Today In History [7th August, 2015]

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

Today in History
August 7

1782		General George Washington authorizes the award of the Purple Heart for soldiers wounded in combat.
1864		Union troops capture part of Confederate General Jubal Early’s army at Moorefield, West Virginia.
1888		Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia receives a patent for the revolving door.
1906		In North Carolina, a mob defies a court order and lynches three African Americans which becomes known as "The Lyerly Murders."
1916		Persia forms an alliance with Britain and Russia.
1922		The Irish Republican Army cuts the cable link between the United States and Europe at Waterville landing station.
1934		In Washington, the U.S. Court of Appeals rules that the govenment can neither confiscate nor ban James Joyce’s novel Ulysses.
1936		The United States declares non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War.
1942		The U.S. 1st Marine Division under General A. A. Vandegrift lands on the islands of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon islands. This is the first American amphibious landing of the war.
1944		German forces launch a major counter attack against U.S. forces near Mortain, France.
1964		Congress overwhelmingly passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing the president to use unlimited military force to prevent attacks on U.S. forces.
1966		The United States loses seven planes over North Vietnam, the most in the war up to this point.
1971		Apollo 15 returns to Earth. The mission to the moon had marked the first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
1973		A U.S. plane accidentally bombs a Cambodian village, killing 400 civilians.
1976		US Viking 2 spacecraft goes into orbit around Mars.
1981		The Washington (D.C.) Star ceases publication after 128 years.
1984		Japan defeats the United States to win the Olympic Gold in baseball.
1987		Presidents of five Central American nations sign a peace accord in Guatemala.
1990		Operation Desert Shield begins as US troops deploy to Saudi Arabia to discourage Iraq’s Saddam Hussein from invading that country as he had Kuwait.
2007		Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks Hank Aaron’s record with his 756th home run. Bonds’ accomplishments were clouded by allegations of illegal steroid use and lying to a grand jury.
Born on August 7
1876		Mata Hari, [Margaretha G. Macleod] who passed secrets to the Germans in World War I.
1903		Louis Leakey, anthropologist, archeologist and paleontologist, believed Africa was the cradle of mankind.
1904		Ralph Bunche, U.S. diplomat and the first African-American Nobel Prize winner.
1927		Edwin Edwards, governor of Louisiana.
1932		Abebe Bikila, barefoot runner from Ethiopia, winner of the 1960 Olympic marathon.
1942		Garrison Keillor, American humorist and writer, creator of the long-running PBS program A Prairie Home Companion.
1950		Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter ("Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight," "Ain’t Living Long Like This") and author (Chinaberry Sidewalks) Rodney Crowell.
1963		Patrick Kennedy, son of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy; dies 39 hours later.
1966		Jimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia.
1975		Charlize Theron, model and Academy Award-winning actress (Monster).