2017
Younes Abouyaaqoub drove a van into pedestrians on La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain, killing 14 people and injuring at least 130 others.
The 22-year-old attacker then killed another person in order to steal the victim’s car to make his escape.
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2008
American swimmer Michael Phelps became the first person to win eight gold medals at one Olympic Games.
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1978
Three Americans made the first successful Atlantic Ocean crossing by hot air balloon.
Ben Abruzzo, Larry Newman, and Max Anderson spent six days traveling in a hot air balloon that left Maine, USA, and arrived in France. Although the record was broken when they reached the Irish coast, the trio wanted to make the achievement more significant by landing in Paris.
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1948
A law was passed declaring that the “Palestinian Pound” could be used as legal tender in Palestine and Israel.
Although it had been used as an unrecognized currency in Palestine years before, it finally became an official currency on this day.
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1915
A tropical cyclone hurricane hit Galveston in Texas.
The storm killed 405 people and caused $30 million in damages, roughly equivalent to $110 billion in today’s money.
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1908
The Bank of Italy opened in San Francisco, California, and would later become Bank of America.
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1897
William B. Purvis patented the electric switch on railways that would shut off the electric supply after carriages pass the contact device.
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1877
Asaph Hall discovered Mars’ second moon, called Phobos.
The discovery came just six days after he discovered the first of the two moons named Deimos.
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1859
Balloonist John Wise started the world’s first airmail service by balloon from Lafayette to Crawfordsville, Indiana.
The balloon was called Jupiter and made the 25-mile journey carrying 123 letters.
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1858
Charles Reed Bishop founded First Hawaiian Bank and opened its first branch in Honolulu.
The bank is Hawaii’s oldest and largest financial institution.
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1835
Solymon Merrick patented the wrench tool.
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1807
The Clermont steamboat by Robert Fulton made its maiden trip up the Hudson River.
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1563
King Charles IX of France became an adult on his 13th birthday.
The king remained under the direction of his mother, Catherine, due to his poor health and mental health.
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682 AD
Pope Leo II became the bishop of Rome.
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