1420 – Construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore began in Florence on the 7th August 1420.

1574 – Robert Dudley the English explorer and cartographer was born on the 7th August 1574 (died 1649).

1789 – The United States Department of War was established on the 7th August 1789.

1779 – Louis de Freycinet the French explorer was born on the 7th August 1779 (died 1842).

1779 – Carl Ritter the German geographer was born on the 7th August 1779 (died 1859).

1844 – Auguste Michel-Lévy the French geologist was born on the 7th August 1844 (died 1911).

1860 – Alan Leo the English astrologer and author was born on the 7th August 1860 (died 1917).

1867 – Emil Nolde the German painter was born on the 7th August 1867 (died 1956).

1890 – Anna Månsdotter became the last woman in Sweden to be executed on the 7th August 1890, for the 1889 Yngsjö murder.

1903 – Louis Leakey the Kenyan-English archaeologist was born on the 7th August 1903 (died 1972).

1907 – Albert Kotin the American painter was born on the 7th August 1907 (died 1980).

1916 – Kermit Love the American puppeteer, costume designer, and actor was born on the 7th August 1916 (died 2008).

1921 – Manitas de Plata the French guitarist was born on the 7th August 1921.

1925 – Felice Bryant the American songwriter was born on the 7th August 1925 (died 2003).

1926 – Stan Freberg the American voice actor and singer was born on the 7th August 1926.

1927 – The Peace Bridge opened between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York on the 7th August 1927.

1930 – Togrul Narimanbekov the Azerbaijani painter was born on the 7th August 1930 (died 2013).

1932 – Rien Poortvliet the Dutch painter was born on the 7th August 1932 (died 1995).

1938 – The building of Mauthausen concentration camp began.

1940 ~ Ringo Starr (MBE) the English musician, singer, songwriter and drummer from for The Beatles was born Richard Starkey at 9 Madryn Street, Dingle, Liverpool, England on the 7th July 1940. Ringo Starr’s official website: www.RingoStarr.com | Facebook.com/RingoStarrMusic 

1942 – B. J. Thomas the American singer was born on the 7th August 1942.

1944 – IBM dedicated the 1st program-controlled calculator on the 7th August 1944, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known as the Harvard Mark I).

1947 – Thor Heyerdahl‘s balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki smashed into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands on the 7th August 1947, after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 miles) journey across the Pacific Ocean, in an attempt to prove that pre-historic people could have travelled from South America.

1948 – Greg Chappell the Australian cricketer and coach was born on the 7th August 1948.

1952 – Alexei Sayle the English comedian, actor, and author was born on the 7th August 1952.

1955 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering the precursor to Sony, sold its first transistor radios in Japan on the 7th August 1955.

1958 – Bruce Dickinson the English singer-songwriter from Iron Maiden was born on the 7th August 1958.

1959 – Explorer program: Explorer 6 launched from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida on the 7th August 1959.

1959 – The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny went into circulation on the 7th August 1959. It replaced the “sheaves of wheat” design, and was minted until 2008.

1960 – Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) became independent from France on the 7th August 1960.

1960 – Jacquie O’Sullivan the English singer-songwriter from Bananarama was born on the 7th August 1960.

1960 – David Duchovny the American actor was born on the 7th August 1960.

1964 – John Birmingham the Australian author was born on the 7th August 1964.

1966 – Jimmy Wales the American businessman and co-founder of Wikipedia was born on the 7th August 1966.

1974 – Philippe Petit performed a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center on the 7th August 1974, at 1,368 feet (417m) above ground level.

1975 – Charlize Theron, South African model and actress was born on the 7th August 1975.

1975 – David Hicks the Australian alleged terrorist was born on the 7th August 1975.

1976 – Viking program: Viking 2 entered orbit around Mars on the 7th August 1976.

1981 – The Washington Star ceased all operations on the 7th August 1981, after 128 years of publication.

1987 – Lynne Cox became the 1st person to swim from the United States to the Soviet Union on the 7th August 1987, crossing from Little Diomede Island in Alaska to Big Diomede in the Soviet Union.

2007 – Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants broke baseball great Hank Aaron‘s record on the 7th August 2007, by hitting his 756th home run.

2013 ~ Bill Putt the Australian bass player from Spectrum and Ariel died of a heart attack on the 7th August 2013.

2013 ~ Hold On, We’re Going Home by Drake was released on the 7th August 2013. Drake’s official website: www.DrakeOfficial.com | Drake’s Twitter verified: www.twitter.com/Drake | Drake’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/DrakeVevo | Drake MySpace: www.myspace.com/Drake | Drake on iTunes | YouTube video: Drake Performs Hold On, We’re Going Home (2013) on The Ellen Show…

Today in History for August 7th ~ video presented by the Associated Press… 

1538 – Bogotá, Colombia was founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada on the 6th August 1538.

1825 – Bolivia gained independence from Spain on the 6th August 1825.

1911 – Lucille Ball the American actress was born on the 6th August 1911 (died 1989).

1917 – Barbara Cooney the American children’s author and illustrator was born on the 6th August 1917 (died 2000).

1926 – Elisabeth Beresford the British author and creator of The Wombles was born on the 6th August 1926 (died 2010).

1928 – Andy Warhol the American artist was born on the 6th August 1928 (died 1987).

1951 – Daryl Somers the Australian television host was born on the 6th August 1951.

1962 – Jamaica became independent from the United Kingdom on the 6th August 1962..

1964 – Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world’s oldest tree was cut down on the 6th August 1964.

1972 – Geri Halliwell the English singer-songwriter from Spice Girls was born on the 6th August 1972.

1973 ~ David Campbell the Australian singer, stage performer and television presenter was born in South Australia on the 6th August 1973. David Campbell is the son of Jimmy Barnes.

1976 – Melissa George the Australian actress was born on the 6th August 1976.

1981 – Travie McCoy the American rapper and songwriter from Gym Class Heroes was born on the 6th August 1981.

2012 ~ TOM SLiNGSBY won Australia’s 2nd gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics in the Laser sailing class on the 6th day of July in 2012.

Read the Herald Sun full story: Tom Slingsby has won Australia’s second gold medal of the London Olympics with victory in Laser sailing class 

The stamp featured above is available from Australia Post 

The official website of Tom Slingsby: www.TomSlingsby.com 

2012 ~ The NASA CURiOSiTY ROVER landed on the surface of Mars on the 6th day of August in 2012.

2012 ~ ROBERT HUGHES the Australian born art critic and writer died on the 6th day of August in 2012, aged 74 (born 28 July 1938)

Today in History for August 6th ~ video presented by the Associated Press…