1400s / 15th century history on the 1st of August
1498 : Christopher Columbus became the 1st European to visit Venezuela (which it is now known), near the mouth of South America’s Orinoco river.
1700s / 18th century history on the 1st of August
1774 : Joseph Priestley, the British scientist, discovered oxygen gas independently, by the thermal decomposition of mercuric oxide, after isolating it.
1800s / 19th century history on the 1st of August
1818 : MARiA MiTCHELL, the American astronomer, was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA (died in 1889 aged 70). She discovered a comet named 1847 VI (C/1847 T1 is the modern designation) in 1847. King Christian VIII of Denmark presented her with a gold medal in 1848, for her discovery. The comet was later named “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” to honour her. Maria Mitchell was the 1st internationally known woman to work as a professional astronomer and a professor of astronomy. She was also the 1st woman elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
1831 : New London Bridge opened. The official opening was attended by King William IV and Queen Adelaide, which featured a banquet in a pavilion erected on the bridge. The northern approach road, King William Street, was renamed after the monarch.
1855 : The 1st ascent of Monte Rosa, the 2nd highest summit in the Alps. Monte Rosa elevation is 4,634 metres (15,203 feet).
1876 : COLORADO was admitted as the 38th U.S. state. Colorado is the 8th largest state in USA, with a total area size of 269,837 km2 (104,094 square miles), and a population of over 5.7 million people in 2020. Colorado Official State Web Portal : colorado.gov
1893 : Shredded wheat was patented by Henry Perky, a lawyer and businessman. Shredded wheat is a breakfast cereal made from whole wheat in pillow-shaped biscuits.
1900s / 20th century history on the 1st of August
1907 : Th origin of the worldwide Scouting movement, began with the start of the 1st Scout camp on Brownsea Island, in the county of Dorset, in England.
1914 : The German Empire declared war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilized because of World War I.
1921 : Pat McDonald, the Australian actress, was born Patricia Ethell McDonald, in Elwood, Victoria, Australia (died in 1990 aged 68). She was best known for playing gossip Dorrie Evans in the Number 96 television series between from 1972 to 1977, and Aunty Fiona Thompson in the Sons and Daughters television series from 1981 to 1987. Pat McDonald won 4 Logie awards.
1936 : The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
1936 : Yves Saint Laurent, the French fashion designer, was born in Oran, French Algeria (died in 2008 aged 71). He co-founded Yves Saint Laurent, the French luxury fashion house. Official website : YSL.com
1942 : Jerry Garcia, the American singer-songwriter and guitarist, was born Jerome John Garcia, in San Francisco, California, USA (died in 1995 aged 53). He is best known from the Grateful Dead rock band, as a founding member, principal songwriter, lead guitarist and a vocalist. Official website : Dead.net
1957 : North American Aerospace Defense Command aka NORAD was formed by the United States and Canada.
1963 : COOLiO, the American rapper, was born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., in Compton, California, USA. He is best known for his 1995 hit single “Gangsta’s Paradise“, which reached number 1 in 19 countries, and was the all-time number 1 song for 1995 in 5 countries, with over 5 million copies sold. The song was used as the soundtrack for the 1995 film Dangerous Minds and won him many awards, including a Grammy, 2 MTV Video Music Awards, and a Billboard Music Award. Official website : CoolioWorld.com
1965 : Dune, the novel by Frank Herbert, was published for the first time. It was named as the world’s best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.
1971 : The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1976 : Niki Lauda had a severe crash at the German Grand Prix at Nurburgring, which almost killed him.
1981 : MTV started broadcasting in the United States, and aired the 1st video, Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles. Official website : MTV.com
1984 : LiNDOW MAN, the preserved bog body, was discovered by peat cutters at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, in northwest England. The body is thought to be over 1900 years old, and has been dated to the time of 2 BC to 119 AD, from the Iron Age or Romano-British period. Lindow Woman was discovered in the same place, about 1 year earlier.
1993 : The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 came to a peak.
2000s / 21st century history on the 1st of August
2004 : A supermarket fire in Asunción, Paraguay, resulted in the deaths of 374 people, and left 450 others injured.
2007 : The I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the evening peak hour. The catastrophic failure of the bridge resulted in the deaths of 13 people, and left 145 people injured.
2008 : K2 disaster : The worst mountaineering accident of all time on K2, mainly due to an ice avalanche, which resulted in the deaths of 11 mountaineers, from international expeditions. K2 is the 2nd highest mountain in the world, located in the Karakoram range, which is part of Pakistan and China.
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