August 11, 1965 – Six days of riots begin in the Watts area of Los Angeles triggered by a traffic stop and subsequent fight between an African American motorist and a white member of the California Highway Patrol. The rioting results in 34 deaths, more than 3,000 people arrested, and damage to property listed at $40 million.
August 14, 1945 – V-J Day; President Harry Truman announces the Japanese surrender to the Allies to end World War II.
August 15, 1969 – The Woodstock festival began in a field near Yasgur’s Farm at Bethel, New York. The three-day concert featured 24 rock bands and drew a crowd of more than 300,000 young people. The event came to symbolize the counter-culture movement of the 1960’s.
August 17, 1978 – The first-ever transatlantic balloon trip was completed. Americans Max Anderson, Ben Abruzzo, and Larry Newman had departed from Maine 137 hours earlier in “Double Eagle II” and landed about 60 miles west of Paris.