August 21:
1831: Infamous Nat Turner rebellion in remote Virginia began. The deadliest and most famous of the slave rebellions in U.S. history, Turner and his rebels slaughtered dozens of whites, men, women, & children.
1858: First of several debates between Democrat Stephen A. Douglas and Republican Abraham Lincoln for Douglas's U.S. Senate seat. These debates highlighted the issues of the day: slavery, the expansion of slavery, the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed a few years earlier under Douglas's leadership, popular sovereignty, etc. They also propelled Lincoln to the national spotlight and ultimately the presidency.
1944: Meeting between representatives of U.S., Great Britain, the Soviet Union, & China at Dumbarton Oaks laid the foundations for the creation of the United Nations after WWII.
1959: Hawaii became the 50th state.
1991: The Soviet hardliners' attempted coup against Mikhail Gorbachev collapsed.
2004: Michael Phelps won his 8th gold medal.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36