On This Day for August 7 - Japanese airfield on Guadalcanal seized by Allies, Emil Nolde is featured, and more

Created: 2020-08-07 10:03 Updated: 2020-08-07 10:03 Notebook: On this Day in History

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August 07

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

Emil Nolde

FEATURED EVENT

1942

Japanese airfield on Guadalcanal seized by Allies

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MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2015: American golfer Louise Suggs, a pioneer of women's golf who cofounded (1950) the Ladies Professional Golf Association and won 61 career LPGA tournaments, died at age 91. [ Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about golf.]

2007: American baseball player Barry Bonds hit his 756th career home run, breaking the record set by Hank Aaron. [ How much do you know about baseball?]

1978: U.S. Pres. Jimmy Carter declared a federal health emergency in Love Canal, a neighbourhood in Niagara Falls, New York, following the leakage of toxic chemicals buried under the community; it was the worst environmental disaster involving chemical wastes in U.S. history. [ Test your knowledge of historical disasters.]

1974: French-born Philippe Petit walked on a high wire between the newly built twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, about 1,350 feet (411 metres) above the ground. He was arrested, but the charges were later dismissed.

1948: At the Olympics in London, track-and-field athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen, who was pregnant with her third child, helped the Dutch team win the 4 × 100 relay, becoming the first woman to capture four gold medals at a single Games; she earlier had won the 100 metres, the 200 metres, and the 80-metre hurdles. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about the Olympics.]

1932: Abebe Bikila, an Ethiopian runner who was the first athlete to win two Olympic marathons, was born in Mont. [How much do you know about Olympic history?]

SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1975

Charlize Theron
South African-born actress

1960

David Duchovny
American actor

1932

Abebe Bikila
Ethiopian athlete

1987

Sidney Crosby
Canadian ice hockey player

1560

Elizabeth Báthory
Hungarian countess