August 28
Born on this day Tuesday, August 28, 1877. : Charles Stewart Rolls, one of the founders of the Rolls-Royce Ltd automobile company, is born. Charles Stewart Rolls was born in Berkeley Square, London, on 27 August 1877. In 1902 he became a motor dealer and on 4 May 1904 met up with engineer Sir Frederick Henry Royce. […]
August 10
Born on this day Monday, August 10, 1874. : American President Herbert Hoover, who worked for some time in Australia as a mining engineer, is born. Herbert Clark Hoover was born on 10 August 1874, in West Branch, Iowa, USA, into a Quaker family. Hoover went on to become the 31st President of the United States. However, […]
August 01
Born on this day Thursday, August 1, 1872. : George Taylor, little-known pioneer in Australian aviation, is born. George Augustine Taylor was born in Sydney on 1 August 1872. As a young man, he trained as a builder and then worked as a cartoonist. However, emerging developments in science and technology began to capture his imagination. As […]
August 19
Born on this day Saturday, August 19, 1871. : American pioneer aviator Orville Wright is born. Orville Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio, on 19 August 1871. Together with his brother Wilbur, he operated a bicycle repair, design and manufacturing company, the Wright Cycle Company, and used the venture to fund his interest in flying. In 1903 […]
August 05
Born on this day Tuesday, August 5, 1862. : Joseph Merrick, the ‘Elephant Man’, is born. Joseph Carey Merrick was born on 5 August 1862 in Leicester, England. He began showing signs of deformity when he was only two. Merrick’s mother died when he was eleven, and after no relatives wanted him, he was forced to earn […]
August 14
Australian Explorers Wednesday, August 14, 1861. : William Landsborough organises a relief expedition to find missing explorers Burke and Wills. Robert O’Hara Burke and William Wills set off from Melbourne in 1860 with a huge party of men, supplies and camels, aiming to be the first to cross Australia’s interior from south to north and back again. […]
August 30
Australian History Tuesday, August 30, 1853. : The last ship to carry convicts directly from Ireland to Australia arrives in Fremantle. Transportation of convicts to Australia began when the first ship departed Portsmouth, England, in May 1787, and ended on 9 January 1868, when the last convict ship left Britain in 1867 and arrived in Australia on […]
August 09
Australian History Saturday, August 9, 1851. : Gold is discovered at Sovereign Hill, near Ballarat, in Victoria. Gold was discovered in Australia as early as the 1830s, but discoveries were kept secret for a number of reasons. To begin with, there were concerns that the discovery of this valuable resource would spark off unrest among the convicts. […]
August 22
Born on this day Sunday, August 22, 1847. : John Forrest, Australian explorer and the first Premier of Western Australia, is born. John Forrest was born on 22 August 1847, near Bunbury in Western Australia. Between the years of 1869 to 1874, Forrest led three expeditions, two of them with his brother Alexander, to explore the uncharted […]
August 04
Australian History Monday, August 4, 1845. : Australia’s worst civil maritime disaster occurs when the barque Cataraqui is wrecked off King Island, Bass Strait. Bass Strait is the body of water that lies between Victoria, on the south-eastern mainland of the Australian continent, and the island state of Tasmania. It was discovered by Matthew Flinders when he […]