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''Knowing the past, we can make wise
choices for a brighter, and more positive future.''
| 1261 | Constantinople falls to Michael VIII of Nicea and his army. | |
| 1385 | John of Portugal defeats John of Castile at the Battle of Aljubarrota. | |
| 1598 | Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, leads an Irish force to victory over the British at Battle of Yellow Ford. | |
| 1760 | Frederick II defeats the Austrians at the Battle of Liegnitz. | |
| 1864 | The Confederate raider Tallahassee captures six Federal ships off New England. | |
| 1872 | The first ballot voting in England is conducted. | |
| 1914 | The Panama Canal opens to traffic. | |
| 1935 | American comedian and "cowboy philosopher" Will Rogers dies in an airplane accident, along with American aviation pioneer Wiley Post. | |
| 1942 | The Japanese submarine I-25 departs Japan with a floatplane in its hold which will be assembled upon arriving off the West Coast of the United States, and used to bomb U.S. forests. | |
| 1944 | American, British and French forces land on the southern coast of France, between Toulon and Cannes, in Operation Dragoon. | |
| 1945 | Gasoline and fuel oil rationing ends in the United States. | |
| 1947 | Britain grants independence to India and Pakistan. | |
| 1950 | Two U.S. divisions are badly mauled by the North Korean Army at the Battle of the Bowling Alley in South Korea, which rages on for five more days. | |
| 1969 | Over 400,000 young people attend a weekend of rock music at Woodstock, New York. | |
| 1971 | US President Richard Nixon announces a 90-day freeze on wages and prices in an attempt to halt rapid inflation. | |
| 1986 | Ignoring objections from President Ronald Reagan's Administration, US Senate approves economic sanctions against South Africa to protest that country's apartheid policies. | |
| 1994 | US Social Security Administration, previously part of the Department of Health and Human Services, becomes an independent government agency. | |
| 1994 | Infamous terrorist Carlos the Jackal captured in Khartoum, Sudan. | |
| 2001 | Astronomers announce the first solar system discovered outside our own; two planets had been found orbiting a star in the Big Dipper. | |
| 2007 |
An earthquake of 8.0 magnitude kills over 500 and injures more than 1,000 in Peru.
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Born on August 15
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| 1769 | Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France (1804-1815) and military leader. | |
| 1771 | Sir Walter Scott, Scottish novelist who wrote Ivanhoe and Rob Roy. | |
| 1888 | T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia for his military exploits against the Turks in World War I. | |
| 1912 | Julia Child, American chef and television personality. | |
| 1924 | Robert Bolt, English screenwriter and playwright best known for A Man for all Seasons. | |
| 1938 | Maxine Waters, congresswoman from California, second African-American woman to be elected to congress. | |
| 1938 | Stephen Breyer, US Supreme Court justice. | |
| 1946 | Jimmy Webb, songwriter ("MacArthur Park," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"). | |
| 1961 | Ed Gilllespie, US Republican political strategist and White House counsel to President George W. Bush. | |
| 1964 | Melinda French Gates, businesswoman, philanthropist; co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with her husband, Bill Gates (co-founder of Microsoft). | |
| 1965 | Rob Thomas, television writer (Veronica Mars, 90210). | |
MUCH MORE HISTORY
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