Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in August 2023
(listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)
Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into films, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)
We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2023, which lists more than 3,000 anniversaries.
1 Aug 1993 – 30 years ago
1 Apr to Oct The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 peaked on this date. It was one of the most damaging floods in U.S. history. Heavy rainfall began in April and continued into October, with some places under water for nearly 200 days. 1st August is referred to as the flood’s anniversary.
2 Aug 1923 – 100 years ago
Death of Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States (1921–23). Died in office. Succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge.
3 Aug 1948 – 75 years ago
Whittaker Chambers, a former member of the U.S. Communist Party, testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee that Alger Hiss had secretly been a communist while working for the State Department. Hiss denied the charge. On 25th August the hearings were televised and Chambers and Hiss dramatically confronted each other on ‘Confrontation Day’. (In January 1950, Hiss was convicted of perjury and imprisoned for 3.5 years. He maintained his innocence until his death in 1996, and sued Chambers for defamation.) The case is still debated to this day. Many believe Hiss was a Soviet spy, but it is difficult to prove or disprove.
4 Aug 1958 – 65 years ago
Billboard magazine published its first Hot 100 singles chart. It is the music industry’s standard record chart in the USA. The first #1 record on the chart was Poor Little Fool by Ricky Nelson.
5 Aug 1953 to December – 70 years ago
Operation Big Switch. All remaining prisoners taken during the Korean War were repatriated.
(Operation Little Switch in April–May 1953 was the repatriation of sick and wounded prisoners.)
6 Aug 1973 – 50 years ago
Death of Fulgencio Batista, President/dictator of Cuba (1933–44, 1952–59)
7 Aug 1948 – 75 years ago
Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen became the first woman to win four Olympic gold medals (at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London). On 2nd August, when she won the 100 metres, she became the first Dutch athlete to win an Olympic title in athletics.
8 Aug 1963 – 60 years ago
The Great Train Robbery, Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, England. £2.6 million was stolen in one of the UK’s most infamous robberies. The bulk of the money was never recovered.
9 Aug 1898 – 125 years ago
German inventor Rudolf Diesel was granted a U.S. patent for the Diesel internal combustion engine.
(U.S. Patent No. 608,845.)
10 Aug 1948 – 75 years ago
The first episode of the hidden-camera/practical joke television show Candid Camera was broadcast in the USA.
It ran for over 1,000 episodes and ended in 2004. (It began as the radio show Candid Microphone.)
11 Aug 1973 – 50 years ago
Hip-hop (the music genre) was invented by Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc at a back-to-school party in The Bronx, New York City, USA.
12 Aug 1848 – 175 years ago
Death of George Stephenson, (‘the Father of Railways’), British civil and mechanical engineer who developed rail transport and built innovative steam locomotives including the famous Rocket.
13 Aug 1923 – 100 years ago
Gustav Stresemann became Chancellor and Foreign Minister of Germany.
14 Aug 1848 – 175 years ago
Oregon Territory was established in the USA. (It was admitted as a U.S. state in 1859.)
15 Aug 1948 – 75 years ago
The Republic of Korea (South Korea) was established.
16 Aug 1948 – 75 years ago
Death of Babe Ruth, American baseball player.
17 Aug 1953 – 70 years ago
Narcotics Anonymous was founded in California, USA.
18 Aug 1873 – 150 years ago
The first successful ascent of Mount Whitney, California – the highest summit in the contiguous United States.
19 Aug 1923 – 100 years ago
Death of Vilfredo Pareto, Italian economist, sociologist and civil engineer. He made several notable contributions to the field of economics. Best known for the Pareto principle: 80 percent of consequences come from 20 percent of causes.
20 Aug 1923 – 100 years ago
The USA’s first rigid airship, USS Shenandoah, was launched at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey.
It made its first flight on 4th September.
It crashed during a storm in September 1925, when fourteen people were killed.
21 Aug 1953 – 70 years ago
The UK première of the romantic comedy film Roman Holiday. It featured Audrey Hepburn in her first starring role.
U.S. première: 27th August. Released: 2nd September.
22 Aug 1933 – 90 years ago
The world’s first televised boxing match: Archie Sexton vs. Laurie Raiteri in London, England.
23 Aug 1973 – 50 years ago
Stockholm syndrome: a bank robber attempted to rob the Kreditbanken in Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm, Sweden. When police entered the bank, he opened fire and took four people hostage. He held them at the bank, with the help of a friend who arrived later, until 28th August, when police used tear gas to force the criminals to surrender.
The hostages developed a psychological bond with their captors and expressed sympathy for them, leading to the term ‘Stockholm syndrome’.
24 Aug 1873 – 150 years ago
The first recorded ascent of the Mount of the Holy Cross in Colorado, USA.
During this ascent, the elusive cross-shaped snowfield that gives the mountain its name was photographed for the first time.
25 Aug 1943 – 80 years ago
World War II: British Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten became Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia.
26 Aug 1723 – 300 years ago
Death of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, (‘the father of microbiology’), Dutch microscopist and microbiologist.
27 Aug 1948 – 75 years ago
Death of Charles Evans Hughes, Chief Justice of the United States (1930–41), U.S. Secretary of State (1921–25).
28 Aug 1963 – 60 years ago
March on Washington/I Have a Dream.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr delivered his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., USA during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The civil rights rally was attended by approximately 200,000 supporters.
29 Aug 1898 – 125 years ago
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded in Akron, Ohio, USA.
30 Aug 1963 – 60 years ago
The hotline between the President of the USA and the leader of the Soviet Union went into operation, allowing them to communicate easily during a crisis. The first hotline was a teletype machine, later replaced by fax, then by secure email.
It was first used in 1967 during the Egypt–Israel War.
31 Aug 1998 – 25 years ago
North Korea allegedly launched its first satellite, Kwangmyongsong, and declared it had been successfully placed in orbit.
Officials outside North Korea have never detected this satellite in orbit, and the launch is considered to have failed.
More anniversaries:
You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2023. The 2024, 2025 and 2026 and 2027 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The anniversaries are available as PDF ebooks, Excel spreadsheets, and printed paperback books.
The 2028 edition will be available from April 2023. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.
How to use the anniversaries:
If you’d like to know more about how to turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines and newspapers, take a look at our free 68-page guide, Ditch Your Day Job: the easiest way to make a living (or earn some extra cash) as a writer.
It has some terrific bonuses too, including a complete month of anniversaries from The Date-A-Base Book 2023, 301 article-writing ideas and tips, plus a 25 percent discount when you buy two or more editions of The Date-A-Base Book.