The "This Day in (Military and Interesting) History" Thread

[BanzaiCat]

On this day in history (August 13th):

29 BC – Octavian holds the first of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes.

1521 – After an extended siege, forces led by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés capture Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc and conquer the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Blenheim – English and Imperial forces are victorious over French and Bavarian troops.

1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Royal Navy defeats the Penobscot Expedition with the most significant loss of United States naval forces prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

1806 – Battle of Mišar during the Serbian Revolution begins. The battle will end two days later, with a decisive Serbian victory over the Ottomans.

1898 – Spanish–American War: Spanish and American forces engaged in a mock battle for Manila, after which the Spanish commander surrendered in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.

1906 – The all black infantrymen of the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Regiment are accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer in Brownsville, Texas, despite exculpatory evidence; all are later dishonorably discharged.

1918 – Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha Mae Johnson is the first woman to enlist.

1920 – Polish–Soviet War: The Battle of Warsaw begins and will last till August 25. The Red Army is defeated.

1937 – The Battle of Shanghai begins.

1942 – Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project.

1961 – East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West.


On this day in history, these folks were apparently spat out of their momma's wombs into the world:

1860 – Annie Oakley, American target shooter and performer (d. 1926)

1888 – John Logie Baird, Scottish engineer, invented the television (d. 1946)

1899 – Alfred Hitchcock, English-American director and producer (d. 1980)

1943 – Michael Willetts, English sergeant, George Cross recipient (d. 1971)

1949 – Philippe Petit, French tightrope walker (the guy that walked a tightrope between the World Trade Center towers)

1958 – Randy Shughart, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1993 in Mogadishu)


And on this day in history, the following folks shuffled off this mortal coil:

1946 – H. G. Wells, English journalist and author (b. 1866)

1991 – James Roosevelt, American general and politician (b. 1907), oldest son of Franklin D. Roosevelt


Source: Wiki, which lies about nothing. There's much more, of course, but I found these somewhat more interesting than the usual slew of football and cricket players listed.