August 15, Quite a Day in History

From the August 15, 2018, Kenosha (Wis.) News "Today in History."

1812--  The Battle of Fort Dearborn took place.  Fort Dearborn is where Chicago is today, but back then was just a frontier fort.  This took place during the War of 1812 and is also called a massacre.

1914--  The Panama Canal officially opens as the SS Ancon crossed between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

1935--  Humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post killed in airplane crash near Point Barrow in Alaska Territory.

1944--  Allied forces landed in southern France in Operation Dragoon during WW II.

1945--  In a pre-recorded radio address, Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced that Japan had accepted terms of surrender ending WW II.

1961--  As workers begin constructing the Berlin Wall, East German soldier Conrad Schumann lept to freedom over barbed wire in a scene made famous in a photograph.

1965--  The Beatles played to a crowd of 55,000 at New York's Shea Stadium.

1969--  The Woodstock Music and Art Festival opened in upstate New York.

Like I Said, a Pretty Important Day in History.  --DaCoot

This Date in History: Fort Dearborn, Death of Will Rogers, Woodstock

I was reading the Springfield (IL) State Journal Register today and came across some very interesting things that happened on this date.

1812  The Fort Dearborn Massacre took place in Illinois during the War of 1812, resulting in most of the fort's 100 man garrison dying and the rest taken prisoner.  I am going into greater detail on my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog.


1914  The Panama Canal opened to traffic.

1935  Humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post killed in an airplane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska.

1969  The Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened in upstate New York.  I drove out to Woodstock, Illinois, looking for it, but didn't find it.

Some Important Stuff.  --Cooter