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479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan commander of the Greek army in the Battle of Plataea. Along the with the Greek victory on the same day in the Battle of Mycale, the Persian invasion of Greece ended.

410 - Visigoth sack of Rome ends after three days.

1232 - The Formulary of Adjudications is promulgated by Regent Hōjō Yasutoki. (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 1232)

1776 - Battle of Long Island, in present day Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeat Americans under General George Washington.

1798 - United Irishmen and French forces clash with the British army in the Battle of Castlebar, part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

1813 - Napoleon defeats the Austrians, Russians and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden.

1828 - The Russians defeat the Turks at the Battle of Akhalzic.

1859 - Petroleum discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania. World's first successful oil well.

1861 - Union forces attack Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

1883 - Krakatoa, an Indonesian volcano, erupts. It is one of the most violent volcanic events in modern times.

1896 - Anglo-Zanzibar War: the shortest war in world history (9:02 to 9:40) between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.

1900 - British defeat Boer commandos at Bergendal.

1920 - Radio Argentina begins regularly scheduled transmissions from the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires, considered the world's first public broadcast station.

1928 - Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war, signed by sixty nations.

1937 - The automobile division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works is spun off into the Toyota Motor Corporation.

1939 - First flight of the Heinkel He 178, the first modern jet aircraft.

1952 - Reparation negotiations between West Germany and Israel end in Luxembourg; West Germany to pay 3 billion Deutschmark.

1957 - The Constitution of Malaysia came into force.

1962 - Mariner 2 launched to Venus.

1969 - The first installment of the ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' (It's Tough Being a Man) movies is released in Japan. Director and screenplay writer Yoji Yamada went on to make 48 installments of the series, which is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running movie series.

1979 - An IRA bomb kills Lord Mountbatten and 3 others on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Another near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland kills 18 British soldiers.

1985 - The Nigerian government is peacefully overthrown by Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. Rohit Mallick is born in Perth Amboy, NJ.

1990 - The British Broadcasting Corporation launches BBC Radio Five Live at 9am GMT with a mixture of sports, news, and children's programming. The station broadcasts for eighteen hours per day.

1991 - The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

1991 - Moldova declares independence from the USSR.

1993 - The Florida Department of Transportation decides to cease producing its distinctive colored U.S. Highway shields so that it can make use of Federal funds for those signs.

1993 - The Rainbow Bridge, connecting Tokyo's Shibaura and the island of Odaiba, is completed.

2000 - Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire, three people are killed.

2003 - Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing approximately 34,646,416 miles (55,758,006 kilometers) from Earth.

2006 - Comair Flight 5191 crashed en route from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. Forty-nine of the 50 people aboard the flight were confirmed dead in the hours following the crash.

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1407 - Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shogun (d. 1425)

1471 - George, Duke of Saxony (d. 1539)

1637 - Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, Governor of the Province of Maryland (d. 1715)

1665 - John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (d. 1751)

1677 - Otto Ferdinand Graf von Abensperg und Traun, Austrian field marshal (d. 1748)

1724 - John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-born Continental Congressman (d. 1781)

1730 - Johann Georg Hamann, German philosopher (d. 1788)

1770 - Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher (d. 1831)

1809 - Hannibal Hamlin, Vice President of the United States of America (d. 1891)

1858 - Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician (d. 1932)

1865 - James Henry Breasted, American Egyptologist (d. 1935)

1865 - Charles G. Dawes, 30th Vice President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (d. 1951)

1870 - Amado Nervo, Mexican poet (d. 1919)

1871 - Theodore Dreiser, American author (d. 1945)

1874 - Carl Bosch, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940)

1875 - Katharine McCormick, American women's rights activist (d. 1967)

1877 - Ernst Wetter, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1963)

1886 - Rebecca Clarke, English composer and violist (d. 1979)

1886 - Eric Coates, English composer (d. 1957)

1890 - Man Ray, photographer and artist (d. 1976)

1898 - Gaspard Fauteux, French Canadian parliamentarian (d. 1963)

1899 - C.S. Forester, British author (d. 1966)

1899 - Byron Foulger, American actor (d. 1970)

1904 - Norah Lofts, British author (d. 1983)

1904 - John Hay Whitney, American financier (d. 1982)

1906 - Ed Gein, American serial killer (d. 1984)

1908 - Don Bradman, Australian cricketer (d. 2001)

1908 - Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States (d. 1973)

1908 - Kurt Wegner, German artist (d. 1985)

1909 - Lester Young, American musician (d. 1959)

1909 - Sylvère Maes, Belgian cyclist (d. 1966)

1910 - Mother Teresa, Human Rights Activist, Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1997)

1911 - Kay Walsh, British actress (d. 2005)

1913 - Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg, wife of Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (d. 2006)

1915 - Norman F. Ramsey, Nobel Prize laureate

1916 - Martha Raye, American actress (d. 1994)

1917 - Peanuts Lowrey, baseball player (d. 1986)

1921 - Leo Penn, American film director (d. 1998)

1925 - Darry Cowl, French actor (d. 2006)

1926 - Kristen Nygaard, Norwegian mathematician (d. 2002)

1928 - Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African politician

1929 - Ira Levin, American author

1931 - Joe Cunningham, baseball player

1932 - Antonia Fraser, British author

1935 - Frank Yablans, American film producer

1935 - Ernie Broglio, Baseball player

1936 - Joel Kovel, American politician

1937 - Tommy Sands, American actor and singer

1940 - Sonny Sharrock, American jazz guitarist (d. 1994)

1942 - Daryl Dragon, American keybordist (Captain & Tennille)

1942 - Brian Peckford, Canadian politician

1943 - Tuesday Weld, American actress

1945 - G.W. Bailey, American actor

1947 - Barbara Bach, American actress

1947 - Harry Reems, American actor

1948 - Sgt. Slaughter, professional wrestler

1950 - Charles Fleischer, American actor

1951 - Buddy Bell, baseball player-manager

1952 - Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens, American actor

1953 - Peter Stormare, Swedish-born actor

1953 - Alex Lifeson, Canadian guitarist (Rush)

1954 - Derek Warwick, British race car driver

1955 - Diana Scarwid, American actress

1955 - Robert Richardson, American cinematographer

1957 - Bernhard Langer, German golfer

1958 - Tom Lanoye, Belgian author

1959 - Gerhard Berger, Austrian race car driver

1959 - Juan Fernando Cobo, Colombian artist

1961 - Tom Ford, American fashion designer

1962 - Adam Oates, Canadian hockey player

1963 - Downtown Julie Brown, Welsh TV personality

1965 - Wayne James, Zimbabwe cricketer

1966 - Juhan Parts, Prime Minister of Estonia

1969 - Reece Shearsmith, British actor and comedian

1970 - Peter Ebdon, English snooker player

1970 - Tony Kanal, English-born musician (No Doubt)

1970 - Jim Thome, baseball player

1970 - Jeff Kenna, Irish footballer

1971 - Marlon Ayoví, Ecuadorian footballer

1972 - Mike Smith, Canadian actor

1972 - Jimmy Pop, American Musician (The Bloodhound Gang)

1972 - Dalip Singh, Indian professional wrestler

1973 - Dietmar Hamann, German footballer

1973 - Carlene Begnaud, American professional wrestler

1973 - Danny Coyne, Welsh footballer

1974 - Jose Vidro, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player

1975 - Jonny Moseley, American skier

1976 - Sarah Chalke, Canadian actress

1976 - Carlos Moya, Spanish tennis player

1976 - Steve Taylor, British writer

1976 - Mark Webber, Australian race car driver

1977 - Deco, Portuguese footballer

1978 - Mase, American rapper

1979 - Tian Liang, Chinese diver

1979 - Sarah Neufeld, Canadian musician (The Arcade Fire)

1984 - Sulley Ali Muntari, Ghanaian footballer

1986 - Mario, R&B Singer

1988 - Alexa Vega, American actress

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542 - Saint Caesarius of Arles

1312 - Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1262)

1394 - Chokei, Emperor of Japan (b. 1343)

1450 - Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr, English politician (b. 1395)

1521 - Josquin Des Prez, Flemish composer

1545 - Piotr Gamrat, Polish Catholic archbishop (b. 1487)

1572 - Claude Goudimel, French composer

1577 - Titian, Italian artist

1590 - Pope Sixtus V (b. 1521)

1635 - Félix Lope de Vega, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1562)

1664 - Francisco Zurbarán, Spanish painter (b. 1598)

1748 - James Thomson, Scottish poet (b. 1700)

1773 - Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (b. 1721)

1875 - William Chapman Ralston, American banker (b. 1826)

1909 - Emil Christian Hansen, Danish fermentation physiologist (b. 1842)

1929 - Herman Potočnik Noordung, Slovenian rocket scientist (b. 1892)

1931 - Frank Harris, Irish author and editor (b. 1856)

1931 - Francis Marion Smith, American borax magnate (b. 1846)

1944 - Georg von Boeselager, German nobleman (b. 1915)

1948 - Charles Evans Hughes, U.S. Supreme Court justice (b. 1862)

1949 - Leaders of Second East Turkestan Republic die in a plane crash.

1958 - Ernest Lawrence, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)

1963 - Garrett Morgan, American inventor (b. 1877)

1963 - W.E.B. DuBois, American civil rights activist and scholar (b. 1868)

1964 - Gracie Allen, American actress and comedienne

1965 - Le Corbusier, Swiss architect (b. 1887)

1967 - Brian Epstein, English manager of The Beatles (b. 1934)

1968 - Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (b. 1906)

1969 - Ivy Compton-Burnett, English novelist (b. 1884)

1969 - Erika Mann, German writer and daughter of Thomas Mann (b. 1905)

1971 - Bennett Cerf, American publisher and television personality (b. 1898)

1971 - Margaret Bourke-White, American photo-journalist (b. 1906)

1975 - Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1892)

1976 - Mukesh, Indian playback singer (b. 1923)

1979 - Earl Mountbatten, British admiral and statesman (assassinated) (b. 1900)

1980 - Douglas Kenney, American humorist (b. 1947)

1988 - William Sargant, British psychiatrist (b. 1907)

1990 - Stevie Ray Vaughan, American guitarist (b. 1954)

1997 - Brandon Tartikoff, American television producer (b. 1949)

2001 - Abu Ali Mustafa, leader of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (assassinated) (b. 1938)

2002 - Richard Ricci, American handyman (b. 1953)

2003 - Pierre Poujade, French politician (b. 1920)

2004 - Willie Crawford, baseball player (b. 1946)

2005 - Seán Purcell, Gaelic Footballer (b. 1929)

2006 - Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian Film Director (b. 1922)

2006 - Maria Capovilla, Oldest woman alive from 2004-2006. (b. 1889)

2006 - Jesse Pintado, Napalm Death Guitarist (b. 1969)

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Roman Festivals - Volturnalia held in honor of Volturnus.

RC Saints - Saint Monica of Hippo.

Moldova - Independence Day (from the USSR, 1991).

Long Lost Friend Day - Hallmark Holiday dedicated to reconnecting with old friends.