• 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan commander of the Greek army in the Battle of Plataea. Along the with the Greek victory on the same day in the Battle of Mycale, the Persian invasion of Greece ended.
• 410 - Visigothic sack of Rome ends after three days.
• 663 - Remnants of the Korean Baekje Kingdom and their Yamato Japanese allies engage the combined naval forces of the Tang Chinese and Silla Koreans on the Geum River in Korea; the outcome is a significant Tang-Silla victory, while the Japanese wouldn't attempt another invasion of Korea until the Imjin War of the late 16th century.
• 1232 - The Formulary of Adjudications is promulgated by Regent Hōjō Yasutoki. (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 1232)
• 1689 - The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed by Russia and the Qing empire.
• 1776 - Battle of Long Island, in present day Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeat Americans under General George Washington.
• 1793 - French counter-revolution, port of Toulon revolts and admits the British fleet, which lands troops and seizes the port leading to Siege of Toulon.
• 1798 - United Irishmen and French forces clash with the British army in the Battle of Castlebar, part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
• 1813 - Napoleon defeats the Austrians, Russians and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden.
• 1828 - The Russians defeat the Turks at the Battle of Akhalzic.
• 1859 - Petroleum discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania. World's first successful oil well.
• 1861 - Union forces attack Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
• 1883 - Krakatoa, an Indonesian volcano, erupts. It is one of the most violent volcanic events in modern times.
• 1896 - Anglo-Zanzibar War: the shortest war in world history (09:00 to 09:45) between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.
• 1900 - British defeat Boer commandos at Bergendal.
• 1920 - Radio Argentina begins regularly scheduled transmissions from the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires, considered the world's first public broadcast station.
• 1928 - Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war, signed by sixty nations.
• 1939 - First flight of the Heinkel He 178, the first modern jet aircraft.
• 1952 - Reparation negotiations between West Germany and Israel end in Luxembourg; West Germany to pay 3 billion Deutschmark.
• 1957 - The Constitution of Malaysia came into force.
• 1962 - Mariner 2 launched to Venus.
• 1969 - The first installment of the Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It's Tough Being a Man) movies is released in Japan. Director and screenplay writer Yoji Yamada went on to make 48 installments of the series, which is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running movie series.
• 1979 - An IRA bomb kills Lord Mountbatten and 3 others on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Another near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland kills 18 British soldiers.
• 1985 - The Nigerian government is peacefully overthrown by Army Chief of Staff Major General Ibrahim Babangida.
• 1990 - The British Broadcasting Corporation launches BBC Radio Five Live at 9am GMT with a mixture of sports, news, and children's programming.
• 1991 - The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
• 1991 - Moldova declares independence from the USSR.
• 1993 - The Florida Department of Transportation decides to cease producing its distinctive colored U.S. Highway shields so that it can make use of Federal funds for those signs.
• 1993 - The Rainbow Bridge, connecting Tokyo's Shibaura and the island of Odaiba, is completed.
• 2000 - Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire, three people are killed.
• 2003 - Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing approximately 34,646,416 miles (55,758,006 kilometers) from Earth.
• 2006 - Comair Flight 5191 crashed en route from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. Forty-nine of the 50 people aboard the flight were confirmed dead in the hours following the crash

Births