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On this day

A bomb explodes at a wedding in Kabul killing 63 people and leaving 182 injured.

2019

view article

Barcelona attacks: A van is driven into pedestrians in La Rambla, killing 14 and injuring at least 100.

2017

view article

A bomb explodes near the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, killing at least 19 people and injuring 123 others.

2015

view article

An accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam in Khakassia, Russia, kills 75 and shuts down the hydroelectric power station, leading to widespread power failure in the local area.

2009

view article

American swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the first person to win eight gold medals at one Olympic Games.

2008

view article

The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of Israeli disengagement from Gaza, starts.

2005

view article

Over 500 bombs are set off by terrorists at 300 locations in 63 out of the 64 districts of Bangladesh.

2005

view article

The National Assembly of Serbia unanimously adopts new state symbols for Serbia: Bože pravde becomes the new anthem and the coat of arms is adopted for the whole country.

2004

view article

The 7.6 Mw İzmit earthquake shakes northwestern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 17,118–17,127 dead and 43,953–50,000 injured.

1999

view article

Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky; later that same day he admits before the nation that he "misled people" about the relationship.

1998

view article

Strathfield massacre: In Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, taxi driver Wade Frankum shoots and kills seven people and injures six others before turning the gun on himself.

1991

view article

President of Pakistan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel are killed in a plane crash.

1988

view article

The 1985–86 Hormel strike begins in Austin, Minnesota.

1985

view article

Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey, France near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine.

1978

view article

The Soviet icebreaker Arktika becomes the first surface ship to reach the North Pole.

1977

view article

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hits off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines, triggering a destructive tsunami, killing between 5,000 and 8,000 people and leaving more than 90,000 homeless.

1976

view article

Soviet Union Venera program: Venera 7 launched. It will become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet (Venus).

1970

view article

Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the U.S. Gulf Coast, killing 256 and causing $1.42 billion in damage.

1969

view article

Peter Fechter is shot and bleeds to death while trying to cross the new Berlin Wall.

1962

view article

Aeroflot Flight 036 crashes in Soviet Ukraine, killing 34.

1960

view article

Quake Lake is formed by the magnitude 7.2 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake near Hebgen Lake in Montana.

1959

view article

Pioneer 0, America's first attempt at lunar orbit, is launched using the first Thor-Able rocket and fails. Notable as one of the first attempted launches beyond Earth orbit by any country.

1958

view article

Hurricane Diane made landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina, and it went on to cause major floods and kill more than 184 people.

1955

view article

First meeting of Narcotics Anonymous takes place, in Southern California.

1953

view article

Korean War: Forty-two American prisoners of war were massacred by the Korean People's Army on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea.

1950

view article

The 6.7 Ms Karlıova earthquake shakes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 320–450 dead.

1949

view article

Matsukawa derailment: Unknown saboteurs cause a passenger train to derail and overturn in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, killing three crew members and igniting a political firestorm between the Japanese Communist Party and the government of Occupied Japan that will eventually lead to the Japanese Red Purge.

1949

view article

The Radcliffe Line, the border between the Dominions of India and Pakistan, is revealed.

1947

view article

Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaim the independence of Indonesia, igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire.

1945

view article

The novella Animal Farm by George Orwell is first published.

1945

view article

Evacuation of Manchukuo: At Talitzou by the Sino-Korean border, Puyi, then the Kangde Emperor of Manchukuo, formally renounces the imperial throne, dissolves the state, and cedes its territory to the Republic of China.

1945

view article

World War II: The U.S. Eighth Air Force suffers the loss of 60 bombers on the Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission.

1943

view article

World War II: The U.S. Seventh Army under General George S. Patton arrives in Messina, Italy, followed several hours later by the British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.

1943

view article

World War II: First Québec Conference of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and William Lyon Mackenzie King begins.

1943

view article

World War II: The Royal Air Force begins Operation Hydra, the first air raid of the Operation Crossbow strategic bombing campaign against Germany's V-weapon program.

1943

view article

World War II: U.S. Marines raid the Japanese-held Pacific island of Makin.

1942

view article

Bolshevik revolutionary leader Moisei Uritsky is assassinated.

1918

view article

World War I: Romania signs a secret treaty with the Entente Powers. According to the treaty, Romania agreed to join the war on the Allied side.

1916

view article

Jewish American Leo Frank is lynched in Marietta, Georgia, USA after his death sentence is commuted by Governor John Slaton.

1915

view article

A Category 4 hurricane hits Galveston, Texas with winds at 135 miles per hour (217 km/h).

1915

view article

World War I: Battle of Stallupönen: The German army of General Hermann von François defeats the Russian force commanded by Paul von Rennenkampf near modern-day Nesterov, Russia.

1914

view article

Pike Place Market, one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the U.S. and a popular tourist attraction, opens in Seattle, Washington.

1907

view article

Bridget Driscoll became the first recorded case of a pedestrian killed in a collision with a motor car in the United Kingdom.

1896

view article

The first public performance of the Dominican Republic's national anthem, Himno Nacional.

1883

view article

Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung, the last opera in his Ring cycle, premieres at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

1876

view article

The Grand Duchy of Baden announces its withdrawal from the German Confederation and signs a treaty of peace and alliance with Prussia.

1866

view article

American Civil War: Battle of Gainesville: Confederate forces defeat Union troops near Gainesville, Florida.

1864

view article

American Civil War: In Charleston, South Carolina, Union batteries and ships bombard Confederate-held Fort Sumter.

1863

view article

American Indian Wars: The Dakota War of 1862 begins in Minnesota as Dakota warriors attack white settlements along the Minnesota River.

1862

view article

American Civil War: Major General J. E. B. Stuart is assigned command of all the cavalry of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

1862

view article

British parliament accepts registration of births, marriages and deaths.

1836

view article

Dutch King William I and Pope Leo XII sign concord.

1827

view article

The Finnish War: The Battle of Alavus is fought.

1808

view article

Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat leaves New York City for Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

1807

view article

The Vietnamese Catholics report a Marian apparition in Quảng Trị, an event which is called Our Lady of La Vang.

1798

view article

Classical composer Luigi Boccherini receives a pay rise of 12,000 reals from his employer, the Infante Luis, Count of Chinchón.

1784

view article

Pope Benedict XIV, previously known as Prospero Lambertini, succeeds Clement XII as the 247th Pope.

1740

view article

Ioan Giurgiu Patachi becomes Bishop of Făgăraș and is festively installed in his position at the St. Nicolas Cathedral in Făgăraș, after being formally confirmed earlier by Pope Clement XI.

1723

view article

Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18: The month-long Siege of Belgrade ends with Prince Eugene of Savoy's Austrian troops capturing the city from the Ottoman Empire.

1717

view article

The magnitude 8.0 North Anatolia earthquake causes 8,000 deaths in northern Anatolia, Ottoman Empire.

1668

view article

The Parliamentarians defeat a English Royalist and Scottish army in the battle of Preston.

1648

view article

Islands Voyage: Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and Sir Walter Raleigh set sail on an expedition to the Azores.

1597

view article

Eighty Years' War: Siege of Antwerp: Antwerp is captured by Spanish forces under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, who orders Protestants to leave the city and as a result over half of the 100,000 inhabitants flee to the northern provinces.

1585

view article

A first group of colonists sent by Sir Walter Raleigh under the charge of Ralph Lane lands in the New World to create Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island, off the coast of present-day North Carolina.

1585

view article

The Catholic Church is overthrown and Protestantism is established as the national religion in Scotland.

1560

view article

Battle of Sampford Courtenay: The Prayer Book Rebellion is quashed in England.

1549

view article

Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI, becomes the first person in history to resign the cardinalate; later that same day, King Louis XII of France names him Duke of Valentinois.

1498

view article

Konrad Bitz, the Bishop of Turku, marks the date of his preface to Missale Aboense, the oldest known book of Finland.

1488

view article

Hundred Years' War: Battle of Verneuil: An English force under John, Duke of Bedford defeats a larger French army under Jean II, Duke of Alençon, John Stewart, and Earl Archibald of Douglas.

1424

view article

Karl Topia, the ruler of Princedom of Albania, forges an alliance with the Republic of Venice, committing to participate in all wars of the Republic and receiving coastal protection against the Ottomans in return.

1386

view article

Georgenberg Pact: Ottokar IV, Duke of Styria and Leopold V, Duke of Austria sign a heritage agreement in which Ottokar gives his duchy to Leopold and to his son Frederick under the stipulation that Austria and Styria would henceforth remain undivided.

1186

view article

Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of the Gates of Trajan: The Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Samuel and Aron defeat the Byzantine forces at the Gate of Trajan, with Byzantine Emperor Basil II barely escaping.

986

view article

On this day

A bomb explodes at a wedding in Kabul killing 63 people and leaving 182 injured.

2019

view article

Barcelona attacks: A van is driven into pedestrians in La Rambla, killing 14 and injuring at least 100.

2017

view article

A bomb explodes near the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, killing at least 19 people and injuring 123 others.

2015

view article

An accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam in Khakassia, Russia, kills 75 and shuts down the hydroelectric power station, leading to widespread power failure in the local area.

2009

view article

American swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the first person to win eight gold medals at one Olympic Games.

2008

view article

The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of Israeli disengagement from Gaza, starts.

2005

view article

Over 500 bombs are set off by terrorists at 300 locations in 63 out of the 64 districts of Bangladesh.

2005

view article

The National Assembly of Serbia unanimously adopts new state symbols for Serbia: Bože pravde becomes the new anthem and the coat of arms is adopted for the whole country.

2004

view article

The 7.6 Mw İzmit earthquake shakes northwestern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 17,118–17,127 dead and 43,953–50,000 injured.

1999

view article

Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky; later that same day he admits before the nation that he "misled people" about the relationship.

1998

view article

Strathfield massacre: In Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, taxi driver Wade Frankum shoots and kills seven people and injures six others before turning the gun on himself.

1991

view article

President of Pakistan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel are killed in a plane crash.

1988

view article

The 1985–86 Hormel strike begins in Austin, Minnesota.

1985

view article

Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey, France near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine.

1978

view article

The Soviet icebreaker Arktika becomes the first surface ship to reach the North Pole.

1977

view article

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hits off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines, triggering a destructive tsunami, killing between 5,000 and 8,000 people and leaving more than 90,000 homeless.

1976

view article

Soviet Union Venera program: Venera 7 launched. It will become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet (Venus).

1970

view article

Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the U.S. Gulf Coast, killing 256 and causing $1.42 billion in damage.

1969

view article

Peter Fechter is shot and bleeds to death while trying to cross the new Berlin Wall.

1962

view article

Aeroflot Flight 036 crashes in Soviet Ukraine, killing 34.

1960

view article

Quake Lake is formed by the magnitude 7.2 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake near Hebgen Lake in Montana.

1959

view article

Pioneer 0, America's first attempt at lunar orbit, is launched using the first Thor-Able rocket and fails. Notable as one of the first attempted launches beyond Earth orbit by any country.

1958

view article

Hurricane Diane made landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina, and it went on to cause major floods and kill more than 184 people.

1955

view article

First meeting of Narcotics Anonymous takes place, in Southern California.

1953

view article

Korean War: Forty-two American prisoners of war were massacred by the Korean People's Army on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea.

1950

view article

The 6.7 Ms Karlıova earthquake shakes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 320–450 dead.

1949

view article

Matsukawa derailment: Unknown saboteurs cause a passenger train to derail and overturn in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, killing three crew members and igniting a political firestorm between the Japanese Communist Party and the government of Occupied Japan that will eventually lead to the Japanese Red Purge.

1949

view article

The Radcliffe Line, the border between the Dominions of India and Pakistan, is revealed.

1947

view article

Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaim the independence of Indonesia, igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire.

1945

view article

The novella Animal Farm by George Orwell is first published.

1945

view article

Evacuation of Manchukuo: At Talitzou by the Sino-Korean border, Puyi, then the Kangde Emperor of Manchukuo, formally renounces the imperial throne, dissolves the state, and cedes its territory to the Republic of China.

1945

view article

World War II: The U.S. Eighth Air Force suffers the loss of 60 bombers on the Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission.

1943

view article

World War II: The U.S. Seventh Army under General George S. Patton arrives in Messina, Italy, followed several hours later by the British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.

1943

view article

World War II: First Québec Conference of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and William Lyon Mackenzie King begins.

1943

view article

World War II: The Royal Air Force begins Operation Hydra, the first air raid of the Operation Crossbow strategic bombing campaign against Germany's V-weapon program.

1943

view article

World War II: U.S. Marines raid the Japanese-held Pacific island of Makin.

1942

view article

Bolshevik revolutionary leader Moisei Uritsky is assassinated.

1918

view article

World War I: Romania signs a secret treaty with the Entente Powers. According to the treaty, Romania agreed to join the war on the Allied side.

1916

view article

Jewish American Leo Frank is lynched in Marietta, Georgia, USA after his death sentence is commuted by Governor John Slaton.

1915

view article

A Category 4 hurricane hits Galveston, Texas with winds at 135 miles per hour (217 km/h).

1915

view article

World War I: Battle of Stallupönen: The German army of General Hermann von François defeats the Russian force commanded by Paul von Rennenkampf near modern-day Nesterov, Russia.

1914

view article

Pike Place Market, one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the U.S. and a popular tourist attraction, opens in Seattle, Washington.

1907

view article

Bridget Driscoll became the first recorded case of a pedestrian killed in a collision with a motor car in the United Kingdom.

1896

view article

The first public performance of the Dominican Republic's national anthem, Himno Nacional.

1883

view article

Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung, the last opera in his Ring cycle, premieres at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

1876

view article

The Grand Duchy of Baden announces its withdrawal from the German Confederation and signs a treaty of peace and alliance with Prussia.

1866

view article

American Civil War: Battle of Gainesville: Confederate forces defeat Union troops near Gainesville, Florida.

1864

view article

American Civil War: In Charleston, South Carolina, Union batteries and ships bombard Confederate-held Fort Sumter.

1863

view article

American Indian Wars: The Dakota War of 1862 begins in Minnesota as Dakota warriors attack white settlements along the Minnesota River.

1862

view article

American Civil War: Major General J. E. B. Stuart is assigned command of all the cavalry of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

1862

view article

British parliament accepts registration of births, marriages and deaths.

1836

view article

Dutch King William I and Pope Leo XII sign concord.

1827

view article

The Finnish War: The Battle of Alavus is fought.

1808

view article

Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat leaves New York City for Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

1807

view article

The Vietnamese Catholics report a Marian apparition in Quảng Trị, an event which is called Our Lady of La Vang.

1798

view article

Classical composer Luigi Boccherini receives a pay rise of 12,000 reals from his employer, the Infante Luis, Count of Chinchón.

1784

view article

Pope Benedict XIV, previously known as Prospero Lambertini, succeeds Clement XII as the 247th Pope.

1740

view article

Ioan Giurgiu Patachi becomes Bishop of Făgăraș and is festively installed in his position at the St. Nicolas Cathedral in Făgăraș, after being formally confirmed earlier by Pope Clement XI.

1723

view article

Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18: The month-long Siege of Belgrade ends with Prince Eugene of Savoy's Austrian troops capturing the city from the Ottoman Empire.

1717

view article

The magnitude 8.0 North Anatolia earthquake causes 8,000 deaths in northern Anatolia, Ottoman Empire.

1668

view article

The Parliamentarians defeat a English Royalist and Scottish army in the battle of Preston.

1648

view article

Islands Voyage: Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and Sir Walter Raleigh set sail on an expedition to the Azores.

1597

view article

Eighty Years' War: Siege of Antwerp: Antwerp is captured by Spanish forces under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, who orders Protestants to leave the city and as a result over half of the 100,000 inhabitants flee to the northern provinces.

1585

view article

A first group of colonists sent by Sir Walter Raleigh under the charge of Ralph Lane lands in the New World to create Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island, off the coast of present-day North Carolina.

1585

view article

The Catholic Church is overthrown and Protestantism is established as the national religion in Scotland.

1560

view article

Battle of Sampford Courtenay: The Prayer Book Rebellion is quashed in England.

1549

view article

Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI, becomes the first person in history to resign the cardinalate; later that same day, King Louis XII of France names him Duke of Valentinois.

1498

view article

Konrad Bitz, the Bishop of Turku, marks the date of his preface to Missale Aboense, the oldest known book of Finland.

1488

view article

Hundred Years' War: Battle of Verneuil: An English force under John, Duke of Bedford defeats a larger French army under Jean II, Duke of Alençon, John Stewart, and Earl Archibald of Douglas.

1424

view article

Karl Topia, the ruler of Princedom of Albania, forges an alliance with the Republic of Venice, committing to participate in all wars of the Republic and receiving coastal protection against the Ottomans in return.

1386

view article

Georgenberg Pact: Ottokar IV, Duke of Styria and Leopold V, Duke of Austria sign a heritage agreement in which Ottokar gives his duchy to Leopold and to his son Frederick under the stipulation that Austria and Styria would henceforth remain undivided.

1186

view article

Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of the Gates of Trajan: The Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Samuel and Aron defeat the Byzantine forces at the Gate of Trajan, with Byzantine Emperor Basil II barely escaping.

986

view article

A third world engineer responds to “RISC-V: They should have known better”

522 points

270 comments

discussion source

Reticulum – Decentralized Mesh Network

133 points

41 comments

discussion source

Gakutensoku

34 points

3 comments

discussion source

Rhombus 1.1 is now available

87 points

28 comments

discussion source

Linear algebra done right

89 points

36 comments

discussion source

Qwen 3.8 27B is excellent, but it defaults to overthinking things

510 points

238 comments

discussion source

AGI-64 Brings Sierra Adventures to the Commodore 64

A long-awaited AGI interpreter for the Commodore 64 is in production. Space Quest 1 is completely playable at roughly 75% complete, and AGI-64 will be a free download when it is ready.

89 points

10 comments

discussion source

HackEurope 2026: A short rant on AI and hackathons

48 points

39 comments

discussion source

GIMP Development Update

Development Update, August 2026,Development Update, August 2026

182 points

131 comments

discussion source

Show HN: Vocal Slice – Cut audio by selecting text, fully on-device

Cut voice recordings by selecting text. Vocal Slice transcribes podcasts, interviews and voiceover locally — word-accurate, source-quality, fully offline.

46 points

30 comments

discussion source

Design 3D-printable parts by talking

Describe the part in plain words. Your AI models it live in your browser, nurb checks it against print physics, and you download a file your printer understands. No CAD software.

22 points

12 comments

discussion source

SIMD in the 90s: Programming Intel's Pentium MMX

If you used PCs in the 90s, you probably remember the 'Intel Inside MMX' stickers. This article explores Intel's major attempt at bringing SIMD instructions to mainstream desktop CPUs.

120 points

50 comments

discussion source

Anthropic's 'watermark' text adulteration in Claude is a perversion of writing

294 points

292 comments

discussion source

The continuing "Q collar" scandal

13 points

1 comments

discussion source

Applying a photosynthetic process to treat “dry eye”

47 points

15 comments

discussion source

The Mysterious Syndrome Destroying Endurance Athletes

Overtraining syndrome robs top athletes of their talents and forces victims to wonder: Is it possible to love running too much?

7 points

0 comments

discussion source

On A.I. regulation and messaging

66 points

117 comments

discussion source

Claude: System Prompts

See updates to the core system prompts on [claude.ai](https://claude.ai) and the [Claude iOS app](https://anthropic.com/ios) and [Claude Android app](https://anthropic.com/android).

669 points

256 comments

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How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

126 points

81 comments

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Low-Tech Ceramic Water Filter

189 points

54 comments

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A third world engineer responds to “RISC-V: They should have known better”

Reticulum – Decentralized Mesh Network

Gakutensoku

Rhombus 1.1 is now available

Linear algebra done right

Qwen 3.8 27B is excellent, but it defaults to overthinking things

AGI-64 Brings Sierra Adventures to the Commodore 64

HackEurope 2026: A short rant on AI and hackathons

GIMP Development Update

Show HN: Vocal Slice – Cut audio by selecting text, fully on-device

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SIMD in the 90s: Programming Intel's Pentium MMX

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On this day

A bomb explodes at a wedding in Kabul killing 63 people and leaving 182 injured.

Barcelona attacks: A van is driven into pedestrians in La Rambla, killing 14 and injuring at least 100.

A bomb explodes near the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, killing at least 19 people and injuring 123 others.

An accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam in Khakassia, Russia, kills 75 and shuts down the hydroelectric power station, leading to widespread power failure in the local area.

American swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the first person to win eight gold medals at one Olympic Games.

The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of Israeli disengagement from Gaza, starts.

Over 500 bombs are set off by terrorists at 300 locations in 63 out of the 64 districts of Bangladesh.

The National Assembly of Serbia unanimously adopts new state symbols for Serbia: Bože pravde becomes the new anthem and the coat of arms is adopted for the whole country.

The 7.6 Mw İzmit earthquake shakes northwestern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 17,118–17,127 dead and 43,953–50,000 injured.

Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky; later that same day he admits before the nation that he "misled people" about the relationship.

Strathfield massacre: In Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, taxi driver Wade Frankum shoots and kills seven people and injures six others before turning the gun on himself.

President of Pakistan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel are killed in a plane crash.

The 1985–86 Hormel strike begins in Austin, Minnesota.

Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey, France near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine.

The Soviet icebreaker Arktika becomes the first surface ship to reach the North Pole.

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hits off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines, triggering a destructive tsunami, killing between 5,000 and 8,000 people and leaving more than 90,000 homeless.

Soviet Union Venera program: Venera 7 launched. It will become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet (Venus).

Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the U.S. Gulf Coast, killing 256 and causing $1.42 billion in damage.

Peter Fechter is shot and bleeds to death while trying to cross the new Berlin Wall.

Aeroflot Flight 036 crashes in Soviet Ukraine, killing 34.

Quake Lake is formed by the magnitude 7.2 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake near Hebgen Lake in Montana.

Pioneer 0, America's first attempt at lunar orbit, is launched using the first Thor-Able rocket and fails. Notable as one of the first attempted launches beyond Earth orbit by any country.

Hurricane Diane made landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina, and it went on to cause major floods and kill more than 184 people.

First meeting of Narcotics Anonymous takes place, in Southern California.

Korean War: Forty-two American prisoners of war were massacred by the Korean People's Army on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea.

The 6.7 Ms Karlıova earthquake shakes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 320–450 dead.

The Radcliffe Line, the border between the Dominions of India and Pakistan, is revealed.

Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaim the independence of Indonesia, igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire.

The novella Animal Farm by George Orwell is first published.

Evacuation of Manchukuo: At Talitzou by the Sino-Korean border, Puyi, then the Kangde Emperor of Manchukuo, formally renounces the imperial throne, dissolves the state, and cedes its territory to the Republic of China.

World War II: The U.S. Eighth Air Force suffers the loss of 60 bombers on the Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission.

World War II: The U.S. Seventh Army under General George S. Patton arrives in Messina, Italy, followed several hours later by the British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.

World War II: First Québec Conference of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and William Lyon Mackenzie King begins.

World War II: The Royal Air Force begins Operation Hydra, the first air raid of the Operation Crossbow strategic bombing campaign against Germany's V-weapon program.

World War II: U.S. Marines raid the Japanese-held Pacific island of Makin.

Bolshevik revolutionary leader Moisei Uritsky is assassinated.

World War I: Romania signs a secret treaty with the Entente Powers. According to the treaty, Romania agreed to join the war on the Allied side.

Jewish American Leo Frank is lynched in Marietta, Georgia, USA after his death sentence is commuted by Governor John Slaton.

A Category 4 hurricane hits Galveston, Texas with winds at 135 miles per hour (217 km/h).

World War I: Battle of Stallupönen: The German army of General Hermann von François defeats the Russian force commanded by Paul von Rennenkampf near modern-day Nesterov, Russia.

Pike Place Market, one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the U.S. and a popular tourist attraction, opens in Seattle, Washington.

Bridget Driscoll became the first recorded case of a pedestrian killed in a collision with a motor car in the United Kingdom.

The first public performance of the Dominican Republic's national anthem, Himno Nacional.

Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung, the last opera in his Ring cycle, premieres at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

The Grand Duchy of Baden announces its withdrawal from the German Confederation and signs a treaty of peace and alliance with Prussia.

American Civil War: Battle of Gainesville: Confederate forces defeat Union troops near Gainesville, Florida.

American Civil War: In Charleston, South Carolina, Union batteries and ships bombard Confederate-held Fort Sumter.

American Indian Wars: The Dakota War of 1862 begins in Minnesota as Dakota warriors attack white settlements along the Minnesota River.

American Civil War: Major General J. E. B. Stuart is assigned command of all the cavalry of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

British parliament accepts registration of births, marriages and deaths.

Dutch King William I and Pope Leo XII sign concord.

The Finnish War: The Battle of Alavus is fought.

Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat leaves New York City for Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

The Vietnamese Catholics report a Marian apparition in Quảng Trị, an event which is called Our Lady of La Vang.

Classical composer Luigi Boccherini receives a pay rise of 12,000 reals from his employer, the Infante Luis, Count of Chinchón.

Pope Benedict XIV, previously known as Prospero Lambertini, succeeds Clement XII as the 247th Pope.

Ioan Giurgiu Patachi becomes Bishop of Făgăraș and is festively installed in his position at the St. Nicolas Cathedral in Făgăraș, after being formally confirmed earlier by Pope Clement XI.

Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18: The month-long Siege of Belgrade ends with Prince Eugene of Savoy's Austrian troops capturing the city from the Ottoman Empire.