What Happened in August 1872

Historical Events

  • Aug 18 Aaron Montgomery Ward issues the first "catalog" for his mail-order business, it is one sheet listing 163 available items
  • Aug 22 Australia's Overland Telegraph Line connected - one of Australia's greatest logistical and engineering feats, allowed fast communications between Australia and the world for the first time [1]
  • Aug 23 1st Japanese commercial ship visits San Francisco, carrying tea

Famous Birthdays

  • Aug 2 George E. Stewart, American army officer and Medal of Honor recipient, born in New South Wales, Australia (d. 1946)
  • Aug 3 Haakon VII, King of Norway (1905-57), born in Charlottenlund Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1957)
  • Aug 5 Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician and epidemiologist, born in São Luis do Paraitinga, Brazil (d. 1917)
  • Aug 7 Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff, Dutch politician (Governor-General of Dutch East Indies 1926-31), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1957)
  • Aug 7 William Auchterlonie, Scottish golfer (British Open 1893), born in St. Andrews, Scotland (d. 1963)
  • Aug 9 Archduke Joseph August of Austria, Austrian field marshal, born in Alcsút, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (d. 1962)
  • Aug 11 Shidehara Kijuro, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1951)
  • Aug 12 Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1956)
  • Aug 13 Richard Willstätter, German chemist (Nobel 1915), born in Karlsruhe, Baden (d. 1942)
  • Aug 15 Harold Fraser-Simson, English composer, born in London (d. 1944)
  • Aug 15 Rubin Goldmark, American composer and teacher, born in New York (d. 1936)
  • Aug 15 Shri Aurobindo [Aurobindo Ghose], Indian guru and nationalist, born in Calcutta, British India (d. 1950)
  • Aug 16 Arthur Jones, England cricket all-rounder and captain (12 Tests, 3 wickets, 15 catches; Nottinghamshire CCC), born in Shelton, England (d. 1914)
  • Aug 21 Aubrey Beardsley, English artist (Salome), born in Brighton, England (d. 1898)
  • Aug 24 Max Beerbohm, English caricaturist, writer and parodist (Saturday Review), born in London (d. 1956)
  • Aug 28 Alfred Baldwin Sloan, American composer, born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1925)

Famous Deaths

  • Aug 11 Lowell Mason, American organist and composer (Zebulo), dies at 80
  • Aug 19 Eugene-Prosper Prevost, French composer, dies at 63