August 5
U.S. president Abraham Lincoln imposes the first federal income tax by signing the Revenue Act. Strapped for cash with which to pursue the Civil War, Lincoln and Congress agree to impose a three percent tax on annual incomes more than $800.. – 1861.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the first telegraph line across the Atlantic Ocean is completed, a feat accomplished largely through the efforts of American merchant Cyrus West Field. – 1868.
U.S. president Ronald Reagan begins firing 11,359 air-traffic controllers on strike in violation of his order for them to return to work. The controllers complained of difficult working conditions and a lack of recognition of the pressures they face. – 1981.
August 6
At 8:16 a.m. Japanese time, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world’s first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 individuals are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout. – 1945.
August 7
In Newburgh, N. Y., General George Washington, the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Continental Army, creates the “Badge for Military Merit,” a decoration consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk, edged with a narrow binding of silver, with the word Merit stitched across the face in silver. The badge was to be presented to soldiers for “any singularly meritorious action” and permitted its wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge. – 1782.
Kon-Tiki, a balsa wood raft captained by Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, completes a 4,300-mile, 101-day journey from Peru to Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelago, near Tahiti. Heyerdahl wanted to prove his theory that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized the Polynesian islands by drifting on ocean currents. – 1947.
August 8
During World War II, six German saboteurs who secretly entered the United States on a mission to attack its civil infrastructure are executed by the United States for spying. – 1942.
President Harry S Truman signs the United Nations Charter and the United States becomes the first nation to complete the ratification process and join the new international organization. – 1945.
In an evening televised address, U.S. president Richard M. Nixon announces his intention to become the first president in American history to resign. – 1974.
Cesar Chavez is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by president Bill Clinton, to become the first Mexican-American to receive the honor. – 1994.
August 9
In one of the most decisive battles in history, a large Roman army is defeated by the Visigoths at the Battle of Adrianople in present-day Turkey. Two-thirds of the Roman army, including Emperor Valens, were overrun and slaughtered by the mounted barbarians. The victory left the Eastern Roman Empire nearly defenseless. – 379.
Twenty individuals, including at least nine firefighters, are killed in Boston’s worst fire. It consumes 65 downtown acres and 776 buildings in more than 12 hours. – 1872.
A second atom bomb is dropped on Japan by the United States, at Nagasaki, resulting finally in Japan’s unconditional surrender. – 1945.
Richard M. Nixon officially ends his term as president of the United States. Minutes later, vice president Gerald R. Ford is sworn in as the 38th U.S. president. – 1974.
Members of Charles Manson’s cult kill five individuals in movie director Roman Polanski’s home, including Polanski’s pregnant wife. Less than two days later, the group killed two more individuals. The savage crimes shocked the Nation. – 1969.
August 10
Construction on the St. Lawrence Seaway begins. Ultimately 22,000 workers spent five years building the 2,342-mile route from the Atlantic Ocean to the northern-most part of the Great Lakes. – 1954.
The United Kingdom records its first temperature above 100°F. Throughout the month, an intense heat wave scorched the European continent which claimed more than 35,000 lives. – 2003.
August 11
One hundred platform men employed by the privately owned United Railroads streetcar service in San Francisco abandon their streetcars which ties up many of the main lines in and out of the city center. – 1917.
Racial tension reaches a breaking point in the Watts section of Los Angeles after two white policemen scuffle with a black motorist suspected of drunken driving. A riot quickly rages over a 50-square-mile area of South Central Los Angeles. Order was restored August 16 which left 34 dead, 1,032 injured, nearly 4,000 arrested. – 1965.