1461 Empire of Trebizond surrenders to forces of Sultan Mehmet II – last Byzantine Empire remnant to fall. Emperor David exiled and later murdered.
1620 Mayflower sets sail from Southampton, England, with 102 Pilgrims
1900 The Boxer Rebellion: In China, the Empress, her family and court retainers flee while foreign troops move through Peking in an attempt to quell the rebellion
1947 India gains independence from Great Britain, remains a dominion until 1950
1998 Omagh Bombing in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles, kills 29 people and injures about 220
2021 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flees the country as Taliban forces enter the capital Kabul and take control
Historical Events Today Events in 2023
Today in Film & TV
1918 Longest work of animation then produced – “The Sinking of Lusitania” by Winsor McCay
1939 “The Wizard of Oz”, American musical fantasy film adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s book, premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Hollywood; directed by Victor Fleming and King Vidor with cast featuring Judy Garland (Dorothy), Ray Bolger (Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Tin Man), Bert Lahr (Cowardly Lion), Frank Morgan (Wizard), Billie Burke (Glinda), and Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch); songs by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg
Today in Music
1969 Woodstock Festival opens in Bethel, New York on Max Yasgur’s Dairy Farm; performers include Richie Havens, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, and Joan Baez
Today in Sport
1903 New Zealand’s All Blacks play their first Rugby Test Match against Australia’s Wallabies at the Sydney Cricket Ground; New Zealand win 22-3
MORE FACTS…
1635 1st recorded north American hurricane hits the Plymouth Colony
2015 North Korea creates its own time zone -moving its clocks back half an hour to GMT+8.5
Famous Weddings
1515 King Christian II of Denmark marriage ratified to Isabella of Austria, granddaughter to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I at Copenhagen Castle (married by proxy 1514)
1958 American rock singer-songwriter Buddy Holly (21) weds Puerto Rican-American record company receptionist María Santiago (25) at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas
1985 Anti-apartheid lawyer Bulelani Ngcuka marries in South Africa
A woman spectator leaned over and kissed Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympic Games on this day. Hitler pretended to be amused, but his guards were to suffer – August 15, 1936
