Hungarian lawyer, statesman, and Governor-President Lajos Kossuth was born on September 19, 1802, in Monok, Kingdom of Hungary. Working for the independence of Hungary from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, he gained international acclaim and respect as a freedom fighter.
The “Supreme Poet” Dante Alighieri is believed to have died on September 14, 1321. His Divine Comedy is considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the Italian language.
On September 5, 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt mediated the Treaty of Portsmouth, ending the Russo-Japanese War. It earned him a Nobel Prize and began a long-standing tree-giving tradition between the US and Japan.
On August 22, 1864, twelve nations signed the first Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. This convention and subsequent treaties and protocols established the legal standard for humanitarian treatment in times of war.
On August 16, 1916, the US and Canada signed the first Migratory Bird Treaty to protect the birds that live in both nations. Several programs came out of this agreement that has helped to save hundreds of species of migratory birds.
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.
On August 1, 1946, President Harry Truman signed legislation establishing the Fulbright Program. An international exchange program, the Fulbright Scholarship is considered one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world.
On July 17, 1976, Queen Elizabeth II presided over the opening ceremonies of the Games of the XXI Olympiad in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. These were the first and only Summer Olympics held in Canada.
On July 14, 1789, revolutionaries stormed the Bastille in Paris, marking the start of the decade-long French Revolution. The end of the revolution would mark the start a constitutional monarchy.