August 13th

Seven people were killed when a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair during a powerful storm just before a concert was to begin.

American Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th and 11th career gold medals.

The 28th summer Olympic games opened in Athens.

Libya agreed to set up a $2.7 billion fund for families of 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Am bombing.

South Park Makes its Debut on Comedy Central. The popular American animated series is created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and it follows the lives and adventures of 4 boys – Eric Cartman, Kenny McCormick, Kyle Broflovski, and Stan Marsh – in a fictional town called South Park, Colorado. While being popular, the show has attracted widespread criticism for profane language and for addressing controversial subjects.

Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died of liver cancer at age 63.

President Ronald Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions.

The border between East and West Berlin was closed and marked with a barbed wire fence.

The first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1, a balloon satellite.

Walt Disney's animated feature "Bambi" premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces begin the Battle of Shanghai, a conflict that will last 3 months and involve 1 million troops.

The comic strip "Li'l Abner" by Al Capp made its debut.

Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vice-chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out "for all or nothing.".

First Woman enlists in the United States Marines. After joining the Marine corps, Opha May Johnson, was assigned desk duty at the Marine Corps headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

An all-black army unit was accused of a shooting rampage that left 1 civilian dead at Fort Brown in Brownsville, Texas. In 1972 they were all exonerated.

Movie director Alfred Hitchcock was born in London.

A series of earthquakes killed 25,000 in Peru and Ecuador.

Prussia joins Anglo-Dutch alliance to form Triple Alliance to prevent spread of Russo-Swedish War of 1788-90.

The Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces.

Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovers Martian south polar cap.

Buddhist monks from Kyōto's Enryaku Temple set fire to 21 Nichiren temples throughout Kyoto in the Tenbun Hokke Disturbance. (Traditional Japanese date: July 27, 1536).

After a three-month siege, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán fell to the Spanish conquistadors, marking the end of one empire and the rise of another.