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Explore the historical events that shaped our world on August 23rd. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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William Wallace, leader of Scottish resistance is executed for treason. Wallace was captured on August 7 near Glasgow after being betrayed by John Menteith, a Scottish knight loyal to Edward I, and handed over to the English. Menteith received large land grants in Knapdale and Kintyre for his service.
The Battle of Bannockburn takes place, where Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce defeat the English army, securing Scottish independence.
Pierre de Monte becomes the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (Knights of Malta) after the death of Jean Parisot de Valette on August 21, 1568
The University of Groningen is established in the Netherlands by the council of the province Groningen on 23 August 23, 1614.
Eunice Newton Foote makes first public scientific mention of the upcoming "Greenhouse effect" in an 1856 paper , titled “Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun’s Rays,” , presented at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Foote' s short paper included a prescient conclusion; “An atmosphere of that gas (Carbon Dioxide) would give to our earth a high temperature,” describing the phenomenon we now call the greenhouse effect, the main cause of climate change.
Up until 2010, before her work was rediscovered and she was recognized as the pioneer that she was, scientists had believed that John Tyndall deserved the credit as the first person to show the involvement of infrared radiation in the greenhouse effect which he presented in June 2, 1859. More
The WW1 Battle of Tannenberg between the Germans and the Russians begins The battle lasted until August 30th. The German forces, led by Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, handed Russia a crushing defeat resulting in the destruction of the Russian Second Army, with 120,000-170,000 soldiers killed, injured, or captured by the German 8th Army. More
Anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are executed after a controversial trial and conviction for a 1920 South Braintree, Massachusetts, shoe factory robbery and murder. Despite worldwide protests and questions surrounding the trial's fairness and the role of anti-immigrant sentiment and radical politics in their conviction. Their electric chair execution took place at Charlestown State Prison. More
The Battle of Stalingrad begins as German forces launch an offensive with 600 Luftwaffe planes bombing Stalingrad and killing 40,000 people. The battle was a turning point in World War II as the Soviet Union successfully defended and ultimately defeated the German army. The battle continue until February 2, 1943. More
Soviet archives, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Romania King Michael announces that Romania had unilaterally ceased all military actions against the Allies, accepted the Allied armistice offer and joined the war against the Axis powers. As no formal armistice offer had been extended yet, the Red Army occupied most of Romania as enemy territory prior to the signing of the Moscow Armistice of September 12, 1944.
