August 211680 - The Pueblo Indians drove the Spanish out and took possession of Santa Fe, NM. 1831 - Nat Turner, a former slave, led a violent insurrection in Virginia. He was later executed. 1841 - A patent for venetian blinds was issued to John Hampton. 1878 - The American Bar Association was formed by a group of lawyers, judges and law professors in Saratoga, NY. 1888 - The adding machine was patented by William Burroughs. 1912 - Arthur R. Eldred became the first American boy to become an Eagle Scout. It is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. 1923 - In Kalamazoo, Michigan, an ordinance was passed forbidding dancers from gazing into the eyes of their partner. 1943 - Japan evacuated the Aleutian island of Kiaska. Kiaska had been the last North American foothold held by the Japanese. 1945 - U.S. President Truman ended the Lend-Lease program that had shipped about $50 billion in aid to America's Allies during World War II. 1959 - Hawaii became the 50th state. U.S. President Eisenhower also issued the order for the 50 star flag. 1963 - In South Vietnam, martial law was declared. Army troops and police began to crackdown on the Buddhist anti-government protesters. 1971 - Laura Baugh, at the age of 16, won the United States Women's Amateur Golf tournament. She was the youngest winner in the history of the tournament. 1984 - Victoria Roche, a reserve outfielder, became the first girl to ever compete in a Little League World Series game. 1984 - Clint Eastwood was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1989 - Voyager 2, a U.S. space probe, got close to the Neptune moon called Triton. 1991 - The hard-line coup against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev ended. The uprising that led to the collapse was led by Russian federation President Boris Yeltsin. 1992 - NBC News fired Authur Kent two weeks after he refused an assignment to war-torn Croatia. 1993 - NASA lost contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft. The fate of the spacecraft was unknown. The mission cost $980 million. 1994 - Ernesto Zedillo won the Mexican presidential election. 1996 - The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was signed by U.S. President Clinton. The act made it easier to obtain and keep health insurance. 1997 - Hudson Foods Inc. closed a plant in Nebraska after it had recalled 25 million pounds of ground beef that was potentially contaminated with E. coli 01557:H7. It was the largest food recall in U.S. history. 1997 - Afghanistan suspended its embassy operations in the United States. 1997 - Cicely Tyson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1998 - Wesley Snipes received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 2002 - In Pakistan, President General Pervez Musharraf unilaterally amended the Pakistani constitution. He extended his term in office and granted himself powers that included the right to dissolve parliament. 2003 - In Ghana, businessman Gyude Bryant was selected to oversee the two-year power-sharing accord between Liberia's rebels and the government. The accord was planned to guide the country out of 14 years of civil war. |