The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for automobile racing. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) is one of the most iconic racing venues in the world, located…
18 August 1612
The trial of the Pendle witches, one of England’s most famous witch trials, begins at Lancaster Assizes. The Pendle witch trials of 1612 are among…
17 August 1945
The novella Animal Farm by George Orwell is first published. George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a political allegory published in 1945, using a group of…
16 August 1859
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany formally deposes the exiled House of Lorraine. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a prominent Italian state that existed from…
15 August 1969
The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in Bethel, New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era. The Woodstock Music &…
14 August 1941
Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt sign the Atlantic Charter of war stating postwar aims. In August 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S….
13 August 1553
Michael Servetus is arrested by John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland as a heretic. Michael Servetus (1511–1553) was a Spanish theologian, physician, and polymath whose radical…
12 August 1981
The IBM Personal Computer is released. The IBM Personal Computer, officially released on August 12, 1981, marked a turning point in the history of computing….
11 August 1929
Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio….
10 August 1948
Candid Camera makes its television debut after being on radio for a year as The Candid Microphone. Candid Camera is one of television’s earliest and…