August 24th – Birthdays and Events
2016 - Astronomers announced the discovery of an Earth-like planet named Proxima b. The planet orbits the nearest star to our sun, Proxima Centauri, 4.22 lightyears away.
August 23rd – Birthdays and Events
2005 - Hilary Lister, from Kent, became the first quadriplegic sailor to cross the English Channel. She achieved this by using controls powered by her breath to navigate her boat and made the crossing in six hours thirteen minutes.
August 22nd – Birthdays and Events
2014 - ‘Upton Chippie’ in Gainsborough, which uses a coal-fired range and a 66 year old batter recipe, was listed alongside the finest restaurants in Britain in the Good Food Guide.
August 21st – Birthdays and Events
1996 - The new Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in Southwark, London, opened with a production of Two Gentlemen of Verona.
August 20th – Birthdays and Events
2019 - NASA announced they would send a ship to Jupiter’s moon, Europa, to look for extraterrestrial life. The craft, named Europa Clipper, should be ready by 2023 and launch by 2025.
August 19th – Birthdays and Events
2008 - Chris Hoy encapsulates British dominance of track cycling at the Beijing Olympics beating teammate Jason Kenny to win the sprint, adding to his keirin and team sprint gold medals.
August 18th – Birthdays and Events
1932 - Scottish aviator Jim Mollison made the first westbound solo transatlantic flight in a light aircraft when he arrived in New Brunswick after leaving Portmarnock in Ireland 30 hours earlier.
August 17th – Birthdays and Events
1979 - “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” directed by Terry Jones, starring Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, & John Cleese, premieres in the US (8th November 1979 in the UK). "Wait till Biggus Dickus hears of this!"
August 16th – Birthdays and Events
2004 - Flash floods devastated the north Cornwall coastal village of Boscastle after the area’s average August rainfall fell in just two hours.