Lughnasadh in the Northern hemisphere, Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere; traditionally begins on the eve of August 1. (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopagans)

Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopagans)

Pachamama Raymi (Quechuan in Ecuador and Peru)

The first day of Carnaval del Pueblo (Burgess Park, London, England)

Victory Day in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam

World Scout Scarf Day

Yorkshire Day

If today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You! You share this special day with…

10 BC – Claudius, Roman emperor (d. 54)

1779 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1843)

1819 – Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1891)

1843 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)

1905 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1993)

Gerta Pohorylle (1 August 1910 – 26 July 1937), known professionally as Gerda Taro, was a German war photographer active during the Spanish Civil War. She is regarded as the first woman photojournalist to have died while covering the frontline in a war. Taro was the companion and professional partner of photographer Endre Friedmann, and significantly contributed to the early work credited to the alias "Robert Capa."

1931 – Ramblin' Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1932 – Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)

1933 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2009)

1936 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d. 2008)

1937 – Al D'Amato, American lawyer and politician

1941 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1996)

1942 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)

1949 – Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (d. 2009)

1953 – Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist

1954 – James Gleick, American journalist and author

1960 – Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter (Public Enemy)

1963 – Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor

1978 – Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

…and on this day in history…

30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.

1291 – The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.

1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.

1800 – The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

1801 – First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captures the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.

1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force.

1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.

1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.

1911 – Harriet Quimby takes her pilot's test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator's certificate.

1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.

1944 – World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.

1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

1960 – Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.

1961 – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation's first centralized military espionage organization.

1964 – The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world's first democratically elected female head of state.

1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.

1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.

2008 – The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.

Almanac - Wednesday 8/1/18

KALW NEWSLETTERS