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 August 5, 1964, the US launched Operation Pierce Arrow in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. The operation marked the start of US air operations over North Vietnam.
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 2, 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 into law. The act required all producers, laboratories, dealers, importers, and doctors to register each year to legally buy and sell marijuana.
On August 1, 1943, US Army Air Forces bombed oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania. It was part of the Allies’ oil campaign, to cut off Germany’s petroleum supply during World War II.
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.
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.