Ace This Quiz on Famous Events That Happened in August

Activist and politician Nelson Mandela was arrested in his home country of South Africa in August 1962 after evading authorities for a year and a half. He was wanted for his opposition of South Africa’s apartheid (segregation) laws. His imprisonment lasted from 1964 until 1982, but his political activism didn’t end there. He became the first Black president of South Africa in 1994.

On August 15, 1945, the Japanese government accepted defeat and surrendered to Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II. This day is known as V-J Day or “Victory Over Japan Day.” However, Japan didn’t sign the official instrument of surrender until September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The “V-J Day in Times Square” photo of a soldier kissing a woman is among the most memorable images from this day.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy destroyed everything in its path, including the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, where thousands of lives were lost. After centuries of dormancy, the volcano unexpectedly erupted at noon on August 24, 79 CE, sending a 10-mile cloud of lethal smoke, volcanic ash, and pumice into the air and back down into the surrounding cities.

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu on August 4, 1961. He lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, for a few years as a child before the family returned to Hawaii in 1971 when he was 10 years old. He stayed there until leaving for college, first attending Occidental College in Los Angeles before transferring to Columbia University in New York City. He is the first (and so far only) U.S. President from Hawaii.

Princess Diana and Egyptian filmmaker Dodi Fayed died in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997, after being relentlessly chased by paparazzi. The loss of the beloved princess made worldwide headlines. Five days after Diana’s death, around 1 million mourners lined the funeral route in London to pay their respects.

Although the adoption of the Declaration of Independence is celebrated annually on July 4, the actual signing of the document occurred one month later, on August 2, 1776, inside the Pennsylvania State House (later renamed Independence Hall) in downtown Philadelphia. The document includes 56 signatures, the largest of which is that of John Hancock of Massachusetts.

Dorothy and Toto’s adventure in the mythical land of Oz mesmerized audiences after its world premiere in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on August 12, 1939. By the end of the year, it had earned a permanent place in American cinema history. The film also took home the Oscar for Best Song at the 1940 Academy Awards, for “Over the Rainbow.”

The “king of rock ‘n’ roll” died suddenly of a heart attack in August 1977, shocking fans around the world. Mourners traveled to Graceland in droves to pay their respect to the late superstar. Elvis’ larger-than-life persona captivated audiences for decades, from his self-titled debut album in 1956 to his final Top 10 hit, “Burning Love,” in 1972.

Knowing that he was likely facing impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon resigned from office in August 1974, becoming the first and only U.S. President to do so. The scandal was named after a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex. The break-in was covered up by the White House, including by Nixon himself.

The Klondike Gold Rush began on August 16, 1896, when George Carmack spotted gold nuggets while salmon fishing in Alaska’s Klondike River. This led to the last major gold rush in the American West, with some 50,000 miners flocking to the remote region. Carmack himself left the Yukon with around $1 million worth of gold.

American lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key was born in Maryland in August 1779. Key is known for penning the U.S. national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” in 1814, following a 25-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore. In the early morning, Key noticed the American flag still flying over the fort, inspiring him to write a patriotic poem about the event.

In 1959, after 60 years as a U.S. territory, Hawaii became the 50th state to enter the United States. Hawaii’s monarchy had been overthrown by the U.S. government during an era of colonization of many Pacific islands. While some celebrated Hawaii’s entrance into the nation, others, especially Native Hawaiians, stood against statehood.

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, now the most famous rock festival in history, was held in the small town of Bethel on August 15-18, 1969. Despite being organized by four inexperienced promoters, the event drew crowds of at least 400,000 people to see performances by Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana, the Band, and many other musical legends.

On an August afternoon in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of a crowd of 250,000 people at Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial to give his most pivotal address, and one of the most famous speeches in history, “I Have a Dream.” It was a defining moment of the civil rights movement, strengthening the call for equality and freedom in the face of racial discrimination.

“In fourteen-hundred-ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” This rhyme is often taught to help students remember the year that Italian explorer Christopher Columbus left Western Europe on the Santa Maria to find a passage from China to India. What Columbus and his fleet found instead was the “New World” (the Americas), beginning an era of European exploration and colonization of the American continents.