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Today in History August 15

1914 The Panama Canal opens to traffic.

1942 The Japanese submarine I-25 departs Japan with a floatplane in its hold which will be assembled upon arriving off the West Coast of the United States, and used to bomb U.S. forests.

1945 Gasoline and fuel oil rationing ends in the United States.

1969 Over 400,000 young people attend a weekend of rock music at Woodstock, New York.

1971 US President Richard Nixon announces a 90-day freeze on wages and prices in an attempt to halt rapid inflation.

1986 Ignoring objections from President Ronald Reagan's Administration, US Senate approves economic sanctions against South Africa to protest that country's apartheid policies.

1994 US Social Security Administration, previously part of the Department of Health and Human Services, becomes an independent government agency.

2001 Astronomers announce the first solar system discovered outside our own; two planets had been found orbiting a star in the Big Dipper.

2007 An earthquake of 8.0 magnitude kills over 500 and injures more than 1,000 in Peru.

2019 Whistleblower releases damaging report on General Electric titled "General Electric, a Bigger Fraud Than Enron" claiming $38 billion accountancy fraud


Born on August 15

1769 Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France (1804-1815) and military leader.

Joke of the Day

“A doctor and his wife were having a big argument at breakfast. He shouted at her, "You aren't so good in bed either!" then stormed off to work. By mid-morning, he decided he'd better make amends and called home. "What took you so long to answer?" he asked. "I was in bed," she replied. "What were you doing in bed this late?" "Getting a second opinion.”