On this day
1st August
Happy Birthday, Switzerland!
In early August 1291, representatives of Switzerland’s different cantons met in a field above Lake Lucerne and joined forces to work against the Austrian
2nd August
Peter O'Toole's birthday
One of the world's great drinkers, a buddy of hellraisers Richard Harris and Richard Burton, and the most-nominated lead actor never to win an Academy
3rd August
National Watermelon Day
We have America to thank for National Watermelon Day which falls annually on this day. Why the 3rd August? Who cares, it's a good excuse to eat a watermelon,
4th August
Champagne's birthday (allegedly)
Come quickly, I am drinking the stars! the Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon allegedly exclaimed when, on the suspiciously precise date of 4th August 1693,
5th August
We're remembering Richard Burton
The love of Elizabeth Taylor's life, one of the most-nominated actors never to have won an Oscar, and the most celebrated British actor never to have been
6th August
Jamaican Independence Day
This day in 1962, after 300 years of British rule, the Union Jack was ceremonially lowered and the new Jamaican flag proudly hoisted aloft as Jamaica declared
7th August
Henry C. Ramos' birthday
The man who is arguably New Orleans's most famous bartender, Henry Charles Ramos, generally known as Carl, made his appearance on this day in 1856 in Indiana,
8th August
The Dollar's birthday
During the 1700s, the first worldwide currency appeared. And, no, it wasn't the US dollar, but a Spanish silver coin with a value of eight Spanish reales,
9th August
Singapore National Day
Very few countries are blessed with an instantly recognisable national cocktail – yet Singapore, which celebrates its independence from Malaysia this
10th August
Magellan heads round the world
One of the world's greatest navigators and captains, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set out from Seville, Spain, on this day in 1519, in command
11th August
U.S. President outlaws Russia
On this day in 1984, while testing the microphone prior to his weekly scheduled radio address, President Ronald Reagan joked, My fellow Americans, I am
12th August
The Glorious Twelfth
Today is a great day for gourmets. If not such a good day for grouse. It is, of course, the Glorious Twelfth, the day when the shooting season opens in
13th August
Prosecco Day
One of the most sold sparkling wines in both the USA and UK, prosecco adds a touch of Italian sparkle to numerous cocktails.
14th August
Power failures across NE America
This day in 2003, a domino effect, thought to have started by a power plant in Ohio unexpectedly shutting down, led to power cuts in successive states
15th August
Anniversary of Woodstock
On this day in 1969, half a million hippies rolled up to a farm in upstate New York for the world's most famous one off music festival, Woodstock. Billed
16th August
International Rum Day
August 16th is National Rum Day in the United States so for the rest of us it's International Rum Day - because, let's face it, there's never a bad day
17th August
Air Mail's birthday
On this day in 1859, balloonist John Wise attempted the first ever mail delivery by air - taking to the skies in Lafayette, Indiana, and aiming for New
18th August
Helium was discovered this day
This day in 1868, the moon blotted out the sun, causing a total eclipse of the type that has panicked civilisations since time immemorial. Very far from
19th August
Aviation Day in the US
It's Aviation Day in the US - and has been since 1939, when President Roosevelt decided that Orville Wright's birthday would be National Aviation Day.
20th August
World Mosquito Day
Mosquitoes don't actually bite humans - they don’t have teeth. The reality is more shocking. Mozzies drive their serrated proboscis through the skin
21st August
Theft Makes Mona Lisa's Name
For all her famous smile, and for all Da Vinci's talents, it is intriguing that the Mona Lisa has become the world's most famous artwork.
22nd August
Tooth Fairy Day
Today is National Tooth Fairy Day in the US and it seems like the kind of day we should be celebrating internationally. After all, as a force for good
23rd August
Sponge Cake Day
The sponge cake has conquered the world with versions popular in countries across Europe and as far afield as Malaya, but it is the Americans we have to
24th August
The British torched the White House on this day
Two hundred years ago, Britain and the US were at war: Native American tribes had asked the British to help them fend off the Americans, who were in any
25th August
Whiskey Sour Day
They have a day for everything in the States and today is National Whiskey Sour Day in America, a wonderful excuse to revisit this classic cocktail and
26th August
New colour transforms science
In 1856, a teenage chemistry prodigy, William Perkin, accidentally invented a new colour. His discovery, mauveine, which he patented on this day, would
27th August
The 1st interplanetary mission's anniversary
Venus may be named for the goddess of love, but she's a savage planet. The surface temperature reaches around 500°C (over 900°F), the atmosphere is as
28th August
Harry Johnson's birthday
Known as the Dean of Drink - in contrast to Jerry Thomas' Professor - Harry Johnson, one of the pioneers of bartending, was born on this day in 1845 in
29th August
Harry Craddock's birthday
The Savoy's most famous bartender, and the name behind the Savoy Cocktail Book, which was based on a series of recipe cards he'd built up over his long
30th August
Angostura Bitters' Birthday
On this day in 1921 Dr J.B. Siegert & Sons medicinal liquor company, which had been marketing bitters out of first Venezuela then Trinidad for almost a
31st August
Independence Day in Trinidad And Tobago
Any excuse for a party in the Caribbean: today Trinidadians and Tobagonians are bringing out the steel drums, calypso, limbo dancers and rum for an all-day
