August 7: What Happened on This Day in History (Elementary Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. In 1820, potatoes were planted in Hawaii for the first time.
2. In 1909, the U.S. issues the first Lincoln penny.
3. In 1947, the Kon-Tiki, a balsa wood raft captained by Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, completed a 4,300 mile journey from Peru to the Polynesian Islands near Tahiti to prove that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized there.
4. In 1974, a stuntman walked a tightrope that was strung between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center.
5. In 1987, the first recorded swim from the United States to the Soviet Union across the freezing waters of the Bering Strait was completed by Lynne Cox.
6. Famous Birthdays: Ralph Bunche (civil rights activist), Mata Hari (WWI spy), Louis S. B. Leakey (archaeologist and anthropologist), Garrison Keillor (writer, humorist), B. J. Thomas (singer)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: August 6

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: August 8

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.