John Fitch, an American inventor, secured a patent for the steamboat on August 26, 1791, marking a significant milestone in the early history of American innovation and transportation. Fitch’s journey to this achievement was fraught with challenges, yet his relentless determination laid the groundwork…
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On August 26, 1883, the loudest sound ever recorded happened in Indonesia on a caldera situated in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The volcano known as Krakatoa erupted with such force that it…
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On August 25, 1945—just ten days after Japan announced its surrender and brought the Second World War to a close—an American intelligence officer named John Birch was killed in China under circumstances that soon became freighted with political meaning. To his comrades, he was…
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On August 25, 1950, as the Korean War raged overseas, the United States faced a critical threat on the home front—a looming nationwide railroad strike that could paralyze the nation’s transportation network and cripple the war effort. Recognizing the catastrophic impact such a strike…
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On August 25, 1609, the Italian astronomer and philosopher Galilei Galileo debuted something to Venetian merchants that would make him both a legend and a heretic–his telescope. The Guardian writes, “A refinement of models first devised in the Netherlands, Galileo’s slim, brown stick was puny…
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On August 24, 1857, the United States was jolted into one of the most severe economic crises of the 19th century. Known as the Panic of 1857, the crash reverberated across the Atlantic, exposing the fragility of a rapidly expanding economy bound to global…
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On August 24, 1814, a significant and devastating event unfolded in American history—the burning of the White House by British forces. This dramatic episode occurred during the War of 1812, a conflict between the United States and Great Britain that had been raging for…
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On August 24th, 1995, people lined up outside of Best Buy and other computer stores at midnight to buy the latest in computer programming, and no it wasn’t the next Playstation game or can’t-miss Nintendo system, or the latest iPod. The people were desperate…
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On August 23, 1839, the Union Jack was raised over Hong Kong, securing for Britain not only a natural harbor but also a vital position from which to defend free commerce in Asia. What might have seemed a barren outpost to the casual observer…
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On August 23, 1991, the world changed in ways that few could have predicted when the World Wide Web became publicly accessible, ushering in a new era of global communication, information sharing, and connectivity. Though the internet itself had existed for decades, it was…
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