What Happened in August?

Henry III King of France is assassinated by Jacques Clément, a young fanatical Dominican friar with a knife. Clément was killed on the spot by the guards.

The University of Groningen is established in the Netherlands by the council of the province Groningen on 23 August  23, 1614.

The first recorded enslaved Africans arrive in the English colony of Virginia at Point Comfort, present-day Fort Monroe, more than a year before the Mayflower Pilgrims docked in Plymouth Harbor on December 1620. Two English pirate ships, the Treasurer and White Lion. each carrying 20-30 African slaves land in the Jamestown colony within four days of each other. and are then bought by the colonists.  Expand +

The Dutch Republic officially cedes Dutch Brazil, also known as New Holland, to Portugal through the Treaty of The Hague in exchange for an indemnity payment from Portugal. The Dutch had initially gained control of this region in northeastern Brazil during the 17th century, but faced increasing Portuguese resistance and ultimately lost control of the major cities in 1654.

The Ottoman Empire agrees to the Peace of Vasvar following the Battle of Saint Gottharda and signs on August 10, 1664 the 20-year treaty between the Habsburg Monarchy (Holy Roman Empire) and the Ottoman Empire, ending the Fifteen Years' War. It allowed the Ottomans to retain key territories like Nové Zámky while stabilizing the border for two decades.

The Treaties of Nijmegen are signed between August 10 ,1678 and September 1679 ending the Franco-Dutch War and resulting in France gaining significant territories, including Franche-Comté and various Flemish cities, strengthening its border, and securing France’s position as a dominant European power.

Swedish King Charles XII begins his campaign to conquer Russia during the Great Northern War departing Saxony c. August 15, 1707. The invasion officially starts with the crossing of the Vistula River on January 1, 1708, with 44,000 men, aimed at Moscow, but ended in catastrophic failure at the Battle of Poltava on July 8, 1709.

George Washington becomes a Master Mason in his hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was twenty one years old. More

The Maryland Journal, and the Baltimore Advertiser, the first newspaper published in Baltimore was launched on August 20, 1773, by William Goddard. It was a weekly publication covering local and national news, becoming a crucial source of information during the American Revolution.

Most of the 55 members of the Continental Congress signed the parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. While the vote for independence happened on July 2, and the document was formally adopted on July 4, the signing on parchment took place later. More

The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn, takes place, resulting in a decisive British victory. as General William Howe, defeats the Continental Army, led by General George Washington, forcing them to retreat from Brooklyn and later from Manhattan. It was the first major battle fought after the Declaration of Independence.

The Badge of Military Merit is announced by General George Washington to the Continental Army to honor soldiers wounded in battle. Designed by Washington in the form of a purple heart, Expand +

In one of the worst maritime disasters, 900 men drowned on the British battleship Royal George. A gust of wind allowed water to flood into open gun ports as the ship was being repaired whilst anchored at Spithead off Portsmouth. The ship sank within minutes.

Russians led by Grigorii Shelikhov established the first permanent Russian outpost in Alaska on Kodiak Island at Three Saints Bay. More

The Shays' Rebellion starts. It was an armed insurrection by Massachusetts farmers, including Continental Army veterans who hadn't been paid for their service and were struggling with debt, high taxes and economic hardship after the American Revolution. They were led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays and lasted from 1786–1787.  Expand +

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is adopted in France, laying the groundwork for the French Revolution, becoming the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by the law. It is included at the beginning of the constitutions of both the French Fourth Republic (1946) and French Fifth Republic (1958) and is considered valid as constitutional law. More

The United States conducts its first national census, showing a population of 3.9M people (3,929,214). The official count started on August 2 1790 and was finished within 9 months,  Expand +

Benjamin Banneker, the son of a free Black American woman and a formerly enslaved African man from Guinea, writes a letter to Thomas Jefferson, then-Secretary of State. On the letter, Banneker criticizes Jefferson’s hypocritical stance on slavery in respectful but unambiguous terms, using Jefferson’s own words to make his case for the abolition of slavery.  Expand +

Louis XVI of France and his wife, Marie-Antoinette are imprisoned, making the French monarchy effectively overthrown, as the French Revolution continued (1789–1799). They were both executed by guillotine in 1793.

The Siege of Toulon begins. It was a French Revolutionary War engagement where young artillery officer Napoleon Bonaparte helped French forces drive out British and royalist forces from the key naval base of Toulon, a port on the south coast of France.  Expand +