JAL flight 123 crashes into Mount Otsuka

In colonial New England, King Philip’s War effectively comes to an end when Philip, chief of the Wampanoag tribe, is assassinated by a Native American in the service of the English. In the early 1670s, 50 years of peace between the Plymouth colony and the local Wampanoag Indians began to deteriorate when the rapidly expanding […]

The brief and one-sided Spanish-American War comes to an end when Spain formally agrees to a peace protocol on U.S. terms: the cession of Cuba, Puerto Rico and Manila in the Philippines to the United States pending a final peace treaty. The Spanish-American War had its origins in the rebellion against Spanish rule that began in […]

On August 12, 1964, the British author and journalist Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, the world’s most famous fictional spy, dies of a heart attack at age 56 in Kent, England. Fleming’s series of novels about the debonair Agent 007, based in part on their dashing author’s real-life experiences, spawned one of the most […]

On August 12, 1973, American golfer Jack Nicklaus wins the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) championship for his 14th major title, surpassing Bobby Jones’ record of 13 major championships. Nicklaus shot a seven-under-par 277 at Canterbury Golf Club in Beachwood, Ohio, to win $45,000 and his third PGA National championship. The “Golden Bear” went on to […]

The largest-ever Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton is discovered by fossil hunter Susan Hendrickson near Faith, South Dakota. The 65 million-year-old specimen is named Sue, after its discoverer.

On August 12, 2014, smoky-voiced actress Lauren Bacall dies at her New York City home at age 89. Having shot to fame in her debut film To Have and Have Not (1944), in which she appeared opposite Humphrey Bogart, with whom she would have a legendary romance, Bacall forged a lasting career that spanned nearly […]