What’s Happening Today?

Independence Day (Chad). On 11 August 1960, Chad gained full independence and Francois Tombalbaye, a Christian from the southern part of Chad who had been instrumental in the push for independence, became the country’s first president.
Independence brought freedom from colonial rule, but religious and ethnic tensions that had been born when France arbitrarily defined the borders of this country during their conquest, led quickly to a period of civil war and unrest that lasted three decades.

Mountain Day (Japan). Mountain Day is intended is to provide “opportunities to get familiar with mountains and appreciate blessings from mountains".
The holiday was established after the Japanese Alpine Club and other groups lobbied for the bill, arguing that Japan should celebrate its peaks and mountains.

What Happened Today?

1. In 1999, the last total solar eclipse of the Millennium occurred. The eclipse was visible from Europe, most of Asia and Africa and in parts of North America. Because of its path through heavily populated parts of the world, the solar eclipse is thought to be one of the most viewed eclipses in recorded history.

2. In 2012, more than 306 people were killed and more than 3,000 were injured after a pair of earthquakes hit near Tabriz in Iran. The earthquakes had magnitudes of 6.4 and 6.2 M on the Richter scale and the shocks were felt in Armenia and Azerbaijan, though no major damage was reported.

3. In 2017, two passenger trains collapsed in Alexandria, Egypt, leading to the death of at least 41 people and causing another 179 to be injured.

Birthdays

1. 1978 – Lillian Nakate, former Woman MP for Luweero.

2. 1989 – Ursula Corbero, Spanish actress who starred as Tokyo in the popular Netflix series, Money Heist.

Sources: Wikipedia, checkiday, bornglorious.com & officeholidays.com

Image: Mk Status