79 – Mt Vesuvius erupts, buries Roman Pompeii and Herculaneum, 15,000 die
410 – Rome overrun by Visigoths under Alaric I for the first time in nearly 800 years, seen as the fall of the Western Roman Empire
516 – Battle of Marj Dabiq: Ottoman forces decisively beat the Mamluk Sultanate
1572 -St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of Protestants by Roman Catholics begins in Paris and later spreads to the French provinces
1662 – Act of Uniformity requires English to accept Book of Common Prayer
1814 – British forces capture Washington, D.C. and destroy many landmarks (War of 1812)
1949 – The North A tlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) entered into force, following the signing of its treaty four months earlier.
1968 – France becomes the world’s fifth thermonuclear power with a detonation on Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific
2006 – Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet after the International Astronomical Union approved a reclassification of the solar system.
2011 – Amid health issues, Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple, and he died less than two months later.
Births & Deaths:
1929 – Yasser Arafat, a Palestinian political leader was born.
Sport:
2008 – Summer Olympics in Beijing becomes the most watched event on TV ever – nearly 5 billion, 70% of world’s population
Music:
1787 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes his violin and piano sonata in A, K526
TV & Film:
1963 – 24th Venice Film Festival: “Hands Over the City” directed by Francesco Rosi wins Golden Lion
Via Britannica / On This Day
