How Many Days Until August 21?

This day in history: August 21

1. 1945

   American physicist Harry Daghlian accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a plutonium bomb core, exposing himself to neutron radiation and later becoming the first Manhattan Project fatality due to a criticality accident.

2. 1963

   South Vietnamese special forces loyal to Ngô Đình Nhu, the brother of President Ngô Đình Diệm, raided and vandalised Buddhist pagodas across the country, arresting thousands and leaving hundreds dead.

3. 1971

   Six people were killed during an escape attempt and riot at San Quentin State Prison in California; the subsequent trial of six inmates was the longest in state history at the time.

4. 1986

   A limnic eruption of Lake Nyos in Cameroon released a cloud of carbon dioxide, suffocating 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.

5. 2007

   BioShock was released in North America, becoming a critical success and a demonstration of video games as an art form.

6. 2013

   Syrian civil war: Areas controlled by the Syrian opposition in Ghouta, Damascus, were attacked by rockets containing sarin, killing at least 281 people.

7. 2015

   Passengers on a Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris confronted and subdued an attacker who attempted a mass shooting.

Source: Wikipedia, text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.