1676 – “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 Maugham, 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.

1939 – “The Wizard of Oz” premiered in Oconomowoc, WI. Judy Garland became famous for the movie’s song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The movie premiered in Hollywood on August 15th.

1944 – In France, Pierre Laval released Edouard Herriot.

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.

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 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.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

1686 ”“ John Balguy, English philosopher (d. 1748)

1696 ”“ Maurice Greene, English composer (d. 1755)

1762 ”“ King George IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1830)

1859 ”“ Katharine Lee Bates, American poet (d. 1929)

1860 ”“ Klara Hitler, Austrian mother of dictator Adolf Hitler (d. 1907)

1866 ”“ Jacinto Benavente, Spanish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1954)

1876 ”“ Mary Roberts Rinehart, American mystery writer (d. 1958)

1880 ”“ Radclyffe Hall, British poet, novelist and LGBT activist (d. 1943)

1881 ”“ Cecil B. DeMille, American film director (d. 1959)

1906 ”“ Tedd Pierce, American animator (d. 1972)

1907 ”“ Joe Besser, American actor and comedian (d. 1988)

1910 ”“ Jane Wyatt, American actress (d. 2006)

1910 ”“ Yusof bin Ishak, first President of Singapore (d. 1970)

1912 ”“ Samuel Fuller, American film director (d. 1997)

1913 ”“ Richard Bare, American director

1914 ”“ Gerd Buchdahl, German philosopher (d. 2001)

1924 ”“ Derek Shackleton, English cricketer (d. 2007)

1925 ”“ Norris McWhirter, Scottish co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (d. 2004)

1925 ”“ Ross McWhirter, Scottish co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (d. 1975)

1925 ”“ George Wetherill, American physicist (d. 2006)

1926 ”“ Joe Jones, American R&B singer (d. 2005)

1926 ”“ Wallace Markfield, American writer (d. 2002)

1928 ”“ Dan Curtis, American film and television producer and director (d.2006)

1931 ”“ William Goldman, American screenwriter

1939 ”“ George Hamilton, American actor

1946 ”“ Terry Nutkins, British TV presenter

1949 ”“ Mark Knopfler, British singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dire Straits)

1952 ”“ Chen Kaige, Chinese film director

1954 ”“ Sam J. Jones, American actor

1954 ”“ François Hollande, President of France

1956 ”“ Bruce Greenwood, Canadian actor

1956 ”“ Sidath Wettimuny, Sri Lankan cricketer

1957 ”“ Friedhelm Schütte, German footballer

1959 ”“ Amanda Redman, English actress

1960 ”“ Laurent Fignon, French cyclist (d. 2010)

1960 ”“ Greg Thomas, England cricketer

1961 ”“ Roy Hay, British guitarist and keyboardist (Culture Club)

1968 ”“ Andras Jones, American actor

1969 ”“ Tanita Tikaram, British singer

1970 ”“ Anthony Swofford, American novelist

1971 ”“ Michael Ian Black, American comedian

1971 ”“ Yvette Nicole Brown, American actress

1971 ”“ Pete Sampras, American tennis player

1972 ”“ Mark Kinsella, Irish footballer

1973 ”“ Richard Reid, British terrorist (the “Shoe Bomber”)

1975 ”“ Casey Affleck, American actor

1980 ”“ Maggie Lawson, American actress

1980 ”“ Dominique Swain, American actress

1981 ”“ Tony Capaldi, Northern Irish footballer

1981 ”“ Djibril Cissé, French footballer

1983 ”“ Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Dutch footballer

1983 ”“ Manoa Vosawai, Italian rugby player

1989 ”“ Tom Cleverley, English footballer

1990 ”“ Mario Balotelli, Italian footballer