History for August 7

History for August 7 - On-This-Day.com
Nathaniel Greene 1742, Mata Hari 1876, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer 1927


B.J. Thomas 1942, Garrison Keillor 1942, David Duchovny 1960


1789 - The U.S. War Department was established by the U.S. Congress.


1782 - George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart.


1888 - Theophilus Van Kannel received a patent for the revolving door.


1934 - The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling striking down the government's attempt to ban the controversial James Joyce novel "Ulysses."


1942 - U.S. forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.


1960 - The Cuban Catholic Church condemned the rise of communism in Cuba. Fidel Castro then banned all religious TV and radio broadcasts.


1974 - French stuntman Philippe Petit walked a tightrope strung between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center.


1976 - Scientists in Pasadena, CA, announced that the Viking 1 spacecraft had found strong indications of possible life on Mars.