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 7, 1927, the Peace Bridge linking the US and Canada was dedicated by representatives from both nations and the United Kingdom.
Andy Warhol was born August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A leading figure in the pop art movement, he’s considered one of America’s most notable artists of the second half of the 20th century.
On August 5, 1963, the US, the UK, and the Soviet Union signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Eventually, more than 100 countries agreed to prohibit nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater.
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 3, 1795, the United States and a group of Native American tribes (known as the Northwestern Confederacy) signed the Treaty of Greenville, establishing the boundary between American and Native American territory.
On August 2, 1943, future president John F. Kennedy saved the majority of his PT-109 crew after a Japanese destroyer rammed them.
On August 1, 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant signed legislation admitting Colorado to the Union as the Centennial State (it was admitted 28 days after the 100th anniversary of the United States).
John (Johan) Ericsson was born on July 31, 1803, in Värmland, Sweden. He was an inventor and ship designer, most famous for his ironclad ship Monitor, which participated in the Civil War Battle of Hampton Roads.