Historical Events on August 1
- 527 A.D: After being named co-ruler by his uncle Justin I in April, Justinian becomes the only ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1774: Oxygen is discovered by an English theologian, author and chemist named Joseph Priestley
- 1834: The British Empire abolishes slavery throughout the UK with the institution of the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.
- 1914: Russia and Germany declare war on each other during WWI.
- 1929: Thomas Edison holds a state-wide contest in New Jersey to decide who his next 49 apprentices will be.
- 1936: The 11th Olympic Games are opened by Adolf Hitler in Berlin.
- 1941: The United States’ Willy’s Truck Company introduced the first Jeep for the U.S Army- a vehicle known to be quick, lightweight vehicle that can handle all terrain.
- 1958: Transit of the North Pole is done by United States Atomic submarine the USS Nautilus
- 1966: Charles Whitman, and ex-U. S Marine, shoots 46 people from an observatory platform at the University of Texas – 14 people are killed and 31 are wounded.
- 1972: Future U.S. President George W. Bush is suspended for flying with the Texas Air National Guard for missing his annual medical exam.
- 1994: King of Pop Michael Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley.
- 1997: The National Cancer Institute releases a report that nuclear testing during the 1950s could have been the cause of thyroid cancer for as many as 75,000 people.
- 2000: A judge rules that the R.M.S Titanic Company, a company with the salvage rights to the Titanic, could not cut into the sunken ship as they searched for an estimated $300 million dollars of treasure.
Famous Birthdays on August 1
- Claudius: Future Roman Emperor born in 10 BC
- Jean-Baptiste Lamark: French Naturalist born in 1744
- William Clark: Explorer & leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was born in 1770