History for August 3

History for August 3 - On-This-Day.com:
Ernie Pyle 1900, John T. Scopes 1900, Ray Bloch 1902 


P.D. James 1920, Leon Uris 1924, Tony Bennett 1926 


Martin Sheen 1940 - Actor, Martha Stewart 1941 - Television personality, Jay North 1951 


1492 - Christopher Columbus left Palos, Spain with three ships. The voyage led him to what is now known as the Americas. He reached the Bahamas on October 12. 


1777 - During the Siege of Fort Stanwix the first U.S. flag was officially flown during battle. 


1900 - Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. was founded. 


1914 - Germany declared war on France. The next day World War I began when Britain declared war on Germany. 


1923 - Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the 30th president of the U.S. after the sudden death of President Harding. 


1933 - The Mickey Mouse Watch was introduced for the price of $2.75. 


1936 - Jesse Owens won the first of his four Olympic gold medals. 


1943 - Gen. George S. Patton verbally abused and slapped a private. Later, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered him to apologize for the incident. 


1958 - The Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater. The mission was known as "Operation Sunshine." 


1984 - Mary Lou Retton won a gold medal at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.