TODAY IN HISTORY

FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2018

1896 - Bridget Driscoll is run over by a Benz car in the grounds of The Crystal Palace, London, Britain’s first pedestrian death from a car. 1903 - Joseph Pulitzer donated a million dollars to Columbia University. This started the Pulitzer Prizes.

1908 - Fantasmagorie, the first animated cartoon, created by Emile Cohl, is shown in Paris, France.

1914 - World War I: Battle of Stalluponen: The German army defeats the Russian force near modern-day Nesterov, Russia. 1942 - World War II: U.S. Marines raid the Japanese-held Pacific island of Makin (Butaritari).

1943 - World War II: First Quebec Conference of Winston Churchill (UK), Franklin D. Roosevelt (US), and William Lyon Mackenzie King (Canada) begins.

1943 - World War II: The U.S. Eighth Air Force loses 60 bombers on the Schweinfurt Regensburg mission.

1943 - World War II: The U.S. Seventh Army arrives in Messina, Italy, followed by the British 8th Army, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.

1943 - World War II: The Royal Air Force begins the first air raid of the Operation Crossbow strategic bombing campaign against Germany’s V-weapon rocket program.

1945 - Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaim the independence of Indonesia, igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire.

1947 - The Radcliffe Line, the border between Dominion of India and Dominion of Pakistan is revealed.

1953 - Addiction: First meeting of Narcotics Anonymous - in Southern California.

1958 - Pioneer 0, America’s first attempt at lunar orbit, is launched and fails.

1959 - Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, the acclaimed and influential best selling jazz recording of all time, is released.

1959 - Quake Lake is formed by the magnitude 7.5 Hebgen Lake earthquake near Hebgen Lake in Montana US.

1969 - Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the U.S. Gulf Coast, killing 256 and causing $1.42 billion in damage.