Scott Allsop's Blog, page 28

7th August 1947: Kon-Tiki expedition ends when the raft smashes into a reef at the Raroia atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago

The crew all survived, and their expedition provided evidence supporting Heyerdahl’s hypothesis that it was possible for ancient South Americans to have travelled across the Pacific Ocean to ...

6th August 1806: Holy Roman Empire officially dissolved following the abdication of Francis II

In his proclamation he also released all the states and princes of the Empire from their oaths of loyalty to him but continued to rule as Francis I, Emperor of ...

5th August 1962: Nelson Mandela arrested and jailed in South Africa

On the 5th August 1962, Nelson Mandela was arrested near the South African town of Howick and imprisoned facing charges of inciting workers' strikes and leaving the country without a ...

4th August 1914: Woodrow Wilson proclaims US neutrality in the First World War

President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the neutrality of the United States in the First World ...

3rd August 1798: Battle of the Nile ends with a decisive British victory over the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars

The turning point came when the French flagship, L'Orient, caught fire and exploded. The massive blast illuminated the night sky and demoralized the French ...

2nd August 1873: The Clay Street Hill Railroad becomes San Francisco’s first cable car

The Clay Street Hill Railroad was successfully tested, becoming San Francisco’s first operational cable ...

1st August 1981: Cable music television channel MTV is launched

Originally broadcast from a studio in New Jersey, MTV launched at 12:01am with the words ‘Ladies and gentlemen, rock and ...

31st July 1917: Battle of Passchendaele begins during the First World War, resulting in one of the muddiest battles of the conflict

The landscape was scarred by craters filled with water and, by the time the battle ended over three months later following the Canadian capture of the village of Passchendaele, there were approximately 500,000 casualties on both ...

30th July 762: Construction begins on the city of Baghdad under Caliph Al-Mansur

The city of Baghdad was founded by the Abbasid Caliph ...

29th July 1588: Decisive Battle of Gravelines during the Spanish Armada

The Battle of Gravelines, the decisive battle of the Spanish Armada, took place off the coast of ...