Today in History – August 22nd

Published August 22, 2012 |

476, Odoacer is named Rex italiae by his troops.
565, St. Columba reports seeing a monster in Loch Ness, Scotland.
1138, Battle of the Standard between Scotland and England.
1485, King Richard III of England (b. 1452) died.
1639, Madras (now Chennai), India, is founded by British East India Company on a sliver of land bought from local Nayak rulers.
1642, Charles I calls the English Parliament traitors. The English Civil War begins.
1717, Spanish troops land on Sardinia.
1780, James Cook’s ship HMS Resolution returns to England (Cook having been killed on Hawaii during the voyage).
1791, Beginning of the Haitian Slave Revolution in Saint-Domingue.
1831, Nat Turner’s slave rebellion commences just after midnight in Southampton, Virginia.
1846 the Second Federal Republic of Mexico is established.
1848, The US annexes New Mexico.
1849, The 1st air raid in history. Austria launches pilotless balloons against the city of Venice.
1851, The 1st America’s Cup is won by the yacht America.
1862, Claude Debussy, French composer (d. 1918) was born.
1864, 12 nations sign the 1st Geneva Convention. The Red Cross is formed.
1893, Dorothy Parker, American writer (d. 1967) was born.
1902, Cadillac Motor Company is founded.
1902, Theodore Roosevelt becomes the 1st President of the US to ride in an automobile.
1908, Henri Cartier-Bresson, French photographer (d. 2004) was born.
1910, Korea is annexed by Japan with the signing of the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty.
1912, John Lee Hooker, American musician (d. 2001) was born.
1914, WWI: in Belgium, British and German troops clash for the 1st time in the war.
1920, Ray Bradbury, American writer (d. 2012) was born.
1922, Michael Collins, leader of the Irish Free State Army is shot dead during an Anti-Treaty ambush during the Irish Civil War.
1926, Gold is discovered in Johannesburg, South Africa.
1941, WWII: German troops reach Leningrad, leading to the siege of Leningrad.
1942, WWII: Brazil declares war on Germany and Italy.
1944, WWII: Holocaust of Kedros in Crete by German forces
1944, WWII: Romania is captured by the Soviet Union.
1950, Althea Gibson becomes the 1st black competitor in international tennis.
1961, Ida Siekmann died attempting to cross the Berlin Wall.
1977, Sebastian Cabot, English-born actor (b. 1918) died.
1980, James Smith McDonnell, American aircraft manufacturer (b. 1899) died.
1989, Huey P. Newton, American activist (b. 1942) died.
2011, Jack Layton, Canadian politician (b. 1950) died.

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Chris Rivait

Chris loves history and hopes that Yesteeyear becomes a place where everyone can share their history knowledge. Chris owns an Internet Marketing company, Arrivait Marketing. He has a wonderful wife and four great children.