What Happened in August?

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.

The city of New Orleans is founded c. August 25, 1718, by French colonists under the direction of French Louisiana governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. The site was the slightly elevated banks of the Mississippi River approximately 95 miles above its mouth, an area now called the French Quarter, More

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 Historical Timeline

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 +

President George Washington leads a militia force of 12,950 men towards Western Pennsylvania to subdue the Whiskey Rebellion, warning locals "not to abet, aid, or comfort the Insurgents aforesaid, as they will answer the contrary at their peril." More

President George Washington signs the Jay’s Treaty on August 14, 1795,- The treaty was formally named the "Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America,"  Expand +

The British Royal Navy led by Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats the French fleet in a surprise attack on August 1-3, 1798, off the Egyptian coast ,during the French Revolutionary Wars at the Battle of the Nile. Most of the French fleet was destroyed/. Nelson sustained a severe head wound but remained in command. The French commander, Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers was killed.

The battle of Vimeiro, part of the Peninsular Wars takes place near the village of Vimeiro near Lisbon, between Britain and France. British General Arthur Wellesley  defeated French General Andoche Junot's forces. General Wellesley later became the Duke of Wellington. More