August 23rd: This Day in History

 

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!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

On this day in history, there were the first stirrings of Mount Vesuvius, on the feast day of the Vulcan - ironically, the Roman god of fire. Philip VI was crowned King of France. This date was an important one for Napoleon, as he left Egypt for France, in order to take over power. Some years later, his French forces were defeated by the Prussians during the Battle of Grossbeeren. The British captured Hong Kong from China on this day. The Treaty of Prague ended the Austro-Prussian War. Japan declared war on Germany in 1914, although the same two countries would be allied with one another in the next global war. Sacoo and Vanzetti were sentenced on this day. Arabs attacked Jews in Palestine, in what would later become Israel. The world found out that Hitler's Nazi Germany and Stalin's Communist Soviet Union had signed a non-aggression treaty (known officially as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact), that proved anything but non-aggressive in fact, as it effectively gave Hitler the green light to invade Poland, which started World War II. The Germans took over the western portion of Poland, while the Soviet Union then took over in the Eastern portion shortly thereafter. East Germany imposed increased travel restrictions to West Germany. This was an important day in the history of the Beatles, as they  released "She Loves You", and on the same day, Ringo Starr admitted that he did not write "Don't Pass Me By".  A few years later on this same day, Ringo temporarily left the Beartles. Years after the actual breakup of the Beatles, John Lennon reported seeing a UFO on this day in 1974. Communists took over in Laos. It was on this day in 1990 that East and West Germany announced that they would reunify into one Germany later that year, on October 3rd.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in  the year 79, Mount Vesuvius began stirring, ironically enough, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. 

• In 406 on this day, the Battle at Florence was fought, with Stilicho's Roman army defeating Radagaisus' Barbarians. Odoacer was proclaimed King of of Italy on this day in 476, the first "barbarian" King of Italy. King Henry III gave money to Utrecht Deventer diocese on this day in 1046. On this day in 1305, William Wallace, Scottish patriot and leader, and now national hero, was executed in London for high treason by Edward I of England.

1328 - Battle at Kassel: French troops stop uprising of Flemish farmers

1328 - King Philip VI of France, crowned

1441 - Holland & Hanzesteden sign cease fire treaty

1514 - Battle of Chaldiran ended with a decisive victory for the Sultan Selim I, Ottoman Empire, over the Shah Ismail I, Safavids founder.

1541 - French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada.

1542 - Rabbi Joseph Caro completes his commentary of Tur Code

1553 - Bishop Stephen Gardiner appointed English Lord Chancellor

1555 - Calvinists are granted rights in the Netherlands.

1566 - Beeldenstorm reaches Amsterdam

1566 - Land guardian Margaretha van Parma grants Calvinists rights

1582 - French van Valois pays tribute to earl of Flanders

1595 - Michael the Brave confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Calugareni.

1614 - University of Groningen opens

1617 - 1st one-way streets open (London)

Scottish Patriot William WallaceScottish Patriot William Wallace 

• 1708 - Meidingnu Pamheiba is crowned King of Manipur.

• 1711 - Admiral Hovenden Walkers fleet reach St Lawrence

1784 - Eastern Tennessee settlers declare their area an independent state & name it Franklin; a year later the Continental Congress rejects it

1796 - African Methodist Episcopal Church incorporated

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

• 1799 - Napoleon leaves Egypt for France en route to seize power.

• 1813 - Battle of Grossbeeren - Prussians under Von Bulow repulse French

Flag of Mexico

• 1821 - Mexico declares independence

On August 24, 1821, Spanish Viceroy Juan de O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, which approves a plan to make Mexico an independent constitutional monarchy.

1838 - Mt Holyoke Female Seminary (South Hadley, Mass) 1st graduating class

• 1839 - British capture Hong Kong from China

1850 - 1st national women's rights convention convenes in Worcester Mass

1862 - Skirmish at Big Hill, Kentucky (2 Federal regiments)

1864 - Union troops/fleet occupy Fort Morgan, Alabama

1866 - Treaty of Prague ends Austro-Prussian war

1869 - 1st carload of freight (boots & shoes) arrives in SF, from Boston

1872 - 1st Japanese coml ship visits SF, carrying tea

1873 - Albert Bridge creossing Thames opens

1879 - Governor-general Charles Gordon of Sudan returns to Cairo

1883 - Phillies make 27 errors against Providence (wild pitches, walks & & passballs count as errors prior to 1888)

1889 - 1st ship-to-shore wireless message received in US (SF)

1896 - First Cry of the Philippine Revolution is made in Pugad Lawin (Quezon City), in the province of Manila.

1898 - 18th US Mens Tennis: Malcolm Whitman beats Dwight Davis (36 62 62 61)

1900 - National Negro Business League organizes (Boston)

1903 - 6th Zionist Congres, Theodor Herzl declares Jewish state

1904 - Automobile tire chain patented

1906 - Chicago White Sox win 19th straight, beating Wash Senators

1906 - Cuba's 1st president Tomés Estrada Palma asks for US intervention

1907 - Pitts Howie Camnitz no-hits NY Giants, 1-0 in 5 inning game

1910 - Fred Clarke makes a record 4 outfield assists for Pittsburgh

1911 - British premier Asquith holds secret meeting about British strategy in case of war with Germany

1914 - -24] German troops plunder Belgium

1914 - Battle at Mons: general von Klucks troops beat Britten

1914 - Gen von Hausen executes 612 inhabitants of Dinant Belgium

1914 - Tsingtao, China, was bombarded as Japan declared war on Germany in World War I.  

1914 - Japan declares war on Germany in World War I

1915 - Czar Nicolaas II takes control of Russian Army

1916 - Military court of Berlin sentences Karl Liebknecht to 4 years

1917 - Race riot in Houston Texas (2 blacks & 11 whites killed)

1919 - "Gasoline Alley" cartoon strip premieres in Chicago Tribune

1920 - M R Rinehart & A Hopwood's "Bat," premieres in NYC

1923 - Capt. Lowell Smith and Lt. John P. Richter performed the first mid-air refueling on De Havilland DH-4B, setting an endurance flight record of 37 hours.

1924 - Mars' closest approach to Earth since 10th century

1926 - 40th US Womens Tennis: Molla B Mallory beats Elizabeth Ryan (46 64 97)

1929 - Arabs attack Jews in Israel

1930 - 44th US Womens Tennis: Betty Nuthall beats Anna McCune Harper (61 64)

1931 - 45th US Womens Tennis: Helen Moody beats Eileen B Whitingstall (64 61)

1931 - Count Gyula Károlyi becomes premier of Hungary

1931 - Phila A's Lefty Grove, loses 1-0 (Browns) after winning 16 straight

1933 - 1st TV boxing match - Archie Sexton & Laurie Raiteri in London

1936 - 17 year old Bob Feller's 1st game, he strikes out 15 St Louis Browns

1938 - England score 7-903 decl v Australia Hutton 364

1939 - John Cobb (Britain) drives 365.85 MPH (593.48 KPH) at Bonneville Flats

An Italian stamp (Italy Scott 0417) honoring the Rome-Berlin Axis, portraying German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler and "Il Duce", Benito Mussolini of Italy.

• On this day in 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union stunned the world by signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression treaty which included that included a secret plan to divide Eastern Europe between them, for all intents and purposes. Few could have predicted this pact between the hostile nations given their ideological differences. However, it effectively eliminated the threat of a Soviet intervention, which gave Hitler and Germany the incentive to invade Poland and initiate the European theater of World War II just days later (on September 1st).

1939 - Molotov-Ribbentrop-pact (Soviet Union neutral/Poland divided)

1940 - German Luftwaffe begins night bombing on London

1940 - Queen Wilhelmina fires premier De Geer

1942 - 1st US flights to land on Guadalcanal

• 1942 - Battle of Stalingrad: 600 Luftwaffers bomb Stalingrad (40,000 die)

Statue of soldier, author and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, London

• 1942 - British Premier Winston Churchill flies back to London from Cairo

1942 - Walter Johnson pitches to Babe Ruth in pregame attraction that draws 69,000 for NY-Wash game (raises $80,000 for Army-Navy relief

1942 - World War II: The last cavalry charge in history takes place at Izbushensky.

1943 - Red army recaptures Charkow

• 1943 - World War II: Kharkov liberated.

1944 - 94.5°F (34.7°C) in De Bilt Netherlands & 101.5°F (38.6°C) in Warnsvelt

1944 - Allied troops capture Marseilles France

• 1944 - General George Leclercs troops advance towards Paris

Soldier, author, journalist, politician Winston ChurchillSoldier, author, journalist, politician Winston Churchill 1944 - General Montgomery consults with Generals Bradley/Eisenhower

• 1944 - King Michael of Romania ordered his forces to cease fire against Allies & dismissed the pro-Axis premier, Marshal Ion Antonescu

• 1944 - Romania liberated from Nazi occupation

1944 - Sammellager Drancy freed

1944 - US 20th Army corp enter Fontainebleau/Melun de Seine

1944 - US B-24 crashes into school in Freckelton England, 76 killed

• On this day in 1944 during World War II, Allied troops liberated Marseilles, France, from Axis occupation.

1946 - 13th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: All-Stars 16, Los Angeles 0 (97,380)

1946 - Ordinance No. 46 of the British Military Government constitutes the German Land (state) of Schleswig-Holstein.

1947 - Pres Truman's daughter, Margaret's 1st public singing concert

1948 - Earl Bernadotte asks aid for fugitives to Palestine

1948 - World Council of Churches formed by 147 churches from 44 countries

1950 - Jack Holden wins marathon (2:32:12)

1950 - West Germany & Japan readmitted to Intl Amateur Athletic Federation

1952 - Arab League security pact goes into effect

1952 - Giants Bob Elliot is ejected for arguing a strike, Bobby Hoffman complete his at bat, he strikes out & is also ejected for arguing

1953 - Braves Phil Paine is 1st former major leaguer to play in Japan

1953 - Cyclist Arie Van Vliet becomes world champion sprinter

1953 - Dutch DC-6 crashes near Ymuiden in North Sea, 21 die

1953 - KBAK TV channel 29 in Bakersfield, CA (ABC) begins broadcasting

1953 - Phil Grate sets record for throwing a baseball (443'3")

1953 - USSR performs nuclear test

• 1954 - President Getulio Vargas of Brazil resigns temporarily

1954 - First flight of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft.

1955 - Betty Jameson wins LPGA White Mountain Golf Open

1957 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1958 - China PR resumes fire on Quemoi & Matsoe

1958 - Marie Ashton completes playing piano a female record 133 hours

• 1958 - Chinese Civil War: The Second Taiwan Strait crisis begins with the People's Liberation Army's bombardment of Quemoy.

1959 - Beverly Hanson wins LPGA Spokane Golf Open

1960 - World's largest frog (3.3 kg) caught (Equatorial Guinea)

• 1961 - Belgium sends troops to Rwanda-Urundi

Flag of East Germany

• 1961 - East Germany imposed new curbs on travel between West & East Berlin

1961 - US lunar probe Ranger 1 reaches 190 km from Earth, falls back

1962 - 1st Europe-US live TV program (via Telstar)

    

    

• 1963 - Beatles release "She Loves You" in UK

• 1963 - Ringo admits he wrote a song "Don't Pass Me By"

1963 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1964 - Marilynn Smith wins Albuquerque Professional Amateur Golf Tournament

1964 - St Louis Cards are 11 games back in NL, & win World Series

1966 - Lunar Orbiter 1 takes 1st photograph of Earth from Moon

• 1968 - Ringo quits Beatles over a disagreement, temporarily

1968 - Yanks & Tigers play 3-3 tie in 19 due to 1 AM curfew

1969 - Audrey McElmory (US) wins World Cycling Championships, Brno

1969 - France's Une De Mai wins International Trot at Roosevelt Raceway Czechoslovakia (1st American to win cycling race title since 1912)

1970 - Kathy Ahern wins LPGA Southgate Ladies Golf Open

1970 - Roberto Clemente compiles his record 2nd straight 5-hit game

1971 - WGTU TV channel 29 in Traverse City, MI (ABC) begins broadcasting

1972 - Republican convention (Miami Beach, Fla) renominates VP Agnew but not unanimous-1 vote went to NBC newsman David Brinkley)

1972 - Chicago's Dick Allen is 4th (Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, & Alex Johnson) to homer into Comiskey Park's center field bleachers

1973 - Intelsat communications satellite launched

• 1974 - John Lennon reports seeing a UFO in NYC

1974 - Zaheer Abbas scores 240 Pakistan v England at The Cricket Oval

1975 - Classical Way wins Championship Cup at Roosevelt Raceway

1975 - Communists take over Laos

Flag of Ethiopia

The Lion of Judah Emblem of the Ethiopian Empire

• 1975 - Ethiopian junta under Mengistu Haile

1975 - Free guitarist Paul Kossoff revived from dead after heart attack

1975 - Philip Kapleau conducts 1st jukai ceremony in Poland

1975 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR

1976 - Heavy earthquake strikes China, 1,000s die

1977 - 1st man-powered flight of a mile (Bryan Allen in Gossamer Condor)

1977 - Marxist philosopher Rudolf Bahro imprisoned in German DR

1978 - Iranian students occupies Iranian embassy at Wassenaar

1979 - Bolshoi Ballet dancer Alexander Godunov defects in NYC

1979 - Iran army opens offensive against Kurds

1979 - UN's Vienna office opens

1980 - Charlie Finley sells A's for $127M to Haas (owners of Levi Strauss)

1981 - Beth Daniel wins LPGA World Championship of Women's Golf

1982 - Lebanese falangist leader Bechir Gemayel elected as president

1982 - Seattle Mariner pitcher Gaylord Perry ejected for throwing a spitter

1982 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1985 - Said Aouita of Morocco sets 1.5k record (3:29.46) in Berlin

Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era

• 1985 - South African attorney/UDF leader "Dulah" Omar arrested

1985 - West German top counter espionage Hans Tiedge moves to German DR

1985 - Paul Hornung awarded $1,160,000 by a Louisville court against NCAA who barred him as a college football analyst for betting on games

1986 - "Rags" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 4 performances

1986 - Vrijkomend vulkaangas kills 1500 people in Nyos-more, Cameroon

1987 - 15-years old boy hijacks KLM B737, demands $1 billion

1987 - Violent rainfall/floods in Bangladesh, kills 100s

1988 - Mike Tyson & Mitch Green brawl at 4 A.M. in Harlem

1989 - LA Dodgers beat Montreal Expos, 1-0, in 22 innings (Rick Dempsey HR)

1989 - Lewis/Everett/Burrell/Heard run world record 4x200 m (1:19.38)

1990 - Armenia declares independence

• 1990 - East & West Germany announced that they would unite on Oct 3

1990 - US begins call up of 46,000 reservists to the Persian Gulf

1992 - Kris Tschetter wins LPGA Northgate Computer Golf Classic

1992 - Dennis Eckersley, who previously set record for most consecutive saves (40), is 1st pitcher to record 40 saves in 4 different seasons

1993 - NY Dow Jones index reaches record high of 3,638.96 points

1993 - Fred McGriff & David Justice are 6th to hit back-to-back HRs twice in same game

1995 - Indians' Jose Mesa sets record with his 38th consecutive save

1995 - Larry Hagman receives a liver transplant

• 1996 - Osama bin Laden issues message entitled 'A declaration of war against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy places.'

2000 - A Gulf Air Airbus A320 crashes into the Persian Gulf near Manama, Bahrain, killing 143.

2000 - Nicaragua becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty. This essentially deprecated the Buenos Aires Convention treaty, because as of this date, all members of the BA Convention were also signatories to Berne.

Islamic Militant & Terrorist Osama bin LadenIslamic Militant & Terrorist Osama bin Laden 2005 - Hurricane Katrina forms over the Bahamas, later becomes a category 5 hurricane

2005 - TANS Peru Flight 204 crashes near Pucallpa, Peru, killing 41.

2006 - Natascha Kampusch, who was abducted at the age of 10, managed to escape from her captor Wolfgang Priklopil, after 8 years of captivity.

2010 - Manila hostage crisis, which occurred at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, where a dismissed police officer took hostage a tour bus full of Chinese nationals.

2011 - Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the 2011 Libyan Civil War.

2011 - 5.8 earthquake occurrs in Mineral, Virginia felt as far north as Ontario and as far south as Atlanta, Georgia

2012 - Four people are killed and 28 injured in a hot air ballooning accident in Slovenia

2012 - At least 30 are killed as a result of monsoon rain in Rajasthan, India

1838 - The first class graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, MA. It was one of the first colleges for women.   1839 - Hong Kong was taken by the British in a war with China.   1858 - "Ten Nights in a Barroom" opened in New York City at the National Theater. It was a melodrama about the evils of drinking.   1892 - The printed streetcar transfer was patented by John H. Stedman.   1902 - Fannie Merrit Farmer opened her cooking school, Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery, in Boston, MA.   1904 - Hard D. Weed patented the grip-tread tire chain for cars.   1914 - Tsingtao, China, was bombarded as Japan declared war on Germany in World War I.   1939 - Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty.   1944 - During World War II, Romanian prime minister Ion Antonescue was dismissed. Soon after the country would abandon the Axis and join the Allies.   1944 - Marseilles was captured by Allied troops during World War II.   1947 - Margaret Truman, U.S. President Truman's daughter, gave her first public performance as a singer. The event was at the Hollywood Bowl and had an audience of 15,000.   1952 - The security pact of the Arab League went into effect.   1959 - In the Peanuts comic strip, Sally debuted as an infant.   1962 - The first live TV program was relayed between the U.S. and Europe through the U.S. Telstar satellite.   1970 - U.S. swimmer Gary Hall broke three world records at the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) outdoor swimming meet, held in Los Angeles, CA.   1979 - Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defected while the Bolshoi Ballet was on tour in New York City.   1982 - The parliament of Lebanon elected Bashir Bemayel president. He was assassinated three weeks later.   1982 - Gaylord Perry (Seattle Mariners) was tossed out of a game for throwing an illegal spitball.   1983 - The U.S. announced that it was nearly ready for a test flight of an anti-satellite missile.   1984 - South Fork Ranch, the home of the fictitious Ewing clan of the CBS-TV show, "Dallas," was sold. The ranch was to be transformed from a tourist site into a hotel.   1987 - Robert Jarvik and Marilyn Mach vos Savant were married. The event was called the "Union of Great Minds" since Savant had an IQ of 228 and Jarvik was the inventor of the artificial heart.   1990 - President Saddam Hussein appeared on Iraqi state television with a group of Western detainees that he referred to as "guests." He told the group that they were being held "to prevent the scourge of war."   1993 - It was confirmed by Los Angeles police that Michael Jackson was the subject of a criminal investigation.   1996 - U.S. President Clinton imposed limits on peddling cigarettes to children.   1998 - Protestors in Sudan carried a sign that bore the resemblance of Monica Lewinsky and the words "No War for Monika." The anti-U.S. demonstration was in Khartoum, Sudan.   1998 - Boris Yeltsin dismissed the Russian government again.   1999 - Rescuers in Turkey found a young boy that had been buried in rubble from an earthquake for about a week.   1999 - Robert Bogucki was rescued after getting lost in the Great Sandy Desert of Australia on July 11. During the 43 day ordeal Bogucki lost 44 pounds.   2000 - Richard Hatch was revealed as the winning castaway on CBS' "Survivor." Hatch won $1,000,000 for his stay on the island of Pulau Tida in the South China Sea.

1305 Scottish leader and national hero, William Wallace, was executed in London. 1914 Japan declared war on Germany in World War I. 1926 Silent film star Rudolph Valentino died in New York at age 31. 1927 Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed for the murders of two men during a 1920 robbery, despite worldwide protests. 1939 Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/aug23.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Despite My Own Low Incredibly Low Expectations, Somehow I Still Underestimated the Extent of How Disastrous the Second Trump Administration Is Proving To Be

This is a picture of a magnet that was being sold at Strand's Book Store in New York City a few years ago. No, I did not buy it, but I liked it and took a picture, which I am sharing here now. 

What got me interested in this article was the title. Indeed, it feels like Trump can be likened to a political volcano. A volcano of blatant corruption, as the title suggests. But also a political volcano in terms of him just being a destroyer, not a builder or unifier. A volcano in terms of good will and any remaining faith that the rest of the world felt towards the United States. Whatever good will we had remaining after the aftermath of George W. Bush's Iraq invasion, Barack Obama's surveillance program against allies and his drone killings, and Trump's first term are now long gone. Universal tariffs imposed on goods from almost literally every nation in the world, threats to invade and take over numerous nations, constant insults recklessly hurled, and the general hubris of this second Trump administration have pretty much eroded what remained of good will towards Americans.

Now, as an American, when I go overseas or talk to someone from a foreign country, I feel I almost have to apologize for the actions of my fellow Americans for imposing such a monster on the rest of the world. Bad enough that he's doing the damage that he's transparently doing to the country. Even worse, though, that he somehow got the entire rest of the world against us, and in record time. Who would have thought that one man could do so much damage in such a short period of time?

Incredible. 

Which brings me back to the title of this article. Indeed, despite my own bleak expectations of impending disaster regarding a second Trump administration, did not believe that he could or would do quite as much damage as he has indeed done. As a nation, we will be paying for this for a long, long time. Decades, frankly. And we deserve it. This isn't something which will simply go away. People will remember many years from now. For the rest of the world, the United States will from here on out be remembered as the land which brought the world a volcano of destruction which went by the name of Trump.

Again, what a disaster.

Experts: We underestimated Trump's 'volcano of corruption' Story by Thomas Kika • April 9, 2026 • 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/experts-we-underestimated-trump-s-volcano-of-corruption/ar-AA29ItVR?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=6a799fc862944d34bcff42ce72ebf9f1&ei=13

Experts: We underestimated Trump's 'volcano of corruption'

Despite Earlier Rhetoric to the Contrary, Trump Relentlessly Avoids Any Kind of Blame When Things Inevitably Go Wrong

This is a picture of a magnet that was being sold at Strand's Book Store in New York City a few years ago. No, I did not buy it, but I liked it and took a picture, which I am sharing here now. 

"When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that's the way it's got to be. It's total."

 — Donald Trump

Beyond just being a bad president, Trump's presidency also is strange. It marks a departure from any sort of consistency and logic in terms of reasoning. What Trump says or claims one day, he might do the opposite of the next. 

Need examples?

Not too long ago, he was threatening North Korea, claiming (or "joking") about how his nuclear button is bigger, and it works. Now, we appear to be friendly with North Korea and have left South Korea out to dry.

There are plenty of other inconsistencies, as well. Trump claimed he would get inflation under order once president. Now, he claims to "love inflation." He used to rail against "forever wars" and especially pointless wars in the Middle East, going so far as suggesting publicly once that George W. Bush should have been impeached for his role in starting two wars in the Middle East. Now, Trump has gotten us into another forever war in the Middle East. Trump promised to release the Epstein Files/ Now he bends over backwards not to release them as promised. Trump claimed that he would not have time to play golf when president. Instead, he hardly finds time for anything else on weekends. Trump once promised to build a national healthcare system that would be affordable and would cover everybody, and even doubled down by claiming it would be "easy" (his word for it, not mine). Not only did he not lift a finger to make this so, but he now claims that the federal government cannot possibly provide these things for American citizens. Trump claimed that he would pay off the national debt in eight years. In less than six years as president, he and the GOP have instead increased the national debt by over 28%, mostly for his tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans. Upon first being elected in 2016, Trump promised to be the "president for all Americans." Instead, he has consistently played classic divide and conquer games to polarize Americans like we have never before seen in modern times.

Frankly, I could spend far more time on these inconsistencies, because those are only the truly major ones. But it seems to me that the point is clear. What Trump claims or promises at one point, he often claims or does the exact opposite at other points. The only things that one can truly rely on with the Trump presidency is embarrassing and compromising levels of idiocy and incompetence on a truly stunning level, selfishness, attempts to grab more and more power, blatant corruption, and massive narcissism on an epic scale.

Oh, and one more thing. The inconsistency regarding Trump's former claims in the past and what he says and does now is particularly glaring when it comes to responsibility itself. Trump has flip-flopped on who bears responsibility in a major way from the days before he was ever president. Before he became president, he claimed that a president's responsibility is total, leaving no room for doubts. Time and again since he actually became president, however, he divorces himself from responsibility. The finger of blame pointed forever and always is pointed squarely elsewhere. Anyone and everyone else is responsible for anything and everything that goes wrong on Trump's watch. 

Need a fairly recent example? 

Trump pointlessly and needlessly drains the Reflecting Pool of the National Mall and it ends up being a very public disaster and waste of taxpayer money? Blame Obama, who by that point has been out of office for almost ten years. The economy is slugging and inflation remains out of control more than 18 months after Trump took office again? Blame Biden. Obama and Biden are the constant targets, as increasingly are the "dumbocrats" more generally. 

For all intents and purposes, Trump alters his opinion and pivots his opinions and actions as necessary, all in the name of attempted self-preservation. Here is another, frankly major exception: Back in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, he insisted that a president's authority is total just one month after claiming that he takes no responsibility at all:

"When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that's the way it's got to be. It's total." — April 13

Not surprisingly, however, Trump predictably backed away from any kind of blame when the failed response by his own White House regarding the coronavirus pandemic was making international headlines. At that point, Trump somehow felt that he should not receive any kind of criticism, despite his previous assertions that a president (and he was then the sitting president) has "total authority":

"No, I don't take responsibility at all." — March 13 

What a guy. What a president, eh?

Trump can consistently be counted on to very publicly practice what conservative anti-Trumper Bill Kristol has called the president's "performative authoritarianism." In short, Trump plays the authoritarian strong man for the television cameras and especially to play up to his base of support. Yet, he has equally consistently show a decided lack of interest in doing the actual heavy lifting of doing what it takes to improve conditions in this country, and even to obtain that "total authority" that he so desperately and transparently craves. In large part, this would require actual accountability on his part. But that would compromise Trump's clear and obvious desire to blame someone else whenever things go wrong, especially when it becomes a major news story.

This is, arguably, the most tiresome aspect of Trump's presidency, and it was the same during both terms. Regardless of his former claims that a president has total authority, and despite the lack of logic in terms of how it undermines his strong man image, Trump can be relied upon to find someone else - anyone else, really - to blame if and when things inevitably go wrong. After all, where would Trump be if he could not throw somebody under the bus. Preferably a political enemy, but he has shown a willingness - sometimes even an eagerness, frankly - to throw political allies under the bus whenever necessary. 

No wonder many people feel that this total lack of accountability is yet one more of a long series of examples for why it seems there are no longer any adults in the room in the Trump White House.

Below are the links to the two articles which got me on this topic, and from which I obtained the specific quotes used above. Take a look:

The buck stops somewhere else: Trump takes blame game to a new level Story by Will Weissert • 2d •  5 min read

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/the-buck-stops-somewhere-else-trump-takes-blame-game-to-a-new-level/ar-AA2abMh1?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=6a81bcd514824f74aa8caec76838a165&ei=18

The buck stops somewhere else: Trump takes blame game to a new level

Trump's 'total authority' boast should've enraged Republicans. Instead they shrugged. by Charlie Sykes,  April 16, 2020:

For decades, conservatives have pointed to the 10th Amendment as the very essence of decentralized government. Now, it's not clear what Trump's GOP supporters believe.   

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-total-authority-boast-should-ve-enraged-republicans-instead-ncna1184806

August 22nd: This Day in History

 

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!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

Today is also the anniversary of the first air raid in history, as Austrian forces launched an aerial assault with hot air balloons against Venice, in 1849. The International Red Cross was founded on this day. The Treaty of St. Petersburg between Russia and Japan was completed on this day. The Nez Perce fled to the territory that is now Yellowstone National Park. Japan annexed Korea as a protectorate. The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, although it was recovered and returned two years later. J. Edgar Hoover became the assistant director of the FBI. The invading Nazi forces reached Leningrad in 1941, although they were ultimately unsuccessful in completely taking it over. One year later, Brazil declared war on the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The Soviet Union took over Romania, and communism was there to stay for quite some time afterwards. In 1944, this day marked the last deportation of Jews from France into Nazi Germany. On that same day, Hitler ordered Paris to be destroyed, although it ultimately was not. The conflict in Vietnam by Ho Chi Minh was begun on this day in 1945, shortly after the Japanese were defeated. Charles De Gaulle survived an assassination attempt (see story above, or at http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history). Althea Gibson broke the color barrier for the sport of tennis on this day in history. The first nuclear powered ship went from Yorktown, VA., to Savannah, Georgia. The Beatles arrived in the United States on this date in 1966. Rhodesia was expelled from the Olympics for it's racial policies. Australia unveiled the first ever platinum coin, which featured a Koala. A version of the famous painting "The Scream" by Munch was stolen in Norway.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 392, Arbogast had Eugenius elected as the Western Roman Emperor. In 476 on this day, Odoacer was named Rex Italiae by his troop. St Columba reported seeing a monster in Loch Ness on this day in 565. In 851 on this day, Erispoe defeated Charles the Bald near the Breton town of Jengland. On this day in 1138, the English defeated the Scots at Cowton Moor in the Battle of the Standards. Banners of various saints were carried into battle which led to being called Battle of the Standard. Jews were expelled from Brunn Moravia by order of King Ladislaus on this day in 1454. 

• The Battle of Bosworth Field was fought on this day in 1485, when Henry VII's forces defeated England's King Richard III. This marked the end of the War of the Roses with the death of Richard III. 

• Emperor Charles V's army occupied Duren on this day in 1543. On this day in 1559, Spanish Archbishop Bartholome de Carranza was arrested as a heretic. 

• In 1567 on this day, the "Council of Blood" was established by the Duke of Alba. This was the beginning of his reign of terror in the Netherlands. 

• There was a failed assassination on Admiral De Coligny on this day in 1572. 

• King James IV of Scotland was captured on this day in 1582. 

• In 1603 on this day, the first stones were layed in Zuiderkerk Amsterdam. Trades people under Vincent Fettmilch chased & plundered Jews out of the ghetto in Frankfurt, Germany, on this day in 1614. Prince Frederik Hendrik occupied Maastricht on this day in 1632. 

• On this day in 1639, Madras (now Chennai), India, was founded by the British East India Company on a sliver of land bought from local Nayak rulers. On this day in 1642, the Civil War in England began between the Royalists and Parliament. In 1654 on this day, Jacob Barsimson arrived in New Amsterdam (modern day Manhattan) aboard the Peartree, becoming one of the first Jewish colonists there. 

• Prince Eugenius van Savoye siege of Toulon fell on this day in 1707. Sweden & Prussia signed a military treaty on this day in 1707. 

Bust of German-British composer George Friedrich Handel

• In 1715 on this day, Handel's "Watermusic" premiered on Thames. 

• On this day in 1717, Spanish troops landed in Sardinia. 

• In 1762 on this day, the first female (Ann Franklin) US newspaper editor, Newport RI, Mercury.

Picture of a statue of British explorer Captain James Cook

• James Cook's expedition landed on the east coast of Australia on this day in 1770. Cook claimed the land for England and called it New South Wales. 

• On this day in 1775, King George III proclaimed the American colonies to be in open rebellion. 

• In 1780 on this day, the ship Resolution, without Captain Cook (who had been killed), returned to England. John Fitch's steamboat completed its tests, years before Fulton, on this day in 1787.

Flag of Haiti

• This day in 1791 marked the beginning of the Haitian Slave Revolution, which started under voodoo priest Dutty Boukman. 

• On this day in 1798, French troops landed in Kilcummin Harbour, County Mayo, Ireland to aid Wolfe Tone's United Irishmen's Irish Rebellion. 

• Grand Duchy of Bathe was formed on this day in 1818. 

• Colonies under Jedediah Strong Smith moved near Salt Lake, Utah, on this day in 1826. 

• On this day in 1827, José de La Mar became the President of Peru. The United States annexed New Mexico on this day in 1848. On this day in 1849, the first air raid in history took place. 

• Austrian forces launched an aerial assault with pilotless hot air balloons against the Italian city of Venice. 

  

Flag of Australia

• Gold fields were discovered in Australia on this day in 1851. 

A statue in Flemington, New Jersey, honoring veterans of the American Civil War.

In 1862 on this day during the American Civil War, the Battle of Catlett's Station, Virginia, was fought. 

There was a Santee Sioux Indian attack on Fort Ridgely on this day in 1862. 

The Geneva Convention was signed by 12 nations on this day in 1864. 

On that same day in 1864, the International Red Cross was formed. Fisk University was forms on this day in 1867. 

• The Treaty of Saint Petersburg between Japan and Russia was ratified on this day in 1875, providing for the exchange of Sakhalin for the Kuril Islands. 

• In 1877 on this day, the Nez Perce Indians fled into to Yellowstone National Park. 

• On this day in 1900, Gabriel Faures opera "Prométhée," premiered in Beziers.

• 1901 - Cadillac Motor Company is founded.

1902 - Pres Teddy Roosevelt became 1st US chief executive to ride in a car

1906 - 1st Victor Victrola manufactured

1907 - Colin Buchanan, town planner

1907 - Cyril Astley Clarke, British geneticist

1908 - Henri Cartier-Bresson, Montjustin France, photographer (Decisive Moment), (d. 2004)

• Japan annexed Korea on this day in 1910 after 5 years as a protectorate

The Mona Lisa inside of the Louvre in Paris.

• Vincenzo Perugia stole the Mona Lisa from Louvre, Paris, on this day in 1911. It would eventually be recovered two years later.

1912 - England defeat Australia to win the Triangular Tournament

1912 - Richard Catling, commissioner of police (Kenya)

1913 - Robert Martineau, bishop of Blackburn

1914 - Battle at Charleroi begins: Gen von Bulows troops beat French

1914 - 1st encounter between British & German troops (in Belgium)

1914 - Battle in Ardennen: Neufchateau, Rossignal, Tintigny & Virton

1914 - Canada's Finance Act, 1914, receives assent

1914 - General Martos' troops occupy Soldau/Neidenburg East Prussia

1914 - German troops execute 384 inhabitants of Tamines Belgium

1914 - Von Ludendorff & von Hindenburg move into E Prussia enroute to Russia

1917 - Pittsburgh Pirates play 4th straight extra inning game, Carson Bigbee sets record of 11 at-bats, they lose in 22 innings to Dodgers

1921 - J. Edgar Hoover becomes asst director of FBI

1923 - Paavo Nurmi runs world record mile (4:10.4)

1926 - Gold discovered in Johannesburg, South Africa

1926 - Greek dictator Gen Pangulos driven out

1927 - Babe Ruth hits 40th of 60 homers

1930 - Australia regain Ashes on 6th day of 5th Cricket Test

1932 - BBS begins experimental regular TV broadcasts

1932 - The BBC first experiments with television broadcasting. (See also Timeline of the BBC.)

1933 - Bill Veeck, urges midsummer inter-league games & a split season

1933 - International Zionists Congress opens in Prague

1934 - Australia beat England by 562 runs to regain Cricket Ashes

1934 - Red Sox pitcher Wes Ferrell hits 2 HRs to beat White Sox 3-2 in 12

1939 - Dutch border guards take positions for German invasion

1939 - Premier De Geer recalls Dutch vacationers in Black Forest

• 1941 - Nazi troops reach Leningrad

• 1942 - Brazil declares war on Germany, Japan and Italy

1943 - Soviet troops free Karkov

1944 - Hitler orders Paris to be destroyed [or 23rd]

1944 - Last transport of French Jews to Nazi Germany

1945 - Bob Cristofani scores 110 for Aust Services at Old Trafford

• On this day in 1945 after the European theater of World War II had ended, French President Charles de Gaulle arrived in Washington D.C. and met with American President Harry Truman. He participated in a welcome ceremony at the White House and held two meetings with President Truman, where the future of global order and France's particular role were discussed. It was aimed to foster a new era of relations between the two nations in the postwar era. 

1945 - England defeat Aust Services by 6 wkts in 5th Victory Test Cricket

1945 - Noel Coward's revue "Sigh no More," premieres in London

• 1945 - Vietnam conflict begins as Ho Chi Minh leads a successful coup

1946 - Baseball approves a 168-game schedule, but later rescinds it

1946 - Mikko Hietanen wins Oslo marathon (2:24:55)

1947 - 14th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: All-Stars 16, Chi Bears 0 (105,840)

1950 - Abdel Rehim swims English Channel (10:50)

1950 - Althea Gibson becomes 1st black competetor in natl tennis competition

1950 - Rotterdam harbor strike end

1951 - Harlem Globetrotters play in Olympic Stadium, Berlin before 75,052

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1952 - The penal colony on Devil's Island is permanently closed.

1953 - John Norman Lewis contends players have no desire to form a union

1953 - Shah of Persia returns to Teheran

1954 - WPTV TV channel 5 in Palm Beach, FL (NBC) begins broadcasting

1956 - Elvis Presley begins filming "The Reno Brothers" (Love Me Tender)

1956 - Pres Eisenhower & VP Nixon renominated by Rep convention in SF

1957 - Floyd Patterson KOs Pete Rademacher in 6 for heavyweight boxing title

1958 - Argos' Boyd Carter, Dave Mann combine for record 131-yd punt return

1958 - Great Britain performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

1959 - Cin Red Frank Robinson hits 3 consecutive HRs

1960 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Asheville Golf Open

1960 - Gil Hodges set NL righty HR record with #352

1961 - Maris hits his 50th of 61 homers

French President Charles De Gaulle

• In 1962 on this day, there was a failed assassination on French President Charles De Gaulle.

On August 22, 1962, President Charles de Gaulle of France survives one of several assassination attempts against him thanks to the superior performance of the presidential automobile: The sleek, aerodynamic Citroen DS 19, known as “La Deesse” (The Goddess).  

When the Citroen DS made its sensational debut at the 1955 Paris Motor Show, its streamlined, understated form stood out among the tail-finned and chrome-covered cars popular in that era. A far cry from Citroen’s famous 2CV (dubbed the “ugly duckling”), the DS had a 1.9-liter engine and power-assisted gearshift, clutch, steering and brake systems. Its crowning aspect, however, was a hydropneumatic suspension system that Citroen would become known for, which automatically adjusted the height of the car to keep it level and enable the driver to maintain control more easily. Citroen took 12,000 orders for the DS by the end of that first day, and it soon became known as the preferred mode of transportation among France’s wealthy and most powerful citizens.  

In August 1962, a group called the OAS (Secret Army Organization in English) plotted an assassination attempt on President de Gaulle, who they believed had betrayed France by giving up Algeria (in northern Africa) to Algerian nationalists. Near dusk on August 22, 1962, de Gaulle and his wife were riding from the Elysee Palace to Orly Airport. As his black Citroen DS sped along the Avenue de la Liberation in Paris at 70 miles per hour, 12 OAS gunmen opened fire on the car. A hail of 140 bullets, most of them coming from behind, killed two of the president’s motorcycle bodyguards, shattered the car’s rear window and punctured all four of its tires. Though the Citroen went into a front-wheel skid, de Gaulle’s chauffeur was able to accelerate out of the skid and drive to safety, all thanks to the car’s superior suspension system. De Gaulle and his wife kept their heads down and came out unharmed.   

Frederick Forsyth dramatized the events of that August in his best-selling novel “The Day of the Jackal,” later made into a film. In 1969, de Gaulle–knowing that he owed his life to that Citroen–attempted to prevent the outright sale of France’s premier auto manufacturer (owned by the Michelin family of tire fame) to the Italian automaker Fiat by limiting the stake Fiat could buy to 15 percent. In 1975, to avert potential bankruptcy, the French government funded Citroen’s sale to a group that included its French rival, Peugeot; the result was PSA Peugeot Citroen SA, formed in 1976.

1962 Citroen helps de Gaulle survive assassination attempt HISTORY.com Editors Published: November 13, 2009 Last Updated: May 27, 2025:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-22/citroen-helps-de-gaulle-survive-assassination-attempt

1962 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR

1962 - Savannah, world's 1st nuclear-powered ship, completes maiden voyage from Yorktown, Va, to Savannah, Ga

1963 - NASA civilian test pilot Joe Walker in X-15 reaches 67 miles (106 km)

1964 - Guinee, Liberia & Ivory Coast form joint market

1964 - Supreme's "Where Did Our Love Go," reaches #1

1965 - Clifford Ann Creed wins LPGA Omaha Jaycee Golf Open

1965 - San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marachal hits LA Dodger catcher John Roseboro on the head with his bat causing a 14 minute brawl

• 1966 - Beatles arrive in NYC

1968 - 1st papal visit to Latin America (Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogota)

• 

1968 - Cynthia Lennon sues John Lennon for divorce on adultry

1968 - Pope Paul VI opens Eucharistic congress in Bogota

• 1969 - Beatles record a video for "Long and Winding Road"

1969 - Gloria O Smith, (NY), crowned 2nd Miss Black America

1969 - Hurricane Camille strikes US Gulf Coast kills 255

1971 - Bolivian military coup under col Hugo Banzer, pres Torres driven out

1971 - Pam Barnett wins LPGA Southgate Golf Open

1971 - J. Edgar Hoover and John Mitchell announce the arrest of 20 of the Camden 28.

• In 1972 on this day, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) expelled Rhodesia from participation in the Olympics due to its racist policies. At the time, Rhodesia was ruled by a white minority government that excluded blacks from power and equal rights within that nation.

1973 - Chilean parliament accuses pres Allende violating laws

1973 - Henry Kissinger succeeds William Rogers as min of Foreign affairs

1975 - Assassination attempt on president Gerald Ford

1975 - McNichols Sports Arena in Denver opens

1976 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Patty Berg Golf Classic

1978 - Sandinistas occupy National Palace in Managua Nicaragua

1979 - 200 black leaders, meet in NY, to support Andrew Young

1980 - Bill Veeck agrees to sell Chicago White Sox to Eddie DeBartolo Sr for $20,000,000, AL owners block the sale

• On this day in 1982, Israeli General Ariel Sharon urged Palestinians to discuss peaceful coexistence with Israel.

1982 - Joanne Carner wins LPGA Chevrolet World Championship of Women's Golf

1984 - Evelyn Ashford of US ties world women's mark for 100 m, 10.76 sec

1984 - Last Volkswagen Rabbit produced

1984 - Met pitcher Dwight Gooden becomes 11th rookie to strikeout 200

1984 - Rep convention in Dallas renominates Pres Reagan & VP Bush

Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era

• In 1984 on this day during apartheid white minority rule in South Africa, the United Democratic Front, an internal coalition of anti-apartheid groups within the country, orchestrated a largely successful boycott of the Colored and Indian elections to parliament. This had been regarded as a conciliatory measure of reform by the white minority government, but it was largely rejected as a token measure that only gave the appearance of real reform and a move away from apartheid.

1985 - 30th Walker Cup: US wins 13-11

1985 - Airtours Boeing-737 crashes at airport of Manchester, 55 killed

1986 - Gas from Volcano Chamberoen kills 1,734 (Cameroon)

• 1986 - NASA announces tests designed to verify ignition pressure dynamics

1987 - Madonna's "Who's That Girl," single goes #1

1988 - Australia unveils 1st platinum coin (Koala)

1988 - NBC premieres "Later" with Bob Costas (1st guest Linda Ellerbee)

1988 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

• 1989 - 1st complete ring around Neptune discovered

1989 - Nolan Ryan strikes out his 5,000th batter (Rickey Henderson)

1990 - Pres Bush calls up military reserves

1991 - Krizstina Egerszegi swims world record 100 m backstroke (1:00.31)

1992 - Matthews & Warne spin Australia to a famous win v Sri Lanka

1992 - FBI HRT sniper Lon Horiuchi shoots and kills Vicki Weaver during an 11-day siege at her home at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.

1993 - "In the Summer House" closes at Beaumont Theater NYC after 25 perfs

1993 - Hiromi Kobayash wins Minnesota LPGA Golf Classic

1994 - DNA testing links OJ Simpson to murder of Nicole Simpson & Ron Goldman

1994 - Wim Cook government forms in Neth

1995 - FBI agent Lon Horiuchi shoots at Randy Weaver's cabin in Idaho

2003 - Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is suspended after refusing to comply with a federal court order to remove a rock inscribed with the Ten Commandments from the lobby of the Alabama Supreme Court building.

• 2004 - A version of The Scream and Madonna, two paintings by Edvard Munch, are stolen at gunpoint from a museum in Oslo, Norway.

2007 - The Texas Rangers rout the Baltimore Orioles 30-3, the most runs scored by a team in modern MLB history.

2007 - The Storm botnet, a botnet created by the Storm Worm, sends out a record 57 million e-mails in one day

2012 - 47 people are killed in the Syrian civil war

2012 - 48 people are killed in Kenyan tribal wars between the Pokomo and Orma

2012 - Russia and Vanuatu become members of the World Trade Organization

1485 - The War of the Roses ended with the death of England's King Richard III. He was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field. His successor was Henry V II.   1567 - The "Council of Blood" was established by the Duke of Alba. This was the beginning of his reign of terror in the Netherlands.   1642 - The English Civil War began when Charles I called Parliament and its soldiers traitors.   1762 - Ann Franklin became the editor of the Mercury of Newport in Rhode Island. She was the first female editor of an American newspaper.   1770 - Australia was claimed under the British crown when Captain James Cook landed there.   1775 - The American colonies were proclaimed to be in a state of open rebellion by England's King George III.   1846 - The U.S. annexed New Mexico.   1851 - The schooner America outraced the Aurora off the English coast to win a trophy that became known as the America's Cup.   1865 - A patent for liquid soap was received by William Sheppard.   1902 - In Hartford, CT, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt became the first president of the United States to ride in an automobile.   1906 - The Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, NJ began to manufacture the Victrola. The hand-cranked unit, with horn cabinet, sold for $200.   1910 - Japan formally annexed Korea.   1911 - It was announced that Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" had been stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. The painting reappeared two years later in Italy.   1932 - The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) began its first TV broadcast in England.   1938 - Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared on the cover of "LIFE" magazine.   1941 - Nazi troops reached the outskirts of Leningrad during World War II.   1950 - Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to be accepted into a national competition.   1951 - 75,052 people watched the Harlem Globetrotters perform. It was the largest crowd to see a basketball game.   1959 - Stephen Rockefeller married Anne Marie Rasmussen. Anne had once been a maid for the powerful and wealthy Rockefeller family.   1968 - Pope Paul VI arrived in Bogota, Colombia, for the start of the first papal visit to Latin America.   1972 - Due to its racial policies, Rhodesia was asked to withdraw from the 20th Olympic Summer Games.   1973 - Henry Kissinger was named Secretary of State by U.S. President Nixon. Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year.   1984 - The last Volkswagen Rabbit rolled off the assembly line in New Stanton, PA.   1986 - Kerr-McGee Corp. agreed to pay the estate of the late Karen Silkwood $1.38 million to settle a 10-year-old nuclear contamination lawsuit.   1989 - Nolan Ryan became the first major league pitcher to strike out 5000 batters. (MLB)   1990 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush signed an order for calling reservists to aid in the build up of troops in the Persian Gulf.   1990 - The U.S. State Department announced that the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait would not be closed under President Saddam Hussein's demand.   1990 - Angry smokers blocked a street in Moscow to protest the summer-long cigarette shortage.   1991 - It was announced by Yugoslavia that a truce ordered on August 7th with Croatia had collapsed.   1991 - Mikhail S. Gorbachev returned to Moscow after the collapse of the hard-liners' coup. On the same day he purged the men that had tried to oust him.   1992 - In Rostock, Germany, neo-Nazi violence broke out against foreigners.   1996 - U.S. President Clinton signed legislation that ended guaranteed cash payments to the poor and demanded work from recipients.   1998 - "The Howard Stern Radio Show" premiered on CBS to about 70% of the U.S.   2004 - In Oslo, Norway, a version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" and his work "Madonna" were stolen from the Munch Museum. This version of "The Scream," one of four different versions, was a tempera painting on board. 

1642 The English Civil War began between supporters of King Charles I (Royalists or Cavaliers) and those of Oliver Cromwell (Roundheads).   1775 King George III proclaimed the American colonies to be in open rebellion.  1846 The United States annexed New Mexico.  1851 The U.S. yacht America outraced the British Aurora off the English coast to win a trophy that became known as the America's Cup.  1902 Theodore Roosevelt became the first United States president to ride in an automobile.  1910 Korea was annexed by Japan after five years as a protectorate.  1989 Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton was shot to death in Oakland, Calif.  2003 Alabama's chief justice, Roy Moore, was suspended for refusing to move a Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse.  2004 A version of Edvard Munch's painting The Scream was stolen in Norway. Another version had been stolen in 1994  

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/aug22.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory