August 1 is Emancipation Day, marking the day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ended slavery in the British Empire.
August 6 marks 77 years since the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The “Doomsday Clock,” representing the probability of technologically or environmentally induced global catastrophe is currently set at a historic low of 100 seconds to midnight.
On August 14, 1984, IBM released MS-DOS version 3.0. The rest is history.
August 19 is World Humanitarian Day. This year’s focus is “#TheHumanRace: A global challenge for climate action in solidarity with the people who need it most.”
On August 23, 1928, astronomer Vera Rubin was born. She proposed and developed the idea that galaxies are mostly comprised of dark matter, changing the way we think about the universe.
August 25 is the 172nd anniversary of the birth of physiologist Robert Richet. Awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913 for his pioneering work on anaphylaxis, Richet went on to serve as yet another example of “Nobel Disease,” turning his efforts to the study of spiritualism, including coining the term “ectoplasm.”
August 26 is the birthday of a trio of scientists: Albert Sabin (b. 1906; developed the oral polio vaccine), Antoine Lavoisier (b. 1743; named and described oxygen, and the law of conservation of mass), and Joseph-Michael Montgolfier (b. 1749; developed a practical hot air balloon).