| 1915 |
A mob in Cobb County, Ga., lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, who had been sentenced on flimsy evidence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan. |
| 1943 |
The Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as U.S. and British forces entered Messina. |
| 1945 |
Indonesian nationalists declared independence from the Netherlands. |
| 1962 |
East German border guards shot and mortally wounded 18-year-old Peter Fechter, who had attempted to cross over the Berlin Wall into the western sector. |
| 1969 |
Hurricane Camille slammed into the Gulf Coast, killing 248 people. |
| 1987 |
Rudolf Hess, the last member of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle, died at Spandau prison in West Berlin at age 93, apparently a suicide. He had been the only inmate at Spandau for 21 years. |
| 1992 |
Actor-director Woody Allen admitted being romantically involved with Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of his longtime companion, actress Mia Farrow. |
| 1998 |
President Bill Clinton underwent grand jury questioning in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. |
| 1998 |
Russia devalued the ruble. |
| 2002 |
Pope John Paul II arrived in Krakow, Poland, for the ninth and final visit to his native country during his papacy. |
| 2005 |
Israeli security forces began the forcible removal of Jews from four settlements in the Gaza Strip. |
| 2008 |
American swimmer Michael Phelps and three teammates won the 400-meter medley relay for Phelps’ record-breaking eighth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. |
| 2010 |
A mistrial was declared on 23 corruption charges against ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. (He was convicted of 17 counts of corruption in a retrial.) |
| 1920 |
Maureen O’Hara, Actress, turns 92 |
| 1932 |
V.S. Naipaul, Nobel Prize-winning author, turns 80 |
| 1952 |
Guillermo Vilas, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 60 |
| 1953 |
Kevin Rowland, Rock singer (Dexy’s Midnight Runners), turns 59 |
| 1958 |
Belinda Carlisle, Singer (The Go-Gos), turns 54 |
| 1960 |
Sean Penn, Actor, turns 52 |
| 1963 |
Jon Gruden, Football coach, sportscaster, turns 49 |
| 1964 |
Maria McKee, Country singer, turns 48 |
| 1966 |
Jill Cunniff, Rock musician (Luscious Jackson), turns 46 |
| 1969 |
Donnie Wahlberg, Actor, singer, turns 43 |
| 1970 |
Jim Courier, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 42 |
| 1971 |
Jorge Posada, Baseball player, turns 41 |
| 63 |
Pierre de Fermat 8/17/1601 – 1/12/1665
French mathematician, lawyer and government official |
| 81 |
Nicola Porpora 8/17/1686 – 3/3/1768
Italian composer and voice teacher |
| 78 |
Thomas Stothard 8/17/1755 – 4/27/1834
English painter, designer and illustrator |
| 49 |
Davy Crockett 8/17/1786 – 3/6/1836
American frontiersman and politician |
| 67 |
Thomas Hodgkin 8/17/1798 – 4/5/1866
English physician |
| 55 |
Harry Hopkins 8/17/1890 – 1/29/1946
American government official; led important New Deal agencies |
| 88 |
Mae West 8/17/1893 – 11/22/1980
American stage and screen actress |
| 77 |
John Hay Whitney 8/17/1904 – 2/8/1982
American sportsman, publisher, financier and philanthropist |
| 92 |
Hazel Bishop 8/17/1906 – 12/5/1998
American chemist; founded pioneering cosemtics business |
| 65 |
Jean Poiret 8/17/1926 – 3/14/1992
French actor and playwright |
| 47 |
Francis Gary Powers 8/17/1929 – 8/1/1977
American U-2 pilot; shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960 |
Marcus Garvey 8/17/1887 – 6/10/1940 Black separatist leader and organizer of the American black nationalist movement (1919-26).
