August 1st History

1714 - George Louis, Elector of Hanover, accedes to the British throne as George I on the death of Queen Anne.

1774 - British chemist Sir Joseph Priestley announces that he has discovered oxygen

1778 - The first savings bank opens in Hamburg, Germany.

1798 - Nelson attacks and annihilates the French fleet at Aboukir Bay, cutting off Napoleon's supply route to his army in Egypt.

1914 - Germany declares war on Russia

1950 - Australian Prime Minister Sir Robert Gordon Menzies promises to send troops to South Korea to join US forces in repelling the invasion by North Korea.

1969 -  The first pictures of the planet Mars are beamed back to earth by the US Mariner 6 unmanned spacecraft.

1985 - America agrees to sanctions against South Africa in protest against apartheid and in response to violent race riots.

2005 - US astronomers claim to have discovered a 10th planet in the solar system.

2000 - 30 Amarnath pilgrims are massacred by kashmiri separatist militants in Pahalgam, Kashmir, India.