Events 1517 - First European connection with China - seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernao Pires de Andrade met Chinese officials at Pearl River estuary. 1519 - Panama City, Panama founded 1535 - Asuncion, Paraguay founded 1877 - Thomas Edison makes the first-ever recording - "Mary Had a Little Lamb" 1914 - Panama Canal opens to traffic 1944 - Allied forces land in southern France (Operation Anvil) 1945 - VJ Day: Korea is liberated after Japan accepts the Allied terms of surrender in World War II 1947 - India and Pakistan become independent of Britain 1948 - Republic of Korea established south of 38th Parallel 1960 - Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) declares its independence from France 1967 - UK introduces legislation to outlaw offshore pirate radio stations. All except Radio Caroline comply. 1969 - First day of Woodstock Music and Art Festival 1971 - President Richard Nixon ends convertibility of U.S. dollar into gold 1973 - The United States bombing of Cambodia ends 1975 - Military coup in Bangladesh 1994 - Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the terrorist known as "Carlos", is captured 1998 - Omagh bomb in Northern Ireland, becoming the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles Births 1769 - Napoleon Bonaparte, general and politician (+ 1821) 1785 - Thomas De Quincey, author (+ 1859) 1858 - E. Nesbit (Edith Nesbit), author (+ 1924) 1872 - Shri Aurobindo, writer, nationalist, philosphter and guru (+ 1950) 1879 - Ethel Barrymore, actress (+ 1959) 1887 - Edna Ferber, novelist (+ 1968) 1888 - Lawrence of Arabia 1896 - Leon Theremin, inventor of the theremin 1912 - Julia Child, cook, writer 1912 - Dame Wendy Hiller, actress 1919 - Huntz Hall, actor (+ 1999) 1923 - Rose Marie, actress 1924 - Robert Bolt, screenwriter (+ 1995) 1925 - Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist 1925 - Mike Connors, actor 1928 - Nicolas Roeg, director 1933 - Jim Lange, game show host 1935 - Vernon Jordan Jr, Presidential advisor 1944 - Linda Ellerbee, journalist 1946 - Jimmy Webb, musician, composer 1949 - Richard Deacon, sculptor 1950 - Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise Windsor (Princess Anne) 1968 - Debra Messing, actress 1972 - Ben Affleck, actor 1974 - Natasha Henstridge, actress Deaths 778 - Roland, Frankish commander 1057 - King Macbeth I of Scotland 1907 - Joseph Joachim, violinist 1935 - Wiley Post, pilot 1935 - Will Rogers, humorist, actor 1951 - Artur Schnabel, pianist 1959 - Blind Willie McTell, blues singer 1962 - Lei Feng, eminent PLA Soldier 1971 - Paul Lukas, Academy Award winning actor 1975 - Clay Shaw, John F. Kennedy assassination investigator 1975 - Sheikh Mujib, president of Bangladesh 1995 - John Cameron Swayze, journalist 1999 - Sir Hugh Casson, architect, artist Holidays and observances Catholicism - Feast day of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Public Holiday in: Spain Italy Croatia Greece Austria Belgium Portugal Cyprus Malta France Ivory Coast Cameroon Poland Italy - "Ferragosto" Korea - Liberation Day India - Independence Day Ancient Latvia - Maras See Also: August 14 - August 16 - July 15 - September 15 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December\n
August 14 - August 16 - July 15 - September 15 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December\n