What’s Happening Today?

Independence Day (Gabon). On August 17th, 1960, Gabon gained its independence and became an independent republic joining the other three territories of the French Equatorial Union who also gained their independence in the same month. The first president of Gabon, elected in 1961, was Léon M'ba. After the nation gained independence, France established a new dynamic with Gabon partly motivated by the West African nation's uranium wealth which was key to France's nuclear programme.

Marcus Garvey Day (Jamaica). Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL, commonly known as UNIA), through which he declared himself Provisional President of Africa. Ideologically a black nationalist and Pan-Africanist, his ideas came to be known as Garveyism.

What Happened Today?

1.    In 1560, the Catholic Church was overthrown and Protestantism was established as the national religion in Scotland. On 17 August 1560, the Parliament agreed to a Reformed Confession of Faith, a fundamental step away from the Roman Church, and on 24 August it passed a series of Acts that entirely destroyed the Roman Church in Scotland.

2.    In 1896, the first death resulting from a motor accident in the United Kingdom happened.  Bridget Driscoll became the first recorded case of a pedestrian killed in a collision with a motor car in the United Kingdom.

3.    1n 1945, the iconic novel, Animal Farm by George Orwell was published for the first time. The satirical book tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy.

Birthdays

1.    1943 – Robert de Niro, legendary Hollywood personality.

2.    1977 – Thierry Henry, Arsenal FC, and French football legendary striker.

Sources: Wikipedia, officeholidays.com & undiscoveredscotland.co.uk 

Image: Freepik