Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.
Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in August 2022 (so you have time to write about them!)
We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2022. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2026 edition will be available from the end of March 2022 and the 2027 edition will be available from June 2022.
1 Aug 1972 – 50 years ago
The Washington Post newspaper published the first article that exposed U.S. President Richard Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal. The article by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein revealed that $25,000 of Nixon’s re-election campaign fund had been paid into the bank account of one of the men recently arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters.
2 Aug 1922 – 100 years ago
Death of Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-born American audiologist and inventor. Credited with developing the first practical telephone.
3 Aug 1872 – 150 years ago
Birth of Haakon VII, King of Norway (1905–57)
4 – 8 Aug 1997 – 25 years ago
The capital of Montserrat was destroyed by a further series of eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano. The town became uninhabitable and the 4,000 residents were evacuated. Most of them resettled in the UK.
5 Aug 1962 – 60 years ago
Death of Marilyn Monroe, American film actress, model and singer (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Seven-Year Itch, Bus Stop, and more). (Overdose of sleeping pills – probable suicide, aged 36.)
6 – 21 Aug 1932 – 90 years ago
The first Venice Film Festival was held in Italy.
7 Aug 1947 – 75 years ago
Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl’s raft Kon-Tiki reached Polynesia after a 101-day journey across the Pacific from South America. This demonstrated that people from pre-Columbian South America could have made the journey and settled there.
8 Aug 1942 – 80 years ago
The world première of Walt Disney’s animated film Bambi, in London. (U.S. première: 13th August, released: 21st August. UK: 1st January 1943.)
9 Aug 1922 – 100 years ago
Birth of Philip Larkin, British poet. (Died 1985.)
10 Aug 1897 – 125 years ago
The Royal Automobile Club was founded in the UK.
(The section of the club that offered roadside assistance and motor insurance was incorporated as a separate company in 1978 and sold in 1999 – it is now known as RAC Ltd.)
11 Aug 1897 – 125 years ago
Birth of Enid Blyton, British children’s writer who created Noddy, the Famous Five, and the Secret Seven. She is among the world’s bestselling writers. More than 600 million copies of her books have been sold. She sometimes wrote 50 books a year.
12 Aug 1922 – 100 years ago
Death of Arthur Griffith, President of the Irish Republic (1922 – died in office). Founder of Sinn Fein. Succeeded by W. T. Cosgrave.
13 Aug 1997 – 25 years ago
The first episode of the animated comedy television series South Park was broadcast on Comedy Central in the USA.
14 Aug 1947 – 75 years ago
Pakistan gained its independence from the UK.
Pakistan and India both officially became independent at midnight on 15th August, but Pakistan held its independence ceremony 30 minutes early and now celebrates 14th August as its independence day.
15 Aug 1952 – 70 years ago
Lynmouth flood, Devon, UK. A flash flood swept through the village. 34 people were killed, and buildings and bridges were devastated.
16 Aug 1962 – 60 years ago
The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein fired drummer Pete Best and replaced him with Ringo Starr
17 Aug 1962 – 60 years ago
Peter Fechter, aged 18, became the first person to be shot dead by border guards as he attempted to climb over the Berlin Wall into West Berlin.
18 Aug 1947 – 75 years ago
The American technology company Hewlett-Packard was incorporated.
19 Aug 1772 – 250 years ago
Swedish Revolution: King Gustav III staged a coup d’état, assumed power and introduced absolute monarchy.
20 – 22 Aug 1962 – 60 years ago
The first nuclear-powered ship, the NS Savannah made her maiden voyage from Yorktown, Virginia, to Savannah, Georgia, USA. The ship was conceived by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of his Atoms for Peace programme. It operated until 1972, and is now a museum ship.
21 Aug 1897 – 125 years ago
The Oldsmobile automobile company was founded in Lansing, Michigan, USA (as Olds Motors Works). It later became a division of General Motors, but was closed down in 2004.
22 Aug 1922 – 100 years ago
Death of Michael Collins, Irish nationalist politician. A leading figure in Ireland’s fight for independence. He directed a guerrilla warfare campaign against the British. (Killed in an ambush by anti-treaty forces, aged 31.)
23 Aug 1942 to 2 Feb 1943 – 80 years ago
World War II – the Battle of Stalingrad (Soviet Union). Soviet victory. The turning point of the war in Europe.
Regarded as the largest and bloodiest battle in the history of warfare, and one that the Germans never recovered from.
24 Aug 1932 – 90 years ago
American aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly non-stop across the USA.
25 Aug 1822 – 200 years ago
Death of William Herschel, German-born British astronomer. He discovered the planet Uranus and infrared radiation, conducted the first deep sky surveys, and was the first president of the Royal Astronomical Society.
26 Aug to 10 Sep 1972 – 50 years ago
The 1972 Summer Olympic Games were held in Munich, West Germany.
The event was overshadowed by the kidnapping and deaths of 11 members of the Israeli team by Palestinian terrorists on 5th September.
27 Aug 1962 – 60 years ago
NASA launched its Mariner 2 space probe to Venus. (It flew past Venus in December, becoming the first space probe to fly past another planet.)
28 Aug 1922 – 100 years ago
The world’s first radio commercial was broadcast on WEAF in New York City, USA. The first commercial was for an apartment complex.
29 Aug 1952 – 70 years ago
American avant-garde composer John Cage’s best-known work 4’ 33” (four minutes and thirty-three seconds) was performed for the first time, at Woodstock, New York, USA. Performers are instructed not to play a single note throughout the entire piece.
30 Aug 1922 – 100 years ago
Turkish War of Independence – Greco–Turkish War – the Battle of Dumlupinar, Turkey. Turkey won the final battle of the war.
This day is now celebrated as Victory Day in Turkey.
31 Aug 1422 – 600 years ago
Death of Henry V, King of England (1413–22). (Heatstroke or dysentery, aged 35.) Succeeded by his son, Henry VI.
More anniversaries:
You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2022. The 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2026 edition will be available from the end of March 2022, with the 2027 edition following in June.
Find out more at ideas4writers.com.