Isla Santa claimed for Spain

Wed., Aug. 3, 2005

The History Channel King Features Syndicate

•On Aug. 1, 1498, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sets foot on the American mainland for the first time, at the Paria Peninsula in present-day Venezuela. Thinking it an island, he christened it Isla Santa and claimed it for Spain.

•On Aug. 4, 1753, George Washington, a young Virginia planter, becomes a Master Mason, the highest basic rank in the secret fraternity of Freemasonry. Masonic symbols later approved by President Washington in the design of the Great Seal of the United States (which can be seen on the back of a one-dollar bill) include the All-Seeing Eye above an unfinished pyramid, and a scroll that proclaims in Latin the advent of a “New Secular Order,” one of Freemasonry’s long-standing goals.

•On Aug. 6, 1928, Andy Warhol, one of the most influential artists of the latter part of the 20th century, is born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh. He decided to permanently remove the “a” from his last name after being incorrectly credited as “Warhol” under an early published drawing.

•On Aug. 2, 1934, with the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler becomes absolute dictator of Germany under the title of Fuhrer, or “Leader,” as the last remnants of democratic government are dismantled to make way for Hitler’s Third Reich.

•On Aug. 3, 1965, as the Vietnam War intensifies, the U.S. Department of Defense announces that it will increase the monthly draft call from 17,000 men in August to 27,400 in September and 36,000 in October.

•On Aug. 7, 1974, French daredevil Philip Petit walks across a tightrope strung between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing a massive traffic jam on the streets 1,350 feet below.

•On Aug. 5, 1981, an angry President Ronald Reagan begins firing 11,359 air-traffic controllers striking in violation of his order for them to return to work. The executive action, regarded as extreme by many, significantly slowed air travel for months.

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