August 8
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1969: The Beatles stop traffic to cross Abbey Road
On this day in 1969, photographer Iain Macmillan climbed a stepladder on Londonâs Abbey Road to capture one of the most iconic album covers in history. The Beatles crossed the famous zebra crossing just six times before Macmillan got the perfect shot. Later immortalizedâand endlessly dissected by conspiracy theoristsâthe image became a fitting farewell to the band, which announced its breakup the following year.
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© Mark Bourdillon/Alamy; Photo Illustration EncyclopÊdia Britannica, Inc.
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Oliver F. AtkinsâWhite House Photo/Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
Faced with the near-certain prospect of impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon announced his resignation on this day in 1974 and was succeeded by Gerald Ford the following day. [Why was early reporting on Watergate dismissed?]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Archivo Casasola
Born this day in 1879, Emiliano Zapata was a Mexican revolutionary and champion of land reform who fought in guerrilla actions during the Mexican Revolution (1910â20) and was killed in an ambush by government forces.
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© Paula RamonâAFP/Getty Images
2023
A series of wildfires engulfed parts of Maui island, Hawaii, causing serious damage and killing some 98 people, making it one of the worldâs deadliest wildfires on record.
Roger AskewâThe Oxford Union/Shutterstock.com
2011
Tibetan scholar Lobsang Sangay was inaugurated as prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, becoming the first non-monk and the first person born outside Tibet to hold the position.
© Mic Smith Photography LLC/Alamy
2000
The wreckage of the Hunley, a Confederate submarine that was lost during the American Civil War, was raised from the ocean floor near Sullivans Island, South Carolina; it was the first submarine to sink (1864) an enemy ship (the Union sloop Housatonic). [Take our quiz about submarines, ships, and other watercraft.]
© John Swart/AP/REX/Shutterstock.com
1992
The U.S. menâs Olympic basketball teamâwhich had been dubbed the âDream Teamâ because of an all-star roster of NBA players that included Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Birdâeasily defeated Croatia to win the gold medal at the Barcelona Games. [How much do you know about basketball?]
Nick LahamâGetty Images Sport/Thinkstock
1981
Roger Federer, who came to be regarded as one of tennisâs greatest players, was born in Switzerland. [Test your knowledge of tennis.]
Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1963
Armed robbers stole ÂŁ2.6 million from the Glasgow-London Royal Mail Train near Bridego Bridge, north of London, in the Great Train Robbery. [Take our quiz about criminality and famous outlaws.]
© Roger Viollet/Getty Images
1945
The United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France signed the London Agreement, which authorized the NĂŒrnberg trials, in which former Nazi leaders were indicted and tried as war criminals by the International Military Tribunal. [Take our quiz about infamous Nazis.]
Frank Driggs Collection/Copyright Archive Photos
1907
Jazz musician Benny Carterâan original and influential alto saxophonist, who was also a masterly composer and arranger and an important bandleader, trumpeter, and clarinetistâwas born in New York City. [Test your knowledge of music.]
The Granger Collection, New York
1901
American physicist Ernest Orlando Lawrenceâwinner of the 1939 Nobel Prize for Physics for his invention of the cyclotron, the first particle accelerator to achieve high energiesâwas born in Canton, South Dakota. [How much do you know about physics?]
Americana/EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1846
The Wilmot Proviso, an attempt to prohibit the extension of slavery to new territories in the United States, was proposed, and, in the debate that followed, the Republican Party was born. [Take our Republican or Democrat quiz.]
Print CollectorâHulton Fine Art Collection/Getty Images
1588
The English fleet won a decisive battle over the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines in northern France. [Test your knowledge of the history of war.]