August 3, 2021
Outstanding August Events through the Centuries
By Eloise Graham
The 1500s –
On August 16, 1501 the Overseers of the Office of Works (Florence, Italy’s cathedral church) awards Michelangelo the contract to create his statue of David. He began his sculpture masterpiece a month later, finishing it in August 1504. The public unveiling was September 8 of that year.
The 1600s –
Ernest Casimir I, an Earl of Nassau-Diez is appointed as viceroy of Groningen on August 6, 1625. He was primarily known as an outstanding military leader during the Eighty Years War. On August 1, 1626, he conquered the town of Oldenzaal.
The 1700s –
August 1, 1781 General Cornwallis occupies Yorktown. His plan was to make this a British base port. in September, British and French naval forces clashed in the Battle of the Capes. In October, he surrendered his army to General George Washington.
In August 1785 the French naval expedition ordered by Louis XVI, departs Brest. The expedition included; 2 vessels, 225 officers, crew and scientists, and their supplies for a four-year long tour of the Pacific.
The 1800s –
On August 27, 1832 a brief but bloody war between the U. S. and the Native Americans comes to an end. The U. S. was the victor over Black Hawk.
In August of 1842, a tunnel under the River Thames In London is completed. Called the Thames Tunnel, it connected Rotherhithe with Wapping. It was designed for horse-drawn carriages, but mainly used by pedestrians.
The 1900s –
August 1, 1901 San Francisco bans any burials within the city limits. They had run out of room and were considered a health hazard, but the property was also prime real estate. So the dead were kicked out.
