# 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:** 68
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1344 "2018-08-16T13:37:23Z")
**August 16, 1940** - The first official US Army parachute jump. > **[National Airborne Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Airborne_Day)** > > National Airborne Day is a day designated by the United States Congress to honor the nation's airborne forces of the Armed Forces. It was created in 2002 by George W. Bush. > August 16, 1940 marked the first official Army parachute jump, validating the innovative concept of inserting United States ground combat forces behind a battle line by parachute. > On August 14, 2002 President George W. Bush issued the following proclamation: > The history of airborne forces began after World War I, when Briga... ---
**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 17, 2018, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1345 "2018-08-17T04:56:13Z")
**August 17, 1969** : [Hurricane Camille](https://www.weather.gov/mob/camille) strikes the Gulf Coast, making landfall in Waveland, Mississippi. This is the second strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in recorded history. Winds were measured at 175 miles per hour before the measurement equipment was destroyed. Camille is one of only three Catagory 5 hurricanes to ever strike the United States. 143 died on the Gulf Coast. ---
**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 17, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1346 "2018-08-17T17:55:19Z")
**August 17, 1915:** Jewish American Leo Frank is lynched in Marietta, Georgia after a 13-year-old girl is murdered. Today, the consensus of researchers on the subject holds that Frank was wrongly convicted. ---
**Author:** ![CharmaChameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@CharmaChameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CharmaChameleon)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1347 "2018-08-18T00:22:32Z")
**August 17, 1960:** American pilot Francis Gary Powers pleads guilty at his Moscow trial for spying over the Soviet Union in a U-2 plane. ---
**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 18, 2018, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1348 "2018-08-18T09:25:58Z")
**August 18, 1920:** The Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women’s suffrage. ---
**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 18, 2018, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1349 "2018-08-18T12:54:31Z")
**August 18, 1947** : [The Cadiz Explosion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1diz_Explosion) in Spain kills officially 147 with another 5000 injured, but the actual death toll is probably much higher. The disaster occurred at a submarine base, where large amounts of mines and torpedoes detonated for unknown reasons. ---
**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, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1350 "2018-08-19T16:45:37Z")
I try not to post the same historical event that was posted another year, but I will make an exception for this because I live at ground zero for this event. **August 19, 1969** : [The remnants of Hurricane Camille kill over 1% of the population of rural Nelson County, Virginia](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/photos-the-destruction-of-hurricane-camille/collection_0630ed20-474c-11e5-a0d0-0bcb843378a8.html&ved=2ahUKEwjeuZLTwfncAhXpw1kKHaaCBJMQFjAAegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw1bH5_e2Pbso4vaqJ70JNsv). Hurricane Camille had struck the Gulf Coast as a Catagory 5 storm. However after moving over land it was downgraded to tropical depression. The forecast in Virginia on the night of August 19th was for thunderstorms with clearing by morning. In Charlottesville, Virginia, about 25 miles to the north, that’s all it did. But in rural Nelson County at the foot of the mountains, the rains came in unbelievable amounts. During a 5 to 6 hour period, over 30 inches of rain fell. The rain occurred overnight, so many of the residents had already gone to bed. Creeks didn’t just overflow. Whole mountainsides washed down creating rivers of mud and debris where normally small creeks gurgled. We know at least 31 inches of rain fell in places, but it was probably more as that measurement came from barrels that overran. Experts say it rained about as hard as theoretically possible. Birds are said to have drowned in trees. Others say it was like standing under a waterfall. The number of dead is estimated at 153, though many bodies were never found. A tractor trailer was washed off of Route 29. It has never been located. I didn’t live here at the time. But the scars from that event are still visible today in the mountains of Nelson County. This is Virginia’s deadliest natural disaster. ---
**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, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1351 "2018-08-20T05:09:09Z")
**August 20, 1995** : [The Firozabad Rail Disaster](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firozabad_rail_disaster&ved=2ahUKEwjv-Iqp7frcAhXRm-AKHb3mCnUQFjASegQIABAB&usg=AOvVaw3SoYDv4yiZsYA3_hrQk5nI) occurs when a speeding train collides with a train that had stopped after hitting a cow in India. Between 350 and 400 passengers are killed and hundreds more are injured. ---
**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 20, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1352 "2018-08-20T20:42:03Z")
**August 20, 2008:** Spanair Flight 5022, from Madrid, Spain to Gran Canaria, skids off the runway and crashes at Barajas Airport. Of the 172 people on board, 146 die immediately, and eight more later die of injuries sustained in the crash. I was in the Barajas Airport when this occurred. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1353 "2018-08-20T23:04:07Z")
**August 20, 1910** : The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the “Big Blowup” or the “Big Burn”) occurs in northeast Washington, northern Idaho (the panhandle), and western Montana, burning approximately 3 million acres (12,000 km[sup]2[/sup]). **August 20, 1914** : Brussels is captured during the German invasion of Belgium. **August 20, 1968** : Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia, crushing the Prague Spring. East German participation is limited to a few specialists due to memories of the recent war. Only Albania and Romania refuse to participate. **August 20, 1991** : More than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union’s parliament building protesting the coup aiming to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev. ---
**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 21, 2018, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1354 "2018-08-21T12:00:45Z")
**August 21, 1883** : [An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_Rochester_tornado) 37 are killed and hundreds are injured. A third of the town is leveled. There were no hospitals at this time in Rochester, so Dr. William Mayo and his sons were forced to care for the injured in a makeshift emergency room in a dance hall. Because of this disaster, the doctors decided a hospital was needed in Rochester. This would eventually become the world-famous Mayo clinic. ---
**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 22, 2018, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1355 "2018-08-22T00:41:05Z")
**August 21, 2017:** A total solar eclipse traverses the continental United States. ---
**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 22, 2018, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1356 "2018-08-22T05:40:29Z")
**August 22, 1985** : [British Airtours Flight 28M](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-33304675) catches fire during takeoff at Manchester International Airport. 53 passengers and 2 crew members die, mostly from smoke inhalation. ---
**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 22, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1357 "2018-08-22T15:02:53Z")
**August 22, 1971:** American anti-Vietnam War activists break into a draft board office in Camden, N.J. to destroy documents. They are later acquitted in a Federal trial. > **[The Camden 28](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Camden_28)** > > The Camden 28 were a group of leftist, Catholic, anti-Vietnam War activists who in 1971 planned and executed a raid on a draft board in Camden, New Jersey, United States. The raid resulted in a high-profile criminal trial of the activists that was seen by many as a referendum on the Vietnam War and as an example of jury nullification. > The goal of the group was to make a bold statement in opposition to the war in Vietnam by way of sabotaging the portion of the draft process that was administered... ---
**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 22, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1358 "2018-08-22T17:52:38Z")
**August 22, 2003:** Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is suspended after refusing to comply with a federal court order to remove a rock inscribed with the Ten Commandments from the lobby of the Alabama Supreme Court building. ---
**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 22, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1359 "2018-08-22T18:13:24Z")
**August 22, 1894:** Mahatma Gandhi forms the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) in order to fight discrimination against Indian traders in Natal. > **[Natal Indian Congress](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natal_Indian_Congress)** > > Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was an organisation that aimed to fight discrimination against Indians in South Africa. > The Natal Indian Congress was proposed by Mahatma Gandhi on 22 May 1894. established on 22 August 1894. > Gandhi was the Honorary Secretary and Abdoola Hajee Adam Jhaveri (Dada Abdulla) was elected president. ---
**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 23, 2018, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1360 "2018-08-23T05:23:16Z")
**August 23, 1933** : [The Chesapeake Potomac hurricane kills 47 in Virginia.](http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/chesapeakepotomac1933.html) ---
**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, 2018, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1361 "2018-08-24T04:00:26Z")
**August 24, 1921** : [British Airship R38](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-14649308&ved=2ahUKEwiY9d6P44TdAhWKnFkKHfBAAoYQFjAgegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw2IochwDp3Itj1xo0buRnnJ) breaks up and crashes into the Humbar Estuary. 44 are killed. At the time of its construction the R38 had been the largest airship in the world. ---
**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 24, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1362 "2018-08-24T19:49:43Z")
**August 24, 1456:** The first printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed. ---
**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, 2018, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1363 "2018-08-25T15:56:23Z")
**August 25, 1933** : [The Diexi Earthquake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_Diexi_earthquake) in China kills over 9000. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530.md?page=67) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530.md?page=69)