7th AUGUST ~ HiSTORY ON THiS DAY

1700s / 18th century history on the 7th of August

1782 : George Washington ordered the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle. It was later renamed the Purple Heart.

The Purple Heart US Military Decoration (Sabaton History verified YouTube channel video) over 100,000 views

1789 : The United States Department of War was established. It was dissolved in 1947, with the creation of the Department of the Air Force.

1800s / 19th century history on the 7th of August

1858 : The 1st Australian rules football match was played between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College.

Australian Rules Football & AFL: A brief history of the game (Pop History YouTube channel video) over 3000 views

1876 : Mata Hari the Dutch dancer and spy, was born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, in Leeuwarden, Netherlands (died in 1917 aged 41).

1900s / 20th century history on the 7th of August

1927 : The Peace Bridge opened between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.

1916 : Kermit Love the American actor, puppet maker, and costume designer, was born in Spring Lake, New Jersey, USA (died in 2008 aged 91). He was best known for his work on the Muppets and Sesame Street television shows.

1942 : B. J. Thomas the American singer was born Billy Joe Thomas, in Hugo, Oklahoma, USA (died in 2021 aged 78). Official website : BJThomas.com

Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head by B.J. Thomas lyrics video

1944 : IBM dedicated the 1st program controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, best known best as the Harvard Mark I.

1947 : Thor Heyerdahl’s balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashed into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day journey of 7,000 kilometres (4,300 miles) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic people could have traveled from South America.

1955 : Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, sold its first transistor radios in Japan.

1959 : The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny went into circulation. It replaced the sheaves of wheat design, and was minted until 2008.

1959 : Explorer 6 launched from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA.

1960 : Côte d’Ivoire became independent from France.

1960 : David Duchovny the American actor was born in New York, USA.

David Duchovny talks all about his career, from The X-Files to Californication (Vanity Fair verified YouTube channel video)

1966 : Jimmy Wales the American-British internet entrepreneur was born in Huntsville, Alabama, USA. He is best known as the co-founder of Wikipedia : wikipedia.org | official website of Jimmy Wales : JimmyWales.com

Jimmy Wales: talks about how he and a ragtag band created Wikipedia in 2007 (TED verified YouTube channel video) over 115 million views

1968 : Sophie Lee the Australian actress and author was born in Newcastle, NSW, Australia.

1974 : Philippe Petit performed a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center at a height of 1,368 feet (417m) in the air.

1975 : Megan Gale the Australian model and actress was born in Parmelia, Western Australia.

1975 : Charlize Theron the South African and American actress was born in Benoni, South Africa. Website : CharlizeAfricaOutreach.org

Charlize Theron interview on Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis (Funny Or Die verified YouTube channel video) over 25 million views

1976 : Viking 2 entered orbit around Mars.

1979 : Several tornadoes hit the city of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada and surrounding areas.

1981 : The Washington Star ceased all operations after 128 years of publication.

1982 : Abbie Cornish the Australian actress and rapper, was born in Lochinvar, New South Wales, Australia. Website : Dusk1.com

1985 : Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai were chosen to be Japan’s 1st astronauts.

1987 : Lynne Cox became the 1st person to swim from the United States to the Soviet Union, crossing from Little Diomede Island in Alaska to Big Diomede in the Soviet Union.

1989 : U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others died in a plane crash in Ethiopia.

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This page was last updated on the 7th August 2022

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