On This Day
1965 - Dune (novel)
Frank Herbert's novel, Dune was published for the first time. It was named as the world's best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.
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1927 - Nanchang Uprising Ignites China's Prolonged Civil War
On a moonless night in early August 1927, a coalition of communist officers stormed Nanchang, seizing the city and shattering the fragile KMT‑CCP alliance. The battle marked the birth of the People's Liberation Army and set China on a forty‑two‑year path of civil war.
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1774 - Oxygen
British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
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1964 - Ranger program
Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
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1658 - Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb is proclaimed Mughal emperor of India.
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1492 - Alhambra Decree
All remaining Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect.
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2020 - Mars 2020
NASA's Mars 2020 mission was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
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1974 - Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon releases subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the Supreme Court of the United States.
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1966 - 1966 FIFA World Cup final
England defeats West Germany to win the FIFA World Cup at Wembley Stadium 4–2 after extra time.
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1958 - National Aeronautics and Space Act
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
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1932 - Bonus Army
Great Depression: In Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans using arson, bayonets, sabers, tanks, tear gas, and vomit gas.
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1567 - Coronation of James VI
The infant James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.