On August 5, 1981, President Ronald Reagan took decisive action that would become one of the most consequential labor decisions in American history. With the stroke of a pen and the full force of executive leadership, Reagan fired 11,359 air traffic controllers who had…
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American Bandstand, a television program that had a profound impact on American culture and the music industry, made its national debut on August 5, 1957. Originally a local show called “Bandstand,” it began airing in 1952 in Philadelphia on WFIL-TV. The show was hosted…
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On August 5, 1926, the greatest magician and escape artist of all time conducted his most incredible performance. Renowned for his incredible feats and death-defying stunts, Houdini secured his legendary status at the Sheraton Hotel pool in New York City by performing his Water…
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On August 4, 1914, the contours of what would become the First World War changed dramatically as three pivotal nations made their positions unmistakably clear. In response to Germany’s invasion of neutral Belgium, both Belgium and the British Empire formally declared war on the…
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Jesse Owens’ performance at the 1936 Berlin Olympics stands as one of the most compelling chapters in sports history. In the midst of a politically charged atmosphere, with the world watching, Owens delivered a series of performances that shattered not only records but also…
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n August 4, 2020, Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, experienced a catastrophic explosion at its port, marking one of the most devastating non-nuclear explosions in history. This tragic event stemmed from the detonation of approximately 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a substance typically used…
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On a nice summer day on August 3, 1852, Harvard University and Yale University upped the ante in rivalry by introducing a fun little sporting competition between the two schools. The first college sporting event in American history was born. No, it wasn’t football…
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On August 4, 1790, under the leadership of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Congress authorized the construction of ten cutters to enforce federal tariff and trade laws and to prevent smuggling. Initially called the Revenue Marine, today we better know it as the…
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On August 3, 1949, a meeting in New York City changed the course of American sports history. Officials from the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL), two rival professional basketball circuits, agreed to a merger that would create the…
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On August 2, 1939, just weeks before the outbreak of World War II, physicist Albert Einstein and fellow Hungarian émigré Leo Szilard co-signed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that would become one of the most consequential pieces of correspondence in history. The…
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