This Day In History

On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from southern Spain in search of a westward route to the valuable trading centers of Asia. The voyage did not lead to China as he expected, but carried three small ships across an ocean far wider than his calculations suggested.

Though he had been in poor health for some time, President Warren G. Harding’s death on August 2, 1923, shocked a nation that had watched him greet cheering crowds only days earlier. The lack of an autopsy, combined with scandals emerging from his administration, soon encouraged rumors that lasted for decades.

Born on August 1, 1779, in western Maryland, Francis Scott Key became forever linked to the flag he saw above Fort McHenry after a 25-hour British bombardment. That sight inspired the four-stanza poem that became “The Star-Spangled Banner,” though the song did not become the national anthem until 1931.

Civil rights leader Whitney Moore Young Jr. was born on July 31, 1921, in Shelby County, Kentucky. He served as Executive Director of the National Urban League, helped organize the March on Washington, and advised several presidents.

On July 30, 1864, Union forces launched the surprise Battle of the Crater. They dug tunnels under Confederate positions and set off explosives to catch them by surprise, but poor decisions led the battle to turn against them.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial was officially dedicated on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War. This stamp was issued eight years later and led to a federal court case!

On July 25, 1909, Louis Blériot became the first person to fly an airplane across the English Channel. Flying a small monoplane from near Calais to Dover, the French aviator completed the dangerous journey in just 36 minutes and 30 seconds.

On July 21, 1861, Confederate forces won the First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of First Manassas. It was the first major land battle of the Civil War and the grisly fighting led both sides to realize that the war wouldn’t be won quickly. 

Nearly 50 years after the first negotiations took place, the United States purchased the Danish West Indies from Denmark, later renaming them the US Virgin Islands. The US again entered into talks with the Danish and the treaty was signed on August 4, 1916.

On August 4, 1821, The Saturday Evening Post published its first issue. Once one of the most widely circulated magazines, it is still in publication today.

Humanitarian and diplomat Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg was born on August 4, 1912, in Lidingö Municipality, Sweden. Working with the War Refugee Board, he helped over 20,000 Jewish people escape Nazi-occupied Hungary.

Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Armstrong was one of the most influential jazz musicians in American history.  His distinct gravelly voice, skill in improvising lyrics, and mastery of the trumpet helped make jazz music a popular art form.