Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!
Aug 16, 1896: Gold discovered in the Yukon
While salmon fishing near the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory on this day in 1896, George Carmack reportedly spots nuggets of gold in a creek bed. His lucky discovery sparks the last great gold rush in the American West.
Hoping to cash in on reported gold strikes in Alaska, Carmack had traveled there from California in 1881. After running into a dead end, he headed north into the isolated Yukon Territory, just across the Canadian border. In 1896, another prospector, Robert Henderson, told Carmack of finding gold in a tributary of the Klondike River. Carmack headed to the region with two Native American companions, known as Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie. On August 16, while camping near Rabbit Creek, Carmack reportedly spotted a nugget of gold jutting out from the creek bank. His two companions later agreed that Skookum Jim--Carmack's brother-in-law--actually made the discovery.
Regardless of who spotted the gold first, the three men soon found that the rock near the creek bed was thick with gold deposits. They staked their claim the following day. News of the gold strike spread fast across Canada and the United States, and over the next two years, as many as 50,000 would-be miners arrived in the region. Rabbit Creek was renamed Bonanza, and even more gold was discovered in another Klondike tributary, dubbed Eldorado.
"Klondike Fever" reached its height in the United States in mid-July 1897 when two steamships arrived from the Yukon in San Francisco and Seattle, bringing a total of more than two tons of gold. Thousands of eager young men bought elaborate "Yukon outfits" (kits assembled by clever marketers containing food, clothing, tools and other necessary equipment) and set out on their way north. Few of these would find what they were looking for, as most of the land in the region had already been claimed. One of the unsuccessful gold-seekers was 21-year-old Jack London, whose short stories based on his Klondike experience became his first book, The Son of the Wolf (1900).
For his part, Carmack became rich off his discovery, leaving the Yukon with $1 million worth of gold. Many individual gold miners in the Klondike eventually sold their stakes to mining companies, who had the resources and machinery to access more gold. Large-scale gold mining in the Yukon Territory didn't end until 1966, and by that time the region had yielded some $250 million in gold. Today, some 200 small gold mines still operate in the region.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
1384 - The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China, Emperor Dong, hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting over them—a case considered equal to the act of destroying stamped government documents, which by law necessitated one hundred floggings by a bamboo rod. However, the Hongwu Emperor decided to pardon them, seeing as how their intention was not to tear up the money.
1513 - Battle at Eguinegatte/Guinegate: Maximilian & Henry VIII beat France
1570 - King Janos Sigismund Zapolyai signs secret treaty with Maximilian II
1625 - Earnest Casimir of Nassau-Dietz appointed viceroy of Drenthe
1691 - Yorktown Va founded
1717 - Prince Eugenius of Savoye occupies Belgrade
1743 - Earliest boxing code of rules formulated in England (Jack Broughton)
1745 - Skirmish at Laggan: Glengarry beats Royal Scots
1748 - "Geldermalsen" sails to East-Indies
1777 - Americans defeat British in Battle of Bennington, Vt
1780 - British decisively defeat Americans in Battle of Camden, SC
1794 - Hungarian revolutionary Ignác Martinovics arrested in Vienna
1797 - Comet C/1797 P1 (Bouvard-Herschel) approaches 0.0879 AUs of Earth
1812 - Gen Hull surrenders Detroit & Michigan territory to England
1819 - Manchester Massacre: English police charge unemployed demonstrators
1829 - Siamese twins Chang & Eng Bunker arrive in Boston to be exhibited
1834 - Charles Darwin climbs Mt Campana in Chile
1858 - Britain's Queen Victoria telegraphs President James Buchanan
1861 - Pres Lincoln prohibits Union states from trading with Confederacy
US President James Buchanan 1861 - Skirmishes at Fredericktown/Kirkville, Missouri
1863 - Chickamauga campaign GA
1863 - Emancipation Proclamation signed
1864 - 4th day of battle at Deep Bottom Run Virginia, Federal assault
1864 - Palace for People's industry official opens in Amsterdam
1865 - Restoration Day in the Dominican Republic: The Dominican Republic regains its independence after 4 years of fighting against the Spanish Annexation.
1869 - Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguay battalion made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the War of the Triple Alliance.
1870 - Fred Goldsmith demonstrates curve ball isn't an optical illusion
1876 - Opera "Siegfried" premieres in Bayreuth
1882 - British under General Wolseley land in Alexandria
1890 - Alexander Clark, journalist/lawyer, named minister to Liberia
1894 - Indian chiefs from the Sioux & Onondaga tribes met to urge their people to renounce Christianity & return to their old Indian faith
1896 - Gold discovered in Klondike, found at Bonanza Creek, Ala
1898 - Edwin Prescott patents roller coaster
1903 - Tigers play a home game in Toledo Ohio, Yanks win 12-8
1904 - NYC begins building Grand Central Station
1905 - Mbunga-rebellion occupy German post Ifakara East-Africa
1906 - -17] 8.6 earthquake destroys Valparaiso Chile, fire kills 20,000
1907 - Abd al-Hafid proclaims himself sultan of Morocco
1913 - Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tōhoku University) admits its first female students.
1914 - German army occupies last fort at Luik, Belgian general Leman caught
1914 - Zapata & Pancho Villa over run Mexico
1914 - World War I: Battle of Cer begins.
1915 - KC's Alex Main no-hits Buffalo (Federal League), 5-0
1918 - US troops overthrows Archangelsk
1920 - Ray Chapman, of Indians is hit in head by Yanks' Carl Mays pitch; he dies next day, only major league fatality
1922 - AT&T radio station WBAY becomes WEAF (NYC)
1924 - 38th US Womens Tennis: Helen Wills Moody beats Molla B Mallory (61 63)
1924 - Conference about German recovery payments opens in London
1924 - Dutch-Turkish peace treaty signed
Baseball Great Babe Ruth 1927 - 1st HR hit out of Comiskey Park Chicago (NY Yankee Babe Ruth)
1930 - The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, is made by Ub Iwerks.
1934 - US ends occupation of Haiti (been there since 1915)
1934 - US explorer William Beebe descends 3,028' (923 m) in Bathysphere
1936 - 11th Olympic games closes in Berlin
1940 - 45 German aircrafts shot down over England
1941 - HMS Mercury, Royal Navy Signals School and Combined Signals School opens at Leydene, near Petersfield, Hampshire, England.
1942 - Premier Churchill travels back to Cairo from Moscow
1943 - 1st Long Tom bombs on Italian mainland (from Sicily)
1943 - Bulgarian czar Boris III visits Adolf Hitler
1944 - 2nd Canadian Division occupies Falaise Normandy
1944 - Chartres freed
1944 - Dutch begin diplomatic contact with Vatican in London
1944 - US 15th Army corp reaches Eure, surrounds Dreux
1944 - First flight of the Junkers Ju 287.
Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1945 - Puyi, the last Chinese emperor and ruler of Manchukuo, was captured by Soviet troops.
1946 - Great Calcutta blood bath - Moslem/Hindu riot (3-4,000 die)
1947 - Ralph Kiner becomes 1st Pirate to hit 3 consecutive HRs
1948 - Arabs blow up Latrun pumping station in Jerusalem
1948 - Israeli pound becomes legal tender
1950 - West Indies complete historic 3-1 series win against England
1953 - KTAL TV channel 6 in Shreveport-Texarkana, LA (NBC) begins
1953 - Shah of Persia & princess Soraya flee to Baghdad & Rome
1954 - "Sports Illustrated" magazine begins publishing
1954 - 200 pilgrims drown in Farahzad Iran rain storm flood
1955 - Fiat Motors orders 1st private atomic reactor
1956 - Adlai E Stevenson nominated as Democratic presidential candidate
1956 - Indians' Rocky Colavito hits his 1st grand slam, Cleveland 5, Tigers 4
1959 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Seattle Golf Open
1959 - USSR introduces installment buying
1960 - Britain grants independence to crown colony of Cyprus
1960 - Joseph Kittinger parachutes from balloon at 31,330 m (84,700')
1960 - Republic of Congo (Zaire, Dem Rep of Congo) forms
1961 - 250,000 West Berliners demonstrate against East Berlin
1961 - Martin L King protests for black voting right in Miami
Beatles Drummer Ringo Starr 1962 - Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best as Beatle drummer
1963 - Independence is restored to Dominican Republic
1964 - Ruth Jessen wins LPGA Omaha Jaycee Golf Open Invitational
1964 - St Louis Card Curt Flood gets 8 straight hits in a doubleheader
1965 - AFL awards its 1st expansion franchise (Miami Dolphins)
1967 - Cin Red Jim Maloney retires 19 Pirates, then gets injured & leaves
1967 - WFIQ TV channel 36 in Florence, AL (PBS) begins broadcasting
1969 - WATL TV channel 36 in Atlanta, GA begins broadcasting
1969 - Woodstock rock festival begins in NY
1970 - 52nd PGA Championship: Dave Stockton shoots 279 at Southern Hills OK
1970 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Cincinnati Golf Open
1972 - 54th PGA Championship: Gary Player shoots a 281 at Oakland Hills Mich
1972 - Morocco King Hassan II's B727 shot at
1972 - Philip Potter appointed sect-gen of World council of Churches
1972 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1974 - Ramones concert debut (NY's CBGBs)
1975 - Peter Gabriel quits Genesis
1976 - 58th PGA Championship: Dave Stockton shoots a 281 at Congressional MD
1976 - St Louis Cards beat San Diego Chargers 20-10 in Tokyo (NFL expo)
1977 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1977 - Yanks blow 9-4 lead in 9th but beat Chicago 11-10 in bottom of 9th
1980 - Bill Ward quits Black Sabbath
1980 - Cozy Powell quits Rainbow
1980 - Jools Holland quits Squeeze
1981 - Highest score in World Cup soccer match (New Zealand-13, Fiji-0)
1981 - Jan Stephenson wins LPGA Mary Kay Golf Classic
1981 - Mary Terstegge Meagher swims world record 100m butterfly (57.93)
1984 - Andrea Doria's safe opened
1984 - LA federal jury acquits auto maker John Z DeLorean on cocaine charges
1984 - Largest harness racing purse ($2,161,000-Nihilator wins $1,080,500)
1984 - NASA launches Ampte
1986 - Sudan rebels shoot a Fokker's F-27 down, 57 killed
1986 - "Papa Don't Preach," goes #1 for 2 weeks
1986 - Madonna's "True Blue," album goes #1 for 5 weeks & her single
Pop Star Madonna 1987 - Astrological Harmonic Convergence-Dawn of New Age
1987 - NY Mets beat Chicago Cubs, 23-9
1987 - Northwest Airlines 255 plane crashes in Detroit, 156 die (1 lives)
1987 - Val Skinner wins LPGA MasterCard International Golf Pro-Am
1988 - Butch Reynolds runs world record 400 m (43.29)
1988 - IBM introduces software for artificial intelligence
1988 - Jailed black nationalist Nelson Mandela struck with tuberculosis
1988 - Mayor Koch says he plans to wipe out street-corner windshield washers
1989 - Roger Kingdom of USA sets 110m hurdle record (12.92) in Zurich
1989 - A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market.
1990 - China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC
1990 - Iraq orders 4000 Britons & 2500 Americans in Kuwait to Iraq
1991 - Belgium census is 10,000,963 inhabitants
1991 - Pres Bush declares recession is near an end
1992 - 20th du Maurier Golf Classic: Sherri Steinhaur
Anti-apartheid activist/South African President Nelson Mandela 1992 - 74th PGA Championship: Nick Price shoots a 278 at Bellerive St Louis
1992 - Moses Kiptanui runs world record 3k (7:28.96)
1993 - The Debian distribution was first announced by Ian Murdock, then a student at Purdue University. Murdock initially called his system the "Debian Linux Release"
1994 - Chandrika Kumaratungo's party wins Sri Lanka elections
1994 - Shauna Gambill, 17, of California, crowned 12th Miss Teen USA
1997 - For only 2nd time Stanley Cup leaves North America (heads to Russia)
1998 - 80th PGA Championship at Sahalee CC, Seattle WA
1998 - Weetabix Women's British Golf Open
2003 - U.S. Representative from South Dakota Bill Janklow hits and kills a motorcyclist with his car at a rural intersection near Trent, South Dakota; he will eventually be convicted of manslaughter and will resign from Congress.
2005 - West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes near Machiques, Venezuela, killing the 160 aboard.
2008 - Usain Bolt sets a new 100 metres dash world record of 9.69 seconds at the Beijing 2008 summer olympics.
2011 - Beginning of World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid
2012 - Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder, is granted political asylum by Ecuador
2012 - 113 people are killed and over 200 wounded in a series of attacks across Iraq
2012 - South African police open fire on striking mine workers and kill at least 34 people
1777 - During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Bennington took place. New England's minutemen routed the British regulars. 1812 - Detroit fell to Indian and British troops in the War of 1812. 1829 - The "Siamese twins," Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston, MA. They had come to the Western world to be exhibited. They were 18 years old and joined at the waist. 1858 - A telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to U.S. President Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable. 1861 - U.S. President Lincoln prohibited the Union states from trading with the states of the Confederacy. 1923 - Carnegie Steel Corporation put into place the eight-hour workday for its employees. 1930 - The first British Empire Games were held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event is now called the British Commonwealth Games. 1937 - Harvard University became the first school to have graduate courses in traffic engineering and administration. 1954 - Sports Illustrated was published for the first time. It was claimed that 250,000 subscriptions had been sold before the first issue came off of the presses. 1954 - Jack Paar replaced Walter Cronkite as host of "The Morning Show" on CBS-TV. 1960 - Cyprus was granted independence by Britain. 1960 - The free-fall world record was set by Joseph Kittinger. He fell more than 16 miles (about 84,000 feet) before opening his parachute over New Mexico. 1978 - Xerox was fined for excluding Smith-Corona Mfg. from the copier market. The fine was $25.6 million. 1984 - The U.S. Jaycees voted to admit women to full membership in the organization. 1995 - Voters in Bermuda rejected independence from Great Britain. 1999 - In Russia, Vladimir V. Putin was confirmed as prime minister by the lower house of parliament.
1777 The Revolutionary War battle of Bennington, Vt., won by American forces. 1829 The original Siamese twins, Eng and Chang, arrived in Boston. 1948 Baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York City at age 53. 1960 Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, became an independent republic. 1962 Algeria was admitted to the Arab League. 1977 Elvis Presley died at Graceland, his Memphis,Tenn., home, from heart failure at age 42. 2003 Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin died.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
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