August 17
1959: An earthquake struck the Madison River Canyon in southwest Montana, causing a massive landslide that buried a highway and a campground, and formed Earthquake Lake.
1977: The Soviet icebreaker Arktika became the first surface ship to reach the North Pole.
1982: The first Compact Discs (CDs) were released to the public in Germany.
2008: American swimmer Michael Phelps became the first person to win eight gold medals in one Olympic Games.
2017: Collision of two neutron stars witnessed for the first time first picked up by US-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (Ligo).
August 18
1868: French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovered helium.
1920: The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women’s suffrage.
1938: The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York, United States, with Ontario, Canada, over the Saint Lawrence River, was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
2018: Archaeologists confirm first-ever cheese found from Ancient Egypt 3,200 years old in tomb of Ptahmes, mayor of Memphis.
2019: US President Donald Trump confirms he is interested in buying Greenland for the US.
August 19
1989: Several hundred East Germans crossed the frontier between Hungary and Austria during the Pan-European Picnic, part of the events which began the process of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
2014: NASA satellites take photos showing that the eastern basin of the Aral Sea had for the first time completely dried up.
August 20
1866: President Andrew Johnson formally declared the American Civil War over.
1910: The “Big Blowup” forest fire burned approximately 3 million acres in northern Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana for three days starting Aug. 20.
1920: The first commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), began broadcasting in Detroit.
2015: 30 students at West Point Military Academy are injured in a mass pillow fight.
2019: NASA confirms mission to Jupiter’s ice-covered moon Europa to search for alien life, to launch 2025.
August 21
1888: The first successful adding machine was patented by William Seward Burroughs.
1911: The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in Paris. (It was recovered two years later in Italy; the unknown thief was never caught.)
1961: The Motown music label released what would be its first No. 1 hit, “Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes.
1993: NASA lost contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.
2019: Nigeria goes three years without a case of polio in landmark toward eradication of the disease.
August 22
1848: The United States annexed New Mexico.
1902: Theodore Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to ride in an automobile. Cadillac Motor Co. was founded in Detroit.
1952: The penal colony on Devil’s Island, off the coast of French Guiana, South America, was permanently closed.
1996: President Bill Clinton signed welfare reform into law, producing a major shift in U.S. welfare policy.
2007: The ‘Storm’ botnet, created by the Storm worm, sent out a record 57 million emails in one day.
2018: Forbes say George Clooney made more money in a single year ($239 million) than any actor ever ($239m), due to sale of alcohol company, followed by Dwayne Johnson ($124m).
August 23
1904: The automobile tire chain was patented in the United States.
1966: The Lunar Orbiter I took the first photo of the earth from the moon’s orbit.
1973: A bank robbery gone wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turned into a hostage crisis. Over the next five days, the hostages begin to sympathize with their captors, leading to the term “Stockholm syndrome.”
2007: The skeletal remains of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and his sister Anastasia—the last members of Russia’s royal family—were found near Yekaterinburg, Russia.
2017: World’s driest place, the Atacama desert in Chile blooms after unexpected rainfall.
ON THIS DAY… AUGUST 17 – AUGUST 23
August 17- NATIONAL BLACK CAT APPRECIATION DAY
August 18- NATIONAL FAJITA DAY
Throw in some black beans or even add a little hot sauce, guacamole, sour cream, or cheese.
August 19- INTERNATIONAL
ORANGUTAN DAY
It’s no surprise that orangutans are intellectual because they share 97% of their D.N.A. with humans.
August 20- NATIONAL RADIO DAY
Radio was once one of the most incredible technologies on Earth, used by militaries and governments alike for navigation, news distribution, and more.
August 21- NATIONAL
SPUMONI DAY
This day honors the Italian ice cream treat that incorporates cream, fruit, and nuts.
August 22- NATIONAL TOOTH FAIRY DAY
This day celebrates the excitement and wonder of kids losing their teeth.
August 23 -CHEAP FLIGHT DAY
With kids returning to school and summer vacations ending, now is the time to take advantage of “end of season” travel deals.