History: What Happened Today?

1. In 1810, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden, to appease Napoleon. The House of Bernadotte is still the current Royal House of Sweden.
2. In 1841, John Hampton patents the venetian blind.
3. In 1858, the first Lincoln-Douglas debate took place in Illinois for a seat in the United States Senate. At the time, U.S. Senators were elected by state legislatures; thus Lincoln and Douglas were vying for their respective parties to win control of the Illinois legislature.
4. In 1878, the American Bar Association was founded in Saratoga Springs, New York, by 100 lawyers from 21 states. The legal profession as we know it today barely existed at that time. Lawyers were generally sole practitioners who trained under a system of apprenticeship.
5. In 1888, William Seward Burroughs patents adding machine.
6. In 1931, Babe Ruth hits his 600th HR off George Blaeholder of Browns.
7. In 1947, the Maynard Midgets of Williamsport PA win the first Little League World Series.
8. In 1959, Hawaii becomes 50th US state.
9. In 1972, the U.S. launched the orbiting astronomy observatory Copernicus.
10. In 1975, Rick and Paul Reuschel of the Chicago Cubs become the first brothers to pitch a combined shut out.
11. Famous Birthdays: Kenny Rogers (singer), Lev Alburt (Russian Chess Master), Jim McMahon (NFL quarterback), Sergey Brin (Co-founder of Google), Paris Bennett (Finalist on American Idol, Season 5)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: August 20

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: August 22

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.