Scott Allsop's Blog, page 31

13th August 1918: Opha May Johnson becomes the first woman to enlist in the US Marine Corps

Johnson was 40 years old when she enlisted, and her extensive clerical and stenographical experience made her a perfect fit for the ...

12th August 1990: Sue, the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex ever unearthed, discovered by Susan Hendrickson

The most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever unearthed was discovered by palaeontologist Susan ...

11th August 106: Roman Emperor Trajan declares Dacia (modern Romania) a Roman province

The conquest of Dacia was a strategic and economic victory for Rome, providing raw materials and a strong north-eastern ...

10th August 1846: President James K. Polk signs legislation to establish the Smithsonian Institution

It had taken Congress eight years to agree on how to fulfil James Smithson’s desire to establish and institution ‘for the increase and diffusion of ...

9th August 1942: Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7, known as the “Leningrad” Symphony, received its premiere in the city under siege

The concert took place at the Philharmonic Hall, and was preceded by a Soviet artillery bombardment designed to silence the German lines during the ...

8th August 1925: More than 50,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan stage a march in Washington D.C.

Tens of thousands of Ku Klux Klan members took part in an organised march through Washington ...

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 ...