On This Day for August 1 - Henry III of France stabbed by assassin, Maria Mitchell is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. August 01 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Maria Mitchell READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1589 Henry III of France stabbed by assassin READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2005: Fahd, who became king of Saudi Arabia in 1982, died; he was succeeded by his half brother ʿAbd Allah. [ Test your knowledge of kings and emperors.] 1996: American author George R.R. Martin published A Game of Thrones, the first installment in his hugely popular fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. [ Take our quiz about fantasy lands.] 1987: American boxer Mike Tyson defeated Tony Tucker and was unanimously recognized as heavyweight champion by all three sanctioning organizations (World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association, and International Boxing Federation). [Take our sports quiz.] 1981: The cable television network MTV debuted, with the broadcast of the music video for Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles. [Sort fact from fiction in our pop culture quiz.] 1944: The Warsaw Uprising began as the Polish underground tried to oust the German army and seize control of the city before it was occupied by the advancing Soviet army; after running out of supplies, the Poles were forced to surrender in October. [Sort fact from fiction in our World War II quiz.] 1936: The Summer Olympics opened in Berlin, and the efforts by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party to demonstrate the superiority of the "Aryan race" were undermined by the success of African American athletes, notably Jesse Owens. [Take our Olympic history quiz.] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1965 Sam Mendes English director 1819 Herman Melville American author -10 Claudius Roman emperor 1936 Yves Saint Laurent French designer 1932 Meir Kahane Israeli political extremist and rabbi 1920 Henrietta Lacks American medical patient SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2020 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help