World War II - V-J Day August 14, 1945 Japan surrenders ending the war. "V-J" stands for "Victory over Japan." Japan would sign formal surrender terms two weeks later aboard the USS Missouri.

Berlin Wall August 13, 1961 East German Communists begin building a wall through the city to prevent the flow of people seeking the freedoms of the West. The wall cut off West Berlin from virtually all of surrounding East Germany and East Berlin until government officials opened it in 1989.

World's Largest T-Rex Skeleton August 12, 1990 The world's largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton is discovered. A group of archaeologists were preparing to leave after exploring a region in western South Dakota when they discovered they had a flat tire on their vehicle. While most of the group went back ...

Watts Riots August 11, 1965 Six days of rioting begin in Los Angeles after the arrest of Marquette Frye. 34 people were killed with $40,000,000 in damage. 21-year-old African-American Marquette Frye was pulled over for reckless driving. After administering a field sobriety test, the officer placed Frye under arrest and...

Mount Rushmore August 10, 1927 The Mount Rushmore memorial is dedicated. It was completed in 1941. Work began in 1927 by sculpture Gutzon Borglum who died in March of 1941 leaving his son to complete the task. The sculpture would feature the 60-foot (18 m) tall heads of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jeffers...