Scott Allsop's Blog, page 6

17th August 1945: Animal Farm by George Orwell published in the United Kingdom

Subtitled “A Fairy Story,” the Animal Farm used a farmyard allegory to critique totalitarianism, particularly the rise and betrayal of the ideals of the Russian Revolution, which caused several publishers to initially reject the book, with concerns that it would harm wartime relations with the ...

15th August 1965: The Beatles perform at Shea Stadium in New York City, in front of a crowd of over 55,000 people

The Beatles were first flown by helicopter to a nearby helipad and then driven to Shea Stadium in an armoured van where they performed a 30 minute set on a stage set up on the infield, far from the attendees in the ...

13th August 1521: Aztec Empire ends with the Fall of Tenochtitlan to Spanish forces led by Hernán Cortés

The Aztec defence was led by the Emperor Cuauhtémoc but, despite determined resistance, the defenders were gradually overwhelmed and Cuauhtémoc was captured while trying to flee the ...

12th August 1981: IBM announces the release of the 5150, the first IBM Personal Computer

The IBM PC quickly became a commercial success and a standard in the emerging personal computer industry, establishing a broad market based on the IBM model that accelerated the spread of home ...

11th August 1929: Babe Ruth becomes the first Major League Baseball player to hit 500 home runs

The ball sailed over the right-field fence to land in Lexington Avenue that ran alongside Cleveland’s League ...

10th August 1961: United States begins Operation Ranch Hand to destroy trees and crops during the Vietnam War

Operation Ranch Hand was part of a strategy by the U.S. to counter the guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces by targeting agricultural areas and forest cover with chemicals such as Agent ...

8th August 1786: Mont Blanc was successfully climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard

Jacques Balmat, a local mountaineer and crystal hunter, and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard, a physician from Chamonix, set out on the evening of 7 August 1786 and made their way up Mont Blanc via what is now known as the Grands Mulets ...

5th August 1914: The Battle of Liège begins, marking the first major engagement of the First World War

The bombardment of the city's ring of forts by Germany's 'Big Bertha' howitzer caused extensive damage, and one by one, the forts were rendered inoperable. By 16 August, the forts had ...

4th August 1789: The August Decrees result in the National Constituent Assembly of France voting to abolish the feudal system

The decision to end the privileges enjoyed by the nobility and clergy came in the early stages of the French Revolution, during a special session of the National Constituent Assembly of France and resulted in the August ...

2nd August 1940: No. 303 Squadron, one of two Polish RAF squadrons in the Battle of Britain, formed at RAF Northolt

No. 303 Squadron, which was composed primarily of Polish airmen who had escaped to Britain after the defeat of Poland, claimed the largest number of aircraft shot down of any RAF squadron during the Battle of ...