabrille "Coco" Chanel was born.

1909 - The first car race to be run on brick occurred at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

1917 - Team managers John McGraw and Christy Matthewson were arrested for breaking New York City's blue laws. The crime was their teams were playing baseball on Sunday.

1919 - Afghanistan gained independence from Britain.

1921 - Gene Roddenberry was born in El Paso, Texas. Roddenberry's first career was as an airline pilot. Later, he created the TV series Star Trek.

1929 - "Amos and Andy," the radio comedy program, made its debut starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll.

1934 - Adolf Hitler was approved for sole executive power in Germany as Fuehrer.

1940 - The new Civil Aeronautics Administration awarded honorary license #1 to Orville Wright.

1942 - About 6,000 Canadian and British soldiers launched a raid against the Germans at Dieppe, France. The suffered about 50 percent casualties.

1955 - Severe flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Diane, in the Northeast United States, claimed 200 lives.

1960 - Francis Gary Powers, an American U-2 pilot, was convicted of espionage in Moscow.

1960 - Two dogs were launched in a satellite into Earth's orbit by the Soviet Union.

1962 - Homero Blancas shot a 55 at the Premier Invitational Golf Tournament held in Longview, TX. It was the lowest score in U.S. competitive golf history.

1974 - During an anti-American protest in Nicosia, Cyprus, U.S. Ambassador Rodger P. Davies was fatally wounded by a bullet while in the American embassy.

1977 - Comedian Groucho Marx died at the age of 86.

1978 - 400 people were killed in a theater in Abadan, Iran. Moslem extremist set the fire.

1980 - 301 people died in a fire aboard a Saudi Arabian airliner.

1981 - Two Libyan SU-22s were shot down by two U.S. Navy F-14 fighters in the Gulf of Sidra.

1981 - The final episode of "Charlie's Angels was aired on ABC-TV.

1986 - 20 people were killed in a car bomb explosion in Tehran. Iran initially accused "American agents", however they later executed an "Iraqi agent."

1987 - David Horowitz, consumer reporter in Burbank, CA, was held at gunpoint while on camera and forced to read the assailants note. The program went off the air while police removed the gunman.

1987 - 16 people were killed by gunman Michael Ryan in Britain. It was the countries worst mass killing.

1991 - Soviet hard-liners announced that President Mikhail Gorbachev had been removed from power. Gorbachev returned to power two days later.

1993 - "Cheers" ended an 11-year run on NBC-TV. The show debuted on September 30, 1982.

1995 - Three U.S. diplomats were killed in an accident in their armored vehicle in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

1996 - A judge sentenced former Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker to four years probation for his Whitewater crimes.

1998 - Daniel Arizmenid Lopez, known as the "ear lopper", was arrested in Mexico. Lopez was accused of heading a gang of kidnappers that are responsible for 21 kidnappings.

1998 - The first piece of the 351 foot bronze statue of Christopher Columbus arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

1999 - Lorne Michaels received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1999 - In Belgrade, thousands of Serbs attended a rally to demand the resignation of Yugoslavia's President Slobodan Milosevic.

2002 - Able2know forum was born

2002 - A2K was born

of course

done