August Facts… Did You Know?

Interesting and Little Known Facts from August

American History Edition

The month of August is filled with many little known and interesting facts from American history. Hope you enjoy this month’s edition of August Facts… Did you know?

August Facts

August 1, 1876 – Colorado became the 38th state.

August 2, 1776 – Most of the members of the Continental Congress signed the parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence.

August 2, 1876 – Wild Bill Hickok was shot and killed during a poker game in Deadwood, SD.  (Note:  Deadwood, SD is fun place to visit if you have never been).

August 3, 1923 – Calvin Coolidge became President after the death of Warren G. Harding.

August 3, 1492 – A little before “American” history, but an important date, Christopher Columbus sailed looking for a shorter route to the West Indies.  On October 12, 1492, he landed in the Bahamas.

August 5, 1845 – The cornerstone was laid for the Statue of Liberty.

August 6, 1945 – The United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.  A second bomb was dropped on August 9, 1945 on Nagasaki, Japan.  Japan surrendered on August 9th ending the war in the Pacific.

August 7, 1782 – George Washington created the Purple Heart.

August 7, 1990 – Operation Desert shield began to protect Kuwait from advances and attacks from Iraq.

August 8, 1876 – Thomas Edison received a patent for the mimeograph, a machine used to make copies for 100 years until the copy machine replaced it.

August 9, 1974 – Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States.  Richard Nixon resigned because he was facing a possible impeachment.  He was the only US President to ever resign.  When Gerald Ford became President after Nixon, he became the only person to be a US President that was not elected as President or Vice President.

August 10, 1821 – Missouri became the 21st state.

August 14, 1765 – The Sons of Liberty protest the Stamp Act under an elm tree in Boston.  The tree became known as the Liberty Tree.

August 19, 1797 – The USS Constitution was commissioned.  The USS Constitution is the world’s oldest commissioned warship.  (Note:  If you are ever in Boston, it’s worth your time to visit the USS Constitution).

August 21, 1831 – The Lincoln-Douglas debates began.

August 24, 1814 – As the British troops moved toward Washington, Dolley Madison saves the portrait of George Washington from the White House during the War of 1812.

August 24, 1992 – Hurricane Andrew devastates South Florida.

August 24, 1932 – Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly across the United States.

August 27, 1776 – The Battle for Rhode Island was fought during the Revolutionary War.

August 28, 1963 – Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial.

Your Turn…

What are your favorite moments from American history in August?

Sources include – The American Patriot’s Almanac by William Bennett and John T.E. Cribb and The Almanac of American History edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

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