On August 8, 1863, General Robert E. Lee wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis and asked to be replaced after the defeat at Gettysburg. In the private letter, Lee admitted that his health and strength were failing and questioned whether he could still command the Army of Northern Virginia effectively.
On August 7, 1789, Congress approved a law placing the nation’s lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and public piers under federal care. With that decision, the new government began building a coordinated system to guide ships past hazards and safely into American ports.
On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, giving the federal government powerful new tools to confront racial discrimination at the polls. The law followed decades of blocked registrations, intimidation, and a voting-rights campaign that drew national attention to Selma, Alabama.
On August 5, 1926, master illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini spent more than 91 minutes sealed inside a coffin submerged in a New York City swimming pool. The feat tested his ability to remain calm as the air around him grew hotter and harder to breathe.
On August 4, 1790, President George Washington passed a new Tariff Act that created the United States Revenue Cutter Service, the forerunner of the US Coast Guard. The Revenue Cutter Service was America’s only armed maritime service until the Navy was formed in 1798.
On August 4, 1790, President George Washington passed a new Tariff Act that created the United States Revenue Cutter Service, the forerunner of the US Coast Guard. The Revenue Cutter Service was America’s only armed maritime service until the Navy was formed in 1798.
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.
On July 26, 1788, New York ratified the US Constitution, becoming America’s 11th state. It has grown to be America’s fourth most populous state, with more than 20 million residents.
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.
The Games of the XXIX Olympiad opened in Beijing, China, on August 8, 2008. The games had the largest TV audience for an event up to that time, the longest torch relay, and the most participants for a Summer Olympics.
On August 8, 1929, the Graf Zeppelin departed the airfield in Lakehurst, New Jersey, to return 21 days later. The popularity of this trip created “Zeppelin Mania” and inspired several later flights.
Author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was born on August 8, 1896, in Washington, DC. She’s best-known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Yearling, which was later made into a movie.
On August 8, 1829, the Stourbridge Lion became the first steam locomotive to be operated in the United States.
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