Actress Marilyn Monroe(Norma Jeane Mortenson) (June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962)
On Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor on this day in 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid.
On this day in 1957, American Bandstand made its network debut on ABC-TV. The show was hosted by Dick Clark. Until this day the show had been a local show in Philadelphia since 1952.
From left: singer Paul Anka and Bandstand host Dick Clark
On this day in 1944, Nazi police raided a house in Amsterdam and arrested eight people. Anne Frank, a teenager at the time, was one of the people arrested. Her diary (below) would be published after her death in 1945. The exact cause of her death was not determined, although in early 1945, a typhus epidemic spread through the labor camp where the Frank women were being held, killing 17,000 prisoners. Other diseases, including typhoid fever, were also rampant.
On this day in 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. The U.S. proclaimed its neutrality.
It was on this day in 1964.
The burned out station wagon that slain civil rights workers were driving in is seen June, 1964 in the Bogue Chitto swamp.
It was on this day in 1892.
Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927)
Andrew and Abby Borden (above) were axed to death in their home (above) in Fall River, MA. Sunday school teacher Lizzie Borden, Andrew Borden’s daughter from a previous marriage, was accused of the killings, but acquitted at trial.
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971)
Nicknamed Satchmo, Satch, and Pops, Louis Armstrong was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who was one of the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades, from the 1920s to the 1960s, and different eras in the history of jazz. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
Christopher Columbus left Palos, Spain with three ships on this day in 1492. The voyage led him to what is now known as the Americas.
On this day in 1914, Germany declared war on France. The next day World War I began when Britain declared war on Germany.
Alger Hiss (above)was a government official who was accused of being a Soviet spy on this day in 1948. His case became one of the defining – and still highly controversial – episodes of the Cold War.
Whittaker Chambers is seated on the left in the above photo.
On this day in 1981, U.S. traffic controllers with the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), went on strike. They were fired just as President Ronald Reagan had warned.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded on this day in 1949.
Singer Tony Bennett (Anthony Dominick Benedetto) is 92 today.
Tony Bennett is known for his renditions of show tunes, jazz, and popular songs like "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and "Rags to Riches."
He dropped out of school to work as a copy boy in order to help support his family. He was a painting and music student at New York’s School of Industrial Art.
The Pentagon reported the first of two North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin on this day in 1964. The attack sparks escalation of the Vietnam War.
The guided missile destroyer USS McCormick is fired upon by North Vietnamese shore batteries.
Iraq invaded the oil-rich country of Kuwait on this day in 1990. Iraq claimed that Kuwait had driven down oil prices when it exceeded production quotas set by OPEC. Saddam Hussein became the President of Iraq.
Toppling the statue of Saddam Hussein during the invasion of Iraq.
Lieutenant John F. Kennedy’s encounter with a Japanese destroyer on the night of August 1, 1943, may be the most famous small-craft engagement in naval history. The vessel sank on this day in 1943.
Future U.S. President Lieutenant John F. Kennedy aboard the PT-109.
It was on this day in 1923.
Warren Gamaliel Harding(November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923)
James Butler Hickok(May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876)
The card hand held by Hickok at his death, now widely known as the "dead man’s hand".
Wild Bill Hickok was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall on this day in 1876.
Jack McCall (1852 or 1853 – March 1, 1877) was also known as "Crooked Nose" or "Broken Nose Jack".
On this day in 1914, Germany declared war on Russia at the start of World War I.
‘A Berlin crowd listens as a German officer reads the Kaiser’s order for mobilization on 1st August 1914′.
Adolf Hitler (second from right) presided over the Olympic games as they opened in Berlin on this day in 1936.
African American Jesse Owens was the star of Berlin, becoming the first American in Olympic track and field history to win four gold medals at a single Games. He won the 100-yard dash, the long jump, 200-yard dash and the 4×100-yard relay.
In Warsaw, Poland, an uprising against Nazi occupation began on this day in 1944. The revolt continued until October 2 when Polish forces surrendered.
German Troops set fire to a village in Poland.
Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891)
Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. His best known works include Typee (1846), a romantic account of his experiences in Polynesian life, and his whaling novel Moby-Dick (1851).
MTV made its debut at 12:01am on this day in 1981. The first video to be shown was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles.
"Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll". Those were the words TV audiences heard on August 1, 1981 when a brand new channel called Music Television launched.