August 1

Today in History
• 527 - Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire
• 1498 - Christopher Columbus lands on "Isla Santa" (Venezuela)
• 1628 - Emperor Ferdinand II demands Austria Protestant convert to Catholicism
• 1732 - Foundations laid for Bank of England
• 1774 - English chemist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen by isolating it in its gaseous state
• 1793 - France becomes 1st country to use the metric system
• 1794 - Whiskey Rebellion begins in western Pennsylvania
• 1812 - Rare tornado hits Westchester County, NY


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Asahna Bucha Day
• Colorado Day
• Emancipation Day (Guyana)
• Guadalcanal Province Day
• Lammas Day
• National Day of Benin
• National Night Out
• Yorkshire Day

Birthdays
• 10 BC - Claudius, Roman Emperor (41-54)
• 1377 - Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan, 100th Emperor of Japan
• 1520 - Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland, 1548-72
• 1630 - Thomas Clifford, English statesman (1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh)
• 1642 - Ahmed II, 21st Sultan of Turkey (1691-95)
• 1770 - William Clark, (Lewis and Clark Expedition)
• 1818 - Maria Mitchell, 1st U.S. woman astronomer on Nantucket Island
• 1863 - Gaston Doumergue, premier/president of France