On August 5, 1775, the Spanish ship, San Carlos, commanded by Juan Manuel de Ayala, entered what would soon be called San Francisco Bay. Continue reading.

On August 5, 1858, Julia Archibald Holmes became the first woman on record to reach the summit of Pikes Peak. Continue reading.

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A bit of August 5th history…

910 - The last major Viking army to raid England is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex led by King Edward and Earl Aethelred (pictured)

1305 - William Wallace, who led Scottish resistance to England, is captured and transported to London for trial and execution

1583 - Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland for the British Crown; 1st English colony in North America and the beginning of the British Empire

1861 - President Lincoln signs 1st US personal Income Tax into law (3% of incomes over $800)

1992 - 4 officers of the LA Police Department acquitted on charges of beating Rodney King, are indicted on civil rights charges 

On August 4, 1753, George Washington became a Master Mason, the highest rank in the Fraternity of Freemasonry. Continue reading.

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A bit of August 4th history…

1693 - Date typically ascribed to Dom Perignon’s invention of champagne

1862 - US government collects 1st income tax

1944 - Anne Frank arrested in Amsterdam by German Security Police following a tip-off from an unidentified informer

1984 - Prince’s “Purple Rain” album goes #1 and stays there for 24 weeks

2010 - California’s proposition 8, the ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriage passed by state voters in 2008, is overturned by Judge Walker in case Perry v Schwarzenegger

2015 - Muppets Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog announce the end of their relationship on twitter (pictured) 

On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus set out on his first voyage to what came to be known as the New World. Continue reading,  

Calvin Coolidge took the presidential oath of office on August 3, 1923, after the unexpected death in office of President Warren Harding. Continue reading.

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A bit of August 3rd history…

1492 - Christopher Columbus sets sail on his 1st voyage with 3 ships from Spain for the “Indies”

1798 - Battle of the Nile: British admiral Horatio Nelson forces the remnants of the French fleet to surrender, concluding a decisive victory for the British

1882 - US Congress passes 1st law restricting immigration

1908 - Fossil remains of a nearly complete 60,000 year old Neanderthal man, “old man of La Chappelle” are found in France (pictured)

1914 - Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France, beginning WWI

1981 - 13,000 Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) begin their strike; US President Reagan states “if they don not report for work within 48 hours they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated”

2019 - 2 mass shootings within 24 hours in the US - El Paso, TX 22 dead and 24 injured, and Dayton, OH 9 dead and 27 injured 

Novelist, essayist, and playwright James Baldwin was born in August 2, 1924, in New York City. Continue reading.

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A bit of August 2nd history…

338 BC - Macedonian army led by Philip II defeats combined forces of Athens and Thebes in Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean

216 BC - 2nd Punic War: Battle of Cannae - Carthaginian army led by Hannibal defeats the numerically superior Roman army (pictured)

1870 - Tower subway, world’s 1st underground tube railway, opens in London

1990 - Iraq invades Kuwait

2018 - Apple becomes 1st American public listed company to reach $1 trillion in value

2019 - Ed Sheeran’s Divide tour becomes the most attended and highest grossing tour of all time, overtaking U2, after 893 days on the road 

After its first bid for statehood was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, Colorado entered the Union on August 1, 1876. Continue reading.

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A bit of Aug 1st history…

527 - Justinian I becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire

1086 - Results of the Doomsday inquiry presented to William the Conqueror in Salisbury (the date of the compilation and the Great Doomsday are historically contestable)

1834 - Slavery outlawed in British Empire with emancipation bill

1900 - The 1st Michelin Guide is published by the Michelin brothers as a hotel and restaurant reference guide to encourage more travel and thus boost tire sales

1914 - Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany declares war on his nephew Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in WWI

1957 - US and Canada create North American Air Defense Command (NORAD)

1966 - University of Texas Tower Sniper wounds 31 and kills 16

1975 - Helsinki Pact guaranteeing boundaries signed by 35 nations

1981 - MTV premiers at 12:01 am

1999 - Petronas Towers officially opened in Kuala Lampur as the world’s tallest buildings at 1483 ft or 451.9 m (pictured)