A Timeline of Famous Historical Events in August

Jul 25, 2010
Sara McGrath

Augustus - Wikimedia Commons

Linking history to the current month provides a hook to spark children's attention and an environmental context to help them imagine the event.

What happened in long-ago August? Why was August chosen for Women's History Month? What do pop art, swing music, the phonograph, and the escalator have in common?

About August

August is the eighth month of the year in the internationally-accepted Gregorian Calendar (named after Pope Gregory XIII who introduced the reformed calendar in 1582.) August gets its name from Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, the first ruler of the Roman Empire who died August 19, AD 14.

Around the world, most people refer to the month of August by some variation in pronunciation of the word "August." However, some people use a local word that translates to "eighth month." The Finnish use a word meaning "harvest month," the Polish use "month of the sickle," and the Irish use Lúnasa after the Gaelic holiday marking the harvest season. In the northern hemisphere, August marks midsummer and the beginning of the harvest season.

Holidays and Observances in August

August 2 – British Columbia Day
August 14 – U.S. National Financial Awareness Day (Online Games About Money)
August 15 – V-J Day (1945, Victory over Japan Day)
August 26 – Women's Equality Day (About Women's History Month)

Historical Events in August

August 24, 79 A.D. – Mt. Vesuvius exploded
August 3, 1492 – Christopher Columbus set sail (The Truth About Columbus)
August 2, 1769 – Spanish missionaries discovered the La Brea Tar Pits
August 10, 1793 – Louvre Museum opened
August 28, 1828 – Birth of Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist
August 24, 1853 – George Crum, Native American chef, invented potato chips
August 9, 1854 – Henry David Thoreau published Walden
August 10, 1859 – First U.S. milk inspectors appointed
August 2, 1865 – Alice in Wonderland published
August 31, 1870 – Birth of Maria Montessori, educator
August 12, 1877 – Thomas Edison invented the phonograph
August 2, 1892 – Charles Wheeler patented the escalator
August 8, 1899 – A.T. Marshall patented the refrigerator
August 4, 1944 – Anne Frank captured
August 15, 1969 – Woodstock Music and Art Festival began
August 5, 1890 – Birth of Naum Gabo, sculptor, leader of the Constructivist movement
August 4, 1901 – Birth of Louis Armstrong, jazz musician
August 11, 1906 – Movies with sound patented
August 28, 1922 – First radio commercial aired
August 16, 1923 – U.S. Steel established 8-hour work day
August 6, 1928 – Birth of Andy Warhol, leader of the Pop Art movement
August 5, 1930 – Birth of Neil Armstrong, astronaut, first man on the moon
August 9, 1930 – Betty Boop cartoon debuted on screen
August 25, 1932 – Amelia Earhart flew across the U.S.
August 21, 1935 – Benny Goodman introduced swing music
August 17, 1939 – Premiere of The Wizard of Oz
August 21, 1959 – Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state
August 23, 1966 – Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first photographs of the Earth
August 30, 2005 – Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans

Imagine the first photograph taken of Earth, the premier of The Wizard of Oz, or the devastation of Hurricane Katrina taking place on a warm August day. "This Day in History" and similar features appeal to learners, because these timely presentations add environmental context and interest to historical events.

Next Month: September Timeline of Famous Historical Events