This Day in History

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August 15

Today the U.K. observes Victory Over Japan Day.

1281 – Mongol invasion of Japan: The Mongolian fleet of Kublai Khan is destroyed by a "divine wind" for the second time in the Battle of Kōan.

1812 – War of 1812: The Battle of Fort Dearborn is fought between United States troops and Potawatomi at what is now Chicago.

1843 – Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoli_Gardens

1914 – A servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright murders seven people and sets fire to the living quarters of Wright's Wisconsin home, Taliesin.

The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship SS Ancon.

1935 – Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed after their aircraft develops engine problems during takeoff in Barrow, Alaska.

1939 – Thirteen Stukas dive into the ground during a disastrous air-practice at Neuhammer. There are no survivors.

1941 – Corporal Josef Jakobs is executed by firing squad at the Tower of London at 07:12, making him the last person to be executed at the Tower for espionage.

1945 – Effective surrender of Japan in World War II, Korea gains Independence from Japan.

1948 – The Republic of Korea is established south of the 38th parallel north.

1963 – Execution of Henry John Burnett, the last man to be hanged in Scotland.

1965 – The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City, an event later regarded as the birth of stadium rock.

1969 – The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in upstate New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era.

1977 – The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "Wow! signal" from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.

2013 – The Smithsonian announces the discovery of the olinguito, the first new carnivoran species found in the Americas in 35 years.

Births

1195 – Anthony of Padua; 1769 – Napoleon; 1824 – John Chisum; 1875 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; 1879 – Ethel Barrymore; 1885 – Edna Ferber; 1896 - Leon Theremin (invented the theremin); 1912 – Julia Child; 1923 – Rose Marie; 1925 – Mike Connors (Mannix), Bill Pinkney♪ ♫(The Drifters); 1933 – Bobby Helms ♫♪(Jingle Bell Rock); 1938 – Stephen Breyer (Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States); 1941 – Don Rich♪ ♫(Buck Owens' band The Buckaroos); 1944 – Linda Ellerbee; 1950 – Tommy Aldridge; 1952 – Chuck Burgi; 1954 – Stieg Larsson (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo & others); 1964 – Melinda Gates (Bill's main squeeze); 1968 – Debra Messing; 1970 – Anthony Anderson; 1972 – Ben Affleck; 1974 – Natasha Henstridge; 1978 – Kerri Walsh Jennings (volleyball player); 1989 – Joe Jonas (The Jonas Bros); 1990 – Jennifer Lawrence

Deaths

1057 – Macbeth, King of Scotland; 1621 – John Barclay; 1935 – Wiley Post, Will Rogers; 1951 – Artur Schnabel; 1967 – René Magritte; 1995 – John Cameron Swayze (as Timex spokesman, said "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking."); 2008 – Jerry Wexler♫♪