On August 16, 1939, the world’s first undersea post office opened in the Bahamas. It was developed by an undersea photographer and garnered significant interest from around the world. Decades later, more underwater post offices and post boxes were established in other countries, many of which are still in operation today…
Ethel Lois Payne was born on August 14, 1911, in Chicago, Illinois. Known as the “First Lady of the Black Press,” he was the first black female war correspondent in Vietnam and the first black female commentator on a major radio and television network.
On August 8, 1908, the Wright Brothers conducted their first public flight at the Hunaudieres racecourse near Le Mans, France. The flight, and the others that followed, helped the brothers earn international recognition as the inventors of the airplane.
On August 7, 1942, Allied troops landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands. The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as Operation Watchtower, was the Allies’ first major offensive against the Japanese Empire.
On August 6, 1991, Tim Berners-Lee published the first-ever website, heralding the start of the world wide web. The web has grown to over 1.8 billion websites today, and continues to grow every day.
On July 29, 1948, London opened the Games of the XIV Olympiad. They were the first summer games held since Berlin in 1936, having been delayed due to World War II.
Military and political leader Simón Bolívar was born on July 24, 1783, in Caracas, New Granada (present-day Venezuela). He led a campaign that freed Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia from Spanish rule, earning him the nickname El Libertador (The Liberator). His birthday is also a national holiday in Venezuela.
On July 22, 1929, catapult mail was successfully launched from a German ship to New York. Catapult mail cut down on transatlantic delivery times until advances in aviation enabled planes to make the entire journey even faster.
On July 19, 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill officially established the “V” for Victory campaign. The letter “V” became a rallying cry for people in occupied nations as well as Germans who opposed the Nazis.