Today in History
Historical Events
South Park Makes its Debut on Comedy Central. The popular American animated series is created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and it follows the lives and adventures of 4 boys – Eric Cartman, Kenny McCormick, Kyle Broflovski, and Stan Marsh – in a fictional town called South Park, Colorado. While being popular, the show has attracted widespread criticism for profane language and for addressing controversial subjects.
Construction of Berlin Wall starts. The construction on the Berlin Wall, a wall that divided West Berlin from East Berlin started. It was built by the German Democratic Republic or East Germany.
First Two-Way Telephonic Conversation With a Satellite. The conversation was made possible due to NASA’s Echo 1, a balloon satellite. It was launched into space on August 12. The satellite worked as reflector – signals sent to it were reflected back to the Earth.
Central African Republic Gains its Independence From France.. The landlocked African Country came under French rule in the late 19th century. On this day, Barthélemy Boganda, a nationalist politician declared the creation of an independent Central African Republic and became the first Prime Minister of the country.
First Woman enlists in the United States Marines. After joining the Marine corps, Opha May Johnson, was assigned desk duty at the Marine Corps headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
Famous Births
Born on this day

Sebastian Stan
1983
Romanian/American actor

Alan Shearer
1970
English footballer

Fidel Castro
1926
Cuban lawyer, politician, 15th President of Cuba

Alfred Hitchcock
1899
English director, producer

Lucy Stone
1818
American activist
Famous Deaths
Died on this day

Les Paul
2009
American guitarist, songwriter, co-designed the Gibson Guitar

Julia Child
2004
American chef, author

Mickey Mantle
1995
American baseball player

H. G. Wells
1946
English author

Florence Nightingale
1910
Italian/English nurse