Historical Events on Friday, 1st August

01/08/2023

Former US President Donald Trump is indicted for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, his third indictment in 2023.

Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.

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01/08/2017

A suicide attack on a mosque in Herat, Afghanistan kills 20 people.

A suicide attack is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators intentionally end their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is often associated with terrorism or war. When the attackers are labelled as terrorists, the attacks are sometimes referred to as an act of suicide terrorism. Military use of suicide is not directly regulated by international law, but suicide attacks sometimes violate prohibitions against perfidy or targeting civilians. Suicide attacks have occurred in various contexts, ranging from military campaigns—such as the Japanese kamikaze pilots during World War II (1944–1945)—to more contemporary Islamic terrorist campaigns—including the September 11 attacks in 2001. Suicide attacks have been used by a wide range of political ideologies, from far-right to far-left.

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01/08/2008

The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.

The Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway is a Chinese high-speed railway that runs 117 kilometres (72.7 mi) line between Beijing and Tianjin. Designed for passenger traffic only, the Chinese government built the line to accommodate trains traveling at a maximum speed of 350 km/h (217 mph), and currently carries CRH high-speed trains running speeds up to 350 km/h (217 mph) since August 2018.

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Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth, in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.

The 2008 K2 disaster occurred on 1 August 2008, when 11 mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth. Three others were seriously injured. The series of deaths, over the course of the Friday ascent and Saturday descent, was the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering. Some of the specific details remain uncertain, with different plausible scenarios having been given about different climbers' timing and actions, and different versions reported later via survivors' eyewitness accounts or via radio communications of climbers who died later in the course of events on K2 that day.

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01/08/2007

The I-35W Mississippi River bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.

The I-35W Mississippi River bridge was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River one-half mile downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The bridge opened in 1967, and was Minnesota's third busiest, carrying 140,000 vehicles daily. After 39 years in service, it experienced a catastrophic failure during the evening rush hour on August 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the collapse, noting that an excessively thin gusset plate ripped along a line of rivets. The amount of weight on the bridge at the time of failure was also cited by the NTSB as a contributing factor.

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01/08/2004

A supermarket fire kills 424 people and injures 360 others in Asunción, Paraguay.

The Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire, also known as the Ycuá Bolaños Tragedy, occurred on 1 August 2004 in Asunción, Paraguay. After the fire broke out, exits were locked to prevent people from stealing merchandise. The building also lacked adequate fire protection systems. Over 400 people were killed and more than 300 were injured. The president of the supermarket company, as well as various employees, were later sentenced to prison terms for their actions during the fire.

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01/08/1998

Puntland, an autonomous state in northeastern Somalia, was officially established following a constitutional conference in Garowe, Issims and tribal chiefs agreed to create a self-declared government until Somalia recovered.

Puntland, officially the Puntland State of Somalia, is a semi-autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and is a federal member state of Somalia. Puntland is located in the northeast of Somalia. Its capital is the city of Garoowe in the Nugal region. The region had a population of 4,334,633 in 2016.

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01/08/1993

The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.

The Great Flood of 1993 was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993.

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01/08/1990

A plane crash in the Karabakh Range kills 46 people.

Aeroflot Flight E-35D was an aviation disaster that occurred on 1 August 1990 in the vicinity of Stepanakert with a Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft operated by Aeroflot, resulting in the deaths of all 46 people on board.

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01/08/1988

A British soldier was killed in the Inglis Barracks bombing in London, England.

This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1980 to 1989. For actions before and after this period see Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions.

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01/08/1984

Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. Sphagnum moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most common components in peat, although many other plants can contribute. The biological features of sphagnum mosses act to create a habitat aiding peat formation, a phenomenon termed 'habitat manipulation'. Soils consisting primarily of peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding or stagnant water obstructs the flow of oxygen from the atmosphere, slowing the rate of decomposition. Peat properties such as organic matter content and saturated hydraulic conductivity can exhibit high spatial heterogeneity.

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01/08/1981

MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.

MTV is an American cable television channel and the flagship namesake property of the MTV Entertainment Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Skydance. Launched on August 1, 1981, the channel originally aired music videos and related music entertainment programming guided by television personalities known as video jockeys (VJs). MTV soon began establishing its presence overseas, eventually gaining an unprecedented cult following and becoming one of the major factors in cable programming's rise to fame, leading American corporations to dominate the television economy in the 1990s.

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01/08/1980

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world's first democratically elected female head of state.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is an Icelandic politician and theatre director who was the fourth president of Iceland, serving from 1980 to 1996, the first woman to hold the position and the first in the world to be democratically elected president of a country. Having served for 16 years, she was also the longest-serving elected female head of state in history. Vigdís is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and a member of the Club of Madrid.

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A train crash kills 18 people and injures over 170 more in County Cork, Ireland.

The Buttevant Rail Disaster was a train crash that occurred on 1 August 1980 at Buttevant Railway Station, County Cork, in Ireland, 220 kilometres (137 mi) from Dublin on the main line to Cork. More than 70 people were injured, and 18 died, in one of Ireland's worst rail disasters.

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01/08/1976

Niki Lauda has a severe accident that almost claims his life at the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive, and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from 1971 to 1979 and from 1982 to 1985. Lauda won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the time of his retirement—held the record for most podium finishes (54); he won 25 Grands Prix across 13 seasons, and remains the only driver to have won a World Drivers' Championship with both Ferrari and McLaren.

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01/08/1975

The final act of the CSCE meeting is signed in Helsinki, Finland.

The Helsinki Final Act, also known as Helsinki Accords or Helsinki Declaration, was the document signed at the closing meeting of the third phase of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland, between 30 July and 1 August 1975, following two years of negotiations known as the Helsinki Process. All then-existing European countries except Andorra and Hoxhaist Albania, as well as the United States and Canada, signed the Final Act in an attempt to improve the détente between the East and the West. The Helsinki Accords, however, were not binding as they did not have treaty status that would have to be ratified by parliaments. Sometimes the term "Helsinki pact(s)" was also used unofficially.

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01/08/1974

Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the "Green Line", dividing Cyprus into two zones.

There is an ongoing dispute between the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus, particularly in the north where Turkish troops are deployed. This is an example of a protracted social conflict. The Cyprus dispute began after the Greek Cypriot community challenged the British administration of the island in 1955, the 1974 Cypriot coup d'état executed by the Cypriot National Guard and sponsored by the Greek military junta, and the ensuing Turkish military invasion of the island, and hence the presence of Turkish soldiers, despite a legal reinstatement of a stable government. The desire of some of the ethnic Turkish people for the partition of the island of Cyprus through Taksim, the desire of some of the ethnic Greek people for the unification with Greece (Enosis), and mainland Turkish nationalists settling in as a show of force as a supposed means of protecting their people from what they considered to be the threat of Greek Cypriots also plays a role in the dispute.

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01/08/1971

The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The Concert for Bangladesh was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and the Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were held at 2:30 and 8:00 pm on Sunday, 1 August 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to raise international awareness of, and fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide and the 1970 Bhola cyclone. The concerts were followed by a bestselling live album, a boxed three-record set, and Apple Films' concert documentary, which opened in cinemas in the spring of 1972.

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01/08/1968

The coronation of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei, is held.

Hassanal Bolkiah Muiz'zaddin Wad'daulah is Sultan of Brunei, reigning since 1967, and has also served as Prime Minister of Brunei since its independence from British rule in 1984. He is among the world's few remaining absolute monarchs.

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01/08/1966

Charles Whitman kills 15 people at the University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.

Charles Joseph Whitman was an American mass murderer and Marine veteran who became known as the "Texas Tower Sniper". On August 1, 1966, Whitman used knives to kill his mother and his wife in their respective homes, then went to the University of Texas at Austin with multiple firearms and began indiscriminately shooting at people. He fatally shot three people inside UT Austin's Main Building, then accessed the 28th-floor observation deck on the building's clock tower. There, he fired at random people for 96 minutes, killing an additional eleven people and wounding 31 others before he was shot dead by the Austin Police Department.

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Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by CCP chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society.

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01/08/1965

Frank Herbert's novel, Dune was published for the first time. It was named as the world's best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.

Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune and five sequels to it. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer.

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01/08/1964

The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Belgian Congo was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. It is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

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01/08/1961

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation's first centralized military espionage organization.

Robert Strange McNamara was an American businessman and government official who served as the eighth United States secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson at the height of the Cold War. He remains the longest-serving secretary of defense, having remained in office over seven years. He played a major role in promoting the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy, which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis.

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01/08/1960

Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.

The Kingdom of Dahomey (, Fon: Danhɔmɛ, lit. 'In the Belly of Chief Dan' was a West African kingdom located within the present-day Republic of Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau among the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century by expanding south to conquer key cities like Whydah belonging to the Kingdom of Whydah on the Atlantic coast, which granted it unhindered access to the Atlantic Slave Trade.

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Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.

Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million; and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory — with a metropolitan population of over 2.3 million. Built as a planned city in the 1960s and established in 1967 along the Margalla Hills, Islamabad replaced Karachi as Pakistan's national capital. It is located north of the city of Rawalpindi, the largest in northern Punjab, with which it forms a metropolitan area of over 5.7 million inhabitants.

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01/08/1957

The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

The North American Aerospace Defense Command is a bi-national mutual defense organization in Canada and the United States. Established 12 September 1957 as the North American Air Defense Command, NORAD is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, which also serves as the headquarters of United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM).

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01/08/1950

Guam is organized as an unincorporated territory of the United States as the President Harry S. Truman signs the Guam Organic Act.

Guam is an island that is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, and the most populous village is Dededo. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States, as measured from the geographic center of the U.S. with point Udall. In Oceania, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia. In 2022, its population was 168,801. Chamorros are its largest ethnic group, but a minority on the multiethnic island. The territory spans 210 square miles and has a population density of 775 per square mile (299/km2).

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01/08/1946

Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.

The Russian Liberation Army, also known as the Vlasov army was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Soviet defectors, that fought under German command during World War II. From January 1945, the army was led by Andrey Vlasov, a Red Army general who had defected, and members of the army are often referred to as Vlasovtsy. In 1944, it became known as the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia.

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01/08/1944

World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.

The Warsaw Uprising, sometimes referred to as the August Uprising, or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led by the Polish resistance Home Army. The uprising was timed to coincide with the retreat of the German forces from Poland ahead of the Soviet advance. While approaching the eastern suburbs of the city, the Red Army halted combat operations, enabling the Germans to regroup and defeat the Polish resistance and to destroy the city in retaliation. The Uprising was fought for 63 days with little outside support. It was the single largest military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II. The defeat of the uprising and suppression of the Home Army enabled the pro-Soviet Polish administration, instead of the Polish government-in-exile based in London, to take control of Poland afterwards. Poland remained part of the Soviet-aligned Eastern Bloc throughout the Cold War until 1989.

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01/08/1943

World War II: Operation Tidal Wave, also known as "Black Sunday", was a failed American attempt to destroy Romanian oil fields.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

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01/08/1937

Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution "Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH" to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.

Josip Broz, commonly known as Tito, was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who led Yugoslavia as prime minister from 1943 to 1963 and as president from 1953 until his death in 1980. He was the longtime leader of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, supreme commander of the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II, and was one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement. The political ideology and policies associated with his rule are known as Titoism.

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01/08/1936

The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.

The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XI Olympiad and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, the capital of Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona at the 29th International Olympic Committee meeting on 26 April 1931. The 1936 Games marked the second and most recent time the IOC gathered to vote in a city bidding to host those Games. Later rule modifications forbade cities hosting the bid vote from being awarded the games.

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01/08/1933

Anti-Fascist activists Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff and August Lütgens are executed by the Nazi regime in Altona.

Bruno Guido Camillo Tesch was a German communist and member of the Young Communist League of Germany. At age 20, he was convicted of murder and executed in connection with the Altona Bloody Sunday riot, a Sturmabteilung (SA) march on 17 July 1932 that turned violent and led to 18 people being shot and killed. His conviction was overturned in November 1992.

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01/08/1927

The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.

The Nanchang Uprising of August 1927 was the point at which conflict between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party of China (Kuomintang) became an outright rebellion. This began the Chinese Civil War. It was initiated by the Communists in response to the massacre of their party comrades in Shanghai by the Kuomintang four months before.

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01/08/1915

Patrick Pearse gives his famous speech "Ireland unfree shall never be at peace" at O'Donovan Rossa's funeral in Dublin.

Patrick Henry Pearse was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916. Following his execution along with fifteen others, Pearse came to be seen by many as the embodiment of the rebellion.

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01/08/1914

World War I: The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire.

World War I, or the First World War, also known as The Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million military and civilian casualties and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.

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World War I: The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.

The Swiss Armed Forces are the military forces of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are conscripts or volunteers aged 19 to 34. Because of Switzerland's long history of neutrality, the Swiss Armed Forces have not been involved in foreign wars since the early 19th century, but do participate in international peacekeeping missions. Switzerland is part of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme.

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01/08/1911

Harriet Quimby takes her pilot's test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator's certificate.

Harriet Quimby was an American pioneering aviator, journalist, and film screenwriter. In 1911, she became the first woman in the United States to receive a pilot's license and in 1912 the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel. Although Quimby only flew for one year, and died at the age of 37 in a flying accident, she strongly influenced the role of women in aviation.

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01/08/1907

The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.

Brownsea Island Scout camp is a historic Scout campsite on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour in southern England, which was the site of Robert Baden-Powell's 1907 experimental camp for boys to test ideas for his book Scouting for Boys, which led to the rapid growth of the Scout movement. Boys from different social backgrounds participated from 1 to 8 August 1907 in activities around camping, observation, woodcraft, chivalry, lifesaving and patriotism.

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01/08/1894

The Empire of Japan and Qing China declare war on each other after a week of fighting over Korea, formally inaugurating the First Sino-Japanese War.

The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the period of Japanese history spanning 79 years, starting from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on 3 May 1947. From August 1910 to September 1945, it included the Japanese archipelago, the Kurils, Karafuto, Korea, and Taiwan. The South Seas Mandate and concessions such as the Kwantung Leased Territory were de jure not internal parts of the empire but dependent territories. In the closing stages of World War II, with Japan defeated alongside the rest of the Axis powers, the formalized surrender was issued on 2 September 1945, in compliance with the Potsdam Declaration of the Allies, and the empire's territory subsequently shrunk to cover only the Japanese archipelago, excluding Okinawa until the handover in 1972.

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01/08/1893

Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.

Henry Drushel Perky was a lawyer, businessman, promoter, and inventor. Perky is the inventor of shredded wheat.

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01/08/1876

Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.

Colorado is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, and part of the Southwestern United States, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, and Oklahoma to the southeast. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers, and desert lands. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is the eighth-largest U.S. state by area and the 20th by population. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population of Colorado to be 5,957,493 as of July 1, 2024, a 3.2% increase from the 2020 United States census.

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01/08/1863

At the suggestion of Senator J. V. Snellman and the order of Emperor Alexander II, full rights are promised to the Finnish language by a language regulation in the Grand Duchy of Finland.

Johan Vilhelm Snellman was an influential Fennoman philosopher and Finnish statesman, ennobled in 1866. He was one of the most important 'awakeners' or promoters of Finnish nationalism, alongside Elias Lönnrot and J. L. Runeberg.

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01/08/1855

The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.

Monte Rosa is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over 4,000 m (13,000 ft), is the Dufourspitze, the second highest mountain in the Alps and western Europe, after Mont Blanc.

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01/08/1849

Joven Daniel wrecks at the coast of Araucanía, Chile, leading to allegations that local Mapuche tribes murdered survivors and kidnapped Elisa Bravo.

Joven Daniel was a brigantine of the Chilean Navy that entered service in 1838 serving as transport in Manuel Bulnes' expedition to Peru during the War of the Confederation. The ship became later known for its wreck off the coast of Araucanía in 1849. As it wrecked in territory outside Chilean government control, Chilean authorities struggled to elucidate the fate of possible survivors amidst inter-indigenous accusations of looting, murder and other atrocitities among local Mapuche. The events spinning off the wreckage fueled strong anti-Mapuche sentiments in Chilean society, contributing years later to the Chilean resolution to invade their hithereto independent territories.

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01/08/1842

The Lombard Street riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

The Lombard Street riot was a racially motivated mob attack on the free Black community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 1, 1842.

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01/08/1834

Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force, although it remains legal in the possessions of the East India Company until the passage of the Indian Slavery Act, 1843.

Abolitionism in the United Kingdom was the movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to end the practice of slavery, whether formal or informal, in the United Kingdom, the British Empire and the world, including ending the Atlantic slave trade. It was part of a wider abolitionism movement in Western Europe and the Americas. It spanned over a century and involved a wide range of activists, politicians, religious groups, and former slaves.

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Construction begins on the Wilberforce Monument in Kingston Upon Hull.

The Wilberforce Monument is a monument honouring English politician and abolitionist William Wilberforce in Kingston Upon Hull, England. The ashlar structure consists of a Doric column topped by a statue of Wilberforce. Construction on the monument began in 1834 and was completed the following year. In 2011, it was designated a Grade II listed structure.

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01/08/1801

First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captures the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.

The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war against the United States over disputes regarding tributary payments in exchange for a cessation of Tripolitanian commerce raiding at sea. United States president Thomas Jefferson refused to pay this tribute. The First Barbary War was the first major American war fought outside the New World, and in the Arab world, besides the smaller American–Algerian War (1785–1795).

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01/08/1800

The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The acts came into force between 31 December 1800 and 1 January 1801, and the merged Parliament of the United Kingdom had its first meeting on 22 January 1801.

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01/08/1798

French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay): Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and several other countries. The wars are divided into two periods: the War of the First Coalition (1792–1797) and the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802). Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension. After a decade of constant warfare and aggressive diplomacy, France had conquered territories in the Italian peninsula, the Low Countries, and the Rhineland with its very large and powerful military which had been totally mobilized for war against most of Europe with mass conscription of the vast French population. French success in these conflicts ensured military occupation and the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe.

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01/08/1774

British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.

Joseph Priestley was an English chemist, Unitarian, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator and classical liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted experiments in several areas of science.

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01/08/1759

Seven Years' War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French. In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.

The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a global war fought by numerous great powers, primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and the Indian subcontinent. The warring states were Great Britain and Prussia fighting against France and Austria, with other countries joining these coalitions: Portugal, Spain, Saxony, Sweden, and Russia. Related conflicts include the Third Silesian War, French and Indian War, Third Carnatic War, Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763), and Spanish–Portuguese War.

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01/08/1714

George, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain, marking the beginning of the Georgian era of British history.

Hanover is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest in northern Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen. Hanover's urban area comprises the towns of Garbsen, Langenhagen and Laatzen and has a population of about 791,000 (2018). The Hanover Region has some 1.16 million inhabitants (2019) and is the largest in the Hanover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region, the 17th biggest metropolitan area by GDP in the European Union.

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01/08/1664

Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.

The Ottoman Empire, historically also known as the Turkish Empire, was a state that spanned much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th century to the early 20th century, centered in modern-day Turkey. It also controlled parts of southeastern Central Europe between the early 16th and early 18th centuries.

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01/08/1620

Speedwell leaves Delfshaven to bring pilgrims to America by way of England.

Speedwell was a 60-ton pinnace that carried a band of English Dissenters now popularly called the Pilgrims from Leiden, Holland, to England, whence they intended to sail to America aboard both the Speedwell and the Mayflower in 1620. The Pilgrims initially set sail in both ships, but Speedwell was found to be unseaworthy and both ships returned to England. The Pilgrims later left Speedwell behind and sailed on the Mayflower alone.

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01/08/1571

The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus is concluded, by the surrender of Famagusta.

The Fourth Ottoman–Venetian War, also known as the War of Cyprus was fought between 1570 and 1573. It was waged between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, the latter joined by the Holy League, a coalition of Christian states formed by the pope which included Spain, the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Savoy, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

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01/08/1498

Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed four Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs, opening the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America.

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01/08/1469

Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.

Louis XI, called "Louis the Prudent", was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the Praguerie in 1440. The king forgave his rebellious vassals, including Louis, to whom he entrusted the management of the Dauphiné, then a province in southeastern France. Louis's ceaseless intrigues, however, led his father to banish him from court. From the Dauphiné, Louis led his own political establishment and married Charlotte of Savoy, daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy, against the will of his father. Charles VII sent an army to compel his son to his will, but Louis fled to Burgundy, where he was hosted by Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, Charles's greatest enemy.

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01/08/1291

The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.

The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states, initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerland.

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01/08/1203

Isaac II Angelos, restored Byzantine Emperor, declares his son Alexios IV Angelos co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.

Isaac II Angelos or Angelus was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and co-Emperor with his son Alexios IV Angelos from 1203 to 1204. In an 1185 revolt against the Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, Isaac seized power and rose to the Byzantine throne, establishing the Angelos family as the new imperial dynasty.

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01/08/0902

Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabid army, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.

Taormina is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian Sea, including that of Isola Bella, are accessible via an aerial tramway built in 1992, and via highways from Messina in the north and Catania in the south.

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01/08/0607

Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).

Ono no Imoko was a Japanese politician and diplomat in the late 6th and early 7th century, during the Asuka period.

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01/08/0527

Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.

Justinian I, also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565.

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01/08/0069

Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.

AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the consulship of Galba and Vinius. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

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01/01/1970

Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, executes Marcus Antonius Antyllus, and brings the city under the control of the Roman Republic. (date is O.S.)

Augustus, also known as Octavian, was the founder of the Roman Empire and the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. The reign of Augustus initiated an imperial cult and an era of imperial peace in which the Roman world was largely free of armed conflict. The principate, a style of government where the emperor showed nominal deference to the Senate, was established during his reign and lasted until the Crisis of the Third Century.

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