The Month of August: History, Holidays & Famous Personalities

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Poppy

Brief History

August is the 8th month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. It has 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere it is a midsummer month and sometimes referred to as the time of the dog days, because Sirius, the Dog Star, rises with the sun at that time. In the Southern Hemisphere august is midwinter.

In Ancient Rome, August was called Sextilis, Latin for “sixth,” because the Roman calendar began with March. It was renamed August in 8 A.D. to honor the long and illustrious reign of Augustus Caesar. In common years no other month starts on the same day of the week as August.

Events:

• August 5, 1858 – First transatlantic cable completed
• August 6, 1945 – Atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima, Japan
• August 14, 1935 – The Social Security Act signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt
• August 15, a914 – Panama Canal opened to traffic
• August 16, 1896 – Gold discovered in the Klondike
• August 17, 1807 – Robert Fulton’s steamship, the Clermont, from New York to Albany
• August 18, 1587 – First white child born in America (Virginia Dare)
• August 19, 1839 – Daguerreotype, early photographic process, introduced in France
• August 26, 1920 – Nineteenth Amendment to US Constitution, giving the women the right to vote, adopted
• August 27, 1850 – First successful oil well drilled by Edwin L. Drake near Titusville, Pennsylvania

Birthstones or Gemstones:  Sardonyx and Peridot - The meaning is married happiness.

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Peridot

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Sardonyx

Flowers: Poppy and Gladiolus

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A Gladiolus

Famous Personalities Born on this month

• August 10, 1874 – Herbert Hoover, 31st US President

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• August 15, 1769 – Napoleon Bonaparte, a French military and political leader

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• August 19, 1946 – Bill Clinton, 42nd US President

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• August 20, 1833 – Benjamin Harrison, 23rd US President

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• August 27, 1908 – Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th US President

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• Richard Gere – American actor -  August 31, 1949

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• Shania Twain – Canadian country pop artist - August 28, 1965

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• Sean Connery –  Scottish actor and producer - August 25, 1930

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• Ben Affleck – American actor, director and screenwriter - August 15, 1972

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• Halle Berry – American actress and former beauty queen - August 14, 1966

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• Charlize Theron – South African American actress - August 7, 1975

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Monthlong events in August

• Language Month is celebrated in the Philippines
• In the US, August is National Back to School month.
• An internationally famous arts festival called Edinburgh Festival is celebrated during August
• National Immunization Awareness Month
• National Psoriasis Awareness Month
• Women’s Small Business Month
• International Metroid Month

Hope you have had a wonderful time. Thanks!

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