Hurricane Katrina……
August 29, 2005……
One of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded strikes the U.S. Gulf Coast. The cities of Mobile, Alabama, Waveland and Biloxi, Mississippi, and Slidell, Louisiana were devastated by the storm. Levees separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans were breached by the surge, flooding 80% of the city. At least 1,836 people were killed. With the damage estimated at $81.2 billion, it was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Washington-Moscow Hotline…..
August 30, 1963……
The famous “hotline” direct communications line between Washington D.C. and Moscow opens. It provided emergency communication in the event of a crisis. The need for the line was realized during the Cuban Missile Crisis when it could take up to six hours to deliver diplomatic messages. It took the United States nearly twelve hours to receive and decode Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev‘s 3,000-word initial settlement message. By that time, Moscow had sent a tougher message. The belief was that a faster reply could have avoided this.
Although it became known as the “Red Phone”, it was never actually a telephone line, and no red phones were ever used. The first implementation used Teletype equipment, and then fax machines in 1986. In 2008 it became a secure computer link over which email messages are sent.
Princess Diana Killed in Car Crash…..
August 31, 1997……
Princess Diana, the Princess of Wales, dies as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. Diane’s boyfriend Dodi Fayed and the driver Henri Paul were pronounced dead at the scene. Trevor Rees-Jones, the bodyguard, was the only survivor. An 18-month French judicial investigation found that the crash was caused by the driver Paul, who lost control of the car at high speed while drunk and on antidepressants. The investigation concluded that the paparazzi were not near the Mercedes when it crashed. Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, has claimed that the couple were executed by MI6 agents because Diana was pregnant with Dodi Fayed’s child and were about to announce their engagement.
World War II Begins……
September 1, 1939……
Germany invades Poland, starting World War II. Great Britain and France would declare war on Germany two days later.