# Today in History **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 10, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530 "2016-07-10T04:53:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/101 "2016-08-16T12:30:32Z")
\*\*August 16, 1863: \*\*President Lincoln signs Emancipation Proclamation. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/102 "2016-08-16T16:40:27Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > \*\*August 16, 1863: \*\*President Lincoln signs Emancipation Proclamation. I don’t think so: [Emancipation Proclamation - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation#Drafting_and_issuance_of_the_proclamation) August 16, 1977 - Elvis Presley died in Memphis, Tenn. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/103 "2016-08-16T21:06:01Z")
August 16, 1888 birthdate of T.E. Lawrence (you know, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/104 "2016-08-18T14:23:40Z")
August 18, 1992, Larry Bird announced his retirement from the Boston Celtics. One of the best players ever. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/105 "2016-08-18T14:55:54Z")
August 18, 1976 – North Korean soldiers killed two American soldiers in the Joint Security Area of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, heightening tensions over a 100-foot poplar tree that blocked the line of sight between a United Nations Command checkpoint and an observation post. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/106 "2016-08-18T15:21:15Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > August 16, 1888 birthdate of T.E. Lawrence (you know, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’) I saw recently that Robert Pattinson is playing him in the movie _Queen of the Desert_ and thought “Well that’s kind of insensiti… oh, he’s not the title character. Carry on then.” ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/107 "2016-08-19T08:01:53Z")
**August 19, 1969** : Remnants of Hurricane Camille move into Nelson County, Virginia from the west and bring disaster. The official forecast called for showers and clearing by morning. Then [this happened](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/08/19/unprecedented-rain-hurricane-camilles-deadly-dlood-in-the-blue-ridge-mountains/). 30 inches of rain in eight hours killed nearly 200 people. Birds were said to drown in the trees, as it rained like being under a waterfall. Many bodies have never been found. Some bodies found were never identified. Over 1% of the entire population of the Nelson County died that night. I now live at the base of those hills in the first picture. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/108 "2016-08-19T10:24:42Z")
**August 19, 1909** : [The first race at Indy, Indianapolis Motor Speedway](http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history). The race was five miles long, twice around the 2½ mile long rectangular “oval”, and was won by Austrian engineer Louis Schwitzer at an average speed of 57.4 MPH. There were 12,000 spectators. Six people died during the race! Two drivers, two mechanics, and two spectators died because the track’s surface was so unstable - the track surface was crushed rock and tar. It was a disaster. > [@](#): > > The surface was soon replaced with 3.2 million paving bricks, laid in a bed of sand and fixed with mortar. Dubbed “The Brickyard,” the speedway reopened in December 1909. In 1911, low attendance led the track’s owners to make a crucial decision: Instead of shorter races, they resolved to focus on a single, longer event each year, for a much larger prize. That May 30 marked the debut of the Indy 500–a grueling 500-mile race that was an immediate hit with audiences and drew press attention from all over the country. Driver Ray Haroun won the purse of $14,250, with an average speed of 74.59 mph and a total time of 6 hours and 42 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/109 "2016-08-20T06:55:42Z")
**August 20, 1911** : The first round-the-world telegraph message is sent from the office of _The New York Times_. It takes a little over 16 minutes and is relayed by 16 different telegraph offices. The message reads: “This message sent around the world.” ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/110 "2016-08-24T19:20:58Z")
**August 24, 1992** : Catagory 5 Hurricane Andrew decimates Southern Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/111 "2016-08-25T05:38:15Z")
\*\*August 25, 2005 \*\*: Hurricane Katrina kills 14 people in Florida before moving into the Gulf of Mexico and significantly intensifying. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/112 "2016-08-25T16:10:22Z")
August 25, 1537 – The Honourable Artillery Company, currently the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, was formed by Royal Charter from King Henry VIII. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/113 "2016-08-25T21:47:05Z")
\*\*August 25, 1835: \*\*_The New York Sun_ began “The Great Moon Hoax,” a series of six articles about the supposed discovery of life and even civilization on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel, one of the best-known astronomers of his time. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/114 "2016-08-26T02:03:54Z")
**August 25th, 1958:** The most important day ever for college students - Momofuku Ando marketed the first package of precooked instant (Ramen) noodles. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/115 "2016-08-27T17:25:36Z")
**August 27, 1883** : [Krakatoa volcano erupts](http://www.livescience.com/28186-krakatoa.html)into a massive disaster. Though the eruption actually began yesterday, the four explosions today caused massive tsunamis and killed some 36,000 people. These explosions were _actually heard_ 3000 miles away. The sounds of the eruption were so loud that they burst the eardrums of sailors on a ship 64 miles away. The average temperature on the planet dropped 1.2 degrees for the next 5 years. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/116 "2016-08-28T04:41:49Z")
**August 28, 1938:** Northwestern University awards honorary degree to dummy Charlie McCarthy … as “master of innuendo and the snappy comeback." ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/117 "2016-08-29T03:49:08Z")
**August 29, 2005** : Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in Louisiana. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/118 "2016-08-29T06:55:07Z")
**August 29, 1966:** The Beatles give their last paid public concert, in Candlestick Park, San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/119 "2016-09-02T07:29:55Z")
**September 2, 1935** : The strongest hurricane to directly hit the US does just that. Close too 500 die when this Cat 5 storm wth 185 mph sustained winds obliterates the Florida keys… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/120 "2016-09-02T11:20:20Z")
**September 2, 1752:** Last Julian calendar day in Britain and British colonies (no Sept 3-Sept 13th) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530.md?page=7)