News and Events From August 14th

2003 North America Power Outage 14th Aug. 2003 : A major power outage never seen before across the Eastern United States and parts of Canada and including New York with over 15 million people affected . The total number affected is thought to be the worst power cut in North American history affecting more than 50 million . The effects included traffic lights failed, underground railways, people trapped in lifts, and because it was one of the hottest days of the year and temperatures approaching 32C some of the worst effects were caused due to the lack of air conditioning. Most did have power back with 24 hrs Find More What happened in 2003

1917 Palestine Turks Attack Gaza 14th Aug. 1917 : In Palestine Turks plundered and murdered some of the Jewish inhabitants. An Associated Press Official observed, “The attitude of the young Turks for the unfortunate non-Turkish races within their empire has been an open campaign of robbery, exploitation, and massacre.” The town of Gaza had to be evacuated and the regional violence was the worst since World War I began.

1929 Germany Graf Zeppelin 14th August 1929 : The Graf Zeppelin from Friedrichshafen Germany was prevented from taking off due to bad weather in Russia. It was supposed to travel to Tokyo on its second world cruise. It was possible that another course in Russia could be charted for it, but the weather remained uncertain.

1935 U.S.A. Social Security Bill Signed Providing Unemployment Benefit 14th Aug. 1935 : Following the huge unemployment and suffering during the Depression President Roosevelt signed the social security bill providing unemployment compensation and pensions for the elderly.

1939 U.S.A. Oklahoma Rodeo 14th Aug. 1939 : One of the largest rodeo parades in Oklahoma drew a crowd of 15,000 onlookers. The parade was two miles long and included horses, cowboys, and cowgirls. It all culminated in the Fifth Annual Fireman’s Rodeo.

1941 U.S.A. / Great Britain End Of Speculation 14th Aug. 1941 : Speculation in the press over the last week about a possible agreement between the US and Britain following the disappearance of the American President, Franklin D Roosevelt and the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill ends when a joint declaration announce the Atlantic Charter.

1942 World War II British Aircraft Carrier Eagle Destroyed 14th Aug. 1942 : A huge number of Hitler’s troops attacked Stalingrad and German submarines were engaged in a three day battle with British convoys. The British reported that their aircraft carrier, “Eagle” was destroyed. In western Greece American bombers attacked a Nazi warship.

1945 U.S.A. Truman Announces Japanese Surrender 14th Aug. 1945 : President Truman announces Japan has accepted terms for unconditional surrender following the second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki on the 9th August just a few days before , The agreement to the terms of the Potsdam Terms had been agreed on the 10th August but not made public till this date .

1947 Pakistan Gains Independence 14th August 1947 : The Dominion of Pakistan gains included modern-day Pakistan and Bangladesh, gains formal independence from Great Britain when the withdrawal of the British Raj and the formal ending of the British Indian Empire.

1956 U.S.A. Mrs. Lyndon Johnston 14th Aug. 1956 : Mrs. Lyndon Johnston is skeptical that her husband will be the next president of the United States. In fact she thinks that it is about as likely as being struck by lightening. However, if her husband wins the presidency his wife will cooperate and she feels that Mr. Johnston will give the post his best effort.

1966 U.S.A. Lunar Orbiter 14th Aug. 1966 : The U.S. Lunar Orbiter, a spacecraft circulating in space, was designed to take photos of the moon’s landscape in preparation for American astronauts landing on the lunar landscape. Its mission went well.

1967 UK Radio London 14th Aug. 1967 : Wonderful Radio London one of the most successful pirate radio stations broadcast from the MV Galaxy 3 1/2 miles off shore from Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, closes down. Radio London was one of many Pirate Radio Stations that had grown up in the last 5 years. The new Marine, etc., Broadcasting (Offences) Act takes effect which effectively made it illegal to operate a pirate radio station and Radio London closed down. The list of radio disc jockeys who made their name on the original pirate stations reads like a whos who of DJ's and includes Tony Blackburn, Kenny Everett, John Peel, Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, Dave Lee Travis and Emperor Rosko to name just a few.
The only major pirate radio station that continued broadcasting was the original Radio Caroline who moved the operation to the Netherlands where offshore broadcasting was not illegal.

1969 Northern Ireland Britain To Deploy Troops 14th Aug. 1969 : Following a number of days of violence in Londonderry, Belfast and other cities in Northern Ireland, the British Home Secretary James Callaghan announces troops will be deployed in Northern Ireland as a "limited operation" to restore law and order.

1977 Panama Canal Accord 14th Aug. 1977 : President Jimmy Carter approved of the Panama Canal accord and wanted to convince congress to endorse it as well. Carter was investigating whether or not the Canal could be repaired or if a whole new one needed to be built. He asserted that the U.S. had the right to operate and defend the Canal until the end of the twentieth century.

1979 England Fastnet Yacht Race 14th August 1979 : A freak storm with force seven winds has decimated the Fastnet race with over 150 yachts still missing and at least 3 reported dead. The Fastnet is the last in a series of five races which make up the Admiral's Cup competition, the world championship of yacht racing.
The final death toll for the race was 15 and because many of the boats were not equipped with a VHF radio it was some time before the organisers were able to determine how many boats were damaged, after the race new rules were put in place that all boats were fitted with VHF Radio's and additional qualifications for competing in the Fastnet were put in place.

1980 Poland Gdansk Shipyard Seized By Workers 14th Aug. 1980 : Workers led by Lech Walesa in the Gdansk shipyard in Poland seize control and demand pay raises and the right to form a union free from communist control.
In September the Solidarity (Solidarnosc) Union was formed, the workers' first independent trade union, led by shipyard electrician Lech Walesa.
This was the start of the movement that allowed Poland to end Communist Rule in the country.

1986 U.S.A. Newspaper Preservation Project 14th Aug. 1986 : The Iowa Newspaper Project was attempting to put on microfilm every newspaper that was ever published in the state, including all 99 counties. Newspapers are a valuable source of social history and help people find their lost ancestors. However, they are fragile and most newspapers only last about 50 years before they self-destruct.

1998 UK New Oxford Dictionary Completed 14th Aug. 1998 : After more than 6 years a brand new "New Oxford Dictionary" is Completed Oxford University Press . This is the first publication of the dictionary written from scratch ( normally each new edition makes ammendments or additions ) . The New Oxford Dictionary contains 350,000 words with contemporary meanings including the usage of words, political correctness.

1999 U.S.A. Gun Buy Back Project 14th Aug. 1999 : In the District of Columbia, the government had implemented a program to buy guns for $100.00 each. A victim of its own success, some municipal governments ran out of money and had to bribe people with running shoes and sewing machines instead of cash. However, the gun control program barely diminished the 220-250 million fire arms in circulation.

2003 France 3,000 Now Believed to Have Died From Heat Wave 14th Aug. 2003 : Following the increased number of deaths caused by the extreme temperatures the during the ongoing heat wave, French health ministry have instituted an emergency hospital plan recalling doctors from holiday and providing additional staff, hospital beds and temporary mortuaries.

2006 Japan Oil Tanker Spill 14th Aug. 2006 : A Japanese oil tanker spilled around 4,500 tons of oil into the Indian Ocean on this day after hitting another ship on a rescue mission. The oil spill was quickly contained, but it still became the largest spill involving a Japanese oil tanker.

2007 Iraq Suicide Bombers 14th Aug. 2007 : A coordinated attack by four suicide bombers on villages of the Kurdish religious sect, the Yazidi, injured over 1,000 people and left 796 dead, marking the deadliest attack during the war in Iraq since 2003.

2008 Libya Lockerbie Bombing Compensation 14th Aug. 2008 : The United States and Libya signed an agreement that would help to renew diplomatic relations by compensating victims of bombings. The deal stated that compensation would be given to victims of a 1986 bombing of a Berlin disco and to victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

2009 Romania Bus / Train Collision 14th Aug. 2009 : A bus and train collided in Romania, killing over ten people and injuring others. The crash occurred after the bus driver ignored the stop signals at the train crossing.
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